Luke 20

Day 106 – Matthew 23:1-39; Mark 12:38-40; Luke 20:45-47

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The Seven Woes.

Matthew 23:1-39; Mark 12:38-40; Luke 20:45-47

“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They replied, “He is the son of David.” – Matthew 22:42 NLT

Chapter 23 of Matthew is one of the harshest sections of the Scriptures. In it, we find Jesus unloading on the Pharisees in a rather uncharacteristic way. But this is NOT a personal attack. He is dealing with those who had become roadblocks to the Kingdom. By rejecting Him, they were rejecting the Kingdom, rule, and reign of God Himself. These men were supposed to be pointing people to God, but were actually doing just the opposite! Remember what Jesus had said to the Pharisees back when they accused Him of working for and by the power of Satan: “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me. So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven–except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.” (Matthew 12:30-31 NLT).

The religious leaders had positioned themselves against Jesus and therefore, against God. They were denying the work of God manifested by the power of God (Holy Spirit), and attributing it all to Satan. So Jesus pronounces a series of warnings or “woes” against them. But rather than direct His attack directly at the Pharisees, He speaks to the crowd surrounding Him. All of these warnings would have been shocking to the average Jew because they looked up to and admired the religious leaders as icons of virtue and the keepers of religious law. But Jesus gives His audience a few pieces of advice regarding these men:

Don’t follow their lead

The Pharisees had set themselves up as the official interpreters of the Law of Moses. They were the “experts.” But they were usurpers to the title – God had not appointed them as such. They certainly KNEW the Law, so Jesus told the people to listen to what the Pharisees SAID. The problem was, they failed to KEEP the Law, so Jesus said don’t do what they DO. In other words, don’t follow their example. As long as they are talking about the content of the Law, listen. But when it comes to conduct based on the Law, don’t use them as a model. “So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach” (Matthew 23:3 NLT).

Don’t do what they do

Jesus makes it clear. These men are nothing but hypocrites. The Greek word Jesus uses was a term commonly used when referring to actors in the Greek plays. In the plays of those days, the actors would commonly play multiple roles and simply don a different mask to change characters. So the word became common for referring to anyone who was a “mask-wearer” or hypocrite. They were not what they appeared to be. For the Pharisees, everything was all about appearances. They had perfected the art of performance. “Everything they do is for show” (Matthew 23:5 NLT).

Don’t love what they love

They loved recognition and getting noticed for their “spirituality.” In fact, they were addicted to being the center of attention. It showed up in their obsession with titles. They enjoyed being called “rabbi” and recognized for their knowledge and expertise. They wanted to be served, not serve. They loved themselves more than they loved God or others. In essence, these men were religious exhibitionists! WHICH WOULD NOT BE AS BIG A PROBLEM – EXCEPT FOR THEIR ROLE AS LEADERS

God’s true feelings about false religion

At this point, Jesus makes His message much more direct by turning His attention directly to the Pharisees and teachers of religious law. This is the part where He pronounces His seven woes or warnings against them. It is important to recognize that this is all about two distinctly different ways to approach God. What Jesus has to say is less about their behavior than the focus of their ministry.

Woe #1

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door on the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.” – Matthew 23:13-14 NLT

They had a false view of the Kingdom of Heaven and how to enter it. It was keeping them out AND everyone else they influenced.

Woe #2

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross the land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!” – Matthew 23:15 NLT

Their failure to accept Jesus as Messiah was condemning others to hell. Their false view of the Kingdom of Heaven was having deadly consequences. They were zealous to convert others to their way of thinking and to their view of the Kingdom, but the result was that these individuals ended up as lost as they were.

Woe #3

“Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’” – Matthew 23:16 NLT

In spite of all their knowledge of the Law, they were blind and couldn’t see the point of it all. They had misunderstood what really was of value in the Kingdom of Heaven. It was the Temple, that God had set apart as His own, that was holy, not the gold used to cover it. It was the altar, the place God had set aside for sacrifice, that was holy, and made anything placed on it holy. Ultimately, it is God who makes heaven holy and gives it its value. They focused their attention on the wrong things. They were materially minded, not spiritually focused.

Woe #4

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law – justice, mercy, and faith.” – Matthew 23:23 NLT

They misunderstood the true nature of the Kingdom because they tended to major on the minors. They nitpicked the Law to death, but missed the two most important commandments: Love God and love others (Justice, mercy and faith).

Woe #5

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy – full of greed and self-indulgence!” – Matthew 23:25 NLT

They had a false understanding of what constitutes righteousness in the Kingdom. It was the INSIDE God was interested in, not the OUTSIDE. Their focus was on the externals rather than the internal. They made behavior modification their goal, rather than heart transformation. But Jesus had taught just the opposite. “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a person. For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are the things that defile a person; it is not eating with unwashed hands that defiles a person” (Matthew 15:18-20 NLT).

Woe #6

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs – beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurities.” – Matthew 23:27 NLT

This one supports the previous one. It reveals their false concept of what it took to become clean or righteous. Again, they had replaced heart transformation with behavior modification. They spent all their time obsessing about outward appearances, while ignoring the internal state of their souls. Rather than heart-felt repentance, they focused on outward reformation. Rather than acknowledge their sin, they simply attempted to cover it up with good deeds and religious effort.

Woe #7

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.’” – Matthew 23:29-30 NLT

In failing to recognize their own sinful condition, they had become just like their ancestors – rebellious, stubborn and resistant to God. They built tombs and monuments to honor the prophets, but had failed to listen to God’s prophet: John the Baptist. In just a few days, they would arrange to have the very Son of God put to death, just as Jesus had predicted. And after Jesus was out of the way, they would end up persecuting and killing the disciples as well . “Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city” (Matthew 23:34 NLT).

Misplaced passion

Why was Jesus so upset with these men? What drove Him to treat them so harshly? They were passionate. They were zealous. They were religious. BUT THEY HAD BECOME DANGEROUS! They had become obstacles to the Kingdom of Heaven. Their misplaced zeal had led to them becoming stumbling blocks. “Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him to have a millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.’” (Luke 17:1-2 NET).

These men DO NOT represent the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. They don’t even know the directions. But where do we see this today? In the myriad of false and pseudo-Christian religions. We see it in anyone who denies that salvation is through faith alone in Christ alone. We need to learn to look for these characteristics.

  1. Posing as spokesmen for God, but denying people access to the Kingdom of God
  2. Giving people false hope by offering them a false gospel
  3. Providing easy work-arounds to true holiness and commitment to God
  4. Judging righteousness based on their own standards, rather than God’s
  5. Refusing the acknowledge sin, while emphasizing self-righteousness
  6. Putting undue emphasis on how men see them, rather than God
  7. Failing to see their status as enemies of God

The spirit of the Pharisees is alive and well today. It’s evident in every religion that refuses to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the only way. It’s prevalent in many main-stream denominations that preach a gospel of works, not grace. It can be found anytime legalism and rule-keeping replaces love. It shows up whenever our religion becomes more important than our relationship with Christ. It takes the form of hypocrisy, when what we say we believe fails to impact our behavior. It’s alive and well when we love the praise of man more than pleasing God.

Father, it’s easy to follow the lead of the Pharisees and become all about appearances. It is so tempting to try to deny our true condition by putting up a good front and acting the part. But You look for sincerity and integrity of heart. You are not impressed with our performance, because You can see into our hearts. Keep us from following the example of the Pharisees, but help us live humbly, obediently and dependently on You. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Day 105 – Matthew 22:41-46; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44

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A Question of Authority.

Matthew 22:41-46; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44

“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They replied, “He is the son of David.” – Matthew 22:42 NLT

Remember, we are coming to the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. As we read through the events surrounding the last week of His life, we should begin to recognize that this is really about two kingdoms in conflict – the one the Pharisees and religious leaders had come to know, love and control; and the one that Jesus had come to establish. Do you recall the message of John the Baptist as he began his ministry to pave the way for the coming of the Messiah? He said, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matthew 3:2 NLT). To repent means to change your mind, about God and about your sin. It requires you to do an about face concerning what you currently believe about those two things. That change of mind and heart should result in a change of behavior. In the world into which Jesus came, the Jewish people had developed their own conceptions about God and their own sin. They thought they had God figured out and they thought they knew what they had to do to deal with sin. But they had grown callous to God and carefree about their own sin, justifying their actions and downplaying their own guilt. They put a lot of stock in their position as descendants of Abraham and their unique role as God’s chosen people. But John came preaching a call to repentance. He told them that the Kingdom of Heaven was close at hand. And Jesus came preaching the very same message: “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17 NLT). The Kingdom of Heaven was NEAR – in the form of the King of Heaven – Jesus Himself. This was a statement of authority and divine representation. Jesus was Emmanuel – God with us. He was the one true King. But the Jewish people failed to recognize Him as such.

Which brings us to today’s passage. Jesus finds Himself surrounding by Pharisees once again. He has weathered a relentless gauntlet of questions from these men, as they attempted to expose and entrap Him. But this time Jesus turns the tables and He asks the question. And in doing so, He reveals some Messianic misconceptions on their part. He exposes their faulty views of who the Messiah would be and what He would do. Jesus asks them a very simple, yet revealing question: “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” (Matthew 22:42a NLT). Jesus already knows how they will answer and it will reveal a lot about their understanding of not only the Messiah, but His coming Kingdom.  “They replied, ‘He is the son of David’” (Matthew 22:42b NLT).

So what does this answer tell us about their view of the Messiah? They believed He would be a descendant of David. They viewed the kingdom as strictly earthly and not heavenly in nature. In other words, they were looking for a king, just like David had been. They were anticipating a ruler, a royal heir to David, who would wear his crown and sit on his throne, reestablishing their power in the region. They weren’t looking for a Savior from sin, but a savior from subjugation to Rome. So Jesus asks them a qualifying question: “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah, ‘my Lord’? For David said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet’” (Matthew 22:44 NLT). At first glance, this all sounds like some kind of riddle or trick question on Jesus’ part. But Jesus is quoting a well-known passage from Psalm 110:1 – a Messianic Psalm. These Pharisees would have seen this passage as applying to the coming Messiah, or Davidic descendant. In fact, in the course of time this psalm had been applied to each successive king in the dynasty and ultimately to the ideal Davidic king (NET Bible study notes). So they would have been familiar with the passage and its application to the coming Messiah. So Jesus points out that in the Psalm, David calls the Messiah his Lord. If the coming Messiah is a “son” or descendant of David, the greatest king Israel had ever had, why would He call this man his “Lord?” To understand this question, you have to recognize that there are two different words used for Lord in Psalm 110. The first is Jehovah. It is a noun that refers to God. It is the proper name of the God of Israel. The second word is adon. This is a noun meaning lord or master. But when used in conjunction with Lord (Jehovah), it typically refers to God’s sovereignty or authority. So you could read the line in Psalm 110 this way: The Lord (God) said to my (David’s) Lord (Messiah)…

The point Jesus is making is that David knew something about the Messiah they were failing to see. That’s why Jesus asked them a further question: “Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” (Matthew 22:45 NLT). The Pharisees had a limited view of the Messiah. They believed He would be an earthly, physical, and fully human descendant of David, nothing more, nothing less. But Jesus’ point is that even David seemed to know that the Messiah would be MORE than just a descendant. He would be divine and have God-given authority to rule and reign over God’s Kingdom. He would be David’s lord and master. He would be a divinely appointed ruler with power and authority David had never dreamed of. But the Pharisees couldn’t bring themselves to see this or acknowledge it. Jesus was not what they were expecting and not what they wanted. He didn’t look like a king. He didn’t act like a king. The people of Israel were still suffering from the same problem their ancestors had when they demanded that God give them a king all those years ago. Back then, they wanted a king like all the other nations. So God gave them Saul. Now they were wanting the same thing. But God was not going to give them another Saul. He was going to give them another David, an actual descendant of David, but a man greater than David had ever been. He would be the God-man, the Son of God and the ultimate Savior of the world.

This whole exchange left the Pharisees stumped. For the first time, they had no response and no more questions. “No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.” (Matthew 22:46 NLT). They were far from done, but they were going to give up on trying to trick Jesus with questions. They would simply take a different tactic. Their views had not changed. They were still unrepentant, refusing to change their mind about God, and about their own sins. They refused to acknowledge Jesus as Messiah. They refused to admit their own sin and their need for a Savior. They were not buying what Jesus was selling. And they would live to regret it.

Father, how easy it is for us to look at Jesus and think, “He’s not what I was expecting!” We can bring our own preconceived notions of who Jesus should be and how He should act. We can demand that He save according to our terms and then get angry when He doesn’t deliver what we want. Many of us see Jesus as some kind of personal life coach instead of as our Lord and Master. We want to have Him as a friend, but not as King of our lives. We are perfectly fine with the idea of Him redeeming us with His blood, but we’re not too keen on Him ruling our lives. Open our eyes and help us see the truth of who Jesus is and how we should respond to Him. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Day 103 – Matthew 22:23-33; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-40

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Intelligent, But Ignorant.

Matthew 22:23-33; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-40

Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.” – Matthew 22:29 NLT

Jesus is facing yet another confrontation with the religious leaders. This time it is the Sadducees. They were the religious liberals of their day who refused to believe in the afterlife, the doctrine of the resurrection or the reality of angels. For them, this life was the only life and it was to be lived in strict adherence to the written law as found in the Torah. They were elitists who rejected the oral law of the Pharisees, the “traditions of the elders” that contained hundreds of additional laws or expansions of the written law. But while they were not exactly bosom buddies with the Pharisees, they shared one thing in common with them: their hatred for Jesus. So we see them coming to Jesus posing a question that they intended to use to expose Jesus’ heretical views on the resurrection. Their question is a lengthy one, in the form of a short story. It’s a fictitious scenario involving what was called the Levirate Law, part of the Law of Moses found in the book of Deuteronomy. This law ruled that when a man died, leaving a wife as a widow with no children, one of the deceased man’s brothers was obligated to marry the woman so that she might have a son by him and so that son might carry on the name of her deceased first husband and inherit his land.  The law states, “If two brothers are living together on the same property and one of them dies without a son, his widow may not be married to anyone from outside the family. Instead, her husband’s brother should marry her and have intercourse with her to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law. The first son she bears to him will be considered the son of the dead brother, so that his name will not be forgotten in Israel” (Deuteronomy 25:5-6 NLT).

These Sadducees create a highly unlikely scenario where the woman ends up marrying seven different brothers, each one dying before they could father a son with her. Then finally, the woman herself dies. And at last they ask Jesus their question. Matthew makes it clear that the real point behind their question is the resurrection. They are not really interested in Jesus’ interpretation of the law, but in His views on the resurrection. So they ask, “So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her” (Matthew 22:28 NLT).

They think they have Jesus trapped. Because the Torah did not teach explicitly about the resurrection, they did not believe in it. Their little story was designed to expose the ridiculousness of the whole idea of the resurrection. In their minds, they had shown that the very concept of the resurrection would conflict with the law itself. How could a woman have seven husbands in heaven? But Jesus exposes the flaw in their thinking and the problem in their lives. He simply states, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God” (Matthew 22:29 NLT). This would have been like a sucker punch to the stomach. Jesus had caught them off guard and wiped the smug look of satisfaction off their faces with one simple sentence. They prided themselves on their knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures and here was Jesus telling them they didn’t really know them. They were intelligent, but ignorant. In all their study of the Word of God, they had missed out on the power of God. They had relegated all they know about life to the here and now and rejected the idea of a hereafter. So Jesus shocks them by letting them know that in the resurrected state there will be no marriage. Their whole scenario is pointless and irrelevant. The woman will not be married to any of the brothers, “For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage” (Matthew 22:30 NLT). This may be just as shocking to many reading these words right now. Your concept of heaven has always included marriage. You have assumed that if you are married here on earth, you will be married in heaven. But what would be the purpose of marriage in heaven. As an institution, it was designed to illustrate the relationship between Christ and His bride, the Church. It was intended to be a physical representation of the spiritual reality. In heaven, the union of Christ and the Church will be complete. There will no longer be a need for a symbol of that union. And while we may find that idea disturbing and possibly disappointing, we have to remember that our condition in our resurrected state will be one of perfection. We will be like Christ and have perfect fellowship with God the Father. Our primary relationship will be with Him. There will no longer be the need for another person to complete us.

But Jesus knows that the real issue behind their question is their view on the resurrection, so He cuts to the chase and takes it head on. “But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead—haven’t you ever read about this in the Scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said,‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’So he is the God of the living, not the dead” (Matthew 22:31-32 NLT). Once again, Jesus questions their knowledge of the Scriptures, letting them know that in spite of all their study, they had missed a key point. When referring to His relationship with the great patriarchs of the Hebrew people, God had spoken in the PRESENT tense. He said, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” These words were spoken long after all three of these men were dead and gone, and yet God refers to them in the present tense. Jesus makes it clear that this is not a grammatical error, but a theological truth. There is an afterlife and there will be a resurrection. The problem of the Sadducees was that they studied the Scriptures with a biased view and a limited understanding of the power of God. The idea of the resurrection was impossible to them. It was inconceivable. So they simply refused to believe in it. In establishing their doctrinal views, they had unknowingly limited the power of God. Because they couldn’t understand something, they simply eliminated it from consideration. But Jesus made it clear that the resurrection was not only possible, it was undeniable, because of the unlimited power of God.

For the Sadducees, life had become all about what they could see and explain. Their view was limited and restrictive. They had no room in their theology for an afterlife, because they couldn’t explain or control it. So they put all their eggs in basket, concentrating all their efforts on making the most out of this life. In doing so, they had missed the whole concept of the afterlife, of heaven and the resurrected state. For them, this earthly life was the only life. Nothing more, nothing less. And yet, there are many who live that way today. Even those who claim to be Christ-followers live as if there is no eternal life, focusing all their attention and energies on making the most of this life. They ignore what they can’t explain or understand. And yet, we are encouraged throughout the Word of God to run the race of life with the end in mind. We are to set our affections on things above, not the things of this earth. We are told to consider ourselves as strangers here, and to remember that this world is not our home, we are simply passing through on our way to somewhere better. There is an afterlife. There is a heaven. This is not all there is. And we should live with that reality in mind.

Father, it is easy to begin to believe that this really is all there is. The ever-present reality of this world can easily overshadow the idea that there is something more. Don’t let me lose sight of the fact that heaven is a real place, the resurrection is a future reality and not a myth, and that You have much more in store for me than what I can see or even understand here. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Day 102 – Matthew 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26

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Spiritual Obligations.

Matthew 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26

“Well then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” – Luke 20:25 NLT

In just a few days from now, all American citizens who receive wages in compensation for work done, will be required to file their income tax with the federal government. It will be tax day in the good old U.S.A. There will be those who put it off, others who have filed months ago, and those who refuse to file at all. Some of us will owe more and a happy few will get refunds, having lent our money to the federal government, interest free, for the last twelve months. But it’s probably safe to say that none of us actually enjoy filing our taxes. We see it as a necessary evil and a burdensome obligation. We do it because we have to. It’s required by law and that law carries some pretty stiff penalties for those who choose to ignore it.

Taxes were no different in Jesus’ day. In fact, they were worse. The Romans levied heavy taxes on the Jews. On top of that, the Jewish tax collectors added their own exorbitant fees. And then there was the Temple tax that every Jew had to pay, which in actuality, was used to support the lavish lifestyles of the priests themselves. These men lived in luxury while the average Jew barely made ends meet. In his book, “The Message and the Kingdom,” Richard Horsley writes, “…impressive archeological remains of their Jerusalem residences show how elegant their life style had become. In spacious structures unhesitantly dubbed ‘mansions” by the archeologists who uncovered them in the 1970’s, we can get a glimpse of a lavish life in mosaic floored reception rooms and dining rooms with elaborate painted and carved stucco wall decorations and with a wealth of fine tableware, glassware, carved stone table tops, and other interior furnishings and elegant peristyles.” This staggering combination of tax obligations were overwhelming to the Jewish people, making everyday life practically unbearable and the very mention of taxes intolerable. Palestine was a veritable powder keg waiting to ignite and, according to Jewish historian, Josephus, the refusal of the Romans to lessen the tax burdens would result in the Jewish War and the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

By now we know that the Jewish religious leadership were looking for any and all opportunities to trick and trap Jesus in order that they might have Him arrested and eliminated. They were certain that it was just a matter of time before He said something that got Him into trouble with the people or with the Roman authorities. If they could get Him to say something the people would disagree with, He would lose His popularity and His growing following. If they could trick Him into saying something that could be taken as divisive or potentially anti-Roman, then they could enlist the aid of the government in getting rid of Him. So they send some “spies pretending to honest men” (Luke 20:20 NLT). In other words, they didn’t come dressed as priests, Pharisees, or religious leaders. They disguised themselves as average Jews, hoping to blend in with the crowd and catch Jesus off-guard and unprepared. Their question was well-planned and had a clear motivation behind it. “They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus” (Luke 20:20 NLT). After attempting to butter Him up with false flattery, they ask their question: “Now tell us – is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” (Luke 20:22 NLT). But Luke makes it clear that Jesus saw through their ruse and He knew they were trying to trick Him. So He asked for a Roman coin. This coin would have had Caesar’s image on it, which Jesus got them to acknowledge. Then He told them, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God” (Luke 20:25 NLT). The simple interpretation of this passage would be to say that Jesus is simply encouraging civil obedience. The people of God must be good citizens. They must set a good example, even if the government is corrupt and oppressive. But I think Jesus has an even more important point to His statement. It is interesting that He points out the fact that the Roman coin carried the image of Caesar, the Roman emperor who was also considered a god by his own people. Jesus tells them to give this coin to Caesar. It is stamped with his image and so belongs to him. But Jesus also stated that they were to give to God what belongs to God. What is stamped with God’s image? Back in the book of Genesis, we read, “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27 NLT). Every good Jew would have known this story and would have understood what Jesus was saying. Men and women are made in the image of God. They are stamped with His image. Therefore, they belong to Him. Jesus seems to be saying, that instead of worrying about the temporal things of this world, like money and taxes, the people needed to give themselves to God and His Kingdom. All the way back in His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had said, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:31-33 NLT).

Not only were those in Jesus’ audience that day made in the image of God, but as Jews, they had been chosen by God as His special people. They had been handpicked by God and then redeemed out of slavery in Egypt. They were His people, His prized possession. He had told them, “For you are a holy people, who belong to the LORD your God. Of all the people on earth, the LORD your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure” (Deuteronomy 7:6 NLT). These people had been oppressed and burdened before, and God had rescued them. They were being oppressed and burdened now, but it had far less to do with taxes than it did with sin. God wanted to rescue and redeem them from slavery to sin and death, which is why He had sent His Son. But their minds were elsewhere. They saw their burdens as earthly, not spiritual. They wanted a Messiah to rescue them from taxes and the tyranny of the Romans. But Jesus had come to rescue them from a life enslaved to sin and a sentence of death.

Jesus wanted these people to give to God what was rightfully His – their lives. He wanted them to turn over their lives to the very one who could save them. Jesus stood before them as the very Son of God and their Messiah. He was the answer to their problem, but they failed to recognize Him. Jesus had not come to foment insurrection, but to provide salvation. He had not come to lead a revolt against Rome, but to provide restoration with God. His was a spiritual revolution, not an earthly one. And He was subtly reminding His listeners that God, in whose image they were made, required what was due Him. And just as Caesar would punish any and all who refused to pay his mandatory tax, God would punish any and all who refused to give Him what belonged to Him. God had warned the people what failure to obey Him would result in. “Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. But he does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him” (Deuteronomy 7:9-10 NLT). As believers, we have a spiritual obligation to God. He has made us and He has redeemed through the precious, priceless blood of His own Son. Our lives are not our own. We belong to Him because He has paid for us at a great price. He has redeemed us from slavery to sin and made us His own. We are stamped with His image and so we should “give to God what belongs to God” – our very lives.

Father, how easy it is to get consumed with the things of this world. We live surrounded by material things and it seems as if that is all that matters at times. But we are spiritual creatures who are eternal in nature, not temporal. We have been created in Your image and therefore, we belong to You. On top of that, we have been bought with the blood of Your Son and we are rightfully Yours. All You ask in return is that we give to You what rightfully belongs to You – our lives. Help me continue to learn each day what that means and how that looks. I want to give to You what belongs to You. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Day 101 – Matthew 21:33-22:14; Mark 11:27-12:12; Luke 20:1-19

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The Three Parables.

Matthew 21:33-22:14; Mark 11:27-12:12; Luke 20:1-19

They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right to do them?” – Mark 11:28 NLT

This question posed by the Pharisees seems a bit odd, unless you keep it within its context. Jesus is walking with His disciples through the Temple area. They have just recently arrived back in town from their long walk from the village of Bethany where they are staying during the Passover celebration. According to Mark’s chronology of the events surrounding this last week of Jesus’ life, the day before Jesus had been in this same area, but was in a slightly different mood. He had walked on to the Temple grounds and angrily cleared out the moneychangers, overturning their tables. He drove away all those buying and selling animals for the sacrifices. And most importantly, Mark tells us, “he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace” (Mark 11:16 NLT). If you think about it, Jesus completely disrupted the entire sacrificial system for that day. He threw a wrench into the well-oiled machine of the corrupt religious system that had somehow replaced what God had established through Moses in the wilderness. What He observed taking place in the Temple that first Sunday He arrived in Jerusalem was more about men than God. He witnessed a religious system built on greed and corruption. Extortion and graft were rampant. At this point in time, even the priestly office had become more political than spiritual. They held their offices thanks to Rome and many of them held their positions based on payoffs made to the Roman government. So Jesus shut the whole thing down – even if only for one day.

That sets up the passage we are dealing with today. It is the next day and Jesus has arrived back in town. He is immediately confronted by the leading priests, the teachers of religious law and the elders. They demand to know who has given Him the authority to do what He has done. They are specifically talking about His disruption of the sacrificial system the day before. They are incensed because His efforts have made a personal impact on their pocketbooks. These men benefited financially from the sale of the sheep and doves for sacrifice. It is said that they had arranged the system in such a way that when people brought their sacrificial lamb to the priests for inspection to deem whether it was unblemished or not, the priests would find some fault with it, then require them to buy one of the truly unblemished lambs they had for sale. Then they would take the very lamb they had rejected and turn around and sell it to the next person in line. They had also set up a system that required everyone to exchange their currency for Temple currency, tacking on a high fee for the privilege. All of this revenue went into the Temple treasury, but much of it lined the pockets of the leading priests. So when they came to Jesus, they had a personal stake in this whole thing.

Their question had to do with authority or right. By asking their question, they are inferring that Jesus had no right or authority to do what He did. His actions were not in keeping with accepted tradition. In their mind, Jesus was a renegade and a trouble maker. He was not one of them. He had not gone through the proper channels or training. He had no authority because He had never been a disciple of one of the great rabbis. He was an imposter and needed to be dealt with as such. Without knowing it, they were actually questioning Jesus’ kingship. Remember, just a few days before Jesus had rode into town to the shouts of “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David! Praise God in highest heaven!” (Mark 11:9-10 NLT). Jesus had been welcomed as a king. But now they were questioning His authority and attempting to paint Him as a radical and a revolutionary.

Rather than answer their question, Jesus counters with one of His own. “I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied. “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human? Answer me!” (Mark 11:29-30 NLT). Jesus puts them squarely on the horns of a dilemma. If they said John’s authority was from heaven, they would be guilty of rejecting God. If they said it was of human origin, they risked alienating the people who saw John as a prophet. So they decided to plead ignorance. “We don’t know,” they responded. And as a result, Jesus refused to address their question regarding His authority. But in reality Jesus does answer their question. He does so by telling three short parables. He turns to the crowd and begins to teach in His usual method, using simple stories to teach a much deeper truth. But the context tells us what Jesus has in mind by telling these stories. The issue is one of authority and Jesus uses these stories to address their original question.

Three Parables – One Message

Over in Matthew’s account, we have the three parables and they are the parable of the two sons, the parable of the landowner, and the parable of the wedding feast. In the first one, Jesus tells about a father with two sons, who orders the first son to go into the household vineyard and work. The son refused, but later repented and did what the father had asked. He orders the second sons to go and he initially agrees, feigning obedience, but later refuses, never doing what the father asked. Jesus asked, “Which one obeyed?” and they answered, “The first son.” So what’s the point? The religious leaders believed they were sons of the kingdom due to their heritage as descendants of Abraham. Jesus makes it clear that corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into God’s Kingdom before they will. Why? Repentance and belief. The religious leaders refused to repent. They refused to believe. They would not acknowledge Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah and His authority as their rightful King.

In the second parable, Jesus tells of a landowner who planted a vineyard and then leased it out and moved to another country. When the grape harvest came, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers to whom he had leased the land, beat one servant, killed another and stoned the last. So the landowner sent a larger group or servants and they were treated in the same way. Finally, he decides to send his own son, hoping that they will show him the respect he deserves. But when he arrives, they grab him, drag him out of the vineyard and kill him. Jesus asks what they think the landowner will do to these farmers when he returns. “The religious leaders replied, “He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest” (Matthew 21:41 NLT). Their own answer condemns them. So what’s the point? Over the centuries, God had sent His prophets to His people, and they had been abused, rejected, and in many cases, killed. So He sent more and they were treated the same way. And now He had sent His Son, but He too would be killed in just a matter of days. In telling this particular parable, Jesus was referring to a story from the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 5:1-7). Jesus makes sure they get the meaning of the story. “I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce proper fruit. Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on” (Matthew 21:43-44 NLT).

Jesus is the stone that the builders will reject, but He will become the cornerstone. And Jesus, as King, had the authority to do as He wished – even if it meant taking away the Kingdom of God from those who rejected Him. The Pharisees didn’t miss the point. “When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them – they were the wicked farmers. They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet” (Matthew 21:45-46 NLT).

In the final parable, Jesus tells about a king who prepares a wedding for his son. He sent his servants to to get the guests he had invited. But they all refuse to come. So he sends more servants, but the invited guests ignore them, giving excuses and even trying to murder the servants. The king, obviously upset and offended, sent out his army to destroy these people and burn their town. Then he sent his servants to invite anyone they saw – good, bad or indifferent – to fill the banquet hall for his son’s wedding. Evidently, the king even supplied wedding clothes to these people, because they would not have had any. But one man showed up improperly dressed, having failed to put on what he had been given. He was promptly bound and thrown out.

So what’s the point? God had invited the nation of Israel into His kingdom. Over the centuries He had sent His messengers, the prophets, to the Jewish people, with His call to repentance, but they had refused God’s messengers, rejecting and even killing them. So Jesus told His listeners that God was going to deal harshly with that generation and with those of His own day. As a result, the invitation would be extended to any and all (Gentiles). God would open up the invitation to even those outside the Jewish community, even providing the proper “attire” for the wedding. Through His upcoming death on the cross, Jesus would clothe those who believed in Him with His own righteousness. He would replace their rags of sin with garments of righteousness, acceptable before God the Father. But if anyone tries to enter God’s Kingdom clothed in their own righteousness, they will be rejected.

It’s all about a Kingdom and a King

Jesus had authority as the Son of God. The entire Old Testament message from the prophets spoke of Him. The nation of Israel had been invited to enter into His kingdom, but they would refuse. They had rejected the message of the prophets, of John the Baptist and would reject the offer of Jesus Christ. And the question you have to ask today, is whether Jesus Christ is the authority in your life. Do you listen to what He says and obey it? Have you accepted His invitation, or are you too busy, too good, or too smart to buy into something so hard to believe? Does the way you live your life reveal that you sometimes question whether Jesus has authority over your life? Do you refuse to put on the righteousness He has provided because you prefer your life just the way it is? Jesus not only wants to be the Savior, He wants to be your King. He wants to rule and reign in your life. He wants to lead you and direct you. He wants you to worship and obey Him. He wants you to live in submission to Him. Because He loves You and He alone knows what is best for you. He is a gracious, loving, merciful, righteous King who longs to provide for and protect His people.

Lord, there are so many times I question Your authority in my life. I want to do things my way. I want to rule and reign, making decisions according to my terms and on my timeline. I love the fact they You died for me, but sometimes, I’m not quite so sure I want You to decide for me. But You have the right and authority to be my King and my Lord. I have no business rejecting Your rule in my life. Forgive me and help me submit willingly to Your loving leadership in my life. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org