ResponsiveReiding

From Matthew 22:15-22 / In The Cross-hairs

Most of us tend to like things simple. We like black and white understanding and answers to questions. And while there is nothing inherently wrong with that desire, it can be a real hindrance to truth if we make it iron clad. We must make room for nuance and subtlety when and where required.

Wisdom dictates that we understand that some things in Scripture present us with clear antitheses – So we have Isa. 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” Some things are truly evil and they cannot be construed as good under any circumstances. And, some things are good and cannot be construed as evil under any circumstances. It is never right to deny Christ, and it is never wrong to acknowledge Him for who and what He is. Black cannot white nor vice versa. Clear either/ors exist. One is either born again or not. There is no middle road.

At the same time, there are also both/ands in Scripture. So if we ask “is God one or is He three?” we cannot choose one or the other but have to answer – Yes! Was Jesus God or man? Yes. Was the Bible inspired by God or written by men? Yes. In these cases and others like them, the perfect antitheses we so long for, if answered in pure black and white, will rob us of the whole truth. It is true the Bible was breathed out by the Holy Spirit. But that is not the entire truth. Jesus was indeed God, but that is not the entire truth either.

You get the picture.

All of this leads us to the confrontation contained in our text.

The Pharisees and the Herodians, typically not friendly to one another, shared one common view – they disliked Roman rule. However else apart they were theologically and even practically – on this point they were agreed.

They were also agreed that Jesus, in gaining popularity among the masses, might prove to be less than helpful in their quest to martial the people in opposing the Romans. Both parties wanted a free Jewish state. They would iron out how theocratic that state would be after the Roman yoke was dissolved.

So it was, the two groups came together to to try and entangle Jesus in His words, so as to get the Jesus fly out of their joint ointment. If He answered a definitive “yes” it is right to pay taxes to Caesar – without qualification – then they could use that to sway the people against Him as a Roman sympathizer. And if He answered a definitive “no”, that it was unlawful to pay taxes to Caesar, they could offer Him up to the Romans as anti-Caesar. Either way, He would be out of their way.

Jesus won’t satisfy their imposed either/or construct. He knows full well that according to the Scriptures, Israel would only be under foreign rule as a chastisement for spiritual infidelity. A straightforward fact no one seemed to be addressing. They needed national repentance, not an anti-Roman movement or program. Rome wasn’t the problem, only the symptom. Sin was the problem. And only Jesus was the answer to that. Living fully under God’s rule would mitigate the need for foreign rule. But that wasn’t the answer they were looking for.

Given that they were nationally unrepentant, especially in the religious leadership – then their responsibility was to yield as fully to the foreign yoke as they could, until God would deliver them in grace. Just as they were called to do when under Babylonian rule. Because of sin, they were in this place where human rule was imposed upon them in judgment. The very same way human government has been established by God all along, due to the fact that men will not live voluntarily under the just rulership of God as individuals. So He ordains human government so as to prevent total anarchy until men’s hearts and minds are ruled by Christ. Until then, we will have to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Is this the ideal and permanent arrangement? No. One day, Christ will rule the nations. But it is what we live under until then.

Now how is that to be lived out by Christians? And the answer, as given here by Jesus, was lived out in principle by Daniel and others during the Babylonian captivity. And the guiding principle appears to be: If the State requires of me anything Scripture expressly forbids, I must refuse; and if the State forbids me to do anything the Scripture expressly requires, I must disobey. Beyond that, I flex as far as I possibly can – recognizing the fact that we are still in some form of exile until Christ returns.

Some will argue, “but what if the State is not acting justly?” This does not mitigate their authority as it is an imposed authority by God. Rome, was a far from just state. But we read of no Christian resistance to the State in general at any time. That is not our domain. Ought we to call out sin and injustice when we see it? Of course. But someone else’s wrong does not dissolve the order automatically. And thankfully, in our present society, we have many forms of redress available to us, those in Jesus’ day and circumstance did not.

The joy is, we do not need to live in constant chaffing. We recognize the temporary place we are in. This is not the end of the story. Christ is coming. All other kingdoms will eventually fall under Him. He will crush them all to dust.

Human government as we know it both a blessing and a chastisement. We must live under it as such. Praying for and hastening unto the Kingdom to come. In due time, all will be made right. Until then, we will often be found living in the cross-hairs as Jesus did. May His Spirit of Wisdom rest on us in the intervening years.

Along the dusty road they walked

On down Emmaus’ way

And tried to fathom all they knew

What others had to say

 

The seven sad and lonely miles

Were filled with anxious talk

Confusion over Jesus’ death

Made heartbreak of the walk

 

In time a Stranger came along

He asked, what weighed them so?

And they rebuked His ignorance

Did He alone not know?

 

That Jesus, out of Nazareth

A prophet strong and true

We thought would redeem Israel

The Kingdom He’d renew

 

But all our priests, and rulers too

Conspired to see Him dead

Finessed the Roman Governor

To murder in their stead

 

And thus they crucified The One

On whom our hopes did rest

We saw Him die in agony

An end, we’d never guessed

 

And now, it is the third day since

Some women we know well

Saw angels at His empty tomb

Who gave them news to tell

 

They came and found a group of us

Told us of their vision

The empty tomb with angels there

Said that He had risen!

 

Upon that news some others ran

To see what this might be

His body surely was not there

But Him they did not see

 

T’was then the Stranger stopped their tale

Rebuked their unbelief

Was it not needed Christ should die,

His glory to receive?

 

From Moses and the prophets then

Interpreting the Word

He showed they were concerning Him

Their doubts were being cured

As they drew near their destined place

The Stranger didn’t slow

But they prevailed He stop with them

The sun had drifted low

 

So He went in to stay with them

And soon came time to dine

But when He blessed and broke the bread

The Son began to shine

 

Their eyes at last were opened up

They saw Him – Jesus raised!

Just then He vanished from their sight

They sat. Undone. Amazed.

 

Oh how our hearts did burn within

They mused about their talk

And how He opened up the Word

As they had made their walk

 

Thus rushing back the seven miles

To Simon and the rest

They heard the Lord appeared to him

And told how they’d been blessed

 

When all at once The Lord appeared

They started, caught by fear

But “Peace to you” He said to them

And bid them to draw near

 

Let not your hearts be troubled now

Don’t let dark doubts arise

Come touch my hands and see the wounds

Believe your own two eyes

 

Agast, they disbelieved for joy

He asked that He might eat

And taking fish confirmed that He

Was real; That it was He

 

Then opening their clouded minds

The Scriptures to unfold

He showed how all was writ of Him

From all the ages old

 

He told that they should preach the news

Worldwide, though starting here

Of sins forgiven in His name

Salvation had come near

 

But wait! He said. My Father’s Gift

The Promise yet to come

The Spirit’s power from on high

That souls might fast be won

Then leading them to Bethany

He blessed them as He went

Ascending up and Heavenward

He left. And they were sent

 

Returning to Jerusalem

Fresh filled with joy so great

They worshiped Him and blessed their God

For Pentecost to wait

Reid A Ferguson 3/30/2024

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Matthew 22:1-14 / “Have it your way”

We now come to the end of this particular exchange with the Jewish leadership at the Temple. In it, Jesus advances a third parable. Their response, will in fact be a living out of the parable’s point – they will seek to disregard His words, and plot His downfall.

Now as is true with all the parables, we must be careful not to force them to walk on all fours. I.e. we must not try to over-strain each detail. The general concepts are what is being majored on, not the minutia.

In the end, there are three main thoughts:

a. God has been sending out invitations to celebrate His Son’s wedding since the proto-evangel in Genesis 3:15. The majority of those who had the most personal of invitations – have responded either with indifference, or outright hostility. Now that the Son has actually come, He has sent to all once again saying: “You knew the day was coming, now it’s here – come and dine. Celebrate My Son with Me.” The overwhelming response was – “no.” And so the King widened the circle of those invited, to include those outside the original circle who had been so favored from the beginning.

Many are the excuses for failure to hear the great invitation of the Gospel.

a. Simple Unwillingness (v3). We just don’t want what you have to offer. We have other things we want more. We want what pleases us more.

b. Indifference (v5). We just don’t care about what you care about. It doesn’t interest us at all. We have no taste for your “food”.

c. Opposition (v6). We utterly oppose you and what you offer. We disdain you and what you have.

d. Self-Determination (v11). We want what you offer, but on our own terms. We are sufficient in ourselves.

Any and all 4 attitudes toward the Gospel bring the same judgment.

Note that the very point of this parable is that there is a prepared sufficiency for a guest list who decline to take advantage of it. The invitation is issued on the basis of what has been made ready. The preaching of the Gospel must always rest on the fact that God has already made every preparation, and that the invitation is personal.

Jonathan Edwards preached: “Come to Christ and accept salvation. You are invited to come to Christ, heartily to close with Him, and to trust in Him for salvation. If you do so, you shall have the benefit of His glorious contrivance. You shall have the benefit of all, as much as if the whole had been contrived for you alone. God has already contrived everything that is needful for your salvation; and there is nothing wanting but your consent. Since God has taken this matter of the redemption of sinners into His own hand, He has made a thorough work of it. He has not left it for you to finish. Satisfaction is already made; righteousness is already wrought out; death and hell are already conquered. The Redeemer has already taken possession of glory, and keeps it in His hands to bestow on them who come to Him. There were many difficulties in the way, but they are all removed. The Savior has already triumphed over all, and is at the right hand of God to give eternal life to His people. Salvation is already brought to your door; and the Savior stands, knocks, and calls that you would open to Him so that He might bring it to you. There remains nothing but your consent. All the difficulty now remaining is with your own heart. If you perish now, it must be wholly at your door. It must be because you would not come to Christ that you might have life, and because you virtually choose death rather than life.” – (Sermon on Matt. 23:37. Quoted from Soli Deo Gloria’s Devotions from the Pen of Jonathan Edwards.)

b. Many of those outside of the original circles will respond favorably, and mindful of the context of a royal wedding will arrive having dressed appropriately. They will seek to honor the King and His Son.

Here is glory of the Gospel unfolded. What others who have been privileged to be the first invitees may discard for whatever their reasons; there are so very many yet whose eyes are opened to the wonder of such grace, and will flock to respond. Prostitutes. Tax collectors. Murderers. Adulterers. Sexually immoral. Thieves. Abusers. The weak and the heavy laden with their sins. Men and women like you and me – from every tribe, tongue, strata of society and unclean in every way – hear a call, recognize it for what it is, and come. Even as the Spirit and the Bride still say come. Come recognize the glory and authority of the King. Come celebrate how His Son has made a Bride who is adorned without spot or wrinkle, washed in the blood of The Lamb. Rejoice in His saving grace and glorious provision for all their lack.

c. Some, having heard the more general invitation, will seek to respond and desire the joy and privileges of a such a celebration, but will try to do so on their own terms. Their thought is not to honor the King or His Son, but to simply get in on the benefits. Such will be cast out.

The object here is that one came in, or tried to, who nonetheless did not want to abide by the terms of being there. As a wedding guest, a wedding garment was appropriate. He did not wish to comply. He wanted to partake of the feast, but on his own terms. And that is unacceptable.

Throughout the Old Testament, God gives very specific instructions regarding how He is to be approached and worshipped. Men were not just free to make up their own minds about what that looked like. So it is we have more than 60 references to unacceptable worship in the “high places.” Places where the Jews built their own shrines. First, ostensibly to worship God nearer to home, to avoid the ardor of Temple worship, and second, those became places of idol worship. As early as Exodus 20 God gives instructions on what kinds of altars they could make and what kind He would not approve. And how each sacrifice had to follow prescribed features or they would not be acceptable.

Acceptable worship is not a matter of personal choice, preference or creativity. We must inquire into who He wants to be worshipped and what that looks like. We must see it first and foremost as honoring The King, and His Son.

We must be clothed in the righteousness of Christ if we are to be partakers of the glories He has for us. We cannot come on our own terms – we must come on His. We must believe His Gospel. We must trust Him as the only sacrifice acceptable to the Father on behalf of our sins. We must follow Him as He calls us. We must love His people, seek His glory, seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, advance His causes and obey Him as Lord.

Certainly, we will fail in doing them all perfectly. Certainly we will need to grow in grace. We will falter at times. Fall at times. Grow weary at times. Doubt at times. But for those who are His, we will seek to live on His terms. To do what is right and fitting as His own, purchased with His blood. We will not balk at the terms and conditions He has set.

From Matthew 21:42-46 / The Cornerstone

We now come to the 3rd portion of Jesus’ exchange with the Jewish leadership in the Temple during His last week.

He has already put forth 2 parables: The first was one regarding who it is that REALLY serves God; those who say “I will” but in the end, do not, and those who at first say “No”, but grow convicted of their sin and at last obey. This, He clearly applies to the tax collectors and prostitutes who heard John’s preaching and repented versus the Jewish leadership who scorned John’s prophetic ministry and wrote him off.

The second was that of the “master of a house” who, after leasing a vineyard to tenants, came looking for His proper yield, but found those who had the care of it rebellious and wanting it all for themselves – even to the point of killing the Master’s son.

He will give yet another in 22:1-14. But even before that one, verse 45 says they got the message. “They perceived that he was speaking about them.”

But moving beyond the parables, Jesus goes on to cite Ps. 118 and brings this down to an actual Scripture prophesy being fulfilled in these very circumstances. He says that He Himself is the “cornerstone” of the Psalm, and that as Isaiah 8 also proclaims, all those who reject Him, will not escape unscathed. And in an unambiguous condemning word tells them plainly that “the kingdom of God will be taken away from YOU and given to a people producing its fruits.” (Emphasis mine)

These are the spiritual leadership of God’s covenant people. And Jesus says they are about to lose the “kingdom” they think they rule over inviolably. The Judaistic system they know, represent and champion, will not be theirs anymore. Something cosmically profound is about to transpire, and it all has to do with rejecting Jesus as the Messiah, the cornerstone upon which God’s Kingdom is truly founded. And if you don’t have the foundation, you don’t have the building either. John will reiterate this in crystal clarity later: “No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.” (1 John 1:23)

And make no mistake here, no one, irrespective of any religious affiliation – Jew or Gentile – has God the Father as their God, if they reject Jesus as God’s Son. No one. There is no ambiguity here. None.

Nothing, nothing could possibly have been more offensive in the moment than for Jesus to say this. That the entirety of God’s kingdom rests upon Him, and not their brand of Judaism.

Now the key issue in this final portion revolves around that Jesus says in vs. 44 “The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

Note first: That some will find taking Jesus as God’s Son and the promised Messiah, simply too much. They will be offended at Him. And in doing so, in stumbling over Him, they will themselves be shattered in due time.

This applies not just to the Jews of Jesus’ day. It is the same problem the Latter Day saints have, and that of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and other Christian cults, as well as Roman Catholicism and all other religions. Men will not yield to Christ His proper place. They will make Him one of many prophets or wise men, or “a” Savior, or a key to salvation to which other things must be added like good works, specific rites and rituals, etc, etc, ad infinitum. But that He alone saves by His atoning work on the Cross? That faith in Him alone is what is needed for one to be reconciled to God? That He is the singular, uncreated Son? That His blood is sufficient, and that alone? His exclusivity, divinity demand of faith in Him and His finished work alone are simply too much. They stumble over Him. And in the end, this will be their destruction. They will be utterly and irreparably – shattered.

Note second: Those who imagine they can sit on the fence regarding Christ, or who simply choose to ignore His person and work and opt either out of religion altogether, or find some other system preferable – will still be shattered. Maybe they didn’t reject Jesus outright, but simply sought a different way. They will not escape either. In due time, on the final day, He will fall on them, even if they did not as others, stumble over Him. It is a most sobering reality. He will one day judge all of mankind. All of mankind.

Everyone must reckon with Him.

Note third: the glory of the Gospel here. First, in that Jesus confronts His detractors with the truth once more. While men breathe, there is still time to repent. Oh that multiplied millions might still even now before His return and it is too late! But even in this moment in the text, they are met with truth. How gracious He is. He could have not engaged them at all, and been perfectly just.

And it is with this Gospel connection that Peter will Jesus as the cornerstone in Acts 4 “let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Peter was gripped by this theme he repeats it again in 1 Pet. 2:6-8 “For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”

And notice how for the Believer, we are reminded that trusting alone in Christ as God’s cornerstone will prove in the end to be certain. We will not be put to shame that we rested all on Him and Him alone. Such certainty belongs to those in Christ.

Paul too will come to the same place when expostulating on the wonder of where trusting Christ brings we Gentiles who were once so far off from the covenants and promises of God: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” (Eph. 2:19-22)

Oh Christian, you stand in the most secure place in all the cosmos when you cast yourself upon Jesus as foundation of all we have and will have in God. He truly is our sure and unshakable cornerstone.

From Matthew 21:33-42 / Seeing The World as it really is.

Continuing Jesus’ challenge to the priests and elders in the Temple, He now puts forth a most ominous parable.

Ominous to those He is confronting, and at the same time, assuring to the regenerate and wonderfully broad in its profound expression of a true, Biblical worldview.

Note first: As we have mentioned already, but what Jesus now puts the finest of points on, the bottom line issue with most (if not all) who reject Jesus is this: They do not want to relinquish personal authority to Jesus. They want to serve self, not anyone else, even God.

We want to be lords over self. More, we want to be lords over everything we cast our eyes upon. But mostly, to usurp the rightful place of God and His Christ. To view our lives, our bodies, our goods, our influence, our all – as solely our own – owning nothing to the one who made us for His pleasure and purposes. The supreme idolatry – self.

If God is out of the picture, if the “heir” is disposed of, then everything which rightly belongs to Him and which He rightfully comes to rule over and receive His just due from – will be ours. This is the damning delusion. That if we erase God from our minds, we will be left alone with what we want.

The failure in this thinking of course is, that all still belongs to God, and someday, He will possess it all again, and those who thought to have it for themselves, will be judged most harshly.

A prime example of how this works is in the world of Psychiatry and Psychology. Think back to the work of Freud for instance. And even though so much of his theories are discarded today, his primary thrust still permeates mental health though. Eliminate guilt. Eliminate it either by convincing oneself that guilt is simply a social construct, or that loving self is our true duty and thus we are to ignore anything which makes us think less of ourselves at all cost, or medicate the conscience by some means. If we owe nothing to anyone above self, we can live guilt free.

And it is a lie. For the guilt remains, there, under the surface. It never really goes away. We just suppress it, along with any true thoughts of God. Or re-make Him so as to not annoy us.

Note second: What a wonder the Gospel is. For in Christ, there is true forgiveness of sin, and a genuine cleansing of the conscience which leaves the Believer free and clean and not needing a false remedy which only masks our sinful guilt.

Christians can run back to the Cross over and over and over and see their just penalty truly paid, not ignored. Justice fulfilled on our behalf. Washing from all our former defilement. And if “we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7). Continual, sweet, cleansing.

No need to re-create reality. No need to ignore the truth about self. No need to try and overthrow God so as to have our own way. Freedom! Freedom from guilt. Freedom from shame. Freedom from walking in blindness to the truth. Freedom. He whom the Son sets free, is free indeed.

Those who have the imaginary freedom of a seared, deceived or medicated conscience – are in the worst of prisons. For they do not even know they are still bound in their trespasses and sins, and still abiding under the wrath of God.

Note third: This most wonderful and wonderfully concise articulation of the Christian and Biblical worldview framework.

God made everything.

God prepared a wonderful world for mankind to inhabit.

God committed the world into the hands of mankind, so as to produce the fruit of what He had begun.

But when God began to demand from us what was rightfully His, we rejected Him.

In His mercy, He sent prophets and teachers and leaders to bring us back to the truth.

Lastly, He sent His own dear Son to receive at our hands His just due. The fruit of His own image created within us.

And we murdered Him, rather than submit to Him and surrender our imagined personal sovereignty.

Thus it is, that in due time, He will judge all for what we have done.

The One we thought we could eliminate – will at last be the very One who is our Judge.

This is the state of affairs, the context in which the world exists.

And this then is the call of the Gospel – repent, and flee to Christ. Own Him as Lord, and He will also be your Savior from the coming wrath. He calls to you today. And if you still have breath in you – it is not too late.

From Matthew 21:28-32 / It’s how we finish that counts

The conversation between Jesus and those challenging Him in the Temple is not done. Jesus is going to go on and deliver 2 parables directly addressing what we’ve already seen – the problem of the obstinance of the unregenerate heart (28-32); the problem of men wanting to keep authority for themselves that belongs only to God and His Christ (33-41); and then a summary of the outcome of remaining this way. It is a powerful rebuke. And at the same time, there is wonderful grace on display.

Note first: Professions of faith and service to God mean nothing, if they are absent obedience to His clear command. And in this case, the command of the Gospel, to repent and believe.

James will build on this vital point in his short epistle. Faith, without works, is dead. And the point isn’t faith simply does good or nice things, but that our works coincide with our profession. Those confronting Jesus here were Israel’s spiritual leadership. But they were deaf to the voice of God speaking to them. Christ had come. The Kingdom had dawned. But they imagined a kingdom that let them rule in place of The King. This will be teased our much more in the 2nd parable.

The bottom line is – If one tells God “I’ll serve you as you desire”, but serves self instead, such a declaration is a damning lie – irrespective of what other “good works” one may wish to attach to it. God gets to dictate how he will be served. We do not get to tell Him.

Parallel to this is God’s indictment in Ezekiel 18. There, God articulates a paradigm which Israel accuses Him of being unjust. “When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. ²⁷ Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. ²⁸ Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. ²⁹ Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?

This strike at the heart of the many public failures in ministry we’ve seen in the past few years. Many have defended those who’ve shown to be secretly living out sinful patterns by saying “but look at all the good they’ve done!” In the end, that is no defense at all. Did they finish in unrepentant sin? Then all their “righteousness” will count for nothing. It is not how we begin, but how we end.

Note second: What good news this principle is for those who hear the Gospel and flock to Christ.

It is not how many years you may have already wasted that truly matters. It is not how long it took you to truly come to Christ. It is not how deeply entrenched in your sin you once were, or how vile and wicked that sin was lived out in the past. That question is – have you heard the Gospel and fled to Him today? Have you owned your sin, come to despise it, sought out Christ for mercy and trusted in His satisfaction for sin now?

The Tax Collectors and Prostitutes did not obey God at first and lived for themselves. But now are hearing the Gospel and obeying – seeking God. The Jews said they would obey, but have refused the Gospel in John, have followed their own way rather than following God. It is not how we begin, but how we finish.

Whatever may be behind you, if you call out to Him for forgiveness and cleansing today – He will hear you. He did not come to save the “righteous”, but sinners. And if that is you, if you know yourself to be the sinner – He says, and Spirit and the Bride (the Church) say – “COME!

From Matthew 21:23-27 / Seeking truth?

The essence of this passage is simple: Truth is not arrived at either by consensus, nor on the basis of expedience. It is arrived at by believing the revelation of God in Christ Jesus.

In both the questions of the chief priests and the elders, and Jesus’ response we come face to face with how it is man will deny the obvious to avoid acknowledging the truth, and being subject to God and His Christ.

In the first question, we are confronted with 2 things.

a. What other authority is needed to do what is right, other than the simple fact that it IS right? Why should Jesus need to justify what is obvious? Because men do not WANT to believe. Not because they can’t, but as in this case, they do not want to. If His detractors were to acknowledge that Jesus was simply doing what ought to be done (restoring the Temple to its rightful operation and cleansing it from defilement) – then they would have to concede that they had failed in their duty. This, they would not do. It would require humility and repentance.

Note first: No one can follow Christ, except they humble themselves regarding their sin, and repent from their evil. If you will not acknowledge your sinfulness, you cannot be saved from it. It is that simple.

b. What is not obvious about the rightness of what Jesus did? Why did His actions even merit questioning?

Note second: People do not believe in God, the Bible nor the Gospel, because they do not want to – not because there is no proof for God. The proof is all around us. Psalm spells it out so clearly. There is a universal obviousness in the creation – that without a sound and in terms which can be understood apart from the need for any spoken language – God MUST be – in all of His genius and power.

In the parable of the wedding feast invitation in Matt. 22 – the issues is the invitees “would not” come, not “could not.” Would not. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” Matt. 23:37.

As Jonathan Edwards argued so cogently, man’s unbelief problem isn’t one of natural inability, as though we have no natural faculty or capacity to believe. The problem is instead a moral inability – an unwillingness to concede the truth. Just as Jesus’ detractors here.

Note third: How Jesus reveals their own twisted motives to them by His question.

Once again, the answer was obvious. But why couldn’t they answer it truthfully? It would be too costly. They would have to humble themselves to admit John was sent from God – and correct in His rebuke of their leadership. And, they would have to explain why they did not heed His message and themselves repent and be baptized.

It wasn’t that John’s mission and message were obscure or invalid – but once again, that they simply did not want to own it. If they did, they would lose their power, prestige and position. That, was too much.

Note fourth: What an amazing this it is that any are saved at all! What a testimony to the wondrous grace of God that by His Spirit He overcomes these obstacles in the human heart, and births faith in them by virtue of the power of the Gospel.

What a wondrous salvation is ours. For the truth is beloved, we resisted the same as those in this passage. But by some miracle, He overcome our resistance. For some reason, known only to Him, He passes by some, leaving them in their unbelief and unwillingness, and in others, extends special grace to rescue us from ourselves.

What a humbling reality then our salvation is. How grateful we ought to be. How amazed that He did not leave you and me in our sins. And how much we need to pray for others, that He will extend that same grace to them – who are no different than ourselves.

How precious is the grace of our Redeemer.

From Matthew 21:18-22 / The Withered Tree

If one only looks at the outward here, and fails to recognize the symbolic in what is being done, the passage will either be lost on us, or we will fall into the trap of imagining that Jesus is all about giving us power to move mountains.

In regard to the latter, we must note that no Apostle, nor did Jesus ever for that fact – move any mountains. Obviously that is not His point. We have a similar problem with many who take the account of Peter walking on the water as a picture of great faith to be emulated in doing the miraculous. It is not. We note for instance that Peter never walked on water again. Nor did any other disciple. Nor did Jesus! These events must all be seen through different eyes. The Scripture is not aimed at making us miracle workers, but at living out the wonder of being Christ’s.

That said, in the account before us – note first: We must see this as a token of the shameless greed of the religious leadership in Israel and Israel’s spiritual condition.

Christ has come to His own. He comes looking for the fruit of what He has poured into them over the centuries – genuine righteousness and faith toward God. And He finds it empty.

In both Jer. 8 and Micah 7, the absence of figs in Israel is a token of its being unfruitful in the Lord, and of judgment. So Micah declares, foreseeing the Babylonian captivity well in advance: “Woe is me! For I have become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the grapes have been gleaned: there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fig that my soul desires. ² The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net. ³ Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together.”

And Jeremiah, referring to the same proclaims: “Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the Lord. ¹³ When I would gather them, declares the Lord, there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree; even the leaves are withered, and what I gave them has passed away from them.”

The Son of man has come looking for what is His, and it is absent.

Bishop Lightfoot notes that such trees produced fruit, some of which took 3 years to grow. For such a tree to be utterly without fruit showed that some were not willing to wait, but wanted to have all they could no matter how out of order. They stripped it bare. They took all they could while they could and rendered it useless to any others.

And Mark reminds us that it was not the season for figs. Yet this is what God does, He comes looking at our lives, which by our “leaves” (our profession of faith) ought to be bearing fruit. Our “leaves”, our profession of being Christ’s, testifies to our association with fruitfulness. We claim to be joined to God through Jesus in the Holy Spirit. But when He finds nothing supernatural about us, that we manifest nothing of His supernatural fruit in the character of Christ – we are cursed.

Note well then that it is no light thing to take the name of Jesus – the name of “Christian” upon ourselves.

James 4:5. He yearns to see what the Spirit’s influence is bringing forth in us.

So “Christian” how has it been the past year? Let me ask as old Richard Baxter did when examining those in his flock each year: Have you grown in love? In joy? In peace? How about in patience, kindness, uprightness, faith/faithfulness, gentleness or self-control? What fruit will you have to accompany your profession of being His if He comes looking for it today? Being out of season (I’m having a bad day) will be no excuse.

In less than a generation, Israel would be subject to its greatest destruction yet, because of its unfruitfulness. What a warning.

Note second: As per Blomberg which mountain “this” is in the passage is the key.

They were on their way to Mt. Zion. And by faith in Christ and the Gospel, the entire Judaic system was about to be overthrown and cast in the sea as it were. And all that is necessary to such ends will be theirs by prayerfully looking to The Father.

The Disciples would have thought it impossible that the Judaism of their day could be overthrown. In truth, they wouldn’t even have a category for such a thought. After all the centuries of battles, struggles, exile, return and survival, could the Gospel really be powerful enough to take away Temple worship and all it embodied?

Indeed, it will be on the very next Pentecost, soon coming, that the glory of the Lord will leave the Holy of Holies, and find His new lodging in the Temple built without hands – in the body of Believers.

And in 70 C.E., the Temple will in fact be no more. Through faith in the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Jews and the Gentiles alike, that “mountain” would indeed be thrown into the sea.

Believing Christ, and in trusting obedience to His call and command – nothing is impossible. Nothing. No sin which cannot be overcome. No trial which cannot be redeemed for our good and His glory. No temptation which cannot be resisted. No Satanic plot which cannot be thwarted. No grave, which will not be forced to yield up the resurrected bodied the saints on the great day. As we pray and trust Him – even death itself will be overcome.

Hallelujah!

From Psalm 139:1-24 / The Believer’s All-knowing, Ever-Present, Able-to-Save – God.

There are various ways to divide this Psalm, many of which bear merit. Let me suggest this one of 7 parts. But when all is said and done, the the main reality stands front and center:

Of this Psalm, Derek Kidner writes: “Any small thoughts that we may have of God are magnificently transcended by this psalm; yet for all its height and depth it remains intensely personal from first to last.1” 1 Kidner, Derek. 1975. Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 16. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

a. We and all our circumstances are fully known by our God in His OMNISCIENCE.

b. We and all our circumstances are under His hand: OMNIPOTENCE.

c. In all of our circumstances, our God is with us: OMNIPRESENCE.

d. This Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent God – Loves us.

Note then:

vss. 1-4 / Our God Knows us us. And David cites this in 3 frames. Vs. 1 is in the past tense. vss. 2-3 are in the present tense. Vs. 4 extends even into the future. He knows all my past, all my present and even what is to come.

Vs. 5 / Our God Directs us. He hems us in, sets limits to our lives. He lays His hand upon us, steers us for good.

Vs. 6 – And when one stops to let this sink in, it is truly overwhelming. How truly great IS this God? Beyond comprehension.

Vss. 7-12 / Our God Pervades everywhere. There is no place the Christian can go, where his or her God is not. No depth of pain or sorrow. No height of joy or elation. When we rise to the heights of success and happiness, He is there.

In the worst of disasters, even on death’s doorstep, He is there.

When we are caught up in things foreign and unfamiliar, daunting, He is there.

In the darkest hours, He is there.

He misses nothing concerning His blood bought ones. He is there.

He is here.

Vss. 13-16 / Our God Created us. We are not cosmic accidents. The products of mere time and chance. And as Andrew Fuller writes: “In this sense it is manifestly to be understood in the passage now under consideration. The human frame is so admirably constructed, so delicately combined, and so much in danger of being dissolved by innumerable causes, that the more we think of it, the more we tremble, and wonder at our own continued existence.1”1 Fuller, Andrew Gunton. 1988. The Complete Works of Andrew Fuller: Memoirs, Sermons, Etc. Edited by Joseph Belcher. Vol. 1. Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications.

Vss. 17-18 / Our God Cares for us, and Superintends our lives. He thinks about us. Incessantly. Contemplates our being and our plights. We are never out of His mind. Never distant from His thoughts and affections. And so it is we wake each new morning, kept through the nights, when we are most vulnerable and helpless. When we are fast asleep and unaware of anything, He who never sleeps nor slumbers is wide awake and observing all with His loving eye.

Vss. 19-22 / Our God Delivers His righteous ones, and Judges the wicked. While we may not perceive it with our own eyes, His righteous hand is always upon us. Who knows the thousands of demonic attacks and Satanic machinations aimed at us which His hand thwarts with unceasing protection? He sees and knows all of their acts too. Make no mistake, a day of reckoning is certain yet to come, when all will stand before His all-seeing eye to give an account of the very thoughts and intents of their hearts. Justice will be meted out to the wicked, as surely as grace will be fully manifested to those in Christ.

Vss. 23-24 / Our God can be Trusted with our whole being. We need never fear His full knowledge of us, because having cleansed us with the blood of His own Son, His examinations can only serve to root out and divest us of the remnants of indwelling sin. So we can trust Him completely with our brokenness. And trust Him in faithfulness to lead us on to the inheritance in Christ He has promised us.

What a God we serve!

From Matthew 21:14-17 / Hosanna!

Note first: As others point out, vss. 14 & 15 are unique to Matthew. There is no question then that he is drawing our attention to something very significant.

As we know, Matthew is bound and determined to prove to his readers who Jesus is in the light of the Old Testament. He has been conquered by the love of the King. Once a “tax-collector” himself, Matthew wants us to know what a forgiving, gracious, merciful Savior Jesus is to the worst of humanity. No one is too wicked for Jesus Christ to save. Sin may have abounded, but in Christ Jesus, grace has abounded infinitely more.

No less than 12 times Matthew tells us that Jesus directly fulfilled Scripture prophecies. Jesus’ lineage establishes Him as a rightful heir to David’s throne. His fulfillment of Scripture establishes Him as the promised Messiah. His resurrection, is to His enthronement.

This Gospel, is all about His kingdom. Matthew exposes us to Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom more than any the Gospel writer. The charge against Him will finally be “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” And so here, as the crowds cry out “Hosanna!” He is appealed to as God’s Messiah – however imperfectly it was that they understood what that meant.

Note second: In Jesus’ day, it was common for the Temple leadership to forbid those afflicted with blindness, deaf mutes, the lame, etc. from offering any kind of sacrifice. They were not allowed to appear before the Lord. Those in Qumran community were even more stringent. So here is Jesus receiving those very ones, and healing them to boot! It infuriated His detractors.

But this is how it is with our Savior is it not? He takes the unclean and the unworthy, and makes us whole by His own touch. He restores us to the right to worship. To come before God again irrespective of how sin and its effects may have disqualified us. It is as though He taking away the flaming sword from the entrance back to the Tree of Life.

This is salvation indeed!

But note the sacrifice He accepts at this very moment – He accepts their praise.

While the word Hosanna means “Lord save” or “Lord help” – by Jesus’ day it had become a simple word of praise to God. He accepts the worship of the deaf, blind, mute and lame, as though they are clean and holy and acceptable. 1 Peter 2:9–10 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

As Hebrews 13:15 says: “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”

I fear we think very little of what a privilege it is to worship God in the aftermath of our Fall in Adam. An entirely new day has dawned, because the Son of David has come. And He has made us worthy.

Note third: Jesus knows full well His time has not yet come. He does not stay in the Temple. He does not try to take His throne yet. He leaves and retires most likely to the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.

The lesson here is how content He is wait upon the Father’s providence. The road ahead is hard, but He’ll take no shortcuts. The way to the throne, is the Cross. And He will not even hint at anything else.

How glorious is this King of ours!