Matthew 21:28-32 - Slow obedience?

21:28-32

There are some who say something like “slow obedience is no obedience, is disobedience”, this parable seems to give the lie to that statement. There are two sons, the first claims to not obey the father, but then does what the father asked, the second says he will obey the Father, but then does not do so. Jesus’ own explanation makes it clear that the point is that the religious types, the supposedly obedient are actually disobedient, for their actions do not measure up with their words, while the “sinners” (tax collectors and prostitutes, people despised by the religious leaders) are actually the obedient ones. The religious leaders refused to repent.

Matthew 21:23-27 - questions of authority

21:23-27

Jesus was causing them problems, so the religious leaders tried another tack, they questioned his authority. What it was and who gave it to Him. They had two problems, one was that God the Father had given him the authority, the other was their own duplicitous behaviour. So Jesus highlighted the second by asking them a question regarding John the baptist.  John was popular, and his message was pointing to Jesus, so if they accepted John the Baptist they had to accept Jesus, if they denied John the Baptist they could be in trouble with the crowds. The religious leaders were in a bind, so they refused to answer the question, and so Jesus refused to answer them.

Authoritarian leaders rarely have as much authority or power as they seem to have.

Matthew 21:12-22 - Sorting things out, temples and fig trees

21:12-17

Jesus was no “soft touch”. He entered the temple and found people buying and selling. He drove these people out. They would be doing this to give pilgrims what they needed for the sacrifices. However, the temple was meant to be a house of prayer, not a “den of robbers”.  The blind and the  lame same to him and He healed them, the temple was then fulfilling its godly function. However the religious leaders were not pleased. For the people and children were praising Jesus. They confronted Jesus about this, and He quoted Psalm 8:2 to them. Jesus then left the temple.

21:18-22

Jesus had a clear view of what the kingdom was about, and confronted any variation from this. Fig trees were meant to bear fruit, but he found one that had nothing but leaves. He then cursed the tree, and the tree immediately withered. The disciples were amazed at how quickly it had withered. Jesus answers by saying we should expect our prayers to be answered. 

Matthew 21:1-11 - Palm Sunday

21:1-3

We now get the triumphal entry. Bethphage means “house of figs”. Two of the disciples were sent to the village to get a donkey and its colt. A donkey was a symbol of peace and humility (Zec 9:9). If anyone questioned them they were to say “The Lord needs them”. Everything that happened was arranged in advance. This does not mean that the participants were mere puppets or actors in a play, they were all responsible human beings. However, there is no contradiction between this and the Lord’s absolute sovereignty.

21:4,5

Matthew, of course, draws attention to how this was all a fulfilment of Scripture, quoting from Zec 9:9. Jesus came gently riding on a donkey. For a long time I found the events of Palm Sunday somewhat incongruous with what was going to happen next. We have the triumphal entry, the gentleness, then a few days later the utter brutality of Easter. How do the two fit together? As always, it is because Jesus is the perfect saviour. As damaged sinners we need the gentleness, but we need much more than that. Something momentous needs to be done about our sin and the wrath we are by nature under. Jesus is that perfect saviour.

21:6-11

The disciples did as they had been instructed. Cloaks were placed on the donkey, and we know from Mark and Luke that Jesus sat upon the colt. The crowds spread their cloaks and palm leaves on the road. This was a sign of homage and welcoming for the king. They then shouted Hosanna to the Son of David. So they praised the king as well, expecting salvation from Him. So we have this picture of the king being welcomed and praised, yet a few days later He is nailed to a cross. The reception Jesus received on this day was the reception He should have received, it was the rightful reception. The treatment He received a few days later was not what He should have received, yet it was what was planned all along, it was the reason He came. We need to be rescued.

Matthew 20:20-34 - A lack of understanding

20:20,21

The mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to ask if they could sit at His right and left hands in His kingdom. Mark has it that James and John themselves asked. What is likely is that they put their mother up to the task. On the plus side at least they now realised that Jesus was coming into His kingdom, even despite the cross. However, they had clearly not grasped the part about the first and last etc.

20:22,23

Moreover, the two disciples hadn’t a clue what they were actually asking for. His glory was on the cross, and they were in effect asking to be on the crosses either side of Jesus! That was certainly not what they intended. And Jesus told them that they did not know what they were asking for. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”. Then we get another surprise. In their present state they certainly were not able to share in Christ’s sufferings, but soon they would. James would be the first martyred, John would live to old age, but suffer much along the way. And Jesus would enable them to do this. However, they would not be on the other two crosses. The occupants of these two places had already been chosen by the Father. The cross was a planned event.

20:24-27

The other ten were indignant when they learned what had happened. However, Jesus had a lesson for all twelve of them. They were not to lord it over each other like the Gentiles high officials did. In the world people like to get to high positions, and when there to advertise the fact that they have “made it”. We are not to be like that. Reaching a high position is not the ultimate goal in life. If we do reach a high position  we are not to use it to achieve our own ends, we are not to stress any supposed superiority over others. Instead we are to live as servants. It is to be our aim to serve others. And if we do find ourselves in a position of authority we are to lead as servants.

20:28

Jesus then points to Himself as the supreme example of this. He came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. Now we take this “ransom” part too far. Jesus is simply saying that He gave His life and this has set us free. Some ask “who was the ransom paid to?” This is taking things too far, especially if they talk about paying a ransom to the devil. God did not pay a ransom to the devil! The price that was paid was the taking the punishment that should have been ours.

20:29,30

As usual a large crowd followed Jesus as they were going out of Jericho. Mark (Mark 10:46) and Luke have one blind man, Matthew mentions two. Matthew does not name either of them, while Mark does name one, Bartimaeus. It may be that there were two, but one of them was known to the disciples (or at least to Mark). The supposed difference in accounts may be no difference at all, so I do not propose to worry about it! They cried out to Jesus, “Have mercy on us Lord, So of David!”.

20:31-34

The crowd told them to keep quiet, but the blind men cried out all the more. They knew that they had the chance of being healed, so they were not going to be put off by the crowds. This was their chance! Jesus responded to them, asking them what they wanted. Jesus will respond to people that we think He should not respond to. The blind men asked Jesus to give them their sight back. Jesus gave them what they wanted, and they were immediately healed. Notice that Matthew gives a truncated account, compared to Mark and Luke.

Matthew 20:1-19 - Thank goodness God is generous"

20:1-16

The gospel is based on the grace of God. Sometimes this means that people will appear to be unfairly blessed in some way. So Jesus tells a parable explaining how the kingdom works. All the workers got what they were promised, those who had worked all day and those who had started much later. The owner had the right to pay whatever he liked, in the same way God is free to bless however he wants. “Are you envious because I am generous?” Thank goodness God is generous!.

20:17-19

On His way to Jerusalem, Jesus tells His disciples about His impending death and resurrection. Note He will be handed over to the religious leaders and the Gentiles.

Matthew 19:16-30 - Wealth

19:16-20

Jesus continues to react differently than our preconceptions might imply. We now have a rich man who comes to Jesus. He seems to know that he still lacks something, so asks how he can get eternal life. It seems that he thinks he has to earn it, for he asks what good thing must he do. Jesus  points out that there is only one who is good. So if he wants to be like God he has to obey the commandments. The man looks for further clarification, so Jesus reminds him of the ten commandments. The man thinks he has kept all these, but realises there must be something missing.

19:21,22

Jesus knew the idol that the man had, wealth. In order to be perfect, or complete, he needed to sell his possessions and give to the poor. Then he would have treasure in heaven. The man was not willing to do this and went away sad.

19:23-26

The disciples were shocked, they associated wealth with God’s favour, Jesus tells them that it is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom. Wealth is deceptive and can capture our hearts. However, it is not impossible, God can save anyone.

19:27-30

Peter pipes up as usual, the disciple had left everything and wondered if it was worth it. Jesus assures them that it is definitely worth it.

Matthew 19:13-20 - Eternal life

19;13-15

Further teaching comes in the reaction to little children. The parents wanted Jesus to bless the children, but the disciple saw them as a nuisance. Jesus wanted to bless them. We need to realise that Jesus, and therefore God, often wants to bless more than we do. In fact the kingdom belongs to those who we might be inclined to reject.

19:16-20

Jesus continues to react differently than our preconceptions might imply. We now have a rich man who comes to Jesus. He seems to know that he still lacks something, so asks how he can get eternal life. It seems that he thinks he has to earn it, for he asks what good thing must he do. Jesus  points out that there is only one who is good. So if he wants to be like God he has to obey the commandments. The man looks for further clarification, so Jesus reminds him of the ten commandments. The man thinks he has kept all these, but realises there must be something missing,

Matthew 19:1-12 - Marriage and Divorce

19:1-3

Jesus then left for Judea. Large crowds continued to follow Him.The Pharisees continued to seek to trap Jesus. In the meantime Jesus had healed many people.The Pharisees asked if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason.The background to this was Deut 24:1-4, where Moses said a man had to give a divorced wife a certificate.

19:4-8

Jesus points them back to the beginning in Genesis.God intended marriage to be lifelong. Now look at how different the interpretation of this verse by Jesus is, compared to that of the Pharisees. Jesus tells us that God gave this because “our hearts are hard”. He also says Moses “permitted” divorce. The Pharisees saw it as a command. So the ideal if 19:4-6 stands and is the guiding principle, the one we are to seek to live by. But because we are sinners sometimes divorce will happen, sometimes may even be necessary. So the Law was given to ameliorate the consequences, to give the wife some protection. The Pharisees saw it as a way of life! They saw divorce as part of the normal course of events. The sinful heart will twist every good law to evil purpose. We see this with secular laws, especially in the area of finance. 

19:9

Jesus now tells us that “anyone who divorces his wife, except for adultery, and marries another woman commits adultery.” If we read this as a rule about divorce and remarriage we are missing the point. The liberal group on divorce, the “burn the toast” sect were doing this: If they fancied another woman, then they would give their current wife a certificate of divorce for some reason or other, then marry the other woman, claiming all the while to be following the Law of Moses and so they were a good Jew. Absolute nonsense, you are an adulterer, says Jesus. The human heart is deceitful above all things and will twist anything round to turn good into evil.

19:10-12

The disciples were, evidently, infected by the spirit of the age, seeming to think that the lifelong commitment of marriage was not such a good idea after all. How can two people possibly be happy together forever? We need to beware of being infected by the spirit of the age. “This teaching is not meant for everyone”. Jesus does not mean that marriage as a lifelong relationship is only applicable to some marriages. What He means is that not everyone will get married. He mentions some who were born eunuchs and some who were made eunuchs. Now this includes physical eunuchs, but I believe we can give it a wider application. There some for whom marriage may well be impossible for reasons from birth, disabilities of some sort or other (of course, not all disabilities make marriage impossible, far from it). For others the circumstances of life will just mean it never happens, sometimes for definite reasons, sometimes for no discernible reason, it just never happened. Then there will be those who renounce marriage for the sake of the kingdom.

I have written two longer discussions of the practical implications on Jesus’ teaching on divorce:

Mark 10:10-12 - Adultery and divorce - Part 1

Mark 10:10-12 - Adultery and Divorce - Part 2

Matthew 18:15-35 - Forgive others

18:15-20

Jesus is totally realistic and knows that sin will take place in the church, so here he gives instruction on how it is to be dealt with. The aim is not to condemn people but to restore them, but this depends on the sinner having a penitent attitude. So the sinner is to be given a chance to repent. First the person is to go to the sinner and point out their sin. This is to be done privately, the aim is  not to humiliate the brother. If he repents then he has been won over. If that fails, then go with one or two others, given  further chance. If that fails the matter is to be brought before the whole church. If the sinful brother still refuses to listen, only then is he to be treated as a pagan or tax collector.

We naturally feel wary of judging people, but Jesus assures them that if a proper procedure is followed with a proper heart attitude, then God is with them.

18:21-35

The section finishes with another parable, one reminding them that we are all forgiven sinners, and that should colour our attitude at all times. Forgiveness was considered something of a shocking thing, but that is only when we forget that we are all forgiven sinners. Note that the debt of hundred silver coins (or denarii) was not an insignificant amount, only in relation to the man’s own forgiven debt. We are forgiven sinners so we should be a forgiving people.

Matthew 18:1-14 - A new heart

18:1-5

The disciples still have much to learn, and the next lesson is about to happen. The disciples asked Jesus “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Why did they ask this at this point, was it because Jesus has seemed to denigrate the religious leaders, the ones who they might have assumed were the top notch in the kingdom.

Jesus tells them that they need a radically different approach. They needed to welcome people who were considered to be of no importance, and could offer no immediate benefit. So He uses the example of a little child. The disciples needed to change.

18:6-9

As well as welcoming the undervalued, they needed to be careful not to cause them to stumble. The Pharisees were very strict, and Jesus has seriously criticised them. However that did not mean that sin was not serious, and needed to be dealt with seriously. Sin is serious.

18:10-14

Sometimes the weak would wander, in such a case we are not just to write them off, but to make an effort  to restore them. So he gives the parable of the lost sheep. God wants to save the lost.

MATT 17:22-27 - Fishing for money

17:22,23

Jesus reminds them yet again that He is going to suffer, be killed and then rise again. Since He has shown them His glory He is emphasising the cross all the more. Note that although He has mentioned His death and resurrection, it is His death that seems to be what His disciples are focused on. The concept of resurrection meant nothing to them, but death did, so they were filled with grief.

17:24-27

The mundane realities of life continue to hit them. Now they are asked for the temple tax. Peter tells Jesus what happened. Jesus replies that it is ridiculous for the children of the king to be asked for taxes. Even so, Jesus pays the tax, using miraculous means, with the money being supplied by a fish. So they are aware of the true situation and status, but also not causing unnecessary offence. 

Matthew 17:14-21 - Moving mountains

17:14-20

The disciples are quickly brought back down to earth. When they get back down to the crowd a man approaches Jesus pleading with him to have mercy on his son. The boy was having seizures, but the disciples had been unable to heal him.Jesus is frustrated with them, it seems that He is frustrated with the crowd as much as the disciples, calling them an “unbelieving and perverse generation. The implication is that Jesus expects us to see more miracles than we do. Jesus rebuked the demon and the boy was healed at once.

The disciples ask Jesus why they could not drive it out. Jesus tells them it is because of their lack of faith. He then says if they have faith as small as a mustard seed they can move mountains. It is not that we need enormous amounts of faith, just a little.

Some manuscripts are similar to Mark 9:29, adding that prayer, or prayer and fasting is needed.

Matthew 17:9-13 - Elijah

17:9

Jesus tells them not to tell anyone about what they had seen until He had been raised from the dead. Jesus only gave this vision to them after He had told them about his death and resurrection. We can only understand the glory of Christ after we understand the cross.

17:10-13

The disciples asked Jesus why the religious teachers said Elijah must come first. This was based on Malachi 4:5. This also explains why they were concerned about John the Baptist.  Jesus says they are right, but Elijah has already come, i.e. John the Baptist, but they did not recognise him. John suffered, Jesus would also suffer.

Matthew 17:1-8 Transfirgured

17:1-3

In John’s gospel chapter 17 we get Jesus’ prayer for himself, his disciples and for us. Here we have another personal insight into Jesus. He has just told His disciples about his suffering that is to come, now he gives more insight, this time into His glory, The suffering and the glory go together. He takes Peter, James and John up a high mountain, there Jesus was transfigured before them. His face shone and his clothes became white as light. Next, Moses and Elijah appeared with him. So there are two key elements here, one is His glory, the other is that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament stuff.

17:4-8

True to form, Peter blurts something out, offering to put up three shelters. He wanted to preserve the moment. God the Father then tells them what the most important thing is, namely to listen to Jesus. Jesus is the fulfilment of Deut 18:15. The disciples fell down at the presence of God. Jesus tells them to not be afraid and to get up. They did and Jesus was the only one present.

Matthew 16:21-28 - Get behind me Satan!

16:21-28

Jesus then starts to tell His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer much. Peter is appalled at the idea and tries to dissuade Jesus from this path. Note that one minute having received revelation from God, the next minute Peter is speaking the words of Satan. We must never get full of ourselves. Jesus knew it was Satan trying to get him. Jesus  then tells the disciples that not only must He suffer, but they too must be prepared to suffer. Currently they do not appreciate the enormity of what is happening and about to happen.

Mtthew 16:13-20 - Who do you say I am?

16:13-20

This is one of the most well known passages in Matthew, containing the key question “who do you say I am?”, and is often used as the basis for evangelistic talks. Jesus starts by asking the disciples “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”. The people had various ideas, some saying he was John the Baptist, others saying Elijah, and some Jeremiah or one of the prophets. All these were wrong, possibly based on a misunderstanding of  John the Baptist’s teaching.. \even though they were wrong, they recognised that Jesus was special. Jesus then turns the question directly at the disciples. Peter immediately replies “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”. Jesus replies that Peter was right and was blessed, also that this wisdom did not depend upon human wisdom, but on revelation from God the Father. “On this rock”, the church is built upon the truth of who Jesus is. If we try to build on any other foundation we will be building on sand. This includes things like Jesus was a good man and teachers, or the “foundation” of loving people. The church built upon the truth of who Jesus is will not be defeated, not even by death. The church will also have authority, because it will be walking in the will of God. Jesus does not want them to publicise this knowledge yet.

Matthew 16:1-12 - Not bread

16:1-4

The Pharisees and Sadducees again come and demand a sign. Jesus answers by pointing out the perverse they were. They had seen quite enough to provide all the proof that was needed. They could read the weather, but could not understand what was before their eyes. They were a "wicked and adulterous” generation. The issue they should have been concerned about was the state of their hearts. The sign to come would be the resurrection of Jesus, but even that would do them no good.

16:5-12

The disciples were not much brighter. Jesus warned them to beware of having the same mindset as the Pharisees and Sadducees, but they thought he was talking about bread. Jesus reminds them of the two feeding miracles, Jesus was concerned about something much more important. Then the disciples finally understood.

Matthew 15:1-39 - Faith

15:1-20

The Pharisees and teachers of the Law continued to try and catch Jesus out, using his disciples as the “weak” point. However, they betrayed their fundamental failure, they focused on externals. So they raised the matter of hand washing.

Jesus immediately turned the tables on them, drawing attention to how they broke the law of God. They had found a “clever” way of getting round the command to look after our parents. Jesus quotes from Is 29:13, their supposed honouring of God was nothing but a sham.

Jesus then turns to the crowds and teaches them the truth. \it is what is inside our hearts that defiles us. The disciples realised how offensive this was to the religious leaders. Jesus responds that they were blind guides and would be rejected by God. They were not the people to fear or listen to. Our hearts are the problem.

15:21-28

The legalism of the Pharisees is contrasted with the faith of a Canaanite woman. She comes to Jesus because her daughter is ill and is demon possessed. The disciples saw her simply as a Canaanite woman, someone who was not part of Israel, if anything, an enemy of Israel, so they urged Jesus to send her away. Initially Jesus seems to go along with this request, telling the woman that his mission was to the Jews. However, the woman is not easily put off, Jesus commends her faith and heals her daughter.

15:29-39

We now get another feeding miracle, this time four thousand people. The crowds followed Him as always, and many were healed.. The disciples seem to have learnt nothing from the previous incident, and urges Jesus to send the people away. Once again all were fed with ample left over.

Matthew 15:1-20 - The heart of the matter

15:1-20

The Pharisees and teachers of the Law continued to try and catch Jesus out, using his disciples as the “weak” point. However, they betrayed their fundamental failure, they focused on externals. So they raised the matter of hand washing.

Jesus immediately turned the tables on them, drawing attention to how they broke the law of God. They had found a “clever” way of getting round the command to look after our parents. Jesus quotes from Is 29:13, their supposed honouring of God was nothing but a sham.

Jesus then turns to the crowds and teaches them the truth. \it is what is inside our hearts that defiles us. The disciples realised how offensive this was to the religious leaders. Jesus responds that they were blind guides and would be rejected by God. They were not the people to fear or listen to. Our hearts are the problem.

Matthew 14:22-36 - Out for a walk

14:22-36

Having done one miracle, we then see another. Jesus dismissed the crowds after they had been fed and told the disciples to head to the other side of the lake by boat, He himself went up a mountainside to pray.  A storm got up on the lake and Jesus walked out to them.The disciples thought it was a ghost, not expecting a man to walk on water,. Jesus assured them that it was him, and for a time Peter also walked on the water, but then realising what he was doing he began to sink. Jesus reached out and caught him.  May be we can take this as an indication that if we set out to do something for Jesus, and then things start to get difficult He will reach out to us.They were amazed at Jesus, saying “truly you are the Son of God.. They reached the other side, and were met by more crowds.

Matthew 14:1-21 - Feeding time

14:1-12

Herod the tetrarch had had John the Baptist beheaded. However, he felt guilty and knew that he had done wrong, so he thought that Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead, and now with miraculous powers. John had called our Herod’s sin. He had taken Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. Herodias was as guilty as he was, and she saw and took the opportunity to have John killed. John’s disciples knew thatJohn had been preaching about Jesus, so they told Jesus what had happened.

14:13-21

The miracle of the feeding of the five thousand is contained in all the gospels. Jesus withdrew to a solitary place, after hearing the news of John, but the crowds followed Him. Jesus had compassion on them and healed the sick. Note that while the healings were a sign, they were also done out of compassion for people. The disciples saw a practical problem, how to feed the people, and saw the only solution was to send the crowds away. Jesus saw a different solution. So He got the disciples to organise the people. There was enough for everyone, and twelve baskets of left overs were collected.

Matthew 13:44-58 Still more parables

13:44-46

There are more parables to come. This one shows how determined we should be to find the kingdom. The man in the parable sells all he had to buy the pearl, and was glad that he had.

13:47-52

Jesus returns to the end of days, stressing that there will be a judgement. It can seem that justice is not done, but there will come a time when judgement is done. The angels will separate the good from the bad.

13:53-58

Jesus then moves on and explains that “a  prophet is without honour in his own town”. This worked out in his not doing many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Matthew 13:24-43 - More parables

13:24-30

Jesus then tells them another parable, this time the parable of the weeds. Some might have wondered why God doesn’t just zap all the bad people. This parable explains why.They might have wondered where the bad folk had all come from. The Law was good, how come then that there is so much evil? Jesus explains that the enemy had sown the weeds. Having accepted this the natural reaction was to pull up all the weeds. Jesus’s answer to this suggestion is no, because they might also uproot the good stuff as well. God is concerned with saving as well as judging. But there would come a time of distinction, this would happen at harvest time, then the weeds would be collected and burned, the wheat would be gathered in.

13:31-35

Jesus tells yet another parable, or rather two parables, about the mustard seed and the yeast. The kingdom can seem to be small and inconsequential, but like the mustard seed it grows into the largest of garden plants, and the birds nest in it. Like yeast, it works its effects through everything. Matthew then quotes from Psalm 78:2, showing that in speaking in parables Jesus is fulfilling the Scriptures.

13:36-43

The disciples asked Jesus to explain the parable of the weeds. The key difference between the disciples and the religious leaders is that the disciples were willing to learn from Jesus. The same applies to us. We will not understand everything, but when we don’t we do not decide that God is wrong, but ask Him to instruct us. There will be a final reckoning.

Matthew 13:24-30 - Parable of the weeds

13:24-30

Jesus then tells them another parable, this time the parable of the weeds. Some might have wondered why God doesn’t just zap all the bad people. This parable explains why.They might have wondered where the bad folk had all come from. The Law was good, how come then that there is so much evil? Jesus explains that the enemy had sown the weeds. Having accepted this the natural reaction was to pull up all the weeds. Jesus’s answer to this suggestion is no, because they might also uproot the good stuff as well. God is concerned with saving as well as judging. But there would come a time of distinction, this would happen at harvest time, then the weeds would be collected and burned, the wheat would be gathered in.

Matthew 13:10-23 - Parable of the sower

13:1-9

“The same day”, the same day as the dispute over the Sabbath, the same day as he has been accused of using demonic power. Jesus got into a boat and spoke to the people. Speaking from a boat on the lake would allow his voice to carry better. Despite the Pharisees the people still wanted to hear Jesus. He spoke to them in parables and told them the now famous parable of the sower. The key point for them was “whoever has ears, let them hear”. If God enables us to believe and understand what Jesus says we must make the most of it.

13:10-17

The disciple wondered why he didn't use a more direct form of teaching. Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6:9,10. When Matthew used Isaiah to explain what Jesus was doing he was following the method that Jesus used. The religious leaders would never understand because their hearts had become calloused. He finishes by telling the disciples that they are blessed because they could see and hear. It is a truly blessed thing to be able to understand the words of Jesus. 

13:18,19

Jesus now explains to the disciples what the parable of the sower meant. So in order to have ears that hear and eyes that see we need Jesus, it is not dependent upon our own abilities. So when people hear but do not understand Satan comes and snatches the message away. They discard the message. Note that it was “sown in their hearts”, the message needs to go deeper, it need some response from us.

13:20-23

Some receive the message with joy. So outwardly there seems to be a great response, but in reality there is no depth, the message has not taken root. So when trouble or persecution comes they fade away. The third group are those who do hear the word and it does take root, but gets crowded out by the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth. These things choke the word, and so it is unfruitful. All this seems pretty miserable, but then there is the seed that falls on good soil. These are people who hear the message and do understand it. Such people produce abundant fruit. 

We can look at this parable as a tale of what happens to the word, or we have all seen the range of responses that Jesus talks about. Or we can look at it in terms of the nature of the person hearing the word, and making sure that we seek to understand things properly and deeply, not at a shallow level, and that we are wary of things crowding out the word of God.

Matthew 12:33-50 - The heart ofthe matter

12:33-37

The Pharisees were concerned with externals, Jesus cared about the heart of the matter. The Pharisees, along with every other human, were fundamentally sinful, that is our basic problem, and unless that root issue is addressed nothing good can come from us. The mouth reflects the nature of the heart. Today we may be able to hide the matter, to fool some people, but there will come a day of judgement when all will have to give an account, and all will be clear.

12:38-45

The Pharisees demanded a sign, this may seem rather odd, surely Jesus has done enough signs! But they wanted “proof” that He was indeed the one Moses had spoken about. Jesus condemns them, calling them “a wicked and adulterous generation”. He then foretells his resurrection. This generation would be condemned by the men of Nineveh (the people Jonah was sent to). They repented at Jonah’s preaching, but the Pharisees were utterly unresponsive. The Queen of the South would condemn them as well, for she listened to Solomon’s wisdom. The Pharisees were proud of themselves, of how “righteous” they were, but they failed to listen to the Son of God.

Jesus then speaks about the impure Spirit, perhaps he is foretelling the AD70 destruction of Jerusalem. Whatever the case, the Pharisees did not realise what a perilous state they were in.

12:46-50

Jesus’ family were little better, they thought he was mad. Jesus then states that it is  obedience to His Father that is the most important thing.

Matthew 12:25-32 - Speaking against the Holy Spirit

12:22-24

A demon-possessed man was then brought to Jesus, the man was blind and mute, Jesus healed him and the people were amazed. They wondered if he was the Son of David, i.e. the promised Messiah. The Pharisees had a different agenda, they were not interested in the man being healed, so they claimed that it was only by the power of the prince of demons that Jesus could drive out demons.

12:25-29

Jesus knew their thoughts and pointed out the logical nonsense in their claims. Why would Satan drive out Satan? The religious leaders also claimed to be able to drive out demons, by what power did they manage it? Jesus did drive out demons, and it meant the kingdom of God was near. Moreover it made perfect sense, for to “plunder his house”, i.e. to set people free the strong man has to be bound up first.

12:30-32

The religious leaders were treading on very dangerous ground. For they were blaspheming against the Holy Spirit and would not be forgiven.The “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” is one of the most difficult phrases because Jesus says it is the unforgivable sin. So let’s try and take a careful look at the matter. What is the context? What has Jesus just been talking about? The context is the work of the Spirit being attributed to Satan. We should also note that this is not a casual attribution, it is the underlying presupposition of the Pharisees approach, not simply making a mistake. Now, what happens if we deliberately and firmly attribute the work of God as being the work of Satan? We will deny Christ, for the primary work of the Holy Spirit is to bear witness to Jesus. It has often been said that if we are worried that we might have committed the unforgivable sin then that is a sign that we haven’t, for it indicates that there is still some sensitivity in our hearts, we have not been hardened to the point of no hope.

Jesus now says that speaking against the Son of Man (i.e. speaking against Himself) can be forgiven, but speaking against the Holy Spirit will not. He even makes the point stronger by saying there will be no forgiveness in this life nor the next. Why is speaking against the Holy Spirit so important? Maybe it is something like this. When someone is presented with Jesus, or we hear some teaching about Jesus, we may reject it or react against it just out of the dullness or blindness of our minds. “Forgive them for they do not know what they are doing”. When the Holy Spirit works in our lives He opens our minds to the truth of God, so if we reject that we are deliberately and knowingly rejecting the truth. So in the one case we sin out of ignorance (it is still sin), in the other we sin knowing and seeing the truth.

Matthew 12:15-21 - God's chosen servant

12:15-21

Jesus knew that they were out to get him, so he withdrew. Jesus was not afraid of conflict, but neither was He reckless. The crowds followed Him, and He healed all of them. He also warned them not to tell others about HIm. Matthew then quotes from Isaiah 42:1-4 to explain what was happening. Matthew sees Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament, and so the OT helps to illuminate and explain what Jesus did. First Jesus was God’s chosen servant, and God delights in Him, even if the religious leaders of the day did not. He was anointed with God’s Spirit,and He proclaimed justice to the nations. Ultimately His mission was not to Israel alone, although it started in Israel. He would not be  a loud brawler (not a Trump-like figure!) He would treat the injured gently, He would bring justice through victory. The nations would put their hope in Him. It is significant how much of Isaiag that Matthew quotes.

Matthew 12:1-14 - Sabbath Controversies

12:1-14

The Sabbath was the focus of many of the disputes between Jesus and the Pharisees. That the Sabbath was important is beyond doubt, it features in the ten commandments, and figures in several prophetic announcements.However the Pharisees had completely missed the point and had surrounded it with a myriad of regulations. Jesus understood the Law better than they did. The disciples were picking ears of grain from the edge of fields, now this was allowed under the Law, but they were doing this on the Sabbath, which was what offended the Pharisees, or gave them an excuse to get Jesus, or so they thought. So they tell Jesus that His disciples are breaking the Law. Jesus points them to the incident in Samuel when David and his companions ate the consecrated bed. The Pharisees were oblivious to what was really happening, they did not realise that the Messiah was here. Their general approach to the Law was also completely wrong, mercy, not sacrifice, was the pivotal point, and mercy was not the Pharisee’s strong point. Jesus also declares that he was Lord of the Sabbath.

A second incident arises almost immediately. Jesus came across a man with a shrivelled hand, the Pharisees saw another chance to “get” Jesus. But again Jesus points to the Law, it was explicitly stated that a sheep could be rescued on the Sabbath, so it was definitely right to rescue a man, It was lawful to do good on the Sabbath. So Jesus healed the man. The Pharisees responded in typical manner by plotting to kill Jesus.

Matthew 11:16-30 - God's choice

11:16-19

Jesus then gives judgement on the people. The people are obtuse, they complained about John because he was so austere, saying he had a demon, then they complained about Jesus eating and drinking, saying he was a “glutton and a drunkard”, and “a friend of tax collectors and sinners”. We should be glad that He was a friend of tax collectors and sinners, because then he might be a friend of ours. “Wisdom is proved right by her deeds”, the results will show that Jesus is right.

11:20-24

It wasn't just that the people were wrong, there is now judgement on  chorazin and Bethsaida. If Tyre and Sidon (area named in the prophets) had seen the miracles they would have repented. Some people can poo-poo miracles, but in the gospels they are seen as a legitimate proof of the reality of Jesus, they are seen as a reason that we should believe. Capernaum is also rebuked, being told they are worse than Sodom.

11:25-30

The religious leaders and Pharisees had a high opinion of themselves, but the gospel has been revealed to “the little children” i.e. to the humble and those considered to be of little account. We should expect the rejected to receive the gospel, because God chooses to reveal it to them. Jesus makes claims about himself, He is the only way to the Father. Then He calls  the weary and burdened, He will give us rest. The religious types laid burdens on people, Jesus gives us rest for our souls.

Matthew 11:7-15 - Listen!

11:7-15

Jesus then speaks to the crowds. People can be fickle, and they need to realise what they are thinking , why they are thinking it, and to get their ideas sorted out. Why were they interested in John? Was it to see a reed swayed by the wind, i.e. someone with no convictions of their own (like so many politicians). Was it to see a rich man? Or was it to see a prophet? They did recognise that John was somehow or other speaking God’s word. Jesus tells them that John was more than a prophet, he was fulfilling the words of Malachi 3:1. But John was great, but was only the messenger, what and who he was pointing to was what really mattered. The people needed to decide their own attitude to Jesus and the Kingdom of God.The miracles and the healings showed that the kingdom was advancing forcibly. Jesus identifies John with Elijah who was spoken of in Malachi. These days were crucial and people needed to listen.

Matthew 11:1-6 - Hold fast to the faith

11:1-6

Teaching was a key aspect of Jesus’ ministry, so after instructing the twelve disciples He went on to teach the people.. The people knew about John the Baptist, indeed John had been popular among the people. John was now in prison, and sent his disciples to inquire of Jesus if He indeed was the Messiah. John must have expected a more immediate and dramatic change when the Messiah came.

Jesus' reply was to point to what He was doing, what do they see and hear? They see the blind receiving sight, the lame walking, the lepers being cleansed, the deaf hearing, the dead being raised. Jesus then gives John what is a botha mild rebuke and an encouragement, “blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me”, John is encouraged to hold fast to his faith,a

Matthew 20:37-42 - Putting Christ above all

10:37-39

We must love Jesus more than our own family. Following Jesus means taking up our cross, being prepared to be utterly rejected by the world. Saving our life means we will lose it, losing it for Christ’s sake means we will find it.

10:40-42

If people welcome us as Christ’s disciples means they welcome Jesus. Helping Christ’s disciples, even in the smallest way, is very important. Our attitude towards Christ is vital.

Matthew 10:24-36 - Be realistic

10:24-31

Jesus suffered opposition, so the disciples would suffer opposition. Jesus was accused of being Beelzebub, so would the disciples. Do not be afraid is the command on how to respond to persecution. Eventually everything will be brought out into the open. We are to openly proclaim the gospel, the natural temptation is to keep things secret because of fear, but we must resist this. They can only kill the body, we should have more regard for the one who “can destroy both body and soul in hell”. Then we are reminded that we are precious to God. So here we see the importance of having a proper fear concern, and knowing that God cares for us.

10:32-36

We should be concerned about Jesus acknowledging us before God. How wonderful if we hear Him say, “He is mine, I know him”, how terrible if we hear him say “I never knew him”. 

The naive religious type has a totally unrealistic view of life,  and thinks Jesus is all about being “nice”. These verses give the lie to such unthinking notions. We need to be prepared to lose our life.

Matthew 10:16-25 - Opposition

10:16-20

Jesus does not have any illusions about the situation they are going into, they are being sent out like sheep among wolves. They are not to be naive, but as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as wolves. They would face persecutions, the promise is not that they will not face these things, but that the spirit would speak through them.

10:21-23

The warnings continue, there is no sugar coating. They would face opposition even from their own families. When persecution happens they were to flee. 10:23 is somewhat enigmatic. It could refer to the second coming, but that does not seem to fit the facts. Others take is as referring to AD 70 when Rome crushed Jerusalem.

10:24,25

Jesus suffered opposition, so the disciples would suffer opposition. Jesus was accused of being Beelzebub, so would the disciples.

Matthew 10:1-15 - Sent out

10:1-8

God prefers to work through people. In Genesis he told man to fill and subdue the earth, now He sends out the disciple to do His work. So Jesus gave the disciple authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and illness.  The disciples are then named. Later they would go all over, but for now their mission was limited to Israel, they were not to go among the Gentiles or Samaritans. They were to go to the lost sheep of Israel. They were to proclaim that “the Kingdom of heaven has come near”. They were to heal the sick and cast out demons “Freely you have received; freely give”.

10:9-15

This was a training mission, so they were to depend upon the Lord, trusting that God would provide. Often this would come through people, if someone welcomed them, they were to stay at that house, and to bless that home. While some will oppose, others will help, that is the way it is.\if someone does not welcome us we are to just accept it and move on. God will take care of that place on the day of judgement.