#1304 Matthew 22 Part 3 Present Tense

 

23 The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. 26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh. 27 After them all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.”

29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching. Matthew 22: 23-33 ESV

Matthew 22: 23-33

The same day Sadducees came to Him - These were a sect of very liberal, "modernist" Jews, who would have also sat opposite the Pharisees in most discussions politically and morally. They had watched their more conservative counterparts get shot down in discussions with Jesus, but now they feel they have something to ad to these conversations. 

Judaism in the first century was not a monolithic movement. Certainly, beliefs such as monotheism united the Jews, but there was a diversity of Jewish sects, each having its own emphases. Politically, one might be a Zealot and advocate the overthrow of Rome's rule over the Holy Land by any means necessary, or one might be a Herodian and support Herod's dynasty, which Rome set over the Jews as their nominal head. Theologically, a Jewish person could join the Essenes, a monastic sect that advocated withdrawal from society to a life of purity in the wilderness. Or, a Jew could follow the Pharisees, who kept the oral traditions of the rabbis, stressed divine sovereignty, and affirmed the resurrection of the dead.

Today, as we return to our study of Mark's gospel, we find the Sadducees, a first-century Jewish sect that stressed the power of our free will and who believed theology could be based only on the five books of Moses (Genesis–Deuteronomy). As a consequence of this belief, the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, for we do not find resurrection taught explicitly in the first five books of the Bible. Yet, we do find it there implicitly, or by good and necessary consequence, as Jesus will show us in due course (Mark 12:25–27). - Ligonier.org

Who say that there is no resurrection - This was one of the key doctrinal differences of the Sadducees. So when they ask a question about the resurrection, we know they are asking about what they already don't believe, so it is more in trying to prove a point. Well, at least they thought it was clever, and in a way it would have been, except their premise was based upon assumption. The assumption is that the resurrection is to an improved version of now, and their counterparts, the yang to their yin, the Pharisees, may well have held that sort of speculation. Even atheists can't help but ponder an afterlife sometimes, but Scripture really only makes it clear that there is one, but what it is exactly like is veiled in mystery. 

1“At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning of nations until that time. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.… Daniel 12: 1-3

1Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 2Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. 3And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.… 1 John 3: 1-3

His brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother - This was the custom in taking care of widows under the OT law. This gave the widow children that would keep her in her old age, but also since the children were raised up to the dead brother's name, it kept the property with the families it was allotted to as well, protecting the widows and their children. 

Seven brothers...whose wife will she be - Now to them this created a dilemma, but Jesus could just have easily said, "to the first", but this was not the case. The seven was an inflated exaggeration, probably meant for humor and theatre as they tried to drive home their point, hyperbole. The real issue was they didn't believe in the resurrection, they didn't accept the writings of the prophets after Deuteronomy as canon, and they assumed that they had a proper understanding of the Pentateuch, along with the assumption that the resurrection was as they portrayed it in their narrative.  

You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God - Straight up, "you are wrong", speaking to their question, and their assumptions. Your theology is bad because your doctrine is incorrect, because you don't understand the Word of God. I can just see them, like so many modern day evangelicals, enamored with the culture, "well that's your opinion, Jesus, that's your truth, but there's more than one way to interpret your Father's word." 

…4traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these! 6They are the kind who worm their way into households and captivate vulnerable women who are weighed down with sins and led astray by various passions,… 2 Timothy 3: 4-6

For in the resurrection - Jesus believes in the resurrection, and He has been raising people from the dead. So any doubts they had about the stories of Elijah and Elisha, those resurrected in that time, or Daniel speaking of the resurrection, those "trusting the science" in Jesus' time should observe both what He affirms and the miracles He performs. Lazarus will be an incredible one because he was in the tomb till it stank. It's funny how those who acknowledge their consciousness now think it too miraculous to speak of an after life, as though this life were a given, how petty, unscientific and entitled can one be?

38Jesus, once again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39“Take away the stone,” Jesus said. “Lord, by now he stinks,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man. “ It has already been four days.” 40Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”… 

…41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted His eyes upward and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 I knew that You always hear Me, but I say this for the benefit of the people standing here, so they may believe that You sent Me.” 43After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”…

44The man who had been dead came out with his hands and feet bound in strips of linen, and his face wrapped in a cloth. “Unwrap him and let him go,” Jesus told them. 45Therefore many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in Him.… John 11: 38-45

They neither marry nor are given in marriage - Now we know something about heaven from the mouth of Christ, Who descended from heaven. It was not how the Sadducees assumed about the thing they didn't believe in.

As for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read - He takes them back to the books they did believe in, and so easily too, beautiful how the Word is with Him. Even Abraham trusted the promise of God so much that he believed He would raise Isaac from the dead just to keep His word. The Sadducees weren't great students of Scripture though and Jesus demonstrates it with a verb "am". 

More importantly, the Sadducees were wrong about the resurrection of the dead because Scripture proclaims that we will rise from the grave. Even the five books of Moses, the only portion of the Old Testament that the Sadducees used for their theology, teach the resurrection. Jesus pointed to Exodus 3 as proof for the resurrection, noting that God said to Moses, "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Mark 12:26–27). Implicitly, our Lord argued on the basis of both the verb tense and theology. If death ended the patriarchs' existence, God would have said, "I was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Our Creator's use of the present tense implies that they live on to worship Him. Moreover, the Lord always keeps His promises, and His promise to the patriarchs—long life in the Promised Land, ultimately, the new creation (Gen. 12:1– 3; Matt. 5:5)—can be ful lled only if they will live forever. - Ligonier.org

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#1303 Matthew 22 Part 2 Whose Likeness

 

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away. Matthew 22: 15-22 ESV

Matthew 22: 15-22

The Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle Him in His words - They knew the previous parables were about them and were insulted by it. The thing is, some may have even see the truth in His statements, but the ego is a funny thing. I remember loathing John MacArthur when I was young, and it had less to do with whether what He was saying was true or not, but much more to do with what I wanted to be true, what I wanted to hear. Even when a light would come on, and I would say, "oh, yeah, that does seem to be what Scripture is saying", yet I was still angry because my ego couldn't handle admitting that what I had been saying contradicted the truth. Being confronted with the truth didn't change what I wanted to do, what I felt like, and so I would try to erase the memory of hearing it, slander the person who said it, and ultimately hope that there was no God behind Holy Scripture. If there was an intelligent deity behind Scripture then it did become the Word of God, and if it was the Word of God, then it had intent, meaning, purpose. It wasn't a big fortune cookie, it wasn't a tourist destination, there was no visiting only the areas you like and avoiding those you didn't. No, if it was the Word of God then there was context, meaning, and the Scriptures themselves became the best interpreter of the meaning. You had the verse, the chapter, the book, and the collection of all the books, the whole counsel of God, God's love and mercy balanced and understood with God's justice and wrath. Like me, these guys just hated the truth because it called them out, it exposed them, it showed them a God Who was not the image they made in their minds, and they were unwilling to repent. 

…15From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.… 2 Timothy 3: 15-17

…18Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.… John 3: 18-20

And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians - They bring in some ringers, maybe some he hadn't seen or talked to before, good debaters, and along with these Pharisees, the Herodians, Jews that favored Rome. Now the interesting thing here is that Herod was a dynastic king that Rome allowed to govern this area on it's behalf, and the Pharisees really didn't like him or Rome. These two groups would be on opposite sides of the table in most debates, but their hatred of Jesus brings them together. The present Herod was a despicable man who had taken his brother Philip's wife, and from a family full of incest and controversy. This is a somewhat intelligent plot by human standards, part of a continuing conspiracy against Jesus, which is against God, which makes it not so brilliant in the end, but for now, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." The Herodians are already trusted by Rome, whereas the Pharisees would be questionable in such a trap, for some of their school were even terrorist towards Rome. The Herodian's claims and follow up to this would legitimize the charges against Jesus. Well, so they thought.

1“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness. 2You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd. Exodus 23: 1-2

Teacher - They greet Him with a title of respect.

We know that You are true and teach the way of God truthfully - Why are they being so nice? I thought it said they were coming to trap Him in His words. Well, maybe you have never worked in the corporate world, where people use a little tool called flattery. They say nice things to those who are in a position of authority, not because they truly respect them or even believe what they are saying, but because sucking up works on people with huge egos. The same egos can't handle the truth when it's not "positive", and will look to punish the people who challenge what they are saying, who don't act in a "polished" manner. People like that learn what to say, who to say it to and when to say it, all in the hopes of self promotion. Now those same people will also use flattery with their enemies, saying slanderous and spiteful things behind their back, but buttering them up to their face. These guys want Jesus to except flattery, let down His guard, and then say something that will put Him at odds with Rome, and or at odds with His present audience. The funny part is that what they just to Jesus is true, and the sick part is that they don't mean it, they intend Him harm not respect. 

…5A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet. 6An evil man is caught by his own sin, but a righteous one sings and rejoices. 7The righteous consider the cause of the poor, but the wicked have no regard for such concerns.… Proverbs 29: 5-6

1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD. An oracle is in my heart regarding the transgression of the wicked man: There is no fear of God before his eyes. 2For his eyes are too full of conceit to detect or hate his own sin. 3The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and well-doing.… Psalm 36: 1-3

Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not - This is like when someone starts out with me by saying, "honestly" or "truthfully", and I am thinking, so what was it all the other times? Are really asking this question because you are concerned about doing the right thing regarding this subject? So I am to believe that this is sincere?

Why put me to the test, you hypocrites - Before He schools them He unmasks them. The Herodians don't mind the Roman tax, but the Pharisees who brought them here hate paying taxes. They are guilty of major hypocrisy here, and not only that, it's part of a conspiracy towards murder. They want out from Roman rule, but they come here with Roman sympathizers in order to trap Jesus. Their egos demand a sacrifice, and one thing they want here they won't get, but I think there is a change of tide here with the rest of Jesus' audience too. I believe some of it started when He answered the Pharisee's questions on divorce. Jesus is going against popular culture, and will continue to do so here with taxes.

…5So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus: “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with defiled hands.” 6 Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 7They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’… Mark 7: 5-7

…27Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. 29Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous.… Matthew 23: 27-29

They brought Him a denarius - This was a Roman coin, equivalent to a day's labor for most laborers. 

Now, look at the word “tribute,” because that’s the key. It is the word kēnsos borrowed from the Latin census from which we get the census, or the counting of every individual. “Should we pay the census?” Now, it refers to a specific tax. The Romans counted all the people, and the Syriac Peshitta calls this head money. In other words, they attached an individual tax to everybody. Each year, every individual had to pay this census tax, like a poll tax. It was a personal tax on an individual.

Now, the Romans had a lot of taxes. There were certain things the Jews had to give to the temple. You know? There were certain Jewish taxes. But the Romans imposed some of theirs, too. After all, they were providing services to that group of people. If you go to the Holy Land today, you find many of the services they rendered. You’ll find one of the remaining great masterpieces in the Caesarea area is a great Roman aqueduct which brought water to the people in that area. You will find Roman roads, streets, many marks of Roman society. They offered protection; they offered the benefits of the massive power of the Roman peace or the Pax Romana. They provided certain services to the people, and for those services rendered to them by officials – government and soldiers and so forth; they had to have compensation.

And so, they had various taxes. They had, first of all, a land tax which required one-tenth of the grain, and one-fifth of the wine and oil, and it could be given in kind – that is in substance or in money.

They also had customs taxes. There were set a harbors and piers and crossroads and city gates tax collectors. And as goods were transported here and there and back and forth, there was a certain taxation factor involved. And it’s very likely what Matthew was engaged in doing.

They also had identified an income tax on all wage earners. There was a one percent income tax. So, there was the property tax, there was the sort of business tax, and there was the one percent income tax. Not an unrealistic tax system at all. In fact, not as high as we have today in those terms. - J Mac

Whose likeness and inscription is this - Caesar's, they all answered, and that was what was on the coin, the face of the person who represented that system. Some of the Pharisees, the zealots, did not only hate paying taxes, but they were also legalists, who would make out this inscription to be the same as a graven image. So two groups that Jesus can really tick off here, those Herodians who side with Rome, and those who don't want to pay taxes. What's so sick is that I think the Pharisees are flattering Him, banking on the hopes of His agreeance with them. They want Him to say not to pay the taxes in front of the Herodians, the very taxes these Pharisees themselves don't want to pay. I think the audience also wants Him to say not to pay the tax because they like that idea too.

Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's - Huh? Yeah, it's that simple, and I have heard people talk who say they are a form of Constitutional Libertarians, or exempt from taxes for religious reasons or whatever, and they don't believe in having driver's licenses etc. But, pray tell, when you get pulled over and you go through your long winded, soap box speech about the Bill of Rights, is it on the road you paved? Here in America you also enjoy certain things like a military that protects your freedom from outside invaders, police who protect your property rights, and in some areas you receive such conveniences as city water and other infrastructure. As far as religious rights, well Jesus is spelling them out for you here, everything belongs to God and He is telling you to take a portion of what belongs to Him and pay those who He has given rule over you while your here. Pay your taxes. If you live in America and think the taxes are too high or the people collecting them are terrible with money, then vote for better governance, teach others, or run for office yourself and make sure you don't fall into the same vices. 

…6This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work. 7Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. 8Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.… Romans 13: 6-8

To God the things that are God's - Worship belongs to God, that's why young Daniel and His friends would not bow to the idol, why Daniel prayed to the true God rather than the king. Morals, the system of right and wrong, that belongs to God, and when the government does or teaches to do what is wrong in God's eyes, you don't comply. You go to the furnace, you go to lion's den, you take the ridicule. But everything that isn't a moral question, that doesn't ask you to go against your conscience before God, you do, and you do it joyfully as a testimony. You also are commanded to pray for your leaders, not to do so is disobedience to God, and hypocrisy if your concern with taxes was supposedly one of "religious concern". 

1First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority— so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity. 3This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,… 1 Timothy 2: 1-3

They marveled - Totally blown away, not what they expected, yet they will still seek His life.

First of all, notice the word “render,” would you please. It is the word apodidōmi, to pay back, to give back. It speaks of a debt; it speaks of an obligation; it speaks of a responsibility. It is not something you have a choice about. “Give back,” He says. “Give it back. He made it; he minted it; it belongs to his economy. Give it back to him.” It refers to the payment of a debt, the payment of an obligation, a rightful duty, something that doesn’t even belong to you to give it back.

Now, when they posed the question back in verse 17, they didn’t use that word, they used a different word. They said, “Is it lawful to give as a gift? Is it lawful to give as a gift?” You see, their perspective was that they owned all that and that they could do what they wanted with it. And if they didn’t want to give it, they wouldn’t give it. It was a gift if they did give it.

And when He’s answering their question, He says, “Give it back. You’re not giving him a gift. You’re giving him what belongs to him. It is a debt, and it must be paid. You know what the Lord says here? Pay your taxes. That’s right, pay your taxes. The payment of a tax is a debt. It’s a debt set by a government. Even a pagan, idolatrous government; even a blasphemous government; even a government about to be the executioner of the Son of God; even a government which will hammer nails into His hands, ram a spear into His side, and watch Him die, even that kind of government that executes the Christ, pay your taxes. It is not a gift; it is not a choice; it is a debt for the benefits received, the benefits enjoyed. Caesar has his rights. And for the provision of physical, social, economic benefits, protection, etcetera, he’s do a debt; pay it. - J Mac

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#1302 Matthew 22 Part 1 Invitation

 

And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22: 1-14 ESV

Matthew 22: 1-14

A King Who gave a wedding feast for His Son - Jesus gives yet another analogy, a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven. We just finished another comparison of the Kingdom to a vineyard, where those that rented it did not produce fruit for the landowner as agreed. They beat those who came to collect this fruit, even killing those who came in the name of repentance, giving another chance to produce fruit. Eventually this all culminates in the killing of the Landowner's Son. Now we have a wedding, which like the vineyard is analogous to a type of relationship with God.  

So here is a king who puts together a massive celebration for the wedding of his son. And as I said, sometimes it appears in the plural as it does in verse 2. It actually reads, “who gave wedding feasts,” a series of them. Other times it appears in the singular, and that’s because weddings in those days lasted about seven days; that’s right. They started with breakfast on the first day, and culminated on the final day with a final feast. And the bridegroom then took the hand of the bride, turned it over – the friend of the bridegroom, rather, took the hand of the bride, turned it over to the bridegroom, and they went away to consummate the marriage and the guests went home. But it was at least a seven-day event. And so it was the celebration of all celebrations. The singular could refer to the whole period, the plural use of the term to all of the feasts going on within the whole period. So here is a king who puts together a celebration for his son.

I don’t think that the issue here is that it was a wedding. No bride is ever identified or mentioned, and no marriage ever takes place. The reason that our Lord chose the term which reflected a wedding feast was because it was that term which described the greatest celebration they had in their society. And so we would not be unjust in asserting that the emphasis here is on the celebration, not the fact that it was a wedding. - J Mac

Sent His servants to call those who were invited - Those invited would be Israel, the covenant nation, those who were given notice far in advance. This is no ordinary celebration, it is majestic, a week in the palace, a royal arrangement. Israel had received an invitation through the covenant, through the knowledge of the law and the words of the prophets. They were expecting Messiah, and marriage makes another good comparison in that it is an institute created by God with the expectation of fidelity between the participants. Read this from Deuteronomy 29 and you will get an idea of the relationship between God and Israel:

 These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb.

2  And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 3 the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. 4 But to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. 5 I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet. 6 You have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. 7 And when you came to this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out against us to battle, but we defeated them. 8 We took their land and gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. 9 Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.

10 “You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God: the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, 11 your little ones, your wives, and the sojourner who is in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, 12 so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is making with you today, 13 that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 14 It is not with you alone that I am making this sworn covenant, 15 but with whoever is standing here with us today before the Lord our God, and with whoever is not here with us today.

16 “You know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed. 17 And you have seen their detestable things, their idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, which were among them. 18 Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, 19 one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike. 20 The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven. 21 And the Lord will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for calamity, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law. 22 And the next generation, your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, will say, when they see the afflictions of that land and the sicknesses with which the Lord has made it sick— 23 the whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath— 24 all the nations will say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?’ 25 Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, 26 and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them. 27 Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, bringing upon it all the curses written in this book, 28 and the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger and fury and great wrath, and cast them into another land, as they are this day.’

29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29 ESV

They would not come - You have been invited to something good, and you already knew that it was coming, but not exactly when. The expectation from the OT would be that when the time arrived there would be an announcement, a herald of the good news, someone letting you know, like John the Baptist, it's time, repent and be saved. They had looked forward to this for some time, but now that the day has arrived they are indifferent.

My oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered - There is a sense of urgency here because the preparations for the meal are already underway. This is before the time of refrigeration, so the notice goes out once all the major components have arrived. A wedding back then was a big deal, Jesus's first miracle was changing the water into wine at a wedding, and this is happening now, it can't be stalled, if you are coming you have to come now. 

One to his farm, another to his business - Such indifference, and this is like a once in a lifetime opportunity, and a staggering comparison to spiritual fidelity, along with the reaction to the most defining moment in all of history. It probably goes amiss with us, because we have so much leisure time these days, entertainment, refrigeration, but the invitation of a king to an event like this would have been monumental back then. 

…17But they themselves have no root, and they remain for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18Others are like the seeds sown among the thorns. They hear the word, 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.… Mark 4: 17-19

While the rest seized His servants...killed them - This is much like the world today, most would be indifferent when it comes to God, and think anyone who looked into such matters a Bible thumper. It all seems like a waste of time to them, and they have more important things to do. Often that indifference extends to the way these Christians are treated by the second group, those that militantly go after them, accuse them of bigotry because they believe the Bible to be God's word and believe what He says. I watch today, and it's not enough for some that I will happily do things for them, treat them with respect, love my enemies and pray for them as God commands, yet they would accuse me of hate for the very truth that is required by love. They have no tolerance for those who don't conform to their values, who won't bow to their ideologies. Often they are the same that beat the drum and sing the songs of diversity and inclusion, but it's all feels, knee jerk and band wagon, too shallow to be called damp even.

1“I have told you these things so that you will not fall away. 2They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. 3They will do these things because they have not known the Father or Me.… John 16: 1-3

…10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.… Matthew 5: 10-12

The King was angry and sent His troops, destroyed those murderers and burned their city - This is a frigid warning which should send chills down their spine; their fathers persecuted the prophets, labeled them enemies of the state, and God sent warning after warning till they finally went into the Babylonian captivity. They truly have a rich history and the writings of God to draw upon, yet they are hell bent on rejecting the righteousness that stands before them. In 70 A.D., the very thing Jesus speaks of here will be carried out by Titus Vespian. God used the Egyptians, sent the Assyrians, the Babylonians, then Persia, Greece and Rome. What they intend for evil against Israel or any other nation God yet uses for good. They bring justice, as all have sinned and the wages of sin is death, and they were often instrumental in spreading the Word of God, building the Roman roads which the gospel was carried on, and bringing the lost on some occasions to repentance. If you will learn to see the hand of God no matter what the circumstance, then you will know both His mercy and His correction, and that it is the same hand. 

Those invited were not worthy - Now the Pharisees had already judged themselves in the last chapter, when Jesus asked what will the landowner do to those tenants? In both parables, the unwilling, those who did not do what they were supposed to, what they knew to do, agreed to do, were treated with more patience than any of the Pharisees would have had, myself included, yet in the end they did not make it right. God will be glorified through the obedience of His people or through justice to His infinitely Holy nature. To refuse grace is to embrace unworthiness. To be indifferent about the greatest, most expensive gift in all of history and eternity, the Son of God, is to be eternally ungrateful, to be offensive toward an eternal being, it is rebellion against the infinite, and so the punishment is eternal. To be indifferent toward the Infinite God is to throw away, to scorn every positive attribute of His nature, and so you are angry that God is just, yet you forfeit His infinite love, His infinite beauty, and you have no interest in Him Who is of His nature infinitely interesting. 

Both bad and good - The servants went out and extended the offer of the Kingdom, the feast, to anyone who was willing to come. They heard the offer, saw their state, some considered good by earthly standards and some bad, yet all became willing. The people who originally had the promises, the prophets, they refused the Son of God, the Messiah. 

…13I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14in the hope that I may provoke my own people to jealousy and save some of them. 15For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?… Romans 11: 13-15

The wedding hall was filled with guests - The preparations weren't for naught. 

Who had no wedding garment - This reiterates the narrowness of the call, the exclusive nature of entry, not on one's own merits, clothed in one's own righteousness. You need to be clothed in proper wedding attire, the righteousness of Christ. The first thing God made for Adam and Eve after they had sinned was proper clothes, of skin from an animal He killed. The fig leaves they put together wouldn't do. 

…20Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God. 21God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5: 20-21 

…9Their descendants will be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed. 10I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11For as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden enables seed to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.… Isaiah 61: 9-11

Many are called but few are chosen - This man slipped in, but was easily detected, discerned not to be a guest, though he tried to play one. This is the difference, you must be born again. God will have those that worship Him do so in spirit and in truth. 

…26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances. 28Then you will live in the land that I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.… Ezekiel 36: 

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#1301 Matthew 21 Part 4 Bad Renters

“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord's doing,

and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet. Matthew 21: 33-46 ESV

Matthew 21: 33-46

I will sing for the one I love

a song about his vineyard:

My loved one had a vineyard

on a fertile hillside.

2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones

and planted it with the choicest vines.

He built a watchtower in it

and cut out a winepress as well.

Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,

but it yielded only bad fruit.

3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,

judge between me and my vineyard.

4 What more could have been done for my vineyard

than I have done for it?

When I looked for good grapes,

why did it yield only bad?

5 Now I will tell you

what I am going to do to my vineyard:

I will take away its hedge,

and it will be destroyed;

I will break down its wall,

and it will be trampled.

6 I will make it a wasteland,

neither pruned nor cultivated,

and briers and thorns will grow there.

I will command the clouds

not to rain on it.”

7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty

is the nation of Israel,

and the people of Judah

are the vines he delighted in.

And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;

for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. Isaiah 5: 1-7

A Master of a house Who planted a vineyard - The vineyard is Israel, a people called forth by God through Abraham, out of the line of Isaac, and then Jacob, who was the father of the twelve tribes. Israel was brought out of bondage in Egypt, settled in the land of Canaan, which was promised to Abraham by God. They were to be a priestly kingdom, a light in a dark and sin filled world. To them was given the law by Moses and the prophets, the tabernacle of testimony and the temple, all teaching God's redemptive plan for those who repent and believe. God promised even in the garden, the Messiah, the Seed of the woman, and to Abraham's initial unbelief, He responded that in Isaac shall thy seed be called. Now Israel herself had known much in the way of rejection, Abraham tried to get God to bless his own plan in Ishmael, the son of Abraham's doubt, that his barren wife could carry Isaac when she was passed the time of her menstruations. There was a custom of primogeniture wherein the oldest received the inheritance, yet God chose Jacob over Esau, against the wishes of Isaac. For some 400 years Israel was in Egypt, a place where they became hated, rejected, racially abhorred, and where their young boys were condemned to infanticide by a Pharaoh who wanted to control their numbers. When they were finally released through many great miracles, culminating in the Passover, and the parting of  the Red Sea, they were not well received by their kin the Moabites, the children of Abraham's nephew, Lot. 

…7Restore us, O God of Hosts, and cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved. 8You uprooted a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and transplanted it. 9You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.… Psalm 80: 7-9

Put a fence around it - Israel initially was not a well trained military machine, God watched over them, and provided their protection. 

…2I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” 4So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.… Genesis 12: 2-4

Dug a wine press in it - He gave Israel the tools, the vine, all the items necessary to maintain the vineyard, the direction of His word. He set them up for success, and they were to bring glory to His great and Holy name. He even gave them a tower to see things afar off. So powerful is God that He not only predicts our failures, but still manages to be honored besides. We intend evil, yet God brings forth good. 

He digged a wine-press and built a tower. The altar of burnt-offerings was the wine-press, to which all the offerings were brought. God instituted ordinances in his church, for the due oversight of it, and for the promoting of its fruitfulness. What could have been done more to make it every way convenient? - Matthew Henry

…2to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn, 3to console the mourners in Zion— to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. 4They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.… Isaiah 61: 2-4

He sent His servants - These were the prophets, always preaching reform back to God's original design and intent, His word. They came to ask for the fruits of repentance, the expectation of the One Who had pulled them out of bondage. It was His vineyard, His plans, His wine press, His vines, it all belongs to Him. They couldn't even get out of Egypt without Him, and He sustained them in the wilderness for forty years.

…7But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. 9And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.… Matthew 3: 7-9

Beat one, killed another and stoned another - Early Jewish tradition holds that Isaiah was sawn in half with a wooden saw, gruesome. Many, like Micaiah, were disrespected, punched in the face, lied about, spit on and chased like dogs. This shows the mercy of God's plan because no human monarch would put up with this much. After you beat up my first employee, and given the obvious power that is available here, I would show up in force then, but as the sinner I know I am now, I am grateful that God is slow to anger. 

…23So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has pronounced disaster against you.” 24Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah went up, struck Micaiah in the face, and demanded, “Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go when He departed from me to speak with you?” 25Micaiah replied, “You will soon see, on that day when you go and hide in an inner room.”… 1 Kings 22: 23-25

…37They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated. 38The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground. 39These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised.… Hebrews 11: 37-39

Finally He sent His Son to them - It's interesting that Jesus chooses to have them identify the heir; they know it's the Landowner's Son. They say, "this is the heir", let's just kill Him. They had an arrangement with the Landowner, right? They were tenants, so you work this vineyard and I send my servants for my agreed upon share. Sounds familiar.

…3You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs. 4 You are to practice My judgments and keep My statutes by walking in them. I am the LORD your God. 5Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.… Leviticus 18: 3-5

…7So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. 8And all the people answered together, “We will do everything that the LORD has spoken.” So Moses brought their words back to the LORD. 9The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in you.” And Moses relayed to the LORD what the people had said.… Exodus 19: 7-9

…12I sent the hornet ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings before you, but not by your own sword or bow. 13So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities that you did not build, and now you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’ Joshua 24: 12-1

They took Him, threw Him out of the vineyard and killed Him - The servants came with God's word, but here Christ differentiates Himself, He is the Son, the only begotten of the Father, the word become flesh to dwell among us. They give Him no special honor, and to this day many still hate Him. 

…13Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God as well? 14Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel. 15By the time He knows enough to reject evil and choose good, He will be eating curds and honey.… Isaiah 7: 13-15

13children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ ”… John 1: 13-15

…11Although the high priest brings the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate, to sanctify the people by His own blood. 13Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore.… Hebrews 13: 11-13

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