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Read Matthew 23.

Today’s reading continued to chronicle the life of Christ during the week of the crucifixion. Yesterday, we read that the religious leaders took turns trying to discredit Jesus by attempting to stump him with hard questions. Jesus turned every question back on the questioners and made them look foolish. So, Jesus was on defense in that chapter and refused to allow his opponents to score any points at all.

Here in Matthew 23, Jesus went on offense, warning his audience about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and teachers of the law and urging his audience not to live like these religious leaders.

Jesus was very specific in his complaints about the hypocrisy of these groups. He criticized them for:

• not practicing what they preach (vv. 1-4).
• doing everything for show, not from sincerity (vv. 5-12).
• being an obstacle to God’s kingdom rather than a guide to it (vv. 13-15).
• finding loopholes in God’s laws to exploit for their own selfish ends (vv. 16-22).
• being scrupulous about obedience to the technicalities of the law while completely ignoring the moral and ethical commands of the law (vv. 23-24).
• appearing squeaky-clean on the outside while being morally degenerate on the inside (vv. 25-28).
• honoring the prophets that their ancestors killed while persecuting the prophets and teachers Jesus sent and was sending to them (vv. 29-36).

Let’s focus on verses 5-12. Although the religious men of his culture loved the accolades of great honor that were customarily given to them (v. 7), Jesus commanded his followers not to give titles and honor to our leaders (vv. 8-11). He could not have been clearer that Christian leaders are to be servants who serve in humility (vv. 11-12); consequently, he strictly forbid us from putting titles on each other.

Despite what Jesus clearly said, Christian leaders for centuries have demanded certain titles: Bishop Youknowwho, Pope Whatshisname, Cardinal Soandso, Saint Bernard, and even “Father”– the very title Jesus said not to use (v. 9).

Though the elders here at Calvary felt it was important for me to be called “Pastor,” I’ve always been more comfortable just going by the name my parents gave me. Even though I have an earned doctorate, I never tell anyone to call me Dr. Jones and this passage is the reason why. We call Paul “the Apostle Paul” but he never called himself that; instead, his letters began with his first name, “Paul” (Rom 1:1, 1 Cor 1:1, 2 Cor 1:1, etc.)

I think we should be careful about using titles in light of this passage, but the command here is less about whether you call me “Pastor Brian” or just “Brian” and more about whether I serve the Lord in order to get honor and respect from you.

The Pharisees and teachers of the law wanted the social status that came from being a religious leader (vv. 5-7). They did not view themselves as servants to their disciples but as princes who taught but also demanded much from their followers.

We are not immune to this temptation. Some people seek to be elders or deacons or teachers in the church because they want the respect of the people of the church. Jesus called us to remember that spiritual leadership is about service, not about self. May God help all of us to cultivate the servants heart that Jesus commanded and modeled for us, no matter what title people apply to our names or what positions of authority we occupy.

 

Rumble | YouTube | SermonAudio | New Arbor Bible Church

The parable about the wedding banquet, here in verses 1-14, is about Israel’s rejection of Jesus as Messiah. God the Father invited them to the wedding banquet and everything was ready (vv. 1-4) but Israel was too busy with their own stuff, even getting angry enough to persecute and kill some of God’s servants, the prophets (vv. 5-6).

God judged Israel for rejecting the Messiah. Verse 7 is a veiled prophecy of judgment and it was fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. After judging Israel, God turned his attention to inviting us, the Gentiles through the gospel message (vv. 8-14).

Notice, though, that even though all the “bad as well as the good” (v. 10) were gathered into the wedding banquet, each guest still needed an outfit appropriate for a wedding (vv. 11-12). Jesus did not explain what that meant other than verse 14’s statement that, “…many are invited, but few are chosen.” That statement does not explain the image of the wedding clothes and how it relates to the parable.

As God’s revelation continued to unfold in the New Testament, we can see clearly that the wedding clothes Jesus referenced in verses 11-12 refer to the righteousness of Christ that God credits to us by grace. When someone puts faith in Christ, God begins to treat that person as if he or she is as righteous as Jesus Christ is, even though that person is not.

If you are a Christian, Jesus’s perfect life clothes you like a garment. His atonement on the cross was applied to you when you trusted in him, washing all your sins away. But the perfect life of Jesus Christ was also gifted to you, covering your imperfections and making you acceptable in the sight of God.

You and I have a long way to go before we will actually be righteous in the sight of God. God is working on us to make us righteous people but we are still unrighteous in many ways. Nevertheless, you and I still belong at the wedding feast because we are covered by the righteousness of Christ.

This is why you don’t need to worry about “losing your salvation.” You didn’t earn your salvation in the first place. It was given to you by God. You can’t lose the garment of Christ’s righteousness any more than you can lose the shirt on your back. If you’re someone who struggles with feelings of assurance in your faith, let this passage encourage you. Trust in the gracious gift of Christ, not your own performance.

 

Rumble | YouTube | SermonAudio | New Arbor Bible Church

Read Matthew 21.

Wouldn’t it be nice if your car or truck could just give birth? Instead of buying a new one, you could just breed the one you have and instantly have a new vehicle, a new way to move stuff around.

That is one advantage that animals have over machines.

Here in Matthew 21:2, Jesus commands the disciples to go find a donkey and her colt. The colt, we know from Luke, has never been ridden. It still has that “new colt smell.” The family who owned these animals must have been pleased to have this new one. Maybe they had a teenager who was looking forward to riding the old one around without having to share it with mom and dad.

Or, maybe I just injected my own story into the biblical narrative a bit.

Anyway, along came the disciples of Jesus. They saw the colt and donkey tied up, just as Jesus said (cf. vv. 2, 6) so they untied them, just as Jesus commanded them to do (cf. vv. 2, 6).

This was not a case of “Grand Theft Animal,” however. In Jesus’s world, it was acceptable for a rabbi or someone else with authority to borrow resources from other people. Usually, though, a person would ask before borrowing someone else’s property. Jesus did not tell the disciples to ask. He told them to “Untie them and bring them to me” (v. 2e).

When the owner inevitably asked the disciples what they were doing (Lu 19:33-34), Jesus had already instructed them not to ask but to tell the owner, “…the Lord needs them” (v. 3b). Some owners might have said, “Well, then, shouldn’t the Lord ask to borrow them?” But that was not the response in this case. Instead, Jesus said the owner would “send them right away” (v. 3c).

This was an act of lordship. Jesus Christ commanded his disciples to commandeer the colt so that he could use it to fulfill God’s word (vv. 4-5). We believe in and the Bible teaches the right of private ownership of property. The stuff you own is yours. You have the right to use it or lend it or do whatever you want with it.

But God is the ultimate owner of everything and that means he owns what you own. Your home, your car, your money, and any other resources you have ultimately belong to him. As followers of Jesus Christ, you and I should want the Lord to take what we have if he’s going to use it for his kingdom and glory.

It is unlikely that the Lord or one of his disciples will show up and take your car. But, think about this passage in terms of Matthew 25:31-46. I’ll quote a few verses of it right here:

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Matthew 25:37-40

Lending or using your resources to help or refresh the Lord’s servants is an act of service to the Lord himself. It is as if Christ himself came to take your colt and you willingly, gladly handed it over when you help one of God’s people. And, when you and I volunteer to help someone and generously lend or use what you have without expecting any return, you will be blessed by the Father (Matt 25:34).

How is the state of your heart when it comes to generosity? If you have a chance to help someone today, even if it is inconvenient or costly, think about this passage. The Lord has the right to take and use our stuff so let’s look for ways to be useful for him to anyone who has a need we can meet.

 

Rumble | YouTube | SermonAudio | New Arbor Bible Church

Read Matthew 20.

There are billions of people living on earth today. Those of us who live in developed countries have millions of signals clamoring for our attention. Phone calls, text messages, emails, social media, billboards, websites, tv shows, radio shows, books, magazines, newspapers, and, of course, other people in real life around us all insist that we stop whatever we’re doing and pay attention to them.

Getting attention is important. You won’t experience love without someone else’s attention, but you also won’t find a job or get promoted or generate new leads for your business or find new friends without getting others to pay attention to you.

And, once you have someone’s attention, the message you convey is, “Choose me! I’m great” or “I’m more helpful” or “I’m better” in some way than the person you have now. This kind of self-selling is essential to moving up in the world.

We might be tempted to think that it is necessary to sell ourselves to God, too.

After all, there are billions of people in the world and many of them are trying to get his attention. Once we’ve trusted Christ, we still may be tempted to promote ourselves within his church either to gain notoriety for ourself or our cause or to try to earn God’s favor. James and John (“the sons of Zebedee” in verse 20, see Mark 10:35) tried this. They even enlisted the help of their mother to get Jesus’ attention. And they came with a big ask: “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

Wow!

“Make us your vice-regents, Jesus. That’s all we’re asking for.”

Talk about self-promotion.

Jesus responded by alluding to the cost of following him, namely to “drink the cup I am going to drink” (v. 22). Without knowing at all what he meant, they affirmed their ability to do the job in verse 23.

Jesus knew that they would indeed suffer just as he would suffer, but he declined to appoint them to the positions they wanted (v. 23).

Their request, however, miffed the other disciples and created a teaching moment for Jesus. He agreed that the way of this world is a way of self-promotion and heavy-handed authority (v. 25) but taught that this approach was inappropriate and backward in his kingdom (v. 26a). Instead of promoting ourselves, Jesus commanded us to humble ourselves. He told us that the way to advance in his kingdom was to take on the role of a slave (v. 27). When we act this way, we mirror the servant’s heart of Christ himself who acted as a slave and sacrificed his life to save us (v. 28).

We are disciples of Jesus, but we have different gifts, different callings, different opportunities and responsibilities. Living like a servant, then, means different things for each one of us.

But Christ’s command to live this way should be the motivation behind what we do and the goal for whatever we do. Think about your life–your family, our church, your workplace, and everything else.

What does it look like to be a servant for the Lord Jesus Christ in your life?

 

Rumble | YouTube | SermonAudio | New Arbor Bible Church

People in our culture sometimes say, “Jesus never talked about homosexuality.” Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said that in 2012*.

Technically, that statement is true. Jesus did not directly condemn homosexuality the way he did unlawful divorce (v. 9) and a number of other things.

But, notice here in Matthew 19 what Jesus said when he was asked about divorce (v. 3). He could have said, “Haven’t you read… that at the beginning the Creator… said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?”

In other words, Jesus could have started his quotation of Genesis with Genesis 2:24, the verse that directly speaks to marriage. BUT, instead, he first quoted Genesis 1:27 in verse 4: “…at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’”. Jesus framed his answer on divorce with a biblical understanding of marriage and he quoted from two different chapters in Genesis to frame that biblical understanding of marriage.

Why did he do that?

One reason was to preserve the biblical definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. Humanity was created in male and female counterparts so that by coming together as one flesh (v. 5, Gen 2:24) they could glorify their creator by enjoying godly sexuality and by creating children together.

Divorce destroys God’s intention for marriage (v. 6). That was Jesus’s point and why he quoted from Genesis in his answer. He acknowledged that divorce was “permitted” (v. 8) in some situations but that, in most instances, it is just a legalized form of adultery (v. 9).

Same-sex relationships–whether legal or not–also violate the Creator’s intentions for marriage and, unlike divorce, there are no exceptions allowed anywhere in scripture.

All kinds of sexual relationships are considered acceptable in our culture but that cultural acceptance does not change God’s infallible Word. Most people on earth are or could be tempted by some form of sexual sin whether premarital sex, adulterous sex, homosexual attraction or sex, lust, and so on. As Christians, we should obey God’s instructions and plead for his grace and mercy, not label as good what God calls sin.

* Click here to read the story on President Carter.