OUR FATHER WHO LOOKS UPON THE HEART OF MEN

The city of Jerusalem was now a cauldron of hazards for Jesus and His disciples.

The established religious and political  powers were on their own home turf and they are familiar with all the legal and political tools available to destroy their opponents.

Matthew chapter 22 verse 15 - 22 records the setting of their trap and how Jesus evaded being caught in the vice that they had intended to use to destroy Him;

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. 16 And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. 17 Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

Having marked Jesus as a public enemy number one, the pharisees designed this question that would entrap Jesus in such a way that if He answered one way, the people could be turned against Him and if He answered the other way, the Roman rulers could be turned against Him.

Representatives from both the temple priests and king Herodˋs court approached Jesus falsely posturing as sincere seekers of wisdom. They pretended to regard Him as a genuine teacher and they attempted to flatter Him by saying that they knew He was incorruptable by the opinions of men. They then aired their question as to whether the nation of Israel, under the Mosaic law, was required to pay taxes to the Roman empire or not. 

This loaded question, if answered with a ˋyesˋ, would be used by the questioners to turn the peopleˋs opinion against Jesus because they would accuse Jesus of being a Roman sympathizer who supported Roman taxation over Israel. If Jesus lost the support of the people, the establishment would then be able to do whatever they wanted to Him with impunity.

If answered with a ˋnoˋ, the establishment would rush to the Roman rulers and report Jesus as a insurrectionist who wanted the people to rebel against the Roman by withholding taxes.

The Lord recognized the nature of the test and responded to the questioners in the presence of all the people in the temple;

18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?

19 Show Me the tax money.”

So they brought Him a denarius.

20 And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”

21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

This response disarmed the trap because it laid bare the realities that the political and religious establishments had already accepted as part of their compromises with the Romans and these compromises were what the people were having to cope with.

The people who came to question Jesus were in possession of the Roman  currency that was inscribed with the name and image of Ceasar and so they were in compliance with the Romans as they traded in and stored their own wealth in Roman currency.

This is their hypocricy that Jesus was pointing out to them as He answered the question by telling them that because they had already integrated the Roman currency into their own lives and benefited from the Roman economic system, they were obligated to render to Ceasar what Ceasar had bequeathed to them.

Having done that however, they were still obligated to the God of Israel  and so they were required to render what they owed to God, to God.

The incredibly compact dissection of Israelˋs state of affairs diffused the bomb launched by the pharisee and king Herodˋs reps and they were stunned into silence and they departed.

How perceptive and wise is our God?

Amen.

1

OUR FATHER WHO CALLS MANY BUT CHOOSES A FEW

Matthew chapter 22 verses 11 - 14 is an addendum to the parable that Jesus told in the temple about the wedding feast that a king arranged for his son, only to have the invitees decline to attend.

In the parable, the king responded to the absence of attendees sent out his servants to invite the marginaized people from the highways and byways and they came to attend the feast.

At the feast, the king entered the banquet hall to see the guests and he picked out a person who was not dressed for the occasion and he asked him why he did not dressed appropriately. The man had no answer and the king ordered his servants to tie the man up and eject him into the outer darkness in a state of anguish.

This addendum, extraordinarily difficult to interprete, reads as follows.

11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

To try to understand what was being conveyed, letˋs deconstruct the story by identifying the various people and elements that appear.

• The king is God the Father
• The guests were those called to join the feast after the original invitees delined
• The man was an attendee who had invited in from the streets or the gentile realms
• The status of this man as per the king was  ˋfriendˋ or a believer in Jesus
• The missing wedding garment was the abscence of the garment of praise or the garment of righteousness which are both referenced in Isiaah 61 verses 10 - 11,

10 I delight greatly in the Lord;

     my soul rejoices in my God.

     For he has clothed me with garments of salvation

     and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,

     as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,

     and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up

     and a garden causes seeds to grow,

     so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness

     and praise spring up before all nations.

• The servants are the prophets of God who can bind and loose 
• The ejection from the feast into the outer darkness is a removal from the light and presence of God
• Weeping and gnashing of teeth is anguish and regret over missed opportunities

The conclusion that Jesus offers to the addendum to the parable is that many are called, but few are chosen.

This points to a sobering reality where people, hearing the gospel, believe it and are saved and they make it to the marriage supper of the lamb of God but when they get there, the lives they lived on earth are missing the praise and righteousness needed to form an appropriate garment. That garment reflects the individualˋs life of the pursuit of an intimate connection with the God. 

The ones who sought a sincere and humble love relationship with God will find that they are clothed with the garments appropriate for a wedding feast and that God reciprocates intimacy with intimacy. Those who forfeit their own lives even unto death for the sake of the kingdom of God out of love for God, will be  included in the ongoing life of God in the same way that a new bride and groom embark on a shared journey and even adventure in their lives going forward together.

Those without the garment are the ones who accepted salvation and recieved it but having been saved, did not inquire into the one who paid so great a price to save them and did not voluntarily pursue a relationship with Him out of their own love for the one who loved them while they were yet sinners.

Those who did not pursue intimacy with God while on earth got eternal life because they believed in the ressurection of Jesus and they were saved by the blood of the lamb but they will then, going forward live apart from Godˋs private presence and always regret that they missed out on being included in Godˋs inner circle because they loved only themselves.

Many are called to share in the goodness of God but when decisions are made to find the ones who genuinely loved God before they knew of His riches and glory, only a few will be chosen to be part of the inner life of God.

Have mercy on us O God.

1

OUR FATHER WHO ARRANGED A MARRIAGE FOR HIS SON

Continuing to speak to the people in the temple, the Lord Jesus told the people a parable that indicted the religious establishment for their opposition to the One who was sent from God. The parable, in Matthew chapter 22 verses 1 - 10 reads this way;

1 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables aod said: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’ 5 But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6 And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. 7 But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ 10 So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

The King in the parable is God the Father. The kingˋs son is the Lord Jesus Himself.

The wedding feast is the celebration of the reconciliation between God and mankind.

The servants who were sent out to the people to gather people for the feast are the prophets of God.

The people who were invited but refused to come to the wedding feast of the kingˋs son are the religious leaders who had priorities above the honoring of God.

The people who were gathered from the highways and byways were the castaways and gentiles who were being brought into the economy of salvation and reconciliation with God after the subjects of the king rejected the invitation to come to the celebrate the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This parable was marking the change from the Mosaic dispensation to the dispensation of grace and the Lord was telling this parable to the religious leaders of Israel at the very time that they were in the process of rejecting Him and seeking His death.

The death that the religious leaders were plotted for Him turned out to be the very sacrifice that was planned by God from the begining of the world that would pay for the sins of world and thus reconcile our fallen race of men back to our God for those who voluntarily chose to believe and accept the provision that was made for them.

This concept is parallel to what Jesus conveyed in Matthew chapter 21 verses 42 - 43 where He said;

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

‘The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief cornerstone.

This was the Lord’s doing,

And it is marvelous in our eyes’?

43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.

Have mercy on us O God.

12

 OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO SAVE THE WORLD

Matthew chapter 21 verses 33 - 46 records a second parable that the Lord Jesus told the people in the temple regarding how different segments of the population would react to the arrival of the kingdom of God. In this case, the religious leaders, who were ostensibly in place to receive the kingdom of God when it arrived, were the ones who fought the emmisaries of the kingdom in their selfish quest to preserve their status in society. 

However, their dogged resistance to the arrival of the kingdom caused them to reject the cornerstone that was actually the Lord Himself and thus they disqualified themselves from kingdom and it was taken from them and given to another nation that would submit to the kingdom of God and yield fruit in keeping with their seasons. 

33 “Hear another parable: There was a certain  landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. 34 Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. 35 And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. 37 Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”

41 They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.”

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

‘The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief cornerstone.

This was the Lord’s doing,

And it is marvelous in our eyes’?

43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. 44 And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

45 Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. 46 But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

Lord have mercy on us.

4

OUR FATHER SENT A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS TO HERALD THE MESSIAH

Still speaking to the religious leaders who had demanded to know by what authority He was doing miracles and teaching, Jesus indicted them with a parable about two sons whose father wanted them to do some work in His vineyard . The parable, found in Matthew chapter 21 verses 28 - 32, reads this way;

28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”

They said to Him, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.

The father of the two sons in the parable represented God. One son represented the religious leaders and the other son represented the outcasts of the society like the tax collectors and prostitutes.

Jesus contrasted the two sons by showing how one did what was wrong by refusing to do what his fatherˋs requested but later regretted it and went out to serve his father. The other son verbally agreed to do what his father asked but did not actually go out to work.

He asked the religious leaders which of the two sons actually did the will of the father and they replied to the question by saying that it was the first  son who initially refused but later went out to work.

The Lord then clarified that the first son was like the tax collectors and harlots because they originally lived in rebellion to Godˋs will but upon hearing the preaching of John the baptist, they believed and regretted their sins, repented and were baptized.

On the other hand, the religious leaders were like the second son who originally subscribed to a life of serving God but when John came to them preaching the news of the kingdom of God that called them to be baptized, they did not believe and they did not seek to repent and be baptized.

Jesus assured the religious leaders that because of this difference, the tax collectors and harlots would enter the kingdom of God before they did.

Have mercy on us O God.

4

OUR FATHER DECLARED THAT JESUS WAS HIS SON IN WHOM HE WAS WELL PLEASED

In Matthew chapter 21 verses 23 - 27, we see the Lord Jesus, having returned to Jerusalem from Bethany, at the temple teaching. The religious leaders challenged Him by demanding to know by what authority He was doing miracles and teaching in the temple.

23 Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”

24 But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: 25 The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?”

And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.”

And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Lord , knowing that their challenge was not a sincere request for clarification but rather a trap, countered them by asking them to declare whether they believed that the baptism of John was valid.

To answer this question, the religious leaders would have been forced to reveal their hypocricy related to how they treated John the baptist.

If they said John the baptist was  a valid prophet of God, they would then be asked by the people why they did not accept his teaching and why they let John be executed by king Herod for preaching righteousness.

On the other hand, if they said John was not a valid prophet, they would anger the people of the city who believed that John was a true prophet of God and they had gone out to the wilderness to hear him speak. Openly denying that John was a prophet would expose the fact that the religious leaders were not on the same page as the people of the city.

Pressed in this connundrum, the religious leaders tried to evade the question by simply saying that they didnˋt know whether Johnˋs baptism was valid or not. Jesus then told them that because they would not reveal their stance on this spiritual matter, He was not obligated to show them His spiritual credentials.

Amen.

12

OUR FATHER WHO IS PLEASED WHEN WE WALK IN FAITH

After spending the night at Bethany, the Lord Jesus travelled the short distance (about 3.2 kilometers) back to Jerualem and on the way, an enigmatic event took place as described in Matthew chapter 21 verses 18 - 22;

18 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?”

21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

A fig tree beside the road caught the Lordˋs attention and being hungry, He went to it looking for figs but the tree did not have any fruit on it but only leaves.

The Lord spoke to the tree saying, ˋLet no fruit grown on you ever againˋ, and the tree withered away.

The disciples saw the leaves rapidly drooping and fading and they were astonished that spoken words could have that kind of effect so they asked Jesus what power was at work that caused the tree to respond to His words like that.

The Lord explained a principle of faith to them which, if a person had faith that was undiluted by doubt, that person could command edicts over a fig tree and it would obey. Jesus explained that faith was not only effective in relation to living things but also in relation to inanimate masses such as mountains.  If a person had undiluted faith, they could speak to a mountain telling it to be uprooted and heaved into the sea, that would happen.  

The Lord then generalized the principle such that any prayers that are spoken while believing would bring about what was being asked for.

This teaching formalised the experiences that had occured in earlier chapters where for example in Matthew chapter 14,  the disciples were in a boat on the sea of Galilee and Jesus commanded Simon to walk on the water with Him and Simon got out of the boat and walked but he began to fear and doubt because of the high wind and waves and he started to sink into the water. Jesus grabbed him by the hand and pulled him into the boat asking why he doubted.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

The walk of faith that receives what is requested is one where we fully expect our words to carry effective power and that doubt is excluded from our thoughts no matter what the circumstances around us look like.

Amen.

8

OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO SAVE HIS PEOPLE

The Lord Jesus healed blind and lame people who came to Him in the temple and there were children shouting praise to God. Matthew chapter 21 verses 14 - 17 records these things and how they caused a confrontation between the religious leaders and the Lord Jesus;

14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”

And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,

‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?”

17 Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.

The miracles that Jesus was doing in the temple itself was eliciting a reaction of exultation from the people who were witnessing them and the religious gatekeepers were incensed by the attention that Jesus was getting and they asked Jesus if He was hearing what the children were proclaiming in the temple. 

Jesus responded by saying that He was hearing what the children were saying but He advised the temple officials that it was entirely appropriate because the scriptures, in Psalm 8 verse 2 said;

Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

Jesus paraphrased the scripture in Psalm 8 to reveal a spiritual reality. By equating the establishment of a stronghold that silences enemies and avengers with the perfecting of praise in the mouths of chidren, we learn from Jesus that the righteous praise of the children of God creates a stronghold or a fortress that neutralizes enemy plans and actions.

Jesus then left the temple and went to the nearby town of Bethany where He had some friends and He spent the night there.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHOSE TEMPLE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER

After entering Jerusalem on a donkey colt, Jesus went into the temple of God and confronted the money changers and merchants who sold doves. Matthew chapter 21 vereses 12 - 13 records the event this way;

12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”

The commerce that was being conducted in the temple was a speculative and opportunistic trade that took advantage of the sacrificial requirements of the temple to profit from the increased exchange rates between the public currency and the temple currency and to profit from the higher prices of sacrificial animals during the times when people flooded into Jerusalem for religious activities.

The Lord Jesus carried out a highly provocative cleansing of the temple where He drove out the money changers and animal sellers. As He did so, He quoted Isaiah chapter 56 verse 7 which (including verse 6 for context), reads this way;

6 And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him,

to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants,

all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant-

 

7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar;

for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

The Lord rebuked the temple administrators for turning the sacred temple away from its ordinal task which was to be an international nexus of prayer and turning it into a ˋden of thievesˋ where currency speculators and hawkers could take advantage of the inflated rates and prices right in the temple facility itself.

This activty defamed the holy temple of God to the foreigners who would come to seek God but would be accosted by rip-off artists inside the sacred spaces of the temple.

This action put the Lord Jesus in the cross hairs of the religious establishment and those who were profiting from the intrusion into the temple.

Have mercy O God.

8

OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO HIS PEOPLE TO SAVE THEM

The apogee of Jesusˋ purpose and calling was now rapidly approaching and Matthew chapter 21 verses 1 - 11 registered the initializing steps that were taken to tip the first  domino that would then be followed by the sequence of confrontations with the religious and political forces that led to His arrest.

1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet (Zechariah 9:9) saying:

5 “Tell the daughter of Zion Behold, 

your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, 

A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

Zacharia the prophet, in chapter 9 verse 9, foretold the counter-intuitive signifier of the Messiahˋs arrival where instead of a riding into Jerusalem with a mighty horse in a conquering invasion, He would ride into the city humbly riding a tiny young donkey. To prepare for the fulfillment of this prophecy, Jesus sent His disciples to get a donkey and her colt from a village they were passing and that a person there, already made aware of the requirement, would let them take the animals.

6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David! 

‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ 

Hosanna in the highest!”

When the donkeys were brought back to the staging area just outside Jerusalem, the crowd that was with Jesus put clothing on the donkeys and set Jesus on the back of  the colt and they entered the city of Jerusalem as a procession that was laying garments and tree branches on the road as He rode the colt along. The procession of people in front of Him and behind Him yelled out expressions of high admiration for the Lord Jesus and proclaimed Him to be the Son of David and that He had come in the name of the Lord. 

This entrance was a non-threatening provocation that drew attention to the Lord Jesus and made everyone aware of His arrival in Jerusalem. By riding a tiny donkey that still needed its mother nearby to provide milk, His entrance into the city was non-militarized and it belied the historic gravity of the arrival of the Messiah into Jerusalem for the final time. The needle that needed to be threaded was to raise Jesusˋ profile in the city of Jerusalem without appearing belligerent which may had triggered a security response by the Roman soldiers who had a garrison in the city at the time. The careful balance of signals worked as intented because the whole city was buzzing with the question of the identity of the colt rider without feeling threatened and the people who had accompanied Jesus into Jerusalem were able to furnished them with the answer that it was the prophet Jesus of Nazareth from the northern Galilee region who had paid the city a visit.

10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Now that the Lord Jesus was in the city, a rapid sequence of events occurred that brought the political and religious tensions to a fever pitch due the fear and envy of the religious leaders and this culminated in Jesusˋ arrest, trial and sentence of death.

Have mercy on us O God.

8

OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO BRING SIGHT TO THE BLIND

The Lord, moving inexorably towards Jerusalem, left the city of Jericho with a large contingent of followers with him.

Along the roadside were two blind men who heard that Jesus was about to pass their location and so, addressing Him by the title Son of David, they began to call out for the Lord to have mercy on them. The people around Jesus, not wanting the Lord to be bothered by random people along the road, tried to silence the two men but they ignored the directives to be quiet and yelled even louder for the Lord to have mercy on them.

Matthew chapter 20 verses 29 - 34 records the narrative this way,

29 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. 30 And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”

31 Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”

32 So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

33 They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” 34 So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

The commotion along the road caught Jesusˋ attention and He stopped and called the two men to Himself and asked them what they were clamoring for.

They told Jesus that they wanted to have their eyes opened.

The zenith of Jesusˋ mission was rapidly approaching and the political temperature was rising sharply against Jesus as His influence grew in Samaria, Judea and even in Jerusalem. The religious leaders were actively seeking ways to destroy His ministry and they were putting out bounties for His arrest.

Under this tense atmosphere, Jesus, confronted by the two blind and desparate men, felt compassion for them and He touched their eyes which brought immediate restoration of their sight and they threw their lot in with Jesus and followed Him.

Amen.

8

OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON AS A RANSOM FOR MANY

The mother of the Zebedee brothers, the disciples James and John, had approached Jesus with her sons and lobbied Him for high positions for her sons in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew chapter 20 verses 24 - 28 records the aftermath of that effort and Jesusˋ subsequent corrective teaching on the subject of jockying for positions of prestige.

24 And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

When word got out that the Zebedee family had discreetly tried to press Jesus for preeminent positions in the kingdom of heaven, the remaining ten disciples were offended and a rift could have established itself in the midst of the disciples on the strength of that incident but the Lord Jesus called a meeting and gave them some perspective on the nature of rulership in the kingdom of God that humbled the Zebedee brothers and assuaged the rest of the disciples.

For contrast, Jesus help up an example of the Gentile societies where positions of power wielded by the rulers were gained and maintained by asserting forceful dominance over the rest of the people in their societies but Jesus told the disciples that in the kingdom of heaven, this would not be the operating model.

Those who would rule in the kingdom of heaven would be servants instead of lords and they would be slaves instead of masters. 

If any of them aspired to greatness in the kingdom of heaven, they would have to follow in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus who did not come to earth to be served but to serve and not to demand the lives of others be given for Him but to give His life for others.

Have mercy on us O God.

4

OUR FATHER WHO WILL DETERMINE THOSE WHO WILL SIT IN AUTHORITY IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD

In the book of Matthew chapter 20 verses 20 - 23, an encounter between the mother of two of the Lord Jesusˋ disciples occured.

Mrs. Zebedee, having recieved some revelation into the identity of Jesus and the importance of His ministry and His eternal kingship, calculated that her early perception of the truth about Jesus could gain her sons, who were already His disciples, prominent positions in the kingdom that Jesus was proclaiming if she lobbied Him before anyone else did.

Mrs. Zebedee approached Jesus respectfully, knelt before Him and asked for a favour.

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.

21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”

Jesus listened to her wish which was basically a request to post her two sons in the number two and number three positions in the hierachy of the kingdom of God.

A few verses earlier, in Matthew chapter 20 verse 16, the Lord had laid out the protocols of attaining greatness in the kingdom of God,

16 So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.” 

The kingdom of heaven placed people in high positions of authority based on their voluntary self-relegation to the lowest positions of service. Likewise, the people who assigned themselves to elevated positions, were moved to lower placements.

These mechanisms bypass the channels of lobbying or back-room dealing and rely on the Fatherˋs final decisions as to whom to place where.

The Lord Jesus responded to the womanˋs petition by letting her know that even though she had gained insight into Jesusˋ identity and how exalted He truly was, she was not privy to the processes that attaining those elevated positions would require.

22 But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.”

23 So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”

Jesus asked the two disciples if they were capable of drinking the cup of suffering He was about to drink from and be baptized in the brook of death that he was about to be baptized in and they replied that they were able. 

The Lord Jesus assured them that they would partake in those things but nonetheless, the posting to positions of authority in the kingdom of God were not up to Him but were in the purview of the Father who had prepared these roles for those He had determined would fill them.

Have mercy on us O God.

2

OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS BELOVED SON TO DIE ON OUR BEHALF

Matthew chapter 20  verses 17 - 19 captures a moment where the Lord Jesus paused privately with His disciples and told them plainly that there was going to be a sequence of events that would take place when they got to Jerusalem that would result in His trial, scourging and crucifixion. 

17 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, 18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, 19 and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.”

This revelation was given to the disciples as they travelled to Jerusalem to prepare them for the imminent culmination of Jesus ministry as a servant on the earth.

The events that Jesus mentioned would happen to him are in this order;

• Arrival at Jerusalem
• Betrayal to the chief priests
• Betrayal to the scribes
• Condemned to death
• Delivered to the Gentiles to mock
• Delivered to the Gentile to scourge
• Delivered to the Gentiles to Crucify
• Rise again on the third day

The disciples, having been given a concise agenda, did not fully understand that it was going to actually happen and that they were headed towards the end of life as they knew it.

Even though the disciples understood that going to Jerusalem was dangerous for them for example in John 11 verse 8 which says “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”, they could not imagine that the Lord would let Himself be entrapped and killed.

They also did not understand the last event on the list which was the ressurection, would also be happening and this would change the history and open eternity of mankind.

The kingdom of heaven that Jesus had painstakingly been teaching His disciples about was going to become accessible to them and the rest of the world when they believed that Jesus, having died on a cross to pay the debt of their sins, rose from the dead.

The ressurection of Jesus was the certificate of the success of the transaction and innaugurated the kingdom of heaven being available to us.

Amen and thank you Lord Jesus.

24

OUR FATHER WHO IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE WITHOUT FAITH

The Lord Jesus, in Matthew chapter 20 verses 1 - 16, gave His disciples a view into the administration, hiring practices and compensation policies of the kingdom of heaven by using a parable.

A landowner, needing work to be done in His vineyard, went out first thing in the morning to the labor pool and made an agreement with a batch of the workers that they would work for the whole day in the vineyard in exchange for a denarius which if converted to todayˋs currency, would about 60 USD.

1 “For the kingdom of heavens like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

So far, we see a number of workers on standby and from this pool, at the crack of dawn, the administrator selects those he would use for the day. He formally agrees to the wage for the day and then sends them into his fields.

3 And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’

After a few hours, the adminstrator, having seen the work progressing satisfactorily in his field, goes back to the labor pool at 9:00 AM and sees workers lingering around so he instructed them to go into his fields in exchange for a wage that was right. 

Seeing that the additions to his labor force were doing well, he left them and brought additional unemployed workers at noon and then again at 3:00 PM. He then made one more trip to the labor pool at 5:00 PM and found some stragglers and he hired them for the final hour of the work day.

At quitting time, some of the workers had done 12 hours of work, other had done 9, others 6, others 3 and the final group had done 1 hour of work.

8 “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ 9 And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. 11 And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’

When the time came to give everyone their dayˋs wages, the administrator got his assistant to summon everyone and starting with the ones who came last, pay them what was owed.

The workers who had worked for the last hour of the day got a denarius for their wage which was 60 USD for the hour of work they did. 

The men who worked all day thought that their own wages would be bumped up because they had sweated through the tough part of the day but when they got paid, they recieved the wage of a denarius to which they had agreed in the morning.

The men felt it was unfair and complained to the landowner that they had been short-changed  having worked for so long only to recieve the same wage as the ones who showed up in the last hour.

The landowner pointed out to the complainants that he was paying them exactly what they had agreed to that morning and so they were not being short-changed. He told them that being the landowner, he had the right to do with his own property what he wanted and in this case, he wanted to give the last worker a denarius.

13 But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ 

The amplified version translates verse 15 in a way that is a easier to understand because the word ˋenviousˋ is more specific than the word ˋevilˋ ;  

15 Am I not lawfully permitted to do what I choose with what is mine? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’

The landowner asked the complainants to judge between them to conclude who was contravening the law. On his part, the money was his and there was no law that prevented him from giving it to whomever he chose. On the other hand, those who complained were being motivated by envy which was definitely a contravention of the 10th commandment found in the book of Exodus chapter 20 verse 17;

 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

There are two conclusions to the parable listed by the Lord in verse 16;

16 So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”

The first is that in the kingdom of heaven, everything is inverted from the systems of this world. Those who would lead must be the lowest servants. Those who would be at the table of honor must go to the childrenˋs table. Those who would be at the front of the line must go to the end of the line. Those who are last, will be first.

The second is that in the kingdom of heaven, a large number of people are called to be in the pool of workers but few are chosen out of that pool to be actual workers in the fields of the Lord. Those who donˋt give up and stay in the pool even when most of the day is done are rewarded with a full days wage. The ability to be tenatious and wait in the face of being passed up over and over again is the ticket that is being looked for in the kingdom of heaven. 

Faith (which the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen), is what the waiting workers are operating on. They hope for wages on which to live and they are waiting at dawn with the rest of the workers but they are passed up. They remain waiting through the 3rd, 6th, and 9th hour and they are assured of things that are not visible from the perspective of the natural realm and so they linger on till the 11th hour when they are finally hired.

This faith is the valuable commodity that the Lord is seeking and compensates those who lived by it and developed it to highest degree.

Just as the landowner used his own discretionary authority to pay the people who clung on to the end of the day a full days wage because he was pleased by their tenacity, the Lord, pleased by the faith of those who are on the sidelines but remain in the hope of being hired, will reward them out of His own goodness.

The Lord mentions this faith that He is seeking in Luke chapter 18 verse 8 Amp;

8 I tell you that He will defend and avenge them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [this kind of persistent] faith on the earth?”

Have mercy on us O God.

4

OUR FATHER WHOSE KINGDOM IS A PEARL OF GREAT PRICE TO THOSE WHO CAN DISCERN IT

After the rich young ruler had left having asked about eternal life and not getting the answer he wanted, Jesus in Matthew chapter 19 verses 23 - 30 commented on the difficulty of entering the kingdom of heaven when a person was wealthy in this world. He compared the attempt to bring a rich man into the kingdom of heaven with the effort needed to push a camel through the eye of the needle. 

Some people have suggested that the eye of a needle was a reference to a narrow gate in the city wall. The idea is that the narrow gate was like a turnstile through which people could enter the city one at a time with the cityˋs security officers being able to easily track who was accessing the city. This security gate, designed for human pedestrians in single file, would not be easily accessed by a larger creature like a camel but if it was going to be tried, the camel would have to be stripped of all its baggage and saddlery and be physically contorted before being squeezed through into the city

Whether the eye of the needle being referenced by Jesus was a narrow gate or the slot of an actual needle, the concept is that a rich man is often attached to many things that act as hinderances to entry into the kingdom of heaven. 

23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

The disciples, having perhaps themselves perceived wealth as desirable to have, were taken aback at these words. If those who were rich and those who aspired to be rich were excluded from entry into the kingdom of heaven, who then remained as possible candidates?

The apostle Peter, realising that he and the other disciples were already were like the camels who had been stripped of their baggage when they gave up their careers and their family lives to follow Jesus, asked Him what they would be entitled to based on their sacrifice.

27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”

 The Lord Jesus assured Peter and the other disciples that their sacrifices would not be in vain and in fact would be renumerated at a 10,000% interest rate.

At the event called the regeneration with Jesus on the throne of His glory, the disciples who followed Him would be ruling the twelve tribes of Israel alongside Him from their own thrones.

28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

The Lord, in His assurance, included all of the other people who gave up their lives and treasure to follow Him. 

What they gave up would be returned to them a hundred fold and they would inherit eternal life.

Sadly, had the rich young ruler surrendered his earthly wealth and followed Jesus, he would have been compensated for his exchange at a rate of 10,000% and he would have attained the eternal life he had been seeking all his life but he passed on the trade because he could not give up what he could see to gain what he could not see.

We can contrast the rich young ruler to the merchant described in the parable of the pearl of great price in Matthew chapter 13 verses 45 - 46.  In the case of the merchant, after discovering a pearl of extremely high value (representing the kingdom of heaven), he dissolved all his holdings in order to lay hold of the prize.

Amen.

8