OUTLINE:
I. THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS QUESTIONING JESUS (22:15–46)
A. POLITICS (22:15–22)
HUMAN AND DIVINE RIGHT. TAXES.
B. DOCTRINE (22:23–40)
THE
LIVING GOD OF LIVING MEN. THE
RESURRECTION.
DUTY TO GOD AND DUTY TO MAN. GREATEST
COMMAND.
C. MESSIAHSHIP (22:41–46)
NEW HORIZONS. MESSIAHSHIP CORRECTLY EXPLAINED.
II. JESUS’S TEACHING TO THE CROWD (23:1–12)
MAKING
RELIGION A BURDEN.
THE
RELIGION OF PRETENTIOUSNESS.
III. JESUS’S WOES TO THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS (23:13–39)
SHUTTING
THE DOOR (MATT. 23:13)
EXCLUSION
MISSIONARIES
OF EVIL (MATT. 23:15)
SUBVERSION
THE
SCIENCE OF EVASION (MATT. 23:16-22)
DECEPTION
THE
LOST SENSE OF PROPORTION (MATT. 23:23-24)
MAJORS ON THE MINORS
THE
REAL CLEANNESS (MATT. 23:25-26)
EMPHASIZING RELIGIOUS RITUALS
DISGUISED
DECAY (MATT. 23:27-28)
SPIRITUAL DEATH
THE
TAINT OF MURDER (MATT. 23:29-36)
HEARTS OF MURDER
THE REJECTION OF LOVE'S APPEAL (MATT. 23:37-39)
CONSEQUENCES OF REJECTION
QUESTIONING THE KING:
A. POLITICS: HUMAN AND DIVINE RIGHT: MATT. 22:15-22:
Up To This Point We Have Seen Jesus On The Attack.
He Had Spoken Three Parables In Which He Had Plainly Indicted The Religious Leaders.
In The Parable Of The Two Sons (Matt. 21:28-32).
They Are The Unsatisfactory Son Who Did Not Do His Father's Will.
In The Parable Of The Wicked Tenants (Matt. 21:33-46).
They Are The Wicked Tenants.
In The Parable Of The King's Feast (Matt. 22:1-14).
They Are The Condemned Guests.
Now We See The Religious Leaders Launching Their Counterattack.
They Ask Specific Questions In Public While The Crowd Listens.
Their Aim: Make Jesus Discredit Himself By His Own Words.
Palestine Was A Roman Occupied Country .
The Jews Were Subject To The Roman Empire.
THE QUESTION: IS IT LAWFUL TO PAY TRIBUTE TO ROME ?
There Were 3 Regular Taxes Which The Roman Government Exacted.
There Was A Ground Tax;
A Man Must Pay To The Government One Tenth Of The Grain,
And One Fifth Of The Oil And Wine Which He Produced;
This Tax Was Paid Partly In Kind, And Partly In A Money Equivalent.
There Was Income Tax:
Which Was One Per Cent Of A Man's Annual Income.
There Was A Jewish Temple Tax:
This Tax Had To Be Paid By Every Person From Youth To Sixty-Five.
Roughly, A Day's Wage Of A Working-Man.
IF HE SAID THAT IT WAS UNLAWFUL TO PAY THE TAX,
He Would Be Reported As A Tax Protester.
THIS POSITION WOULD ANGER THE POLITICAL LEADERS.
IF HE SAID THAT IT WAS LAWFUL TO PAY THE TAX,
He Would Be Resented For Going Against God.
To A Jew God Was The Only King.
Their Nation Was A Theocracy.
To Pay Tax To An Earthly King Was To Admit The Validity Of His Kingship.
This Would Be An Insult Toward God.
THIS POSITION WOULD ANGER THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS.
He Asked To See A Roman Coin Stamped With The Emperor's Head.
In The Ancient Days Coinage Was The Sign Of Kingship.
As Soon As A King Came To Power He Struck His Own Coinage.
That Coinage Was Held To Be The Property Of The King Whose Image It Bore.
JESUS ASKED WHOSE IMAGE WAS ON THE COIN.
The Answer Was That Caesar's Head Was On It.
Said Jesus: Then Give It Back To Caesar; It Is His.
GIVE TO CAESAR WHAT BELONGS TO HIM.
AND GIVE TO GOD WHAT BELONGS TO HIM.
Jesus Did Not Respond With A Rule Or A Regulation.
That Is Why His Teaching Is Timeless And Never Goes Out Of Date.
HE ALWAYS LAYS DOWN PRINCIPLES.
Here He Lays Down A Very Great And Very Important One.
EVERY CHRISTIAN MAN HAS A DOUBLE CITIZENSHIP.
HE IS A CITIZEN OF HIS COUNTRY.
To It He Owes Many Things.
He Owes The Safety Against Lawless Men.
He Owes All Public Services.
He Owes For Roads And Bridges.
Because The Christian Is A Man Of Honour,
He Must Be A Responsible Citizen;
Failure In Good Citizenship Is Also Failure In Christian Duty.
BUT THE CHRISTIAN IS ALSO A CITIZEN OF HEAVEN.
The Responsibility Of The Christian Is To God.
The Two Citizenships May Clash.
When The Christian Is Convinced:
God's Will That Something Should Be Done, It Must Be Done;
Something Is Against The Will Of God, Resist It And Take N Part In It.
WHERE ARE THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN THE TWO DUTIES ?
That Is For A Man's Own Conscience To Test.
PERMANENT PRINCIPLE:
A GOOD CITIZEN OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS A GOOD CITIZEN TO THEIR COUNTRY.
FEAR GOD. HONOR THE EMPEROR ( 1 PETER 2:17 ).
QUESTIONING THE KING:
B. DOCTRINE: 1st Doctrine: THE RESURRECTION.
THE LIVING GOD OF LIVING MEN: 22:23-33
Now Jesus Is Approached By A Religious Group Known As The
Sadducees.
This Group Based Nearly All Their Theology On The Pentateuch:
The First Five Books Of The Old Testament,
Also Known As The Law Of Moses.
THOSE BOOKS DO NOT EXPLICITLY DISCUSS AN AFTERLIFE.
The Sadducees Taught There Was No Resurrection And No Afterlife.
Life Simply Ended With Death And Was No More.
So, Sadducees Were More Of A Political Party Than A Religious Sect.
The Pharisees Were Highly Spiritual.
The Sadducees Were Notably More Aristocratic And Secular.
They Were Popular With The Roman Occupiers.
They Were Much Less Loved With The Common People.
The Views Of The Sadducees Died Entirely When Rome Destroyed Jerusalem In Ad 70.
Attempting To Prove Their View, They Describe A Hypothetical Situation Based On A Requirement From The Law Of Moses.
A Woman Is Married To Seven Brothers.
One After Another, As Each Dies And Passes Her On.
The Sadducees Cite The Old Testament Law Of LEVIRATE: Marriage Designed To Provide Care For A Widow And To Preserve The Deceased Genealogical Line If They Should Bear Children (Deut. 25:5-10).
THEY SET OUT TO TRAP JESUS.
Whose Wife Will She Be In The Resurrection?
Jesus Replies That The Question Is Flawed:
There Is No Marriage In The Resurrection.
He Then References Scripture To Show That The Lord Is God Of The Living, Including Faithful Patriarchs Such As Abraham And Jacob.
GOD CANNOT BE THE GOD OF DEAD MEN.
THE LIVING GOD MUST BE THE GOD OF LIVING MEN.
THE SADDUCEAN CASE WAS SHATTERED.
Jesus Did What The Wisest Rabbis Had Never Been Able To Do.
Out Of Scripture Itself He Had Negated The Sadducees.
Shows Them That There Is A Life After Death.
Which Must Not Be Thought Of In Earthly Terms.
The Crowds Were Amazed At A Man Like This.
Who Has A Master Of This Argument.
JESUS
DISASSEMBLES THIS QUESTION:
THEOLOGICAL TRUTHS THAT CONTRASTED
THEIR HERESY:
Jesus Said The Dead Will Indeed Rise In The Resurrection.
A Physical Resurrection Of Our Bodies.
1 Cor 15 Gives More Detail:
Present Body TO Resurrection Body
Perishable TO Imperishable
Dishonorable TO Glorious
Weak TO Powerful
Natural TO Spiritual
Earthly TO Heavenly
Discontinue Of Relationships As Experienced On Earth Are No More.
THE AFTERLIFE: NO MORE MARRIAGE.
Institution Of Human Marriage Will End Having Fulfilled Its Purpose.
HOWEVER: Deep Relationships With Married People Would NOT End.
WHY ARE PEOPLE SELF DECEIVED INTO REJECTING TRUTH AND ACCEPTING FALSE DOCTRINES ?
Do Not Know The Word Of God.
Jesus Told The Sadducees:
They Did Not Know And Understand The Scriptures.
They Failed To Embrace The Entire Bible As The Word Of God.
They Limited Themselves To Just 5 Books Of Moses.
They Failed To Read And Study To Understand The Whole Word.
They Failed To Understand The Power Of The Word Of God.
Saving Faith Given And Received By God's Grace. Requires A Life That Continually Grows To Understand God Word. Time Alone In Prayer, Total Trust In Him. God's Presence In Our Lives Gives Awareness Of The Ever Present Power Of God And Drives Away Fear, Doubt And Temptation.
QUESTIONED THE KING.
B. DOCTRINE: 2nd Doctrine: THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT.
DUTY TO GOD AND DUTY TO MAN: MATT. 22:34-40
A Question As A Test:
"What Commandment In The Law Is Greatest?"
He Said To Him,
You Must Love The Lord Your God:
With Your Whole Heart, And Your Whole Soul, And Your Whole Mind.
This Is The Great And The Chief Commandment;
And The Second Is Like It,
You Must Love Your Neighbor As Yourself.
On These 2 Commandments The Law And The Prophets Depend.
LOVE FULFILLS THE LAW
BECAUSE IT BOTH SUMS UP GOD'S COMMANDMENTS
AND MOTIVATES OUR OBEDIENCE TO THEM.
JESUS LAID DOWN THE COMPLETE DEFINITION OF RELIGION.
A TOTAL COMMITMENT TO GOD AND PRACTICAL SERVICE OF MEN.
(i) Religion Consists In Loving God. DEUT 6:5.
Part Of The Shema, The Basic And Essential Creed Of Judaism.
The Sentence With Which Every Jewish Service Still Opens,
The First Text Which Every Jewish Child Commits To Memory.
It Means That To God We Must Give A Total Love,
A Love Which Dominates Our Emotions, A Love Which Directs Our Thoughts, And A Love Which Is The Dynamic Of Our Actions.
All Religion Starts With The Love Which Is Total Commitment Of Life To God.
(ii) The Second Commandment: Our Love For God Must Issue In Love For Men: LEV: 19:18:
But It Is To Be Noted In Which Order The Commandments Come;
It Is Love Of God First, And Love Of Man Second.
It Is Only When We Love God That Man Becomes Lovable.
The Love Of Man Is Firmly Grounded In The Love Of God.
QUESTIONING THE KING.
C. MESSIAHSHIP: EXPLAINED CLEARLY BY JESUS: Matt 22:41–46:
BEFORE, WE HAVE SEEN AGAIN AND AGAIN THAT JESUS
REFUSED TO ALLOW HIS FOLLOWERS
TO PROCLAIM HIM AS THE MESSIAH
UNTIL HE HAD TAUGHT THEM WHAT MESSIAHSHIP MEANT.
THIS PART OF THE CHAPTER:
JESUS CORRECTING THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THE MESSIAH.
The Common Title Of The Messiah Was Son Of David.
A Great Prince Of The Line Of David Would Shatter Israel's Enemies.
The Messiah Would Lead The People To The Conquest Of All Nations.
The Messiah Was Most Commonly Thought Of In Nationalistic, Political, Military Terms Of Power And Glory.
This Is Another Attempt By Jesus To Alter That Conception.
He Asked The Pharisees:
Whose Son They Understood The Messiah To Be: DAVID'S SON.
Jesus Then Quotes Psalm 10:1:
"The Lord Says To My Lord; Sit At My Right Hand."
All Accepted That As A Messianic Text.
In It The First Lord Is God;
The Second Lord Is The Messiah.
That Is To Say David Calls The Messiah Lord.
But, If The Messiah Is David's Son,
How Could David Call His Own Son Lord?
The Clear Answer: The Messiah Is More Than The Son Of David.
HE IS NOT DAVID'S SON;
HE IS DAVID'S LORD.
The Bartimaeus And His Friend Called Him Son Of David.
The Crowds At The Triumphant Entry Hailed Him As Son Of David.
Jesus Is Here Saying,
It Is Not Enough To Call The Messiah Son Of David.
It Is Not Enough To Think Of Him As A Prince Of David's Line.
It Is Not Enough To See Him As An Earthly Conqueror.
You Must Go Beyond That:
FOR THE MESSIAH IS DAVID'S LORD.
WHAT DID JESUS MEAN?
THAT THE TRUE DESCRIPTION OF HIM IS SON OF GOD.
Son Of David Is Not An Adequate Title.
Only Son Of God Will Do.
MESSIAHSHIP: NOT OF IN TERMS OF DAVIDIC CONQUEST.
BUT IN TERMS OF DIVINE AND SACRIFICIAL LOVE.
AND, THE SON OF GOD WOULD DEMONSTRATE
THE LOVE OF GOD ON HIS CROSS.
QUESTIONING THE KING.
NOW: JESUS’S TEACHING TO THE CROWD.
A. MAKING RELIGION A BURDEN: MATT 23:1–12:
Call No One On Earth Your Father;
You Have But One Father In Heaven.
Jesus Wanted To Warn Both His Own Disciples And Leaders.
BEWARE THE TEMPTATION TO SEEK HONOR
THAT DRAWS ATTENTION TO SELF
IN PLACE OF GOD AND HIS WORD.
PRIDE TEMPTS US TO PUT SELF FIRST ABOVE OTHERS.
NOTE: The Talmud Distinguishes Seven Different Kinds Of Pharisees.
There Was The Shoulder Pharisee.
There Was The Wait-A-Little Pharisee.
There Was The Bruised Or Bleeding Pharisee.
There Was The Hump-Backed Pharisee.
There Was The Ever-Reckoning Pharisee.
There Was The Timid Or Fearing Pharisee.
There Was The God-Fearing Pharisee.
The Whole Of 10 Commandments Are Based On Two Great Principles.
They Are Based On Reverence For God, For God's Name.
They Are Based On Respect, Respect For A Man's Life:
For His Possessions, For His Personality, For His Good Name, For Oneself.
THESE PRINCIPLES ARE ETERNAL;
BUT NOT ALL THE ADDED RULES AND REGULATIONS.
The Rabbis Built A Fence Around The Law So One Does Not Come Close.
SO: WE HAVE THE WORD OF GOD PLUS MAN'S ADDED RULES.
NOTE: WHENEVER RELIGION BECOMES A BURDEN, IT CEASES TO BE TRUE RELIGION.
JESUS’S TEACHING TO THE CROWD
THE RELIGION OF PRETENTIOUSNESS: MATT. 23:5-12:
They Perform All Their Actions To Be Seen By Men.
They Wear Outsize Tassels.
They Love The Highest Places At Meals,
They Want Front Seats In The Synagogues,
They Want Front Rows In The Market-Place,
They Want To Be Called Rabbi By Men.
You Must Not Be Called Rabbi; You Have Only One Teacher.
You Must Not Call One Upon Earth Father; Your Spiritual Father In Heaven.
You Must Not Call One Leaders; You Have One Leader--Christ.
He Who Is Greatest Among You Will Be Your Servant.
Anyone Who Will Exalt Himself Will Be Humbled.
Whoever Will Humble Himself Will Be Exalted.
BY
CONTRAST:
The Design Of The Pharisees: Draw Attention To
Themselves.
The Design Of The Christian: Draw Attention To Jesus.
If Men See Christian Good Deeds, Glorify His Father In Heaven.
III. JESUS’S WOES TO THE PHARISEES (23:13–39)
Shutting
The Door (MATT. 23:13)
Missionaries Of Evil (MATT. 23:15)
The
Science Of Evasion (MATT. 23:16-22)
The Lost Sense Of Proportion
(MATT. 23:23-24)
The Real Cleanness (MATT. 23:25-26)
Disguised
Decay (MATT. 23:27-28)
The Taint Of Murder (MATT. 23:29-36)
The
Rejection Of Love's Appeal (MATT. 23:37-39)
THE SEVEN WOES:
ENTAILS JESUS CRITICIZING THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS:
WOE TO SHUTTING THE DOOR TO THE TRUE RELIGION.
MATT. 23:13
EXCLUSION.
Rather Than Drawing Others Into God's Kingdom Life With The Message Of Forgiveness And Hope.
They Intentionally Resisted The Truth Themselves And Stood In The Way Of Others.
WOE TO THE MISSIONARIES OF EVIL.
MATT. 23:15
SUBVERSION.
They Had Spread Legalism Like A Disease.
They Practiced Zeal Without Knowledge.
They Capture Unsuspecting Converts In Deceptive False Piety.
Jesus Accused These Pharisees Of Being Missionaries Of Evil.
The Sin Of The Pharisees Was:
THEY WERE NOT REALLY SEEKING TO LEAD MEN TO GOD.
THEY WERE SEEKING TO LEAD MEN TO BELIEVE LIKE A PHARISEE.
WOE TO THE SCIENCE OF EVASION.
MATT. 23:16-22
DECEPTION.
They Went To Great Lengths To Make The Scriptures Accommodate Their Own Desires.
Their Self Serving Interpretations Led To Disobedience Of The Clear Teaching Of The Law.
So Twisted That They Were Blind To Their Own Deceptions.
The Was Concerning The Issue Of Taking An OATH:
The Whole Conception Of A Kind Of Technique Of Evasion.
MAKING AN OATH NEVER INTENDING TO KEEP IT.
The Truly Religious Man Will Never Make A Promise With The Deliberate Intention Of Evading It.
For Jesus The Binding Principle Was Twofold.
GOD HEARS EVERY WORD WE SPEAK.
GOD SEES EVERY INTENTION OF OUR HEARTS.
The Technique Of Evasion May Suit The Practice Of The World.
But Never The Open Honesty Of The Christian Mind.
WOE TO THE LOST SENSE OF PROPORTION.
MATT. 23:23-24
MAJORING ON MINORS.
Warning Against Giving A Tithe On Small Issues.
While Giving No Concern For The Weightier Matters Of The Law:
JUSTICE AND MERCY AND FIDELITY.
They Had Made It An Art To Obsess Over Tiny Details While Neglecting Vital Matters.
The Tithe Was An Essential Part Of Jewish Religious Regulations.
This Tithe Was Specially For The Support Of The Levites, Whose Task It Was To Do The Material Work Of The Temple.
WARNING THAT FOCUSING ON A TECHNICALITY
WHILE LETTING WEIGHTIER MATTERS GO.
BE SURE TO KEEP A Sense Of Proportion To Save Us From Confusing Religious Observances.
WOE TO THE REAL CLEANNESS.
MATT. 23:25-26
EMPHASIZING EXTERNAL RITUALS.
They Agonized Over Purity Of Things Around Them.
They Cared Nothing For Purity Of The Heart.
They Cared Nothing For Purity From Robbery And Selfishness.
The Idea Of Uncleanness Is Continually Arising In The Jewish Law.
This Uncleanness Was Not Physical Uncleanness.
This Is Not Dealing With An Externally Unclean Eating Vessel.
This Was Dealing With Being Ceremonially Unclean.
Meant That He Could Not Enter The Temple Or The Synagogue;
He Was Debarred From The Worship Of God.
AGAIN, A TECHNICALITY AND LETTING WEIGHTIER MATTERS GO.
DISGUISED DECAY.
MATT. 23:27-28
SPIRITUAL DEATH.
Their Outside Garments Looked Spotless, Clean, Pure.
Which Look Beautiful On The Outside,
But: You Are Like White-Washed Tombs.
But: Inside Are Full Of The Bones Of Dead Men.
But: Inside Are Full Of All Corruption.
But Inwardly You Are Full Of Hypocrisy And Lawlessness.
One Of The Commonest Places For Tombs Was By The Wayside.
NOTE: Anyone Who Touched A Dead Body Became Unclean.
Anyone Into Contact With A Tomb Automatically Became Unclean.
A PRECISE PICTURE OF WHAT THE PHARISEES WERE.
Their Outward Actions Were The Actions Of Intensely Religious Men;
Their Inward Hearts Were Foul And Putrid With Sin.
THE TAINT OF MURDER
MATT. 23:29-36
HEARTS OF MURDER.
They Were Poisonous And Dangerous.
Like Vipers Ready To Strike At Unsuspecting Prey.
They Erect The Tombs Of The Prophets,
They Adorn The Memorials Of The Righteous.
They Say They Would Not Partners With Those Who Murdered Them.
Jesus Is Charging The Leaders:
Taint Of Murder Is In Their History.
Taint Of Murder Still There As They Conspired to Kill Jesus.
THE REJECTION OF LOVE'S APPEAL.
MATT. 23:37-39
Jesus Was Weeping Over The Rejection Of Him By Israel.
They Had Killed The Prophets In Rejection And Rebellion.
How Often Have I Wished To Gather Your Children Together.
Your House Is Left To You Desolate.
Tragedy Of Rejected Love. 4 GREAT TRUTHS:
(i) It Shows Us The Patience Of God.
(ii) It Shows Us The Appeal Of Jesus.
(iii) It Shows Us The Deliberation Of The Sin Of Man.
(iv) It Shows Us The Consequences Of Rejecting Christ.
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