Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Matthew Series, Week 36 - “Clothed?”

  What is the most cliché movie trope about bad dreams? Isn’t it being found at school, or in front of some sort of crowd, naked? We have sayings like, clothes make the man. Designer Rachel Zoe says, “Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak.” And Harry Winston says, “People will stare. Make it worth their while.” Our clothes are a huge part of our life, both in terms of what we wear everyday, and our economy. The fashion industry purports to have a labor force of 3 billion people, turning out 3 trillion dollars in value, which corresponds to about 2% of the global GDP. 


Suffice it to say that clothes are a large part of our world, and being clothed with the latest fashion, for a lot of people, is their life. And it’s clothes that brings us back into our Matthew series, where we’ll be picking it back up in Matthew chapter 21, starting in verse 28. And as we open up to Matthew 21:28, let’s look back at where we are in the final section of Matthew’s Gospel.


Two weeks ago at the start of the fifth section of Matthew, we looked at God’s call to be satisfied with what he gives us. This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t want more of God, but rather as he gives us situations, giftings, abilities, positions of authority, we should be satisfied. 

This led into last week where we saw Jesus’ authority on display in triumphal entry, the fig tree and the cleansing of the temple. Jesus has authority over all things, because he is their Creator. Therefore we are to be saying “Jesus, Your will be done.” And when we do, we can be satisfied in what his will is.


This now brings us to chapter 21 of Matthew, where we are going to look at three consecutive parables, each dealing with the central theme of being faithful. Let’s look at each one individually and see how they build upon one another. 


21:28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.


This first parable deals with two sons and their reactions to their father’s command. The first son is told to work the vineyard, but refuses, but later obeys. The second is also told to work the vineyard, he agrees, but then never does it. 

Jesus’ question of, “Which of the two did what his father wanted,” is interesting. Reading it, my first reaction is, neither one. Neither one obeyed the father first time asked. This is what we tell our children to do. My wife and I teach our children that true obedience is when you’re asked one time to do it, and then you do it. 

But we have to remember the context of what is happening at the moment. From last week we talked about Jesus’ authority being challenged by the religious leadership of the Jews. They asked him where his authority came from and he responded with a question that they were to answer before he would answer theirs. 

The question that was asked was, where did John’s baptism come from, heaven or man? The religious leaders couldn’t answer because they couldn’t say either way for fear of answering wrong. 

This parable directly follows this moment in time and speaks volumes. The first son represents those who have not obeyed God and choose a life of sin. Jesus gives the social answer of what a sinner is by referring to tax collectors and prostitutes. But these are the ones who responded to John and are now coming to Jesus; these are the one that God accepts, because they are repentant of their sin, and will move forward in obedience to Jesus’ Gospel. They might not have responded to God’s command originally, choosing lives of sin over his righteousness, but they are responding now. These people are the first son.

But the religious leaders on the other hand, represent the second son. A son who speaks of his obedience to the father, but then doesn’t do it. This second son looks good, speaks well, and says the things that he knows the father wants, but has no desire to actually fulfill his father’s wishes. 

God’s desire is that we not merely give him lip service. God doesn’t want our religious acts, when they are separated from a heart that seeks to put his word into action. Looking good on a Sunday morning is less important to God, than holy living in our daily lives. Not cussing in church is less important to God, than to speak encouragement outside of the church’s walls. Saying we believe is less important than showing that we believe. 

This is why Jesus states in the Gospel of John, “If you love me, obey my commandments (14:15).” This is why James, the leader of the Jerusalem church after Jesus’ resurrection states in his letter, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (2:17).” We must actually do what God has said, not simply say that we will.


This leads us into the second parable in verse 33, let’s read it together.

33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

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

41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.


Jesus switches from obedience to God’s command, to the specific history of God’s dealing with Israel. Jesus’ parable directly addresses how Israel has dealt with God’s authority over the last 1,500+ years of its covenantal agreement. 

God is the one who brought them to a land that would sustain them and make them great among all the other nations. It was God who set them up for prosperity. Yet when the nation would slide into sinful acts, saying they would obey but not doing it, God would send his prophets to them. These prophets would call the people back to their covenantal responsibilities. This was done because God loved his people Israel and wanted them to return. So prophet after prophet was sent, and as the sin of the people worsened, more were sent. Yet the people rejected them. The prophets were beaten, and some were killed. The nation would not return to their covenantal relationship with God, and so God sent them into exile. And when he brought them back, he went silent. No more prophets came for 400 years. 

Then God sent John the Baptist, and the Father sent Jesus, God the Son, to call his people Israel back to himself. Jesus came to be what the Israelites, and in turn, all of humanity couldn’t be, faithful to the call of God. But as Jesus was speaking this parable he points them to the reality that they wouldn’t listen even to the Son. Even the one who had the authority of God, wouldn’t be heard by the people that was given so much from the Master of the vineyard. 

And in response to Jesus’s second question, “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants,” the religious leaders seal their fate. They recognize that the wicked vineyard workers will end in a horrible way, and that new tenants will be invited into the vineyard. 

This is why at the end of Acts Paul says these words to the Jewish community in Rome, “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen (Acts 28:28)!” 

Through Jesus, it is not only the Jewish people who have access to God’s salvation, but all people’s of the world. Because salvation is found in no other name but the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12). This is why Jesus quotes from the Psalms about the stone that was rejected, but has become the cornerstone. Jesus is the cornerstone of faith, everything is built off of him. And without him, no one can have faith that is acceptable to God.


It’s here that the Jewish leaders realize that he’s talking about them and want to dispose of him; they are literally trying to fulfill Jesus’ parable the moment he’s done speaking it. But they can’t. All they can do is plot for another time.


But here’s the thing, Jesus doesn’t end there. He doesn’t end with, these guys are bad, new people are coming. No, he doesn’t let the new people off the hook either and so he gives another parable. Let’s read this one, starting in chapter 22, verse 1.


22:1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

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


Here it is, God’s wedding feast has been prepared. Jesus has been sent for the salvation of humanity. The invited wedding guests are like the original workers of the vineyard. They are first to be called to this great moment of history. Salvation has come, the feast is prepared. But Israel has rejected the invite. The people set aside by God, have rejected the invitation to the feast, the salvation that comes through Jesus on the cross.

So the unclean ones from the streets are invited. The people of the world, now can come through the cross of Jesus to the throne room of God. They can have salvation, they can eat at the wedding banquet. They can have the vineyard. 

But wait, there’s a guest there that isn’t prepared. He has no wedding clothes so he is thrown out. And this might seem harsh, but it lines up with everything Jesus has said so far. Just because we’re in the right place; just because we think we have done what needs to be done, we must not think that a mental belief is what God is calling us to. 

God is calling us to a life of faithful obedience to him. It’s a life that is transformed by the Holy Spirit at work in the believer. It is a life of living sacrifice, of death to self and living for Jesus. It’s not my will, but God’s. It’s not my life, but God’s. I go, where he says to go. I speak how he says to speak. I love how he says I love. 

This is why Paul states in Romans 13:14, “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”

I am not clothed in my own goodness, but in the goodness of Jesus. So when I am found at the banquet, I have my wedding clothes on, I have been wrapped in Jesus’ righteousness and it’s on display for all to see.


We cannot miss this point, faith is belief in action. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died for my sins, so I take his word and say transform me. I walk away from sinful thoughts, desires, and actions and embrace the Holy Spirit’s work in me. I realize that I am bought with a large price, the God who created me died for me, now I will live for him until he calls me home or returns for me. 

God is calling us to be the son who obeys, though we may falter in disobedience. God is calling us to be the faithful vineyard workers who will not disregard the master’s messengers. God is calling us to have clothes on for his feast so that we may not be found outside when the celebration happens.

God is calling us to be faithful children of his. To first accept Jesus as our Savior, and then to live our lives in the power of the Holy Spirit, being transformed into the image of Jesus himself. 


My challenge for you this week is to re-read these parables. From the first one, ask the question, Am I responding in obedience or simply telling God what I think he wants me to say? From the second one, ask the question, Am I bucking those who God has sent into my life to correct me? And from the third one, ask the question, Am I clothed in Jesus, so that everyone sees it?


God is calling us not just to a mental shift, but to a life transformed by him. So that we would be seen as separate from the world. Holy because our God is making us like himself. Therefore let us be his holy people, Amen.

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Matthew Series, Week 35 - “Under Jesus’ Authority”

  It’s really a trope in our society, age plays a great deal into how we treat people. The whole premiss of the early 90s sitcom of Doogie Houser was based on this idea that you have this teenager who was also a genius doctor. But through the show, the trope of him being too young to wield the authority he did was always center of the drama. 


When Marika and I first came to Quartzsite, we were basically thrown into the deep end right away. We arrived on Saturday the 13th of October and unloaded the two trucks that we brought down. As far as how things ran, we weren’t really told much. We had our first Sunday and I taught Sunday school as best as I could, running on the adrenaline of starting a new chapter of our lives. 

I don’t remember if it went bad, so I assume it went as well as it could. Then we had a Thursday night youth meeting which was awkward and we kind of just stumbled through. Then Friday came around and we had a mass of teens show up to check out the new guy. In all of this, Marika and I were basically going in blind. We did have some help that first Friday night; Marvin and Joan Akland, one of the elders and his wife, cooked dinner for us. 

But it was either on that first night or the one that followed, where we had a run in with a neighbor. As has been since that first Friday, we let the teens play and hang out on the basketball court if they want to. On this particular night I was out there, playing basketball with the teens and trying to get to know them. 

It was almost around 6 when a lady, probably in her late 40s or early 50s, came to the baseball court and started yelling at the teens because they were being to loud and rowdy. Which they were being pretty loud, I’d agree to that. The lady started to tell the teens that that she talk with the adult in charge. Seeing what was happening, I was already on my way, and when I approached her, she again demanded to see the adult in charge. I told her it was me, and she said, no, the real adult. I told here that the person in charge was me and she would have to deal with me if she had a problem. 

I don’t think she liked that, and began to rail against me. Now, it wasn’t a good first meeting of the neighbors and it took years for us to do better towards them. And I knew why this lady didn’t believe I was in charge, I was 23 at the time, and I know I looked younger than that. And because I looked too young to be the youth pastor, I must not have been in her eyes, and I had no authority in the situation, and the church must have been letting the teens just do whatever they wanted.


And it’s this idea of doubting authority, that brings us back to our series in the Gospel of Matthew, where we’ll be picking it back up in chapter 21, starting in verse 1. And as we open up to Matthew 21:1, let’s look at where we are from last week.


Last week we started in on the fifth section of Matthew’s Gospel, heading towards the final main discourse or sermon of Jesus in this writing. In the opening of this section, we talked about, how our sinful desires always want more than what God has said we will get. And so, as Jesus’ disciples, we must be satisfied with what he had for us, because it is the best we could possible imagine.


With satisfaction in Jesus as our jumping off point, we can now turn to chapter 21 of Matthew and see where the Holy Spirit intends for us to go next. Let’s read together, Matthew 21:1-27.


1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”


12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,“‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”

17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.

21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.



At the beginning of our talk last week, I had said that from chapter 20 to 28, the focus of Jesus’ authority would be called into question and be on full display, in what we just read, we can see this is the truth.

Starting last week, being satisfied with what Jesus gives us, is being satisfied in the authority of Jesus to give us what he deems is proper. This week, we can see that Jesus’ authority is being displayed and directly challenged.


We start with Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem or what is called, the Triumphal Entry. In this moment we see several Old Testament prophecies and images fulfilled. But what this entry does, is set us up for Jesus’ cleansing of the temple moneychangers. Jesus is touted as the long awaited Messiah, King of Israel, come to do away with the sin and corruption, and uncleanliness of the Gentiles that have infected God’s holy people. This is what the Triumphal entry is inaugurating in the minds of the people. 

So then what is the first thing Jesus does? He goes to the heart of the issue. The cleansing of the temple is not just about the moneychangers. They are the physical manifestation of the deeper issue of sin.

Jesus quotes from two different prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah. The first comes from Isaiah 56:7, which is a passage of hope, “…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.” Jesus has come that the house of the Lord to be the one who gathers together people from all nations. 

But the second half of the quote comes from Jeremiah 7:11, “Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.” God had been watching the sin of Jeremiah’s generation fester and destroy the covenant that had been established between God and Israel. And in Jeremiah’s time, the Babylonian exile was the end result. Here too, God has been watching, and now a new exit was on the horizon. The generation of Jeremiah was repeating itself in the generation of Jesus. 

But where there’s judgment, there’s also salvation, and after the tables have been flipped and the moneychangers thrown out, people came to Jesus for healing, and they were healed. But we’re told that the religious leaders were upset, indignant at what Jesus did and what people were saying about him. So Jesus quotes Psalm 8:2, “Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.”

Jesus reveals a lot here. If we go back to the context of Psalm 8, we get something really important as to who the Psalmist is talking about. Psalm 8 begins with, “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.” Jesus isn’t just claiming to be another messiah figure, like Moses, Jospeh, Joshua, or David. No, Jesus is equating himself to the God of the universe. Jesus is God Almighty, and if we recognize what Jesus is doing, then the next two moments make a lot more sense. 


First, as Jesus reenters Jerusalem not eh next day, he encounters a fig tree. This tree had leaves on it, which would indicate that there was also fruit on it, but it didn’t. Jesus curses it, and it began to wither. The disciples respond with, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” They missed it. The answer was found in the Psalm that Jesus quoted in verse 16. Why would the tree so quickly wither, because it was responding to the word of its Creator. God Almighty has spoke to it and it withered. 

And Jesus reiterates something he said back in chapter 17 about mountain moving faith. But it’s not the concept of faith that Jesus’ is talking about, it is the object of faith. When people say, if you only had faith, this or that could have been done, what they’re talking about is, if you had a feeling of belief. But what Jesus is talking about when he talks about faith, is if you have faith in Jesus himself, that he is God Almighty, that he is the Creator, then mountains, fig trees, hardships of life, are under his authority.


It’s here that we are imminently brought to a situation where Jesus’ authority, that which we have already seen established in his entry, in the temple, and at the fig tree, is challenged.


Again Jesus enters the temple, and you have to wonder if the moneychangers showed back up, or if they took the day off. Well up to this point, Jesus has been dealing with the lower levels of the religious establishment, but now it’s a full court press. The chief priests and the elders of the people come out to challenge Jesus. And they directly ask him, “By what authority are you doing these things?…And who gave you this authority?”

The reader should already know. We should know after the first several chapters of Matthew’s Gospel, but if we haven’t figured it out yet, like the twelve, we should have gotten it by now. Jesus’ authority comes from and being God. 

But instead of coming out and saying it, Jesus challenges them. This challenge sets up what we’ll talk about next in Matthew, and it gives us a clarity that it wasn’t just the moneychangers who were making the temple a den of robbers.

Jesus’ question about where John’s baptism comes from, is asking the priests and elders where John’s authority came from. In this case the priests know what Jesus is asking. If John’s authority came from heaven, then they would have been wrong not to follow what John said. But if they believed, which it seems they did, that John’s authority came from nothing but human will, then they would be rejected by the people and may even have a riot on their hands. 

And so they duck the question, “We don’t know.” That’s right, they don’t; they are so wrapped in themselves, seeking their own kingdoms, that they cannot see the vanguard of the kingdom in Jesus standing before them. 

They didn’t recognize where John’s authority came from, so they cannot recognize the source of that authority as well, which is Jesus. This sets up Jesus’ parables that follow., which will discuss in the coming weeks.


But this is a call to us that we recognize Jesus and his authority. It’s so easy to downplay Jesus’ right to tell us what to do, and we see this in our generation. We have leaders that proclaim to be Christians yet they do not know, nor submit to the authority of Jesus. There are those outside the Church, in our politicians, that use the Bible to move forward their own agendas. They’re inside the Church too, professing Christ, yet rejecting his basic teaching for their own. 

As disciples we are not called to subvert Jesus’ authority for our own. No, we are to place ourselves fully under it. We are to act the way he calls us to act. We are to speak the way he teaches us to speak. We are to move where he wants us to go. In all things, we are the fig tree who must respond to our Creator’s command, bearing the fruit that only comes through the actively of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 

And when we do, when our faith is solely in Jesus, that’s when mountains move. Jesus isn’t holding back on us, it is us who hold back on Jesus. We easily fall into the thought process of Jesus can’t help here. Jesus it’s too difficult there. Jesus you don’t understand this. Jesus if you do this, then I’ll do that. No, we need to come to a place where Jesus’ authority is absolute over us. That his will becomes our will. That what he desires, we desire. Not the other way around.

That’s what Jesus is calling us to do, and where he is taking us towards. Where his authority is so undeniable and concrete in our lives, that our first thought is, “Your kingdom come, your will be done (Matthew 6:10).” And everything else falls behind it.


This week I want to challenge you to memorize and pray Mathew 6:10, “Your kingdom come, your will be done.” Pray it as the first thing you do every morning. Pray it as you go about your day, and when you start new activities. You start your morning routine, “Your kingdom come, your will be done.” You get into your car, “Your kingdom come, your will be done.” You walk through the doors at the store, or begin a conversation with some, “Your kingdom come, your will be done.”


Let us be a people who put ourselves under the authority of Jesus who is God Almighty, and who’s will should be the only thing that matters in our lives. Amen.

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Matthew Series, Week 34 - “Satisfied Disciples”

 One thing that I have seen throughout my life is an idea that anyone of us can fall into where we believe that our situations dictate our enjoyment of life. Several years back my wife made a friend through working at the school. The friend wasn’t a Christian and had a lot of marital problems. The idea this friend had was if they could only get out of Quartzsite, then their marriage would strengthen. 

So this friend and her husband moved back to live with her parents, and for the first few years it did seem to work. But the problems that they had left behind in Quartzsite followed them to their new home, and struck an even deeper blow. 

It’s true that environment can play a part in depression. If can play a part in worry, in anxiety, in our mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being. But if we’re not content with what God has for us; if we are not trusting in him, then our environment is the least of our problems, and as the saying goes, the grass is not always greener on the other side.  


And it’s this idea of being satisfied that brings us back to our study in the Matthew’s Gospel, where we will be picking it back up in verse 16 of chapter 19. And as we do, we need to look at the overarching questions and themes of Matthew just to see the flow of thought we’ve been following. 

Chapters 1-7 could be summed up in the question “who is Jesus?” Through the situations Matthew gives us, and Jesus’ first sermon, the answer that the Holy Spirit leads us to is that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Messiah. In that, he is the prophesied prophet like Moses and the king like David. Additionally, it is revealed through both situations and Jesus’ own words, that he is not just another Messiah figure, but God descended to his creation. 

The question that the second section seeks to answer is, “what should we build our lives on?” The answer is Jesus’ word. Section two takes Jesus’ final words from section one and unpacks them through chapters 8-10.

Following this, section three answers the question, “who can be a disciple of Jesus?” The answer to this third question is seen in chapters 12-14 and is anyone who does the will of God the Father.

Finally, in the section we finished last week, the question was, “what type of faith is a disciple of Jesus supposed to have?” Jesus answers this question by using a child as an illustration. Jesus’ disciples are to have a child-like faith. One that trust and follows God implicitly.


This brings us to the fifth section of Matthew, where Jesus’ authority takes center stage, and the question is answered, does Jesus have the authority?


Since the beginning of our Matthew study, we’ve been reading entire passages at once to see the overarching themes, which these summer series are intended to look at. In this case the passage we need to read through is almost fifty verses long. So instead, we’re going to break up the passage into parts. That being said, I want to highly encourage you to read this entire section as a whole on your own this week.


Let’s read together, starting in verse 16.


16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

18 “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”

20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”


This is a pretty well-known story of Scripture. This passage kicks off with the question by a young man that has a lot of wealth; this is the passage which is usually referred to as the Rich Young Ruler. We read, that the young man asks Jesus, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

This leads into an exchange between Jesus and the young man that leads to his wealth. Jesus lists several commands that must be followed. The young man is adamant that he has kept these. But when Jesus brings up his wealth, the reader should come to realize that though this young man might have kept the commands of God that pertain to his interactions with people, he hasn’t kept the commands of God that pertain to God himself. 

This is where we first encounter Jesus’ authority. Notice what Jesus doesn’t say. Jesus doesn’t say, sale everything and follow God. No, he says sell everything and follow me. The two are actually the same thing. This young man is keeping the commands of God when they pertain to the people, and maybe because of this he has gained wealth. Yet, when the call was on this young man’s life to give all that wealth up to follow Jesus, to follow God, the young man couldn’t.

As the young man walks away, Jesus makes an observation, wealth is an obstacle that is hard to come. Why? Because wealth gives a sense of security, but our security should be found in God himself. By not following Jesus, the young man proves that he does not keep the commands of God, especially the first one which states, “You shall have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3).”


But it’s not the young man that we need to be paying attention to, it’s the disciples. Following Jesus’ observation they reply with…


25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

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

27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”

28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, 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 fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.



The disciples are of two mindsets here. First, the prevalent thought that wealth equals God’s blessing is apparent in their question, “Who then can be saved?” This is actually a question that is dealt with in the book of Job, and many other times throughout both the Old and New Testaments. Jesus’ reply of “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible,” points to his authority and his ability to save people from all backgrounds and situations. 

The other mindset we see in the disciples is a selfish one. They point to what they have left behind. They did what the rich young man could not. So what will they get. Jesus answers them frankly. The will receive a throne, or a seat of authority to judge the tribes of Israel. Yet in Jesus’ response he gives a caveat, “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” This statement harkens back to the last section and the ending of the first. In both cases, humility is a sign of those who are in the kingdom. This is the child-like faith that Jesus wants from his disciples.


From here, Jesus goes straight into a parable, “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”


This parable seeks to help the disciples understand this concept of receiving gratefully what God has given and seeking to be humble in our reception of his gift of salvation. It is our sinful nature’s desire to put ourselves first. Richard Dawkins, a well-known atheist understands this. In his book, the The Selfish Gene, he writes, “Let us try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are all born selfish.” Where Dawkins chalks this up to our desire to survive due to genetics, the Scriptures reveals, that it stems from a desire to be like God and therefore a sinful act (Genesis 3).

But Jesus’ disciples are to take with grateful hearts whatever God gives us. Whether that be thrones on which to judge, or simply the presence of God himself; our gifts from God are given by the will of God. And yet the greatest gift is salvation, because it brings us out of our eternal death and into God’s eternal life.


And it’s that gift of salvation and the price that it is bought by, that Jesus brings into perspective in verse 17.

“17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”


Jesus’ the prophet like Moses, the king like David, the God descended to his creation to bring it back to himself; this Jesus is the one on whom the authority is given to dull out the gift of salvation, and he does this through his death and resurrection. The implication here is, if Jesus is willing to humble himself to die on the cross to bring salvation to people, how much more should his disciples live in a humble way? Rejoicing over the work of God that brings the gift of God to people. No greater work has been done, and we who are his should rejoice and be thankful for any and all things that our God has brought to us.


But what is the very next thing we are brought to in Matthew? Let’s read in verse 20.


20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

21 “What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”


And this is the right hook that should knock us upside the head. Why is Jesus’ the greatest in the Kingdom? It’s not just because he’s God, though this by itself would be enough. No, it’s compounded on the fact that Jesus doesn’t just call his disciples to do the things, that he himself is not willing to do. No, Jesus is the greatest, because being at the highest position in the kingdom, God himself, he makes himself the least in the kingdom, being killed by his creation. 

The mindset of these disciples is completely off the mark. Let’s rework these few verses. First, if these first two disciples were in the right mindset, they would never have brought their mother to ask a favor on their behalf, because whatever position in God’s kingdom that Jesus would have granted them, should be all that they wanted. I mean they were going to be given thrones from which to judge.

But let’s say that they did just like we saw them do. The rest of the disciples should have responded, with humble acceptance that Jesus can and should do as he pleases. It is his kingdom after all. But none of the disciples were in the mindset that Jesus wanted them in. None, were humble in their acceptance of the positions that Jesus had in store for them. And all of them revealed that they were just like that rich young man. They didn’t have the wealth to give up, but they had their pride. They had their entitlement to be who they wanted to be, rather than humble acceptance of the gifts God had in store. They showed that they were the workers who worked harder than others and demanded more pay from their Master.


These verses end with a response that God is looking for. Dropping down to verse 29, we read, “29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.


Jesus gave them their sight, the gift to be able to see and their response was, to follow him. And that’s what a disciple of Jesus’ response should be. They were given a gift most of Christians would have loved to experience, they walked and talked and were sent out in the presence of Jesus. Yet they couldn’t see the simple thing they needed to do. When we receive gifts from God, the right response is to simply follow him. 

It’s not to demand more, it’s not to look around and complain that others have it different. It’s to rejoice that we have what Jesus has given us and that we get to follow him. 


It’s really easy to fall into the trap, of a “more” mentality. Jesus I want more of this or that. I want more influence, I want more wealth, I want more spiritual power, I want more, more more. When in reality the only thing we should want more of is Jesus himself. And we are to be satisfied on what he gives us.

The kingdom is vast, it’s blessings unbounded, we must rejoice at what blessings rain down on us, and on our brothers and sisters. We must thank God for what he is doing in their lives and what he is doing in our own. If they seem to be getting greater things for less work, we should rejoice with them. If it seems we are getting less for greater work, we must rejoice that this is what Jesus has given us.


God is calling us to a rejoiced and be satisfied in our relationship with him. In times of trouble or times of peace, both come from the hand of God and we must be satisfied in them. 


I want to challenge you this week. Look around and see what are those hard things that God has given you, that others do not have? Ask God to fill you with rejoicing by the power of the Holy Spirit. Also look around at the things that others have been given that you haven’t. Ask God to fill you with rejoicing by the power of the Holy Spirit. That you would thank him for all that he has done, and hasn’t done in your life. Seek that God would be your satisfaction this week.


We are not called to desire thrones of power, that is what the enemy desires and humanity fell because if it. No, we are to be a people who desire God himself and are satisfied in him alone. Let us therefore seek true satisfaction this week and be a people who proclaim and practice that satisfaction. Amen.