MATTHEW
INTRODUCTION
Matthew is a Gospel written to the Jews by a Jew about a Jew (Christ). Christ is presented as the long-awaited Messiah. Matthew calls Him the "Son of David" linking Him to Davidic Kingship and the "Son of Abraham", the Jewish Patriarch. This is a theme that should have resonated well with people of the Jewish origin.
The book links the Old Testament and New and so it's filled with references to the fulfilment of the OT prophecies about the Messiah. The reference to "the kingdom of heaven" which basically refers to God's rule over man saturates the book.
Matthew is not chronological like Mark and Luke but it selects and arranges the events of the life of Christ to convey a specific message: Christ as the King of the Jews Who was rejected by His people crucified for whole world and conquered death to give eternal life to all those who come to Him by faith.
MATTHEW 1
Vv 1-17 records the genealogy of the long awaited Messiah. The genealogy firstly presents Christ as the rightful King Who would sit on the throne of His father David and also as descendant of Abraham from whom every Jew originated.
Secondly, the genealogy shows the grace of God in how He used evil and ordinary people. Rahab the harlot, Tamar the incestuous daughter-in-law, Bethsheba the adulterous wife, Ruth, once the heathen Moabitess, evil kings like Abia and Manasseh and ordinary people that no one knows anything about like Esrom, Aram, Naasson and Achim are cases in point. Joseph and Mary were also ordinary people who were submissive to God's will. By submitting to God's will, Mary was risking being accused of immorality, missing a husband and even being stoned to death for such was the penalty for immorality. On the other hand Joseph's risks were similar. They all chose to obey God regardless of whether people misunderstood or mistreated them. Such are the people that God uses.
But when it came to the Messiah being born, God planned it that He was born of the power of the Holy Spirit hence avoiding the adamic sin. He had to be sinless to be the Saviour of sinners.
O the love that drew salvation's plan, O the grace that brought it down to man.
MATTHEW 2
People responded to the news of the birth of Christ differently. Herod, a tyrant and brutal murderer, was afraid that Christ would take his throne. Christ was not interested in taking anything from him but giving him eternal life. His plot to kill the Saviour was defeated by God.
But on the other hand were the wise men from the East (Persia, thousands of miles away). They may have been Jews who remained in Babylon after the captivity or Eastern astrologers who may have studied the Jewish Old Testament manuscripts. Whoever they were, they were wise. They made great effort to seek and know about the Messiah. The Lord is a Rewarder and is found of those who diligently seek Him. Even when Herod tried to distract them, they still followed and obeyed the Lord's leading.
Upon finding Christ, they rejoiced, worshipped and gave Him valuable gifts. After finding Christ, they were warned to go back another way. When we come to Christ, we don't go back back the same way we came. That's wisdom par excellence.
Joseph and Mary were not people of great means. They must have been afraid of Herod but were committed to obey God no matter what. It's possible that the gifts brought by the wise men are what catered for their emergency trip and sustenance in Egypt. God always provides a way for those who trust Him. Never resist Christ or His will in your life, He doesn't want to trick you but to treat you. In the midst of hardships, obey God and trust Him to make a way.
What cost are we willing to pay to seek after Christ, fellowship with Him and serve Him? The cost we are willing to pay to find Christ determines the intensity/level of fellowship, joy and worship when we find Him.
MATTHEW 3
The culmination of John's ministry was introducing Christ to the Nation of Israel as the long-awaited Messiah. He called them to repentance as a way of preparing their hearts to receive their King. He stated what was needed for eligibility to the Messiah's kingdom:
1. Genuine repentance.
2. No dependence on one's merit like parentage (being a descendant of Abraham could not merit them to the kingdom).
3. Baptism or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If one does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.
Any other way that is short of genuine repentance or based on one's merit will not produce genuine regeneration and as such cannot commend anyone to God. One must view himself and come as a sinner desperately in need of a Saviour.
John's ministry was not to exalt himself but the Saviour. He did not own earthly goods. His dress and diet was not kingly. Christ referred to him as the greatest of all prophets. Our greatness as children or servants of God is not based on what we have, eat or wear but on how much we exalt our Great Saviour. Not that we're great but we're servants of a Great God.
MATTHEW 4
Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted. As the King Who had come to rule others, He had to prove that He could rule Himself. One would wonder, why did Christ have to be tempted? He was tempted in all areas and so He is able to relate with and help us in our infirmities.
Being tempted is not sin but yielding to temptation is. Any temptation that you may be going through, Christ experienced it. He understands it too well and He is always ready to provide a way of escape.
Christ used the Scriptures to defeat the temptor. Are you going through a temptation? The Word of God is always your best escape route.
MATTHEW 5
Christ began teaching that the happy are those who have and understand their spiritual bankruptcy, voidness and desperate need for God.This is the prerequisite for entry into His Kingdom.
This kind of brokenness and humility before God is the foundation for all spiritual excellence without which one is inaccessible to the spiritual riches in Christ. With such an attitude we consider all our various trials as a joy and all the mistreatments that men may intend for us as springboards that are wisely and lovingly measured by our watchful Master for our ultimate good. Such a testimony is what flavours and lits this dark world with the glorious gospel of our beloved Saviour.
We may feel like our influence is so insignificant and so we chose to go with the flow. We fail to take a stand for Christ because we feel it will accomplish nothing; but do you know that even a little spark of light is visible in the darkest night.
Christ further taught that in His Kingdom, unlike the mediocrity of the religious leaders who misinterpreted and misused the Word of God for their selfishness, the bar was raised. There needed to be genuine devotedness to His cause. God's standard is absolute perfection which no one could attain by his own effort, but praise God that’s what Christ had come for; to justify and make us righteous sons and daughters of God.
You may be going through the darkest valley, but don't let your spark die out, hold it up so that others may be drawn to our wonderful Lord and Saviour.
MATTHEW 6
Christ cautioned His disciples against being showy and hypocritical in their charity, prayer and fasting. He also taught them a model of prayer and how to lay treasures in heaven. Undivided service to God as our Master assures us of our needs being met and indestructible treasures awaiting in heaven.
We must be very careful how we spend what God has given us. Don't be lied to, the way we spend our God-given resources reflects where we are spiritually. It shows the god sitting on the throne of our hearts; whether it's the god of self or pleasure. Somebody said, 'let me see your checkbook or how you spend your money, and I will have a good guess of what kind of a Christian you are'. Don't do anything to be seen or glorified by men because God will not allow two rewards, one from men and one from heaven.
What a blessing to know that our heavenly Father knows about all our needs and not only has He taught us how to ask Him for help but also that He is ready and willing to meet all of them.
MATTHEW 7
Christ continued to teach that being critical of other people's sins without first dealing with our own sins is both hypocritical and passing our own judgment. We are to treat others as we would like to be treated, for this is what the Word of God requires (the Law and Prophets - the part of the Bible that was available to them then - the New Testament was in the making).
Vs. 6 means, committing or entrusting holy teaching to unholy or uninterested people is futile. The assurance that God will give GOOD things to His children if only they ask is instructive. Notice the word is good things; not all things that we ask for are good. God knows what is good for us.
Christ also instructed that we're to watch out for false teachers. They may be using the Name of the Lord and performing great "miracles" but to anyone who knows and follows the Word of God, their fruits (lives) give them away as false teachers. Such teachers will be rejected and judged by Christ.
Following Christ is not popular (the narrow way) but anyone who hears and does these teachings of Christ is compared to a wise man while doing the opposite is foolishness because whatever else we depend on will crumble down.
There's a difference between hypocritical judgment and pointing out false teachers. Simply, we are not to criticise or be judgmental of others while we ourselves are in disobedience but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't point out and shun false teachers. Like the Scribes, false teachers' teaching is not authoritative because it's not based on the Word of God.
May the Lord help us to deal with our own sins so that we can be able to help those who are struggling with sins to discern truth from error.
Praise God that He only gives us what is good.
MATTHEW 8
Christ presented Himself as the King Who has power over the effects of a fallen and sinful world that has torment, diseases, life-threatening storms, and evil (satan and his agents).
Also, Christ is presented as a merciful King in that all the men that He encountered and delivered were unclean according to Jewish ceremonial law. They were non-Jews, had isolating diseases - leprosy, demon-possessed and lived in graveyards. He touched the untouchables. Sin makes us unclean but Christ touches, heals and restores all who come and cry to Him for help.
Jesus' miracles were provable. That's why He sent the healed leper to go to the Priest. It was the priests who were to examine lepers (Lev. 14). Genuine miracles should be medically provable.
When Peter' mother was healed, she ministered to Christ. We're saved from the deadly disease of sin to serve.
When life-threatening storms were ranging in the sea, Christ was asleep. We learn the following from what transpired:
1. Our storms of life are not storms to Christ.
2. As always, His attention is not not drawn by the storms but by our desperate cry to Him for help.
3. Delivering souls is more important to Him than anything of earthly importance. That's why He violated Jewish ceremonial laws to heal the sick, and chose to drown pigs to deliver the demon-possessed man.
Christ never made it easy and casual for those who wanted to follow Him. He never assured earthly goods but demanded total loyalty to those who follow Him. Nothing is to be placed above our loyalty to our powerful and merciful King.
Christ came, He wants and is able to deliver and give us victory over all the deadly effects of sin by giving us life everlasting if only we request Him to.
Our commitment to the King is seen in how we forsake man made laws to obey Him, how much we choose to follow Him over earthly possessions and pleasures and our love for souls.
MATTHEW 9
The paralysed man, the dead ruler's daughter, the woman with issue of blood, the 2 blind men and the man with a dumb spirit all had two things in common:
1. They all had conditions that were hopeless and beyond human repair.
2. They all came or were brought to Jesus with a desperate plea for help.
Christ dealt with them as the Great Physician, Who heals heals people's hearts and as the Bridegroom, Who brings joy to people's lives.
They were broken and desperately crying for help. The good thing is that none of them went back with their problem unsolved. A contrite and a broken spirit the Lord will not despise.
Christ did not come to 'patch up' the old religious systems but to bring in new life to those who humbly seek it. He is able and willing to bring new life, healing and hope to all our situations that seem hopeless, broken relationships, marriages, drug problems and family feuds. He brings hope where there is no hope to all who humble themselves before Him. He does it all with compassion.
O, that the Lord would teach us to see the needs of the souls around us with compassion.
MATTHEW 10
After revealing His Person, principles and power as the long awaited King and Messiah, Christ first sent His ambassadors with power for miracles to the Jews who were looking for signs.
In the chapter, Christ gave instructions for evangelizing three dispensations that the Gospel would be preached. Vv. 1-15 is the Apostles' Gospel preaching ministry to the Nation of Israel then, Vv. 16-23 is future Apostles preaching ministry during the Tribulation period, and Vv. 24-42 is the preaching ministry of God's servants today. They were now to move from just praying for the harvest (chap 9) to the harvest field.
It is good to pray for souls but we aren't to stop there, we should go out to witness to the lost souls. As to us, Christ's assignment to them was specific. He promised to equip them with power, provision and protection as they served Him.
In vs.1, the 12 are called disciples (learners) but in vs. 2 they are called Apostles (sent ones ). We are not to remain disciples throughout. A disciple should become an 'apostle'.
Christ uses different people for His work as the 12 were different personalities. Also, Christ cautioned the Apostles that there was a cost to pay for the Gospel ministry: no quitting due to persecution or trials, greater love for Christ over all else, self denial, and aiding those in the front line of the Gospel ministry.
Our love for Christ and His cause should be so much that compared, our love for our loved ones should look like hatred.
What cost are we willing to pay for the Gospel ministry?
MATTHEW 11
After his ministry of introducing the Messiah to Israel, John was thrown into prison. It's obvious that he got very discouraged after missing to see first hand what the Messiah, Whom he had so passionately proclaimed, was doing. He began to doubt whether really Christ was the Messiah.
Christ sent word back to encourage him that God was working even though he (John) could not see what was happening. Sometimes we may feel like we are locked up by difficulties of health, finances, relationships and other life-threatening situations. We wonder where God is, but we should not stumble or lose hope in God because He is always working something good for His children whether we can see and understand it or not.
Christ referred to John as the greatest prophet yet he did not live a kingly or expensive lifestyle because no one fulfilled God's purpose for his life other than John. His was to introduce and exalt the Messiah to Israel. He did that faithfully to the end. Our greatness as servants of God is not measured by big cars, big titles, or flashy and expensive lifestyles but by simply doing what God has called us to do, to exalt and introduce the Saviour to the world faithfully.
Christ condemned the cities because even after seeing His miracles and hearing His testimony and that of John and the Apostles, they still didn't believe proportionately. God holds people accountable to the truth He has made available to them.
Christ then made the invitation open to all even non-Jews. Praise God for such an invitation; because of it we're God's children today. Like in the time of John, the kingdom of God suffers opposition but it presses on relentlessly (violently) and only those who are relentless (violent) in their unwavering faith, determination, courage and endurance will press their way into it.
MATTHEW 12
Harvesting or picking wheat was one of the 39 actions that the Pharisees had forbidden based on their interpretation of the Law and Jewish custom. But the picking of the wheat by the disciples, just like the healing on Sabbath was not work done for profit. Christ was not condoning disobedience to God's Law but rather, emphasizing that the purpose of the Law was for the glory of God and the good of man. And that we should obey it sincerely and humbly.
The Pharisees placed their law above human need. We call that legalism. They were not really concerned about obeying God but appearing good by performing external religious rituals. They claimed and wanted to be seen as obedient to God's Law but on the other hand they were plotting to kill Jesus.
Legalists claim to be obedient to God but on the flip side, they are very disobedient to Him. They choose to do what suits and makes them appear religious and righteous in the eyes of men. The Pharisees had experienced the work and convictions of the Holy Spirit, but attributed it to the devil and refused to be converted. They would still experience the greatest miracle yet, the resurrection of Christ, but still opposed it and refused to believe. There was no other way they could be redeemed.
We know His family who came to Him had not believed in Him yet. Christ taught that ties in the family of God are stronger than with our unbelieving biological families.
Legalism is hypocritical and self deception.
Please Lord, save me from hypocrisy.
MATTHEW 13
The kingdom of God is open to all who choose to enter it by responding to His invitation.
It starts small and grows, but the devil tries to hinder it by snatching the Word of God from those who hear it, planting false doctrine and false believers and imitations. In the meanwhile, tares (false believers) and the wheat (true believers) live together but the Lord will sort them out and judge the false believers.
Some have used this text to say the saved and the unsaved should be allowed to participate as members of the church and that there should be no distinction between them as it's only Christ Who will judge. But, in Christ's explanation, the field is not the church but the world. The saved and the unsaved all live in the same world but are headed for different destinations.
Tares and wheat, when young and growing, may look similar until the time of harvest. There's a lot of tares being planted these days, we should be in the field seeing more wheat planted. We must also be aware of the counterfeits and imitations of the devil. Many of those religious leaders and the unbelieving Israel were tares and Christ did not do a lot of miracles in their towns because of unbelief. Our unbelief hinders God from doing great work in and with our lives. Unbelief is simply not doing what God has said and it is the root of all sin.
Lord, please help my unbelief!
MATTHEW 14
Like his father, Herod the great who killed innocent babies in Judea, this Herod the tetrarch's (ruler) heart was also filled with murderous rage against John the Baptist for calling on him about his illicit relationship with Herodias. All that had stopped him from murdering John was fear of the people who regarded John as a prophet of God.
But an 'opportunity' to execute the evil desire that ruled his heart availed itself when his daughter entertained him causing him to vow thoughtlessly. If you allow your heart to be filled and ruled by evil desires, the devil will surely avail an 'opportunity' for you to execute it. Let no bitterness or sin rule your heart. People who murder others became murderers in their hearts long before the actual act. It's also folly to make hasty thoughtless commitments.
Interestingly, after learning the execution of John, Christ continued with ministering as if nothing had happened. The death of a servant of God is not a problem or a loss to God. Actually, it's pleasant to Him.
Knowing the ministry ahead of Him Christ took time alone to pray. If our Lord, as powerful and busy as He was, needed to pray, how about us with our mortal limitations? Many claim to be too busy to spend meaningful time in prayer. Martin Luther said that he had so much to do that he had to pray for 3 hours daily.
After the multitude had followed Him, Christ told His disciples to feed them. Like them, we are to feed the multitudes who God brings our way the spiritual bread of life by:
1. Surrendering our resources to Christ - they gave Him the little they had
2. Putting people's needs first before ours (the disciples fed people first)
And as many as are willing to touch the hem of His garment will be made perfectly whole. As we cross the sea of life like the disciples, Christ is ready and available to help us but like Peter we shouldn't doubt His bidding, calling or leading just because the waves and turmoils of life seem to threaten the ship.
MATTHEW 15
After the Babylonian captivity, hundreds of religious traditions were added to the Laws of God. One of those laws was a vow that one would make to dedicate to the temple the money that otherwise would have gone to supporting his parents. This law was known as Corban. Even though this may have made them appear and feel spiritual, Christ pointed out that they required people to adhere to their man-made ritualistic traditions, while breaking God's moral law of honouring parents on the other hand.
They even believed that the ritual of washing hands made one more spiritual. We must beware of hypocrisy in our lives which is subtle many times. What does hypocrisy look like? Like the Pharisees, we're are hypocritical when we:
1. Adhere to man-made religious rituals believing that they make us more spiritual.
2. Elevate man-made religious rule to be as equally authoritative or above God's Word.
3. Require from people what God has not required.
4. Condemn and view those who don't follow our own made rules and ritualistic standards as evil or unspiritual.
5. Don't live as per the standards that we teach or require of others.
Christ taught the people that one is not made holy by Kosher (foods that conformed to the Jewish dietary regulations), as the Pharisees taught, but by his thoughts or speech because that would reflect what is going on in one's heart (soul). Out of the abundance of the heart one speaks.
The Pharisees, even though they Jews and religious leaders, their hypocrisy was ashamed by the faith of a Canaanite (Gentile) woman who humbly and persistently begged Christ to free her daughter of demon possession. God does not hear and answer our prayers basen our religious position, title or background, but a contrite and a broken spirit the Lord will not despise. And as many as come to Christ like the multitudes, He never sends them away hungry. He satisfies the needs and feeds with spiritual food those who diligently and humbly seek Him.
MATTHEW 16
Led by the devil in their unbelief, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, who were arch enemies, came together to discredit the work and the miracles of Christ. They wanted to see miracles from heaven, possibly like the way Moses and Elijah had asked for Manna and fire from heaven respectively. Their doctrine of hypocrisy was quite dangerous and Christ cautioned His disciples against it.
The disciples had also forgotten how the Lord had provided for them in the wilderness. Many times we forget how the Lord came through for us in our hour of need.
Clearly, the Pharisees vehemently opposed the Messiahship of Christ. As Christ was preparing His disciples to be His witnesses, He knew that this is the kind of opposition they would face. When He asked them who people said He was, He wanted them to wrestle with that question and have a conviction and position about Who Christ was. Otherwise, how could they be trusted with the greatest message of all times?
Peter, unlike the Pharisees, asserted that Christ was the Messiah. It was upon this confession and fact as to Who Christ is that the Church is built and not on Peter. The keys given to Peter did not imply that he became the first pope or the father of the church but rather the keys of stewardship and pioneering the New Testament church at its infancy. Any church built on the Person and the work of Christ will prevail over evil but those built around a personality, and there are many today, will fall.
The Church is the vehicle for accomplishing God's will in this age. When the church agrees with God's will in heaven, He grants what we request of Him. What an assurance! It was God's will for Christ to go to the cross and anything opposed to that was not of God. We should never let anybody or pressure hinder us from doing God’s will for our lives.
MATTHEW 17
Christ took the three key disciples who would be referred to as the pillars, to have them experience just a glimpse of His glory and to affirm that Christ was the Messiah.
As the pillars and pioneers of the New Testament church, they needed to firmly and doubtlessly get hold of this. Moses and Elijah, the greatest Old Testament prophets appeared to show that all they predicted about the Messiah was fulfilled in Christ.
When the three led by Peter thought of worshipping Moses and Elijah, God was quick to correct that. Just like a voice in a cloud from heaven gave authority to God's in mount Sinai, so also a voice in a cloud from heaven again was affirming authority to Christ in the mount. God had denied Moses entry into the promised land because of His sin, but now with Christ and in a glorified body he entered Canaan. What a glorious entry!
Canaan was not a picture of heaven, but a place where God wanted His people to enjoy His blessings and victory as they depended on Him. Sin stops us from experiencing God's blessings, victory and His joy, but when we are in Christ and submit to Him, we experience glorious victory and joy.
Christ as the ultimate King owed taxes to no one, but so as not to offend He paid it. We are to obey the authorities that be so long as they are not requiring us to violate the Scriptures. Christ supplied the tax money for Peter but Peter had to go and fish and get it. God supplies for all our needs but we must be willing to use the abilities He has given us and work.
MATTHEW 18
Christ pointed out to His disciples that greatness in the Kingdom of God depended on a childlike faith, humility and sincerity and not on the childish arguments like the ones they engaged in. We are to be childlike but not childish. Children are trusting, weak, dependent and without position or status. Christ pronounced a severe punishment for those who mislead those who are young in age and faith.
As spiritual leaders, Christ pointed out their responsibility of taking care of God's children and three potential areas they needed to watch out for so as not to mislead the 'little children’:
1. Avoid tempting them by being a stumbling block but rather, remove any practice, program, person or teaching that suffocates or hinders your or their spiritual well being or growth. (vv. 7-9).
2. Avoid neglecting or demeaning them but rather, care for them as a shepherd would care even for his one lost sheep. Our care for the young believers should parallel God's care for them. God even keeps heavenly watch over them. (vv. 10-14).
3. Unlike the Rabbis, who taught people to only forgive someone three times, make every effort to facilitate reconciliation and restoration for those who wrong you within the local body of believers.
That is the way of a Spirit-filled church and the ministry that God has called us to. It's about serving and caring for His flock but not self exaltation.
Spirit-filled believers pray according to God's will and He grants their requests.
MATTHEW 19
The Pharisees asked Jesus about marriage because it was a burning issue. John the Baptist had just been put to death for taking a stand on the same. The religious teachers had misused the Old Testament to teach what was convenient for them. The followers of Rabbi Hillel believed that a man could divorce his wife for any reason while those of Rabbi Shammai held that a man could divorce his wife only because of adultery. This was a good catch for the Pharisees to set Jesus against the people. Adultery destroys the oneness that God intended for marriage.
There was also a common belief that riches were a reward to those who pleased God. Christ did not imply that the rich ruler would be saved by keeping the law or giving his wealth to the poor but rather, He was pointing out how this man's riches had become his god and was keeping him away from God. Anything we wouldn't trade off with God or give it up for Him takes the place of God in our lives. Riches have a way to turn our hearts away from God. Like David, we must desire and request God to give us not so much to turn our hearts away from Him. It's not impossible but hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God because of the allure of riches.
As we are sometimes tempted to do, Peter was quick to contrast himself with the rich man. If we're following Christ, then why are we not endowed with earthly goods like those who know not God? Christ assured Peter that the riches for His children will be in the Kingdom age. However, Christ cautioned His disciples not to desire to make themselves first because in the Kingdom of God, that will be reversed. Like Peter we are to grow from 'how much will I get' (Mtt. 19:27) to 'such as I have I give' (Acts 3:6).
MATTHEW 20
The parable followed the meeting with the rich ruler who refused to give up his wealth for God. The parable was cautioning Peter's wrong motive 'we have left all and followed You, what shall we get?' There are some Christians who feel that they have done so much for the Lord. Serving Christ with such an attitude is wrong and prideful. God has a right to deal with His servants as He chooses based on His grace and their motives.
On the other hand, there are many Christians who stand idle when there is so much to be done. That the Zebedees brothers asked for an elevated position in Christ's Kingdom indicated that they really had not grasped His teaching on the hallmark of His Kingdom: humility and servanthood. The indignation of the rest of the disciples with John and James shows that they had not learnt the lesson either. Getting annoyed with proud and self-seeking people is natural but many times it also shows the pride embedded in our hearts. We feel that if anybody deserves what they are asking for, it's us and them because after all, we are better than them.
The two blind beggars picture a sinner who is saved upon calling on Christ for salvation. As the crowd tried to stop them from coming to Christ, so also the world tries to hinder sinners from coming to Him. Like the two blind beggars, we are to follow Christ after He has saved us.
Do we get distracted from serving Christ and offended because other 'evil' Christians seem to demand or get more attention than us? Our love and commitment to Christ is seen in how we follow Him and the attitude with which we serve Christ.
MATTHEW 21
As Christ entered Jerusalem, the multitudes met Him singing Hosanna (save now). But, theirs was actually lip service considering that they are the same people who in about a week led by their religious leaders would cry out 'crucify Him, crucify Him'.
Here Christ presented Himself as the King , the Messiah of the Jews, but Israel as a nation in their unbelief rejected Him. Like the fig tree that bore no fruit when it was expected, Israel refused to produce the fruit of faith when God sent them the long awaited Messiah. They were also like the son who gave his dad lip service by saying he would obey but never did, but the sinners who genuinely repented would be accepted by Christ.
Israel had killed the prophets of God and now in a week's time they would kill the son of God. As it is today, Israel would be put aside for the time being and the Kingdom opened up to the Gentiles. Their unbelief and disobedience would turn out to be a blessing to us Gentiles. Praise God that man's disobedience does not stop God from doing His will. Israel was equipped with God's covenants, the Law, revelations and the ushering of the Messiah into the world, but God put them aside because of their unbelief. Even though we may be endowed with great gifts and talents, our hypocrisy renders us not useful in God's work. Our lip service and hypocrisy only hinders us from being used of God, but it does not stop Him from accomplishing His will.
Do we give God lip service? If so, like the son who said no, but later repented and obeyed, we have a chance to turn back from our disobedience and hypocrisy and obey God with sincerity.
MATTHEW 22
Like guests to a wedding, God invited His covenant people Israel to the blessings and joy of His Kingdom. Of course they rejected His invitation and then God opened His invitation to us all. All those who accept the invitation by faith are clothed with the garment of the righteousness of Christ without which one will be denied access to the Kingdom.
The Herodians, a political party that supported Herod and the Romans, expected Christ to oppose paying taxes then He would have been arrested as a traitor. On the other hand, the Pharisees who pretended to follow God's Law thought that Christ would support paying taxes to Caesar so as to set Him against the Jews. Christ's answer showed that a child of God has obligations both to God and to his state. Just as Caesar had stamped his image on the coin, God has stamped His image on man. 'Man, made in the image of God is lost and he must be found for that true image to be seen.' (Warren Wiersbe).
Christ asked them Who they said He was. Like the Herodians, Pharisees and the Sadducees, we can be hypocritical and ask all the theologically right questions that we may have but everything will remain irrelevant until we rightfully answer the question 'Who is Christ?’. Until we know and believe in the Person of Christ and His finished work everything will remain veiled. Faith in Christ clears the clutter and removes the veil for us to see and comprehend the truth of God's Word. We can know all the theology there is to know without knowing Christ. O that we may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering.
MATTHEW 23
The Pharisees had added their own traditions and interpretations to the Law of God. Actually, not all of their laws were wrong, but the problem is that they equated their laws and traditions to the Law of God, expected people to obey their laws and traditions but did not do so themselves. They kept the rules, not to honour God, but to appear good to people. Even though they knew the Scriptures, they did not obey them. Jesus didn't condemn what they taught but what they were.
The hypocritical Pharisees produced followers who were even more hypocritical than them. We produce ourselves. Hypocrisy begets hypocrisy! Do you know that it is very possible to appear very obedient outwardly but still remain unsubmissive to God's Word? Hypocrisy is the folly of planting tares and expecting to harvest wheat.
God, please deliver me from the folly of hypocrisy!
MATTHEW 24
The temple was one of the most impressive structures at that time. It's likely the disciples were wondering how such a spectacular structure would be destroyed and Jerusalem left desolate as Christ had just predicted in 23:38. They expected the Kingdom to come sooner and the destruction of the Temple did not fit their expectation.
It's important to understand that the audience here were Jews who were mainly concerned about the once promised Kingdom. Therefore, the first 35 verses address the last part of Christ's second coming and the great phenomena and the great Tribulation also known as Jacob's trouble that will precede His coming to establish His Millennial rule.
Deception, false teachers, earthquakes, pestilence and shaking of heavenly bodies will abound. Some of these signs may be happening now but during this time they will increase.
Praise God that the Church would have been raptured by this time. Vs 36 - 51 addresses the first part of His second coming (the Rapture). Christ cautioned us that He will come as a thief at night. "Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing" (24:46).
In the midst of the confusion and deception of our day, Christ expects His children to do one thing: remain faithful to the end.
Israel was under the cruel Roman rule and all they were concerned about was a temporal physical kingdom. They were not thinking about the glorious Kingdom that Christ was teaching them about. Has the tribulations and the cares of this world taken your gaze from Christ's eternal rewards to focus on temporal gains?
MATTHEW 25
In this chapter, Jesus used parables and a story to teach how we ought to live and prepare for His return by being ready (Vv. 1-13), using God-given resources well (Vv. 14-30), and serving others (Vv. 31-46).
There were three stages in Jewish wedding: the engagement, betrothal and the actual marriage. The five foolish virgins represent those who are unprepared for the return of Christ. They had already gone through the first 2 stages but they did not take care of the third one. There are many who may be in church, have heard the Gospel, they wait with everyone else and appear like part of the body. Some may have even made some casual professions but have not been genuinely saved. That the five foolish virgins did have oil (a picture of the Holy Spirit) clearly indicates that there is no genuine conversion.
The church also seems to have gone to sleep and forgotten that "...the Bridegroom is coming." Many others don't use the resources that God has given them like time, abilities, money, authority or position to serve Him and others. They have "good" and sometimes "spiritual" excuses for sitting on those resources. But they remain just that, excuses. They don't share the Gospel because they are not a people-person, don't serve in any ministry because they are even better than those hypocrites who serve, don't tithe because preachers have become thieves these days, and on they go.
During the great Tribulation, the 144,000 Jewish preachers will be severely persecuted by the Antichrist and without the mark of the beast to buy or sell, they will be left destitute. Some Gentiles will believe their Gospel and help them. These are the ones Christ is referring to when He says "...ye did it to Me." All who would have trusted Him will enter into His Millennial Kingdom.
A person who does not serve God or care about the needs of God's children is chronically plagued with selfishness. Self is the god who sits on the throne of his heart. He has no Christ in his heart and his end is outer darkness in hell.
Dear Lord, search my heart and know me, see if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting!
MATTHEW 26
In this chapter, we see four main characters, Christ, Mary, Peter and Judas. Starting with the last, Judas was a deceiver and a hypocrite. He pretended to love Christ but he really was a liar. He led the other disciples in criticising Mary's sacrifice terming it as a waste. He allowed the devil to enter him and sold the Saviour for 30 pieces of silver. He had conformed without being transformed.
Peter, on the other hand, like a Christian who feels strong on his own, bragged of his devotion to Christ. He neglected to pray and chose to sleep when Christ cautioned them to pray at least for an hour. There is no magic about an hour but I believe spending an hour daily with the Lord in prayer and His Word will give a Christian spiritual strength for the day.
The next thing we see is that Peter is solving a serious problem in the power of the flesh. He thought he could defend the Lord with a knife. Peter thought he was strong but he ended up denying His very Saviour swearingly. That is the way of a believer who trusts in the power of the flesh and never spends quality time in prayer to draw his spiritual strength from the everlasting fountain that never runs dry.
Peter failed just as Judas did; the only difference is that Peter came back to repentance but Judas went out from them never to return because he was not of them. The worst thing is not falling but failing to rise up after falling.
Mary gave the Lord her best. She was misunderstood but was unhindered. From the Lord's response to her gift we learn that our love for Christ is of a higher priority than any work of charity. Christ acknowledges and will reward all that is done out of love for Him even though others may disapprove or criticise us.
Our gracious and long suffering Lord kept Judas for 3 years knowing that He would betray Him.
He acknowledged and will reward Mary eternally.
He graciously forgave and restored Peter.
Our Saviour went to the cross willingly.
Hallelujah, what a Saviour!
Hypocrisy will keep a sinner lost, prayer will make a saint spiritually strong and keep him from falling.
Dear Lord, help me to know my inadequacy and my need for you.
MATTHEW 27
Because the Sanhedrin did not have authority to put Jesus to death, they handed Him to Pilate, the Roman prefect who was known for cruelty. They knew that as a non-Jew he wouldn't care about accusations to do with religious matters and so they accused Him to be a revolutionary Who incited people against Caesar and paying taxes.
After Judas led the Sanhedrin to arrest and crucify Jesus, he became remorseful but not repentant. He felt bad about the consequences of his sin but was actually not repentant that he had sinned, because if he was repentant, he would have been forgiven and would have not proceeded to kill himself. Get this right, there is a world of difference between feeling bad because your sin has landed you into serious problems and genuine repentance.
By throwing the money into the inner Temple where only the Priests were allowed, Judas wanted to share his blame and guilt. He could have gone back even to the disciples. Our attitude towards our sins and how we deal with them is critically important. One can cry and regret his sin just because he doesn't enjoy the results of his sin without actually being repentant.
The priests on the other hand were hypocritical in claiming that they didn't want to be defiled by the price of blood, yet it's a price they had paid themselves. Even though a cruel and blood-thirsty tyrant, Pilate did not find anything wrong with Christ but because he was a politician who wanted to please the people, he didn't even heed the caution of his wife but handed Christ over to be crucified. Any leader who tries to be a man-pleaser is a disgrace to justice and truth.
In their folly, unbelief and hardness of heart, they exchanged our Saviour with a murderer and crucified the Lover of sinners and man's best Friend. There, the Creator of the universe was mocked, humiliated, beaten, spat on and crucified by His creation which He could have blown away as a speck of dust.
Yet, He never defended Himself. God turned His back against His Son as He bore the sins of the world upon His body upon a tree. They buried Him, but praise God, my Saviour tore the bars of the grave on the third day.
The sin debt that I could not pay for even if I was given the whole eternity was paid for in full at once. Amazing love that Thou my God shouldst die for me!
What can I do but to serve such a Saviour.
MATTHEW 28
The chapter forms the climax of the book as it records the resurrection of the King. The resurrection of Christ is the basis of our faith, for if He is not risen then our faith is futile and there is nothing like Salvation, the Gospel, forgiveness of our sins; no resurrection for the dead and no hope for us.
God rewarded the devotion of the women as they were the first people to see the risen Lord. The angel did not roll the stone to let Jesus out as He had already risen and conquered death but to let them and the disciples see the empty tomb for themselves.
The message that the angel gave to the women about the risen Saviour is the message for us today:
1. Don't fear but rejoice; the resurrection is to bring joy.
2. He is alive.
What an assurance and confidence that we should have in knowing that we serve a risen Saviour.
3. Come in and see -
we're to invite people to come and see and prove the truth and authenticity of the Scriptures.
4. Go quickly and tell -
we're to pass on the Gospel to others as a matter of urgency.
As the women believed, rejoiced and passed the great news, the Sanhedrin and the soldiers were plotting a lie to combat the Gospel. But like every other lie, there was a loophole to give it away. If they were asleep, how did they know what happened? How did they know that it was the disciples who stole the body of Christ away?
It's surprising that the disciples who had been trained and warned by Christ about His resurrection still locked themselves in Jerusalem for fear of the Jews even after the ladies told them. Christ came through locked doors to let them see Him. We claim to love and believe in the risen Saviour and His Word, but we're locked in by fear of the world around us that we don't share the good news with others.
Christ gathered the disciples in Galilee where most of them came from and commissioned them under His All-Authority to go to the world with the glorious Gospel and to make disciples, not decisions. The great commission is not to end with decisions, but disciples. That is what every Christian should be doing and every reason or excuse that one may have for not making disciples (fear, lack of resources, opposition or even the devil) is answered in that Christ has the Power.
Hallelujah, what a Saviour!