Sermons

Matthew 25:1-13

Jesus has just completed giving a detailed explanation of ‘when’ and ‘what’ will be the signs of His coming…something we have looked at for the past three weeks… emphasizing the need to be ready because:  

               You do not know which day your Lord is coming [24:42]

Jesus gives two additional parables…one that focuses on the importance of being ready at His return…and the consequences for those who are not…and the other stressing the importance of being good managers of what God has loaned you.

Matthew records eight parables Jesus gives during Passion Week…each parable is focusing on what a life of faith as Jesus’ disciple looks like…this particular parable is vigilance.

¹ At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

² Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴ The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵ The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

⁶ “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

⁷ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

⁹ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

¹¹ “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’    ¹² “But He replied, ‘I don’t know you.’
¹³ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

There’s no mention of what is required for eternal life…these parables assume you are already a believer…in these two parables Jesus is defining:

1. the expectations on how we are to live our life while on earth
2. the blessing associated when we do.

Something I said last week…the mystery is not understanding what Scripture says about Jesus’ second coming…that is clearly laid out…the mystery is how people can lackadaisically go through life not even considering the events that will one day take place…and even worse…that at Jesus’ coming there will be a day of reckoning for every person who has ever lived.

A time when every person will be called to give account for their decisions and their actions.  

So in this parable…which return is Jesus referring to…is it His return for the rapture of the Church, or is it His return to set up the Millennial Kingdom at the end of the Tribulation?

Theologians have debated this for years… but it’s really irrelevant…because regardless of which return it is, the lessons to be learned are applicable to both.

So Jesus tells the Parable of the Ten Virgins…a setting His listeners would all be familiar with…it was a custom among the Jews for the bride and her bridesmaids to wait at the bride’s home for the groom to arrive.

The bridegroom would leave his house at night with some close friends to go to the bride’s home where her bridesmaids were attending her.

When the bridegroom approached an announcement would be made and the maidens would go out with lamps to light his way to the house for the celebration.

There are several things we need to consider before we attempt to interpret this parable.

We need to set aside our modern-day assumptions about weddings…bridesmaids and lamps.

The word used here for ‘lamp’ is not the normal term for ‘lamp…the lamp here is more of a torch…a larger…brighter lamp than what was used inside a house.

This kind of lamp could be fixed to a pole and used as an outdoor torch to illuminate your way as you walked at night…there was no attached tank in which oil would be stored…lamps were transported without oil in them…Scripture says they took oil in jars along with their lamps.

There is a mis-conception that five of the virgins ran out of oil…oil was carried in flasks and added to the lamps when needed…the wise virgins carried flasks filled with oil…Scripture clearly indicates… The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them [3].

SO, for some reason, the groom was running late, and the bridesmaids fell asleep… their sleepiness is not the problem since both wise and foolish both become drowsy. 

The bridegroom is delayed…in reality a groom’s delay was not altogether that uncommon…for instance, there could be last minute negotiations between the groom and the bride’s relatives over the gifts exchanged…the text does not bother to explain the delay…who cares…the reason for the delay is not the bridesmaids’ concern.

BUT…when it was announced at midnight that the groom was on his way, it caught the bridesmaids unaware…they all lit their lamps but the foolish virgins quickly discovered that without any oil they would not be able to keep their lamps burning.

The foolish virgins claimed that their lamps were ‘going out’ [8] but the reality is…they had no oil…they simply were burning any residue oil that was left on the wick…that quickly burned out moments after being lit…probably the reason they all went out at the same time.   

So, they asked the more prudent bridesmaids to borrow some of their oil…and were immediately denied any.

The overall intent of the parable is that like the groom…Christ will return at an unknown hour and they need to be ready…emphasizing Jesus’ warning [24:14]

Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

The wise maids’ suggestion to those out of oil was to go and buy more oil…the text says it’s midnight [6] …that sounds a little ridiculous…where would the maids buy oil in the middle of the night?

As foolish as that sounds…that detail is important…Scripture doesn’t reveal that they found a place to buy more oil…it says they went out to make the purchase [10] and later they came back [11].

Here’s the key…when the foolish maids were away attempting to buy oil that they should have already had…the groom arrived…the procession occurred without the foolish bridesmaids, and the banquet began.

When they returned, ready for the processional…it was over…they knocked on the door of the house, but their entrance to the wedding banquet was denied by the groom. They missed the grand procession. 

The KEY difference between the five wise virgins and the five foolish virgins is not the lack of oil…it’s a lack of salvation.

It’s not as some people think…that the five foolish virgins were once saved and then ran out of salvation…they never were saved.  

The five foolish virgins represent the unsaved…never had any oil…they were just empty lamps…they looked useful…they seemed to give a promise of light…but never produced it…the five virgins without oil represent false believers who enjoy the benefits of the Christian community without a true love for Christ.

These ladies were expressing the difference between Biblical and cultural Christianity…their hope is that their association with true believers as expressed in the phrase ‘give us some of your oil’ [8] would get them into the kingdom.

As a result, they were shut out of the banquet…the maids’ plea of ‘Lord open up for us’ [25:11] recalls Jesus’ warning that not everyone who cries ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven (7:21-23).

If you’re familiar with Christianity…or history to any degree then you’re aware that at one time being a Christian in the first century was countercultural…Christians were persecuted…to be a Christian meant you were willing to give up everything for Christ…even your life.

However, as time went on, Christianity became more acceptable…it even became comfortable to be a Christian…it was even expected…people would freely call themselves “Christian” even if they weren’t…because their family and neighbors were Christians.

But as cultural Christianity rose, biblical Christianity suffered…the lines between the two became blurred…and today it is even less defined…but clearly there is a difference between cultural Christianity and Biblical Christianity.

The five characteristics of cultural Christianity

Anyone can be a cultural Christian

If you’re familiar with the name Richard Dawkins…he was a renowned atheist who argued against the very existence of God…but on several occasions he identified himself as a ‘cultural Christian.’

“I like singing carols along with everybody else. I’m not one of those who wants to purge our society of our Christian history” …as an atheist he didn’t believe in God and wanted nothing to do with the Church…but he did realize the benefits the church provided in the community…he relished the cultural or moral benefits of Christianity without having to embrace Christ or even believe in God at all.

It’s no different today…people embracing what the church does…it’s involved in the creation of hospitals, orphanages and universities…Christians were instrumental in the development of modern science…as well as in the flourishing of the arts…. Christianity has led to social reforms…the abolition of slavery…and recognition of universal human rights.

BUT to identify as a Christian is a little too confining…it’s too inhibiting…it goes against our culture about what real freedom is…our culture thinks that to be free you have to have no restrictions…the path to freedom is to shed all authorities, all constraints and to discover yourself and then live out of that.

Cultural Christianity is Comfortable.

It’s comfortable to claim Christianity…there are no downsides socially…no one’s going to persecute you…fire you from your job…it means you can look to religion when it’s to your benefit.

Cultural Christianity is often called “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.” It’s a generic belief without having to make a commitment to Biblical truths:    

—A god created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.

—God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other.

—The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.

—A god who’s mostly hands-off except when needed to resolve a problem.

Nothing there that is going to have you make a commitment to any specific belief system.

Cultural Christianity is more about outward appearances.

Cultural Christianity embraces being pleasant, gathering with friendly people, enjoying the benefits of a comfortable social environment…the cultural Christian might even attend church from time to time.

Cultural Christianity produces cultural Christians…people who consider themselves Christians simply by virtue of birth or heritage…in addition to viewing faith as merely a system of morals within socially acceptable parameters.

In cultural Christianity good people go to heaven and most people are categorized as “good” …sin doesn’t figure much into the picture so it really has no impact.

Cultural Christianity picks and chooses.

When culture and Christianity clash, the cultural Christian adjusts his or her worldview accordingly…cultural Christianity focuses on passages about loving everyone…all the while ignoring passages about sin…death…and repentance.

When directives in the Bible don’t line up with what the cultural Christian wants, they rationalize their actions…as long as you’re a nice person.

Cultural Christianity dismisses the claims in the Bible of miracles and the divinity of Jesus … a cultural Christian is often willing to acknowledge Jesus as a “good man” and the books of the Old Testament as moralistic and tales rather than truth.

Cultural Christianity requires little sacrifice.

It doesn’t take much to claim the label of being a Christian…being a “nice person” doesn’t take much either…being nice and tolerant to people leads to acceptance from people…as does putting in the occasional hours of community service or donating a few dollars to a worthy cause.

On the Other Hand, Biblical Christianity is nothing less than a commitment to serving Jesus as Lord and Savior… surrendering oneself to Him for salvation and forgiveness.

Biblical Christianity requires something of believers…God becomes intimately involved in the lives of His people…as a result…He places demands on them…He requires commitment…repentance from sins…and a relationship with His followers.

He is not okay with ‘whatever’ as long as people get along…He’s more interested in a person’s eternal well-being than their temporal happiness…what defines a Christian is not how often one sets foot in a church…it’s the relationship one has with the risen Christ and God the Father.

A Biblical Christian is defined by communication with and submission to God… those who adhere to only cultural Christianity miss out on the true joy of Christianity: knowing God.

Biblical Christianity embraces the fullness of the Bible, even when it is unpopular or uncomfortable. Biblical Christianity puts the Bible first, culture second.

Being a Biblical Christian is more than believing; it means giving up everything to God…though God may require different things from different people, He will never accept being an afterthought. God demands to be the center of our lives.

Being ready means preparing for whatever contingency arises in our lives and keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus at all times while we eagerly await His coming… this is illustrated in the fact that all the virgins were sleeping when the call came.

The parable is summed up in verse 13…in the original language the word we translate as ‘keep awake’ is in the imperative …it’s a command…might best be rendered, ‘be vigilant.’

In this parable, the bridegroom’s arrival was certain…He was coming…the uncertainty of the timing illustrates the need for constant vigilance.

Here’s the importance in that…it doesn’t matter…to a certain degree…what we are doing when Christ returns…we may be working…eating…sleeping…or pursuing leisure activities…regardless of whatever it is we must be doing it in such a way that we don’t have to “make things right” (get more oil) when He comes.

Whether this parable is referring to Jesus’ coming for His Church…or for the Tribulation saints as they await His second coming…we are commanded to not become lax in our wait.

Matthew 24:1-14 Part III

Last week we looked at the six birth pains that will occur at the beginning of the tribulation as described by Jesus Himself…they were given as a response to the disciples’ question concerning the destruction of the Temple.  

Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the  sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? [3]

So…beginning in Matthew 24 Jesus begins to give them the events that will precede His second coming…nothing to do with the rapture.

We’ve talked about the Rapture before…the time when God removes all Christians from the earth…how do you think that is going to be explained worldwide?

For those who are not Christians and who are left behind at the Rapture…God will send them a strong delusion and they will believe it…

                God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false [2 Thess. 1:11]

Things that happen today cause people to make misleading statements every time something happens in the world…they ignorantly—not knowing—attempt to immediately tie it to Matt. 24.

Everything I shared with you last week concerning the six signs that happen in just three and half years…that’s why when people said WWI was the beginning of the Tribulation it doesn’t coincide with what the Bible says…same with WWII.

All six signs will happen in just 3 and a half years:

1) Deception by False Christ’s

2) Disputes and Warfare Among the Nations

3) Devastation Throughout the World

4) Deliverance of Believers to Tribulation

5) Defection of False Believers

6) Declaration of the Gospel to The Whole World

See how chaotic things will be…all these signs will obviously overlap each other adding to the chaos…not since the world was created will things be so totally disruptive…and despite the many modern-day prophets that want to give you the date this all begins…they are all clueless…no one knows the date. [24:36]

But of that day and hour no one knows not even the angels of heaven, nor the son, but the Father alone

In fact, things could continue on as they are for another 2000 years…BUT…we may not know the day when it starts…but we do know what will be the single event that will start everything in motion…when you see this you know it’s started.  

Here’s the ‘when’ part of the ‘what’ and ‘when’ will be the sign of Your coming.

             Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation …standing in the Holy place” [24:15]

That’s the when…that is the single incident that will trigger the final seven years of history as we know it…this is the event that starts the beginning of the six birth pains…it is the appearance of the abomination of desolation.

If you were to ask a group of Christians to list perplexing passages in the Bible…it wouldn’t take long for someone to mention [Matt. 24] …who and what is this person called the abomination of desolation?

First of all, what is an abomination? …what abomination does Jesus have in mind? …is it one that belongs to only His generation?

This person…this guy who is the called the abomination of desolation…the man of lawlessness…the anti-Christ…he’s called by a lot of different names…is a real person…this person is now somewhere secretly in the world waiting to be revealed.

So, hold on a second…if no one knows when the tribulation will start does that mean that this person is capable of living for thousands of years?

Here’s something you need to know about Satan…he’s a created being…as such he has limitations…he is not like God…God is:

Omnipotent…God does whatever He pleases. having unlimited power, He has total controlover everything.;

Omniscient…God knows everything from the beginning to the end.

And because God knows everything from the beginning to the end…He is

Omnipresent…God is present everywhere both in place and in time.

Too often people think that Satan has the same attributes as God…that he’s equal with God…far from it…and because Satan can’t see into the future, he only knows what is going on this very instant…and no further.

So…if he doesn’t know the future which means he doesn’t know when the tribulation will start…how does he know who the anti-Christ will be?

Here’s how that works…in every generation since Jesus was born…for the past 2000 years Satan has always had a man in waiting…that man eventually dies…he has another in waiting…that man eventually dies…and so on it goes…for the past 2000 years there has always been the anti-Christ waiting to come forward.

And when the time is right…God will allow Satan to reveal that man…he will become the second most influential person in the history of the world.  

It is the revealing of this man…the abomination of desolation that triggers the birth pains that will be followed by a time of indescribable horror in the world that will focus on the nation of Israel.

There are two events that must happen before the Tribulation begins…first is the revealing of the abomination of desolation…and second:

when you see the abomination of desolation …standing in the Holy place” [24:15]

That’s the key…the Holy place is the temple…just so you know…currently there is no temple…so…again…any attempt to tie what’s going on in the world today to Matthew 24 and the tribulation is premature.

Until there’s a Temple in Jerusalem there won’t be an anti-Christ…there won’t be any birth pains…and there certainly won’t be a tribulation.  

Look what Jesus says… [verse 15] …let the reader understand…Six hundred years before Jesus’ birth the angel Gabriel tells Daniel what will take place at the end of time…if you’re familiar with what Gabriel tells Daniel you know it’s the exact same thing Jesus is telling the disciples.

QUESTION…How do I know if the Bible’s true…because some pastor tells you it is…if someone asks you to prove the truth of the Bible what would you say?

Could say… “We know the Bible is true by faith.” …while that answer may sound pious…it’s not very practical or logical…let me help you out…you’re not going to win a discussion with that answer…nor is it a correct application of Scripture.

Three things that prove the Bible’s true: Consistency…Archaeological discoveries and Science.

Consistency is one evidence that the Bible is factual…despite being written by more than 40 different writers over a time span of 2,000 years…there is no disagreement …no difference of opinions…no contradictions between any of the writers.   

What Gabriel told Daniel is exactly what Jesus is telling the disciples.

Despite the thousands of manuscripts that have been found throughout the centuries all around the world…there is no error between the different texts…they have been accurately transmitted throughout the ages.

Archaeological discoveries have confirmed many events and places in the Bible once thought to be merely myths are real…for hundreds of years the account of Jericho was thought to be just a story until the excavation of Jericho revealed that the walls did indeed fall as described in the book of Joshua.

Archaeological discoveries prove places mentioned in the New Testament…once thought to be only names…such at Bethlehem…Capernaum…and Nazareth did exist.

Science has confirmed what the Bible centuries ago revealed [Isaiah 40:22] …that the universe is expanding…scientists did not discover such expansion until 1920s.

The discovery that the Earth is round is given to Aristotle…historians note that it is quite possible that someone before him was aware of the Earth’s round shape…yea maybe Job who wrote 2000 years before Jesus was born said that the earth is round.

The Bible is accurate in every detail…I want you to know that what has been recorded in Matthew 24 are factual events that will one day take place…you can believe they will occur based on proven evidence from the past that testifies to the truthfulness of the Bible.

What has been written will happen in the future…not just say to you ‘trust me’ and have you do it…I’m not selling used cars here.

Therefore, when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION then there will be a great tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the would until now, nor ever will [24:15 /21]

The term tribulation used here describes the entire eschatological seven-year period …but more specifically to the time known as the ‘Great Tribulation’ which is the last half of the tribulation [21].

Why is the tribulation divided into two sections…because as bad as the first half will be the second half is even worse.

At the three-and one-half year mark the Antichrist will put an end to the sacrifices in the temple…he will set up an idol in his honor and require people to worship it…sounds a little like Nebuchadnezzar…he will declare himself the dictator of the world. [Daniel 9:27/ Rev.6:1–2] …the Jews will rebel…and the game is on…the war will commence. [Rev. 6:3–4]

Jesus said that this will be the most awful time in all history…we think of the wars, plagues, famines, and genocide that has occurred down through history…it’s sobering to think this will be far worse than what has ever happened.

A time when God pours out His wrath on the world, it will be truly a great tribulation… [Rev 9:18] a third of mankind will be killed…. [Rev. 6:7-8] says one-fourth of the people on earth will die.

Why the Tribulation…why would God do this…what purpose does it serve…God is God…isn’t there some other more peaceful way to work this out?

The Tribulation is a future time in history when God will accomplish three things:

At the final battle…the Battle of Armageddon, Israel will be surrounded by the armies of the world and will be losing the battle…just when Israel is on the brink of total defeat Jesus is going to come back…when He comes, the Jews will accept Jesus as the Messiah and run out to meet Him.

2) This is Satan’s last attempt to destroy Israel and thwart God’s plans.

For Satan, the destruction of Israel is a matter of self-preservation…throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry Satan did everything he could to stop Jesus from fulfilling His earthly ministry.

For Satan and the Antichrist their goal throughout these entire events is to destroy the Jewish people…Why…Satan believes that if he can destroy the Jews, then he will be able to prevent the second coming…and keep God from sending him to hell.

Satan’s read the book…he knows what his ultimate fate will be…he’s just trying to keep it from happening.  

3) God’s patience runs out

The Tribulation is God’s judgment on the unbelieving, godless inhabitants of the earth (Rev.6 – 18). Are people really that bad…yes they are.

Last Monday Elaine and I went and visited Advice and Aid…they offer an alternative to Planned Parenthood and abortion…honestly…I could not work there, it’s too stressful…it’s too depressing…it’s too upsetting…too heartbreaking…it’s too everything…those ladies are counseling women on life and death.    

While we were there one of the ladies brought in a cupcake with a candle on it…it represented a baby that had been born…a woman who decided birth over death.

That candle represented the 221^st baby born this year instead of being aborted.

Something I shared with those ladies…Planned Parenthood is but one example that people are really that bad…it’s not that the people working at Planned Parenthood are morally wicked…it’s a reflection of the calloused mindset people have regarding the unborn.

It is estimated that 70,000 people seek abortion care in the United States each month…statistics indicate that 65 percent of women who have abortions self-identify as Christians…abortions is one of the most commonly performed procedures in the United States.

It’s a sad reflection on our country that during the COVID-19 pandemic churches were forced to close but when abortion clinics were included in that ban, they went to court to prevent what they saw as—another opportunity to undermine reproductive rights and keep pregnant people from accessing abortion care.

Forget the positive influence churches have made in their communities by helping

…the needy—we partner with Helping Hands of Olathe

…the poor—we partner with Mission Southside to provide for the poor

…distributing food—we partner with New Hope providing food for those in need

…assisting the homeless—we housed 40-50 people every night for four months

…assisting with support groups—we provided a place to meet for Narcotic Anonymous

…teaching children the gospel—over 20 years our church has had AWANA  

This church has and is doing every one of those…Planned Parenthood’s single reason for staying open is to accommodate abortion care.  

Abortion is just one instance in how we as a nation…as a Church…as Christians have compromised Biblical beliefs by living like the world…God is serious about our not compromising His Word with the values of the world.

In [v37] Jesus gives us an illustration of how wicked people will be at His coming …making a comparison between the time of His second coming and Noah.

For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.

This verse says that at the second coming of Christ, people will be just like in the days of Noah…does this mean that there’s a laundry list of issues that are similar to what was being done in Noah’s days…that we can make a comparison of then to now? …not really.

There is however a single primary point that Christ emphasizes between the time of Noah and His second coming…in both instances…in both Noah’s day and in His second coming it is the suddenness and the unpreparedness that He’s emphasizing.

Jesus is saying that the days of Noah were exactly the same as it will be the time of His return.

The unprepared of Noah’s day were so absorbed in pleasing themselves…going about their business…going through life compromising their faith all the while ignoring the warnings of God’s Word…it’s the same today. 

Here’s the tragedy…perhaps the most sobering statement in this whole passage is that “they did not understand” [39] …they did not put two and two together…  until the flood came and took them all away [39] …up until that time they were clueless…Jesus said, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be [39].

BUT…there is a BUT…even in the midst of the most horror filled time in the history of the world…God is still a people person:

Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved: but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short [24:22]

So, what does the phrase no life would have been saved mean…there are two views that are worthy of consideration and they revolve around the meaning of the term “no life.”

Is it referring to the Jewish remnant…or does Christ have in mind all humanity?

I think both…with respect to a physical deliverance it is referring to the survivors who come out of the Tribulation and will live on earth during the millennium… secondly, it’s referring to the salvation of the Jews who will accept Jesus at His second coming.

Jesus then sums up what we’ve been talking about for the past three weeks:

Therefore, be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming [42]   

For the remained of chapter 24 Jesus emphasizes the need to be ready for His coming.

The mystery for me is not what is written in the Bible…that’s no mystery… Jesus has laid out in exact detail what will happen at some time in the future.

The mystery is how can people go lackadaisically through life…not even considering the events that will one day take place…and even worse…that Jesus is coming soon and there is a day of reckoning for every person who has ever lived?

A time when every person will be called to give account for their actions…to pay one’s debts so to speak…to determine where you will spend eternity.

I don’t preach hell fire sermons…you don’t scare people into heaven…the idea that Hell is a place everyone who doesn’t believe in Jesus eventually goes is NOT in the Bible…Hell is for Satan and his angels [Matt: 25:41].

The Bible reveals the fairness of God even in deciding on people’s eternal fate…

But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating [Luke 12:48]

This verse clearly indicates there will be gradations of punishment even in ‘hell’… that punishment will be proportional to the knowledge rejected…everyone does not go to the same place…or endure the same level of punishment.

BUT…it is still a place separated from God…that is hell…that is not God’s desire for anyone… and it doesn’t have to be…accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior will guarantee that one day you will either be lifted up out of the grave or taken physically from the earth to meet Jesus and be with Him eternally.

Matthew 24:1-14 Part II

Last week we began looking at Jesus’ last sermon…the Olivet Discourse which was given as a response to the disciples’ question concerning the destruction of the Temple.  

As they were leaving the temple the disciples call Jesus’ attention [24:1] to the magnificent buildings on the temple mount…Jesus’ reply was a little unsettling:

Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another: every one will be thrown down

There were few things more magnificent than the Temple…so Jesus’ prophecy of doom got the disciples curious, and probably more than a little concerned…when they were alone with Jesus on the Mount of Olives, they asked Him:

Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? [3]

So…Jesus begins in Matthew 24 to give them more than they ask for…He begins talking about the events that will precede His second coming…nothing to do with the rapture…the mystery of the rapture was not revealed until years later by Paul.

I’m going to just go over a portion of last week’s sermon…so stay with me…in answering the disciples Jesus mentions a bunch—deep theological word—of things—deep theological term—that are going to happen before He physically visibly returns to earth.

Things that even today cause people to make misleading statements every time something happens in the world…they ignorantly—not knowing—attempt to immediately tie it to Matt. 24.

Any attempt to tie the first 14 verses in Matthew 24 to the rapture or even His return to earth is premature… look what Jesus Himself says about this… that is not yet the end [24:6]. You cannot make sense of Matthew 24 unless you understand that.

Jesus makes it clear that the fulfillment of what occurs in Matt 24 & 25 is in the future…a time the disciples would never experience…a time we or any other Christian will ever experience.

Jesus is saying there will be those signs in the world that hint of the end…BUT not everything that seems to be a sign of the end…is really a sign.  (Hendriksen, William; Kistemaker, Simon J., Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew, Baker, 1953-2001)

In Matthew 24 Jesus tells us what will occur between the time of the rapture—the removal of all Christians from the earth—and His second coming.

SO…despite Harold Camping spending millions of dollars on billboards predicting that Judgment Day would be May 21, 2011, or ancient Mayan astronomers predicting the world would end in 2012…we’re all still here.

You can take a look at what is occurring in the world today and say…boy…this certainly fits into what Jesus says will happen at the end time…it does…but it’s not to the degree of intensity that Jesus is talking about in Matthew 24.

What Jesus is teaching here is the exact same thing Daniel wrote about 600 years before Jesus was ever born…that the final seven years of man’s dominance on the earth…is divided into two / three-and-one-half year segments.

The first 3-1/2 years is identified as the beginning of birth pangs [8] verses 4-14…the prelude to the second 3-1/2 years identified as the pre-tribulation [21].

People become so engrossed with the abomination of desolation…the anti-Christ… the Beast…that they fail to correctly take what Daniel said regarding that person.

That’s why it’s important to have an understanding of what is written in…Isaiah …Jeremiah…Ezra…Nehemiah…Daniel…Zechariah…1 Thessalonians…and Revelation and how they fit in with Matthew 24 or you’ll come away with a mis-placed interpretation of this portion of Scripture.  

Everything Jesus is referring to in Matthew 24 occurs after the Rapture…none of you will be here to see any of that…if you’re truly a Christian…if not…it’s ugly.

WARNING—if you have never trusted Jesus as your Savior…if all you’ve been doing throughout your whole life is playing church…you need to get serious because once the Rapture happens…you will have to suffer through the entire seven years…if you’re fortunate enough to live that long.

So does the Bible give any indication what must happen before the rapture can occur?…it does…just as Matthew 24 gives us the events that will happen before the tribulation…not the date…but the events that will happen…the Bible gives us details of what must occur before the rapture.

Until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled; Luke 21:24…Certain things must happen:

…until the fulness of the Gentiles…the period when Gentiles are being saved

…until the Gospel is preached all over the world

…until the Jews return to their own land out of all nations;

There is nothing preventing Jesus’ return for His Church…nothing needs to be fulfilled…we’re just all waiting on Jesus’ timetable.  

Let me give you a play-by-play chronological order of events that occur at the Rapture.

1) The Lord Himself will descend from Heaven…where He has been preparing a place for us [John 14:1-3].

2) The Lord will shout as He descends [1 Thess. 4:16] and the dead in Christ (deceased believers) will rise first.

3) Then we who are alive will be caught up (Raptured) into Heaven. [1 Thess. 4:17] where we will meet the Lord in the air [1 Thess. 4:17] where He will personally receive us to Himself. The church age now comes to an end.  

4)  At that point we will be changed (made incorruptible) [1Cor.15:51, 53].

5) All Christians will then stand before the judgment seat of Christ [Romans 14:10] not to determine lost or saved…but to get their rewards for work done while on the earth [1 Cor. 3:13-15].

Again…all this will occur…at some time in the future…God has given us these Scriptures so we won’t be fearful of the future…so we know exactly what is going to happen.

So…the rapture has occurred…we’ve all been removed from the earth…the dead have all been risen from the graves…we’re all living in heaven.

So…how do I know for certain that the Church will not have to suffer through the terrible time of the Tribulation…how do I know I’m a pre-trib believer…because some say we will go through the tribulation…and that frightens me…READ THE BIBLE.

In the book of Revelation, the church is mentioned 17 times in the first three chapters…it’s not mentioned again until chapter 19.

Beginning in Revelation chapter 5 is the introduction of the Tribulation…there is no further mention of the church until chapter 18…the moral and spiritual influence of the church will be gone…and the restraining power of the Holy Spirit with it.

Let me share with you how that will be one of the contributing factors of what occurs beginning in [24:4].

Something that I have shared with you for three weeks now…The Kingdom of God/Heaven can best be seen as being ‘already but not yet’.

The kingdom of heaven has already come to earth…it was inaugurated by Jesus in his earthly ministry…he plainly tells us ‘the kingdom of God is in your midst’ [Luke 17:21].

In His coming He brought the kingdom of God to earth…and when He went back to Heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to comfort us so we would not be left alone…every person who has claimed Jesus as their Savior has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit living in them.

It is the presence of the Holy Spirit on earth…and in our lives that helps:

1) restrain us from the evil that our human nature keeps wanting us to do…and

2) to convict us of sin…and

3) He is restraining Satan and his evil forces that are in the world.  

People think things are bad in the world today…murder…rape…wars…it is nothing compared to what will happen once the Holy Spirit is removed from the world

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way,

What you are seeing in Matthew 24 is the result of when the Holy Spirit is removed at the rapture [2 Thessalonians 2:7] and the evil that will result when men are then allowed to do whatever their evil hearts desire.

In verses 4-14 Jesus gives the first birth pain in response to ‘what’ will be the signs of your coming…the first birth pain is:

1) – Deception by False Christs

See to it that no one misleads you [24:4] …He gives this deception un-paralleled priority.

There is a time coming…and really, it’s already here, when deception by false prophets…and false preachers will be so great…that if possible, even the people of God could be deceived.

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect [24:24]

Jesus begins to elaborate on the remaining signs that precede His coming at the end of the age.

Jesus begins to reiterate something that was told to Daniel 600 years earlier… here’s the importance in having knowledge of the Book of Daniel.

Six hundred years before Jesus was even born the angel Gabriel appears to Daniel and tells him exactly what Jesus is talking about here.

Why did Gabriel reveal to Daniel this information…what is there about Daniel that makes him special…because…you are highly esteemed [Dan 9:23]

Know where else in the Bible that kind of praise is given to someone…Gabriel tells Mary you are a ‘favored one’ …there’s a difference between being ‘favored by God’ and having the ‘favor of God’ in your life.

So why is Daniel so highly esteemed…at around the age of 10 or so he was taken captivity by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon never to return home or see family again.  

It only gets better…upon his arrival in Babylon as just a boy…he’s castrated and made to serve the king until his death…BUT…throughout his life…he remained a faithful man of God…how easy to have lived his entire life in resentment.  

So, here’s Daniel…now in his seventies…has served God faithfully his entire life…the lion’s den…as part of his reward for faithfulness Gabriel tells him ‘I have come to give you insight with understanding’ [9:23]

Gabriel tells him what will take place at the end of time…it’s the exact same events that Jesus is telling the disciples about.

So Daniel writes it down…hundreds of years before any mention of the ‘End Time’ is made…Daniel has already been privy to that …you can smoke all the medical marijuana you want and you would never be able to equal that prediction.   

Another example that is pertinent to this chapter…60 years after Jesus reveals to the disciples the ‘what’ and ‘when’ of His second coming He again appears to John to give him a more detailed explanation of the last days.

In the book of Revelation Jesus gives to John a more vivid description of the events that will take place…John visions a book with seven seals on it…it’s a series of end-time judgements from God.

As each seal is broken Jesus reveals to John in greater detail what Matthew writes about…both Matthew’s account and John’s account are similar…they should be…they’re from the same person.

Jesus continues on with the six birth pains that occur before the Tribulation.

2) Disputes and Warfare Among the Nations

Verse 6 – 7a – “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars…nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom…”

The second birth pain will involve intensified warfare among the nations and kingdoms of the world…in Revelation this is symbolized by the opening of the second seal and the appearance of the Rider on the Red Horse — Rev 6:3.

The rider was given power to take peace from the earth and make men slay each other – “nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom”.

Some believe World War 1…in addition to the signing of the Balfour Treaty in 1916 [Ezekiel 36] Russia becoming a dominant power in 1917 [Ezekiel 38/ 39] was the evidence of this sign…obviously not…then it was World War II which were both followed by famines and pestilences which seemed to fulfill Matthew 24.

But in this ‘signs’ there seems to be no distinction between nation and kingdom… in this birth pain no group of people will be exempt from war or the threat of war…with the moral and spiritual influence of the church being gone…and the restraining power of the Holy Spirit removed it will be chaos.

3) – Devastation Throughout the World

Verse 7 – “and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.”

In addition to the deception of false Christs and warring dissension among the nations there will be famines and earthquakes…natural disasters of staggering proportions that will ensue as the earth begins to disintegrate …far beyond any that the world has witnessed so far.

This is in conjunction with the opening of the third seal in Revelation 6:5…a rider on a black horse will spread famine throughout the earth…whatever population is left on the earth from after the warfare, they will have to survive by bare means of food…can you visualize the desperation that’s going to occur?

You can tie this in with the fourth seal in Revelation 6:7-8 as well…death, riding on a pale horse, wipes out one-fourth of the earth’s population…this is the result the events of the second…third…and fourth seals which are attributed to the wars and famines that followed.

Verse 8 – “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs”

EVERYBODY…we haven’t even gotten to the bad part yet…Jesus relates the increased intensity of the birth pains to a woman in labor…at the beginning thebirthpains are merely the early warning signs that the Kingdom is approaching …we haven’t even gotten serious yet.

4) – Deliverance of Believers to Tribulation

Verse 9 – “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name.”

The fourth labor pain will be severe persecution of believers…being identified with Christ’s name will cost believers their freedom…their rights…and their lives.

KEY — these are the people who are saved after the rapture of the church…having been converted to Christ during the Tribulation…many will be saved through the preaching of the two witnesses [Rev. 11:3] and the 144,000 [Rev. 7].

5 – Defection of False Believers

Verse 10 – “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another”

The fifth birth pain is a consequence of the fourth…as persecution intensifies in the end times and believers begin to be arrested…hated…and even martyred.

When the persecution becomes too severe, these Christians will forsake Christ and join fellow unbelievers in persecuting God’s people…Three Reasons:

1) The Cost will be Too High — Unlike Peter who in a moment of fear and weakness denied knowing Christ…these are not true ‘believers’ but are unbelievers who reveal their true character and openly reject Christ.

2) The Deception will be Too Convincing – Some will defect because the cost is too high…but others will defect because they are deceived about the gospel.

3) Sin will be Too Attractive – As lawlessness increases…people’s love for righteousness and God will grow cold.

6 – Declaration of the Gospel To The Whole World

Verse 14 – “And this gospel …shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.”

The last birth pain to indicate that the end time is near will be the worldwide declaration of the gospel to a degree never yet seen before…God will supernaturally present the gospel to every person on earth.

[Revelation 14:6-] – “And I saw another angel…having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people’ [v.7] and he said with a loud voice, ‘Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come…”

KEY —- This will be the final attempt to evangelize the world…miraculously proclaimed from heaven…man’s opportunity for salvation will be over…because “then the end shall come.”

WATCH what follows…in [Vs. 4 – 14] He tells of six signs that will happen before His coming again into the world…BUT…there’s more…you can’t just take these six signs and say…these six and only these six.

Matt 24:8 – “All these events are the beginning of birth pains”

These birth pains are not to go on for years…decades…or centuries…people for 2000 years have been trying to make a correlation between world events in their life time and the birth pains identified in Matthew 24…Jesus has just given the ‘what’ part of their question…notice what Jesus says next…what immediately follows

Verse 15 – “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation…”

EVERYBODY…here he comes…tall…wide…and handsome…the single event that activates the birth pain signs will be the rider on the white horse in Revelation 6 who in the middle of the seventh week breaks his covenant with the Jews.

This person…next to Jesus…will have the greatest impact on the history of the world…he will be the second most influential person who has ever lived.

The coming of the abomination of desolation triggers the birth pains that will be followed by a time of indescribable horror in the world that will focus on the nation of Israel.

While Jerusalem is encompassed by enemy nations who threaten to destroy her… the person she perceives to be her protector commits the abomination of desolation.

Verse 15 – “…let the reader understand…”

This reinforces the fact that Jesus was not giving the warning to the disciples or to their generation …but to those living in the end time…those who come to salvation through the preaching of the 144,000 and the supernatural preaching of the angelic messenger [Rev. 14:6-7]…who will read those truths in Scripture and understand the trials they are enduring.

Matthew 24:1-14

For the past five weeks we have been looking at just one day in Jesus’s life… Tuesday of Holy Week where Jesus was involved in a long series of discussions with the Jewish leaders who were literally directing people away from God.

In just this one day…Jesus, in an attempt to counter their understanding of the Law, tells a series of parables and teachings to put in perspective for the common person:

…how to receive eternal life.
…how we are to live our life while on earth.
…who is admitted into the kingdom of Heaven.

We have examined all six of these teachings and parables:

…Parable of the Two Sons
…Parable of the landowner
…Parable of the Marriage Feast
…His teaching on paying taxes
…His teaching concerning the resurrection
…His teaching on the Greatest Commandment.

Now the day is about over…but He’s not finished…as He’s leaving the temple the disciples call His attention to the magnificent buildings on the temple mount [24:1].

¹ Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ² “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down.”

³ As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”⁴ Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you…

So now the disciples have two major concerns…first…Jesus’ own account that once in Jerusalem He will be condemned to death [20:18] and secondly…the destruction of the temple.

There were few things more magnificent than the Temple…so Jesus’ prophecy of doom got the disciples curious, and probably more than a little concerned…when they were alone with Jesus on the Mount of Olives, they asked Him:

Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the  sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? [3]

Two seemingly harmless questions

—when will that happen
—what will be the sign of your coming.

This begins what is referred to as “The Olivet Discourse.”

In Matthew’s Gospel he brackets Jesus’ ministry between two sermons: The Sermon on the Mount—which defines the expectations on how we are to live our life while on earth—then at the end of His ministry the Olivet Discourse, in which the emphasis was prophetical.

Need some history or you start out confused and it just gets worse…Jesus begins to give a summary to the disciples of what’s going to happen…but…here’s where the confusion comes in…

First…Those events are not all end time events.

Secondly…The events in Matthew 24 happen after the rapture.  

The Church age is the time between His first coming and the rapture…the Church age stops at the rapture…everything Jesus talks about in Matthew 24 is after the rapture…any attempt to tie Matthew 24 to Christ’s return for His church is exegetically incorrect.

It’s important to understand that Jesus’ return to earth is in two stages.

The first stage is where He comes back invisibly to take all Christians and all Christians who have died up into Heaven; called the Rapture…the second stage happens seven years later when Jesus comes physically back to earth at the end of the Tribulation.

You will never have a clear understanding of what Jesus is referring to in Matthew 24 if you fail to consider what has been written on this subject in…Isaiah… Jeremiah… Daniel…Zechariah…1 Thessalonians…and Revelation.

What’s interesting about the Bible…God never gives to one writer all the details on one subject.

The Holy Spirit gives bits and pieces to various writers and it necessitates you combine all of them together…if you just read Matthew 24 in isolation you get a distorted picture of the events leading up to Jesus’ second coming.

I doubt if you can find anyone who doesn’t have an opinion on the end times…but because most people are ignorant…nothing wrong with being ignorant…it just means you don’t know.

Not KNOWING how to interpret Matthew 24 people believe these are the signs that will happen immediately before Christ’s return…and that is exactly correct…but it’s important to know that the ‘what’ and ‘when’ happen between the rapture and His visible return to earth.

Jesus is describing the things that will occur immediately prior to and during the tribulation…all these things will happen but not while the Church is still present on earth…they all occur after the rapture.

Again…more detail…anything in Scripture causes controversy…regarding the rapture some believe Jesus will remove the Church prior to the tribulation…before all that is mentioned in Matt 24 starts…these are ‘pre-trib’ believers.

Some believe Jesus will remove the church in the middle of the tribulation…that the Church will have to go through at least half of the Tribulation…these are ‘mid-trib’ believers…and some believe Jesus will make the church go through the entire devastation of the tribulation…these are ‘post-trib’ believers.

BUT…what Jesus is referring to in Matt. 24 has nothing to do with the rapture…at that point in the history of the world the rapture has already occurred…that’s why you’re all pre-trib…for some of you…you just didn’t know it.

Here’s why we’re all ‘pre-trib’ because the Bible says we are…God will not allow His children to go through the horrible…pain…suffering…and death that will accompany the tribulation…He says so Himself: [Rev 3:20]

Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth

The word ‘rapture’ is one of those words people like to ask you about to make you look silly…‘where’s the word ‘rapture’ in the Bible’ …the word Rapture never appears in the Bible…it’s a Latin word that was carried over when they translated the Bible from Latin to English.

Its meaning is found in [1 Thess. 4:17] referring to being ‘caught up’ which is what rapture means.

Why translators continue to use the word ‘rapture’ instead of the Greek word ἁρπάζω which means the same thing…just adds confusion…so when people say the word rapture is not in the Bible tell them if they knew Greek, they would know better.

In Matthew 24:1-14 Jesus is talking about the events that will proceed His second coming…His visible return to earth…He mentions a bunch of things that are going to happen…which causes people to make misleading statements every time something happens in the world…they ignorantly—not knowing—attempt to immediately tie it to Matt. 24.

Every time there’s a conflict in the Middle East people want to tie that to Matthew 24 …wars and rumors of war…every time there are natural disasters people want to tie that to Matthew 24. Here’s the latest example:

One of the signs that will occur before Jesus returns is pestilence so the un-natural thing is to associate any infectious epidemic disease with Jesus’ second coming because it’s mentioned in Revelation…again the importance of knowing the completed Bible.  

…the most recent disease fear is covid-19…killing hundreds of thousands
…before that it was ebola which killed thousands in Africa
…before that it was aids, which has killed tens of millions
…tomorrow something else…an even greater plague leaving death and destruction.

There are some today who equate coronavirus with the end time…at the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic I preached a sermon on that…and said:

—the Coronavirus is not the beginning of the end of the world.
—the Coronavirus is not God punishing the United States.

Conspiracy theorists proclaiming, ‘the day of reckoning has begun’ using [Matt. 24] as the foundation for such outlandish claims.

Any attempt to tie the first 14 verses in Matthew 24 to Jesus’s return is premature… look what Jesus Himself says about this… that is not yet the end [24:6]. You cannot make sense of Matthew 24 & 25 unless you understand that.

Jesus makes it clear that the fulfillment of what occurs in these two chapters is in the future…a time the disciples would never experience…a time we or any other Christian will ever experience.

Jesus is saying there will be those signs in the world that hint of the end…not  everything that seems to be a sign of the end…is in reality a sign…people claiming to be the Messiah…the earth experiencing wars…nation rising against nation… kingdom against kingdom…famines… pestilences… earthquakes… BUT this is not the tribulation…Jesus says all those are just the beginning of birth pangs [24:9].

There are signs that are being interpreted as being indications that the end is near, they’re not…they deserve the name “mistaken signs”. (Hendriksen, William; Kistemaker, Simon J., Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew, Baker, 1953-2001)

The Kingdom of God/Heaven can best be seen as being ‘already but not yet’.

We live in what theologians call ‘the already, but not yet.’ The kingdom of heaven has already come to earth…it was inaugurated by Jesus in His earthly ministry…He plainly tells us ‘the kingdom of God is in your midst’ [Luke 17:21].

In His coming He brought the kingdom of God to earth…but it has not yet been fully realized—not until Christ returns in person as King.

In Matthew 13 Jesus gives eight parables explaining the “mystery of the kingdom of God”.

In this series of parables Jesus explains what will occur on earth between his first advent and the rapture…how Satan works in the world during the time we are living in today…the time referred to as the Church age.

Then in Matthew 24 He tells us what will occur between the time of the rapture and His second coming.

Meanwhile, our lives—including our work…our leisure…our worship…everything we do is framed by the reality of living in a world partly controlled by the old corrupt ways of the Fall…and yet partly ruled by God.

I have spent almost all of my time in preparing you for what Jesus is preparing to reveal in chapter 24…every Preacher has a different preaching style…one thing about my preaching style is I teach more than I preach.

I do that because I want to you know what the Bible says…I’m not here to tell you stories…or jokes…or give illustrations…I have a limited amount of time and I want it to be of benefit to you…so at times that necessitates explaining the background on what I’m about to teach/preach on.

This is one of those times because without having any knowledge of what has occurred up to this point you’ll be like the social media folks…everybody has their own opinion and most of the time that’s based on very little evidence because they have very little knowledge.

Over the course of the next couple weeks in explaining Matthew 24 I’m going to be going deep…not to show you how smart I am…not sure most people realize how much work is involved in maintaining a ‘C’ average.

I want you to have an understanding of what is going to occur at some time in the future…God has given us these Scriptures so we won’t be fearful of the future.

Here are Jesus’s disciples…trying to understand what Jesus has been telling them …still trying to make sense of why Jesus was not going to overthrow the Roman oppression…why He was going to die…and if you’re going to die…when are you physically coming back…so they ask Matthew 24:3:

when will these things be and what will be the sign of Your coming, and end of the age?”

So, Jesus begins to tell the disciples about all the traumatic events that will occur before His return…beginning in [24:4] Jesus answers the disciples’ question… here’s where some of the confusion starts in understanding this portion of Scripture …Jesus answers their question…but He responds in reverse order.

They ask ‘when’ and ‘what’ …Jesus answers in reverse order… ‘what’ and ‘when’ adding to the confusion…he doesn’t deal with the ‘when’ until verse 36…He addresses the ‘what’ first….in verses 4 – 14…where He describes six things or “birth pains” that will occur before the tribulation even starts.

The first is deception; Matt 24:4 – See to it that no one misleads you…Jesus gives this deception un-paralleled priority…and there’s a reason for that.

There is a time coming when deception by false prophets…and false preachers will be so great…that if possible, even the people of God could be deceived if it were not for God’s providential protection:

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect [24:24]

This has already started…shortly after Christ’s resurrection there arose impostors… every one of them professing to be the Christ…today…we have people pretending to hear from God…receiving new revelations…having new insights into the Bible …receiving visions regarding re-interpreting a Scripture…let me share one instance with you.

It has been suggested that Jesus’ command to ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ has replaced the Ten Commandments.

How…by grouping them all into one easy to follow instruction.

Andy Stanley, pastor of the 40 thousand plus North Point Community Church expressed this view in a Sept. 18, 2018, commentary for Relevant Magazine:

Jesus issued his new commandment as a replacement for everything including

the big ten. Jesus’ new commandment replaced all the old commandments. Participants in the new covenant (that’s Christians) are not required to obey any of the commandments found in the first part of their Bibles. Participants in the new covenant are expected to obey the single command Jesus issued as part of his new covenant: as I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Does anyone not see a problem in that statement…that we are not required to obey any of the commandments found in the first part of their Bible?

Here’s the danger…hundreds if not thousands of people who heard that statement will understand that all that is really required of me is to love one another… ‘well, I can certainly do that.’ Then I don’t have to feel guilty about my lifestyle.

The affair I’m in…I’m stealing from my company…I’m lying to my spouse…   even murder is really not that relevant any more as long as I’m loving people.

Jesus in no way is compromising The Ten Commandments…replacing them…or suggesting they are no longer valid…some imply that the Sinai covenant which included the Ten commandments came to an end when Christ came…but how do you account that Jesus Himself recited five of the commandants?

Here’s where this all goes wrong…when you fail to realize that love for others is the cornerstone of obedience to God [Matt. 22:36]. Which includes the Ten Commandments.

How do you know if something from the Old Testament is applicable today?…if it’s repeated in the New Testament.

Loving one another as Jesus loves us in the evidence that you are a Christian because everything in our life should be a reflection of the Ten Commandments.

This is the first ‘sign’ Jesus’ mentions…being aware of those who would deceive you…you can easily see the level of priority it demands.

TWO LESSONS from the statement ‘See to it that no one misleads you.’

First…As your pastor my responsibilities are to lead worship service…shepherd the flock… to be knowledgeable of the Bible…challenge you to follow biblical principles…and whatever else the Constitution says I’m supposed to do…but first and foremost Scripture identifies my calling to:

Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God…Acts 20:28

If one of you is led astray because I have failed in allowing the spreading of a false Gospel that leads to deception and corruption of Biblical doctrines, God will disqualify me from preaching…I’m not sure all pastors take that seriously.   

Secondly…as Christians we are told that we should no longer be tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting… [Eph. 4:14]  

As Christians…here’s a challenge…give this verse a chance to be fulfilled in your life…study the Bible so that you will not be ignorant—without knowledge—or become a gullible victim of deception whereby you become easily swayed by false teachings.

There is only one way that can be accomplished…the more Biblical spiritual knowledge a person has…and the closer your walk is with God…it allows you to enter that realm where God unfolds the Scriptures through the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.

Matthew 22:15-30

If we take Matthew’s testimony about Jesus seriously, we confront the possibility that there were some instances in Jesus’ life where He was less than pleasant…it’s all too easy to remake Jesus in our image….picking and choosing from the biblical testimony in order to depict him as a friendly…harmless…loving…caring…Savior.

There are instances when we see Jesus not as the meek and gentle Jesus we thought we knew…we’ve already looked at the eight woes of condemnation He pronounced against the religious leaders of Israel.

In this life there are things worth getting worked up about…one of my favorite move lines is in ‘Open Range’ … ‘there are some things worth dying for’…just as there are some things worth arguing about…things that call for us to be defiant.

Jesus is in a continuous conflict of verbal duels between Himself and the various religious authorities in Jerusalem…they had been at it for a while.

For the past five weeks we have been looking at just one day in Jesus’s life… Tuesday of Holy Week where Jesus was involved in a long series of discussions with Sadducees, lawyers, chief priests, elders, scribes, Pharisees, and their disciples.

As a Christians never get into a verbal argument regarding the Bible…just don’t do it…you will never get your point across.

For these guys…it wasn’t because they were sincerely seeking Jesus’ advice…their real motive was to force Jesus into a difficult answer that would discredit Him before the people (Matthew 22:15-22) or that they might seize Him for something He said in order to deliver Him to the authorities (Luke 20:20).

As believers we often get asked ‘perplexing questions’ …sometimes, the questions come from unsaved friends who are sincere…who do have a genuine desire to know the answers…but just as often, ‘perplexing questions’ come from unbelievers who have already made up their mind to ‘disbelieve’ before the question is even answered.

In the case today Jesus is asked three questions that are little more than ‘mental puzzles’ offered in an attempt to make faith in Jesus look absurd or to make us look silly…but most of the time to make them look even sillier…that’s the nature of the three questions we find in this morning’s passage:  

In first century Jerusalem there were three primary groups—Pharisees, the Herodians, and the Sadducees. Each one of these three groups gets together in an attempt to outwit Jesus.

Each group asks an independent question…questions that are relevant to us today… maybe why Matthew was inspired to include them in his gospel…had he not recorded them we would have little direction regarding these issues.

The first group to confront Jesus is the Herodians…they held the political power.  

Matthew 22:17-22, Concerning paying taxes:

¹⁷ Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay tax to Caesar or not?” ¹⁸ But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, ²⁰ and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” ²¹ “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

There is a lot of historical background that goes along with this question…the question of the tax itself…what the tax was spent on…because the coin had the image of Caesar on it was considered a graven image…all were relevant but here’s the issue:

Is it lawful to pay (doumai) to give what is due to Caesar, or not? [17]

The Pharisees tried to trap Jesus with this question asking if He thought it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar — the state…the wording almost gives the impression that they are de-emphasizing their legal obligation to pay taxes and they want Jesus’s concurrence.

If Jesus answers that the taxes are lawful, He will alienate the people who hate the tax and the coin…if He answers that the taxes are not lawful, the Romans will arrest Him for subversion…either way, Jesus loses and his enemies win.

The problem for Jesus is…the question had been carefully crafted that allowed for only a yes-or-no answer…their purpose in asking was not to acquire an honest answer…it was to limit Jesus’ options so that He has no choice but to answer in a way that will compromise Him.

Jesus made no distinction between what was legal and what was unfair…many times people use that as an excuse for not paying taxes…that they’re illegal…or unfair because they’re paying more than their share…so I won’t pay any at all.

Then there’s the issue of the income tax laws that are constitutionally questionable …nevertheless, we have a system in this country that requires us to obey the laws that are created by our legislators.

So…Jesus’ answer was twofold; He said to give what is due to the government. Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and secondly give what is due to God.

With respect to paying taxes…for Christians this should not be an issue…as citizens we have an obligation to the state—to obey its laws and to pay its taxes. Paul tells us that God has appointed higher authorities and we are obligated to obey them (Romans 13:1-2).

Give to God the things that are God’s. [21]

Jesus doesn’t divide the world into two equal realms, one between our obligations to Caesar (government) and our obligations to God…His answer acknowledges our obligation to the state but affirms our larger obligation to God.

I’m not going to get back into a discussion on giving to the church…talked about that a couple weeks ago…but with respect to The Branches church…I know I speak for the Church Council…deacons…and Finance Committee when I say I am humbled and grateful for the consistent level of giving from our church family.  

Matthew 22:23-33, Concerning the Resurrection:

²³ That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. ²⁴ “Teacher,” they said…if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. ²⁵ Now there were seven brothers …the first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. ²⁷ Finally, the woman died. ²⁸ Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. ³⁰ At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

One of the greatest tragedies that the Jewish people could imagine would be that a man dies without any offspring to carry on his name…and more importantly… preserve his inheritance of land.

As a result, Jewish Law stated that if a married man dies childless, his brother must marry his widow and father a child who will be considered the son of the deceased man (vv. 5-6).

This was required to provide for the widow to keep land and other matters of inheritance within the family, and to ensure that the deceased person’s name and clan will continue.

So the Sadducees make up a ridiculously stupid story about seven brothers who all marry this one woman—one after another—until she had gone through all seven brothers…and then she died—much to the relief of some nephews who may have been next in line for consideration!

They then, ask Jesus: ‘So; in this ‘resurrection’ whose wife will she be? …this should be the indication that this is a trick question the Sadducees sought to trap Jesus in His words…they denied there even was a resurrection.

So…obviously this was a question asked out of a spirit of unbelief—one that was designed to make Jesus scramble around for some answer to a ridiculous question in an effort to save face.

It’s like the question of…if when God bodily raised us from the dead on the last day…is He planning to resurrect all our old haircuts and fingernail-clippings as well…it’s not a sincere question…it’s asked out of a spirit of unbelief.

So how do we as Christians counteract being in the same situation: listening to what God is saying by: 1) reading His Word…2) by coming to Church and Sunday school…3) attending Bible studies doing in-depth studies of God’s Word.   

Notice Jesus’ answer…He tells them right away, ‘You are mistaken’ [29] then tells them why they’re mistaken…they were led astray by the condition of their thinking—”not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God” [v. 29]

(1) They didn’t know the Scriptures because if they did, they would believe in the resurrection because it is taught in Scripture.

(2) They didn’t know the power of God because if they did, they would believe in the resurrection because God’s power makes it possible.

Here’s the take away from this…couple things:

…one thing we can take from this passage is…as Christians…be wary of simply jumping into a discussion in an  attempt to answer an unbeliever’s ‘tricky question.’

As Christians we sometimes feel we have to answer or speak for God…that’s what we’re naturally inclined to do…too often it sends us running around attempting to justify why God does something when we have no logical conclusion why.  

Jesus then addresses an issue that many people…including Christians…are unfamiliar about…it’s the second important thing we can take from this passage …what about those we have spent time with in our life.

Jesus was not intending to give the final word on marriage in heaven…in His response He was refusing to answer the Sadducees’ riddle and fall into their trap…instead, He was showing that because there will be no marriage in the resurrection or new marriages, the Sadducees’ question was completely irrelevant.

In the resurrection—when God’s people are raised from the dead to enter into the full experience of eternal life—this temporal arrangement of marriage will no longer be needed…we will be like the angels…we won’t ‘be’ angels, because  angels are created beings…you don’t die and become an angel.

We will be ‘like’ angels in that we will have none of the limitations and needs that we experience now in these unglorified bodies of ours…at that time, there will be no need to perpetuate the human race because we will be living eternally in a place where there is no death.

There’ll be no need to seek an offspring because we will have been transformed by God into His image… there’ll be no need for the same kind of companionship we needed in this earthly life…because there’ll be no more struggles, no more trials, and no more loneliness in heaven…we’ll all be together, forever, in perfection and in perfect joy.

Well…you say ‘I love my wife/husband and I want to be with him/her forever in heaven’ …you will…I believe there will always be that special relationship with each other.

It may not be the kind of relationship experienced in marriage on earth…because it will be a relationship that is different from this earthly state…more deeply and more profound that we can’t even begin to imagine it on earth.

But what about someone whose spouse has died and they remarry…it seems the heavenly love that a woman/man shared with their spouse in glory wouldn’t exclude them from sharing the same love with another of their spouses.

Look at it this way…in glory would a mother’s love for one child exclude her from equally loving another child…or that a man’s earthly love for his brother exclude him from also equally loving his sister?

Well…these are things to speculate about…and mostly they’re beyond our ability to grasp right now…the Sadducees erred in not giving proper reverence to the power of God in their thoughts!

They didn’t know just how great God’s power is to transform His people from the state of humility and fallenness…which characterizes us now…into a state of heavenly glory that is like that of the angels!

Did you notice that Jesus, in speaking to these Sadducees, injects something else they didn’t believe in…angels…Jesus doesn’t accommodate their disbelief…He doesn’t argue with them about their wayward belief…He builds His argument on the very thing they didn’t believe in— that the resurrected “are like angels of God in heaven”.

But their assumption about the resurrection needed a definitive answer, and Jesus was just the one to give it. Jesus answered them from the book of Exodus [ 3:6].

Matthew 33:31-32 – But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.

Jesus is actually addressing a common argument today…people who say…when you’re dead that’s it…that’s the end…if that were the case…why would God have said, “I am the God of Abraham…Isaac….and Jacob”…in the present tense if He thought of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as being dead…?

If they were dead, God would have used the aorist tense…past tense…He would have said, “I was their God” …thus, from God’s perspective, they are alive.

God’s use of the present tense in speaking of His relationship to the great patriarchs who had been long dead by the time God spoke these words to Moses shows God had a continuing relationship with these men because of the truth of the resurrection.

God was speaking of dead men as though they were still alive; thus, Jesus reasoned, the men were not dead but living…God would not have a relationship with dead beings.

Although men and women have died on earth, God continues His relationship with them because they are resurrected to life with him in heaven.

Matthew 22:34-40, Concerning the Law

³⁴ Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. ³⁵ One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The key problem in interpreting this commandment for our time is that we lose sight of the biblical meaning of love…our culture has equated love with intense emotion.

We love chocolate…we love a movie…we love a boy or girlfriend…we love our spouse…to love is a stronger response than to like…but biblical love is not passive and it is not strictly emotional.

We need to replace in our minds the cultural clichés about love and replace it with a biblical understanding of love.

The love referred to here by Jesus is the love of Deuteronomy 6:5, the love of Yahweh…this love is not passive emotion…it is the active response of the faithful person to the love of God.

But chiefly, it refers to what can be called loving-kindness…not passive emotion, but active mercy…it is marked by patience and generosity…in short, loving is a choice, not a feeling.

To love God with all our heart, mind, and soul seems nearly impossible when we think of love as an emotion…how do you conjure up feelings for something as remote…mysterious…and disembodied as the concept of God?

We cannot look into God’s eyes, wrap our arms around the Spirit, or even see the face of Jesus.

If we could know Jesus as Mary and Martha did it might be possible to evoke in us a feeling of love…but we are commanded to love an intangible God.

Here’s what biblical love is…Biblical love is something we do…it’s a loving-kindness…a merciful action that is both generous and continuous…to love a neighbor as yourself is to act toward someone the same way you act toward those close to you…whom you do love.

It’s treating the stranger as well as we treat those we love emotionally…this is in keeping with what the commandment requires.

This means that, to those with whom we are intimate, to those we do not know, to those who may be dirty or repugnant, and even to those who harm us, we can be merciful and gracious.

To love our neighbor as ourselves is to make a conscious choice and act upon it.

See how these commandments are connected, “the greatest commandment” and the “second, which is like it” …occurs when we love God’s people…and always at the same time loving God…They are inseparable.

The emotion of love is not commanded…only the action of love is commanded… even when we don’t feel like it.

The real concern is not some external show of conduct that we put on display for others to see…but one’s inner spiritual condition…a love for God and love for all those who are made in His image.

The three questions in this text address how we are to live – in whole-hearted allegiance to God…all the while…navigating through this life that would pull us away from that allegiance.

Such navigation is not easy…it is only when we seek God’s wisdom and a determined desire to follow Jesus that we can be successful in that endeavor…in the end, these questioners of Jesus went away amazed [22:22] …Nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question [22:46].

Matt. 22:1-14

For the past four weeks we have been looking at just one day of Jesus’ last week on earth… what is known as Passion Week…as Jesus begins His last week in His earthly body…He gives six parables…He previously talked about:

1) the expectations on how we are to live our lives while on earth…nothing is said about how to receive eternal life…the emphasis is on how to live a Christ centered life…and

2) the blessing associated when we do…blessing always accompanies obedience.

In the parable today found in Matthew chapter 22 Jesus adds an additional rung to the ladder…He focuses on who is admitted into the kingdom of Heaven.

In the previous two parables…the Parable of the Two Sons and the Parable of the Vineyard Owner…Jesus openly verbally attacks the religious leaders for their continued abuse of God’s laws…and their efforts to derail the Jewish people of God’s blessing by imposing manmade requirements on them that were not part of God’s commandments.  

A warning to us…and especially to pastors…a condition that Charles Spurgeon identifies as the saddest of all ways we grieve the Holy Spirt in our lives… ‘speaking unadvisedly with our lips’ by projecting ideas rather than truths from the Bible.

When we do, we actually can and do influence how people live their lives…that’s why we have a responsibility to insure we don’t project a works-based religion that is opposed to a faith-based belief in Jesus as Savior.   

Jesus now tells the Parable of the Marriage Feast…in this parable Jesus goes from how we are to live our lives while on earth to who is admitted into the kingdom of Heaven…because the two are interrelated.  

It’s not about how to get into the kingdom of Heaven…it’s who is admitted into the kingdom of Heaven.   

On the surface it many sound as if both of these statements are one and the same… but this was an issue during the time of Jesus and has been an on-going issue among theologians and the Church for centuries…it’s still debated in the church today.

The Pharisees believed that as God’s chosen people they were the privileged recipients to inherit the kingdom…they were the chosen people…Jesus tells this parable that relates to this issue using the analogy of a wedding.

Jesus tells those gathered in the Temple Mount the most important parable regarding who is admitted into the kingdom of God.   

Rather than read the entire text I’m going to walk us through the events that makes up this parable…here’s why this parable is important.

ONE…this parable has to do with the many cults that want you to believe they have the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

This is always the first indication that a group is a cult…they have the only real way to heaven…your failure to adhere to their beliefs will result in you being left out of the kingdom.

Just so you know…the second indication is they will only use King James version Bibles or they have their own translation.

SECOND significant reason for this parable is addressed to those within Christianity that tell you if you’re not part of their particular denomination you’ll be left out.

THIRD reason for this parable is it is addressed to those that tell you if you’re not one of God’s predestined chosen ones you’ll be left out…again an idea fostered by some Christian denominations.  

Doing a cursory reading of this parable doesn’t do it justice because in this one parable Jesus dispels all three of those myths.

This is why Jesus was so emphatic in His condemnation of the Pharisees…they were hindering people from entering the kingdom…there are those today who are attempting to do the same thing.

How do we counteract that…something I stress on a continuous basis…listening to what God is saying by: 1) reading His Word…2) by coming to Church and Sunday school…3) by attending Bible studies. Doing an in-depth study of God’s Word.   

In order to better understand the context of this story it’s important to know some basic facts about weddings in Jesus’ day.

In Jewish society, the parents of the betrothed generally drew up the marriage contract…the bride and groom would meet…maybe even for the first time, when the contract was signed the couple was considered married at that point.

But they would live separately until the actual time of the ceremony…the bride would remain with her parents while the groom would prepare their home.

Depending how elaborate the house was or how much time the groom spent on preparing the house…it could be a while before the actual wedding day…BUT when the home was ready, the groom would return for his bride without notice… ‘honey, I’m home’ the marriage ceremony would then take place, and the wedding banquet would begin.

The wedding banquet was one of the most joyous occasions in Jewish life and could literally last for up to a week…something His listeners would have all been familiar with…maybe why Jesus uses this parable…here’s the Key to this whole parable:

Jesus is comparing heaven to a wedding banquet to illustrate who is admitted into the kingdom.

So…lets unpack this story and find out who all the players in this parable are and why this parable is so significant in defining who is admitted into the kingdom.

The king is God the Father…the son who is being honored at the banquet is Jesus …the people invited to the marriage feast are the Jews.

The king sends out invitations for his son’s wedding…when the time of the wedding was to take place the father sends out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast to come [3].

Something I want to reiterate on…the meaning of ‘slave’ in the Greek is not like what we consider a slave in American history to be…the word δοῦλος …means one who gives himself up completely to another’s will…there’s no forced against our will implied here…Paul applied this term to himself to indicate that he was bound for life to serve God.

There are three scenes in this parable.

THE REJECTION

When the time for the banquet came the father calls those who had been invited to the wedding…BUT…immediately there’s a problem…those invited ‘were unwilling to come’ [v 3] …in fact, the king’s servants who brought the invitation were mistreated and even killed [v 6].

It’s not because the invited guests could not come to the wedding…it’s that they chose not to come.

That attitude is indicative of the human nature…how tragic to be offered the blessings of God and to refuse them because of the mundane things of life… everyone has an excuse.

So…the father sends out additional slaves telling the people to prepare themselves for the wedding feast [4]

                But they paid no attention and went their way [5].

THE PUNISHMENT

The second scene in the parable depicts the king’s response of those who had been invited…but refused…because not only did they refuse to come but they killed his servants [6] …the king sends his armies to destroy those who did those things [7].  

THE REPLACEMENTS

The third scene depicts the guests who were invited to replace those who had refused the king’s invitation…this is where the parable now becomes relevant to us today…the king told His servants

Go therefore to the main highways…and as many as you find…invite to the wedding feast. [9]

This is the single most important verse in the entire Bible regarding who is eligible to be admitted into the kingdom of heaven.

Here’s why this verse is important…this verse dispels those three myths I previously mentioned.

…those cults who want you to believe only they have the keys to the kingdom.

…those within Christianity that tell you theirs is the only true denomination.

…those that tell you only those chosen by God go to heaven.

The king’s reaction to those who rejected his invitation was to send out invitations to ANYONE his servants could find…as many as you find…the wedding invitation was extended to anyone and everyone…even total strangers [8-10].

The Greek word we translate ‘as many as’ [ὅσος, (hos’-os)] means in English ‘as many as’ …there’s no mention of one group having exclusive rights to who enters the kingdom of Heaven.

There’s no mention of exclusivity…this verse eliminates the heretical idea that we or anyone else can decide who is admitted into the kingdom.

You need to know this because there are those out there who would have you believe that Jesus’ death on the Cross was only for a select few…that if you’re not one of God’s predestined chosen ones you’ll be left out.

People use [14] this parable to justify that…For many are called but few are chosen…on the surface that sounds pretty defining…you are chosen or you’re not.

Who are those few that are chosen and how’s that done…when the Bible talks about being God’s ‘elect’ or ‘chosen’ it’s not speaking about who gets saved and who doesn’t…it’s not referring to the idea that God has selected some for salvation and others are forever permanently lost…that’s bad theology.

NO WHERE do I find in the Bible that God foresaw certain ones who would believe in Christ, and BECAUSE He knew they would believe–predestinated them or pre-selected them for salvation and everybody else is condemned.

This is why Jesus includes the story of the man who is not dressed in wedding clothes [11] and why it’s so important…allofthe dinner guestsexcept that one man weredressed in wedding clothes.

A little more history…the custom in those days was for the one hosting the wedding feast—in this case, the king—to provide new garments for the wedding guests.

When the king entered the wedding hall, he noticed that one guest clearly stood out from all the others because he was not wearing a wedding garment.

The man’s thinking was he could come to the king’s feast on his own terms…in any clothes he wanted…he was proud…self-willed…arrogant…his lack of proper dress was an insult to the king by refusing to wear the garment provided to the guests.

People have the idea they can approach God in the same manner…any way I want.

Having the man brought forward, the king asked: “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” (Matthew 22:12) …his lack of a wedding garment was an example of extreme disrespect for both the king and his son.

                         The man was speechless [12]

Here’s the reason Jesus inserts this part of the story into the parable…Jesus is defining who gets invited to the wedding feast…and this short verse explains it.

for many are called, but few are chosen. [14]

Πολλοὶ γάρ εἰσιν κλητοὶ, ὀλίγοι δὲ ἐκλεκτοί.

On the surface this would seem to fit into the idea that there are only some who are chosen…it hints of selectivity…Jesus even uses the word ‘chosen’ but it’s not…in the Greek Jesus uses two words that explains the whole process of who is called.

‘called’ (κλητοὶ) is an invitation…being summoned to salvation

‘chosen’ (ἐκλεκτοί) are the ones who accept the invitation.

In this one verse Jesus dispels all three myths regarding entry into the kingdom… The Parable of the Wedding Banquet defines unlimited atonement… [vs. 9]

Jesus is saying the doors to heaven are wide open…everyone is called…BUT… there will be those who will not accept the invitation…those who were initially invited to the wedding chose not to come as opposed to those who did choose to come.

QUESTION…If the invitation goes out to every person who has ever been born… why was this man thrown out…the answer is how the man was dressed… the man ‘was not dressed in wedding clothes’.

Each guest was given wedding clothes…that symbolized righteousness…without it you will not be admitted into the kingdom of Heaven.

When you make the decision to become a Christian by believing in Jesus as your Savior…not just acknowledging that some guy name Jesus lived some 2000 years ago – that is not making a decision to become a Christian…but really wanting Him to be part of your life…when you do, the righteousness of Jesus is imparted to us… here’s how that works.  

God counts us righteous on the basis of faith…it’s not because we’re righteous… because as long as I’m in this body I will never be righteous…BUT…when God looks at me…He doesn’t see the sinful person I am…He sees the righteousness of His Son based on my faith in His Son. [Ephesians 2:13].

That’s what known as imputed righteousness…that God no longer sees my imperfections…when God sees me…He sees the righteousness of His own Son.

God sees me as inherently righteous…because I have been clothed by the righteousness of Christ.

When we accept Jesus as our Savior…at that instant we are clothed in the righteousness of God…that’s why this man was not dressed in wedding clothes…he wasn’t clothed in the righteousness of God…when asked why…he had no response. He ‘was speechless’ [12] … that is not how God wants anyone to stand before Him.

Christ makes possible the garment of righteousness for everyone…but KEY—just like with the wedding garments…each person must choose to put it on in order to enter the King’s banquet—God will not force… coerce…or strong arm anyone to do so.

That is emphasized in the words ‘few are chosen’ [14] not that they’re handpicked ahead of time…the chosen ones are the ones who accept the invitation…it’s every person’s decision to believe or not. John Calvin is wrong.

The man “was speechless,” indicating he was without excuse…it was not just that he lacked a wedding garment, but that he did not wear one on purpose. He had defiantly refused to put one on…the man was plainly not dressed correctly for the occasion.

In the book of Revelation, we see those in heaven wearing ‘white robes’ [Rev 7:9] see the connection…the whiteness of the robes is due to their being washed in the blood of the Lamb [14].

Just as the king provided wedding garments for his guests, God provides salvation for as many as receive Him…when we do, our wedding garment is the righteousness of Christ…unless we have it, we will miss the wedding feast.

Christ concludes the parable with the sad fact that “many are invited, but few are chosen.” In other words, many people hear the call of God, but only a few heed it.

This verse speaks to those who are Christians in name only. To those who are depending on their own works, their own self-righteousness, to make them acceptable before God [Ephesians 2:8-10].

Just as the king provided the wedding garment for the guests, God provides salvation. To refuse the garment is insulting to the giver. In the parable, the one who insulted the king was thrown into the darkness.

Matt. 23

For the past three weeks we have been looking at what Jesus has to say regarding what a life of faith as His disciple looks like…and as in the case of anything where there is a difference between two things…there’s a contrast.

As Jesus begins His last week in His earthly body…He gives six parables that Matthew records regarding 1) the expectations on how we are to live our life while on earth…nothing is said about how to receive eternal life…the emphasis is on how to live a Christ centered life…and 2) the blessing associated when we do.

Then in chapter 23 Jesus returns to His rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees by dedicating an entire chapter that is centered on their conduct.

So what has that got to do with me…in this portion of Scripture Matthew chapter 23 is directed at those who are drawing people away from Jesus…the Jewish leaders were literally directing people away God.

I will seldom if ever talk about other denominations…BUT…I will call out those who pervert the gospel…and draw people away from God…what we see today in cults…both Mormonism and Jehovah Witness preach a different Jesus…they use the same religious terms that we use…but their terms have a different meaning than what Scripture teaches.

Every non-Christian religion is a works-righteous religion which believes in works for their salvation…which is in direct contrast with the gospel of grace…by their very nature such belief systems prevent and exclude people from God’s kingdom.

So far Jesus has given two parables that reflect that contrast…the Parable of the Two Sons and the Parable of the Vineyard Owner that were directed both at believers and at the Jewish religious leaders.

Here Jesus is talking specifics…He identifies what is going to keep people from receiving rewards in Heaven…but worse yet… something that is a benefit to us… what’s going to keep them even entering Heaven…something that is seldom taught because it’s uncomfortable.

The scribes and Pharisees were successors to some of the dignity and authority of Moses, they sat in the seat of Moses…in the sense of being responsible for teaching and faithfully interpreting the Law to the people.

They sat there by Divine appointment and by Divine permission…that should be the authority that every pastor should claim…being a pastor is being in the pulpit by Divine appointment and by Divine permission.

The Pharisees were the custodial heirs of that appointment and received their authority which God gave through his servant Moses.

Because of their official authority as appointed teachers of the Law, Jesus instructed the common people to follow their teaching.

                Therefore, all that they tell you, do and observe [23:3]

I would hope as your pastor that to some extent you ‘do and observe’ what I share with you from the pulpit…in the Greek ‘observe’ (τηρεῖτε) is a present imperative. It’s a command…so to ‘do’ (ποιήσατε) and observe are directed at the people to adhere to what those who are appointed as teachers—teach and command.  

That statement was made in general terms but it was conditional…observe and do but within the limits of the Law…Jesus is saying… you must distinguish between what they’re preaching…versus how they’re living their lives…because the two are in contrast with each other.

               for they say things and do not do them [23:3]

They were living a lifestyle that was less than Godly…as a result the people soon followed their example…here’s how people justify that…if they’re doing it what will it hurt if I do it…BUT…here’s where the problem comes in.

Failure of the Pharisees for not doing what was right was no excuse for the people’s disobedience… especially by those who knew God’s will…whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin [Jas. 4:17].

The devil made me do it…or I saw my pastor do it…or I’m just following the pastor’s lead…is not an excuse.

whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin [Jas. 4:17].

We hear a lot of voices these days…there’s the voice of our own conscience… accusing or excusing us…there’s the voice of our friends and loved ones…they certainly always want to give us good advice…then there’s the voice of the devil… who always wants to give us half-truths…and of course, there’s the voice of  God.  

Learning to know which is which is important…that can only be found when we are listening to what God is saying…by reading His Word…by coming to Church and Sunday school…by attending Bible studies.    

Jesus has already warned the people previously against listening to the errors of the Pharisees…telling them to beware of the leaven [Matt. 16:6] using that as a symbol for sin to show that it has the potential to permeate your entire person.

The evil and inconsistent life of the scribes and Pharisees was a strong influence on people who were accepting their actions as God’s will…it’s the same today:

      They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders [4]

Evil Christian teachers having the same hindering results…inventing stuff for people to follow that has no biblical support.

People imposing on the church their own guidelines…telling people if they fail to observe them they’re failing to be observant of God’s commands…and worse yet… telling people that failure to adhere to these manmade ‘commands’ is causing them to miss out on God’s blessings.

These suggestions are not only burdensome and oppressive but have neither reason nor revelation from God.

I’m not going to go through all eight woes…but I do want to share with you two EXAMPLES…that have a direct reference to what Jesus was telling the people regarding being tied up by religious mandates.  

There are those who would want you believe that you’re not fulfilling God’s commandments as a Christian when you ignore His Old Testament direction concerning the assembling three times a year before the Lord [Deut.16:16].

Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose

This verse is a relatively new ‘teaching’ in the church today…there are those who would have you believe that that directive is still in force…that Jewish holidays and festivals are still a part of worshiping God…that these requirements are still active and you’re negligent by not observing them.  

Certainly, Jewish holidays and festivals have a rich history and one can understand why as Christians some love these holidays…Passover…Pentecost…Hanukkah.

Is it wrong to celebrate Jewish holidays? Not at all…if a Christian congregation wants to reenact aspects of an Old Testament feast for the sake of better understanding their old covenant heritage, it’s within the bounds of Christian liberty.

And although the Jewish religious festivals may still be celebrated by Jewish Messianic believers, they are not relevant to Gentile Christians despite what those on the Word and Daystar networks would have you believe.

We have had a Seder (Passover) celebration in our church…but such reenactments should be done with a clear awareness that they are not required of Christians… they convey no special spiritual benefits and are strictly of educational value.

Here’s why they tell you this…not because they’re concerned about you not fulfilling God’s commandment…they’re not really that concerned about that portion of the text…they tell you this because of what God told the Jewish men they should do:

No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed.

That’s the real reason…the part they want to emphasize…the part about not standing before God empty handed is code for send me money…in return trust God to reimburse you…there is no New Testament verses to support that teaching.

Here’s the second fallacy promoted by some in the church today…it also has to do with giving money…that as Christians you have an obligation to give 10% of your earning to the church.

This has become a big problem in the church today…the word ‘tithe’ appears only 4 times in the entire New Testament and is never used as a requirement for giving.

None of the writers of the New Testament ever remotely suggest that you are to give 10% of your money to the church.

The idea is an Old Testament requirement that has been carried over to make people feel obligated to give…and it makes people feel less than a Christian if they don’t… it’s used as an incentive that when you give…God’s going to give to you in return …at the same time suggesting the possibility that God’s not going to bless you because you’re stealing from God.

To further emphasize that they use an Old Testament verse from Malachi [3:10] to give substance to that BUT that has absolutely no application to the church today.

I’ve told you there are some things I will not preach on and money is one of them… if people can’t see walking into our church that we have finical obligations that need to be met…mortgage…utilities…pay for staff…upkeep on the building…I am not going to waste your time telling you that you need to give.

The reason for giving to the church is simple and Paul tells us what it is.

…1) [2 Cor. 9:7] Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

…2) [2 Cor. 9:8] when we willingly and freely give to the church…or to others… God responds toward you in a like manner…God gives back to you because you are faithful with what He has given you…BUT HERE’S THE KEY.

He gives it back NOT so you can spend it on yourself…as those preachers on TBN …Daystar…and the Word network would have you believe…but so you can share with others…not for yourself…but…so you can provide for someone else…it has nothing to do with your personal financial gain.

NO WHERE in the New Testament is there any reference to give so you can get back in return for your own personal gain…let me just say this about giving money to the Church…if you’re giving money to the church because you think it pays…it won’t (R. G. LeTonrneau).

So in Matthew 23, Jesus attacks those who promote such foolishness by pronouncing eight woes on them because they are imposing on the Jewish believers’ requirements that are only causing hardships and burdens in their everyday living.

Matthews’s desire in chapter 23…as guided by the Holy Spirit, was to make a permanent record of what will happen when God’s Word is abused.

No one in Scripture is more condemned than the religious fraud who teaches and practices untruth…God’s most furious wrath is reserved for those who parade themselves as a servant of God but who in reality are servants only of evil and a lie.

James validates this idea [James 3:1]

Not many of you should become teachers…knowing that we who teach will be judged more strictly

A ‘woe’ is an exclamation of grief or distress…more accurately it expresses an outcry of anger…this was not the first time Jesus had some harsh words for the religious leaders of His day…criticizing the Pharisees for hypocrisy [23:5]

They do their works to be seen, and they live for the praise of men.

Because of this wording it has been suggested that this portion of Scripture is targeted toward the clergy…that as pastors we would do well to ensure that we don’t fall in with the same attitudes that Jesus is condemning the Pharisees for.

Looking at Jesus’ condemnation in Matthew 23 and His teaching of the Beatitudes …we see a parallel teaching that pits one against the other…here’s what’s interesting…there are eight beatitudes and eight woes…do you think it strange that each one of the ‘woes’ is countered by a beatitude that is in direct conflict to it?

Therefore, Jesus reveals the sharp contrast between those of the kingdom and those who will not be a part of the kingdom.

Much of what passes for Christianity today is little more than human religion with the name of Jesus tacked onto it…the result is it has failed to transform its followers into Christ’s servants.

When rightly understood, Jesus’ woes may strike too close to home for comfort… we read this portion of Scripture and think ‘well this obviously isn’t meant for me’ but what Jesus is saying is relevant to everyone who is a Christian.

I could go into a detailed sermon on these eight woes…but what is key here is why did Matthew take the time to record all of what Jesus is saying regarding worship… it’s because these woes are a warning against those who keep people from the kingdom of heaven.

HOW…by how they lackadaisically live their lives…by forcing human traditions and human religious rules on people implying they are more important than God’s Word.

I don’t think there is a bigger danger in the Church today than when human systems …rituals…and traditions are imposed on people that do nothing more than burden them with heavy loads of ‘work’ causing people to focus on their own power rather than on the power of God.

They go to great lengths with their distorted views of the Bible…by imposing their man-made traditions they not only keep themselves out of the kingdom but they stand in the way of others.

Jesus condemns them by saying: “they do all their deeds to be seen by people” (Matthew 23:5)….they loved to be esteemed as more spiritual than others.

Their response to Jesus was to have Him done away with…He was challenging their social status and their position as God’s favorites…they were insensitive to Jesus’ rebuke of their teachings…subsequently they will not escape the sentence of hell.

We have the benefit of the completed gospel to rely on…therefore we have the teaching of Jesus regarding how we are to conduct ourselves as taught in the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus reveals eight proclamations that form many of the foundational planks of the Christian life…and the blessing associated with living those as a dedicated lifestyle.    

Here Jesus is giving us eight criticisms focused primarily against the religious leaders…but can be applicable to us as well…Jesus taught both the benefits of the Beatitudes and the consequences of living an unreformed life.  

The beatitudes are spiritual…they form the manifesto for the Kingdom of God defining what a follower of the Kingdom was to look like…the woes are earthly …dealing with those who were living the opposite of the Kingdom principles.

The Sermon on the Mount is an unpacking of what a true relationship between a Christian and God must entail…capturing how a forgiving God takes the initiative in relating to us…and in turn how we should respond from our hearts.

As Christians…do you allow God to challenge you through others, or do you tend to respond angrily to correction…being realistic about sin…not trying to justify your actions… mourning over a wayward lifestyle…being repentant of sins…being responsive to God’s call to righteous living.

The Pharisees and priests were too proud to be corrected…so instead of making a mid-course correction and repenting, they ended up under God’s condemnation.

When we’re more concerned about how others perceive us than whether we’re pleasing God we find ourselves mirroring the religious leaders of Israel…it’s easy to see any correction as a confrontation instead of as an opportunity to divine correction.

Matt. 21:28-44

For those who drive by our church on a regular basis they’re probably asking why don’t those people change that marquee…for the past 9 months it has said the same thing…studying in the book of John…the reason we don’t change it is because we’re still in the book of John.

This morning we’re continuing on in our study of the book of John by being in Matthew…for whatever reason John records nothing from Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Sunday to the institution of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday… however…both Matthew and Mark do share some of what Jesus said and did during those three days…and this parable is one of the things Jesus said.

As Jesus begins His last week in His earthly body…each one of the gospel writers gives information that is not found in one single account.

Matthew records six parables Jesus gives during that week…each parable is describing a different facet of the kingdom of God…but with each one focusing on one specific element…on what a life of faith as Jesus’ disciple looks like.

There’s no mention of what is required for eternal life…these parables assume you are already a believer…Jesus is not talking about how to get into the kingdom of God…He has already established that…in these parables Jesus is defining 1) the expectations on how we are to live our life while on earth…and 2) the blessing associated with that when we do.

It’s still Tuesday of Passion Week…He’s in the Temple complex…surrounded by the 12 apostles…probably the 72 who were sent out earlier…and possibly by any of the converts the 72 may have converted.

In addition, He’s surrounded by the religious leaders who are not there to hear about the kingdom of God…they’re there to catch Jesus in a trap so they can drag Him before Pilot and charge Him with making remarks unfavorable to Pilot or Rome.

This parable is a continuation of the conversation from the previous Sunday after Jesus cleared the Temple…the religious authorities—the chief priests and elders—asked Jesus:

‘By what authority are You doing these things and who gave You this authority?’ [Matt. 21:23]

Jesus refuses to tell them where He derives His authority but knowing their thoughts, He tells these parables that reflect the leaders’ true feelings.

Here’s what’s interesting…when those who were challenging Him didn’t get the first parable, He’d give them a second one.

Today’s parable is the second one addressed to the chief priests and elders who challenged the source of Jesus’ authority (21:23-27).

Rather than read the entire text I’m going to walk us through the events that make up this parable…the parable begins with a situation that was business as usual in Roman-occupied Palestine.

A landowner (God) established a vineyard (Israel) complete with a fence, a winepress, and even a watchtower.

He then returned to his own country as was often the case leaving tenants (the Jewish religious leadership) in charge of overseeing the vineyard (Israel) including harvesting the fruit.

This would be a sharecropper arrangement where the tenant would keep a certain percentage of the fruit and would give the rest to the landlord… business seemed to be working as usual until he sends his servants (the prophets) to harvest the crop:

When the harvest time approached, he (the vineyard owner) sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his fruit [34]

It’s interesting that Matthew refers to the harvest as fruit…for Matthew producing fruit is the evidence of a genuine life of faith…this goes back to my original statement regarding the purpose of these three parables.

Jesus is talking about how we conduct our life is the evidence…it’s the fruit…that proves that our decision regarding becoming a Christian was genuine.

This parable is not about unbelievers…He’s not talking about those wretched heathens…He is directing His remarks to those who profess to be believers.

After sending the slaves—the meaning in the Greek is not like what we consider a slave to be…it’s δοῦλος … one who gives himself up completely to another’s will… (representing Israel’s prophets)—when the landowner’s servants arrive to collect his portion of the harvest everything comes apart [34-36].

The vine-growers (he left in charge) took his slaves (who came to harvest the crop) and beat one, killed another, and stoned a third

This is exactly the scenario that occurred to God’s prophets when He sent them to preach repentance to Israel.

They were rejected and killed by the very people claiming to be of God…the owner of the vineyard then sends another delegation of slaves to collect the rent…which God did…don’t know how he thought things would be any different the second time around…and they weren’t.  

Those slaves were treated even worse than the first…but now he has a better idea… at this point, the story takes on an exaggerated conclusion…there’s not a common-sense conclusion to this parable so stay with me.

In real life the landowner would have sent soldiers to punish the tenants…but this is a story of God’s grace…and the exaggeration is appropriate to show God’s grace.

The situation becomes even more critical…instead of sending in some type of armed enforcement…or sending in a third set of slaves…the landowner sends his own son (Jesus), believing that they will surely respect him.

The son (Jesus) being the father’s heir and official representative, acts with the same authority as the father and is entitled to the same respect as these tenants would show the father…But the tenants see an opportunity here;

When the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and seize his inheritance. So they took him, and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him [v. 39)]

Two quick observances:

1) how ridiculous is the notion that if they kill the son they will somehow get the son’s inheritance.

2) not understanding why these thugs who have abused two previous sets of slaves will somehow respect the owner’s son

It’s a little confusing…like I said the story takes on an exaggerated conclusion…a parable doesn’t have to fit reality at every point…Jesus is telling this story to make a point.

Jesus asks his audience…not the believers that were gathered around Him…but the chief priests and elders:

Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants? [40]

The answer should be obvious, but what Jesus is doing is forcing the religious leaders to declare their own miserable fate: condemning themselves for their own blatant disobedience…they said to Him:

               He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time [41].

As evident in their answer…they unknowingly pronounced judgment on themselves as they tell Jesus how they…being the unfaithful tenants should be treated.

It’s important to know that earlier Jesus already pronounced judgement on them.

¹²But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, [Matt. 8:12]

Jesus then tells them the consequences:

Therefore…The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruit of it

This is the key verse in this whole parable…there are a number of interpretations regarding who Christ is talking to;

…the most natural assumption is that the kingdom would be taken from them…the Jews…and given to another nation just as the parable suggests.  

…Another belief is that Jesus is referring to the Church – the Body of Christ…that God is finished with Israel and has transferred all their promises to Christians.

…And lastly some believe that Jesus is referring to the last generation of Jews – the day that is coming when all of Israel as a nation will repent of their sin, turn from unbelief to faith in God’s Anointed.

Now a natural reaction could be ‘who cares’ but in that statement, ‘given to a nation’ Jesus is unveiling something that has been kept secret for thousands of years…the revealing of the mystery of the church.  

With respect to God taking the kingdom away and giving it to another nation… there are those who believe that the other ‘nation’ spoken of is the United States.

There are those who think that we somehow have a favored status with God because we sing ‘God Bless America’ at the seventh inning stretch at a baseball game.

I’m not sure how anyone can remotely think with over 62 million abortions since 1973 and the Church’s open defiance of God’s commandments regarding same-sex marriage and LGBTQ ordinations that we’re bringing forth fruit of righteousness.

And simply singing “God Bless America” at the seventh inning stretch at a baseball game doesn’t place us in the favored status category with God.

This parable does mention a ‘nation’ …but in the Greek that word can mean a number of things …a race, a people, a nation; even referring to heathen nations.

The word has a wide range of interpretation but only one real meaning is applicable

 in this context…rather than ‘nation’ …people is a more accurate translation.

What we have is a ‘already…but not yet’ scenario in that statement…God did take away the Gospel from the Jews…that’s the already part…BUT…He does not, nor will He, take it out of the world.

He has already given it to another ‘nation’…that’s the already part…but…not referring to a geographical territory but referring to all the peoples of the world… not one particular people or nation but people collectively…there will always be a remnant of people to proclaim God’s word.

As believers in Christ we are not a nation…we are a body of believers from many

nations…Jesus is saying that there will be a new people of God made up of all peoples of the world who will temporarily replace the Jews.

Adopting the idea that America is God’s special nation is not found in Scripture.  

Regarding the idea that the Church has replaced Israel…is also bad theology…for generations preachers and theologians have used this verse as a proof-text to show that the Kingdom of God has been taken from Israel and given to the church…that is called ‘replacement theology’.

Replacement theology is a frightening trend in the church today…the belief that the Lord has written off the Jewish nation and replaced it with the church as the sole recipient of God’s promises…that’s bad theology.

Just said that Jesus is indicating there will be a new people of God made up of all peoples of the world who will temporarily replace the Jews…with respect to Israel…they are the ‘not yet’ portion of the parable.

Some believe that when Jesus wept and mourned…only days before His crucifixion over Israel, it was because His people had missed their day of visitation.

Because of unbelief Jesus said…the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given temporarily to a people producing the fruit of it… He was referring to those Jews who were living at that time…that was done in the book of Acts.

At His second advent, when He returns to set up His kingdom in Jerusalem…a redeemed Israel will call on their Messiah to save them and welcome Him back to their land.

It is that final generation of His chosen people Israel, who will complete the good work that God started when He brought them out of the land of Egypt and adopted them as His firstborn son.

On the surface this parable seems to be rather simple…but the application is twofold:

…First, although this parable is directed at believers who have some knowledge of who Jesus is…it is applicable to those who aren’t …it’s possible to be like the Jewish leadership who refused to know Jesus as Lord and Savior and miss Him completely…they were aware of a coming Messiah but failed to recognize Him when He came.

People will blindly and ignorantly go through their entire life and never come to the realization that Jesus the Messiah has come…never realizing the need to recognize and confess their sins…never accepting Him as the only One who can save them from the penalty of sin.

…Second, if you’re a believer, I want you to see the importance of why Jesus is emphasizing what a life of faith as His disciple looks like…for TWO REASONS

I have said all that so I can say this…here’s the takeaway…this is worth the price of admission.

FIRST…God’s intention is to bless you…it is part of His character…He can’t help Himself…God always blesses obedience…but He can only do that as we become obedient to Him…as we use our spiritual gift and fulfill our God given purpose.

SECONDLY…as we grow in knowledge of what the Bible says…we will grow in spiritual maturity…as a result God blesses us.

BUT…without obedience and spiritual growth there is no blessing…on that day… when God discusses your Christian life on earth with you…He will hand out rewards based on how we lived our life while on earth…the intent of these parables.

I don’t want you to say…this is it…this is all…and have God respond back… your lack of rewards is because you didn’t do anything…your rewards are based on how you conducted yourself while on earth…you didn’t do anything.

My ‘job’ as a preacher…as a Pastor I have a responsibility to share with you the truths from Scripture that will cause you to want to be more Christ like.

I don’t tell jokes…I don’t give illustrations…I don’t tell stories…I want you to know to the best of my knowledge what God expects from you…so God can bless you in this life…and in the life to come.  

Earlier I said…God always blesses obedience…God is the only person who can say ‘always’ about…we don’t have the power to be that constant…but with God obedience always brings blessings.

…He will bless you in ways that you don’t realize until you get into heaven

…He’ll bless you in ways that will surprise you

…He’ll bless you in ways you never expected or anticipated.

It’s important to remember that in all of these parables Jesus is drawing our attention to one specific point…how we conduct our life is the evidence that proves our decision was genuine…and therefore what is expected of us when we claim Him as Lord and Savior.

As Christians we need to be aware of how God manages His people…He’s telling us in this parable…He will not allow us to lackadaisically go through life not using the gift He has given us.

Just as God set aside the nation of Israel because of its poor stewardship of His kingdom, He will not hesitate to chasten those in His church who fail to be faithful stewards of the gifts He has loaned us.

“For the time— (καιρός) referring to things “coming to a head”— has come for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17).

Matt. 21:23-32

²⁸What 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.

This morning we’re continuing on in our study of the book of John by being in Matthew…for whatever reason John records nothing from Jesus’ triumphal entry on Sunday to the institution of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday…however…both Matthew and Mark do share some of what Jesus said and did during those three days…and this parable is one of the things Jesus said.

As Jesus begins His last week in His earthly body…each one of the gospel writers gives information that is not found in one single account.

Matthew records five parables Jesus gives during those three days…all of which focused primarily on what a life of faith as His disciple looks like…there’s no mention of what is required for eternal life…these parables assume you are already a Christian.

Jesus is not talking about how to get into the kingdom of God…He has already established that…He’s talking about how we conduct our life is the evidence that proves our decision was genuine…He’s defining the expectations on how we are to live our life while on earth.

He is revealing what is expected of us when we claim Him as Lord and Savior… what does that mean…what are the expectations when we make that claim…what is involved in that commitment…in this parable He reveals the consequences if we fail to take seriously that commitment.   

As part of living a life of faith last week we looked at Jesus’ statement regarding prayer…I hope you all understood that message because it helps to identify what Jesus is expecting from us when we pray…and how He works through our prayers to accomplish His will on earth.

Answered prayer is conditional…it’s not just throwing out a prayer and waiting for God to answer it…without re-preaching that sermon again let me just say… believing all you have to do is ‘ask and you shall receive’ without

1) keeping God’s expectations regarding answered prayer

2) not realizing that it is only when our desires match what God desires will our prayers be answered

3) only when our faith is in harmony with God’s will…that God hears our prayers.

This morning we’re looking at another issue that occurred as a result of Jesus’ actions in the temple on Sunday…He is back in Jerusalem doing what He’s been doing for the past three years…preaching and teaching.

It’s now Tuesday of Passion Week…Matthew 21:23 is a continuation of a conversation from the previous Sunday as a result of something the religious authorities—the chief priests and elders—said to Jesus after He cleared the Temple …the religious leaders respond by asking Jesus:

‘By what authority are You doing these things and who gave You this authority?’ [Matt. 21:23]

It’s important to know the audience to whom Matthew is writing so you can understand the significance of this question…the issue of ‘authority’ [23] has been a theme in the Gospel of Matthew from the beginning [7:29; 9:6, 8]

We’re trying to understand the meaning of this conversation 2000 years after the fact…not knowing all the details of what would have been common knowledge to the people at that time.

For the Jews the right to be a teacher…a rabbi… could only be conferred on someone who had studied under some other great teacher…hence the question…By what authority are You doing these things…who authorized this.       

The chief priests and elders were responsible for the religious life of Israel and the operation of the temple…their authority came from God, so it was entirely appropriate for them to question Jesus’ action and ask by what authority he had to disrupt the temple routine.

The religious leaders are saying in essence…who are you to come into Jerusalem receiving the praises of the masses and drive the moneychangers out of the temple?

The second question gave point to the first. Could He name the Rabbi who had trained Him, or authorized Him to teach? ‘who gave you this authority.’

In the opening chapters of Matthew’s Gospel, he narrates stories demonstrating that Jesus is the Lord…that His coming inaugurates the kingdom of heaven on earth.

Matthew explains who Jesus is in terms of fulfilled Scripture…that His authority did come from God… ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’ [(28:18] …His entrance into the world was the epicenter of all of God’s dealings with humanity.

Jesus responds to the religious leader’s question of ‘By what authority are You doing these things and who gave You this authority?’ by asking them a question to their question…something Jesus does frequently…He answered their question with a question of His own:

The baptism of John [the Baptist], was from what source, from heaven or from men?’ (21:25).

The religious leaders are unwilling to respond, Jesus uses this as an opportunity to address the fundamental issue of authority…Jesus declines to say directly by what authority He did these things (21:27) instead He invokes the name of John the Baptist…but for what purpose?

Again…we’re trying to understand the meaning of this conversation 2000 years after the fact…introducing John the Baptist into this conversation would have been a slap in the face to these guys.

God sent John the Baptist to prepare Israel for the coming Messiah…John even declared that was the reason for his coming…so they were re not ignorant of John’s mission…but the religious leaders were skeptical of John’s message of repentance.

BUT…wanting to show they were respectful and obedient…they gave the appearance that they accepted John’s message but refused to recognize what God was doing.

Jesus refuses to tell them where He derives His authority but knowing their thoughts, He tells this parable that reflects the leaders’ true feelings…they say they’re in favor of what John the Baptist preached…but they do nothing to support it.

It is in this context that Jesus tells three parables—the Parable of the Two Sons… the Parable of the Landowner…and the Parable of the Wedding Feast…each of these parables is told to the Jewish religious leaders, each illustrates their rejection of Jesus.

The Parable of the Two Sons is in response to the Pharisees question of ‘By what authority are You doing these things and who gave You this authority?’

The story is about a man who had two sons…he tells them to go work in the vineyard…the first son refuses but later changes his mind…obeys and goes… the second son initially expressed obedience, but later changes his mind and disobeys.

This is a parable I’m sure you’ve heard before especially if you’ve been in Church for any length of time.

It’s not my intention this morning to add anything new to what Jesus gives relating to this parable…God hasn’t revealed to me any additional meaning…because there is only one meaning…what it meant when Jesus gave it.

The key interpretive point in understanding the Parable of the Two Sons comes in defining to whom Jesus is speaking…just like with the fig tree we talked about last week…we need to look at the overall context of the passage…what is Jesus saying to me through this parable this morning.

Jesus tells the parable of the two sons to illustrate how actions are more important than intentions.   

Both sons hear the same command: “Son, go work today in my vineyard.” …here’s where we start to split hairs…this statement is making a comparison between two things…what it meant then…and the application for us today.  

First…The whole purpose of these parables is to illustrate the religious leader’s rejection of Jesus and the judgment on Israel that will come as a result of their rejection of Him as their Messiah.

Secondly…the application for us today…this in essence is the same command every person who has ever lived hears…”Son, go work today in my vineyard.” This parable is an illustration of God’s call to every person who has ever lived.

This son represents every person’s first reaction to God’s call of repentance…the initial response of a sinner to God’s call is ‘I will not’.

EVERYBODY we’ve all been there which shows the initial relationship between man and God…the disobedient son represents those who have no desire to make an effort to obey God.

They neither fear God nor pretend to…they see no immediate reward in making a decision to trust Jesus as their Savior…here’s what’s interesting about those people.

The first son is like every person in this sanctuary…we initially disobeyed the word of God…flat out rejected Him…making no excuses as to why…like the son refusing to go into the field we’re exhibiting our disobedience… ‘I will not go’.

But after thinking about it…the son regrets his decision and returns to carry out his father’s wishes

Why did the first son regret his disobedience?

This story should unsettle us…we have to look at the second son to get a clear picture of what is being portrayed…the religious leaders are represented by the second son who says “I will” but then disobeys his father.

Jesus is telling us and them like the son…we might have the best intentions with our promises of faithfulness to obey God…but that is not enough for salvation… promised obedience isn’t obedience…partial obedience is not obedience…having good intentions is not obedience…it’s only those who actually obey God who are doing the will of their father.

Like the fig tree we talked about last week…it’s possible to convince ourselves that our appearance is proof of our devotion—but Jesus is looking for fruit.

The significance of this story is that the first son, who initially does not want to work in the vineyard but repents and later does…represents the people who were non-believers that were sent a message by John the Baptist to believe in God.

These people repented and wound up following God, as shown by the first son deciding to help with the vineyard after first saying no.

Why did the second son initially say he would go but later didn’t?

The second son represents the leaders of Israel…or people who have been believers for their entire life…even though these people have been believers for their entire life…claiming obedience…they’re not doing the will of the father.

They claim to be someone when they’re not…this son creates a false image of himself as someone who helps…scheme · resolve · resolution · determination · wish · desire · ambition · idea · dream · aspiration · hope. He’s a big talker, full of promises but no actions.

He deceitfully professes respect and obedience, but he never follows through…the contradiction between his word and his work exposes his major character flaw—he’s an imposter…he pretends to be someone else in order to deceive others… ‘Sure dad you can count on me, I’ll work in the vineyard’…then he never shows up.

The second son pictures the hypocritical…self-righteous religious leaders who talk about serving God but actually live in disobedience to the word of God.

It’s harder to convince an imposter of his true state than it is a flagrant sinner… because the imposter follows his own standards and form of godliness…deceiving himself…whereas the sinner knows he is evil.

Many in mainstream Christianity profess to know God but deny Him in their works. They appear pious at church, but their personal lives are riddled with sin…they’re living a lie…they’re imposters pretending to be someone else in order to deceive others.

The second son doesn’t go to work because he lives for the moment…he didn’t do the will of his father, though he agreed to…his agreement was a lie, and his failure to go was evidence that he never truly intended to do the father’s will.

So not only did the second son fail to obey the word of his father, but he also lied about his intentions, which showed him to be a hypocrite. 

In these two men Jesus describes the spiritual condition of Israel…God had sent John the Baptist to prepare Israel for the Messiah’s coming… preaching a message of repentance…Israel’s sinners responded to John’s message when convicted. They responded…they turned away from their iniquities, repented, and obeyed God…but the religious leaders were skeptical of John’s message.

The religious leaders had zeal for the law but had reservations about John’s message …they made a big show of their obedience but didn’t heed to John’s teaching because they were convinced of their righteousness.

Why does the disobedient son eventually do the will of his father? 

The sons’ ultimate actions reveal their difference…the first son, after open refusal, repents of his sin and goes to work for his father…he yields to his father’s instructions doing as his father commanded him.

The first son is a picture of sinners who, by repenting and obeying the Gospel, will enter the Kingdom.

The second son is a picture of the hypocritical self-righteous people who talk about serving…who claim obedience to God but actually live in disobedience to the word of God.

Again…in both these parables…the withered tree and the parable of the two sons… Jesus is pronouncing in the immediate future…His coming judgment on Israel…but it’s also about all the people of God…unbelievers…as well as believers.  

It’s teaching that religious observances are not enough to guarantee salvation unless there is the evidence of fruit…our personal lives can look like we’re ‘in leaf.’ …our leaves may look like those of a super Christian but the root may be withered.

If there’s no fruit then we’re just like that withered fig tree…we’re useless… genuine salvation is evidenced in the life of the person by how they conduct themselves.

Let me share with you another aspect of this parable that most people never pick up on…it’s about whether God accepts death bed conversions.

With regards to the first son…he initially fails to obey the father…but later repents and does obey…the father accepts the son’s repentance and allows him to serve anyway…so the son was credited with doing the will of the father in the end.

Is that representative of someone who for years…possibly throughout their entire life has been defiant toward God…rejecting Him and His offer of eternal life…but before they die…like the son…repents.

There is a lot of controversy regarding whether people who for their entire life have not believed, but come to a saving knowledge of Jesus just before death…are they allowed into heaven?

This story…as well as other verses…and even a parable by Jesus Himself

The parable of the vineyard workers (Matthew 20: 1–16)

indicate that the sinner who repents and obeys even in the later years of his life…in the end will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Look again at what Jesus says…He responds with a pretty strong statement of condemnation.

He is talking to the religious leaders of Israel…just because you exhibit…or proclaim a belief in Jesus but live a life of deliberate…willful… unrepentant sin… even though you are the religious leaders of Israel…they will take a back seat to tax collectors and prostitutes [31] who will enter the kingdom of God ahead of them.

Have to understand the social structure of Israel at that time…to fully understand the seriousness of that condemning remark.

In that time there was nothing more despicable than prostitutes and tax collectors… I’m sure Matthew was probable thinking… ‘Gee thanks’ Lord for bring that up’…being a former tax collector who provided this service on behalf of Rome.

Jesus is saying despite the completely unacceptable lifestyle of prostitutes…disobeying the Lord through their sinful lifestyles…if they repent and accept Jesus as Messiah at any point in their life before they die…in the end…they would be more welcomed in the Kingdom of Heaven than a person who claims to be a believer but lives a life of disobedience.   

Jesus will give two more parables which are focused primarily on what a life of faith as His disciple looks like…has nothing to do with eternal life…Jesus is not talking about how to get into the kingdom of God…He’s defining the expectations on how we are to live our life while on earth.

He is revealing what is expected of us if we claim Him as Lord and Savior…what that means…what are the expectations when we make that claim.

In this parable He reveals the consequences if we fail to take seriously that commitment…so there’s no surprise on that ‘day’.

Mark 11:20-24

Last week we looked at three verses [John 11:23-26] in which Jesus emphasizes what being a follower of His involves…Jesus is not talking about how to obtain eternal life. He has already made countless statements on how that is accomplished.

After His entry into Jerusalem Jesus explains in those 3 verses what is expected of anyone claiming to be His disciple.

First Jesus says: that trusting in Him as Lord and Savior is like being a seed… unless we’re planted, we won’t bear fruit…unless we’re willing to accept the God given purpose He has for our lives…our Christian commitment will remain weak.  

Secondly, He makes a comparison between love and hate…that our love for Him…our devotion to him when compared with anything else will seem as hate…not that we are to hate but that is how intense our love for Him should be.

Our love for Jesus by comparison should be so great that our love for anything else will appear as hate.

Thirdly in [v 26] He stresses the importance of following His teachings and examples on how we should conduct ourselves during our time on this earth in a manner that glorifies God.

Jesus is saying whoever serves me must follow me …this verse in the Greek is in the imperative voice…it’s a command from Jesus Himself.

The Lord is headed in one direction, and our flesh and the world are headed in the other…this is where the conflict comes in…we can only be obedient to one.

In these three verses Jesus is telling us about what a life of faith as His disciple looks like…anyone who has tried to live by those standards knows how hard it is.

Everything in this world is opposed to that…in fact we have three enemies and the world is one of them…the flesh and the devil are the other two…all three tempt us to do the opposite of what Jesus has just taught.

As Jesus begins His last week in His earthly body…each one of the gospel writers gives information that is not found in one single account…in fact after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem the next event John mentions is four days later at the Last Supper.

So what happens between Sunday and Thursday…well frankly…a lot…John just doesn’t mention any of it.

It’s like what happened during the six weeks between Jesus’ time in Ephraim [John 11:54, 55] and before His arrival in Bethany [12:1] …the events that happened during His stay between Ephraim to Bethany are not even mentioned by John.

John completely leaves these events out of his gospel.

Jesus healed ten lepers (Luke 17:11-37).

He gave two parables on prayers, (Luke 18:1-14).

He gave his teaching on divorce (Mark 10:1-12; Matthew 19:1-12).

He received the little children (Mark 10:13-16, etc.).

He gave the parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Mark 10:17-31).

He gave the third prophecy of his death and resurrection (Mark 10:32)

He healed Bartimaeus and a companion at Jericho (Mark 10:46-52).

As I have previously said…in John’s account of Jesus’ life he focuses on just seven miracles…So if we are to see what occurred during the final week of Jesus’ life on earth…the time between Sunday’s entry into Jerusalem and Thursday’s event at the last Supper…we need to look at the other three Gospels…and what there was about those events that made them significant.  

Because of Bethany’s close location to Jerusalem…only 2 miles away…every night Jesus returns to the home of Lazarus then goes back into Jerusalem the next morning.

On Holy Monday – after spending Sunday night in Bethany…Jesus returned to Jerusalem…Mark records an event that John doesn’t mention that occurred on that Holy Monday that is significant because it reflects the spiritual condition of Israel.

Jesus is drawing attention to Israel’s continued callused approach to worshiping God…it’s really nothing new…for thousands of years Israel has been abusive to God’s direction for them as a people.

Go back into the Old Testament and it’s one deliberate rejection of God after another…throughout the Scripture the prophets tell the people the consequences of their actions with little change in their attitudes.

Thousands of years later…God in human form…is still lecturing them on their inappropriate worship of Him…Jesus was effectively denouncing Israel’s worship of God…and He illustrates it in an unusual way.

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus comes upon a fig tree and uses it to illustrate Israel’s spiritual condition.

12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.

13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.

14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” [Mark 11:12-14] [Matt. 21:18-22]

At this point it’s late spring, most fig trees hadn’t developed mature fruit [Mark 11:13] …but this particular tree draws Jesus’s attention because although it “was not the season for figs,” it already had a full covering of leaves.

It was common knowledge in Jesus’ time that if you saw leaves on a fig tree, you could expect fruit…with leaves already on the tree that was a sign that figs should have been on it…there weren’t any…Jesus curses the tree and it withers.

On the surface this seems like a case of Jesus mis-using His miraculous power in an ill-tempered moment of frustration…we’re taken back at this out of character display by Jesus who, seeing that the tree lacks figs…curses it and it dies…never to yield fruit again.

When we read or hear about this story the immediate response is…what has this to do with me? …what is the meaning? …what is the application to me sitting here 2000 years later?

This event presents a challenge to interpretation since as it is the only miracle of destruction…this miracle seems out of step with the profoundly constructive nature of Jesus’ ministry…probably the reason this sticks in the memory of his disciples.

Not only does the tree die…but there’s something else amazing about this miracle …it immediately withers away…knowing only what I read about fig wood…it’s a wood that takes an especially long time to dry out making the act even more impressive…this tree completely dries out in less than one day.

Seeing the tree withered the next day Peter questions Jesus about it…Jesus is completely silent and doesn’t even comment regarding His power and ability to kill the tree…or its intended message…instead He uses it as a teaching moment to direct Peter to the importance of the power of faith…and prayer.

Initially Jesus responds to Peter with four words…four words that goes against everything the world would have us to believe regarding faith and prayer…if we look at the world, it tells us to believe WE can do it—to have faith in ourselves.

This is contrary to what the Bible teaches…there are people in the world who have faith in their own abilities…they’re self-confident…self-reliant…there are people who have faith in men (religious leaders, dead and alive) …there are people with faith in various religious systems…or human creeds…that’s generic faith… Jesus gives the qualifier in where we are to put our faith [22].

So Jesus answered and said to them, ‘have faith in God’

There is much confusion today over the nature of faith…I’m convinced that if we fail to fully understand these four simple words the next two verses will only result in confusion…disappointment and a lack of trust in what God says regarding prayer.

If we don’t have faith in God everything Jesus says after this is meaningless…but I do want to comment on one thing real quick…I hope you don’t take [23] as a promise that we can change the terrain…mountains don’t jump into the sea…no record in the New Testament of Jesus…an apostle…or for that matter any believer ever changing the landscape.

There are limitations on what God will do and can do…indicated by context …by other Scripture…as well as by the laws of God’s own nature and the universe.

First of all, there are some things that are actually impossible for God to do because they do not go along with His perfect character…God cannot change [Heb. 6:18] … God cannot lie [Titus 1:2]…God cannot be tempted by evil and He tempts no one [Jas 1:13] so in the same sense God cannot and will not literally give us everything.

The language is designed to create a visual picture…in this case the point Jesus is making is that Peter and the other disciples will need the kind of faith it takes to move mountains…if that were possible…illustrating their need to have the unlimited power of God when fulfilling their mission as evangelists.

I want to spend the remainder of my time on one specific verse regarding what Jesus says about prayer…a verse that creates confusion in the lives of Christians and non-Christians alike because people want to spin this verse into a blank check to get anything they want…and that was not Jesus’ intention.

Here’s the difficulty in taking [24] at face value.

All things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.

To take this verse with the attitude of: ‘the Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it’ is quite honestly a simple-minded approach to understanding the Bible.

To accept this verse as an open-ended promise is a failure to interpret Scripture in its proper context…it’s important to ‘have faith in God’ [22] but you cannot have ‘all things for which you pray and ask.’

Here’s the thing about interpreting Scripture…if a verse is unclear about a particular issue, interpret it in light of clearer verses…examine difficult verses in light of the general teaching of all of Scripture, and what has been revealed about the nature and character of God.

In other words, it’s important that we read Scripture through God’s eyes and not through the lens of our own contemporary culture.

This is what I want us to focus on this morning…not the withering of the tree but why did Jesus respond using prayer as an answer? …Jesus’ side-track response into faith seems random and out of context…how does this relate to a tree being killed?

Jesus’ response to Peter…and His confusing statement regarding this miracle is still causing problems today.

whatever things you pray for, believe you have received them, and they shall be granted you

I put the confusion this verse brings right along with:

–God causes all things to work for good (all things work together for good).

The good is not to make us necessarily healthy…or happy…or prosperous…but to make us holy…to make us like Jesus…to be conformed to the image of God’s Son.

–I came that they might have life and have it abundantly.

Hebrews 11 highlights believers who were tortured, imprisoned, stoned, sawn in two, destitute, mistreated and homeless…does that sound like the abundant life? Is that prosperity? …the abundant life is not about what we have…it’s not about what we get…the abundant life is about what we receive as a gift from the Lord and to live knowing we are stewards of the blessings of God.

— I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

the primary application of that verse has nothing to do with any person living today. This verse applied only to the Jews who were in exile in Babylon during the sixth century BC

People become disgruntled with Christianity because they don’t see these verses becoming a reality in their lives…because they have not been told that these verses have nothing to do with your everyday well-being.

This is one such instance…clearly Jesus has said ‘whatever’ things you pray to illustrate the potential of what can be accomplished by the power of prayer… BUT …here’s the reality…for many the frustration is ‘I’m not seeing those results.’

Two Things:

FIRST…what does ‘Whatever you ask’ mean…does that mean we can ask for absolutely anything? Are there no restrictions? Is there no limit to what we can ask of God…does God give us anything if we just simply ask?

SECONDLY …when Jesus says that we must not doubt but believe…is that all that’s needed for what I want to come to pass…does He mean that in order to have our prayers answered all we need is faith?

This seems like such a wide-open promise…pray and your prayers will be answered …so why can’t we simply ask and expect to receive positive answers.

If it seems like I’m going into great detail on this verse…I am…there’s a reason… because Jesus makes this statement for a reason…and we need to see how that applies to us so we’re not ignorant of what God requires regarding answered prayer.

This verse is just like 99% of all promises in the Bible…it’s conditional.

That means there are expectations attached… [24] is no exception…being unaware of the conditions attached to this verse is to go through life believing God is less than faithful…He’s not…BUT unless we put this verse in its proper context with other related Scripture, we think God is being unfaithful.  

It’s not God who’s unfaithful…it’s our misunderstanding of God’s Word resulting in unrealistic expectations.

Here’s some of the conditions God is insistent upon.  

1)  We must seek what God’s will is in our request (1 John 5:14–15)

2)  We must abide in Christ in order to know what God’s will is (John 15:7).

3)  We must ask with the right motives (James 4:1–3).

4)  We must ‘abide in Him’ and let His Word ‘abide in us’ (John 15:7).

5)  We cannot ‘ask amiss’ out of our own selfish desires (James 4:3).

6)  We know that God does not listen to sinners (John 9:31)

On the surface you’re saying… ‘that’s pretty involved’ and you’re right it is…but it is God’s expectations of us…far too often we take God at His Word…and that’s OK…but to assume: ‘ask and you shall receive’ without fully keeping these expectations is not realizing that only when our desires match what God wants… when our faith is in harmony with God’s will…it is then that God hears our prayers.

Using prayer to get anything I want is not in harmony with knowing what God’s will is.

Let me just say something about that…is anything more confusing than understanding what is God’s will…without going into a long theological discussion let me just say…in this universe there are three wills: God’s divine will…there’s Satan’s satanic will…and our human will.

On the earth today you have three prevailing wills…one is God’s divine will which is opposed by Satan’s satanic will…then there’s the third will…that’s us…our human will that is also prevailing on the earth today…it stands between the divine will of God and the satanic will of Satan.

I want you to see how critical prayer is and how important our will is…it’s God’s intention to accomplish His will…but here’s the kicker…it’s in union with us…we’re the ones that tip the scales…it’s our will…when we work together with God through our prayers in union with Him then we’re one with the Lord whereby His will becomes our will.

Isn’t it amazing to realize that the almighty God, who can do anything He wants and who creates things just by His speaking them into existence, so does God need our help? No. He is all powerful and in control of everything in His creation so why has God limited Himself to man’s cooperation?

God wants our will to be joined with His will…and be one with Him…here’s the importance of prayer…because prayer is the means God has ordained for some things to happen.

It’s not that God can’t work without our prayers, it’s that He has established prayer as part of His plan for accomplishing His will in this world.

There’s three ways the Bible speaks about the will of God: 

Category #1: God’s Sovereign Will God has ordained all that has or ever will take place (Ephesians 1:11; Acts 4:28).

Category #2: God’s Moral Will God has standards for right and wrong based upon his holy and righteous character (Exodus 20:1-17).

Category #3: God’s Permissive Will God allows certain things to take place in this world that he would not allow in a sinless world (Acts 14:16) using it all to further his ultimate purposes.

Prayer doesn’t change what God has ordained; rather, prayer accomplishes what God has already ordained!

Prayer allows us to participate in God’s Works…we don’t change God’s mind through our prayers…goes back to God’s Sovereign will…it will happen…BUT … prayer will cause God to delay what He has ordained…or…the absence of prayer will cause delays in God carrying out His will.

When God’s people don’t work together with God, He will allow the things ordained by Him to be delayed.

When our human will is aligned with God’s divine will then it is opposed to Satan’s satanic will…but when the human will is not aligned with God’s divine will because often times we let our desires blind us from knowing God’s will…our will then automatically is aligned with the satanic will…we’re the ones tipping the scales… we can’t be neutral…He who is not for me is against me.

Do you see the complexity of this verse…on the surface it seems like ask and you get it…but to accomplish God’s will requires that we understand first the conditions for prayer to be answered…and how important our cooperation is with God so He can carry out His Will.

Prayers that originate from the self are useless prayers…prayers that originate from God and uttered through us…through the church are meaningful prayers, prayers that will get an answer from the Lord…the importance of Tuesday night prayer.

Prayer is not a means by which we get our will done…it is the means by which God gets His will done on earth.

There has to be a movement on earth before there’s a movement in heaven…God’s eternal will is wanting to accomplish many things – even more than we can possibly imagine on earth…however, nothing can move until there’s a move on the earth.

Once there’s a move on earth, once we on earth pray out God’s will, there can be a move in heaven…the prayer that is most pleasing to God is the prayer that asks for the accomplishment of God’s will. ‘Your will on earth be done as it is in heaven’.

The cursing of the fig tree is important because it represented the spiritual deadness of Israel…the whole nation had become spiritually barren before the Lord and like the fig tree…Israel gave all the appearance of having fruit on it…it was actually barren.

Jesus was pronouncing His coming judgment on Israel and demonstrating His power to carry it out…but…cursing the fig tree is not just about historical Israel, it’s also about us. It’s about all the people of God throughout time.

It’s teaching the principle that religious observances are not enough to guarantee salvation unless there is the evidence of fruit…our personal lives can look like we’re ‘in leaf.’ …our leaves may look like those of a super Christian but the root may be withered…here’s what’s worse—our leaves may even fool us.

If there’s not fruit we’re just like that withered fig tree…we’re useless…genuine salvation is evidenced in the life of the person by how they conduct themselves.

What will the Lord find upon close inspection of us? Will he find only leaves? Or will he find figs, too?