Archive for March 2021

Numbers 15-17, Psalm 54, Matthew 23:13-24, Romans 5:12-21 Matthew 23:13-24: For Jesus to denounce “woe”—both a warning and a declaration of impending judgment—is a serious enough proposition that it would make the bravest quake for fear and only a fool ignore. What was the result of these woes? Did they repent? Some perhaps did. Many did not. Let…

Numbers 12-14, Psalm 53, Matthew 23:1-12, Romans 5:1-11 Matthew 23:1-12: Matthew 23 is all one piece of cloth, and it is hard to divide it up into sections and look at each part in turn. Throughout it all, Jesus is denouncing fake “religion,” and not only denouncing it, but bringing forward various principles that reveal the typical characteristics…

Numbers 9-11, Psalm 52, Matthew 22:34-46, Romans 4 Matthew 22:34-46: Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees get their heads together and decide to try a different tactic (22:34). They’ll test him on some of the more fundamental and essential aspects of the Law—what is the greatest commandment (22:36)—and they send another representative to do the…

Numbers 7-8; Psalm 51; Matthew 22:15-33; Romans 3   Matthew 22:15-33: Having been called out by Jesus for refusing to accept his invitation to the banquet of the king—to come into the kingdom of God—the Pharisees form an unholy alliance against Jesus. They send their disciples, along with the Herodians, to catch Jesus in his…

Numbers 5-6; Psalm 50; Matthew 22:1-14; Romans 2   Matthew 22:1-14: At one level this next parable is quite simple. It is another story that illustrates the meaning and reality of the kingdom of heaven (22:1). The point, of course, is that the king has a feast, invites guests to come, they refuse to come…

Numbers 3-4; Psalm 49; Matthew 21:33-46; Romans 1:18-32 Matthew 21:33-46: To explain further his radical point that it was the unexpected who truly received Jesus’ message of the kingdom, Jesus now tells another parable (21:33). This one is about a vineyard, a typical symbol for God’s people and for Israel, and about an owner of…

Numbers 1-2; Psalm 48; Matthew 21:23-32; Romans 1:1-17 Matthew 21:23-32: In religious circles, “authority” questions are nearly ubiquitous. Who is in charge is a political issue in many institutions and organizations, and the conflict that such questions can cause has been solved down through history through various political resolutions—in our modern Western age most prevalently…