Day #305

Sermon - Audio
Matt 20-21 - Reading
Matt 20-21 - Audio

Daily Insights - Please Comment

Matthew 20-21

Chapter 20

v. 16 – Jesus is not denying degrees of reward in heaven, but is affirming that God’s generosity is more abundant that anyone would expect: all the laborers except the very first got more than they deserve. It is probably correct also to see here a warning that Jesus’ early followers should not despise those who would come later.

v. 22-23 – The cup in Scripture is symbolic of one’s divinely determined destiny, whether blessing or disaster, salvation or wrath. Here is refers to Jesus’ forthcoming suffering.

v. 28 – Jesus was about to drink the cup of God’s wrath, not for His own sin, but as a means for ransoming many. The Greek preposition “for” can be rendered “in the place of”. It expresses the substitutionary nature of Jesus’ suffering. That Jesus said “many” rather than “all men”, indicates a specific focus to His redemptive activity. Jesus died for specific people.

Chapter 21

v. 9 – Hosanna – in Hebrew means “O save”.

v. 12-17 – John 2:13-17 recounts a cleansing of the temple early in Jesus’ ministry rather than one during Passion week. Many scholars maintain that either John or the other three Gospel writers put the account at a different point for theological reasons. However, the descriptive details are quite different and it is not impossible that there were two separate occasions on which Jesus drove out money-changers.

v. 19 – Since the fruit of the fig tree begins to appear about the same time as the leaves, the appearance of leaves in full bloom should have indicated that fruit was already growing. Jesus’ actions here have symbolic importance, signifying the hypocrisy of those who have the appearance that they are bearing fruit but in fact are not.

v. 21-22 – Freedom from doubt is the awareness that something is truly God’s will. It is not presumptive arrogance, but trust in God and submission to His sovereignty.

v. 25-27 – The leaders refusal to answer this question shows their dishonesty, but Jesus also traps them, for as religious leaders, they must now profess their ignorance. And if they do not know whether John was from God, how can they judge whether Jesus is?

v. 28-32 – A person’s actions ultimately prove whether or not he is obedient to God.

v. 33-46 – The leaders have failed to carry out their obligations to God in both their personal lives and in leading the nation of Israel. Their roles in caring for God’s vineyard/kingdom is now being taken away and given to a people producing fruit. The church will be a new people consisting of disciples, both Jews and Gentiles, gathered out of many nations and brought together as one new nation in the unfolding of God’s kingdom in the present age.