Author: Jim Cantelon

Key Verse: Matthew 23:39 “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

This chapter has been entitled “The Seven Woes” by many commentators, because seven times Jesus pronounces woe on the Pharisees. There’s no need to expand on the various criticisms that He has of the Pharisees, because the main point of the seven woes is in verse 3, “do not do what they do for they do not practice what they preach”. Jesus’ criticisms are about doing righteous things to be seen by man. He also addresses the misplacement of authority in calling various Pharisees “Rabbi”, “Father”, or “Teacher”. Does this mean we’re wrong to be calling anybody “Teacher” or “Professor” or “Master” or “Father”? No. In the context, Jesus is essentially flattening the spiritual pride He sees in the Pharisees and the titles they assume for themselves. He talks about their zeal to win converts and yet their blindness are guides. He talks about their ability to teach the Law and yet their inability to perform it. He also talks about the fact the He is going to send prophets, wise men, and teachers, to try and steer the Pharisees in the right direction, but predicts they will be killed and crucified just like others before them.

It’s in this context that Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. He uses the powerful imagery of a barnyard hen clucking a warning as her little chicks rush to nestle under her wings for protection from some intruder. It’s a very pastoral, loving, and compassionate picture. When Jesus, however, was “clucking”, the chicks were not running. Because of their inattention, their temple was going to be left to them desolate. Then He says, “I am going to be gone too.” Which only adds to the desolation.

Israel won’t see Jesus again until they say, “Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord”. Here we have a reference to the end of days and the developing doctrine in the New Testament of the second coming of Jesus Christ and His triumphant reign as Messiah.

Key Verse: Matthew 22:21 “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Here we have one of the most famous stories about Jesus, when He comments on giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’. What is fascinating about the story is that the Pharisees and the Herodians got together in attempting to trap Jesus in His words. These two groups had very little to do with one another, and in fact represented totally different political points of view. The Pharisees tended toward ardent Nationalism, the Herodians toward cooperation with the growing force of occupation. So the Pharisees would be against paying tribute to Caesar, but the Herodians  would be for it. Yet here they were, working together. Both the religious and political establishment saw Jesus as a threat.

Jesus’ response to the question is anger, “you hypocrites, why are you trying to trap Me?”, and then tremendous cleverness, “show Me the coin used for paying the tax.” . (I think it is interesting Jesus didn’t have a denarius to His name.) The next question is simple, “whose portrait is this? whose inscription?” “Caesar’s”, they replied, then followed the famous answer.

Jesus refused to align Himself and His message with any kind of zealous nationalism. Though He claimed to be Israel’s leader, He denied any kind of kingship which was focused only on temporal and political power. The kingdom that Jesus represented was one in which everything is God’s. This meant that even though one rendered unto Caesar that which was Caesar’s, all of those monies and political infrastructures would ultimately fall under God’s dominion.

It’s a good point. Especially for those of us who associate Christianity with capitalism and the west. God is working powerfully in communist countries in the east. He’s not subject to our political ideologies and divisions, for He is Lord of all.

Key Verse: Matthew 21:22 “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

This chapter includes a tough passage. First of all, it seems uncharacteristic of Jesus to be going about cursing trees, especially trees, as Mark tells us, that are out of season. Secondly, even though we’re accustomed to Jesus using hyperbole (that is, exaggerating for the sake of emphasis), as any good Semitic teacher and rabbi would do, we are thrown by His reference to physical mountains being cast into the sea, and anything being received that is asked for in prayer with faith.

What is Jesus really telling us here? “If you have faith and doubt not, or if you believe, you’ll receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” The promise in its very form excludes a literal fulfillment. The phrase, “to remove mountains,” was a natural exaggeration and Jesus is referring to the mountains of difficulty that we face every day in life; but to refer to Mount Hermon, as likely this mountain indicates, just gave a greater vividness to an illustration which the disciples could easily understand. A mere physical miracle, such as Mount Hermon being thrown into the Mediterranean, would never in itself by the object of faith as Jesus describes it. The exaggeration is mean to impress on the disciples’ mind the truth that lies beneath it.

When Jesus says that belief will see you receiving whatever you ask in prayer, there is the implied condition, as we see in chapter 7, that what is asked is in harmony with God’s law and God’s will. In fact, if it weren’t in harmony with His law and His will it wouldn’t be asked in faith. Every true prayer involves submission to God’s will in the matter. This is why we need to be very careful with a passage like this, that we don’t use it as a springboard to irresponsible praying, or prayer, as a means to a worldly end.

We must always submit what it is we ask to the greater issue of God’s will for your lives and the world and commit ourselves in a childlike way to whatever He chooses to do.

Key Verse: Matthew 19:30 “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

A rich young man comes up to Jesus and says, “What must I do to get eternal life?” Jesus’ response is a little strange. He says “Why do you ask Me about what is good? There’s only one who is good.” The initial impression is that this is a bit of put down. But then again, maybe Jesus is just trying, as He often does, to shock His listener into attention by saying what He least expected to hear. He then gets into the expected answer. “If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” He asks which ones, and Jesus says such and so. And the young fellow says, “I’ve kept all of these.” Jesus then tells him that if he wants to become perfect, to go, sell his possessions to the poor, and then he’ll have treasure in heaven. Well, the young man left him sadly, because he had a lot of money.

At this point, Jesus uses the opportunity to teach His disciples that it’s very difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. The disciples want to get a little deeper into this. In fact, they’re greatly astonished and ask, “Well then, who can be saved?” And Jesus says, “Naturally speaking, in the human realm, it’s impossible to be saved. Only with God is it possible to be saved.” Peter says, “Look, we’ve left everything to follow You. What’s going to be in it for us?” Jesus then tells them that whoever has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, will receive one hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

Then He throws in a disclaimer. Many who are first shall be last, and many who are last shall be first. This is, perhaps, to avoid any attempt on the disciples part, or on ours, to reduce entry into the kingdom of heaven to legalism such as: if you leave what’s valuable to you, or sell what is valuable, you’re guaranteed eternal life. Jesus says, “Not necessarily so.” A lot who appear to have done all this, in God’s eyes still will be lost. And many who have appeared to have neglected this, will be found. Obviously, He’s telling us, among other things, that what He said to the rich young ruler was a specific instance and shouldn’t be overly generalized.

Key Verse: Matthew 18:3 “Unless you…become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Even the disciples had egos. This must have been at the root of their question, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Like you and me, they would want to hear Jesus say, “Frankly, in all honesty, you are.” And even as we humbly accepted it, we would be privately glowing, with smug joy at our special status. Well, Jesus characteristically surprised them all. He brought a little child, stood him among them and said, “You must become like a child or you’ll never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name, welcomes Me.”

The last thing an adult would expect is to be told to regress to childhood. What’s the point? It is simply this — a child recognizes authority. A child is forever learning, has a boundless enthusiasm, innocence, and malleability that an adult just doesn’t possess. And Jesus goes on to say that anyone who misleads a child is going to be in big trouble. More than that, Satan’s going to be in big trouble because of the stimulus he has provided to sin in mankind.

Jesus then turns to His disciples, changing pace somewhat, and says that if their foot or their hand or their eye causes them to sin, they should cut it off or gouge it out, or somehow maim themselves in order to avoid sinning.

Certainly, Jesus is not expecting a bunch of disfigured and dismembered disciples to be following Him about. He is, as He often does, using exaggeration for the sake of emphasis, but the point He’s making is clear. Sin is a serious thing. And even as a child is relatively sinless, so too we must approach the kingdom of heaven with that kind of innocence — an innocence which comes not from self-generated righteousness but from a committed belief in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.

Key Verse: Matthew 16:16 “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

In chapter 16, Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” And the answers were predictable. “Some say John the Baptist, others said, Elijah, some said Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you, who do you say that I am?” And it’s good old Simon Peter who answers, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This is a great confession of faith, and Jesus replies, “Blessed are you Simon,” and He comments that this was not revealed by man, but by God the Father in heaven. It’s at this point Jesus says He’ll build His church on this rock, on this confession of faith; and as long as the church believes that Jesus is the Son of the living God, then that church will be well-founded and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

In that context, those who are a part of the church, especially of its leadership, will have authority on earth and in heaven, in terms of fellowshipping with, or disfellowshipping, individuals who may or may not be a part of the kingdom of heaven in that church on earth. But then Jesus does something very strange. He warns His disciples not to tell anyone that He is the Christ. The only thing that comes to mind here is that it wasn’t time yet for the general populace to hear about this. He then talks to the disciples about what He’s going to face before it’s finally revealed who He is. And as Jesus talks about His trials, His sufferings, His death and resurrection, Peter says, “Never Lord, this shall never happen to You.” Jesus turns on Peter, just after commending him, and rebukes him, “Out of My sight, Satan, you’re a stumbling block to Me.”

Why this strong reaction? Maybe it’s because this was almost like a fourth temptation to Jesus. And so Peter is almost like Satan here in terms of his tempting Jesus to avoid the issue and find some other way to establish His Christness in the public domain. It’s just another indication again of the remarkable hybrid that is man. We’re very much part of the earth, and at the same time the image of God which is in us has such heavenly potential. On the other hand, we can make great confessions of faith, and on the other hand, act as agents of the devil.

Key Verse: Matthew 15:28 “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.”

This is a strange story, to say the least. It’s a story of a Canaanite woman whose daughter was demon-possessed, who came to Jesus crying out for mercy that her daughter might be healed. Apparently she was so insistent that the disciples became upset and urged Jesus to send her away. Jesus’ response is what makes the story so difficult. He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” Now it appears that He’s being uncharacteristically callous and hard. But notice that His disciples were there, and they undoubtedly remembered that He had already sent them out to the lost sheep of Israel. They knew this woman was not one of those. They knew she was a Canaanite, a Gentile, one often referred to by Jewish people as a dog. And perhaps in order to appear consistent to His disciples, He said what He said, but then, probably looking at the woman with tongue in cheek, as it were, He said, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”

The woman, instead of being intimidated by this statement, which may have been a quotation of a popular saying, responds almost as though it is a game, saying, “Yes Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.” There’s obviously some kind of repartee going on between Jesus and this woman. There’s a non-verbal communication that the disciples miss. How else does one explain her remarkable wit and self-assurance? She obviously read in Jesus’ look a compassion, an empathy, and openness that she very quickly siezed. Jesus used her as a tremendous object lesson saying, “Woman, you have great faith. Your request is granted,” which is reminiscent of the centurion who had greater faith than anyone in Israel. The thing that jumps out here is the fact that Jesus refused to be painted into a corner, even by His own words. He has a marvellous flexibility about Him and a kind of youthful adaptability that took as its rule, first and foremost, the rule of love.

Key Verse: Matthew 14:27 “Be of good cheer! It is I, do not be afraid.”

Matthew takes a moment to tell us about Herod and his beheading of John the Baptist, then he gets into the remarkable miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus, who was involved in a very people-intensive ministry, seemed to have limitless capacity for giving out more and more, and showing a kind of inexhaustible compassion, to the point of actually and miraculously dividing five loaves of bread and two fish into enough to feed five thousand. But then, He also has the self-confidence to be able to dismiss the crowd. He gets into a boat and goes to the other side of the lake just to get away from them. He easts and runs!

After Jesus dismisses the crowd, He goes up by Himself into the hills to pray. Jesus placed priority again and again on quiet time with His Father. While He’s praying, His disciples are out on the lake.  Suddenly they look up and see Jesus walking on the water. Their first reaction is, “It’s a ghost!” But Jesus speaks to them and says, “Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.” And Peter, the impulsive fellow that he is, says, “Lord, if it is You tell me to come to You ono the water.” Jesus says, “Come.” Peter gets out and walks on the water toward Jesus. But then, half way there, he realizes what he is doing and, beginning to sink, cries, “Lord, save me!” It would have been interesting if we had seen Peter walking all the way to Jesus and then turning around and walking back to the boat with Him. But, on the other hand, there is something refreshingly human about Peter’s reaction.

The response of the disciples to Jesus walking on the water is, “Truly, You are the Son of God.” And truly He was. When they got to the other side of the lake, the people there recognized Jesus and sent word to all the surrounding country, and brought all their sick to Him and begged Him to let the sick just touch the edge of His cloak And all who touched Him were healed.

Notice the human context out of which Jesus’ ministry sprang. He dealt with hungry people, frightened disciples and needy, demanding miracle seekers. His ministry sprang out of the very stuff of human existence.

Key Verse: Matthew 13:11 “It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven…”

In this chapter Jesus tells one of His better-known parables, that of the sower. Most parables have only one point and they generally make it well. The major point of this one parable comes in the form of a question, “What kind of soil are you?” Only a small amount of seed which is broadcast over the ground will eventually bear good fruit. The disciples responded by asking, “Why do you speak to people in parables?” And Jesus’ answer seems to be rather strange. “It’s in order that most will not understand what I’m talking about”. In the context of the parable, however, it becomes a little clearer. The parable says that only a small percentage of those who hear will respond and bear fruit. If that is the case, then the quality teaching, the kind  of teaching that will “grow in grace and knowledge”, that will “grow from faith to faith”, is intended only for those who have ears to hear So those who are able to see will see.

Jesus was not about to waste a lot of good stuff on unreceptive hearts. He’s teaching about the kingdom here. This is not evangelism. Evangelism is the broadcasting of the seed; no question about that. But when it comes to the indepth ministry of the spirit, the parable is constructed so that only those who are members of the kingdom will have the interest and the commitment to try and get beyond the metaphor to discover, as the spirit enlightens them, what it is Jesus is really saying.

The parable of the weeds follows very naturally the parable of the sower. First of all it’s similar imagery, but secondly, in terms of what Jesus had just said about broadcasting seed and then speaking through parables, this parable of the wheat and the weeds shows us that Jesus was not about to form an exclusive club in His presentation of the kingdom. He was prepared to broadcast it generally to all men everywhere and, in fact, was prepared to allow the members of the kingdom to grow up surrounded by those who are not members. He was not about to pull His disciples out of the world and form a commune: He wanted them in the world.

Key Verse: Matthew 12:8 “For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath”

This is the first of what are known as the Sabbath controversies in the gospels. On this occasion, Jesus’ disciples were picking some heads of grain and eating them as they walked through some grain fields on the Sabbath day. The Pharisees, who were always looking for a chance to accuse Jesus of unlawful behaviour, pointed out that the disciples were doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath. Jesus responded by referring to an historical event when David entered the house of the Lord with his companions and ate the consecrated bread which was lawful only for the priests to do He establishes the fact that the Sabbath is something which should serve man rather than man serving the Sabbath. He then informs these men that He is the Lord of the Sabbath, and offends them even more.

Later that day, Jesus happened to run into a man who had a paralyzed, shrivelled hand. Again, the Pharisees were there looking for a reason to accuse Him, and so they asked Jesus if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath. He replied, “If you have a sheep who falls into the pit on a Sabbath, won’t you take hold of it and lift it out? Well, a man is much more valuable than a sheep. Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

So, in terms of these Sabbath controversies, Jesus established two things. First of all, He is the Lord of the Sabbath, which gives Him the authority to declare what is lawful and what is not; and secondly, what is lawful is to do what is good and, of course, doing good is something which can involve work. Jesus says, “If it’s good, do it.” Now, it was good to heal a man, so He healed him. “Stretch out your hand,” He said, and it was completely restored. The Pharisees couldn’t handle this, and they went out to plot how they might kill Jesus.

In terms of the twentieth century, it is good for us to remember that any institution we may have and hold dear is good only to the extent that it serves us. When it comes to the point where we’re serving it, then, like the Pharisees, we may have made more of the institution than Jesus Himself would ever make of it.