Tag: Judgment

The Parable of the Talents Matthew 25:14-30

Matthew 24 45

The Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25:14-30

What will you do with the opportunities God has given you?

Remember, we are in the middle of our Lord’s Olivet discourse concerning the future and, in particular, His Second Coming. Again and again, Jesus has urged His disciples and us to be alert and ready because we do not and cannot know when He will return.  We must live so as not to be caught off-guard. That means to live in faithfulness to the Lord, serving Him, and doing His will. This was the Lord’s own application of the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. Jesus concluded that parable saying, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” (Matt. 25:13). Jesus expects His disciples to watch and be prepared at all times for His coming.

Now, in the parable of the talents, we will find that it has a similar elements to the other parables Jesus just told: a master who goes away for a period of time, his return coming at a time they do not expect, and the judgment of those who either were or were not prepared for it. But today’s parable makes still more explicit what readiness looks like. The parable of the virgins calls us to watch; the parable of the talents calls us to work.

Readiness is not a matter of passively waiting, but of active working. Being ready for the Lord’s return means serving Him faithfully in this world while we wait for His coming again. We should be preparing for Christ’s return by being faithful stewards of the opportunities God has given us.

So, let’s look at the parable of the talents together and see what Jesus teaches us about preparing for his return.

1. Resources Entrusted (Matt. 25:14-18)

Jesus begins this parable by connecting it to the previous parable about the ten virgins. In the LSB, Matthew 25:14 reads, “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and handed over his possessions to them.” (Matt. 25:14 LSB). What is just as a man going on a journey? The same topic that Jesus just illustrated in the previous parable, as He says in Matthew 25:1, “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be like …” This is why the New King James Version supplies the context by inserting “For the kingdom of heaven is like.”

What will the kingdom of heaven be like? “… a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and handed over his possessions to them” (Matt. 25:14). Notice that the possessions belonged to the master. He was the owner and the slaves were stewards or managers of whatever the master entrusted. When the master gave the talents to the servants, both they and he knew that it was still his money. They knew that they were accountable for the master’s money. They never thought it was theirs.

From this we understand a crucial biblical truth. All that we have belongs to God. In the ultimate sense, we own nothing. Even your life is a gift from God. All the things we think are ours are really God’s. He made them, He entrusted them to us, and one day He require an accounting for what we did with them. God is the owner; we are the stewards entrusted with particular responsibilities.

Matthew 25:15 says: “And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.”

It is important for us to know that the word “talent” in this parable does not means what it means in English today. We think of a talent as a natural human ability or skill. But the word “talent” in the Bible literally refers to a unit of weight. A biblical talent weighed about seventy-five pounds and it was used as a value for money, either a talent of silver or gold. Today, that much silver would be worth about $50,000, and that much gold would be worth about $3,000,000. Most scholars say that one talent of silver in those days would represent about 20 years wages for a common laborer. So, a talent was a significant sum of money. They all were given huge responsibilities.

Notice how the master distributes his possessions. The owner didn’t practice equity, dividing everything equally to each servant. No, he gave them all different amounts, “to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one.” And Jesus tells us why they received these different various amounts. It was because he gave them “to each according to his own ability.” The master knew how much each could handle and gave expectations based on each one’s personal abilities.

Here we find the sovereign design of the Lord who entrusts each of us with various resources, abilities, and gifts so that we might use all to His glory. So, some have superb intellects, others creative abilities; some have musical gifts while others are gifted with financial resources; some can speak, others can write; some can organize, others are great doers that get the job done. All of it comes from the Lord. All of us are therefore responsible to make the most of whatever the Lord has entrusted to us as wise stewards.

Listen, God is not obligated to treat you exactly like He treats anyone else. He can give you more or less than others; and He does. You have more than some and less than others. You have more money and talent and opportunity, more strength, better health, and better connections than others. And you have less of all that than others.

We need to be careful not to envy those who have more abilities or possessions than us, or be prideful over those who have less. Rather, we should be grateful. This week as we celebrate Thanksgiving, it is a good time for us to remember this and give thanks to the good Lord for the good gifts He has given. It’s not what you have, but what you do with what you have, that makes the difference. We need to trust God’s sovereignty and be grateful for whatever He has given us and determine to use whatever God has given us for His glory.

Then, notice what the servants did with the talents that the master entrusted to them. Two of them went to work right away to make the most of what they had:

16 “Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.” (Matt. 25:16-17).

Here we see a good picture of faithfulness. When it says that the servant “traded with them” it literally means that he went to work with them. He poured out his energy and wisdom to make the most of the opportunity that the master had given him. He made (or gained NASB) five more. The servant who had been given two talents did the same, he gained two more. Both had an excellent return for their hard work.

Jesus is coming again. And in the meantime, Jesus the master, has entrusted to us some of His most precious and valuable things to manage. We are the servants in this parable. In practicable terms, a talent can represent any life resource that God has entrusted to our care.

Pastor Gary Hamrick applied this to six major areas of life that God entrusts to us: money, abilities, authority, possessions, position, and influence, asking about each: “If you are financially blessed, are you financially generous for the kingdom?”; “Whatever you can do well, are you doing it well for God?”; “If you have been put in charge of things, are you using that authority to promote the kingdom?”; “If you have resources and possessions that can be used for the kingdom, what are you doing with those resources for the glory of God?”; “If you are a mother, father, grandparent, an employee or an employer, student, or a teacher, are you using your position or status in life that God has given you to glorify him?”; “If God has opened doors for you such that you have opportunity to influence people, are you using that influence to impact the kingdom?”[1]

The case of the third servant is something else entirely. Jesus says, “But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.” (Matt. 25:18). He did nothing with the talent he was given except to bury it in the ground so he wouldn’t lose it. He didn’t work with it. He didn’t invest it. Keeping it in this way meant that there was no possibility of loss, but it also meant that there was no possibility of gain.  

So we see the resources entrusted. Next, we see …

2. Faithfulness Rewarded (Matt. 25:19-23)

Jesus says, “After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.” (Matt. 25:19). Again, Jesus indicates to His disciples that His return would not be immediate but only after considerable time. And at His return, the Lord will call His servants to account for what He has entrusted to them. The Lord’s return will be a day of judgment. Every one of us will have to answer for what we did with what God gave us. You see that the servants knew this accounting was coming.

The first two servants were both faithful with what God had given them, and God commended both of them for it. Can you sense the enthusiasm of the first servant when he presents his return to his lord? Jesus says, “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’” (Matt. 25:20). He found great satisfaction and delight in pleasing his lord. The second servant had the same attitude, “He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’” (Matt. 25:22).

How does the master reward their them? It’s the same in both cases, “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” (Matt 25:21,23). First, there is a commendation: He calls each one a “good and faithful servant,” and says to him, “you were faithful.” What does he commend them for? Faithfulness.

Second, there is a promotion: “you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.” When you are faithful with little, you will be entrusted with more. Do you want God to entrust you with more in this life and the next? Then be faithful with what you’ve got!

Third, there is an invitation: “Enter into the joy of your lord.” The great satisfaction was not in basking in honor but in continuing to serve the one whom they loved with unflagging devotion. This is how they entered into the joy of their lord.

What a picture for us! The reward of faithfulness is that the Lord entrusts us with more of that which belongs to Him and which we are to use for His glory. Having found delight in “a few things,” He increases the personal delight and satisfaction by making us “ ruler over many things.” Listen, our service to the Lord does not end in this life. Heaven is no place for lazy bums! ” And there shall be no more curse,” John wrote, ” but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him” (Rev. 22:3). No longer hindered by tiredness or need for sleep or lost opportunity by darkness, we will continue to serve our Lord for eternity.

So, if you do not find delight in serving Christ now, I’m afraid that heaven will not be a very welcome place for you! As the slaves found sheer pleasure in being able to say they gained double what they had. Out of joy they served and were assured of continued service, and that through being enveloped in the joy of the master. Such joy is so rich, that nothing can compare to it.

But notice the contrast of the third servant. There we see …

3. Opportunity Squandered (Matt. 25:24-30)

Jesus says,

24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’” (Matt. 25:24-25).

Notice that the lack of faithfulness in this servant was due to his bad attitude about his master. This slave immediately begins to find fault with his master and place the blame on him. He calls him a hard man. He accuses him of harvesting where he has not sown and gathering where he has not scattered seed.

Was he right in what he said to the master? Clearly all three men knew the master would come back, and they all knew that he would demand an accounting. But the first two men focused on the fact their master, besides being a fair man, could also be very generous. They knew if they did a good job, they would have a great reward at the end. The third fellow lived in fear and so didn’t do anything at all. His fear of punishment was far greater than his desire to be rewarded.

So what’s his problem? He thought he knew his master, but he didn’t. Because he didn’t know him, he didn’t trust him. Because he didn’t trust him, he did nothing.

What was the master’s judgment? Jesus says,

26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'” (Matt. 25:26-30).  

The master says that this servant is “wicked and lazy.” He is worthless and has shirked his responsibility. The third servant tried to use his bad thoughts of the master as an excuse for why he had done nothing with the one talent the master had given him. But even if what the servant said about him was true (and it’s not!), that still does not excuse the servant’s behavior. If the servant was afraid of the master and thought the master was that harsh, he should have at least put the money in the bank and earned some interest for the master. As it is, he did nothing, and that was unacceptable.

Christ operates on the principle of faithfulness. He is faithful even when we falter and fail. So He calls for faithfulness in us, promising that faithfulness meets with His pleasure and has the assurance of abundant reward in His presence. “ For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.” Doing nothing for God is unacceptable. Not only will you not receive a reward, you will also lose what God initially gave you as well. We have a saying for that don’t we? You’ve got to use it or lose it! God expects you to use the opportunities and gifts He has given you for His glory.

Sadly, the parable of the talents ends the same way as the parable of the two servants, with the unfaithful servant being thrown out into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

And this gives us the eternal perspective of this parable. What is the most valuable thing that the Lord has left with us, wanting us to cherish and to duplicate? It’s salvation. It’s the Gospel. It’s the Good News of Jesus Christ for the salvation of souls for whoever believes and receives. That’s what carries eternal weight in this parable.

MacArthur concludes about this parable,

In the kingdom, in the church, in the assembly of the redeemed, there are going to be those who are prepared and serving the Lord. There are going to be those who are unprepared and who outwardly may be active but are not ready for his coming. And when the Lord comes, there will be a separation and a delineation based upon their service rendered to him. All excuses set aside. False service will be ended and that which they appear to be doing will be given to others in the kingdom and throughout eternity.[2]

God has entrusted us with the gospel of Jesus Christ. What have you done with the opportunity the Lord has given for you to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ? Have you believed that He died for your sins and was raised from the dead to give you eternal life? And if so, is that new life bearing fruit, multiplying in faithful service and faithful sharing of the gospel with others? Will you hear the Lord say on that day, “Well done good and faithful servant … enter into the joy of your Lord”?

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[1] Gary Hamrick, Get Ready ‘cause Here I Come – Part 3, https://assets01.cornerstonechapel.net/documents/studyguides/20210321.pdf

[2] John MacArthur, https://www.gty.org/sermons/2377/the-tragedy-of-wasted-opportunity-part-2

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The Wise or Foolish Virgins – Matthew 25:1-13

Matthew 24 45

The Wise or Foolish Virgins

Matthew 25:1-13

Are you ready for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ? This is the theme of the parables we are studying in Matthew 24 and 25. We are in the middle of Jesus teaching His disciples on the Mount of Olives about the destruction of Jerusalem and about His coming and the end of the age (Matt. 24:3). In Matthew 24, Jesus made it clear that the end would not come immediately, but only after some general and specific signs that would precede His coming. And He commanded His disciples to watch and be ready because no one knows the day or the hour when the Son of Man will come (Matt. 24:42,44).

To exhort us to readiness for His return, Jesus then taught three parables. Last time, from the parable of the wise or wicked servant we learned that readiness for Christ’s return includes faithfulness. If you want to be ready for the Lord’s coming, be faithful to serve your Master while He is away. We said that being ready for Christ’s return means that we watch expectantly, serve faithfully, and live holy.

Now, as we turn to Matthew 25, Jesus will teach two more parables and then describe the judgment that follows His return. The theme that ties this section together is separation in judgment. when Jesus Christ comes again, the saved will be separated from those who are lost. Whether it is the wise virgins separated from the foolish virgins; the wicked servant separated from the faithful in the parable of the talents; or the sheep separated from the goats in the judgment, this is the point that Jesus emphasized. His second coming is a day of reckoning when those who are not ready will be separated from those who are ready.

Jesus previously taught this aspect of the kingdom of heaven in His parables of the wheat and the tares and the dragnet in Matthew 13. Jesus said about the wheat and the tares that grow together in the field of the world,

40 “Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matt. 13:40-43).

And in the parable of the dragnet Jesus said,

49 “So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 13:49-50)

Jesus’ coming will be a time of judgment when the righteous are separated from the wicked. That is the theme of Matthew 25.

Today’s passage is the parable of the ten virgins or bridesmaids waiting for the coming of the bridegroom. It is a parable to teach a truth about the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said, “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” (Matt. 25:1).

In order to catch the impact of this story, we need to know something about first-century Jewish wedding customs. In those days, young people got married in three stages. First, there was the arrangement or engagement, The two fathers would make an agreement as to what the dowry, obligations, and arrangements would be. Later came the betrothal, the formal religious ceremony in the bride’s home. The bride and groom exchanged marriage vows and the dowry was given to the bride. Then the groom would spend from several months to a year preparing for his wife by establishing himself in his trade or farming and preparing a place for them to live. Finally, there was a wedding banquet (or feast) at the groom’s home. The entire community could be involved in this celebration which could last even up to a week. The festivities began with a bridal procession. The groom and his friends would come to the bride’s house where she and her bridesmaids were waiting. The whole party would then parade through the streets eventually arriving at the groom’s home or other place prepared for their wedding feast. These wedding processions were often at night with the wedding attendants carrying lamps or torches to light the way and to attract attention.

Knowing this custom, the parable becomes straightforward to follow. It is fairly easy to identify the bridegroom with Jesus and the arrival of the bridegroom with the return of Christ. Ten is a nice round number, and so the ten virgins or bridesmaids represent all who are waiting for Christ, while their different actions represent those who are prepared for the waiting and those who are not.

Let’s look at this parable in three parts: 1) the waiting for the bridegroom; 2) the coming of the bridegroom; 3) the entering into the wedding banquet.

1. Waiting for the Bridegroom (Matt. 25:1-5).

The parable begins with all ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom. Jesus says, “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” (Matt. 25:1). These ten virgins all had several things in common. All had been invited to the banquet and all had responded positively. All ten had gone out to wait for the bridegroom. They all had their lamps with them. All the virgins wanted to see the bridegroom. All were in the right place at the right time. All fell asleep while waiting for the bridegroom. All were awakened by the midnight cry. All ten virgins got up to prepare their lamps.

Yet there was one crucial difference. Jesus said, “Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.” (Matt. 25:2). “Wise” (φρόνιμος, phronimos) is the same adjective Jesus used in the previous parable to describe the faithful servant who did his master’s will. It means prudent, astute, or sensible. Their wisdom shows up in their preparation for the bridegroom’s delay. Jesus says, “but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.” (Matt. 25:4). The wise were ready for any potential delay. They didn’t know exactly when the bridegroom would arrive, so they brought extra oil with them. They did not want to miss out on this most joyful of events, and so they were ready for any potential delay.

The description “foolish” (μωρός, mōros) in the Bible indicates not just ignorance or silliness. It especially speaks of those that are dull to the things of God. Therefore they are impious, godless, or morally worthless. Their foolishness shows up in the lack of preparation. Jesus says, “Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,” (Matt., 25:3). The foolish did not bring any extra oil for their lamps. In other words, they made a foolish assumption. They assumed that the bridegroom would come sooner than he did, and so they did not make any extra preparations in case he came later than they expected. They evidently never thought about the possibility that he might be delayed. Or if they thought about it, they dismissed it as so unlikely that it wasn’t worth worrying about. Either way, they weren’t prepared when he suddenly arrived at midnight.

Before we feel sorry for them, consider this: The foolish virgins knew the bridegroom was going to get married; they knew he would come to the banquet; and they knew they needed oil for their lamps. All ten virgins started had the same information. The five foolish virgins had everything they needed to know. And still they were not ready!

Notice Jesus does not say the bridegroom was late in coming, just that he took longer than those who were waiting for him expected. The bridegroom’s delay is seen in Matthew 24:5, “But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.” No condemnation is given to either the foolish or the wise for sleeping. What this detail shows is the apparent delay and that the foolish had more than ample time to prepare themselves. The foolish virgins found time to sleep, but they neglected to get the needed oil. The five wise virgins could rest in confident assurance that when the bridegroom arrived, they were prepared.

So, that’s the first part of the parable: waiting for the bridegroom. Next, Jesus tells about the …

2. Coming of the Bridegroom (Matt. 25:6-9).

Jesus says, “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’” (Matt. 25:6). The bridegroom came at midnight when they did not expect him. The “midnight cry” awoke them from their sleep. The command went out, “go out to meet him!” The moment has come at last! As you can imagine, there was a flurry of activity and excitement. The moment they had waited for had arrived. No more delays, no more anticipation, the time had come for all of them to be part of the wedding festivities.

“Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps” (Matt. 25:7) so that they would be ready to join the wedding procession and the festivities that will follow. The mark that you belonged to the wedding party was your lamp. Without it, one would be excluded. The ten virgins knew this. That’s why we find them busily trimming their lamps to go out and meet the bridegroom. Only then does the foolishness of the first five become apparent to all. They are low on oil and a wick without oil will not stay lit.

“And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’” (Matt. 25:8). The foolish five recognize that they are in a dire strait. Panicking, they asked the wise to give them some of their oil. “But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’” (Matt. 25:9). The wise virgins prove themselves doubly prudent. This was not selfishness, but reality. There is not enough to share.

The five foolish maids left to purchase oil, “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came …” (Matt. 25:10). The five wise vrigins joined the wedding procession to the banquet. The five foolish missed it. They knew what they needed. They had ample time to prepare. But they did not. If the foolish virgins had known that the bridegroom was going to take longer than they expected, perhaps they would have brought the extra oil. The wise virgins knew that they didn’t know when the bridegroom was coming. So, they wisely brought the extra oil. They prepared themselves for a longer wait just in case. 

The next scene shows the marriage feast guests arriving and the door being shut.

3. Entering into the Wedding Banquet (Matt. 25:10-12)

Matthew 25:10 continues, “… and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.” Two phrases stand out: “those who were ready went in with him” and “the door was shut.” The wise virgins who were prepared entered the wedding banquet. They experienced the joy of the bridegroom. The language implies that the door was shut and stays shut. No one else could enter. No bargains would be made. The door was shut.

Whether or not they found oil, we’re not told. Nevertheless, they made their way to the bridegroom’s home where the wedding feast had already begun. Jesus describes the scene. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’” The double use of “Lord” stresses the urgency in their plea as well as the verb tense for “open up.” Desperate for entrance to the wedding feast, they plead with the bridegroom to open the door that had been shut. But they had failed to prepare for the bridegroom’s coming.

Then come those ominous words of judgment in Matthew 25:12, “But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’” The bridegroom says that he has no relationship with them. This is similar to Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:

22 “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'” (Matt. 7:22-23).

Then Jesus gives us the …

Conclusion:

Jesus concludes in Matthew 25:13, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” Be watchful and prepared while you wait for Christ’s coming (Matt. 25:13).

Here is how we apply this parable to ourselves today:

  • You don’t know when Christ will return, so be ready now.

The first application is this: You don’t know when Christ will return, so be ready now. Don’t delay. Don’t leave things for another day. Make things right in your life with God now. You should live every day as though Christ was returning today.

Do you have oil in your lamp? Have you repented and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ? If you have, God has made you a child of God and placed the oil of His Holy Spirit in you. He will keep you burning until Christ comes. If you have not yet trusted Christ to save you, you need to do that today. We can masquerade all of our lives as Christians, and having failed to prepare through trusting in Christ, hear those decisive words, “I do not know you.” It matters not how popular you are in church or how many accolades you’ve received for service or how wonderful everyone believes you to be. What matters is knowing Jesus Christ. Are you wise or foolish? Be on the alert-Behold, the bridegroom comes!

Today, the door is open. You can come to Christ. You can receive the gift of eternal life and the forgiveness of sins. Turn from your sin and selfishness. Believe in Christ that He died for your sin and is alive forever to save you.

When Christ comes again, the door will be shut. Some people will find out the value of Christ too late. They will suddenly realize how wrong they’ve been, but the door will already be shut. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

And then the second application is this …

  • You don’t know when Christ will return, so be ready to wait if necessary.

Just as you need to live your life as though Jesus could return today, you also need to live your life as though Jesus might not return for a long time. That means we don’t wait by going up on a mountaintop and gazing into the sky. It means we wait by being ready at all times while we work and grow and get married and have kids and live every day to the glory of God in Christ.

Waiting is hard. It’s easy to get discouraged waiting for Christ to return. We see the signs, and we wonder why it is taking so long. You need to be prepared both for the short term and the long term. You need to be ready to live for Jesus not just for a season but for the rest of your life.

So, what do you do while you are waiting? That’s what we are going to look at in next week’s message.

 

 

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The Faithful or Wicked Servant – Matthew 24:45-51

Matthew 24 45

The Faithful or Wicked Servant

Matthew 24:45-51

Last time we began the application section of Jesus’ Olivet Discourse. The first part of Jesus’ teaching to His disciples on the Mount of Olives was explanatory (Mat. 24:4-35). Jesus was answering the disciples’ questions about the destruction of Jerusalem and about the sign of His coming and the end of the age (Matt. 24:2-3). First, He gave them some general signs that will characterize the age before His return (Matt. 24:4-14). Second, He gave some specific signs that would immediately precede His Coming (Matt. 24:15-28). Next, He described His glorious coming (Matt. 24:29-31) and its certainty (Matt. 24:32-35).

Jesus then began to apply these truths to His disciples (and to us). Matthew 24:36 sets the thesis for the exhortations that follow—no one knows the day or the hour of the coming of the Son of Man. Because no one knows when Christ will return, He exhorts us first to “watch,” to be on the alert (Matt. 24:42) and second to “be ready” or prepared for His coming at all times.

Next, Jesus relates three parables that illustrate and exhort us to watch and be ready for His coming. How can we make sure that we are alert and ready for Christ’s return? How are we to live in light of Christ’s imminent return? Jesus teaches that readiness demands faithfulness. Faithful waiting calls for devotion and service. Another way to say that is: If you want to be ready for the Lord’s coming, be faithful to your Master. Faithful service must occupy us until Jesus comes again.

Jesus illustrates this truth with a servant who is either faithful and wise or wicked and unprepared. Jesus begins the parable by asking a question, “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?” (Matt. 24:45). The premise is simple to understand. There is a master and there is a servant. This master is planning on traveling away from his household for a time. In his absence, he leaves this servant in charge of his household. This servant is to oversee the affairs of the house while his master is gone. He is to make sure that those in the house are fed at the proper time (Matt. 24:45). He is to coordinate the other servants in their duties (Matt. 24:49). He is responsible for his master’s house.

The servant can respond in one of two ways. Either he can be a faithful and a wise servant, who does exactly as his master has instructed him to do. Or, he can be an evil servant, who doubts the return of his master, neglects the duties that were given to him, abuses his fellow slaves, and lives a life of drunken pleasure. When the master returns, his response to his servant will depend upon which course of action the servant has chosen. If he was faithful and wise, he will be rewarded with more responsibility. If he was evil and self-seeking, he will be punished severely.

Let’s look at these two possibilities and what they teach us today.

1. The Wise Servant (24:45-47)

First, Jesus tells us about the faithfulness of the wise servant. The word for “servant” here means bondslave (δοῦλος doulos), one who is bound to his master in servitude. The will of the bondslave is consumed with the will of the master. By the way, this was the term that the apostles of Jesus Christ preferred when they referred to themselves and other ministers of Christ in the New Testament letters:

Romans 1:1 – “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, …”

Philippians 1:1 – “Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, …”

Colossians 4:12 – “Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, …”

James 1:1 – “James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, …”

2 Peter 1:1 – “Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, …”

Jude 1 – “Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, …”

We are bondslaves of Jesus Christ. If that language offends you, then consider the greatness and majesty of Jesus Christ the Lord. He is the eternal God, infinite in holiness, righteousness, and justice, purer than the driven snow, omnipotent in His rule, omniscient in His decrees, with no beginning and no end of days, the Creator and Ruler of the universe.[1] And Yet, Paul also uses the word “bondslave” to describe Christ Jesus Himself in Philippians 2:7, writing that He “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” As a bondservant of His Father, Jesus “humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8).

Those who realize the majesty and mercy of our Lord gladly own the title “bondslave of the Lord Jesus Christ”. We do not deserve the glorious honor of being a slave to such a worthy Master. But by God’s mercy and grace, that is what we are.

What characterizes a good bondslave? In Matthew 24:45 Jesus indicates …

A. His Attitude (45)

This servant is faithful. A faithful servant is trustworthy, dependable, reliable, and consistent. “Faithful” describes one who remains firmly and devotedly bound to another. This servant understood his place—that he was the bondslave responsible to his Master.

Spurgeon once said “I know of nothing which I would choose to have as the subject of my ambition for life than to be kept faithful to my God till death.”[2] The ancient preacher John Chrysostom said “Faithfulness in little things is a big thing.”[3]

Not only was this servant faithful, he was also “wise” (Matt. 24:45), one who is thoughtful and sensible (φρόνιμος phronimos). Jesus uses this word four times in the next parable (Matthew 25:1-13) to describe the “wise” or prudent virgins who prepared for the bridegroom’s coming by having their lamps filled with oil. Because they were wise, prudent, and sensible, they were alert and prepared.

Because he was faithful and wise, “his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season” (Matt. 24:45). He put this faithful servant in charge of the household including the care and supervision of the other servants. He was to manage the household and ensure everyone does their part and gets fed at the right time.

So the attitude of the servant is that he is faithful and wise. Notice also …

B. His Actions (46)

Jesus says, “Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.” (Matt. 24:46). This faithful and wise servant is found doing the will of his master at all times. He did not know when the master would return any more than the evil servant did. He just stayed ready at all times by doing his duty. He didn’t need to be constantly watching over his shoulder to see if his master was coming so that he could hurry and get ready.

Jesus says this servant is “blessed”. This is the same promise that Jesus gives in the beatitudes in Matthew 5. It means happy or content. This servant understood that we are most content when we are most obedient to the Master. The greatest blessing is not doing our own will, but the will of the Lord.

Faithful and wise are the attributes of this servant. His actions are to do the will of his master at all times. And then we see …

C. His Award (47)

Jesus indicated this servant’s reward, saying, “Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.” (Matt. 24:47). This servant understood that faithfulness will be rewarded by the master. Jesus teaches us that the reward of faithfulness to one’s responsibility is to be entrusted with greater responsibility. We will see this again in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 where the Lord says, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things” (Matt. 25:21,23).

This is the reward of the faithful and wise servant. Now Jesus shifts gears in His parable from the faithful servant to …

2. The Wicked Servant (24:48-51)

Jesus says,

48 “But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards,” (Matt. 24:48-49).

Let’s examine the same three aspects of this servant.

A. His Attitude (48, 50)

Jesus says this is an “evil servant”. The word “evil” (κακός kakos) speaks of a lack of goodness and thus, worthless. This servant disregarded his master. He lost sight of the one he was supposed to be serving. Jesus says, “that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming” (Matt. 24:48). Due to the master’s delay, this servant was “not looking for” his master to return (Matt. 24:50). This evil and worthless attitude showed up in …

B. His Actions (49)

Jesus says that this wicked servant “… begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards” (Matt. 24:49). The evil servants’ attitude that the master would not return soon affected his treatment of others. This servant is unbelieving. The delay of his lord leads him to conclude that he is not going to return at all. His unbelief leads him to abuse his position—he becomes tyrannical and cruel in his treatment of his fellow servants. The way he treats others exposes a heart that is corrupted with self-centeredness. Then his own habits become unworthy; we find him eating and drinking with drunken men. He traded his place with the Master for the pleasures of the world.

His evil attitude of unbelief led to his wicked actions and earned him …

C. His Award (51)

Jesus says, “50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,” (Matt. 24:50). Because he was not expecting the return of his master, he was unprepared. He was caught in the act by neglecting his duty, abusing others, and indulging himself. What was his reward from the master?

Maybe you have heard it said, “No man is entirely worthless, he can always serve as a bad example”. This servant is the bad example not to follow. He shows us that phoniness, laziness, and worldliness are not readiness. He didn’t fool the master. And you won’t be able to fool the Lord when He comes to judge.  

Jesus says that the master “… will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 24:51). This is a severe judgment. All of this proves that the evil servant didn’t really belong to the master at all. He suffered the consequences of his evil, unbelieving heart. When the master returned, he severely punished him and assigned him his portion, his assignment or due part (μέρος meros), with the hypocrites.

What is the portion of the hypocrites? Jesus made that clear in speaking to the hypocrites of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23 calling them and their disciples “sons of hell” (Matt. 23:15) and saying, “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” (Matt. 23:33). Their portion is one of extreme anguish and misery that never ends.

That’s the parable. Its message is clear: If you want to be ready for the Lord’s coming, be faithful in service to your Master. We have a Master and Lord. His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of Man and Son of God. Like the master in this parable, the Lord Jesus has gone away to heaven. Like the master in this parable, the Lord Jesus is coming back. Just because His return seems like it is delayed, doesn’t mean that it is not certain.

The Apostle Peter warns us about this when he writes,

3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Pet. 3:3-4).

Then Peter assures us that “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:9). Jesus Himself just told us in Matthew 24:30, “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

Like the master in this parable, Jesus has clearly assigned us responsibilities while He is away. And as servants, we are called to be faithful while our master is away; we want to be about pleasing our master according to His revealed will. And like the faithful servant, we will be rewarded for serving the Lord.

Lest you should misunderstand, let me make this clear: Good works do not get you saved. There’s only one good thing that gets you saved, and that’s the good work that Jesus did by dying on the cross for our sins. He purchased our redemption by His own blood. We do not deserve it, nor can we earn it. We simply receive salvation as a gift of God by faith in Christ and what He has already done for us. The servant did the will of his master because he trusted him and believed he was coming back to judge. He served by faith. We don’t do good works to get saved, we do good works because we have been saved. Our works are evidence that we believe Jesus is Lord and that we belong to Him. They are an overflow of our relationship with the Savior. We want to please Him because of what He has graciously done for us in forgiving our sins and making us His servants as born-again children of God.

If you have not yet been saved by believing in Jesus Christ, you need to trust in Him today. Now is the time of grace and opportunity when the gospel call goes forth and all who put their faith in Jesus will be saved. When Jesus returns, that window will close. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Repent and believe in Jesus. That’s the first thing you need to do to make yourself ready.

Then for those of us who are in Christ, what does it look like to be ready for His return? Three clear things:

  • Watch expectantly. You do not know when the Lord will return. But you know for certain that He will. To watch expectantly does not mean we constantly stand around gazing into the sky. It means we Keep ourselves always prepared, always ready. Watch expectantly; Christ is coming.
  • Serve faithfully. We are bondslaves of Christ. He will reward all who serve Him faithfully. One of the great joys of being a pastor is observing the ways that the Lord calls people to serve Him. What has Jesus Christ given you to do in His name? It may be to teach and care for children; or to organize acts of mercy; or to care for the poor; or to evangelize; or to go to a foreign mission field; or to plant churches; or to show hospitality to others; or to help with worship by using musical gifts; or to take care of little details that allow the church to function smoothly; or to pray for the salvation and needs of people; or countless other ways you can serve Christ and His church. Serve faithfully because you serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Live holy. Don’t be like the evil servant who mistreated others and lived for his own pleasure. The fact that Christ is coming again at an hour we do not expect should compel us to holiness. Peter writes,

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? (2 Pe 3:10-12).

Learn the lesson Jesus teaches us here. Watch expectantly. Serve faithfully. Love holy.

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[1] Phil Newton, Alert, Ready, & Faithful, https://web.archive.org/web/20180811091051/http://archive.southwoodsbc.org/sermons/matthew_24.45-51.php.

[2] Charles Spurgeon, “Spurgeon at His Best: Over 2200 Striking Quotations from the World’s Most Exhaustive and Widely-read Sermon Series”, Baker Publishing Group 1988

[3] John Chysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople (349- 407), quoted on https://www.preceptaustin.org/matthew-24-commentary#24:45.

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The Savior’s Lament – Matthew 23:37-39

MAtthew 23:37

The Savior’s Lament

Matthew 23:37-39

In our study through the Gospel of Matthew, we have been examining the events that took place during the last few days before Jesus was crucified. After the initial excitement that came with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matt. 21:1-11) and His cleansing of the temple the following day (Matt. 21:12-17), Jesus spent much of His time teaching in the temple (Matt. 21:23). But the religious leaders relentlessly challenged Jesus and tried to discredit Him so that they might eventually destroy Him (Matt. 21:23-27; 22:15-40). Their schemes utterly failed, and instead, at every effort Jesus discredited them, exposing their wicked hearts and distorted understanding of the Scriptures.

Having silenced all His critics (Matt. 22:46), in Matthew 23, Jesus went on the offensive against the scribes and Pharisees. First, He warned His disciples and the people about the danger of their hypocrisy (Matt. 23:1-12). Then, He pronounced a series woes upon them directly, calling them hypocrites, sons of hell, blind guides, serpents, and a brood of vipers. He condemned their hypocritical religion because by it they deterred people from the kingdom of God (Matt. 23:13-15), distorted the word of God (Matt. 23:16-24), disguised unclean hearts (Matt. 23:25-28), and doomed themselves and others to hell (Matt. 23:29-36).  

So, we have seen Jesus’ warning about their hypocrisy, His woes pronounced against them, and finally at the end of Matthew 23, we see Jesus’ weeping over them. These are Jesus’ last words spoken to the Jewish crowds and their religious leaders in the temple. After this, Jesus leaves the temple for good (Matt. 24:1). His final words are a lament, an honest and painful prayer of sorrow. Jesus concludes His harsh rebuke with a tone of compassion and a longing for their repentance. Though it doesn’t tell us so, you can be sure He spoke these words with tears in His eyes and deep passion in His voice. Jesus was not a cold-hearted judge executing punishment upon these people. Jesus was a compassionate Savior, expressing His sorrowful love to those who refused it.

First, we see…

1. The Passion of the Savior (Matt. 23:37)

You can hear the depth of Jesus’ emotions as He repeats the words “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem.” Jerusalem was the capital of God’s people, Israel. The name means, “foundation of peace.” Jerusalem was the city of David where God dwelt with His people in the temple. It was prophesied to be the center of the Messiah’s glorious kingdom. The anointed Son of David would reign from Jerusalem with righteous judgment. All the nations were to stream to Jerusalem to worship the LORD. But instead of embracing this happy destiny, Jerusalem had spurned God again. It became a city not of peace but of violence against God’s prophets and the people that truly followed Him.

Jesus described the city as “the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!” (Matt. 23:37). This had been her legacy in the past. God sent prophets like Jeremiah to warn Jerusalem to turn and repent in order to avoid the Babylonian invasion, but they rejected them (Jeremiah 38:1-4). The two verbs here, “kills” (ἀποκτείνουσα) and “stones” (λιθοβολοῦσα) are both present active participles. Literally, they are continually killing and stoning them. Even now, the leaders in Jerusalem are rejecting Jesus, the greatest prophet (Deuteronomy 18:17-18), the Son of God and Messiah. In just hours from when Jesus spoke these words, they will arrest Him at prayer, falsely accuse Him, mock Him, beat Him, and hand Him over to be crucified.

They will continue to reject God’s messengers in the future, Jesus has just said in Matthew 23:34, “Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city.” Jerusalem is representative of the whole nation of Israel and especially her leaders. By rejecting those whom God sends, they are condemning Jerusalem to destruction once again.

A. The Lord’s Desire

Jesus’ desire for Jerusalem is seen in the second half of Matthew 23:37, “How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” Notice the word “often” it means “many times”. A hen gathering her chicks under her wings is a picture of loving care and protection. David understood this about God and wrote in Psalm 36:7, “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.” Jesus said it has always been His desire to gather the children of Israel together as His own precious brood; to care for them, to protect them, and to save them. He had wanted their experience of Him to be the same as the psalmist described in Psalm 91,

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.” 

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge; 
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday (Psalm 91:1-6).

His spirit groaned for Jerusalem to come to its senses and embrace Him as the Messiah the way a tender parent longs to gather their children into their arms, to embrace and protect them. Jesus extended His grace and compassion many times to the people of Israel and their leaders. They heard Him teach upon the mountain side (Matthew 5-7). They heard Him preach in their synagogues (Luke 4:16-30). They heard Him speak in the fields (Matt. 12:1-8), in Paran (Matt. 19:1-12), in Chorazin (Matt. 11:21), in Bethsaida (Matt. 11:21), in Capernaum (Matt. 11:23), in Nazareth (Luke 4:16-20), in Jerusalem (Matt. 22), and in the temple (Matt. 21:12-17). He sent His disciples to preach the kingdom in all of the cities of Israel and Judah (Matt. 10:5-6). People came to hear Him from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan (Matt. 4:25).

His ministry to the people of Israel was repeated and recurring. If anyone ever had an opportunity to hear the good news of the gospel, it was the people of Israel and Judea. If anyone ever had an opportunity to see the proof that Jesus was the long expected one, it was the people of Israel and Judea. For three long years, Jesus ministered to the people of Israel. Time after time after time after time, Jesus demonstrated His great compassion and kindness. His message was one of compassion and mercy and grace and kindness. He called people to repent and believe the good news of the kingdom. Jesus said that He was sent to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 15:24). In Matthew 18:11 He told why He was sent, “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.”

That’s what Jesus desired to do for Jerusalem. Jesus did everything necessary for that gift of eternal life to be freely offered. Redemption was offered even to these hypocritical scribes and Pharisees. Why didn’t it happen for most of them? There was one major problem–their unwillingness to answer God’s call.

B. The People’s Denial

Jesus said, “How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matt. 23:37). He was willing; but they were not.

They demonstrated their unwillingness by persecuting and killing those whom God sent to call them to repentance. They not only rejected what Jesus taught them, they rejected Him completely. They rejected Jesus’ love. They rejected Jesus’ protection. They rejected Jesus’ Messiahship. They didn’t want Him! He was not the Messiah that they expected or wanted. It wouldn’t be too long afterwards that Pilate would offer to release Him; only to hear them shout that they wanted the murderer Barabbas instead (Matthew 27:21). It wouldn’t be too long that Pilate would stand Him before the crowds and say, “Shall I crucify your King?“; only to hear the chief priests—in words almost too horrible to repeat!—answer, “We have no king but Caesar!” (John 19:15).

They refused to repent. They blinded their eyes to the light of Truth concerning Christ and the fact that He alone could bring them peace. It broke His holy heart. He was leaving and their house would be left desolate. This is what must happen as a result …

2. The Penalty of Their Sin (Matt. 23:38).

Jesus says, “See! Your house is left to you desolate” (Matt. 23:38). “House”, as Jesus uses it here, may mean the city of Jerusalem or specifically the temple. After all, the next thing we find in Matthew 24 is the disciples admiring the buildings of the temple, and Jesus then shocking them by telling them that “not one stone will be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matt. 24:2). But it also probably refers to the nation, the “house of Israel” (Matt. 10:6; 15:24). The city and the temple would be torn down. Within a generation, in 70 AD the Roman General Titus would level the city and the temple and the Jews would be either slaughtered or scattered among the nations. The people of Israel lost their temple, their chief city, and their status as a nation. They didn’t want their King, and so they lost the kingdom. As Jesus said, “See! Your house is left to you desolate.”

But even in the midst of prophesying this judgment upon the city and nation, Jesus indicates an even greater …

3. The Plan of the Sovereign (Matt. 23:39).

While He spoke of the certainty of God’s judgment, He also spoke of the certainty of a hope for the future. “… for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ” (Mat. 23:39). The judgment in this verse is that they would not see Jesus again as they had been seeing Him. They would no longer debate with Him, hear Him teach, or see Him perform miracles. Jesus’ public ministry is at an end. Matthew 24:1 states that Jesus “departed from the temple.” He would never enter there again. He had a few more things to teach His disciples privately, and then He would go to the cross.

But notice the word “till” or “until”. It is a word of hope and certainty. It is something that will absolutely happen and it will not be dependent on man, it will occur by God’s sovereignty. If it was conditioned on their response it would have said, “unless.” But praise God! There is a “till” in God’s plan.

They will not see Jesus again like they had seen Him until what? Till they say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!” The people of Jerusalem had already said these words about Jesus as He first rode into the city (Matt. 21:9). The phrase comes from Psalm 118:26 and refers to the coming of Messiah, the Stone that he builders rejected who becomes the chief cornerstone. He brings salvation to Israel and establishes His kingdom among them. They had shouted this verse on Sunday thinking that Jesus would break the bondage of Rome. But on Friday when it is clear Jesus would not do that, they shouted instead, “Let Him be crucified!” (Matt. 27:22).

Yet, there is a coming day when the nation of Israel will recognize their Messiah. There is a day when, as Paul puts it in Romans 11:26, “all Israel shall be saved.” The prophet Zechariah puts it this way, “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.” (Zech. 12:10). Zechariah 13 goes on to prophesy,

1 “In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. 2 “It shall be in that day,” says the LORD of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land. … 9 I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; And each one will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’ “ (Zech. 13:1-2, 9).

And Zechariah 14 goes on to describe the Lord descending upon the Mount of Olives, the nations in rebellion being put down, and the setting up of the kingdom of the Lord in Jerusalem.

The Lord’s promises are true. They can be trusted. Every single one of them will come to pass. To those who are unwilling to accept the salvation offered in Jesus Christ, there will be judgment, but to those who will come to Him for the forgiveness of their sins and place their trust in Him, there will be the glorious kingdom of heaven and eternal life.

Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem shows that despite all the woes for sin, God still longs to save us. However, judgment is coming, so we must respond now. It is clear that Jesus spoke all these warnings with great sorrow in his heart. If you have not yet repented to believe in Jesus Christ, then today is the day to do so. Take heed to the Lord’s invitation, “whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” He is willing to save you, are you willing to repent, believe and be saved?

 

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Woe to the Hypocrites Part 2 – Matthew 23:25-36

Matthew 23

Woe to the Hypocrites Part 2

Matthew 23:25-36

In Matthew 23, we are following Jesus’ last words to the crowds of worshippers in the Jerusalem temple in Matthew 23. It is just two days before Jesus will be condemned and crucified. It is His last public encounter with the scribes and Pharisees—the Jewish religious leaders who, on the whole, despised and rejected Jesus. In Matthew 23:1-12, Jesus warned His disciples and the gathered multitudes not to follow the hypocritical practices of the scribes and Pharisees. Then, Jesus turned directly to the scribes and Pharisees themselves and pronounced a series of woes on them. Again and again, Jesus said to them, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” The woes pronounce God’s judgment, while, at the same time, calling for repentance.

We saw last time that Jesus began by issuing some “woes” over the way their religious hypocrisy harmed other people around them (Matt. 23:13-15), showing that …

1. Hypocrisy Deters People from the Kingdom (Matt. 23:13-15)

Jesus said to them, “you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” They were making converts to themselves and to hell, not to the kingdom of God (Matt. 23:15).

Then He spoke two “woes” over the way their religious …

2. Hypocrisy Distorts the Word of God (Matt. 23:16-24)

They distorted the word of God and dishonored God by majoring on the minor points of the law and minimizing the main points. He called them “Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” (Matt. 23:24).

And now, He speaks three remaining “woes” over the way their religious hypocrisy harmed these very hypocrites themselves (Matt. 23:25-36). He speaks two woes to expose that …

3. Hypocrisy Disguises an Unclean Heart (Matt. 23:25-28)

Jesus gives two illustrations of this truth. First, He uses the illustration of washing dishes, saying,

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.” (Matt. 23:25).

Imagine cleaning only the outside of your dishes, but letting the inside (where the food goes) collect all the grime, scum, and filth from being used time after time unwashed. How ridiculous! None of us would want to eat from dishes that contained putrid food and garbage.

Now, the Pharisees had meticulous traditions and rules about washings. Matthew’s first readers likely knew all these cleansing ceremonies. But Mark, in his Gospel, explains these customs, writing,

3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches. (Mark 7:3-4).

Many of these traditions concerning washings and cleansings had their basis in the Old Testament law. But one problem we already saw with these washings back in Matthew 15 was that the Pharisees held their traditions above the commands of scripture. Jesus told them in Mark 7:9, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition” (cf. Matt. 15:3-6).

But, again, the problem Jesus confronts here is their hypocrisy, specifically, the hypocrisy of their priorities. They made great efforts to cleanse their external appearance, but they ignored their internal iniquity. They took great pains to ceremonially clean their cups and plates, following the letter of the law and their traditions. And they thought that by doing so, they themselves were “clean”. Outside they appeared pristine. But Jesus says, “inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence” (Matt. 23:25). The word “extortion” means plundering, robbery. Their heart was full of greed to the point where they thought nothing of devouring “widows’ houses” (Matt. 23:14), preying on the poor and defenseless. Their hearts were also full of “self-indulgence,” that is, lacking self-control or restraint. Their hearts were given over to greedy, unrestrained self-gratification. The Pharisees “plundered both the souls and the wallets of the people and used the ill-gotten gains to serve themselves.”[1]

Jesus’ solution for their problem is in Matthew 23:26, “26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.” The Lord is primarily concerned with your heart. It’s not that He isn’t concerned about your external behavior. He is. However, the way that God has made us is that the outside is controlled by the inside. When your heart is clean inside, your behavior will become clean outside.

Next, Jesus uses the illustration of white-washed tombs. He says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” (Matt. 23:27). Each year before Passover the people of Jerusalem would whitewash the tombs as a safeguard for the pilgrims traveling to the feast, painting them with white, powdered lime dust. That way, the pilgrims would be careful not to accidentally touch or rest themselves against a tomb, which would make them ceremonially unclean and unable to partake of the Passover. Jesus says that’s what the Pharisees are like. They are all clean and sparkly on the outside, but their insides are like dead men’s bones. Outwardly, they appeared holy, but spiritually, they were dead. In their spiritual deadness, they were not only inwardly defiled themselves, but they also contaminated anyone who came near them.

And they did it all to look good in front of others. Jesus says, “Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matt. 23:28). They wanted to appear righteous before people, but neglected to be righteous before God. They forgot that God looks at the heart. He sees their hypocrisy and lawlessness. Jesus took off their mask of external morality and religious play acting, exposing their rebellion against God and His law.

Without the inner cleansing of the heart, religious display is worse than useless; it is deception. And the danger is that the hypocrite may not only deceive others, but he usually even deceives himself into thinking that all his religious white-washing means that he is truly righteous. Jesus sees the truth. He says they are full of death, uncleanness, hypocrisy, and lawlessness. Charles Spurgeon preaching about hypocrisy says,

Secret sins bring fevered eyes and sleepless nights, until men burn out their consciences, and become in very deed ripe for the pit. Hypocrisy is a hard game to play at, for it is one deceiver against many observers; and for certain it is a miserable trade, which will earn at last, as its certain climax, a tremendous bankruptcy.[2]

Hypocrisy disguises an unclean heart. And the danger of this is, that without a clean heart, no one will see God. In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8). David asks in Psalm 24,

3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive blessing from the LORD,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation. (Psalm 24:3-5).

Only the holy, the pure in heart, may stand in the Lord’s presence. But this is exactly why God sent His Son to save us.

Through the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord made this promise about the New Covenant,

25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

A cleansed and purified heart is a work of God by faith through His grace, not something we can accomplish on our own. Only God can give us a clean heart through His Spirit because of the redemption of Christ. He causes us to be born again (John 3:3-8) as new creations in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). This is how, in Acts 15, Peter describes the salvation that God granted to both Jews and Gentiles,

“Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” (Acts 15:7-9).

Listen, Christianity is never just cleaning up our external appearance. It is always the Holy Spirit of God in Christ purifying our heart by faith. Look to Christ alone. Only in Christ can you be forgiven and cleansed from your polluting sins. Only in Christ can our hearts be transformed. Look to Christ and the cross. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

So, we see the danger of hypocrisy to ourselves and others, because it deters people from the kingdom of heaven, it distorts the word of God, and it disguises an unclean heart. The final woe shows us that …

4. Hypocrisy Dooms to Judgment (Matt. 23:29-36).

The last woe is for persecuting the prophets. It comes in Matthew 23:29-33, and then Jesus predicts further persecution and pronounces judgment on their generation. This final “woe” stands out from those that preceded it because Jesus gives it the longest treatment. And while the other “woes” our Lord speaks in this chapter dealt with the present hypocritical actions of the scribes and Pharisees, this “woe” deals with actions involving not only the present but also in Israel’s past and their future. Notice the harsh condemnations the Lord spoke in this “woe”. Jesus says,

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. 33 “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” (Matt. 23:29-33)

First, Jesus exposed the hypocrisy of the religious leaders who pretended to honor God’s prophets and righteous men from the past. They knew that God’s prophets down through the centuries were all persecuted by their forefathers. For instance, consider Moses. In the wilderness, the people grumbled and rebelled against him (Exodus 15-17). Consider Samuel. The people didn’t listen to him either but instead demanded a king (1 Sam. 8). Elijah said of the people of Israel, “the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” (1 Kings 19:10). Isaiah was despised. Tradition has it that he was sawn in two (Heb. 11:37). Jeremiah was hated. The priests, (false) prophets, and all people seized him saying, “You must die!” (Jer. 26:8). On several occasions, he was placed in prison (Jer. 32, 37). They even threw him into a pit and left him to die (Jer. 38).

As the writer of Hebrews says, God’s Old Testament prophets and righteous men suffered “trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth” (Hebrews 11:36-38).

Now, the generation of Jesus’ day pretended to honor men like Moses and Elijah and Isaiah and Jeremiah by building them monuments and decorating them in their honor. Sinful hypocrites tend to prefer dead prophets over living ones. And they decorated these monuments with the boastful self-assurance that, if they had lived in those days, they would never have done those horrible things to God’s prophets that their fathers had done. They thought that their religious display somehow separated them from the sins of their fathers.

But Jesus points out the continuity between the murderous acts of their fathers, and their own murderous intentions. Even then, the scribes and Pharisees had already begun to plot how they would put Jesus, the Son of God, to death. Matthew tells us back in Matthew 12:14 that, “the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.” In Matthew 16:21, Jesus began to show His disciples that “He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day“. And in Matthew 21:45-46, we’re told that when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables He spoke against them “they sought to lay hands on Him.”

Do you see their hypocrisy? They were pretending to honor God’s murdered prophets from the past, while perpetuating the murderous acts of their fathers in the present. Jesus says, “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets” (Matt. 23:31). He tells these scribes and Pharisees, “Fill up, then, the measure of your father’s guilt” (Matt. 23:32). They would add to their fathers’ guilt the ultimate guilt of murdering the Son of God. Thus, Jesus both exposes their treachery and releases them to do their murderous work. And so, that very week, this most privileged of all generations demanded that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, be crucified. And they stood there mocking Him as He hung on the cross. This is why Jesus said, “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” (Matt. 23:33).

The great deception of this form of religious hypocrisy is that it allows them to honor God’s great works of the past, and to make great declarations of what they would have done in someone else’s time, and to think that they’ve actually accomplished something “spiritual” in saying such things. And yet, the whole time, they are covering up and ignoring their own disbelief and sinful rebellion in the present.

I wonder if, like me, you have ever wondered what you would have done with Jesus if you had lived in that generation? If I were in the crowd and heard Pilate ask, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matt. 27:17), what would I say? Because of the sinfulness of my own heart, would I have also said, “Barabbas” as the multitudes did (Matt. 27:21)? If I were in the crowd and heard Pilate ask, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matt. 27:22), would I have joined those who said, “Let Him be crucified!” (Matt. 27:23)? As confident as I might be to say, like Peter, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble” (Matt. 26:33), I know, like Peter, I am weak of will and feeble of heart. I might have denied Jesus three times that night just as Peter did. (Matt. 26:75).

Do you know the weakness of your heart? These scribes and Pharisees didn’t. They disguised their impure hearts and refused to recognize their own sin. They fooled themselves into thinking that they were more righteous than they were.

Listen, there is hope for the soul that realizes his sin. Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick … For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Matt. 9:12-13). But hypocrisy dooms people to condemnation in judgment because they will not recognize their sin and repent.

Jesus goes on to predict their future treachery that would expose the full guilt of their generation:

34 “Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” (Matt. 23:34-36).  

Look at that first word in Matthew 23:34, “Therefore . . .” Jesus is saying that, because of their hypocrisy, because they truly had the same murderous intent of their fathers, because underneath their religious façade they were snakes and vipers who were doomed to the judgment of hell, He pronounces their judgment that is coming.

Jesus declares Himself to possess the authority of God, declaring Himself to be the one who will send them prophets from God. He is about to send them more prophets and apostles (Luke 11:49; John 20:21), and what they would do to them would prove what they really are. As Stephen, while filled with the Holy Spirit, would preach to them in Acts 7,

“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it” (Acts 7:51-53).

They immediately killed Stephen for those words, too. They revealed their true character in how they treated him, just as they treated the Son of God. Acts records that the Jewish leaders of that generation drove the apostles and the believers out of the temple, then out of Jerusalem, and then followed them from city to city—persecuting them, scourging them, crucifying them, and killing them. Jesus says that all the righteous blood shed on the earth, “from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah,” would be laid upon that generation. Abel was the first martyr in the book of Genesis, murdered by his unrighteous brother Cain in anger and jealousy over Abel’s righteous worship. Zechariah is the prophet murdered by the Jews in the last historical book of the Hebrew scriptures, 2 Chronicles. And so, it was as if Jesus was telling that generation that the long history of the blood of every righteous saint who was slain for righteousness sake—from the first book to the last—would be laid on that generation!

That generation did suffer the multiplied guilt and judgment they and their fathers had brought upon themselves. About forty years later, just as Jesus prophesied, Jerusalem was utterly destroyed by the Roman armies of Titus, and the people slaughtered or scattered around the world.

Why? Why would they be held guilty for all of that? Because they will reject and crucify the Messiah, the Son of God, the Righteous One whom God sent to be the Savior. They could not be forgiven—they would eternally be guilty—if they persisted in rejecting the only Savior. No one can be saved if they refuse to repent and believe in Jesus Christ.

If you want to avoid condemnation in God’s judgment, you need to recognize your sinfulness. These hypocrites failed to recognize their sinfulness and repent. They proudly boasted in their righteousness, “Oh, we would never do what our fathers did!”; “We would never persecute the righteous.” But they did—they did it even worse than their fathers did. They rejected and crucified the Son of God.

Hypocrisy dooms those who practice it to be condemned by God in judgment. Jesus said, “How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” (Matt. 23:33). The Gospel is clear. The way to escape the condemnation of hell is to repent and believe in Jesus Christ. You must be born again! You must be given a clean heart and a new spirit by faith in Christ.

I wonder if you’re wearing a mask this morning. Are you trying to pretend that you have it all together, when deep inside you know you can’t keep up the act much longer? The cure for hypocrisy is not to change anything on the outside. It’s not a matter of doing more things, of trying to get more religious. That just perpetuates the wearing of masks. If you want to change, if you want to truly become someone you’ve never been before, the change has to take place on the inside.

I know of only one person who can affect that kind of change. His name is Jesus Christ. Stop playing Christian charades. Stand before Him and admit that you’re a sinner. Repent and believe that He died for your sins and was raised to give you a new life. Leave the ranks of the religious hypocrites and join the ranks of the forgiven sinners.

 

— NOTES ————————————————————–

[1] John MacArthur, New Testament Commentary: Matthew 16-23, Moody Publishers, Chicago IL, p. 386.

[2] Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Secret Sins, New Park Street Pulpit Volume 3, https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/secret-sins/#flipbook/ accessed 08/21/2025.

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Parable of the Vineyard – Matthew 21:33-46

matthew-the-kingdom-of-heaven

Parable of the Vineyard

Matthew 21:33-46

The parable of the vineyard is the second of three parables in a row that Jesus spoke as He was being confronted by the chief priests and elders of the Jews in the temple. It was just a couple of days after He made His triumphal entry into the city, and a couple of days before His death on the cross. In the temple this last week, Jesus had cleansed the temple, healed the blind and lame in its courts, received worship in it as Messiah, and taught the people within its walls.[1] The religious leaders refused to recognize Jesus’ authority to do these things, asking Him, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?” (Matt. 21:23).  

When the chief priests and elders refused to answer Jesus’ counter-question about the authority of John’s baptism, He declined to answer their question about His authority. If they had repented and recognized John’s authority from God, they would have had the answer about Jesus’ authority. Yet, Jesus doesn’t just drop the matter. He tells a series of parables and continues to question them in order to highlight the real issue, namely their stubborn refusal to repent and believe.

Last time, we looked at the first parable. It told of two sons, one told his father no, but then changed his mind and obeyed. The other said yes to his father, but then didn’t obey. The first was a picture of repentant obedience, the second of hypocritical profession. Jesus applied this parable to them saying,

“Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him” (Matthew 21:31-32).

Swindoll comments, “Jesus’ sharp denouncement left the religious leaders reeling, stunned that He would publicly call them out and accuse them of faithlessness and disobedience. But Jesus wasn’t finished with them yet. He followed the first jab with a second, taking a swing at them with a parable …”[2] This parable came with an even stronger judgment—the kingdom of God will be taken from them and given to others who will produce its fruit.

Let’s look at …

1. The Parable (Matt. 21:33-39)

Speaking with the authority of His Father, Jesus commands, “Hear another parable…” (Matt. 21:33). Imagine how this hit these proud men. They did not want to hear another parable, especially not another like the one Jesus just spoke against them! But Jesus didn’t need their permission to speak the word of God in His Father’s house.

First Jesus gives us the,

A. Setting (Matt. 21:33)

“There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.” (Matt. 21:33).

Jesus lays out the parable of a certain landowner who owned a vineyard. This man made every provision possible for the success of his vineyard, so that he could draw from it the fruit he desired. While he was away, the landowner leased the vineyard to tenant vinedressers.

There are 6 main components in this parable and each represents an element of God’s relationship with Israel: 1) The landowner obviously is a picture of God the Father; 2) The vineyard represents Israel as God’s kingdom people; 3) The tenants/vinedressers are the Jewish religious and civil leadership; 4) The landowner’s servants are a picture of the prophets who remained obedient and preached God’s word to Israel; 5) The son is Jesus the Messiah who will be killed that very week; and 6) The other tenants who would produce fruit represent the church made up of the remnant of believing Jews and also believing Gentiles.

No Jew would fail to recognize in this story a picture of the relationship between the Lord and His people Israel. Jesus’ parable of the vineyard begins almost exactly like Isaiah’s Song of the Vineyard in Isaiah 5:

1 Now let me sing to my Well-beloved
A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard:
My Well-beloved has a vineyard
On a very fruitful hill.
2 He dug it up and cleared out its stones,
And planted it with the choicest vine.
He built a tower in its midst,
And also made a winepress in it;
So He expected it to bring forth good grapes,
But it brought forth wild grapes.
3 “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard.” (Isaiah 5:1-3).

I’m sure the religious leaders (and even the common people) heard the echoes of Isaiah’s prophecy when Jesus spoke His parable. As Isaiah 5:7 says, “For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.” (Isa. 5:7).

The LORD God had planted them. He called their father Abraham out of a pagan world and promised to make him into a great nation. He renewed that covenant with Isaac and Israel. He delivered them from bondage in Egypt and gave them the land of promise. He protected them from their enemies. He gave them good statutes and ordinances that would bless them. He dwelt in their midst in the tabernacle and temple. He entrusted Israel’s care to its priests, kings, and nobles—the “vinedressers” who were to teach the people His word and lead them in His ways.

God, like the landowner in the parable had a right to expect the fruits of His efforts. So next we see Him,

B. Sending the Servants (Matt. 21:34-36)

34 “Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. 35 And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.” (Matt. 21:34-36).

The landowner gave the vinedressers time to produce the fruit of the vineyard, then sent his servants to collect what was due him as the owner of the vineyard. But instead of honoring the owner, they abused his servants. But the landowner is gracious and patient. He sent other servants; but they were treated the same.

Clearly, the story represents the Lord’s repeated appeals to His people through His prophets. When Israel did not produce the fruit that God desired, He sent His prophets, but just as the tenants in the parable mistreated and even killed the servants, Israel rejected God’s prophets (2 Chr. 24:15-16). Jeremiah was beaten and cast into a pit (Jer. 26:7-11; 38:1-28); John the Baptist was killed (Matt. 14:1-12); and others were stoned (2 Chr. 24:21).

In Matthew 23, Jesus will say to the scribes and Pharisees,

34 “Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. 37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matt. 23:34-37).

At this point, the landowner does an amazing thing by …

C. Sending the Son (Matt. 21:37-39)

Jesus continues the parable, saying, “Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’” (Matt. 21:37). When the son arrives, there should be no doubt that he carries the authority of his father, the owner of the vineyard. Even if they did not respect the owner’s servants, surely they will honor his son.

But instead, they do the unthinkable. Jesus says, “But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.” (Matt. 21:38-39). The tenants see an opportunity here. They believe that if they kill the son, they will then receive his inheritance, possession of the vineyard. It was bad to mistreat the servants. It was worse to kill them. But to kill the owner’s son is an outrageous act of evil and greed. What a contrast between the gracious and patient landowner and the wicked and irascible vinedressers!

They did not kill the son because they didn’t recognize him. They killed him precisely because they did.[3] This implies conspiracy to commit murder by the Jewish leadership, and it is prophetic in the sense that Jesus is now telling them what they are going to do to Him (see Psalm 118:22; Isaiah 28:16). Although the Gospels do not record their being, “This is the Messiah: come, let us kill him”; yet, in the light of the Scriptures, their rejection of him was no less culpable than if it had been that.[4] They knew His miracle power. They knew His claims. They knew He spoke the word of God. Still, they refused to believe in Him and sought to kill Him.

Once the parable was over, Jesus asked the chief priests and Pharisees a question that brought the application of it home to themselves. So we see the …

2. Self-Indictment by the Religious Leaders (Matt. 21:40-41)

Jesus asks the chief priests and elders, “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” (Matt. 21:40). And they gave an answer that—perhaps without their realizing it at first—completely condemned them. They said “He will destroy those wicked men miserably…” Or, as it is in the NASB, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end.” What’s more, they admitted that he would rightfully “lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons” (Matt. 21:40). Having pronounced the judgment on the wicked vinedressers, they indicted themselves as worthy of destruction.

Jesus now applies the parable to them. So we see the …

3. Divine Indictment by the Lord (Matt. 21:42-44)

Jesus shows their condemnation by first taking them to the prophetic word.

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (Matt. 21:42).

Jesus is quoting from Psalm 118, the same psalm that the people quoted when they praised Jesus on Palm Sunday. When Jesus asks them, “Have you never read?” He knows they have read this Scripture he is quoting. They read it every Passover, and they would be reading it again in just a few days. He is really asking them, “Have you never understood?”

The chief cornerstone was the most important stone in the building. The word here could refer either to the cornerstone which formed the foundation of the building or the capstone which was the final stone placed at the top of an arch, completing the building and securing the structure. Jesus is both. He is both cornerstone and capstone. He is the foundation and beginning of God’s kingdom, and he is the one who completes it and brings everything to fulfillment.[5]

Jesus is the stone the builders rejected that God has chosen to honor. The religious leaders are the builders who are rejecting Him even now. It was shocking, “marvelous in our eyes,” that the builders, the Jewish religious leaders would reject the cornerstone, their own Messiah. If anyone should have been able to recognize a perfect cornerstone, it should have been the builders. Yet, in their evil pride and arrogance, they cast out the cornerstone.

But this was no surprise to God the Father or to Jesus. As the psalm says, “This was the LORD’s doing.” It was God’s plan all along. It was prophesied long before it took place. Jesus knew they would have Him killed in fulfillment of the word of God.

To reject Jesus is to reject the son of the landowner and to be like those wicked vinedressers. By the chief priests’ and elders’ own admission, it would be right for the landowner to take the vineyard from them and to give it to someone else. And so, Jesus gives them His verdict, “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruit of it” (Matt. 21:43).

The privilege of Israel, of her leaders, would be ripped violently away, and it would be transferred to others. No longer would Israel’s twelve tribes comprise the people of God. Rather, through His twelve apostles Jesus would build a new people of God, His church, a new race comprised of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation, being fruitful, multiplying, and bearing fruit for His kingdom.

The dividing line is the cornerstone Himself, Jesus Christ. He is both the Savior and the Judge. He says, “And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” (Matt. 21:44). Jesus is quoting from two Old Testament Scriptures: Isaiah 8:14, which speaks of a rock of stumbling, and Daniel 2, which speaks of the rock of the kingdom which will crush all the other kingdoms of the earth (Daniel 2:44-45). In quoting these passages, Jesus applies these Scriptures to Himself. He is the Messiah, the Son of God. He is the Savior to all who will receive Him, but He is the rock of judgment to those who reject Him.

The repentant tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners were like the ones who were broken by Jesus. They believed God’s message (Matt. 21:32). They repented of their ways (Matt. 21:28-29). Their old lives were broken. But Christ saved them, healed them, and gave them new life. They were being granted entrance into the kingdom (Matt. 21:31).

The religious leaders to whom Jesus was saying these things were like the ones this same stone falls on. When it came to true righteousness, they were all show and no substance (Matt. 21:30). They were missing the kingdom (Matt. 21:31). They did not believe God’s message when they first heard it from John, and they did not believe and repent even now (Matt. 21:32). They were the vine-growers who killed the landowner’s son to claim his inheritance (Matt. 21:39-39). They were the builders who rejected the chief cornerstone of God’s kingdom (Matt. 21:42). This stone would fall upon them and scatter them like dust (Matt. 21:44).

The apostle Peter says the same thing about Jesus in 1 Peter 2 where he writes: “7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.” (1 Peter 2:7-8). Jesus is the cornerstone. He is precious to all who believe in him. But to those who do not believe, He is a stone that causes them to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.

What will you do with Jesus Christ? Either you will fall on Christ, repentant and broken over your sin, believing in His death and resurrection for salvation, or, rejecting Him, you will be crushed, ground to powder by His judgment. You will either bow the knee to Him in this day of grace, or you will bow the knee on the day of judgment.

Now, you would think that any sane person at this point would repent, But no, Jesus was right about them. Look at the …

4. Reaction by Chief Priests and Pharisees (Matt. 21:45-46)

When Jesus told the religious leaders the meaning behind the parable of the tenants, they only hardened their hearts even further. Matthew records,

45 Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. 46 But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet. (Matt. 21:45-46).

Matthew’s conclusion gives us three insights into the attitude of the religious establishment. 1) They are jealous and envious of Jesus’ popularity with the common people. This encroaches on their authority and power to govern. 2) They have come to the realization that Jesus is talking about them. This hurts their pride and embarrasses them in front of the people. 3) They understood the analogy of the son and that Jesus was referring to Himself. To them, this was blasphemy, and they would now seek to kill Jesus. From here the leaders would meet in secrecy to plot how they would get rid of Jesus. God in the Scriptures foretells this very event, and these men, prompted by hatred, rush to bring it to pass.[6]

We apply this parable to our lives by asking two questions. First, have you come to know Christ as your Lord and Savior, or have you rejected Him like the Jewish leadership did? You need to repent and believe in Christ as the only One who can save you from the penalty of your sins. Fall on Him, He will save you now.

Second, if you are a believer, are you producing the fruit of righteousness? You owe Christ your very life. You have been saved because of the mercy, grace, and patience of God. You deserved none of it. Are you living in grateful obedience to Christ? Is your life bearing fruit for the kingdom? Believers may vary in the amount of fruit they produce, but there is no such thing as a fruitless believer.

———————————————————

[1] Greg Allen, An Encounter with the Cornerstone, https://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2008/042708.htm

[2] Charles Swindoll, Insights on Matthew 16—28, Tyndale House Publishers, p. 161.

[3] R. Alan Cole, The Gospel According to Mark, Wm. B. Eerdmans’ Publishing, p. 259.

[4] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 453.

[5] Ray Fowler, Kingdom Taken, Kingdom Given, https://www.rayfowler.org/sermons/matthew/kingdom-taken-kingdom-given/.

[6] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 454.

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Lessons from the Fig Tree

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Lessons from the Fig Tree

Matthew 21:18-22

In Matthew 21, we are following the events of the final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry before He went to the cross. It began in Matthew 21:1-11 with Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem riding on the colt of a donkey in fulfillment of scripture. Then we saw Jesus go into the temple and cleanse it of the money changers and those who were buying and selling, saying, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ” (Matt. 21:13). The temple off God was full of hypocrisy, extortion, greed, and deceit. What should have been a house of prayer had become a den of robbers.

Jesus then healed the blind and the lame and received the praise of the children. thus fulfilling prophecies about His true Messiahship. He then left the temple and spent the night in Bethany near the Mount of Olives.

In Matthew 21:18, Jesus is returning to the city of Jerusalem. He will go back into the temple (Matt. 21:23) where the religious leaders will question His authority (Matt. 21:23-27). Then Jesus will teach two parables: the parable of the two sons (Matt. 21:28-32), and the parable of the tenants (Matt. 21:33-46). The first is a man who says he will work and then doesn’t. The second is a group of men who say they will produce fruit from the vineyard and then don’t. The last parable is the climax of the section, illustrating that Christ has been rejected by His own fruitless people, and so the kingdom will be taken from them and given to a people who will bear its fruit.

The issue is fruit that comes from genuine faith in God. Jesus is sick and tired of the fruitless hypocrisy of Israel’s religion. He heard their hypocrisy as He rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. He saw it in the greedy trampling of the temple courts. He will teach parables about their hypocrisy in the temple. And right between these events, Jesus cursed the fig tree. It’s an unusual incident, and, like the cleansing of the temple, one that seems uncharacteristic of Jesus at first. We don’t normally think of Jesus driving people out of temples or cursing fig trees. But Jesus never does anything without a purpose, and His purpose here is to teach His disciples. The cursing of the fig tree is a parable in action, illustrating the fruitless hypocrisy of Israel’s religion.

Our short passage breaks down into two parts: the withering of the fruitless tree and the word about faith in prayer.

1. The Withering of the Fruitless Tree (Matt. 21:18-19)

Matthew tells us that it was in the morning that Jesus and His disciples were making their way back from Bethany to Jerusalem. And “as He returned to the city, He was hungry” (Matt. 5:18). Since they spent the night at Bethany, it would be safe to assume that Jesus and His disciples stayed at the home of His dear friends Martha, Mary and Lazarus. And from what we know of Martha, she likely would have made sure everyone was well-fed before they left. But for whatever reason, Jesus was hungry. Perhaps, as He had done so often, He rose early to pray and didn’t eat with the others. Perhaps Jesus’ hunger was intentional, so that He could teach this object lesson to His disciples.

As they journeyed along toward the city, Jesus saw a fig tree by the side of the road (Matt. 21:18). This would not be unusual. Remember, we saw in Matthew 21:1 that near Bethany and the Mount of Olives was the village of Bethpage, meaning house of figs. The original language tells us that it was a “single” fig tree—all alone, which is perhaps what made it so easy to see. And what’s more, Jesus could see from a distance that it bore leaves. And if you were hungry, that was a very good sign. Fig trees in that part of the world produced a sort of early fig in the springtime, a small one that came before the leaves began to grow. They weren’t as big and juicy as the later figs would be, but they were still very tasty.

But Matthew tells us that, when Jesus came to the tree, “He found nothing on it but leaves” (Matt. 21:19). Now leaves on a fig tree without any fruit is very unusual. Usually, the leaves and the fruit develop together. So, there is definitely something wrong with this tree. It had all the promise of fruitfulness—all the appearance of bearing something He desired. But on closer examination, it had only the outward appearance of ‘fruitfulness’. It bore none of the fruit.

But then Jesus does something even more unusual. He curses the fig tree. He said, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again“; and we’re told that “immediately the fig tree withered away” (Matt. 21:19). Now from what we have seen about the authority and power of Jesus, He could just as easily have told the fig tree, “May you bear fruit right now!”, and the tree would have been filled with figs. But Jesus cursed the fig tree instead, and immediately the tree withered. Mark tells us that it was “dried up from the roots” (Mark 11:20). This was a big, thriving, healthy tree until Jesus cursed it. And when He did, it never bore fruit again.

“Why did Jesus curse the tree like this?” Was it simply because He was hangry? Was He in a bad mood that morning? Of course not! Jesus is never just impulsive or out of control. Everything He does, He does on purpose. So, what we need to ask is, “What’s His purpose in cursing the fig tree?”

First, let’s find out some things about fig trees in the Bible. In the Old Testament, fig trees were pleasurable things. The fruit of the fig tree was good and sweet. Fig trees were symbolic of prosperity (Deut. 8:8; Hab. 3:17; Hag. 2:19), pleasure (Judges 9:11), and security (1 Kings 4:25; 2 Kings 18:31; Isaiah 36:16; Joel 2:22; Nah. 3:12) in the land of Israel. When the people of Israel would see the fig-trees putting forth the early “green figs”, they looked at it warm-heartedly as a sign that springtime had come (Song 2:13).

It’s not surprising, then, that the Bible uses the fruit of the fig-tree as a symbol of Israel. In Hosea, the LORD says, “I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstfruits on the fig tree in its season” (Hosea 9:8). God gave the prophet Jeremiah a vision of the remnant people of Judah as a basket of either good ripe figs, or figs so rotten they couldn’t be eaten (Jer. 24:1-10).

And so, when God warns through His prophets that He is going to strike the fruit of the fig tree, it is a sign of judgment on His people Israel. In Jeremiah 8:13, He says, “‘I will surely consume them’ says the LORD. ‘No grapes shall be on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things I have given them shall pass away from them’” (Jer. 8:13; cf. Joel 1:11-12).

I believe that Jesus, when He cursed the fig tree, was illustrating a prophetic word of judgment.  Through the prophet Micah, The LORD indicated what He expected from His people:

With what shall I come before the LORD,
And bow myself before the High God?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
With calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
Ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:6-8).

But when the LORD examined His people closely, the prophet writes,

Woe is me!
For I am like those who gather summer fruits,
Like those who glean vintage grapes;
There is no cluster to eat
Of the first-ripe fruit which my soul desires (Micah 7:1).

Think about what Jesus had just done. He came to His temple, expecting to find genuine fruits of faith from His people. Instead, He was greeted with unbelief, opposition, and the abuse of His Father’s house. There were religious practices all over the place—offerings being made, Scriptures being recited, and lots of animals being purchased for sacrifice. It was very, very religious. But all their religion was nothing more than the mere outward “promise” of fruitfulness and nothing more. There was no real spiritual “fruit”. It was all “fig leaves”; but no “figs”.

In his Gospel, Luke doesn’t record this incident. But in Luke 13, after Jesus says to the Jewish people, “unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:5). Jesus tells a parable about a fig tree:

6 He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 “Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ 8 “But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 ‘And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ “ (Luke 13:6-9).

Think about it. Jesus came to the temple and instead of finding the fruit of faith, He was greeted by the religious leaders with opposition and unbelief. Jesus had been among them for more than three years ministering to them. For three years, Jesus had been patient. For three years, Jesus had sought fruit from the Jewish people. His patience was long. Yet finally, there reached a point when His patience would run out. I believe that the cursing of this fig tree was a living parable to indicate that the time for judgment had come.

This is the theme of the rest of the chapter: Israel lacks fruit. Here, the Messiah is entering Jerusalem. The Jewish people ought to receive Him. But, rather than doing so, they reject Him. In verse 23, they question Jesus’ authority. Beginning in Matthew 21:28, Jesus will tell a story of two sons. The first promised his father that he would work in the vineyard. Yet, when it came time to do so, he didn’t go. The second said that he wouldn’t work. But later, he repented and did go to work. The son of empty promises is like the nation of Israel. There is outward talk of righteousness, but no fruit of righteousness. They had leaves, but there were no figs. Beginning in Matthew 21:33, Jesus will talk about the vine-growers who hated the owner of the vineyard. Their hatred reached such a point that they would kill the son of the owner. Jesus made it very clear that the religious leaders were like the vine-growers. They hate the Son and have rejected the chief cornerstone. Israel missed their Messiah! They didn’t believe in Him. Their religion was all show. Their religion was all cultural and external—all leaves and no fruit. In Matthew 21:43, Jesus tells them, “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.”

So, on one level it’s a story about Israel, but it is also a story about us. It is an acted parable with an intended meaning. Just as Jesus went to the fig tree looking for fruit, God comes looking for fruit in our lives. The prophet Isaiah in sang a parable in song about fruit. We read in Isaiah 5:

1 Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill. 2 He dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes. … 7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help. (Isa 5:1-2, 7).

God looks for fruit in our lives, and not just fruit – He is looking for good fruit, not bad fruit. He is looking for real spiritual fruit of righteousness, not merely the leaves of external religion. Mere religiosity without genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ may look good before men, but it greatly displeases the Lord. When God comes looking for fruit in your life, what will he find? Will he find the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23)? Will he find the fruit of righteousness and holiness (Heb. 12:11)? Will He find the fruit of good works that please Him (Col. 1:10)? Will he find the fruit of witnessing as you share with others about Jesus and the gospel (1 Cor. 3:5-6)? Will he find the fruit of praise upon your lips (Heb. 13:15)?

And that leads us to the reaction of the disciples to what they saw; and to the next lesson we’re to learn …

2. The Word about Faith in Prayer (Matt. 21:20-22).

The disciples had a hard time learning the lessons of dependency upon the Lord. They had seen Him perform many miracles. But when they saw Him curse a fig tree, and then saw the fig tree wither and die afterwards, they marveled; saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” (Matt. 5:20).

It’s interesting that He didn’t answer their question directly. Instead, it seems to me that the Lord told them something that they weren’t expecting.

21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matt. 21:21-22).

Jesus told the disciples something similar back in Matthew 17:20 when He answered their question about why they could not help the man with the demon possessed son. There He said: “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”  

Remember that these two verses are not just a random insertion by Matthew about faith and prayer. They come in the context of the cursing of the fig tree, directly in answer to Jesus’ disciple’s question about it, and the in the larger context of conflict with the Jewish religious leaders. They come in the context of the fruitlessness of the religious leaders and the Lord’s desire for good fruit.

So let me ask you, based upon what Jesus teaches here, how does one live a fruitful life before God? The answer: FAITH. The problem of no fruit is the problem of no faith. Jesus says “if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done” (Matt. 21:21). Jesus is using hyperbole here to show that there is nothing that faith in Him cannot do.  We can’t make fig trees wither or cause mountains to throw themselves into the sea. But nothing is impossible for God. Faith lays hold of God’s power to do things that are impossible for us to do.

And then Jesus goes on to tell us that God answers the prayer of faith. He says, “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matt. 21:22) That is an amazing verse. It is a breath-taking promise that God will answer your prayers when you pray in faith believing.

Now I don’t believe that Jesus is giving us some kind of “blank check” to do whatever we want independently from His Lordship. Did you notice that He specifies, “if you have faith and do not doubt . . .”? Who is it we’re to have faith in? Obviously, we’re to have faith in Him! What is it we’re not to doubt? We’re not to doubt His will expressed clearly in His word. It’s all about Jesus—not about what we want. The promise He makes in this passage is NEVER something we’re to try to claim in any other way than with complete, heartfelt, sincere, dependent faith on Him and in obedient trust in His word.

Jesus shows that a lack of fruit is a result of a lack of faith in Him. And a lack of faith in Him is revealed by a lack of prayer to Him. A person who doesn’t pray is a person who wreaks of self-sufficiency. They are a person who is all leaves and no fruit. They are a person who is doing things on their own and in their own strength. And when you do things on your own and in your own strength, do you know what happens? NOTHING. In John 15, Jesus said,

4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.“ (John 15:4-8).

The kind of faith our Lord wants from us is characterized by “abiding” in Him. It’s the kind of faith in the Lord Jesus that recognizes that we draw our very life from Him, and cannot do anything apart from Him. And it involves an understanding of His revealed will through the holy Scriptures; and a commitment be completely yielded to that will without doubt or without wavering.

So, here’s two lessons our Lord wants us to learn from the fig tree—and both lessons have to do with a vital faith in Jesus Christ. First, the tree that is covered with leaves but is barren of fruit teaches us the barrenness of mere religion on the outside when there’s unbelief in Jesus on the inside. Is your religion just an outward show, or is it bearing the fruit of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17)?

Second, the promise of the Savior to the disciples teaches us that real fruitfulness is a product of genuine, living, personal, dependency upon Jesus Christ in faith. Such faith in Jesus brings glory to the Father. When your life is full of fruit, your prayers will be filled with faith, and God will accomplish His purposes through your life and in our church. Is your faith demonstrated by believing prayer?

 

 

 

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The Necessity of the Cross, Part 2

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The Necessity of the Cross, Part 2

Matthew 16:24-27

We come today to the end of Matthew 16. This chapter records a truly pivotal point in the account of our Lord’s earthly ministry. Simon Peter had declared the fundamental truth about the identity of Jesus, confessing, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Jesus confirmed his confession, saying, “flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 16:17). This led to Jesus declaring to Simon, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” Matt. 16:18). Thus we saw in Matthew 16:18-20 the church’s foundation, builder, victory, and authority.

Matthew then tells us that Jesus gave His disciples the most shocking news: “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” (Matt. 16:21). Jesus taught that the cross was a divine necessity. He “must” suffer, be killed, and rise again. It was the Father’s set purpose for Him.

Yet, due to their mistaken expectations, the disciples struggled to understand this truth. Peter even found the idea so intolerable that he dared to pull Jesus aside to rebuke Him. Like the devil, Peter offered Christ the crown without the cross, success without sacrifice, promises without pain. But Jesus rejected the devil’s way and man’s way, and He chose instead God’s way (Matt. 16:23)—the way of the cross. The cross was necessary because it was the will of the Father. It was necessary to save sinners. It was necessary to build His church. It was necessary to purify His bride. It was necessary for the fulfillment of the kingdom of heaven. It was necessary for the glory of God. Thus, Jesus was laser-focused on going to the cross.

And it was then that Jesus turned to His bewildered disciples and called them to do the same, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matt. 16:24). If they wanted to follow Him, they also would need to go the way of the cross. The way of the cross was necessary for Jesus, and it is necessary for His disciples. And His disciples include not just the twelve. It is “anyone desires to come after” Jesus. “Not only is Jesus Himself determined to go forward in a path which leads to suffering and death, undeterred by Peter’s remonstrance, and not only must His twelve disciples be willing to follow in such a path, but this holds true of any and every one who wishes to be his follower at all.”[1]

What does it look like to come after Him—to follow Him? What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? That is what Jesus teaches us in this passage today. Jesus is not so much teaching us the conditions of salvation, but the consequences of salvation. He is telling us the cost that comes when you are a disciple of Jesus. We know that the whole New Testament declares that we are saved by God’s grace through believing in Jesus. Christ has paid in full the debt of our sins on the cross, and He is alive today to give forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all who believe in Him. Salvation is the gift of God. Redemption is free to us because Christ paid for it with His own blood on the cross. In that sense, being a disciple of Jesus costs us nothing. We do not deserve it, and we cannot earn it. We simply receive it as a gift by the open hand of faith. But in another sense, being a disciple costs us everything. We receive it freely, but it comes with consequences.

Have you ever talked with unbelievers about Christ, explained the gospel message, and urged them to trust Christ to receive God’s gift of salvation—only to have them turn it down? And in their case, it wasn’t because they didn’t understand the truth of the gospel message. It wasn’t because they had some intellectual questions or doubts. It wasn’t because they experienced bad things from the church. No. For them, they didn’t believe in Christ because they knew where following Christ would lead, and they didn’t want to go there. They knew that if they believed in Jesus Christ—because Jesus is Lord, and He is Holy—He would lead them to give up things in their life that they wanted to keep, to change in ways they wouldn’t want to, or to suffer things they wished to avoid. And therefore, they considered the cost too great. Like the rich young ruler, they walked away from the treasure of Christ to hold onto the trinkets of this world.

In this morning’s passage, Jesus confronts us with the cost of being His disciple. Those who wish to follow Him must follow Him by way of the cross. Jesus teaches us of the necessity of the cross. The way of discipleship is the way of the cross. In Matthew 16:24 we will see three demands of discipleship, what it will cost to come after Jesus. Then in Matthew 16:25-27 we will see three reasons for discipleship, why it will be worth it to follow Jesus.

First, we see …

1. The Demands of Discipleship (Matt. 16:24)

Having rebuked Peter for trying to dissuade Him from the cross, in Matthew 16:24, Jesus turned and spoke to all the disciples, saying, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” The demands of discipleship are for “anyone” who “desires to come after Me.” The word “desires” means more than is wishful. It is determined and constant exercise of the will.[2] The following demands of discipleship are not optional for disciples. They are for all who are willing to come and follow Jesus.

The first demand is …

A. Deny Yourself

Jesus says, ““If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Matt. 16:24). The word “deny” is a very strong one. It means to completely renounce or utterly disown. It’s the same word that describes Peter denying that he even knew Jesus after His arrest (Matt. 26:34,75). When Jesus says that we must deny ourselves, He isn’t simply speaking of a minor act of denying ourselves something that we want—like a bowl of ice-cream after dinner.[3] Nor is He saying to merely deny some portion, fault, habit, desire, or outward practice.[4] He is speaking of nothing less than utterly to deny and renounce our very “selves”.

To deny yourself means that you are done with yourself. You are done with your ways and your wants. Your thoughts, your ambitions, and your feelings all take second place to Jesus. You have surrendered your will to Jesus. What matters now is not yourself, because you have denied yourself. What matters now is the One whom you follow.[5]

This demand from Jesus is completely opposite to the ideology that our modern culture promotes. The progressive philosophy is that the “self” is the highest possible authority—higher than science, logic, social benefit, and even God. People insist they can determine their own reality and if you hinder them, or even disagree, they condemn you for violating their “self”. Self-worship is the wellspring of the immorality, corruption, and decadence that plague our world.

In a world dominated by self-preservation, self-esteem, self-congratulation, and self-promotion, Jesus demands that we deny ourselves. The world says, “Affirm yourself”, but Jesus says, “Deny yourself”. You can either affirm yourself and deny Jesus, or you can affirm Jesus and deny yourself.[6]      

The first demand of discipleship is to deny yourself. The second is …

B. Take Up Your Cross

Jesus said, “let him … take up his cross.” (Matt 16:24). When a person took up a cross in Jesus’ day, that meant only one thing. It meant that person was going to their death. Crucifixion was a common form of capital punishment in the Roman empire. Many Jews had seen hundreds of people crucified. The condemned were, in an act of public humiliation, made to carry their own cross to the place of execution. Many times, people verbally abused and assaulted the cross-bearers along the way. Jesus started out carrying His cross to Golgotha (John 19:17).

So what does Jesus mean when He says to take up your cross? To take up your cross is to go to your death. It means you are like a condemned man on his way to execution. You are willing to suffer every humiliation, insult, and abuse for the name of Jesus Christ. It would means we deny ourselves even to the point of death—just as Jesus did for us. Peter later writes about suffering for Christ, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.” (1 Pet. 2:21). To take up your cross means, as Paul wrote, “the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14). For he said, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20).

Sometimes, when you hear people say, “This is my cross to bear,” they are talking about their health, their spouse, their children, or some kind burden they face. These things may be real challenges in a Christian’s life, but they are not crosses. One pastor writes, “Circumstances may be painful like a cross, and they may be a burden like a cross, but they themselves are not crosses, for a cross is something that is to be picked up willingly. A cross is something that requires us to deny our way of doing things and to choose God’s way of doing things. It is saying no to our stubborn will and surrendering to God’s sovereign will. Tough circumstances provide plenty of opportunities to pick up our cross, but the circumstance itself is not a cross, it’s only an opportunity to choose one.”[7]

Dr. P.P. Job (1945-2012) was known as the “Billy Graham of India.” He faced severe persecution for preaching Christ. Hindu militants in India failed in an attempt on Job’s life in 1999, but in June of that year they killed his 21-year old son, Michael, by running him down with a car near the medical school where he was studying to become a doctor. In his book, Why God, Why?, Dr. Job tells this story of taking up the cross:

About 150 years ago, there was a great revival in Wales, England.  As a result of this, many missionaries came from England to northeast India to spread the Gospel.  The region was known as Assam and comprised hundreds of tribes.  The tribal communities were quite primitive and aggressive.  The tribesmen were also called head-hunters because of a social custom which required the male members of the community to collect as many heads as possible.  A man’s strength and ability to protect his wife was assessed by the number of heads he had collected.  Therefore, a youth of marriageable age would try and collect as many heads as possible and hang them on the walls of his house.  The more heads a man had, the more eligible he was considered.  Into this hostile and aggressive community, came a group of Welsh missionaries spreading the message of love, peace, and hope of Jesus Christ.  Naturally, they were not welcomed.  One Welsh missionary finally succeeded in converting a man, his wife, and two children.  This man’s faith proved contagious and many villagers began to accept Christianity.  Angry, the village chief summoned all the villagers.  He then called the family who had first converted to renounce their faith in public or face execution.  Moved by the Holy Spirit, the man sung his reply, “I have decided to follow Jesus.  No turning back.”

     Enraged at the refusal of the man, the chief ordered his archers to arrow down the two children.  As both boys lay twitching on the floor, the chief asked, “Will you deny your faith?  You have lost both your children.  You will lose your wife too.”

     But the man replied, again singing, “Though none go with me, still I will follow.  No turning back.”

     The chief was beside himself with fury and ordered his wife to be arrowed down.  In a moment she joined her two children in death.  Now he asked for the last time, “I will give you one more opportunity to deny your faith and live.”

     In the face of death the man sung, “The cross before me, the world behind me. No turning back.  No turning back.”[8]

This is the demand of discipleship. Deny yourself, take up your cross, and …

C. Follow Jesus

To come after Jesus, to be His disciple means following Him. This means that we must imitate Him. We must go where He goes, and act as He acts, and walk as He walked. It means that we must obey His commands, and keep faithful to His instructions. If Jesus is your Lord, you do what He says.

Disciples of Jesus follow Jesus. And where is Jesus going? The way of the cross. The way of self-denial, suffering, and death. You cannot follow Jesus without going the way of the cross. Paul wrote, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Tim. 3:12). Discipleship demands that you deny yourself and be willing even to die for the sake of obedience to Christ.

Obviously, that means that if the day comes that you must suffer or die for Christ, you need not think something went wrong but know that it is the way of following Christ. We need to remove from our thinking the idea that if we are obeying Christ, everything will go smoothly. Following Christ comes with cost.

At this point you might be thinking, “Wow! Those are some pretty strong demands of discipleship. If this is what it means to be a follower of Jesus, why would anyone want to?”

So next, Jesus tells us why being His disciple is worth denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following Him. 

2. The Reasons for Discipleship (Matt. 16:25-27)

In the next three verses, Jesus gives us three reasons why you should accept these demands and follow Him on the way of the cross. You can recognize these reasons in the text because they all start with the word “for”. The first reason is …

A. Your life depends on it (Matt. 16:25)

Jesus says in Matthew 16:25, “For whoever desires to save his life will loose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” The contrast here is between your temporary life on this earth and your eternal life in the kingdom of heaven. If you try to save your life by living for yourself and for your own goals or desires, you will end up losing it in eternity. But if you lose your life for Jesus, if you deny yourself and follow Christ, you will find it in eternity.

The bible give us many examples of this spiritual principle. In Luke 16, Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man lived for Himself upon the earth. He “was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day” (Luke 16:19). Though he had an abundance, he was wicked and ignored the poor, sick beggar at his gate. And where did it land him? It landed him in torment in Hades (Luke 16:23). Contrast him with another rich man in Luke 19 named Zacchaeus (Luke 19:2). When Jesus came to his house, Zacchaeus was transformed by faith in Christ, saying, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” (Luke 19:8). He lost his life. And Jesus said about him, “Today salvation has come to this house … for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:9-10).

The rich young ruler came to Jesus, seeking eternal life. When Jesus told him that it would cost him his life and his riches to follow him, “he went away sorrowful” and refused to follow Jesus (Matt. 19:22). For all we know, he saved his life upon the earth, with earthly goods and treasures, but he lost it in eternity. Contrast this with Moses. Hebrews 11 says, “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.” (Heb. 11:24-26). Moses lost his life upon the earth, but he gained his life in eternity. In Matthew 17, at the transfiguration, we find that Moses is alive and with Jesus.

Why should you deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus? First, because your life depends on it. Second, because …

B. Your soul is precious (Matt. 16:26)

“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26).

These are rhetorical questions. They are left unanswered because the answers are so obvious. What good is it if you gain the whole world and yet forfeit your soul? The answer is, “No good at all!” You could gain everything, you could have more money, wealth and power than any other human being who has ever lived, and it means absolutely nothing if you lose your life or your soul in the process. And then, what can you give in exchange for your soul? Nothing! Nothing is as valuable as your soul.

Think about King Solomon as he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. He was extremely rich. He was very intelligent. Nothing ever got in the way of his pursuits. He pursued every pleasure (Ecc. 2:1-2), alcohol (Ecc. 2:3), material wealth (Ecc. 2:4-8a), entertainment (Ecc. 2:8b), and sexual pleasure (Ecc. 2:8c). He said, “Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure” (Ecc. 2:10). And in the end, he concluded, “indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.” (Ecc. 2:11). This is what Jesus is saying. The whole world is not enough to exchange for your soul.

Why should you deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus? First, because your life depends on it. Second, because your soul is precious. And third, because …

C. The reward is priceless (Matt. 16:27)

“For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.” (Matt. 16:27). When Christ returns, there will be a judgment. He will reward each person according to what he has done. You will be judged on how you lived your life, whether you lived for self or lived for God.

When Christ returns, the time of suffering for His followers will be over. All those who followed Christ in the way of the cross will now follow Him into glory. In this life, they carried their cross. In eternity, they wear a crown. Colossians 3 says,

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory (Col. 3:1-4).

Yes, obedience to Christ may cost you everything, even your own life, but on the day of judgment, you will have no regrets. Throughout eternity, you’ll never regret having joyfully taken up your cross to follow Christ. Every ounce of suffering will be well worth it and more.

Jesus even gives Peter, James, and John a glimpse of that glory six days later in the transfiguration, letting them see clearly that all of His promises are true. I believe that’s what Jesus means when He says in Matthew 16:28, “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

Jesus is real. He really came. He really died for sinners. He really rose again. He really is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He really will come again to judge the world. Every knee will bow before Him. And this same Jesus gives eternal life to all who believe in Him. The bible says we have all sinned and rebelled against our Maker, and consequently, we stand condemned before God. But Christ paid our sin debt in full at the cross. Will you repent and believe in Jesus Christ who lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and rose from the dead on the third day? God will credit Christ’s perfect righteousness to you. His death will atone for your sins. You will be forgiven, redeemed, adopted, and born-again as a child of God and heir of eternal life. That is a glorious invitation.

Come to Jesus for eternal life. You can receive it freely by faith. Come to Jesus because your life depends on it, your soul is most precious, and the reward is priceless. Come, realizing it will demand from you everything, even your own life. Yet with Christ, it is worth it all. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Rom. 8:18). “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,” (2 Cor. 4:17). Jesus said, “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.” (Matt. 5:12).

————————————————-

[1] John A. Broadus, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, American Commentary on the New Testament (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1886), 365.

[2] Vincent and Vines Word Studies quoted on Precept Austin Matthew Commentary, https://www.preceptaustin.org/matthew-16-commentary#16:24

[3] Greg Allen, Come Along – and Don’t Forget Your Cross!, https://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2007/070807.htm

[4] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Matthew’s Gospel (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 643.

[5] Steve Brandon, You Must Take Up Your Cross, https://sermons.rvbc.cc/sermons/2004-016

[6] Ray Fowler, True Discipleship, https://www.rayfowler.org/sermons/matthew/true-discipleship/

[7] Josh Black, Salvation and Abundant Life Through Cross-Bearing,  https://www.firstfreewichita.org/download/455

[8] Leon Stier, Hymns, https://emailmeditations.com/2014/08/23/499-the-story-behind-the-song-i-have-decided-to-follow-jesus/

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The Parable of the Dragnet

parables-of-the-kingdom

The Parable of the Dragnet

Matthew 13:47-52

In our verse-by-verse exposition of the Gospel of Matthew, we have been studying the kingdom parables that Jesus taught in Matthew 13. Each of these parables unveils profound truth concerning the “mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 13:11)—truth about the beginning of the kingdom on earth, its obstacles, its spread, its immeasurable value, and its consummation in the final judgment. The Kingdom of Heaven is defined as the rule and reign of the Lord Jesus over His people. For now, that is an invisible, internal kingdom. Jesus rules over our hearts. When the Lord returns, it will be a visible, physical kingdom too.

Today, we come to the parable of the Dragnet. What in the world is a dragnet? When you hear that word, maybe some of you immediately think of the old television police show. One famous phrase from Dragnet is, “The stories you are about to see are true.” And I can tell you this about what Jesus teaches us today, “the parable you are about to see is true.” In this parable, Jesus portrays a principle of the kingdom of heaven that is absolutely true and worthy of our attention. Another famous phrase that Sergeant Friday would often say is, “Just the facts, ma’am.” Today we are going to look at the facts from the One who knows, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus teaches His disciples some truths concerning the judgment of men and the proclamation of the gospel.

1. The Parable of the Dragnet (Matt. 13:47-50).

A. The Picture of the Judgment (Matt. 13:47-48).

Again, Jesus uses a parable, a common story with a spiritual truth. This particular parable was indeed common to the disciples. After all, at least four of them had been professional fishermen and many of the others had grown up around the fishing industry in Galilee.

In Galilee, there were three common types of fishing. First was the simple hook and line. Peter used this method in Matthew 17:24-27 to catch a fish with a coin in its mouth that he used to pay taxes. Second was the one-man casting net. A man would wade out into the shallow water and hand cast this net over schools of small fish. Third was the large “dragnet” or seine that hangs vertically in the water with its bottom edge held down by weights and its top edge buoyed by floats. It could be pulled between two boats or anchored to the shore on one end so a single boat could pull it to surround the fish. Some of these nets were very large and would drift for hours catching all kinds of fish.

The purpose of the dragnet was to draw everything that came into its sphere, pull it all to the surface or the shore, and allow the fishermen to empty its contents into the boat or onto the beach and pick through it all—selecting the best and most profitable fish, and discarding the rest. We can only imagine what types of things would be caught in a large dragnet. Weeds, refuse, small and large fish, good and bad fish. Jesus said it “… gathered some of every kind.” Anything in the path of the net would eventually be caught and gathered by the fishermen.

We see a couple of examples of this kind of fishing in the Gospels. In Luke 5, Jesus taught the crowds from Simon Peter’s boat. After He was finished, He told Peter to let down his net for a catch. And when Peter and his co-workers did so, Luke tells us, “they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink” (Luke 5:6-7). We have a similar story at the end of the Gospel of John after Jesus had risen from the dead. He stood on the shore and told Peter and his fishing partners to cast their net out at a certain spot. When they did, “they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish” (John 21:6). Eventually, the disciples came to the shore, “dragging the net with fish” (John 21:8). The Lord had made a fire and invited them to bring some of the fish they caught; and we’re told that “Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken” (John 21:11).

Jesus says in Matthew 13:48, “when [the dragnet] was full, they drew” it “to shore” and the fishermen “… sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.” The bad fish are those that couldn’t be used either because they were unclean or not suitable for market.

So first, Jesus tells the parable of the net. The kingdom of heaven is like a net catching fish in a lake. When the net is full, the fishermen collect the good fish in baskets and throw the bad fish away. What does this parable teach us?

B. The Principle of the Judgment (Matt. 13:49).

Jesus doesn’t leave us wondering what this parable means, He explains it clearly. Jesus compares the “dragnet” to the judgment by saying “So it will be at the end of the age…” Jesus specifically tells us this parable is about the end of the age. There is coming a time “at the end of the age” when all men, will be separated and judged.

Earlier in this chapter, the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares symbolized believers and unbelievers living alongside each other in the world and their separation and judgment at the end of the age. There are quite a few similarities between the parable of the weeds and the parable of the dragnet. In Matthew 13:41-43, Jesus explained the parable of the wheat and tares…

41 “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 “and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! (Matt. 13:41-43).

That parable focused more on the co-existing of the good and evil in this present world, whereas the parable of the dragnet focuses more on the separation of the good and evil at the end of the age.

As in the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, “The angels”, God’s agents of justice, “will come forth.” Their task will be to “separate the wicked from among the just” (Matt. 13:49). Notice in both these parables the role of the angels in separating the wicked from the righteous at the end of the age.

This agrees with Jesus’ other teachings in the gospel of Matthew. In Matthew 24:31, Jesus teaches that when the Son of Man comes on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, “… He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Angels also appear in Jesus’ teaching about the sheep and goat judgment in Matthew 25. There, He said, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.” (Matt. 25:31-32).

Listen to John MacArthur’s words as he describes the judgment using Jesus’ metaphor of the dragnet:

Men move about within that net as if they were forever free. It may touch them from time to time, as it were startling them. But they swim quickly away, thinking they have escaped, not realizing that they are completely and inescapably encompassed in God’s sovereign plan. The Invisible web of God’s judgment encroaches on every human being just as that of the dragnet encroaches on the fish. Most men do not perceive the kingdom, and they do not see God working in the world. They may be briefly moved by the grace of the gospel or frightened by the threat of judgment; but they soon return to their old ways of thinking and living, oblivious to the things of eternity. But when man’s day is over and Christ returns to set up His glorious kingdom, then judgment will come.[1]

This kingdom ‘dragnet’ would not only draw people from all people groups around the world; but it would also draw both the faithful and the faithless, both the just and the wicked. And Jesus is teaching us that not all who appear to embrace His kingdom will truly have a part in it. He warns that at the end of the age—just after He returns to this earth to assume the full possession of His kingdom—He will separate out from it those who do not belong in it.

C. The Peril of the Judgment (Matt. 13:50).

In Matthew 13:50, Jesus says that the “wicked” will be “cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” I think it’s very instructive that, in this parable, the Lord doesn’t tell us about the destiny of those who are His “just” ones. In the parable of the wheat and the tares, He does tell us about their destiny. He tells us that, on that great day when He returns to this earth and commences His earthly reign with the great “separation”, then “the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt. 13:43). But there is no such joyful note here in this parable.[2] Instead, Jesus ends with the dreadful warning that the angels “will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 13:49-50).

“Wailing” suggests anguish. Hell is a place of conscious torment. And I believe that one of the greatest aspects of that torment will be an eternal separation from the God who made us for Himself and loved us, but whom we refused. The wicked did not want to bow to Him or serve Him or even know Him. And then—to their eternal anguish—they will have what they wanted.

The phrase “gnashing of teeth” describes intense hatred and malice. King David wrote of how the wicked “plots against the just and gnashes at him with his teeth” (Psa. 37:12) and of how ungodly mockers at feasts “gnashed at me with their teeth” (Psa. 35:16). Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations of how the enemies of Israel “have opened their mouth against you; they hiss and gnash their teeth” (Lam. 2:16). And in the book of Acts, after Stephen preached to the Jewish leaders—just before they rose up and stoned him to death—we’re told that “they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth” (Acts 7:54). Hell is a place of eternal torment for those who hated our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

We find similar imagery in the book of Revelation at the end of the New Testament where we read: “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:14-15)

The biblical doctrine of hell is hard for many people to accept. However, if we are to be true to God’s Word, we must accept its reality. The teachings about judgment in Scripture are essential. If there is no judgment, then there is no need for salvation. If there is no final judgment, then many of the wicked in this life would get away with their wickedness. If there is no moral reckoning, then God is unjust. But God’s kingdom is a kingdom of justice, and so, yes, there is a day of judgment coming.[3]

Hell is not a mythical place. Jesus spoke more about hell than any other prophet or apostle. He constantly emphasized the reality of eternal punishment. And He used horribly graphic terms to describe it. There is a reason. It’s because He is the Savior of mankind who will also one day come as the Judge of all the earth. He loves people more than they could ever know and does not wish for them to suffer eternal punishment. Therefore, He tells the horrible facts about it because He does not want people to experience it and has come to save them from it.

When people die, or when the Lord returns, they do not go out into nothingness or cease to exist. God will “separate” the wicked from the righteous and “cast them into the furnace of fire.” Jesus Himself knows those who are truly His within His dragnet. And on the great day of judgment when the angels pull the dragnet to shore, the Lord will see to it that the wicked are separated from the righteous—both to the praise of His grace, and to the glory of His justice.

The Bible teaches that the Lord has no pleasure in the destruction of wicked people. In Ezekiel 18:23, the Lord asks, “Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die and not that he should turn from his ways and live?” 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is … longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Luke 19:41 records how Jesus wept over Jerusalem because the people would not repent. Our Lord is a good and merciful Savior. And when the final judgment comes, no one who heard His gospel will be able to say that He did not give them ample opportunity to believe it and trust in Him. No one under the influence of His “gospel dragnet” will be able to have an excuse for not knowing Him and trusting Him as they should. In fact, Mt.25:41 tells us hell was not created for men but was “prepared for the devil and his angels.”     

Jesus’ teaching in the parable of the dragnet is clear. It is a warning that judgment is coming. Those who have rejected Christ and His kingdom will be separated out of it and sent away to eternal torment.

Jesus has just shared all seven of these parables of the kingdom. Now he encourages the disciples to teach these parables to others. So He teaches them …

2. The Parable of the Householder (vv. 51-52).

A. Have you understood? (Matt. 13:51)

In Matthew 13:51, Jesus asked His disciples, “Have you understood all these things?” The word “understand” means “put together”. We could say that He was asking them, “Have you put all the pieces of these things together so that you now comprehend them?” Remember the parables are designed both to conceal and reveal. The parables are meant to conceal the truth from those whose hearts are hardened towards God. And they are meant to reveal spiritual truth to those whose hearts are open towards God.

“Have you understood all these things?” That’s a good question for us. Do we have an understanding, have we put together these vital truths of the kingdom and the judgment? The truths Jesus teaches in these parables disclose God’s program for history and eternity.

Do we really believe what the parable of the sower teaches—that we come into the kingdom by hearing and receiving the message of the gospel so that it produces fruit in us? Do we believe that even though we live alongside unbelievers like wheat and tares in a field, that there is a time coming when we will be separated? Do we believe that the kingdom, even though it appears small and insignificant like a mustard seed, will ultimately permeate and rule over the whole world? Do we believe that the kingdom is a treasure worth more than everything else in life? Do we really believe that judgment is coming, that hell is real, and that the kingdom of heaven is glorious?

The disciples answered, “Yes, Lord.” Though their understanding was far from perfect they understood what they could at the time. They accepted the things they understood and they were eager to understand more. The truths about the kingdom that Jesus teaches in these parables are meant to be received by eager, hungry learners who love Jesus Christ, have ears to hear Him, and a heart to go forward and follow Him. They are for those whose heart cry is “Thy kingdom come!” Apart from Jesus Christ, the truths in these parables cannot be understood. But through an authentic relationship with Him by faith, they can be.[4] In Matthew 13:12, Jesus said, “For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have an abundance.”

So we respond to the parables of the kingdom by being eager learners, disciples who want to hear and understand.

B. Then be like good householders (Matt. 13:52)

Finally, in Matthew 13:52 Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

This verse is like a mini-parable that sums up the disciples’ responsibility concerning all the other parables. The word “scribe” means “one who writes.” In those days the term referred to a student and teacher of the law. The word “instructed” is the verb form of the word disciple. Under Jesus’ teaching, the disciples were becoming scribes—students and teachers of the truths of God’s kingdom.

Jesus implies an expectation of us regarding the mysteries of the kingdom. We aren’t supposed to sit passively and receive information about the kingdom—as if the Lord wants to merely pour knowledge into empty heads. Rather, we are to grow. We are to be scribes and disciples—astutely trained scholars in the school of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, who work hard at understanding and applying the kingdom truths He imparts to us.

Jesus said such a scribe was to be like a “householder.” This literally means the “house-master”. He was the manager of a household, or a family, or a large estate. He would maintain supplies of food and clothing and use them wisely. He was responsible for making sure that everything in the treasure-store was well-stocked; so that when anything was needed for the provision of each member of the household, and for the smooth operation of the house, it was provided.

The “householder” or head of the house would “bring out of his treasure [storehouse] things old and new.” They were to “bring out” the truth, which means to “cast forth.” They were not to keep the truth of the kingdom to themselves. They were to bring it out and cast it forth. In other words, one of the distinguishing marks of a true disciple of the kingdom is that they share the treasure. They share the truth of the kingdom, the word of God.

The disciples, later, as they became apostles would dispense both “new and old” revelation. In other words, both the Old Testament and the New Testament are important. They are both the word of God. The older teachings about God and the kingdom are still valuable and true. But now we must add to them these newer teachings about the kingdom.

The newer teachings do not replace the old teachings. Rather the new teachings complete them and fulfill them. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” A teacher of the law who only knows the Old Testament can only teach the law. But those who know the New Testament also teach faith in Christ and God’s grace given to us in his Son Jesus.

We read in 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

God has given you everything you need in His word to teach others about the kingdom and to reach others for Jesus Christ. All Scripture is useful for teaching, both the old and the new. The new completes the old. So, we focus on Jesus and His teachings about the kingdom.

Jesus is coming again. When He comes, this world will end. God’s great dragnet will sweep through the earth and no one will escape. All people, great and small, will stand before the throne and be judged according to their works. The punishment for the wicked will be serious and severe. Those who have rejected Jesus Christ will experience eternal pain, mourning, and regret. Only those whose names are found written in the Lamb’s book of life will be saved.

And so, now is the time to make your decision about Jesus. It will be too late after you die or after Jesus returns. Now is the time for salvation. When Jesus returns, that will be the time for judgment. Because God will make the division then, you must make your decision now.

Have you trusted Jesus for salvation? If not, I urge you, I encourage you, I invite you, I welcome you – come to Jesus today. He loves you. He died for you. He is waiting for you. What are you waiting for?

And to us who already belong to Christ, are you telling others about Him?

I remember another phrase from the show, Dragnet. Sargent Friday would say, “We were working the day watch.”

There’s a whole mass of humanity all over the world moving toward judgment. God has placed this church here to be a lighthouse, a rescue operation to get the word out about the kingdom of heaven, about eternity, about heaven and hell, but most importantly to get the word out about the Savior, Jesus Christ. Are you working the day watch?

The church is not a country club where you come to socialize, pay a few dues, and leave. We are not a performing arts center where talented people do their thing up on stage and the congregation applauds and nods approvingly and leaves unaffected. We’re the body of Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit and commissioned to proclaim to our world that Jesus saves.

The stakes are high. It’s not just life and death, it’s eternal life and eternal death that hangs in the balance. We have the treasure, the good news of the kingdom of heaven—the word of God. We have the Savior Jesus Christ. We have the Holy Spirit to empower us. We are His church. Let’s bring the treasure of the gospel to everyone.

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[1] John MacArthur, New Testament Commentary—Matthew, p. 395.

[2] Greg Allen, Bad Fish in the Dragnet – Matthew 13:47-50, https://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2006/120306.htm

[3] Ray Fowler, The Parable of the Net, https://www.rayfowler.org/sermons/matthew/parable-of-the-net/

[4] Greg Allen, Students of the Kingdom – Matthew 13:51-52, https://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2007/010707.htm

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The Wheat and the Tares

parables-of-the-kingdom

The Wheat and the Tares

Matthew 13:24-43

In our study of the Gospel of Matthew, we are in Matthew 13 where Jesus teaches the parables of the kingdom. Matthew has shown us that Jesus is the Messiah King who came to bring everlasting righteousness by saving His people from their sins. Now, the King teaches the mysteries of the kingdom (Matt. 13:11) in parables. First was the parable of the sower, which taught us how the kingdom begins. The message of the kingdom is sown like seed, and how people hear it, receive it, and bear fruit from it reveals the condition of their hearts.  That’s how Christ’s Kingdom began on this earth—through the sowing of His gospel and by its reception by those in whom it produces fruit. That’s how it continues to grow even today—through preaching and proclaiming the message of who Jesus is and what He has done.

In our passage today, Jesus teaches a parable that answers one of the most basic and perplexing questions people can have about His kingdom. If the kingdom of heaven has indeed come, why is evil still present? If, as Jesus said, “surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt. 12:28), why was it that Jesus was meeting with such great opposition from the Jewish religious leaders? Why were they plotting to kill Him? Why was there so much resistance to Him as “King”?

And for us, as we look at the condition of our world today, why does it seem that evil is stronger than ever? If it’s true that Jesus’ kingdom has begun on this earth, then why does it seem as if evil has such a powerful sway over the hearts and lives of so many? Why is sin and wickedness so prevalent, and the gospel message so resisted?

Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares answers that question. It teaches us that Jesus was fully aware that evil would seem to prevail in this world. In this parable, Jesus teaches us that, though evil will be found mixed into His kingdom for the present, it will be fully separated from His kingdom at the end of the age. The Lord and His people will be victorious in the end. Righteousness will rule this earth. His kingdom will prevail.

With that introduction, let’s look first at…

1. The Parable (Matt. 13:24-30).

Like the parable of the sower, Jesus spoke this parable to the multitudes of people on the shore of the sea of Galilee as He sat in the boat to teach (Matt. 13:1-3). After this parable, Jesus taught two more (the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven) then He sent the crowds away and explained the meaning of it privately to His disciples.

Matthew 13:24 tells us that Jesus “put forth” a parable to the people. The word means “to place beside” or “to place near”. It suggests deliberate and thoughtful care. Jesus taught what “the kingdom of heaven is like”. The whole story is designed to teach something about God’s kingdom.

It is, He said, “like a man who sowed good seed in his field” (Matt. 13:24). Notice how this is similar to the parable of the sower but also different. In the parable of the sower, there was just one sower, and it was all good seed but four different types of soil. Here there is one field or soil, but two sowers and two different types of seeds.

The man “sowed good seed in his field,” suggesting that he was careful to select just the right seeds, good seeds that would take root, and sprout up, and would produce a productive crop in his field.

Then Jesus tells us that something very evil happened. While the man and his servants slept, under the cover of night, an enemy crept into his field and sowed “tares” in the very field where the man had sowed good seed (Matt. 13:25).

Scholars tell us that “tares” refer to ‘darnel’, a weed that was prevalent in those days. It looked very much like wheat when it sprouted up, and it even appeared to have an ear that looked like an ear of wheat as it developed. If the kernels from the tares became mixed up with kernels of wheat, the bread that would be made could make whoever ate it dizzy and sick. It was difficult to tell the difference between them until they both became ripe. Then it became clear that the tares were most definitely not wheat. Matthew 13:26 says, “But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.”

The one who sowed the tares in the other man’s field was “his enemy” (Matt. 13:25). He was seeking to sabotage and destroy the other man’s crop. It’s an evil thing to do to someone.

Eventually, the man’s servants notice the tares growing in the field and wonder about the source of the problem. “So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’” (Matt. 13:27).

I think they asked a question that was very much like a question you and I may ask. If Jesus’ kingdom has come into this world, then how is it that evil is found to have sprouted up in it? Why is there so much opposition to the kingdom of Jesus today? Why is there so much harm done to people in its name? Why are there so many governments in the world that are hostile to the spread of the gospel, and that oppress their people in disregard to the message of Jesus’ kingdom? How did so much wickedness seem to grow along with the spread of His kingdom on earth? “Jesus,” we may ask; “didn’t You sow a good kingdom in this world? How then does it have tares?”

The owner immediately identifies the source of the problem. The tares are there not by accident or by natural causes. No, this is intentional harm. “He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’” (Matt. 13:28).

The servants suggest a simple strategy for dealing with the problem. “The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’” “Should we go pull the weeds?” It sounds sensible but the owner exposes the problem with that strategy. “But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.’” (Matt. 13:29). By that time, their root systems had become so intermingled together that you couldn’t pull one out without destroying the other.

Instead, he told his servants, basically, to ‘put up’ with the weeds for a while. He said, “Let both grow together until the harvest” (Matt. 13:30). At harvest time, he would send out his reapers into the harvest and tell them, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” (Matt. 13:30). The harvest will be the right time for separating the wheat from the tares.

But now, notice . . .

2. The Explanation (Matt. 13:36-39).

For the explanation, we need to jump ahead a few verses because Jesus told two more parables to the multitude in between this parable and its explanation that He gave privately to His disciples. We will look at these parables next time. Matthew 13:36 says, “Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house”. And that’s when the disciples sought greater insight into their Master’s teaching. And so, we read, “And His disciples came to Him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.’”

Jesus is always glad to give insight to those who genuinely seek it from Him. And look at how He begins! He gives them a point-by-point explanation of the details of His parable!

He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels” (Matt. 13:37-39).

Here, we have the key to understanding this parable from the Lord’s own lips. He presents Himself as the sower, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.” As with the parable of the sower, the problem is not with the sower or the seed. Jesus sows good seed. The message of the gospel and the fruit that comes from it are good.

Then Jesus explains “the field is the world.” This is a parable about the kingdom’s spread in the world. Many people have mistakenly made the “field” out to be the church; and have used this parable to explain why there are sinful people found in the church. It’s certainly is a problem that sinful people make their way into the church; but that is not what this parable is really about. Rather, we’re told that the field is the world—the realm of human life and activity.

This is in accord with other passages in the gospel of Matthew where Jesus expresses the world-wide mission of the kingdom. Jesus is a Savior for everyone. Therefore, the gospel is to be sown in the whole world. God’s kingdom is to encompass the whole world (Matthew 28:19-20).

Jesus then says that the good and bad seeds represent two kinds of people who have two kinds of destinies. “The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom”—that is, those who hear the word of the Savior, and respond to it by believing in Him and following Him. “But the tares are the sons of the wicked one”—that is, those who are still under the devil’s regime. Like their evil father, they openly oppose God and fight against His kingdom. So the two seeds and the plants that come from them refer to believers and unbelievers.

Jesus told the people of his day who did not believe in him: “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God…. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do” (John 8:42, 44). The letter of 1 John says this about believers: “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19).

Jesus tells us clearly who the enemy is: “The enemy who sowed them is the devil” (Matt 13:39). He sows the “sons of the wicked one” into the Lord’s field. The tares grow in the same field as the wheat. They may look, to the careless eye, as if they were “wheat”. But in time, they will be revealed for what they truly are—“tares”, “sons of the wicked one”.

Then, notice who the reapers are: “the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels” (Matt. 13:39). The reapers, who are sent out authoritatively by the Lord Himself to gather up the tares and separate them from His wheat, are His angels. And they do their reaping at “the harvest”. The Old Testament often uses the image of the harvest for the last judgment at the end of the age. (Jeremiah 51:33; Hosea 6:11). Jesus says the harvest is “the end of the age”. This speaks of the time of judgment at Jesus’ return—that time He described when He said, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats” (Matt. 25:31-32).

3. The Application (Matt. 13:40-43).

Jesus has explained the various elements in the parable. Next, He goes on to apply the truth of the parable, showing that it describes the fate of believers and unbelievers.

Here we learn three very important things about the fate of believers and unbelievers at the end of the age. Frist…

A. God will weed out of his kingdom all evil and sin

40 “Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,” (Matt. 13:40-41).

That’s good news! Remember the question we asked at the beginning of today’s message? Why doesn’t God do something about all the evil in the world? Part of the answer is He will do something about it. God will weed out all evil and sin at the end of the age.

This is exactly what we find when we come to the book of Revelation at the end of the New Testament. We read in John describes the glory of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:

23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. (Rev. 21:23-27).

One day, there will be an end to all evil and sin. The new heaven and new earth will be perfect in every way. That’s the first thing Jesus says about the fate of believers and unbelievers. God will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. Secondly…

B. Unbelievers will be punished for their sin

42 “and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 13:42).

Jesus says just as the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. All those who cause sin or do evil will be weeded out of the kingdom, and God’s angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

This is also exactly what we find in the book of Revelation. We read John’s words in Revelation 20:

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:11-15).

What will be the fate of believers and unbelievers at the end of the age? 1) God will weed out of his kingdom all evil and sin. 2) Unbelievers will be punished for their sin. And then finally…

C. The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father

43 “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matt. 13:43).

This language comes from the Old Testament book of Daniel which also speaks of the fate of believers and unbelievers at the end of the age. We read in Daniel 12: “2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:2-3).

Once again, this is exactly what we find when we come to the end of the book of Revelation. We read in Revelation 22: “3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.” (Rev, 22:3-5). The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of heaven. All evil and sin will be removed from our lives. We will be glorified and perfected in Christ.

Now, all of this teaches us that we should not be surprised by the fact of evil. But neither should we despair! Jesus lets us know that evil will be permitted by Him to grow with His kingdom until ‘the harvest’ at the end of the age. And then—and only then—will it will be fully removed. At that time, when the great angelic announcement of Revelation 11:15 is finally made—that “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”—then, with all things that offend taken away, and those who practice lawlessness completely removed, the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father!

In closing, let me suggest some practical lessons we should draw from this parable, and from our Lord’s explanation of it.

First, I we need to understand that it is the Lord’s plan that His kingdom citizens be sown in this world and bear His influence on it. You see this from Matthew 13:24, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.” And in His explanation of this parable, He tells us, that “the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom”, and that “the field is the world” (Matt. 13:38).

Our Lord has chosen to leave His redeemed people to live in this world—the great “field”—to bring His influence upon it. Before He went to the cross for us, He prayed for believers and said,

“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth” (John 17:14-19).

That’s Jesus’ great plan for this lost world—to sanctify a people unto Himself from out of it, and to send them back out into the world to bring His influence upon it. You remember His closing ‘marching orders’ to us, don’t you?

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

If you have heard the message of the gospel, and have believed on Jesus Christ, you are that “good seed” that He has sown upon this earth. And I hope you are thrilled with a sense of the greatness of your vital purpose! You bear the life-changing message of Jesus Christ to the lost people of this world; and Jesus has left you here in this world—for a time—in order to bring His influence to bear in it.

Another sobering principle we draw from this parable is that, so long as Jesus’ kingdom grows in this world, the devil will ensure that evil will also be present. You and I need to realize that the devil does everything in his power to frustrate and destroy the kingdom of Jesus Christ. The consummation of God’s kingdom means Satan’s eternal doom. And so, the devil seeks to sow his own wicked influences in the Lord’s field—sometimes even in the very places in which the good seed was sown.

I think we can get a good sense of the kind of evil that he seeks to plant next to the good seed by what Jesus says He will one day tell His reapers to remove. He calls them to gather out of His field “all things that offend”. Literally, He speaks of “stumbling blocks”—that which causes His people to stumble in their faith or fall into temptations to sin; and “those who practice lawlessness”—that is, those who practice and advocate actions that violate God’s standards of holiness in His law.

There are malicious people who, under the inspiration of the devil, seek to cause professing believers to doubt their faith, or persuade them to sin. This is no small problem. Jesus warned that “whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). But for now, so long as the kingdom is being spread in this world, the devil will seek to sow tares where God seeks to sow wheat.

A third principle we draw from this parable is that, as Jesus’ followers, it is not our role to remove evil doers from the presence of this world. The owner of the field answered those who wanted to pull up the tares immediately, “No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.” He left that important work to the reapers, the angels, at the time of harvest. This teaches us that it is not our role to take out the evil doers from the world. We are not here to root out all the unbelievers by force and rid the world of them by violence. That is not our mission. We are not qualified to do it. We do not know a person’s heart. Only the Lord knows so only the Lord is able to ultimately judge. Our role is not to pull out the weeds, our role is to continue the work of Jesus in sowing the seed of the gospel, making disciples of all the nations, baptizing and teaching them. That’s it.

Now, I hasten to add that we must keep this in balance with other passages of Scripture. It is, for example, a very important part of our duty in this world to serve as “salt” and “light”. Jesus told us in the Sermon on The Mount, “You are the salt of the earth . . . You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-16). We are to let our light so shine in this world that men will see our good works and glorify our Father. And we are to serve as the preservative in this world that will keep the corruption of sin from overwhelming everything around it. And when it comes to the church itself, it is our duty to lovingly confront sin in our midst and call one another to repentance (Mathew 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 5:12). The Bible tells us to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:11).

But we need to remember that evil will always be present in this world all the way to the day of judgment; and it is not our role to make heaven on earth—nor is it even in our ability to do so. Historically, whenever the church has established some movement to purify the world of evil, or come campaign to forcibly remove sin from the culture, it ended up harming everyone—including the good people of Christ’s kingdom. We end up uprooting the wheat!

The removal of evil from this world is a job for the angels at the time of judgment. It is not the job of the seeds to pull the weeds. We are to patiently persevere in faith and obedience until the day that Jesus Himself orders the complete removal of all evil from the presence of the world. We are to trust that “the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment” (2 Peter 2:9).

Finally, look at how Jesus ends His interpretation in Matthew 13:43, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” The warning of this parable is a dreadful one. It tells us that, if a man or woman is not one of “the sons of the kingdom”—that is, someone who has heard the message of the gospel, has placed their faith in Jesus Christ, and now trust Him and follow Him and obey Him—then they are among the tares who will be gathered up by the angels on the day of judgment at the end of the age; and will be cast into the furnace of fire, where there will be eternal “wailing and gnashing of teeth”.

If you fear that you are one of the tares, let me tell you the good news. You don’t have to remain a tare. The miracle of the gospel is that God takes sons of the wicked one and turns them into sons of the kingdom. Paul wrote to the Colossians, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1:13-14).

If you will repent—change your mind about your unbelief—and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved. Repent and believe. And let me clear up something today. Repentance is not saying, “I am sorry for my sins. I can do better. I can please you, God.” No, repentance is not “I can”. It is realizing that “I can’t.” It’s to realize that I am lost without Christ. I am a sinner, condemned to hell. I need a Savior—and Jesus Christ is the Savior. Believe on Him. Trust in Him. Rely completely on His finished work of redemption for your salvation. He will rescue you from the domain of darkness and bring you safely into His Kingdom of light. God will forgive your sin because Christ paid your ransom by His death on the cross. He will raise you to a new life because Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.

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