Our Lord enters Jerusalem, and we see the opposing forces lining up against each other.
Matthew 21: The Triumphal Entry
1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
2 saying to them, "Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.
3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord needs them,' and he will send them at once."
4 This took place to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 "Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'"
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.
7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.
8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"
10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, "Who is this?"
11 And the crowds said, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee."
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
13 He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers."
14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.
15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant,
16 and they said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, "'Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise'?"
17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry.
19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" And the fig tree withered at once.
20 When the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither at once?"
21 And Jesus answered them, "Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' it will happen.
22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
23 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?"
24 Jesus answered them, "I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things.
25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?" And they discussed it among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'
26 But if we say, 'From man,' we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet."
27 So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 "What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.'
29 And he answered, 'I will not,' but afterward he changed his mind and went.
30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, 'I go, sir,' but did not go.
31 Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.
32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants
33 "Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.
34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit.
35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.
37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'
38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.'
39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"
41 They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons."
42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes'?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.
44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him."
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.
46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.
Matthew 22: The Parable of the Wedding Feast
1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying,
2 "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son,
3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.
4 Again he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.'
5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,
6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.
7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.
9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.'
10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment.
12 And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless.
13 Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
14 For many are called, but few are chosen."
Paying Taxes to Caesar
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words.
16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.
17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"
18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?
19 Show me the coin for the tax." And they brought him a denarius.
20 And Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?"
21 They said, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
22 When they heard it, they marvelled. And they left him and went away.
Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection
23 The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question,
24 saying, "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.'
25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother.
26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh.
27 After them all, the woman died.
28 In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her."
29 But Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.
30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God:
32 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not God of the dead, but of the living."
33 And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.
The Great Commandment
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.
35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.
36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?"
37 And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
38 This is the great and first commandment.
39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.
40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
Whose Son Is the Christ?
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,
42 saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David."
43 He said to them, "How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,
44 "'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet'?
45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?"
46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
Things to think about…
1. In Mt 21:1-11 Jesus fulfils what was spoken about Him by Zechariah regarding the donkey and colt. Zech 9:9. Christ will leave no prophesy about Him unfulfilled either from the past or prophesy yet to be fulfilled.
2. In Mt 21:12-22 Jesus cleanses the temple (a second time – John 2 was the first) and judges the fig tree. This represents Israel spiritually. They have rejected their Messiah, as they still do today. But even if they accepted Christ there would still be enemies for the Jew. Both Jew and Gentile need to see Christ for who He truly is to be saved. Pray for Christ’s peace over Israel especially now.
3. Jesus confirms their rejection by asking about John, whom everyone considered a prophet. Jesus then goes on to tell the parable of the vineyard and the wicked tenants. Israel’s religious leaders were the tenants. They rejected Christ. Have a look at Mt 21:41-46. Jesus accepts the judgments upon the tenants – the death penalty. This is the payment for those who consistently reject Him. Pray for Israel that there are some ‘Sons’ who perhaps at first have rejected their Father’s request, but then will go back and obey Him, Mt 21:28-32. Pray we see many Jews accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour in our day.
4. In Mt 22:1-14 Jesus makes a general call to all via the parable of the wedding feast. Note that in this parable Jesus says in Mt 22:7 “The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city”. This literally came true for the city of Jerusalem in AD70 and the ‘servants’ (missionaries) have invited other wedding guests from all the other nations. Jesus finishes this parable by commenting on the one who did not have a wedding garment, Mt 22:11-13. Christ alone gives out the wedding garments, all other coverings are merely garments made from our own works. These will never do. The tragedy is that these are religious people, they actually think that they are entering Christ’s wedding feast and are not. They are covered in their own works and not the garment of Christ’s grace. In the end there is only judgement, Christ says “Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”, Mt 22:13. They belong to the “Lord, Lord didn’t we do” crowd, they are religious but not regenerate.
5. In Mt 22:15-33 we see both the Pharisees and the Sadducees trying to trap Christ in their own theology regarding the true king and the resurrection. After the parable of the wedding feast Jesus says, “many are called but few are chosen”, vs 14. It was from that point the Pharisees knew He was speaking about them. It is at that point we read “the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words”, Mt 22:15.
6. True theology in Christ acknowledges earthly governments but heavenly realities. Caesar gets his tax money, and the Lord gets the glory due to Him through the gifts, resources and worship, Mt 22:21. The two are not in conflict and are part of a well ordered society where there is appropriate and well defined boundaries between church and state. Praise God when church and state can be at peace and support each other’s agendas. Not always possible, but always desired.
7. The Sadducees get schooled in Mt 22:23-32 regarding the resurrection, which they didn’t believe in. Jesus points out that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are still very much alive, as is their God. The theology of marriage in eternity is between Christ and His bride, the church. We are no longer married into eternity as the Mormons believe. After this dialogue we read “they were astonished at His teaching”, vs 33. This was a common experience as Jesus spoke with authority. May we do the same as we speak His truth.
8. Finally, after the Pharisees had heard He had also silenced the Sadducees, Mt 22:34. Enemies will unite against a common foe. In this case it was Christ, and they gathered and convince a scribe (a lawyer) to ask what the greatest commandment is. Jesus tells them the most central truth for all believers – love others and love God, Mt 22:37-40. We must get our theology right regarding God, by knowing the Son Mt 22:42-45. This kept His detractors quiet, Mt 22:46 at least for a while.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. 6:30pm every Wednesday. 5:30pm prayer. Next week we consider Psalm 10.
Prayer Points
1. Conversions and more visitors this time of year.
2. Prayer for Israel, Gaza and Lebanon for peace to descend over the region.
3. Pray for the work we have going on with site development and TMR and the development of a project team.
4. Keep praying for PlayPatch on Fridays, pray for more families to be reached.
5. Pray for Chaplaincy and Kids Hope at Karalee State School.
6. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups. Young Adults.
7. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Wednesday afternoons, 5:30pm at church. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
8. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
9. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Admin person sorted. Thanks Maddie
2. Looks like we have a new Treasurer. Mathys - Praise God
3. Great meeting with Pr Fred and Christine Muys and our elders. Pray for our future witness/projects
4. 2 more baptisms in the new year.
5. More new visitors on Sunday. Pray they feel welcomed in the church
6. Café, music, sound and technical team every week
7. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. PlayPatch Friday mornings – 9:30am. Contact Anna for details
2. Prayer meeting 5:30pm and Life Group Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
3. Carols Sunday 22nd Dec starting from 3pm.
4. Christmas Day service 9:00am Wed 25th Dec.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for December...
Q. 27. What happened to our first parents when they had sinned? A. Instead of being holy and happy, they became sinful and miserable.
Bible References – Gen.3:14-24; James 1:14&15.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
