Friday, December 30, 2011

Matthew 20.1-16

It is a shame that there is a chapter division in between chapter 19 and 20, because the end of the story of the rich young man is illustrated in the parable of the workers of the vineyard. This is seen because of the ending of the rich young ruler section and the ending of the parable, which are both the exact same thing: "the first shall be last and the last will be first." This bookends the parable of the vineyard, showing the main point up front, fleshing it out with the parable, then stating it again at the end. This parable, of the workers of the vineyard, is an illustration/explanation as to why the rich young ruler was shamed and the disciples that had nothing were honored. But before you read this parable, remember that parables are little stories with big ideas that contain SURPRISING truths about real life. As you read this parable, look for the surprising truth:

1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.   3 “About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
   “He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6 About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
   7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
   “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
   8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
   9 “The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
   13 “But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
   16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”


There isn't a lot of teaching that needs to be done on this passage. During the harvest, it was very common for the farmers to go to the marketplace to hire itinerant workers to work the day in their fields. The standard pay was one denarius for twelve hours of work, which was based on the pay that a soldier received. As the day went along, the farmer saw that he needed more and more help, and began hiring the workers every few hours to help finish the harvest. At the end of the day, the workers would stand in line to be paid, with those that were hired last getting paid first and vice versa. But when the farmer gave a denarius to the guys hired for one hour, they were ecstatic!! They were payed twelve times what they were expecting to get paid. The rest of the guys down the line starting doing the math, figuring out their bonus according to what the first guys got paid. But as a denarius kept on being dropped into their hands, they were very upset. 


The upside-down kingdom of God is not based on the way the economies of this world. The rich man is shamed, those who gave up everything will be honored. And in this crazy story, those that worked less were paid the same as those that worked more. The key is this: Jesus' kingdom brings about a reversal of the economy of our world. 


In God's kingdom, the poor are blessed, the children are going to inherit the kingdom, the meek, the persecuted, those that suffer, the martyred, the ones on top in this world will be on bottom, and the ones on bottom in this world will be on top. This is what the new heavens and the new earth is going to complete. All the evil and injustices of materialism will be done away with, and the great reversal will occur for the lowly, the down and outers, as well as the rich and the wealthy and powerful. Yet, as God's kingdom, we are to begin bringing this reversal about now. 


We are to honor the shameful, shame the honored. We are to undo the evil of material persecution by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving houses to the homeless. We are to take care of orphans and widows in their distress, visit those in prison, help those with addictions, bring the arrogant down and elevate the humbled. God's kingdom exists now and we are it. We are to bring heaven to earth, and a way that occurs is by bringing about this great economic reversal. 


This is what it means to be part of the Kingdom of God. This is our duty. Yet Jesus will finish it when he comes back and makes everything new. This reversal will happen. The question is, will you be a part of it...now?

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Matthew 9.27-30

This passage is divided neatly into three parts: Peter's Question, Jesus' Response to Peter and Jesus' Response to all people. Here is what the text says:


27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
 28 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.


If you remember yesterday's passage, a rich young ruler came and asked Jesus what he had to do to receive eternal life. Jesus tells him to sell everything he has and give it to the poor, the man can't give it up and went away sad. Jesus says "It is easier for a Camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to inherit the Kingdom of God." The disciples are astonished by this and ask, "Who then can be saved." Jesus responds by saying that for man this is impossible, but for God, all things are possible. And THEN Peter responds to Jesus by asking the above question:


“We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”


Jesus' response is threefold. The Apostles who abandon everything to follow him will receive four things.  The last two are for ALL Christians, but the first reward is ONLY for the Twelve Apostles. They are as follows:



  1. The Apostles will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel
  2. The multiplication of what we abandon for the kingdom (Present fulfillment)
  3. Hope for Eternal life (Future Fulfillment but Present Reality)
The first reward is only for the 12 Apostles. This first reward for the twelve apostles isn't as shocking if we understand the reason for TWELVE apostles. The main purpose of this book is introducing Jesus as King and showing Christians that we are a part of his Kingdom. This is very different from the ethnic nation of Israel who thought they were God's kingdom. They rejected God as their King (1 Samuel 8) and so God has rejected them as his people. Because of this, Jesus came to establish a new Kingdom, and he began by creating a new Israel, a new twelve tribes. This is what the 12 Apostles stood for. 

Because of this, Jesus is establishing the fact to Peter that they are the new Israel, the new kingdom of God, and because they are the new kingdom of God, means that God has judged the old kingdom of Israel already. Them being God's new nation implies that the old nation is done away with. That is what is at the heart of this first reward. Now for the last three.

When we abandon houses, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, or children or even work for Jesus, we will receive 100 times as much...Now. This is not a future promise, that is eternal life. But when we as Christians have to make those hard decisions about family members who are non-Christians, especially if those family members say they are going to disown you if you become a Christian, Jesus is saying you will receive 100 times as much as what you give up. Because when you have to abandon family members or friends, or even children, or jobs, the body of Christ will give you 100 more brothers, sisters, fathers and children in Christ. The Body of Christ, the church, will help you get work, find houses. The Church is God's kingdom on earth, and when you give up things to be a part of the Church, the church will meet your needs, today. That is Jesus' promise. 

The last reward that all Christians will receive is eternal life. This is the blessing to spend eternity with Jesus. Yet what do we do with these three verses?

First, we have to realize that abandoning everything to follow Jesus is really hard but really worth it. I am not coming anywhere close to saying that when non-Christian family members say you have to make a choice between them or Jesus, that that is an easy thing to do. Yet, Jesus promises that you will be given 100 times as much of anything you give up for the kingdom. So, following Jesus may mean we have to abandon everything, yet being a part of God's kingdom here on earth is worth it. 

The Second thing we need to realize about this passage, is that we are called, as the church, to supply these things to those who abandon them for the Kingdom. We are to be Fathers and brothers and mothers and children to people who give those things up for the kingdom. We are to supply jobs, houses, meet material needs of people who abandon those for Jesus. 

So which truth do you need to hear and live out today? Do you need to abandon something in order to fully follow Jesus? Or do you need to be the church by providing those things for others?

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Matthew 19.16-26

Today, we are going to be looking in the mirror. The passage, today, contains someone in it that we can relate to probably more than anyone else in the New Testament, the rich young man.

You might push up against, this, disagree, or think this is an overstatement. Yet, we live in the richest country that has ever existed on the face of the planet!!! We are richer than 90% of the world, and yet we complain about not having much money, always wanting more.

Let me let you in on a little secret. According to the book of Revelation, the Devil uses two different kinds of strategies to fight against Christians. The first is physical persecution. He tries to come at us with a frontal attack of guns and swords and bombs and beatings and tries to scare Christians out of being Christians, or just flat kill them. The second strategy, and I think the more dangerous one, is that of cultural seduction. The devil tries to creep behind you and seduce you to slowly drift away from the faith.

We as Americans are not really experiencing physical persecution, but we are being seduced every moment of every day by TV ads, pop ups, emails, Facebook pages and messages. And our culture is heavily seduced by sex and by money.

The seduction with sexual immorality we will deal with at another time. But today, we need to address this issue with money head on.

Let's read this passage:

16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
   17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
 18 “Which ones?” the man inquired.
   Jesus replied, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’[a] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]
 20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
 21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”


A young, apparently religious man, comes up to Jesus asking him about what he must do to inherit eternal life. What is interesting is that Jesus quotes the second half of the ten commandments, which deals with our horizontal relationship with man. Yet this is not what this young, rich man, is struggling with. According, even to himself, he is faultless, but he still feels something missing. 


Jesus points out what is missing by asking him to sell all his riches, everything he had and give it to the poor. Jesus is addressing his vertical relationship with God, and this young man had money as Lord of his life, rather than God. Because of this, Jesus is calling absolute allegiance, absolute trust. Yet this man could not part with the almighty dollar. 


Can you?


Is God really the sole Lord of every aspect of your life? Are you truly treating the money that you possess as God's money, and you are just his steward to use this money to advance HIS kingdom? 


I challenge you to write with a  sharpie, Matthew 19.22, on the face of your check card. Every time you use it, ask yourself, "Am I using this money to advance God's kingdom, or my kingdom?" Don't allow money to come in between you and God. 


That is one of the reasons giving a tithe is so important. It is a practice of killing the desire in your life to hoard all the money for yourself. It is looking Satan in the face and saying, "Money is NOT coming between me and God."


So take this message of the rich young ruler to heart, and don't part with Jesus because of your love for money, but part with money because of your love for Jesus. 

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Matthew 19.13-15

Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there. 

This subject of children should sound rather familiar to us, for Jesus JUST talked about little children in Matthew 18: 1-9. There he tells us they are a great example of what the greatest in the kingdom of heaven are like. Now we are told much the same, the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. To the weak and to the innocent, as we have learned. 

If something is mentioned a few times in a short period, it is in hope that it is driven into your mind, that you internalize it. Maybe Jesus really wanted us to get this then. 

It reminds me of “Heaven is for Real” a book written about a boy who died for a short period of time and was able to tell his family about heaven. I’m not advising we all put our eggs in the basket of this boy’s story, but it was pretty good all the same. Anyway, what I remember most from his story is how he talks about Jesus’ love for children:

No matter what new tidbits he revealed, though, Colton had one consistent theme: he talked constantly about how much Jesus loved the children. I mean that: constantly. 
He would wake up in the morning and tell me: “Hey Dad, Jesus told me to tell you, He really loves the children.”
Over dinner at night: “Remember, Jesus really loves the children.”
Before bed, as I helped him brush his teeth, “Hey, Daddy don’t forget,” he’d say, garbling the words through a mouthful of toothpaste foam, “Jesus said he really, really loves the children!”
…Colton chirped all day long about Jesus loving the children. It got so that it didn’t matter what Bible story she or I read to our tiny evangelist at night…Colton wrapped up the night with the same message: “Jesus loves the children!” 

Since we’ve recently looked at how we can be like children, I want to focus on how we can love and invest in them. When Jesus placed his hands on them to pray, this was like giving a blessing, a type of consecration to God. I wonder what this can look like today? 

First, if you are a parent, your responsibility to raise them up in the Lord is HUGE! And I hope you are excited about that. It makes me so happy to see parents doing this. I remember a couple at my church back home who would pray with their daughters and son before every meal. And I mean from birth. From the time they had their first child, they would hold her infant hands as she slept or cooed in her seat. They instilled a discipline of prayer that these children won’t ever remember not doing. I read another story about a family that would go to the local soup kitchen every Saturday morning, and their children helped as early as they could. This instilled in them a life long passion for service, because they saw their parents were passionate about it. 

To those of us who are not parents, there are still surely children around you. I cannot help but think about the ones who are living in broken homes. They are your neighbors kids. They are your nieces and nephews. If you are even just interceding on their behalf, you are doing something noble. And if you can somehow get in there, be someone in their life instilling God’s truth and uncompromising love at any age, you are doing something. 

A professor recently told me of a study done about children living in tragic circumstances, such as an abusive or neglectful home life. They were trying to find out why some kids would overcome it and become successful in spite of the odds against them, and why some would collapse under it, never coming to a place of healing or self worth. They discovered one predictor of success was whether or not there was just one person in the child’s court; someone on their side to value them and acknowledge their voice and pain. It would just take one person, a single individual to believe in them and have concern over them. It would be enough for the child to have hope, to bear the tragedy of their surroundings without a broken spirit. 

This is important to our King. Jesus really loves the children. Who can you invest in? Who can you pray 

for? Who needs someone to stand with them on their behalf?


Jackie Scharfenberg

Monday, December 26, 2011

Matthew 19.1-12

Let's start off today by reading the passage:

1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
 3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
   4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
 7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
 8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
 10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
 11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”


After Jesus gives his fourth sermon, he is immediately met with opposition from the Pharisees. The topic, Divorce. 


Why Divorce?


Amongst the religious leaders, there was a huge debate going on about divorce. Two famous Rabbis, by the names of Hillel and Shammai, disagreed on this topic of what constitutes a man being able to divorce his wife. After these guys died, their disciples carried on this debate. 


Hillel believed that a man could divorce his wife for any and every reason. These reasons where anywhere from not bearing children within ten years, being troublesome, spinning in the public streets, speaking disrespectfully of her in-laws in front of her husband, and even as far as burning his dinner!!! Rabbi Aqiba, a follower of Hillel, said that a man could go so far as to divorce his wife if he found someone prettier than her. 


This was prevalent among the Pharisees. One camp of them, at least, would NEVER commit adultery, but were divorcing their wives for reasons such as the ones listed above. 


But the there camp on the issue of Divorce was that of Shammai's. Shammai's view of divorce is way closer to Jesus compared to Hillel's, but still miles apart. Both Shammai and Jesus said that the only reasons for divorce were marital unfaithfulness, yet there were a number of differences.  Shammai based his view on Divorce from Deuteronomy 24.1-4, which says:


 1 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, 2 and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, 3 and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, 4 then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the LORD. Do not bring sin upon the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.


Jesus based his not on the Mosaic Law, but on CREATION. He quotes Genesis, saying that a man leaves his father and mother and they become united as one flesh, permanently. There is no longer two beings, but one. So what God has joined together, let NO man separate. 


Another big difference is that Shammai only dealt with what was legally permissible for men, but Jesus talked about the Spiritual obligations of both men and women. 


The last big difference is that ONLY Jesus placed restrictions on remarriage, which the Jews would have thought was an absolute right. They are divorcing and remarrying all they wanted to, but Jesus was trying to show the permanency of marriage. 


So many times, when we talk about divorce, the question is always, "On what grounds can I divorce my husband or wife?" If that is our starting question, the battle for marriage has already been lost. That is why Matthew put this conflict directly after Matthew 18.21-25. In that passage, Peter begins by asking Jesus, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"


Isn't this the same kind of question we are asking about divorce? How long to I have to keep working and forgiving this person, what is the point in which I can say, "DIVORCE!!"


But Jesus responds by saying, "not seven times, but seventy-seven times", and then he tells a story about forgiveness. 


This is Matthew and Jesus' point. The way God intended marriage to be, is for life. And at the heart of marriage, is the action of forgiveness. 


And this principle can be taken to every relationship we have. At the foundation of relationships, is forgiveness. Because we are sinful beings, and sin, by definition, hurts yourself and those around you. Yet, when we sinned against God, he did not cut us off, but he forgave us. And we are to do the same.



Friday, December 23, 2011

The Beginning of Jesus' Journey to the Cross

We have now covered the first four discourses, or sermons, of the Gospel of Matthew. You all should give yourselves a pat on the back. Great Job sticking with it guys and gals!!!!

Now we are moving to the last narrative before the last discourse. This entire section is preparing his disciples how to live in between Jesus' first and second coming. Let's review where we have been so far:


  1. Matthew 5-7--The sermon on the proclamation of a king, and the upside-down nature of his kingdom. 
    1. Matthew 1-4 was all about the presentation of a king, now we see what this king has to say about his kingdom
  1. Matthew 10--The sermon on the ministry of the King.
    1. Matthew 8-9 is all about the King's ministry which is two fold: 1. healing the sick and 2. discipling the disciples. This is what his message is about in Matthew 10. 
  1. Matthew 13--The sermon on what the Kingdom life is like (in parables)
    1. Matthew 11-12 is filled with Jesus training the disciples what it means to be the people of God. 
    2. The Pharisees and religious leaders of the day had a different idea of what it means to be the people of God, so there is a lot of conflict involved in this section. 
    3. Jesus clarifies it all with his sermon in Matthew 13. 
  1. Matthew 18--This sermon is all about Jesus teaching his disciples what the life of discipleship is like. 
    1. Matthew 14-17, Jesus is focusing on the twelve disciples, training them and trying to get them ready for his death. 
Now we come to Matthew 19-22, this section of scripture filled with conflicts, questions, debates, triumphal entries, and all kinds of crazy things. As we move from one event to the next, you will see slowly but surely how Jesus is preparing his disciples for his last sermon, Matthew 23-25. He wants to teach them what it means to live in the last times, the period in between Jesus' first and second coming. The message is simple: Be ready, Be faithful and Be loving. 

Below is the Matthew 19-22. Read this as a whole and then we will break it down throughout the next several weeks. 

Matthew 19

Divorce
 1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
   4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’[a] 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’[b]? 6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
 7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
 8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
 10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
 11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage[c] because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
The Little Children and Jesus
 13 Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.
The Rich Young Man
 16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”   17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
 18 “Which ones?” the man inquired.
   Jesus replied, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’[d] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’[e]
 20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
 21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
 27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
 28 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother[f] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

Matthew 20

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
 1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.   3 “About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
   “He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6 About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
   7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
   “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
   8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
   9 “The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
   13 “But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
   16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Jesus Again Predicts His Death
 17 Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
A Mother’s Request
 20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.   21 “What is it you want?” he asked.
   She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
   22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
   “We can,” they answered.
 23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
 24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said,“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Two Blind Men Receive Sight
 29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” 31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
 32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
 33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
 34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Matthew 21

The Triumphal Entry
 1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
 5 “Say to the Daughter of Zion,
   ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
   on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[g]

 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
   “Hosanna[h] to the Son of David!”
   “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[i]
   “Hosanna[j] in the highest!”
 10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
 11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Jesus at the Temple
 12 Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[k] but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’[l] 14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.
 16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
   “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,
   “‘From the lips of children and infants
   you have ordained praise’[m]?”

 17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.
The Fig Tree Withers
 18 Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. 20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.
 21 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
 23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?”
   They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’26 But if we say, ‘From men’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”
 27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
   Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
    28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’   29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
   30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
   31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
   “The first,” they answered.
   Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants
    33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.   35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
   38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
   40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
 41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
   “‘The stone the builders rejected
   has become the capstone[n];
the Lord has done this,
   and it is marvelous in our eyes’[o]?

   43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”[p]
 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

Matthew 22

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
 1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.   4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
   5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
   8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
   11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
   13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
   14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Paying Taxes to Caesar
 15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?”
 21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.
   Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
 22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.
Marriage at the Resurrection
 23 That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 24 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. 25Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26 The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27 Finally, the woman died. 28 Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?” 29 Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 31 But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’[q]? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”
 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.
The Greatest Commandment
 34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[r] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[s] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Whose Son Is the Christ?
 41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Christ[t]? Whose son is he?”   “The son of David,” they replied.
 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,
   44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord:
   “Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
   under your feet.”’[u]

   45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.