Matthew 21:23-46

Dear RTB’ers,

When the chief priests and the Pharisees try to challenge Jesus, He always gets the upper hand. But with today’s reading, they got a triple-dose of Jesus’ upper hand! In spite of being in the their own temple area, the Jewish leaders were on weak ground in challenging Jesus’ authority. From their perspective this man was an itinerant country preacher from Galilee who has somehow “performed” (or faked?) hundreds of miracles, first in Galilee and now in Judah. When He shows up in their temple area, they want to know, basically, where He is from – that is, where did He get His schooling, who are His associates and mentors, is He synagogue-schooled or someone who just simply “showed up”? By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority? (v. 23b) Jesus answers with a question that they cannot answer and Jesus is free from their hooks.

Then Jesus sets His own hooks with two parables – the two sons and the wicked tenants. In both cases, the Jewish leaders see themselves as, first the son who fails to do his father’s bidding and second, those wicked tenants. When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they held Him to be a prophet. (vv. 45-46)

Very simply, folks, don’t test Jesus! He is God, we are not!

Blessings.

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See also:

• November 8 (2023) / Matthew 21:23-22:22; Mark 11:27-12:17; Luke 20:1-26
• May 6 (2021) / Matt. 21:18-32
• May 8 (2021) / Matt. 21:33-46

Matthew 20:29-21:22

Dear RTB’ers,

I went to the VA yesterday and got tested – no flu, no COVID, no RSV. They gave me a week’s worth of antibiotics and cough suppressant. Hopefully I’ll get better soon. Thank you for your prayers!

Two lives forever changed. They’re blind, sitting by the side of the road, possibly begging, and they hear that Jesus and a crowd with Him are coming their way. He offers, they ask. And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed Him. (v. 20:34) Lives forever changed! Somehow I believe that these two men continued to follow Jesus in spite of any opposition they may have felt. Lives forever changed.

The phrase “Son of David” (one of Matthew’s favorite phrases that he attributes to Jesus) occurs four times in today’s reading. The two blind men address Jesus directly with this phrase. Then the crowds on Palm Sunday sing, “Hosanna to the Son of David”. Finally, it’s the children in the temple area calling out the same refrain. [I wonder where they learned that.] Elsewhere in Matthew it’s always the crowds (or someone therein) who refer to Him as such. In these uses they are addressing more than His parental linkage. They are referring to Him as their long-awaited Messiah. He has come, for them!

Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessings.

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See also:

• April 30 (2021) / Matt. 20:29-34, Mark 10:46-52, Luke 18:35-43
• November 7 (2023) / Matthew 21:1-22; Mark 11:1-26; Luke 19:28-48; John 12:12-19
• May 3 (2021) / Matt. 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11
• May 5 (2021) / Matt. 21:12-17, Mark 11:12-19, Luke 19:45-48

Matthew 19:23-20:28

Dear RTB’ers,

I am not well, folks. Please pray for me.

I always react negatively when I read the “laborers in the vineyard” parable. Those hired first speaking: And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ (v. 20:11-12) Yes, I fully sympathize with those hired first, but I also know that Jesus’ reply if fully satisfactory: Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to Me? Or do you begrudge My generosity? (v. 20:15) If it were not for Jesus’ generosity (grace!) we would have no more hope for our afterlife than the Pharisees who constantly grumbled at Him!

And then the next story, the mother’s request. I find her request to be completely out of line, especially given the fact that Jesus had already chosen Peter as the leader to the twelve. And the disciples’ reaction shows that: And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. (v. 20:24) I can hear James and John replying, “It wasn’t us asking, it was Mom!”

Enough for today. Again, folks, please pray for me to get better. Thank you.

Blessings.

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See also:

• November 4 (2023) / Matthew 19:1-20:16; Mark 10:1-31; Luke 18:15-30
• April 21 (2021) / Matt. 19:16-30 (again)
• April 24 (2021) / Matt. 20:1-16
• November 6 (2023) / Matthew 20:17-34; Mark 10:32-52; Luke 18:31-19:27; John 12:1-11
• April 29 (2021) / Matt. 20:17-28, Mark 10:32-45, Luke 18:31-34

Matthew 19:1-22

Dear RTB’ers,

Welcome back to Matthew! I don’t know that Jeremiah is a good interlude, but it did afford us a two-week break from Matthew. So now we return, finishing Matthew over the next three weeks.

One of the last items that I posted on Matthew had to do with gospel “turning points”. I argued that we had a turning point in Matthew on our February 12 readings: “Finally, today’s first verse has Matthew’s turning point, very similar to Mark’s: From that time 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 on the third day be raised. (Mt. 16:21) This is the first note that we get from Matthew of Jesus’ death and resurrection”. So our time as we finish Matthew will be Jesus’ earthly end and our beginning!

Today, Matthew’s account of the “rich young man” (ESV, also translated as the “rich young ruler” in the NASB). Mark has a similar story in Mark 10:17-30 while Luke has this incident in Luke 18:18-30, where both translations have the man as a “ruler”. And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” (v. 16) A simple question and a simple answer from Jesus: If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me. (v. 21) I’m sure that I asked the same question in my Catholic upbringing so many years ago, but it was phrased more like “What do I have to do to get to Heaven?” or “If I die today, will I get to Heaven?” It’s a question that I have not asked for many years now; Jesus’ death and resurrection and His sending of the Holy Spirit have changed the calculus for all of us. Still, I wonder, are any of you still asking that same question? If so, we need to chat.

Blessings.

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See also:

• April 19 (2021) / Matt. 19:1-15
• April 21 (2021) / Matt. 19:16-30

Jeremiah 24-25

Dear RTB’ers,

After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metal workers, and had brought them to Babylon… (v. 24:1a) In today’s first verse we see that many of the residents of Jerusalem have already been taken into exile to Babylon. But we still have another 28 chapters in Jeremiah! So, looking forward just a bit we see in Jeremiah 25:3 that Jeremiah has been speaking the word of the Lord for 23 years and my Study Bible notes that Jeremiah is only halfway through his ministry. Maybe Jeremiah is more chronologically correct than our Chronological Study Bible suggests?

Although Jerusalem has gone into exile, the Lord will have His way with the remnant left behind and with all of Judah’s enemies: Because you have not obeyed My words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the LORD, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. (vv. 25:8b-9) The mention of those enemies is long and thorough, beginning with Jerusalem, naturally, then Egypt and ending with Babylon, herself. (vv. 25:18-26) The only omission that I see is Damascus. Possibly it is subsumed with other nations, …all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. (v. 25:26a)

So now we leave Jeremiah for a time, almost three weeks, actually, and we finish what we started in Matthew. Then we’ll come back to Jeremiah and his follow-up, Lamentations. We’ve got good reading ahead, folks!  

Blessings.

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See also: July 15 / II Kings 24:5-17; Jeremiah 22:18-30; 13:15-27; II Chronicles 36:5-10; Jeremiah 24:1-10.

Jeremiah 23

Dear RTB’ers,

And we are back to Fred posting the first comments of the day. Thank you, John, for stepping in during our travels. Jeremiah is not the easiest book on which to offer comments, but you did that admirably. So we continue…

I have three items to cover:

1. Jesus the Messiah (Jer. 23:5-6)
2. False prophets – Jer. 23:9-40
3. A further reflection on false prophets (Jer. 23:36)

First, Jesus the Messiah… My Study Bible called these verses one of the most important Messianic passages in Jeremiah. I would encourage you to read them over and over, word by word, replacing “Jesus” for all the other Messianic references.

Second, false prophets… Jeremiah was surrounded by these false prophets. We learned a few days ago that they even physically abused him, beating him and putting him in stocks. Yet he continued to speak out against them. Both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in My house I have found their evil, declares the LORD. Therefore their way shall be to them like slippery paths in the darkness, into which they shall be driven and fall, for I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment, declares the LORD. (vv. 11-12) We can read about false prophets in Jeremiah’s time, but what about in our own time? I’m sure that Reformation leaders saw false prophets in the Catholic Church – that various teachings and man-made laws did not follow Scripture. Our own Anglican Church in North America was formed as a result of our leaders seeing false prophets in the Episcopal Church.

Finally, verse 36, For you will no longer remember the pronouncement of the LORD, because every person’s own word will become the pronouncement, and you have perverted the words of the living God, the LORD of armies, our God. (NASB) Essentially Jeremiah is suggesting that virtually anyone in Judah or Jerusalem could be a false prophet. They say and do what they want without regard to pronouncements (laws) from the Lord. That sounds a lot like our 21^st century USA culture!

Blessings.

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See also: July 14 (2023) / Jeremiah 23:9-40; 18:18-20:18.

Jeremiah 21-22

As Search the Scriptures notes, today’s reading mentions each of the last five Kings of Judah:

• Josiah
  • See II Kings 21:24-23:30 and II Chronicles 33:25-35:27
  • Today: Jeremiah 22:15-16
  • One of the best kings, Josiah does what is right, initiating massive reforms to purge the kingdom of all the evil ways of his predecessors, particularly his grandfather, Manasseh
• Jehoahaz/Shallum
  • See II Kings 23:30-33 and II Chronicles 36:1-4
  • Today: Jeremiah 22:10-12
  • Son of Josiah
• Jehoiakim/Eliakim
  • See II Kings 23:34-24:6 and II Chronicles 36:5-8
  • Today: Jeremiah 22:13-19
  • Son of Josiah
• Jehoiachin/Jeconiah/Coniah
  • See II Kings 24:6-17; 25:27-30 and II Chronicles 36:8-10
  • Today: Jeremiah 22:24-30
  • Son of Jehoiakim; grandson of Josiah
• Zedekiah
  • See II Kings 24:17-25:7 and II Chronicles 36:10-16
  • Today: Jeremiah 21
  • Son of Josiah

Despite Josiah’s good reign and all his reforms, his sons and grandson all revert to evil, stubbornly refusing to listen to Jeremiah and bringing the LORD’s judgment upon themselves and the Kingdom of Judah.

Just look at how the LORD contrasts Josiah with any of his sons:

Do you think you are a king
because you compete in cedar?
Did not your father [Josiah] eat and drink
and do justice and righteousness?
Then it was well with him.
He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
then it was well.
Is not this to know me?
declares the LORD.
But you have eyes and heart
only for your dishonest gain,
for shedding innocent blood,
and for practicing oppression and violence.

Jeremiah 22:15-17

So which path are you on? Are you listening to the voice of the LORD and doing what is right and just? Or are you going your own way?

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See also: July 23 (2023) / Jeremiah 10:17-25; 21:1-22:9; 34; 46:13-28.

Jeremiah 19-20

In considering Jeremiah 19, take some extra time to study the “Valley of the Son of Hinnom” and “Topheth” to understand the setting for Jeremiah’s breaking of a flask to illustrate the LORD’s judgment of Judah. Take a look at II Chronicles 28:3 (referring to evil King Ahaz), II Chronicles 33:6 (referring to evil King Manasseh), and II Kings 23:10 (referring to good King Josiah) along with the surrounding texts to get some history. King Josiah tears down this vile place of pagan child sacrifice. By New Testament times, the Valley of the Son of Hinnom becomes known as “Gehenna” and is a trash pit with fires burning continuously. Jesus uses it to represent hell, and so that is how “Gehenna” is often translated. See, for example, Matthew 23:15 or Mark 9:43.

Is there any part of your life that likewise needs to be utterly destroyed?

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O LORD, you have deceived me,
and I was deceived…

Jeremiah 20:7a

Can you relate to Jeremiah here? Have you ever thought that God has sold you a bill of goods? You may recall that the LORD repeatedly promises to deliver Jeremiah from his enemies. Yet we find Jeremiah brutally beaten and placed in stocks. (Jer. 20:2) Even his close friends denounce him. (Jer. 20:10) He is derided, humiliated, threatened. Clearly, the LORD’s definition of deliverance does not quite line up with what Jeremiah (or we) might expect, and so Jeremiah struggles to hold on. Although the middle of his prayer reflects faith in the LORD’s deliverance (Jer. 20:11-13), Jeremiah ends in near despair with words reminiscent of Job. (Jer. 20:14-18)

So I ask again: Can you relate to Jeremiah here?

I’m pretty sure Jesus can relate:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Psalm 22:1 (cf., Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34)

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See also: July 14 (2023) / Jeremiah 23:9-40; 18:18-20:18.

Jeremiah 17:19-18:23

Thus says the LORD: Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers.

Jeremiah 17:21-22

Do you get the sense that maybe, just maybe, the LORD cares about the Sabbath? This is by no means the only place that the Sabbath is placed in focus. Rather, the holiness of the Sabbath is a repeated refrain. Just consider this list of references (which is not at all exhaustive):

• Exodus 20:8-11; 31:13-16; 35:2-3;
• Leviticus 19:3; 19:30; 23:3; 26:2;
• Deuteronomy 5:12-15;
• Nehemiah 9:14; 13:15-22;
• Isaiah 56:2-6; 58:13;
• Ezekiel 20:12-24; 22:8,26; 23:38; 44:24.

Do you think that maybe, just maybe, we should care about what the LORD cares about?

It should be quite clear that our so-called “Christian” nation, the good ol’ U.S.A., cares nothing about the Sabbath, but that should be expected, as our nation is now anything but “Christian.” But what about us, those who profess a true faith in Christ? Do we honor the Sabbath and keep it holy? Do we try even just a little bit to do so? Or do we actively resist the Sabbath? In our attempts to avoid the legalism of the Pharisees, do we reject the gift of rest that is the Sabbath, and in so doing do we reject the Lord of that Sabbath?

Ask the Lord to speak to you about the Sabbath. Listen to what He has to say. Look and see whether your life actually reflects what He wants for you. Search your heart and see whether you are resisting Him. Do not be like ancient Judah:

Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.

Jeremiah 17:23

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See also: July 9 (2023) / Jeremiah 47; 46:1-12; 13:1-14; 18:1-17.