Reflective Bible Study

As we move through the week leading up to the cross in Matthew’s gospel, we come to a challenging parable Jesus shares with some powerful implications. In this parable, we discover how one group of people gives up their privileged status, and another group gains the invitation to step into the first group’s place.

However, while this sounds simple, perhaps even too simple, the parable we are about to read really contains only two major details we should pay attention to, and these two details are crucial for our ultimate salvation.

Our passage and parable is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 22, and we will read it from the New International Version. Starting in verse 22, Matthew tells us that:

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 So 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, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

Jumping out of our parable for a minute, I want to point out that if Jesus ended His parable here, He would have ended on a high note, at the most positive point in this illustration, but He would have only shared with us one of the two major details we must pay attention to in this parable.

Instead, Jesus then continues in verse 11, saying:

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ 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.”

In this parable Jesus shared, we started on a high point with a king preparing for a celebration. Things then turn worse when we discovered how those who had been originally invited to this celebration decide to ignore or outright reject the invitation that was theirs. Things then shift back to being positive when the king extends the invitation to everyone regardless of their prior status.

Part of me is curious about how those who were present and listening to this parable responded when Jesus shared how the king opened the invitation to anyone and everyone. This major detail in this parable is vitally important for us to pay attention to. This major detail draws our attention onto a gift that God offers to each of us. While I don’t know if God would have opened this gift to everyone if those who were originally invited had accepted their invitations, because this first group rejected it, it gives anyone and everyone who wants to the choice to accept the invitation.

This parable draws our attention onto the amazing gift God offers to each of us when He invited us to be a part of His family, and to take part in the celebration when Jesus returns to bring God’s people home.

If we stopped reading here, this parable would end with the best news possible.

However, Jesus continued sharing, and things take another turn downward. When the king arrives in the banquet hall, he sees a person who isn’t wearing wedding clothes, and he throws this man out.

On the surface, this sounds both reasonable and ridiculous. The reasonable side of this is that this is the king, and he can do what he wants. If the king didn’t like how someone was dressed, he is perfectly within his right to kick that person out of his home and his event.

However, this also sounds ridiculous. When we look at how the parable progressed prior to this point, those who ultimately are in the banquet hall are those people who woke up that morning with no thoughts or plans of heading to the king’s banquet. All those present are last-minute invitees to this special event. Those present represent anyone and everyone from the rich to the poor, the good to the evil, and the well connected to the social outcasts. In this parable, those present come from any and every background, and they are all miraculously wearing wedding clothes when the king arrives.

The only way this detail makes sense, especially when reconciling this with the realization that not everyone present would have been able to afford appropriate wedding clothing, is that the king gave the guests wedding clothes on their arrival. With this detail in place, we discover how the king is fully within his rights to throw someone out who had refused the second portion of his gift. The king had given everyone an amazing gift of an invitation and he gave each person present the gift of wedding clothing.

In this parable, we discover how God gives each of us two gifts. God first gives us the gift of an invitation into His family and into His special event. If you’re worried about whether you are in the first group of invitees or the second, don’t worry about this. All you need to know is that you have been given an invitation. Everyone in this parable received an invitation to this wedding banquet!

This first gift requires a choice, and we must choose whether we will accept this gift or not.

The second gift present in this parable is the gift of wedding clothing. It is completely possible to accept the gift of an invitation but reject the gift of wedding clothing. The person who the king throws out for not wearing wedding clothes may have believed he had wedding clothes on, he had on the best clothes he had, or that the clothing one wore to this event wasn’t significant. Regardless of the reason, this man is thrown out for rejecting the second gift.

If you are concerned about whether you have accepted the gift of wedding clothing, this might be something to look into. The gift of wedding clothing is Jesus’ righteousness. The gift of clothing is defined for us in Revelation as the righteous acts of God’s people. In one of the most symbolic books of the Bible, John gives us the definition of this metaphor.

The second gift is a challenge for each of us. The second gift challenges us regarding where we place our focus and our hope. With the gift of clothing, are we going to come before God showing Him what we have done for Him with the attitude of trying to build ourselves up, or are we going to come before God thanking Him for what Jesus blessed us with and how nothing we do could ever repay His generosity?

For some reason, the man in this parable who is thrown out decided that He could appear before God with his own righteousness, and this cost him his salvation. I might be understating this when I say “Don’t be that guy!”

Instead, choose to accept God’s two gifts, both the choice and the challenge, and live your life as a thank you to God for everything He has blessed us with, both through what Jesus did for us, and through what Jesus is still doing for us each and every day!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, be sure to intentionally seek God first in your life and let Him give you the two gifts that matter the most. Make the choice to accept His invitation and accept God’s challenge to replace your life and character with Christ’s life and character. This is only possible with God’s help and it is the best way we can say thank you to God for giving us what we easily don’t deserve.

Also, pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God each and every day. God wants a personal relationship with you and He doesn’t want a relationship where you filter Him through the thoughts and opinions of others. Choose to make your relationship with God personal by choosing to spend time with Him on a regular, frequent basis.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or be tricked out of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

After Jesus was arrested and condemned, the religious leaders take Him to Pilate. The religious leaders do this because they did not have the legal right to execute anyone since they were under Roman rule. Only the Roman government could sentence someone to death, and that is exactly what these religious leaders had decided Jesus deserved.

Let’s read about what takes place from Luke’s gospel, chapter 23, using the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, Luke describes what happened:

¹ Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. ² And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”

Pausing briefly here, it is interesting to look a little closer at the charge the religious leaders accuse Jesus of. This charge, while worthy of death in Rome’s eyes, doesn’t fit with what Jesus has actually taught. It would be foolish for these leaders to think that Pilate didn’t have a handle on who Jesus was and have already assessed Jesus’ threat to the Roman occupation of this region.

The claim these leaders bring against Jesus is about as generic of a charge as you could find, and it also breaks one of the Ten Commandments. When looking at this charge, while Jesus did claim to be the Messiah, we don’t find Him anywhere opposing paying taxes to Caesar. Instead, we have Him brilliantly answering the question of taxation in favor of paying Roman currency to the Roman government.

In the charge the leaders bring against Jesus, they break the commandment regarding sharing false testimony about one’s neighbor. While this seems minor when compared to the other commandment these leaders are clearly breaking, which is the commandment about not murdering someone, it is interesting to see that these leaders are clearly breaking God’s Law in order to protect their tradition.

It’s also interesting to note that this might hint at the truth that once someone breaks one of the commandments, it is easier to break the others.

However, how does Pilate respond to this charge? Let’s continue reading to discover what happened. Picking back up in verse three:

³ So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

⁴ Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”

Let’s pause here briefly because this doesn’t seem like much of an interrogation. John’s gospel describes in greater detail a conversation that Jesus has with Pilate. With how the gospels are written, and the unique details that each includes, it’s possible that John’s gospel’s conversation happens at this point, but it could also happen at the end of our passage for this episode.

For that reason, next week, we’ll look at John’s gospel and this conversation Jesus has with Pilate a little more closely.

With that said, after Pilate announces to the religious leaders that he doesn’t find any basis for a charge against Jesus, we continue reading in verse 5, which tells us:

⁵ But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”

⁶ On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. ⁷ When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

⁸ When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. ⁹ He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹ Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. ¹² That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.

It is interesting in my mind to read Luke’s concluding note about Herod and Pilate becoming friends that day. Herod and Pilate were likely two of the most opposite people one could find, and they hated each other – that is until they both had met Jesus. While neither likely placed their faith in Jesus after this point, it is fascinating to see that a shared experience is enough to turn enemies into friends.

It’s also interesting to wonder why Herod was in Jerusalem at that time. While it was a Jewish festival and a time for Jews to travel to Jerusalem, Herod wouldn’t have cared about that. Part of me wonders if this was because not long before this, when being pushed out of a town, the religious leaders warn Jesus that Herod is out to kill Him. In response, Jesus tells them to tell Herod a somewhat odd message, but one that might have been understood in Herod’s mind to relate to this weekend. It’s possible Herod was in Jerusalem because he believed he would get to meet Jesus, and because Jesus sent him the message that He did.

However, Herod’s meeting with Jesus wasn’t all that fulfilling. Herod wanted to see a miracle, or at least hear a response from Jesus to any of the questions he had or about the accusations of the religious leaders. After getting tired of the silence, Herod dresses Jesus up like a king for fun, and sends Him back to Pilate.

It is interesting in my mind why Jesus would remain silent in front of Herod, but He would respond to Pilate. Perhaps Jesus knew the attitude and heart of each leader, and He knew that Herod was unreachable. From what we read described in this passage, Herod comes into his meeting with Jesus with an agenda and an expectation. If Jesus had done anything to satisfy Herod’s agenda, Herod would likely have released Him. Herod had heard about Jesus, and he wants something to satisfy his curiosity.

If Jesus had performed a miracle for Herod, not only would God not receive any of the glory, which was one of the main reasons Jesus did miracles, but Herod likely would have released Jesus as a token of gratitude. Herod was outside of his jurisdiction in Jerusalem, and because of this, he could not execute Jesus here. Herod could have carted Jesus away to the area he did have jurisdiction over and kill Him there, but that wouldn’t have satisfied prophecy, and silence doesn’t warrant death.

Herod sends Jesus back to Pilate because Jesus isn’t being fun, and because Jesus isn’t responding to his demands.

In this passage, and in the discussion Jesus has with both Herod and Pilate, we discover that Jesus strategically responds in a way that maintains His innocence, but that also does not prompt Him to be released. Neither leader believed Jesus was worthy of death, but neither leader was willing to free Jesus against the wishes of the religious leaders.

This dilemma is similar to a choice that we all must make in our lives. The choice is simple to describe, but challenging to decide. The choice is this: What will you decide about Jesus?

When you think about Jesus, will you think of Him as a Jewish carpenter who had some profound things to say and who died too soon because He was betrayed by someone He thought was a friend. Or when you think about Jesus, will you see Him as God who came to earth as a human and who chose death to pay the price for our sins when He did not deserve them. One way paints Jesus as a man, the other way paints Jesus as a Savior.

Culture wants you to leave Jesus as a man in the pages of history because it is the easy thing to do. However, if Jesus came to be our Savior, then there is no more relevant of a time than today to place our hope, faith, trust, and belief in Him to save us for eternity!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

If you haven’t made the decision about who Jesus is yet, take the time to make your decision today. When your life ends, it would be a tragedy if you were left on the fence and Jesus ended up being important. Through my personal study, I have chosen Jesus, as you likely have guessed, and I believe this decision is the only decision that matters from the perspective of eternity.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God. God wants a personal relationship with you, and while He sends people into our lives with ideas and good things to think about, He doesn’t want anyone getting in the middle of your relationship with Him.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we move through Matthew’s gospel, and now specifically the part of Matthew’s gospel that focuses in on Jesus’ week leading up to the cross, we discover a question Jesus asks the religious leaders as He is in the temple early on during that week. While Jesus draws out a conclusion that challenges the religious leaders on this question, the theme Jesus shared is relevant for all of us living today as well.

Let’s read and discover the question Jesus asked and the challenge Jesus gave the religious leaders. Our passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 21, and we will read it from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 28, Jesus directs His message at the religious leaders, saying:

²⁸ “Tell me what you think about this: A man had two sons. He went to the first son and said, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ ²⁹ The son answered, ‘I will not go.’ But later the son changed his mind and went. ³⁰ Then the father went to the other son and said, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ The son answered, ‘Yes, sir, I will go and work,’ but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two sons obeyed his father?”

The priests and leaders answered, “The first son.”

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God before you do. ³² John came to show you the right way to live. You did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. Even after seeing this, you still refused to change your ways and believe him.

In this short passage, we cannot escape this huge challenge that the son who ultimately changed his mind and decided to go help his father was the one who obeyed. In this short illustration, the son who obeyed was not the one who said he would obey, but the one who actually followed through with action regardless of his words.

While I’m confident that the ideal would be for a person to promise they would do something and then also follow through with it, if given the choice between someone who says they would help but doesn’t follow through verses someone who doesn’t promise but then changes their mind, who would you choose? If you’re anything like me, I’m sure you’d rather the person who actually came to help rather than the one who gave you an empty promise.

It is the same way with God! In Jesus’ challenge to the religious leaders, He draws on the message and ministry of John the Baptist. John came challenging everyone to repent and return to God. Many of those who were seen as the worst in society decided to listen and obey John’s message and they repented and returned to God. In contrast, the religious leaders also listened to John’s challenge for them, but they ignored the message God was giving them through John.

In the case of John the Baptist’s ministry, it was effective reaching the people we might have least expected. John’s ministry affected and effected the least religious people he spoke to while he was largely ignored by the people who should have been paying the greatest attention.

God has this same challenge for all of His people living throughout the various points in history. While I’m sure God would want His people to both promise to follow Him and also follow through with the promises they make, I’m sure that if given the choice between someone who repents and ultimately obeys, verses someone who makes an empty promise, God would rather the person who obeyed, even if they didn’t make the promise they would.

In our own lives, when people bring us messages and challenges relating to our spiritual lives and our relationship with God, will we listen to their challenge or will we ignore it? Will we admit we have an issue or will we choose to discredit the messenger? Ultimately, will we decide to change our ways, or will we ignore the message and keep doing what we’ve always done?

God has many ways of getting through to people. Sometimes He uses other people to challenge us. Sometimes He uses a bad situation to try to wake us up. Sometimes, He even lets disaster happen to help free us from something that wasn’t benefitting our lives.

Jesus loves us so much that He came to take our punishment onto Himself. God gives us the freedom to choose to accept Jesus’ gift, or to reject it. Accepting Jesus’ gift doesn’t eliminate disasters from coming into our lives any more than rejecting Jesus’ gift would bring disaster into our lives. However, when disasters do come into your life, would you want someone or something to hold onto to, helping you through the challenge or disaster, or would you rather face the challenge alone?

Rejecting Jesus brings the ultimate disaster into our lives, because rejecting Jesus ultimately forfeits eternity in heaven. While some people might claim they accept Jesus, the real measure of accepting Jesus isn’t an empty promise that you follow Him. Accepting Jesus means actually obeying Him and letting God into your life to help you be and become more like Him.

Jesus’ challenge to the religious leaders is the same challenge He gives to us. When God sends things into our lives to point us back to Him, will we turn back to Him or will we ignore the message? When God let’s challenges come into our lives, will we choose to lean on God for help navigating the challenge, or will we try to move forward alone? When God lets disaster into our lives to try to wake us up out of our laziness, will we turn back to God or will we choose to be selfish and mad at Him for what happened?

God loves us. Jesus came to take the punishment for our sins. The choice is ours whether we will live our lives with and for God, or whether we will make empty promises and decide to go our own way instead.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to obey Him rather than make empty promises in your life. Choose to place your hope, trust, faith, and belief in Jesus and accept His gift of His perfect, sinless life in exchange for your imperfect, sinful life. With the gift of Jesus’ life, you have the assurance of salvation because Jesus’ sacrifice, His death and His resurrection, prove for us that His life is worthy of resurrecting, and when we accept Jesus’ life in place of ours, we will be worthy of resurrection as well!

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Choose to purposefully grow closer to God each day through prayer and Bible study and take everything you learn in life and filter it through the spiritual lens of the Bible. God has given us everything we need to know how to be saved, and everything we need to know about His character in the pages of the Bible. It is our challenge to learn and apply what He wants to teach us in the pages of His Word.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, or chicken out of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

On the morning Jesus was crucified, after the religious leaders had condemned Jesus and took Him off to Pilate, Matthew describes in his gospel that Judas Iscariot, the betrayer, regretted what had happened. Perhaps in an attempt to make things right or to undo what he had done, he returns to the chief priests and leaders with the money he had been paid.

Let’s read about what happened in our passage for this episode. This event is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 27, and we will be reading from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 1, Matthew tells us that:

¹ Early in the morning all the chief priests and the leaders of the people decided to execute Jesus. ² They tied him up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

³ Then Judas, who had betrayed Jesus, regretted what had happened when he saw that Jesus was condemned. He brought the 30 silver coins back to the chief priests and leaders. ⁴ He said, “I’ve sinned by betraying an innocent man.”

They replied, “What do we care? That’s your problem.”

⁵ So he threw the money into the temple, went away, and hanged himself.

⁶ The chief priests took the money and said, “It’s not right to put it into the temple treasury, because it’s blood money.” ⁷ So they decided to use it to buy a potter’s field for the burial of strangers. ⁸ That’s why that field has been called the Field of Blood ever since. ⁹ Then what the prophet Jeremiah had said came true, “They took the 30 silver coins, the price the people of Israel had placed on him, ¹⁰ and used the coins to buy a potter’s field, as the Lord had directed me.”

In this passage, we discover that not only were all the details of this event predicted centuries prior to it happening, but that the religious leaders probably didn’t realize they were fulfilling prophecy with their actions. Jeremiah had predicted that the 30 silver coins that were used to pay for the Messiah’s betrayal would be returned, and that these coins would be used to buy a potter’s field.

However, as I read this event, the fulfilled prophecy is not the thing that stands out to me the most. Even the amazing idea that the religious leaders, specifically those people who would have known the scriptures the best, would have let themselves so willingly fulfill prophecies concerning the Messiah, is not the biggest thing to stand out in my mind. Judas Iscariot returning the money, while fascinating in itself, is also not the biggest thing I am amazed by in this passage.

The biggest thing I see in this passage is the response the religious leaders give to Judas when he returned the money. Judas tells these leaders in verse 4, “I’ve sinned by betraying an innocent man.”

Judas Iscariot realized that he had done wrong and when he realized this, he at least attempted to make it right.

However, in contrast, the religious leaders respond by saying, “What do we care? That’s your problem.”

If Judas Iscariot betrayed someone he knew was innocent, then the religious leaders reveal their hostility and prejudice against Jesus through their response that is completely blind to the idea that Jesus is truly innocent. Judas Iscariot knew Jesus’ innocence, and Jesus’ innocence had not changed in any way from the time He was arrested to the point when Judas returned the money. The fact that these leaders don’t care about Jesus’ innocence speaks to the fact that they had already judged Jesus as guilty before actually having a case against Him.

With their response, the religious leaders incriminate themselves even more than Judas Iscariot had, because at least Judas Iscariot had realized what he had done before his life had ended. The religious leaders charged forward into greater guilt because they were 100% responsible for Jesus’ death. Judas Iscariot was merely responsible for the timing of His death, and the Roman government was responsible for the method of death Jesus received.

If one were to take the religious leaders out of the picture, no death would have occurred. Without the religious leaders to pay Judas Iscariot for a betrayal, there would have been no betrayal, and as we will soon discover, Pilate doesn’t discover anything worthy of death in his conversation with Jesus. In this passage, we see just how opposed to God the religious leaders are that they blind themselves to how they break one of the clearest commandments of the Old Testament, which simply says, “Don’t murder”.

On seeing that the religious leaders weren’t going to undo what he had started, Judas throws the money at them before committing suicide. Judas Iscariot was the only disciple to lose his life on the weekend Jesus died, and this was his choice.

However, just like the religious leaders were blinded by prejudice against Jesus, Judas Iscariot was also blind. Judas was blind, or perhaps we should say deaf, to all the warnings Jesus had told the disciples leading up to the cross. Jesus knew He would die that weekend before Judas even had any idea he would be the betrayer. If Judas Iscariot had realized or remembered Jesus’ words and simply delayed the emotional decision to end his life, it’s possible that Judas would have been visited by a resurrected Jesus and received a second invitation to follow, similar to Peter’s experience.

In this entire event, we see the religious leaders recognizing that they are acting outside of God’s will by paying for a betrayal and pressing for a death where it was not deserved. They recognize that the money they used to buy the betrayal is tainted and shouldn’t be given directly to God. They knowingly, or unknowingly fulfill one of the most amazing Old Testament prophecies that described exactly what would happen with the blood money.

In our own lives, when we fail God, it is easy to think that we have no hope for a future. However, Jesus came to replace our hopelessness with the promise of a new life with God in heaven. Jesus took the punishment for our sins even though He was innocent, so that we could receive the reward that He deserved for living a sinless life.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As always, be sure to seek God first and place Him first in your life. If you ever mess up and feel like you have failed God, the best response you can make is to humbly go to Him in prayer and ask for forgiveness. God is always willing to forgive a humble and repentant person who asks.

Also, be sure to always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal connection with God and to grow your relationship with Him. A personal relationship with God leads to life now, and not just eternal life in the future. A personal relationship with God leads to a better life in our current lives in spite of the sin that’s present in today’s world. The best relationship with God we can have will have a foundation of prayer and personal Bible study.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, or fall away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!