Today’s passage: Matthew 21:12-17

Helpful thoughts:

• This may be the second time Jesus has turned the tables in the court of the Gentiles at the Temple. (See John 2:13-22)
• By Jesus’ words, it is safe to assume the sale of these items were not being done in a way that actually served the people.  The religious leaders had devised ways to rip people off in the name of worship and honoring God.
• When the chief priests and scribes saw the miracles he was doing and heard people were calling him the Messiah, they were “indignant”.
• Jesus responds to their anger by saying it was right for Him to receive that praise…because it was.

Questions to consider:

1. What had the chief priests and scribes turned their religion into?  What had become its purpose?
2. Why were the chief priests and scribes so angry at Jesus?
3. Who should also have been worshiping Jesus that day?
4. Are there any tables you have set up in your life, in your church that Jesus needs to overturn?  Are there any interests, desires, respect from people, etc., that get in the way of you seeing Jesus as all you need?

Today’s passage: Matthew 21:1-11

Helpful thoughts:

• Jesus’ triumphal entry fulfills prophecy from Zechariah.
• The “Daughter of Zion” just means the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
• Jesus didn’t ride in on a white stallion with chariots and fanfare.  He had come to be humbled.  He came to serve, not to be served.
• Jesus did not ride on the donkey AND her colt.  When it says He sat on “them”, it means the cloaks of the disciples that they laid on the animals.  Jesus chose to ride in on the colt (The younger, smaller donkey) sitting on the cloaks of the disciples.
• “Hosanna” means, “save now”.  So the people were declaring salvation had come through Jesus, the Son of David.  The question is from what were they hoping to be saved?
• When asked who this man was who had garnered all this attention, the people seem to back off their statement and now go no further than to call Him a prophet.

Questions to consider:

1. How does Jesus choice to ride in on a donkey seem so fitting?  What had he come to do?
2. In what way did Jesus showcase His omniscience (All-knowing) in this passage?
3. In what ways was this entry triumphant?  In what way(s) would it appear that it was not?

 

Today’s passage: Matthew 20:29-34

Helpful thoughts:

• In calling Jesus, “Son of David”, these blind men were calling Him king.
• Jesus had pity on the men while the crowd rebuked them.
• They recovered their sight.  These men were not born blind.  They knew what they were missing.
• After the miracle, the men followed Christ.

Questions to consider:

1. In what way did these men express faith before their sight was restored?
2. How did Jesus display the kind of leadership and authority He had just taught His disciples in the previous passage?
3. Why do you think the crowd rebuked the two blind men?  What might they have thought after seeing Jesus take the time to heal the men and then see them join in following Him?

Today’s passage: Matthew 20:17-28

Helpful thoughts:

• Jesus again reiterates to His disciples what is to happen,  His mission.
• It’s not clear that the brothers put their mother up to this request.  But they certainly were in support of the idea.
• In asking if the men were able to “drink the cup”, Jesus is pointing them back to service (His death), as opposed to the “power” of authority.  When James and John said they could drink the cup, they were saying they were up to the challenge of ruling the kingdom with Jesus.

Questions to consider:

1. Inspect your perspective.  Are you serving to serve?  Are you “serving” to control?
2. Does a leader become great by being appointed to a position of leadership or by serving well after they are appointed?
3. The mother of James and John (and the sons) seemed to miss Jesus’ emphasis on His death, burial and resurrection.  Why is it so dangerous for us to take our attention away from the cross?  Why is it so important to keep the Gospel in the forefront of our thinking?

Today’s passage: Matthew 20:1-16

Helpful thoughts:

• People who waited in the marketplace for daily work assignment were generally less skilled workers.  They were waiting around in the marketplace day to day because they did not have a steady job.
• The master of the house paid the last workers first, giving them a denarius.  Those who had worked all day would have assumed that they were to receive an increase from what they had been previously promised.
• Since this parable is said to be about the kingdom of heaven, we can conclude that the owner is God, the foreman is Jesus, the vineyard is the kingdom, the laborers are believers and the denarius is eternal life.

Questions to consider:

1. Which laborer are you?  Are you a believer who has started work later in the day or been less productive?  Are you a laborer who has been working long and hard?
2. Why might it upset someone if a person were to convert on their death bed?  What would be the motive for that kind of frustration?
3. What would we need to remember that would cause us to rejoice when ANY person at ANY time in their life was given eternal life?

Today’s passage: Matthew 19:13-30

Helpful thoughts:

• Children can come to Jesus.  We must come to Jesus like children, fully dependent on Him.
• It is impossible for man to muster up what he needs to be saved.  God has to intervene and give life.
• Notice, the disciples are still learning these truths as well.

Questions to consider:

1. Was this man who was asking Jesus what he needed to do to have eternal life actually perfect, without sin?  How did Jesus show the man he had fallen short of the glory of God?
2. In what ways was he NOT coming to Jesus as a child?
3. Is there anything in your life that is pointing to a lack of trust in God’s ability or purpose to save you?

Today’s passage: Matthew 19:1-12

Helpful thoughts:

• The Pharisees asked Jesus these questions about marriage and divorce to test Him.  They were hoping to catch Him in a fault.  Think about this: The Pharisees were excited to argue with Jesus about their supposed freedom to divorce people…
• John the Baptist had been arrested and eventually beheaded by Herod for calling him out for his divorce and remarriage.
• The Pharisees also utilized/abused the law to their own selfish advantage (?) and were known to be quick to divorce their wives, as if it were a necessary thing for righteousness.
• Jesus successfully upheld the law, then showed the Pharisees’ hearts to be hard and pointed out their own adultery.

Questions to consider:

1. What must the condition of marriage have been in the culture for the disciples to say, “It is better not to marry.”?
2. What did God intend for marriage to be?  The partners? The length of time? (Vs. 4-6)
3. Does a person have to be married to enjoy life and be useful for the kingdom of God?  In what way does Jesus show that singleness would even be preferable?
4. What was the source of the Pharisees’ questions?  When we ask what all we can get away with, what are we actually doing?  Where is our heart?

Today’s passage: Matthew 18:21-35

Helpful thoughts:

• Jesus did not intend for you to count to seventy seven, or four hundred ninety.  We don’t count occurrences of forgiveness.
• Ten thousand talents would have taken two hundred thousand years to earn.  This debt was never going be repaid.
• One hundred denarii would have taken one hundred work days to earn.  This amount could have been repaid over time.
• When a person was thrown into debtors prison, they remained until the debt was paid.  Of course, if someone else didn’t pay your debt, and if you could not get out to work and make money, you were never going to get out.
• This parable was intended to be over the top.  It’s ridiculousness was part of the point Jesus was making.

Questions to consider:

1. Who is the master in this parable?
2. Who was Peter (and us) supposed to identify with? (Hint: It’s not the guy who only owed one hundred denarii…)
3. How much does someone’s sin against us compare to our sin against God?
4. How does your standing in Christ, having been forgiven by God, help you to forgive others?