Notes for BSF
BE NOT ATTACHED TO THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD (Matthew 19:23-30)
In the previous passage, the rich young ruler could not let go of his riches to follow Jesus. When faced with the choices of eternal life or earthly riches, the rich young ruler could not see beyond his materialistic possessions. Hence, Jesus said:
Matthew 19:24
... 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.
Can we even imagine a camel going through the eye of a needle? And yet, Jesus said that this feat is easier to accomplish than having a rich man enter into the kingdom of God. That is a sobering thought, isn't it?
1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is the root of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
The most valuable things are those that last forever. Money, social status, power – These things can vanish at any time. However, our salvation in Christ, our reward in Christ is eternal. No one can take it away from us.
John 10:28
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
When we become so attached to the things of this world, we become blind to the treasures that await us in the Kingdom of God. We might think it is obvious that we would all choose eternal glory with God than to choose temporary materialistic provision, but whenever we are reluctant to let go of something (work, fame, sports, drugs, etc.) to pursue God, we are in the exact same unfortunate state as the rich young ruler. If we cannot see beyond the things of this world and allow ourselves to become overly attached to these things, it would indeed be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for us to enter into God's Kingdom.
God changes hearts
When told to give up all that he had, the rich young ruler turned around and left Jesus, believing he couldn't, and worse, unwilling to try.
The disciples, on the other hand, continued to follow Jesus for guidance. They asked Jesus that if giving up all that we have to follow Jesus was near impossible, then how can anyone succeed. Jesus revealed to them that whatever is impossible for man is not impossible for God.
We may have a hard time letting go of the materialistic, or do not know how to take that first step to follow Jesus, or are giving up trying to minister to some very hard hearts -- Whatever the reason for our reluctance, God can change and strengthen us and the people we're helping, as long as we are willing.
The rewards of following Jesus are great
Matthew 19:28-29
Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my Name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life.
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE A LANDOWNER (Matthew 20:1-16)
Continuing His theme of "the last will be first, and the first will be last" (Matthew 19:30), Jesus told this parable to illustrate the following:
1. Those who always think they deserve more will often be those who receive the least
This is God teaching these people a lesson in pride. When we feel we deserve more, we are being the judge. We are judging ourselves and others, and we conclude that we are better than others. This is why we believe we deserve more. But who are we to judge? Are we so perfect that our judgment is always fair, balanced, and objective? The parable here is to teach us that we are not the judge.
Luke 12:48
For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
Because we are not all-knowing and all-seeing like God, we cannot possibly be aware of the reasons why some receive more and why other do not. However, it is clear from the Bible, that God does not judges us against others. Instead, He judges us based on our own abilities to make do with whatever He has given us. If He has given us much, then more will be expected of us. Hence, whatever has been given to us, receive with gratitude and appreciation. Focus on doing the best work for God with what we have been given. As for what God wants to give to others, that is between God and those individuals.
Many times, people who are humble are often the ones that society doesn’t want to use. The society think of these people as weak, and they would rather use someone who is prideful, because companies and organizations want their employees to show how they are better than everyone else. Yet, we see that God especially love those who are humble, because these people often put themselves last, always are ready to serve rather than be served.
Matthew 20:28
Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
This is why those who put themselves last are always promoted by God.
The landowner is a picture of the sovereignty and fairness of God
God is the judge – He gets to determine who receives what and how much.
In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), the older son behaved in a similar manner as the men who had worked all day: They all acted as if they were the judge. Based on their own selfish thinking, they believed that they deserved more because they have been working harder, been there longer. They were so focused on their own benefits that they never thought what joy it would be for the landowner to provide for more people or for the father to have his son return to him. Instead of rejoicing with the landowner/father for the good that had come, these people
bickered because they saw only that they received less that they deserved.
Going by human logic, it seems reasonable to assume that if I have put in more work than Person A, then I ought to receive more pay than Person A. Using this logic to understand the parable in this passage, we may thus find the landowner to be "unfair," giving the same wage to people who had worked all day and people who had worked for the last hour of the day.
What we need to understand here is the difference between salvation and rewards.
Salvation is for everyone. Whether we have been Christians for decades or become a Christian just before we die, as long as we are in God, we will receive eternal salvation.
Rewards, on the other hand, are tiered. Judging on what we have done with the talents that God has given us and how we have done it (condition of our heart), we will be rewarded accordingly at the Mercy Seat of Christ (Cf. Revelation 22:12; Matthew 25:14-29).
Revelation 22:12
And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
When we start judging what we deserve and what others deserve, we start acting as God and allow pride to overwhelm our fleshly desires. This caused the downfall of Lucifer -- Let us learn from it.
JESUS PREDICTS HIS DEATH (Matthew 20:17-19)
Jesus revealed to His disciples for the 3rd time how He would be sacrificed:
1. He will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes -- Indeed, Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot.
2. The religious leaders will condemn Him to death -- Indeed, the religious leaders conducted a total of illegal trials to convict Jesus. They couldn't do it legally, so they had to resort to illegal tactics.
3. He will be delivered to the Gentiles to mock, to scourge, to crucify -- Indeed, because the Jews, under Roman rule at the time, did not have the right to execute prisoners, they had to hand Jesus over to the Roman government and convince the Romans to execute Jesus
4. He will conquer death, and on the 3rd day, He will rise again -- Indeed, our sins are forgiven, and we have eternal life, all because our Lord and Savior lives!
BE DEFINED BY THE HUMILITY OF OUR HEARTS (Matthew 20:20-28; Mark 10:35-45; Luke 18:34)
The disciples debated among themselves who would be the greatest one day. The mother of James and John even came to Jesus requesting that they be elevated to sit on the right and left hand sides of Jesus.
Matthew 20:22
You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?
The wrath of God is not easy to endure. In fact, if we are ever to face the wrath of God, we would die, because we are in sin, and the righteousness of God abolishes all sin. This is why Paul said, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This death is not just our physical death but our spiritual death. In other words, when we remain in sin, we are spiritually dead and remain apart from God -- Sin simply cannot exist or persist in the presence of God.
Only Jesus can endure drinking from the cup (Cf. Psalm 75:7-8; Isaiah 41:17)
Drinking from the cup has been compared to drinking the sediment, the least tasty, the least valuable part of a glass of wine. Drinking from the cup is used to illustrate God’s wrath.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
1 Peter 2:24
Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.
Jesus was sinless and did not deserve the wrath of God. We are sinful and fully deserve the wrath of God. However, Jesus took that cup of wrath from us -- AND DRANK IT FOR US -- so that we do not have to drink it ourselves.
The only way we can return to the presence God AND LIVE is if our sins are washed away. This is why Jesus had to come and die for us. Only His blood can permanently wash our sins away, allowing us to once again be in the presence of God without being judged for our sins. By dying for us, Jesus had to endure the wrath of God, to take on all the wrath for our sins, so that we would not have to endure it – because we would not survive! No one can share Jesus’ cup of wrath. Only Jesus could endure it without dying eternally apart from God because Jesus had no sin.
The disciples did not realize how great sin is in the eyes of God, and that is why they did not understand how they could never take on the cross without them dying eternally as a result.
They thus sadly fought for a “powerful” position next to Jesus, as if such a position was another earthly position like a vice president or something.
When we equate blessings of God with earthly values, we often fail to see the heavenly value of the treasures that we have.
Matthew 20:26-28
Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
PRAY TO HAVE OUR EYES OPENED (Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52)
The blind men prayed to have their eyes be opened. We should pray a similar prayer, that our spiritual eyes be opened, to be able to see the Truth of God.
JESUS' TRIUMPHANT ENTRANCE (Matthew 21:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; John 12:12-19)
Jesus officially announced Himself as the Messiah when He entered into Jerusalem as prophesied by the Old Testament prophet Zechariah:
Zechariah 9:9
Behold, our King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Any Jew back then would recognize the significance of this sign.
The disciples and the people praised Jesus as the Son of God when they recognized Jesus' declaration, spreading their clothes on the road, paving His entrance into Jerusalem. They sang, "Hosanna to the Son of David," proclaiming to the world that they welcome the Messiah as they sang from Psalm 118:26.
However, the religious leaders refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah -- DESPITE THE FACTS. Further, they knew that Jesus' disciples and the people were recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, and they wanted Jesus to rebuke His disciples for blaspheming (Luke 19:39)! It is very ironic that despite all their training, despite how they hold themselves as the most knowledgeable gurus of anything pertaining God, they fell blind to the coming of their Messiah and even demanded to have the Messiah to apologize for His Triumphant Entry!
Jesus' response? He completely endorsed the cheering and proclamation of His disciples and the people!
Luke 19:40
If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!
JESUS CONDEMNS THOSE WHO TURN HIS HOUSE OF WORSHIP INTO DEN OF THIEVES (Matthew 21:12-17)
We do not see Jesus angered much in the Bible. Here, we see Jesus in full blown anger: When we abuse and manipulate treasures of God to further our own personal agenda, be aware of God's wrath. God's House is sacred and is reserved solely as a House of Prayer. To turn it into anything else is a grave, grave sin.
The Temple is not just a building
John 2:18-22
The temple is Jesus’ body
1 Corinthians 6:19
The temple is our bodies
Ephesians 2:21–22
The temple is the Church body
Christ cleanses the temple of our bodies through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:24).
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