Down an Unfamiliar Road

FROM SCARY TO SACRED

I shared this story several years ago, but with so many new friends visiting my website I felt led to tell it again.

It was a tense and frightening few days as I witnessed the people power rebellion against Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos growing by the hour for holding on to power after losing the election to Corazon C. Aquino. His former Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and a top General Fidel Ramos were barricaded inside Camp Crame in the city of Manila. Hundreds and thousands of supporters for the rebellion peacefully filled the streets around the Camp. Many other military and political leaders were joining the rebellion. The head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines, Cardinal Jaime Sin, was on the radio pleading for peace and restraint. Camp Crame was filling up as supporters poured in.

All at once, seven Sikorsky helicopters bristling with rockets and cannons dotted the skyline. The opposition leaders and armed forces members siding with them braced themselves for a bloody attack. Enrile and Ramos were told to vacate the upper level of the building they were operating from because that’s where the helicopters would fire first. Tensions rose as those inside the camp waited breathlessly for the first volley. As the helicopters drew menacingly near as if lining up to bombard the camp, one of the high profile supporters, Rene Cruz, saw that the helicopters were now coming in slowly, with landing lights on. He knew then that they were on their side and getting ready to land. He was afraid that the people might not realize it and fire at them, so he ran out shouting as loud as he could: ‘Do not fire! They are coming in for us! They are joining us!’

Suddenly, emboldened by rebel air force helicopters and surrounded by rebel troops, Juan Ponce Enrile addressed the wildly cheering crowd announcing, “This is the day of our liberation!” General Ramos, who was usually low-keyed, raised his clenched fist in the air invoking People Power, then displaying a dash of uncharacteristic frivolity leap frogged into the air, drawing squeals of delight from the crowd.

But their euphoria was short lived, because the roar of two fighter jets were heard and soon appeared and began to circled over Camp Crame as if lining up for their first bombing run. Now, General Ver, President Marcos’ belligerent head of the Army, finally had the rebels where he wanted them. A couple of devastating bombing runs and it would all be over; the leaders would be killed, the helicopters would be blown apart and the People Power uprising would become an asterisk in history. As everyone in Camp Crame bowed their heads, ready to accept the inevitable massacre, the two fighter jets suddenly, and for no apparent reason, tilted their wings and flew off in the direction of the US Air Force’s Clark Air Base to the north. Even though these pilots had orders to bomb the Camp they did not carry out their orders and everyone wondered why.

I didn’t know either, but I was about to find out personally from one of the pilots a few nights later. I was invited to the house of attorney Ed Claudio and his wife Marylou to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary. Everybody was still talking about the revolution and how fortunate we were that very few lives were lost, if any. Ed came over to me and said he wanted me to meet someone. So I followed him over to a small group men who were talking. They looked up as we approached and Ed said, “Brother Bob, I want you to meet one of the pilots of those fighter bombers that didn’t attack Camp Crame.”

A young man reached out and shook my hand. Then he looked up in my eyes and began to speak slowly with a somewhat quivering voice. He said, “Brother Bob, another pilot and I took off from our airbase to bomb Camp Crame with every intention of completing our mission. But when we arrived in the area and begin circling the Camp to get our co-ordinances, we looked down and saw the massive crowds lining the streets from Cubao to Ortigas and the cross street of Santolan. From the air it looked like a giant cross, and that’s what stopped us. For you see, Brother Bob, I was in Rizal Theater two weeks ago and you preached on the cross, and when you gave the invitation I went forward to receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. So when I saw the cross on the ground, I remembered your sermon and decided to obey the impression the cross had made on me.”

We chatted for several minutes and then Ed led me over to another group. As we departed Ed said very loudly, “You see Brother Bob, you are a hero!” My heart was burning inside me; not because anything I had done, but because of the power of the Cross of Jesus Christ. It struck me that the cross of Christ had changed the course of the world over 2,000 years ago, and now it had changed the course of a nation. I was also impressed with that pilot’s act of courage that played a large role in keeping the revolution against Marcos from becoming a bloody civil war. The message of the cross had always been one of my favorite subjects, but from that night on it became more precious to me than ever before. I hope you feel the same as I, because I will forever cherish that old rugged cross. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Part V

By now, the Pharisees and other opponents of Jesus are faced with the reality that this Jesus of Nazareth was the real thing. For a man with no paper trail showing his religious training to be able to answer questions and field inquiries with the wisdom and insight that Jesus did, clearly indicated that He had access to a divine mind. But spiritually speaking, these opponents of the Messiah were brain dead. Our Lord’s royal ancestor had the same thing happen to him. King David once said, “If they come to see me, they don’t say what they are really thinking. They come to gather a little gossip and then go to spread their rumors.”¹ And no doubt Jesus felt the same way the son of Jesse did: “My enemies are always twisting my words. They are always making plans against me.”² Our Lord also had empathy with the prophet Jeremiah who revealed that his enemies conferred and said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah. We will always have a priest to tell us what the law says. We will still have wise men to advise us and prophets to tell us a message from God. So who needs Jeremiah? Let’s tell lies to ruin him and stop listening to what he says.”³

Since the Pharisees were not able to penetrate our Lord’s shield of wisdom, they decided to enlist the help of some other opponents. Their choice of teammates is a mystery. They asked people from a group they hated and despised to help them out. These solicited accomplices were called, “Herodians.” What an odd partnership. It reminds me of a character named Trinculo in one of William Shakespeare’s plays discussing how to find shelter from a coming storm, and it appears that he would be forced to get under the cloak of someone he detested named Caliban. So he says, “…misery acquaints a man with strange bed-fellows.”⁴ It is usually quite rare to see people with strongly opposing views working together to do good, but it has become an everyday spectacle to see known enemies scheming together to do wrong.

A Greek theologian in the early church preached on this text and stated: “Jesus’ opponents expect that one of two outcomes must result for them from His response. They think they can show clearly that Jesus was acting wrongly against the law of Moses or against the power of the Romans. ‘Indeed, if He responds that it is necessary for us to pay the tribute,’ the Pharisees will necessarily slander Him alongside those who obey the Romans, saying, ‘He is guiding us outside the law of Moses away from the service of God. He is leading us to a foreign power and a foreign race.’ That is indeed why Luke says, ‘They could not catch Him at fault in His teaching before the people.’⁵ For it is public, that is to say, in the midst of the people, that they are questioning Him, in order to set the people against Him. And if He does not permit the tax to be paid, the Herodians will immediately lay their hands on Him as on one who does not submit to the Roman authorities.”⁶

So the plot is set, and it involves the religious, priestly, philosophical, and political powers that operated within the Jewish hierarchy. Then Severus goes on to say: “Observe what is the passion of hypocrisy, how it has hidden all the hostility and the homicidal thought of the Jews beneath flattery’s vile veil, and how those who hate involuntarily honor as they attempt to cause a death. Indeed, those who were saying, ‘We are the disciples of Moses, but we don’t know where that one is from,’⁷ call Him ‘Master.’ Those who were calling Him a ‘deceiver’ and ‘seducer’ say, ‘We know that you are truthful.’ Those who were doing their best to resist with jealousy and with ignorance, saying, ‘This man does not come from God, because He does not observe the Sabbath’ and ‘He has a demon,’⁸ witness that He teaches the way of God in all truth.”⁹

Verses 18-20: But Jesus knew that these men were trying to trick him. So He said, “You hypocrites! Why are you trying to catch me saying something wrong? Show me a coin used for paying the tax.” They showed Jesus a silver coin. Then He asked, “Whose image is on the coin? And whose name is written on the coin?”

To most readers, this question by Jesus would appear obvious. But from a Jewish perspective, it had an additional implication. First of all, we find that there was no national currency in Jesus’ day. Different kings and different areas struck their own coins, and some areas would not accept the money of others. But with the Romans being there as an occupying force, it was common then to use Roman coins for payment and barter. We read how these differences of opinion by governments over the value each others currency affected how Jews living outside of Israel would be able to come home and use their money to buy and sell.

In their Talmud, we read: “The statement of Samuel as explained by Rabbi Nahman referred to the case where the Governments of the different provinces were antagonistic to one another, how would it be possible to bring the coins to the province where they still have currency?” However, in Jerusalem, there was a coin that is described this way: “The names David and Solomon were inscribed on one side and the name of Jerusalem on the other.”¹⁰ With God’s warning not to create images that could become objects of worship, the Jews did not have images on their coins.

So when Jesus asked about the image on the coin, it certainly eliminated the Jewish shekel. This same source goes on to ask: “What was the coin of Abraham our father? an old man and an old woman, (Abraham and Sarah,) on one side, and a young man and a young woman, (Isaac and Rebekah,) on the other side.” However, Jewish scholars add: “Not that there was on it the form of an old man and an old woman on one side, and of a young man and a young woman on the other, for it is forbidden to make the form of a man; but so it was written on one side, an old man and an old woman, and on the other side, a young man and a young woman.”¹¹

On the subject of taxation, an early church theologian who lived in Antioch, Syria during the reign of the last emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire (AD 457-565), had this to say about their question: “What then does the Wisdom and the Word of God do? Jesus allows all their feelings to appear for all to see, without them taking back the words they spoke for no reason. And like a skillful physician, He then lances their feelings with a deep incision, when He cut with the first word. ‘Why are you testing me, hypocrites?’ And after having shown by a rebuke that the skin of deceitful hypocrisy was unresponsive, but gently and with tranquility, He nipped their inescapable question like the web of a spider. Indeed, He said, ‘Show me a coin for the tax.’ And they presented a coin. And He said to them, ‘This image and this inscription concern whom?’ They said to Him, ‘Caesar.’ ‘If the coin is Caesar’s,’ Jesus says, ‘because that is what you have said—it is necessary to give it to Caesar himself.’”¹² In other words, Jesus let them answer their own question.

Verse 21a: They answered, “It is Caesar’s image and Caesar’s name.”

Matthew does not indicate what coin this was. We do read an interesting story about what the Jews thought of Roman coins. It reads: “A certain Min¹³ once sent on his festival day a Caesarean denar to Rabbi Judah Nesi’a, while Resh Lakish happened to be visiting him. The Min asked: ‘What should I do? If I accept it, he will go and praise the idols for it; if I do not accept it, he will be displeased.’ ‘Take it,’ answered Resh Lakish,‘ and drop it into a well in the messenger’s presence.’ ‘But this will displease him all the more!’ ‘I mean you should do it by sleight of hand.’”¹⁴ One famous Rabbi put it this way: “When the coins issued by a king are the tender of the land. This indicates that the inhabitants of that land have accepted him and consider him to be their leader and themselves to be his subjects.”¹⁵ But now comes the rub, who do they accept as their Lord, God or Caesar?

The early church writer who remains anonymous offers this comparison of what man owes Caesar and what they owe God. He writes: “The image of God is not depicted on gold but is imaged in humanity. The coin of Caesar is gold; that of God, humanity. Caesar is seen in his currency; God, however, is known through human beings. And so give your wealth to Caesar but reserve for God the sole innocence of your conscience, where God is beheld. For the hand of Caesar has crafted an image by likenesses and lives each year by renewable decree. However, the divine hand of God has shown His image in ten points.

What ten points? From five carnal ones and five spiritual ones through which we see and understand what things are useful under God’s image. So let us always reflect the image of God in these ways:

I do not swell up with the arrogance of pride;

nor do I droop with the blush of anger;

nor do I succumb to the passion of greed;

nor do I surrender myself to the ravishes of gluttony;

nor do I infect myself with the deceit of hypocrisy;

nor do I contaminate myself with the filth of rioting;

nor do I grow flippant with the pretension of conceit;

nor do I grow enamored of the burden of heavy drinking;

nor do I alienate by the discord of mutual admiration;

nor do I infect others with the biting of detraction;

nor do I grow conceited with the vanity of gossip.

Rather, instead, I will reflect the image of God in that I feed on love;

grow certain in faith and hope;

strengthen myself on the virtue of patience;

grow tranquil by humility;

grow beautiful by chastity;

am sober by abstention;

am made happy by tranquility;

and am ready for death by practicing hospitality.

It is with such inscriptions that God imprints His coins with an impression made neither by hammer nor by chisel but has formed them with His primary divine intention. For Caesar required his image on every coin, but God has chosen mankind, whom He has created, to reflect His glory.”¹⁶ What a beautiful illustration! Here Jesus is telling His inquisitors to look at the image on the coin and give it back to its creator. But then look in the mirror, and give themselves back to the One who created them in His own image.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Part IV

Verses 15-16a: Then, the Pharisees walked out of the Temple court where Jesus was teaching so they could hatch a plot to catch Him saying something wrong. Once they came up with a plan, they sent some men to Jesus. They were several of their own followers, along with some from the group called Herodians.

HERODIANS: A Priestly party under the reign of King Herod and his successors; called by the Rabbis “Boethusians,” as adherents of the family of a priest named Simon son of Boethus from Alexandria, Egypt. Some sources say that Boethus was made high priest around 25 BC by Herod the Great in order that his marriage to Boethus’ daughter, Mariamne, might not be regarded as a mésalliance – a marriage with a person thought to be unsuitable or of a lower social position. This made the Herodians the most politically oriented Jewish group that Jesus encountered. They were likely to one who brought it to Pilate’s attention that Jesus was being touted as the new King of the Jews.

Flavius Josephus makes this observation about Boethus‘ daughter, Mariamne, “This man [Boethus] had a daughter, who was esteemed the most beautiful woman of that time; and when the people of Jerusalem began to speak much in her commendation, it happened that Herod was much affected with what was said of her; and when he saw the damsel, he was smitten with her beauty.”¹ Josephus goes on to say, “And when Agrippa had entirely finished all the duties of the Divine worship, he removed Theophilus, the son of Ananus, from the high priesthood, and bestowed that honor on Simon the son of Boethus, whose name was also Cantheras whose daughter king Herod married…Simon, therefore, had the [high] priesthood with his brethren, and with his father, in like manner as the sons of Simon, the son of Onias, who were three, had it formerly under the government of the Macedonians.”²

The Herodians followed the Sadducees in their opposition to the Pharisees, and were therefore often identified with them. The hatred of the Pharisees toward this high-priestly family is shown by the words of the Tanna Abba Saul ben Baṭnit, who lived about the year 40 AD in Jerusalem. It must be especially noted, that “the house of Boethus” heads the list of the wicked and sinful priestly families enumerated by Abba. In Jewish writings we find this said about them: “And it was of these and of such as these that Abba Saul ben Bothnith said in the name of Abba Joseph ben Hanin: ‘Woe is me because of the house of Boethus; woe is me because of their staves! Woe is me because of the house of Hanin, woe is me because of their whisperings! Woe is me because of the house of Kathros, woe is me because of their pens! Woe is me because of the house of Ishmael the son of Phabi, woe is me because of their fists! For they are High Priests and their sons are [Temple] treasurers and their sons-in-law are trustees and their servants beat the people with staves.’”³

They were known for their sensuality and corrupt living, and were supporters of the policies and government of the Herodian family. As such, they were a political rather than religious party. They were very friendly with Herod the Great and with his dynasty. For them, there was no such thing as separation of church and state. But what they were good at, was setting someone up with flattery in order to knock them down with disdain. But Jesus knew they were of the same ilk as those who tormented His royal ancestor, David: “My enemies never tell the truth. They only want to destroy people. Their words come from mouths that are like open graves. They use their lying tongues to deceive others.”⁴ And as David said about another foe, “His words about getting along are as smooth as butter, but he has only fighting on his mind. His words are as slick as grease, yet they cut like a knife.”⁵ But Solomon puts it in perspective, “If you give false praise to others in order to get what you want, you are only setting a trap for yourself.”⁶ This tendency has without doubt metastasized over the centuries into the bone and marrow of modern day politicians.

As part of their false praise, the Herodians tried to compare Jesus to Elihu who counseled Job, “I will treat you the same as I would treat anyone else. I will not praise you to win your favor. I cannot treat one person better than another.”⁷ But in fact, they were really saying is this: “You don’t live the way we think you should. You have not accepted our teachings. So we will cause people to hate you and decide that you are worth nothing.”⁸ However, the Herodians learned quickly that flattery did not work when setting Jesus up for an embarrassing prank. Nevertheless, our Lord chose not to disregard this praise completely, even though it was used beguilingly. It has been said, that 75% of most hyperbolas are based on a truth. If Jesus was in fact 75% of what they were saying about Him here, it still would make Him 100% better than any of them.

We find a number of references in the Jewish Mishnah and Talmud about one of Herod’s hobbies, he liked raising doves. As a matter of fact, they became known as “Herodian doves.”⁹ He built many dove-courts to house them, and they were considered tame pigeons that one might use to send messages.¹⁰ We may use this metaphor to describe these Herodians who were sent to Jesus with a message intended to catch Him in a misspeak or insult to Caesar. In Jewish genealogy we find one of these Herodians named Menahem, who, along with eighty other men dressed in gold, served king Herod from the time he was young. He stayed with king Herod 37 years and accumulated great wealth.¹¹ So politically speaking, they had great influence in the palace of the king.

One early church scholar gives his commentary on this planned attack by the Herodians. He says: “The truth frequently confounds every evil intention but without the intention being thereby reformed. This is especially true of those who intentionally sin by malice rather than out of ignorance. For example, the priests of the old covenant were unable to intimidate the Lord when they asked him, ‘By what authority do you do these things?’¹² And after the force of His parables further frustrated them, they passed judgment on themselves by saying, ‘He will utterly destroy those wretches.¹³ Since no one bore witness against them, it had to have been their conscience alone which caused them to say this. Yet certainly, the fear of sin didn’t prick their conscience. Nor did the thought of freedom from sin restrain them. What was it, then? ‘They went out and planned how to catch Him in His words.’ If anyone attempts to shut off a stream of running water by erecting some sort of blockade, the water will burst through and create a new path in another direction. Similarly, the priests’ frustrated evil intentions discovered other avenues for themselves.”¹⁴

Verse 16b-17: They said, “Teacher, we know you are an honest man. We know you teach the truth about God’s way. You are not afraid of what others think about you. All people are equal in your eyes. So tell us what you think. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

Speaking of uninvited guests trying to flatter their way into a wedding, now we have an example of it in the arrival of the Herodians who will attempt to trick the Divine King’s Son who had just told a story about His own wedding feast. Here we have a very interesting series of confrontations. First, the Pharisees joined by the Herodians are asking the Messiah a “political question” which He answered with great insight and skillfulness. It is strange that the Herodians were asking this question, because from the time of Ezra they were exempt from paying taxes. We read, “I want you men to know that it is against the law to make the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Temple servants, and other workers in God’s Temple pay taxes. They don’t have to pay taxes, money to honor the king or any customs fees.”¹⁵

But Jesus represented the average person to them. He was the champion of the peasant class. And they were not covered by Ezra’s edict. They are the ones who complained to the prophet Nehemiah, “We have to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. But we cannot afford to pay, so we are borrowing money to pay the tax.”¹⁶ So, here was Jesus’ opportunity to stand up for the poor and underprivileged, many of which followed Him and had been healed by Him. So the question was, would the Nazarite from Galilee take the bait?

One anonymous early church writer has more to say on this incident: “The priests viewed themselves as patterns of the messianic hope. Yet if they went out alone, questioning Christ, no one would believe them. Everyone would know that the Pharisees were Christ’s enemy. He had already spoken to the question of whether it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar. So they joined to their party the Herodians. The witness of enemies is always judged carefully, especially if it is true, since what is suspicious is judged doubly. The Pharisees did not wish to question Christ through the Herodians. But they had a common enemy, Christ. Both parties held Christ in great suspicion. Yet each, being suspect themselves, were afraid that they might not be able to indict Christ. An enemy in the open is far better than one hidden from view. For while the first may be feared, He is easily dealt with. The second, since He is unknown, may prevail. Therefore they sent Him disciples, as if still less known and less suspect, so that they might deceive Him easily and stealthily, or, if caught, they would at least embarrass themselves.”¹⁷

Even though his work is polemic, one German Rabbi tells of another incident where such messengers were sent to Jesus in order to fool Him into going with them so He could be arrested. It says: “At length they all resolved to send messengers to Yeshua, saying among themselves, ‘It may be that by the help of the Lord we will snare Him, bring Him judgment, and condemn Him to death.’ Therefore they sent Ananias and Achasias, most honorable men of the lesser Sanhedrin, who went and fell down before Yeshua in adoration, thereby increasing his wickedness. Therefore, thinking that they were sincere, He received them with a smiling face and appointed them leaders of His wicked flock. Then they began to appeal to him: ‘Look, the leading citizens of Jerusalem have sent us ambassadors to you, praying that you would agree to come to them, for they have heard that you are the Son of God.’ Then said Yeshua, ‘What they have heard is true, and look, I will do all that you ask, but upon this condition: “That all the senators of the greater and lesser Sanhedrin, and those also who have defamed my nativity, will come forward and worship me, receiving me even as servants receive their lords.” The messengers, returning to Jerusalem, ‘We will do all that He asks.’ Therefore, the men went again to Yeshua and declared that they would do whatever He desired. Then Yeshua said, ‘I will go with you at once.’”¹⁸

While parts of this story may be bogus, there is no reason to doubt that such an effort was initiated and that these two men were the one’s involved, and as such, earned a noble reputation among the Pharisees and Sanhedrin. Nevertheless, they were no match for the personification of wisdom, Jesus of Nazareth.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Part III

Verse 11-12: When the king came in to meet the guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in the right clothes for a wedding. The king said, “Friend, how were you allowed to come in here? You are not wearing the right clothes.” But the man said nothing.

Since the king sent his servants out to the street corners to invite anyone and everyone to come to this wedding, it seems odd that someone would be sighted that did not belong there. We can only surmise, that after they accepted the invitation they were told to put on special attire. Either this man was not invited, or, he didn’t think it necessary to dress up since he wanted to be accepted for who he was and not what the king wanted him to be. In any case, the king was not pleased because this man failed inspection and should have been stopped at the door.

There is a similar story in Jewish writings that goes like this: “A king summoned his servants to a banquet without appointing a time. The wise ones adorned themselves and sat at the door of the palace because they asked: ‘Isn’t there something we can do for the royal palace?’ These fools went about their business, saying: ‘How can there be a banquet without any preparation? Suddenly the king called everyone into his presence: the wise entered adorned, while the fools entered soiled. The king rejoiced at seeing the wise but was angry with the fools. ‘Those who adorned themselves for the banquet,’ ordered he, ‘let them sit, eat and drink. But those who did not adorn themselves for the banquet, let them stand and watch.’”¹

Another Rabbi recounts God giving a similar order: “Therefore, says the Lord God, Behold, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry: behold, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty: behold, my servants will rejoice, but you will be ashamed: behold, my servants will sing for joy of heart, but you will cry for sorrow of heart.”² The Jews also have a story told by another Rabbi that goes: “Esau, the evil one, is destined to put on his cloak and to dwell with the righteous in the Garden of Eden in the age to come. But the Holy One, blessed be He, will drag him and throw him out of there. What is the Scriptural basis for this statement? ‘Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down, says the Lord.’³ And “stars” refer only to the righteous, as you say, ‘And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.⁴”⁵ Add this to what we have already learned, and this man, like Esau, may have been one of those who was invited earlier, but like Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of porridge instead of having a meal at the king’s table.

Augustine touched on this in his homily: “But someone will object, This is strange. What great matter is it that one man among this large crowd does not have a wedding garment? Why rivet attention on this one man? So what if he creeps in unperceived by the servants of the householder? How could it be said that because of just that one, ‘they invited in both good and bad together?’ Attend, therefore, beloved, and understand. This man represents a whole class of persons of whom there are many.”⁶ Here Augustine is not chiding Jesus for telling this story and pointing out that one person made it into the banquet without the proper clothing, but he is telling his congregation not to worry about such individuals, but seek to count themselves among those who were dressed in the proper attire.

Gregory the Great has an interesting take on what this wedding garment represents. He writes: “What do we think is meant by the wedding garment, dearly beloved? For if we say it is baptism or faith, is there anyone who has entered this marriage feast without them? A person is outside because he has not yet come to believe. What then must we understand by the wedding garment but love? That person enters the marriage feast, but without wearing a wedding garment, who is present in the holy church. He may have faith, but he does not have love. We are correct when we say that love is the wedding garment because this is what our Creator Himself possessed when He came to the marriage feast to join the church to Himself. Only God’s love brought it about that His only begotten Son united the hearts of His chosen to Himself. John says that ‘God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son for us.’⁷”⁸

Augustine asks the same question: “What is that wedding garment, then? This is the wedding garment: ‘The goal of this command is love,’ says the apostle, ‘which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.⁹ This is the wedding garment. Not love of any kind whatever—for very often they who are partakers together of an evil conscience seem to love one another. Those who commit robberies together, who love the destructive arts of witchcraft, and who go to the coliseum together and join together in the shout of the chariot race or the wild beast fight—these too in some sense very often may be said to love one another. But in such people, there is no love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and insincere faith. The wedding garment is love such as this: ‘Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not love, I have become like a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.’¹⁰ Suppose someone who speaks in tongues comes in and is asked, ‘How did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ Suppose he answers, ‘But I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and I have all faith so that I could remove mountains.’ But if he has no love, he has nothing. Such may be the clothing of those who in fact lack the wedding garment. ‘Though,’ he says, ‘I have all these and have not Christ,¹¹ I am nothing.’ Is then ‘the gift of prophecy’ nothing? Is then ‘the knowledge of mysteries’ nothing? It is not that these are nothing. But ‘I, if I have them, and have not love, am nothing.’¹²”¹³

Verses 13-14: So the king told some servants, “Tie this man’s hands and feet. Throw him out into the darkness, where people are crying and grinding their teeth in grief.” Yes, many people are invited. But only a few are accepted.

While reading this, we are reminded of wisdom crying in the streets, “Listen! Wisdom is shouting in the streets. She is crying out in the marketplace. She is calling out where the noisy crowd gathers.”¹⁴ But though many are invited, they must conform to the dress code that the king has established for all guests to the wedding. Here we detect the same intent in the following invitation: “He sent me to announce that the time has come for the Lord to show His kindness when our God will also punish evil people. He has sent me to comfort those who are sad, those in Zion who mourn. I will take away the ashes on their head, and I will give them a crown. I will take away their sadness, and I will give them the oil of happiness. I will take away their sorrow, and I will give them celebration clothes.”¹⁵

But Jesus tells us that someone got in without acquiring the required wedding garment. This person sounds like the one described in Isaiah, “We are all dirty with sin. Even our good works are not pure. They are like bloodstained rags.”¹⁶ Joshua the high priest went though such an inspection, “Joshua was wearing a dirty robe as he stood in front of the angel. Then the angel said to the other angels standing near him, ‘Take those dirty clothes off Joshua.’ Then the angel spoke to Joshua. He said, ‘Now, I have taken away your guilt, and I am giving you a new change of clothes.’”¹⁷ As we can see, clothing is used here as a metaphor for a person’s character and spiritual status.

When confronted, the man without the proper attire had no alibi or argument to justify his presence. So the intruder was quickly dismissed and thrown outside where those who had initially turned down the invitation were begging and pleading to get in. No sooner had Jesus finished the parable, then the conviction that came over the Pharisees was so heavy they could no longer hang around, it was more than they could handle. So, not being willing to repent they left in a huff.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Part II

Verses 5-7: “But when the servants invited the people to come, they refused to listen. They all got busy doing other things. One went to work in his field, and another went to his business. Some of the other people grabbed the servants, beat them, and killed them.”

The reaction of these specially invited guests may seem somewhat overt and exaggerated. but it was not. Because, as the parable was meant to point out, the invitation for the king’s subjects to come celebrate with him and his son who was getting married, met with a severe lack of enthusiasm and with people putting their self-interests first. They had what we might call an “Esau Attitude.” This is clearly defined in Genesis: “Esau showed that he did not care about his rights as the firstborn son.”¹ One Jewish translator renders it: “Esau spurned the birthright,”² while another translates: “Esau despised the birthright.”³ In other words, the only thing Esau cared about was his personal desires for the moment. By doing so, he willingly gave up something great that awaited him in the future for something small that could satisfy him here and now in the present.

Another interesting explanation is that of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra who says: Esau despised his birthright because by this time his father Isaac had lost all the wealth bequeathed to him by Abraham. Therefore, Esau had no reason to covet his inheritance since there wasn’t any. Some scholars point to the fact although Jacob stole the birthright from Esau, he still had to go work for his uncle Laban. However, Rabbi Nachmanides strongly disagrees with this view. If that were so, he says, why did Jacob desire it so badly, and why did his mother Rebekah help him gain it?⁴

From a Christian perspective, we can see that a spiritual birthright was made possible by the sacrifice Christ on the cross and rose from the dead, giving everyone who the right to be invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb of God. That’s why it is so important not to become so preoccupied with the things we want now that we lose sight of what awaits us when our Lord returns.

However, as we can see, many have spurned and despised the promised blessings of things to come and do not care about them because they’d rather have the porridge of this world that satisfies only for a moment, and give away what can satisfy for eternity. This attitude was repeated in the wilderness when the children of Israel passed up their first opportunity to enter the Promised Land because of fear.⁵ Solomon encapsulates this by describing wisdom’s lament for such foolish people: “I tried to help, but you refused to listen. I offered my hand, but you turned away from me. You ignored my advice and refused to be corrected..”⁶

Very few pastors have escaped having such people in their congregations. The more they try to help, the more these people get suspicious of their real motives. Then when they back away so as not to offend them, these kind accuse them of really not caring. But there is another aspect for us to contemplate in this parable. If the Jews in Jesus’ day are those who refused the first invitation, then it is obviously the non-Jews are represented by those who came off the street corners to accept the invitation. Why did the Jews disregard the invite? Perhaps because they too had waited a long time for the Messiah to appear and weren’t sure of getting to the King’s heavenly palace by way of what Jesus was teaching, so they decided to stick with all the obligations and duties of the Law as their way of getting there. But there is bad news for them.

Verse 7: The king was very angry. He sent his troops to kill those who murdered his servants. And the troops burned their city.”

Many scholars believe that this was Jesus’ first warning about the coming destruction of Jerusalem to fulfill prophecy and to remind them of what happened under King Nebuchadnezzar. As Isaiah recalls: “Those people refused to obey the teachings of the LORD All-Powerful. They hated the message from the Holy One of Israel. So the Lord became angry with His people, and He raised His hand to punish them. Even the mountains shook with fear. Dead bodies were left in the streets like garbage. And He is not finished yet. He is still angry, and His arm is raised to continue punishing His people.”⁷

It also served as an omen for Jesus’ disciples and all of those who would become followers up to this day. The forces of evil and demons of Satan are not satisfied to sit by and watch as the world runs to Jesus for salvation, while they already know their destiny in the fiery pit. They want to vent their anger by getting as many as they can to become despisers of the Messiah as they are. Put in that context, then the punishment of the serpent, the false prophet, and beast’s city as outlined in John’s Revelation comes to mind.⁸

Verses 8-9: After that, the king said to his servants, “The wedding feast is ready. I invited those people, but they were not good enough to come to my feast. So go to the street corners and invite everyone you see. Tell them to come to my feast.”

We know from the parable Jesus told concerning the vineyard owner who went into town and offered employment to those standing around in the marketplace, that this was a common sight in those days. As such, the people now being invited to the wedding of the king’s son were those with little to call their own in this world. They were, in fact, the kind that the original invitees would despise and look down on.

The early church bishop of Laodicea had this to say on how grace was squandered on the unworthy in this parable. He writes: “This wedding pictures the marriage of the church to the Word. The donation of the gifts of the wealthy provide for the wedding preparation and is compared here with bulls and fattened calves prepared for lavish feasting. For Paul says that ‘in every way’ we have been ‘enriched’ in Christ, in our ‘speaking and knowledge.”⁹ The first and second are called servants. The first are those who run ahead in light of the coming of the Lord, fellow laborers and successors of the apostles. But a failure to watch carefully prevents those who are invited from attending. For they ‘who live their lives according to the flesh’¹⁰ do not follow the divine call which is according to Christ. In the case of the rest, with the calling of the nations, there is no longer a separation of a people nor a special honor accorded to Israel. But grace is even [given] to the rejected and outcasts, ‘to the wise and to the foolish,^‘11 as Paul says, to the evil and to the good, as the parable teaches… if it is that they really obey the calling to do good, ‘having clothed themselves with the new humanity.’¹² If this proves not to be true, though they were called, they were not chosen. Rather, their calling is even rejected.”¹³

Verse 10: So the servants went into the streets. They gathered all the people they could find, good and bad alike, and brought them to where the wedding feast was ready. And the place was filled with guests.

Can you imagine the looks on the faces of those individuals previously invited to the king’s wedding reception for his son? Like some on street corners today, they might say to those passing out the invitations to such an elite wedding, “You’ve got to be kidding!” “I didn’t know that person even knew about me; I’m a nobody!” “There’s got to be some catch, you don’t get something like this for nothing!” That’s why it is no surprised that not even one of them turned down the invitation. But as John says about this invitation: “But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God.”¹⁴

And as servants passing out invitations to the kingdom of God, we must be like-minded. The king did not tell his servants to force these people to come to the wedding banquet, he only said that they should find and invite as many as they could to come. So again, the key words in John 3:16 are emphasized: “that whosoever believes” will be the ones to benefit from this invitation. Jesus did not come to make us slaves of some religion, but sons and daughters of the living God.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Part I

Verses 1-2: Jesus used some more parables to teach the people. He said, “God’s kingdom is like a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son.”

Jesus was not through illustrating for the Jewish leaders the great error of their not accepting Him or John the Baptizer as messengers sent by God to usher in the Kingdom of God. As Matthew reminisces about this occasion, he points out that this was the primary method our Lord used in teaching the people, where as when He sat with His disciples He was more direct and went straight to the point. This can be a cue to any minister, Bible teacher, or layman. When you share the Gospel with those who are unconverted and unfamiliar with Scripture, it is permissible to do as Jesus did and give them the good news in anecdotal form. But when expounding on the Bible to believers, it should be more expository and to the point. However, it is certainly allowable to use illustrations to show how the message in the Biblical text is applied to everyday life.

The important part of this parable is its connection between the father and his son’s wedding. It was every man’s dream that he have sons who would then have sons to keep the family tree alive and growing. In the Psalms we find this advocated: “The children born to a man when he is young are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.”¹ So this was an important day in the life of a Jewish family, especially if the son getting married is the first born to whom the birthright was given. If the father was an elder, a wealthy person, a tribal leader, or a king, it was crucial that those who served him would continue to serve his son. Therefore, in order for his son to know who to trust and who he could rely on, it was often demonstrated by those who accepted the wedding invitation and who brought the most desirable gifts.

Verse 3: “He invited some people to the feast. When it was ready, the king sent his servants to tell the people to come. But they refused to come to the king’s feast.”

The wording here sounds somewhat familiar to what Laban did for Jacob’s wedding, except with a different outcome.² We find this same parable repeated in one of the non-canonical Gospels. However, in one case these words are added: “Buyers and merchants will not enter the places of my Father.”³ Those are obviously not the words of Jesus, but those of the writer of that Gospel. We also find out from Jewish writings, that this was done at the expense of the father.⁴ This certainly helps us understand why the king was so interested in getting people to come so as not to waste the time and money he spent for preparations and food.

This parable is designed to teach more than just a mere comparison between an earthly kingdom and God’s kingdom. It is quite plain that a certain number from a distinct group were first invited to the wedding. We also find a similar parable in the Zohar, a highly respected Jewish book of enlightenment, that goes like this: “There was a king who ordered all the inhabitants of the city to appear in his presence on a certain day, at a certain place. While the people were preparing themselves, one came early to that location. Meanwhile, the king came and found the person who has arrived early. He said, ‘You! Where are all my subjects?’ He answered, ‘My Lord, I have come early, but they are coming behind me, according to the command of the king.’ The king was pleased and sat down with him and conversed with him, and he became the king’s good friend. Meanwhile, all the people arrived. The king was satisfied and quietly had them seated. But had they not shown up, and if one had not come early to represent them, to inform the king that all of them were on their way, then the king would have instantly become very angry.”⁵

Unfortunately, the guests in Jesus’ parable had no one who went to represent them. In fact, their response was less than courteous. And herein lies the critical issue: since the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, priests, elders and other religious leaders refused to respond to Jesus invitation to be part of the coming wedding of the Messiah, this led to their being excluded and prompted an open invitation to be issued to whosoever will, regardless of race, color, or social status. Underlying this conspicuous twist in the protocol is the fact that God’s sovereignty in the election of individuals into His kingdom is by His own choice and for His own reasons. God is preparing the church to be the bride of His Son. He alone knows when the number He is looking to invite will be complete. Those who have been invited and refused to go should be aware that someone else will be chosen to replace them. Their refusal to respond will not keep the bridal party from being at full membership. Furthermore, if God is still seeking to complete this number before the wedding takes place, then enough time will still have to pass in order for these people to be born, receive the invitation to salvation, and accept.

The invitation here echoes a similar sentiment we find in Jewish Wisdom Literature: “Wisdom has built her house; she has made it strong with seven columns. She has cooked meat, mixed wine, and put food on the table. She has sent her servant girls to announce from the highest hill in the city, ‘Whoever needs instruction, come.’ She invites all the simple people and says, ‘Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have prepared. Leave your old, foolish ways and live! Advance along the path of understanding.‘”⁶ Many Jewish scholars see this bread and wine as a reference to the Torah – the Word of God.⁷ For the Christian, it can provide a metaphor of Communion where our Lord said that the bread was His body and the wine was His blood. Therefore, Jesus may have had a clear subliminal message here of why in the future those who refuse to come and commune with Him in this world will have no place in the Kingdom of God in the world to come.

And the outcome also mirrors what Wisdom says elsewhere: “I wanted to tell you everything I knew and give you all my knowledge, but you didn’t listen to my advice and teaching. I tried to help, but you refused to listen. I offered my hand, but you turned away from me. You ignored my advice and refused to be corrected.”⁸ Therefore, the return of Christ may not be tied to chronology or some point in time, but rather linked to all the invitations being returned that would meet the number decided by God Himself. That certainly is something to think about!

There are several clear inferences in this verse which help our understanding of the entire parable. It is obvious that the wedding had been long expected and previously announced with only the exact date for the nuptials pending. Therefore, the guests had prior knowledge and had been told they would be invited when the time came, so they knew that as time went by, the wedding feast was becoming more and more imminent. No doubt, when the invitation was first sent out it was thought that these expected guests would feel so strongly about it that they would drop everything when the proclamation was announced and go immediately. However, since no specific date had been chosen, they needed to remain alerted and ready when the final notice was received. As time went by, however, some became involved with other matters, making commitments, while others simply lost interest because of the long wait.

Perhaps, Jesus told this parable, the words of Nehemiah came to mind, “But our ancestors became proud and stubborn. They refused to obey your commands. They refused to listen. They forgot the amazing things you did with them. They became stubborn. They decided to return to Egypt and become slaves again.”⁹ The parable further indicates that there was a certain amount of elapse time between the final announcement and when the marriage feast actually began, to give the messengers enough time to spread the word. During this time, some of the messengers were mistreated by those who felt that the call was not real this time. As a result, more time was taken for a new invite to be given to those previously not invited to attend.

In other parables, Jesus told where there was a son involved, and Jesus identified with that son, He too was maltreated and even killed. But in this parable, the king had no intentions of sending out his son to make personal invites after it was learned that his servants had been mistreated. Rather, when the son’s great day arrived, the marriage feast was ready and there could be no further delay. In that sense, this places the mass invitations to the wedding feast still in our future. God forbid that when the trumpet sounds, that we are tied up in things that will cause us to miss the wedding.

Verse 4: Then the king sent some more servants. He said to them, “I have already invited the people. So tell them that my feast is ready. I have killed my finest bulls and calves to be eaten. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”

It would be more difficult to understand the refusal and disdain of the king’s invitation by these potential guests if we failed to consider what led up to it. These were people who had received many invitations from this king and had been present at many of the gatherings He sponsored. It was this familiarity with being in his presence that bred lukewarmness in their hearts. Consequently, they failed to prioritize this invitation properly.

That brings up a question for the believing community today. How many have warmed the pew and heard the message “He’s Coming Soon” so often, they have grown lax and brush off the warnings to be ready for the call when it comes. Jesus infuses this danger into another of His parables later when He tells about ten bridesmaids, five of which were wise and five of which were foolish. It’s the same folly that He is alluding to here in this parable. In reading the king’s response, it is highly likely that very few earthly kings would have shown such tolerance and discipline. It is obvious that our Lord was making it very clear here that He was speaking of a divine King.

Early church theologian Augustine gives his interpretation of this parable as it relates to the church. He says: “All the faithful know the story of the marriage of the king’s son, and his feast. They know that the Lord’s table is open to all who are willing correctly to receive it. But it is important that each one examines how he approaches, even when he is not forbidden to approach. The holy Scriptures teach us that there are two feasts of the Lord: one to which the good and evil come, the other to which the evil do not come.¹⁰⁵ So then the feast of which we have just now heard when the gospel was being read has both good and evil guests. All who excused themselves from this feast are evil, but not all those who entered in are good. I now address you, therefore, who are the good guests at this feast. You are taking careful note of the words ‘For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.’¹¹ It is to you I speak. I plead with you not to look vainly for the good apart from the church but to bear with the evil within it.”¹²

In the parable about the vineyard owner who leased out his land to tenants and then sent servant after servant before finally sending his son, can be seen as applying to all the prophets who came to the Israelites before the Messiah. Finally, the Son of God came to settle with them on their inheritance as part of God’s promise to Abraham and covenant through Moses. But here we have a different time-frame. Many Bible scholars feel that Jesus picks up the line from the last parable and carries it on to speak of the time following His first advent up to the second one. This then would include Gentiles, which were not included in the first parable.

Like any good communicator, Jesus builds suspense into the narrative that makes wanting to know the outcome of this story even more exciting. Not only that, but I’m certain the tone in His voice became more intense as He nears the end of His life here on earth. He knows that the time is short and His disciples and followers must be persuaded that there will never be another Messiah for people to rally around. This is it! God has only one Son, and He is it! The fullness of time has come,¹³ and now mankind begins their final trek toward the end of time.

Some 200 years ago, a British clergyman named Charles C. Colton, who was known for his wit and satirical sayings, wrote this line in one of his books: “True friendship is like sound health, the value of it is seldom known until it is lost.”¹

How true that is. So often we go through life accepting those around us, we call friends, as though it is normal and to be expected. And just like our health, when all of a sudden we find ourselves having to deal with some illness or health issue, it’s then we realize and appreciate how valuable good health is. The same is true with our closest and best friends.

So don’t take those who love and appreciate your friendship for granted. Don’t wait until they are gone before you start telling everyone how much you love and miss them. And don’t delay letting them know how valuable they are to you. Remember, once they are gone, there’s no way for them to hear you tell others how precious they were to you, and what a difference they made in your life. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

GETTING THINGS STRAIGHT

Often times we label something a “mistake” when in fact it may be just a miscalculation or a misfortune. The reason knowing the difference becomes so important is that we should respond to mistakes, miscalculations, and misfortunes differently.

For instance, if you are driving down the highway and get to an intersection where you need to turn right to get to your destination but you turn left instead; you’ve made a mistake. If you continue to drive in the wrong direction you cannot correct your mistake; and the further you go the worse the consequences of your mistake will be. The only way to deal with your mistake is to admit it, turn around, and go back the other way.

By the same token, if you go out to buy an item that you need and you locate a store that sells that item, but after getting there you discover that you do not have sufficient funds in your pocket to purchase that item, you have not made a mistake, you’ve made a miscalculation. This does not mean that you suddenly decide that this item is not for you or the one you really don’t want to buy and that it was a mistake on your part to even consider purchasing it. No! No! You let the cashier know you’ll be back with the right amount of money, or if possible, look for a similar item on sale.

In the same vein, if you were to select a cell phone or laptop computer to help you in your business or profession, but once you started using it you found out it doesn’t perform all the tasks as advertised; that it is not as fast in producing the results you want; or that it requires too many steps in order to acquire the information you need. You did not make a mistake in buying it, nor was it a miscalculation; instead, you’ve suffered a misfortune in that it did not live up to the claims the manufacturer made based on your expectations. In other words, it didn’t do what you were told it was capable of doing.

Therefore, you don’t throw it away and go back and get another one because you made a mistake, you don’t have the funds for that. Nor do you ask if you can get an upgrade to improve its performance, as you would for a miscalculation because you would be putting a burden on it that it might not be able to bear. Rather, you either decide to deal with it and use your skills to get the most out of it as possible, or you take it back and look for another product. The worse thing you can do is to settle for less than what you need and feel miserable the longer you hold on to it.

It’s the same way in life when we have to deal with someone we have chosen to be a friend or companion. If you are not getting along with someone or have difficulties with that individual, first learn whether or not your meeting them and getting to know them and letting them into your life was a mistake, a miscalculation, or a misfortune. Choosing the wrong response can often make the relationship more complicated and end up causing you more hurt and harm than it’s worth.

If you find out that having this person in your life was a mistake, there’s only one way to handle it; turn around and go the other way; politely and kindly distance yourself from them and close the door to their getting back in. If, however, you realize that it was a miscalculation because they do not have the required talent or necessary skills to get the job done; thereby causing you more time and effort to make things work, then devise a plan on how to use their abilities and expertise so they can do a better job than they could if left to cope on their own.

On the other hand, if there’s someone in your life that hasn’t lived up to your expectations and has fallen short of giving you what they promised, and make no effort to be all they can be; don’t walk off and leave them or reject them from your life like a mistake, or try and help them improve their performance like you would with a miscalculation, rather, let them know that they are not in your life because you made a mistake; you chose them on purpose and selected them out of many based on how they impressed you. At the same time, be open about the fact you were aware of some things they did or didn’t do that left you wondering if they could change, yet they are worth holding on to.

But most of all, let them know that your heart is pained because they have it in them to do better; that they could make things work if they just tried; that you have lost your trust in them through misfortune, but they can restore that trust by being what you know they can be. But always keep this squarely in the front of your mind, Jesus said, Do to others what you would want them to do to you. In other words, the misfortune may not be just yours, it may be theirs also. In that case, look in the mirror and tell the person staring back at you, “I’m disappointed that you have not delivered on what you promised, but I know you can do better. So, with God’s help let’s start learning right now by asking the other person what they want most out of you, then do your best to provide it.” – Dr. Robert R Seyda

IMPORTANT UPDATE SUMMARY

We just finished an intriguing Chapter 21 in Matthew’s Gospel. It was an eventful and contentious time in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. At the opening we find Jesus riding toward the capital city Jerusalem on the back of a donkey’s colt, in fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah.  Jubilant crowds were waving palm and willow branches and some had placed their cloaks and shawls on the ground for Him to walk over. There was an air of celebration as both adults and children hailed Him, calling out “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!”

For a moment it looked like all Jerusalem and then Israel would proclaim Him the new King of the Jews, and rally behind Him as their Messiah. But then things took a sudden turn that left people scrambling and confused. Jesus went straight to the Temple where He began to turn over the tables of the money changers, accusing them of taking God’s House of Prayer and turning it into a den of thieves. Even though what Jesus said was true, it incensed the priests and keepers of the Temple who saw their enterprise was in danger of being dismantled and their power of the people eradicated.

But not all saw this move as disruptive and overdone. Before the dust settled, the sick, the blind, and the lame began streaming to the Temple courts where Jesus began to heal them. The children began shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” But not everyone was enthused about this maverick prophet from Nazareth tearing up the fabric of the Jewish religious elite. The chief priests and the teachers of the law began to complain. Some of them went to Jesus and confronted Him, asking Him if he knew what these children meant by their cheering Him as the Son of David. In His calm yet direct manner, Jesus reminded them of another prophecy in the Psalms that told how God would ordain praise from the mouths of children for the Messiah. Then our Lord turned abruptly, walked out of the city over to the village of Bethany where He spent the night.

The next morning, Jesus wanted to illustrate to His disciples what had just happened the day before when He came to Jerusalem in accordance with the Word of God that spoke of the Messiah’s appearance riding on a donkey, yet the chief priests and teachers of the law rejected Him. He came looking for those who would believe in Him but found only doubters and skeptics. So He spotted a fig tree along the road out of Bethany. It was early morning and He had not eaten breakfast. So He went to the fig tree, hoping to find some fresh fruit to satisfy His hunger. Although the tree was full of leaves, there was no fruit on its branches. So Jesus looked at the tree and said, “You will never bear fruit again!” Immediately, the tree started withering and its leaves began falling to the ground.

Apparently, the disciples were more amazed at  how quickly the tree withered than they were about the message Jesus was demonstrating for them. So when they asked Jesus for an explanation, He simply told them to have faith and not allow doubt to cloud their minds. Little did they know that it would not be long before they would see their Messiah wilt on a cross, just like this tree, but within three days He would rise to life again.

As soon as Jesus returned to Jerusalem that morning, the chief priests and elders were waiting for Him. They challenged Him to explain by what authority He had overturned the tables and accused them of making God’s House a den of thieves. But Jesus was also ready for them. His response was clear: “You tell me if John the Baptizer was sent by God or by man, and I’ll tell you if I was sent by God or by man.” His question stunned and baffled them. If they said that John was sent by God, He will then asked them why they didn’t believe in him. And if they said he was endorsed by men, then the crowd who saw John as an anointed prophet would rally against them. So they told Jesus, “We have no answer for you.” Then Jesus responded in kind, “Then I have no reason to answer your question.”

But Jesus wasn’t through. Just as He used the fig tree to teach His disciples a lesson on faith, He now asked the chief priests and elders what they thought of a story He was about to tell them concerning a man with two sons. He asked one son to go out and work the vineyard but the son said no, then changed his mind and went. When he asked the other son to go, the son said yes, then decided not to go. So which one do you think obeyed his father, asked Jesus? “The first son!” they responded. Jesus then looked at them with piercing eyes and said: “John the Baptizer came to show you the path God wanted you to follow but you rejected him. However, the prostitutes and tax collectors did believe and left the road of sinful living to walk in the light of God’s word. But even after you saw them turning from sin, you still refused to believe.

Before they could recover from this condemnation, Jesus told them another story about a man who leased his vineyard to tenant farmers who agreed to pay rent by sharing a portion of the fruit from their harvest. But when the owner sent emissaries to collect the rent, they beat, killed, and stoned them. Finally, he sent his son and they dragged him out of the vineyard and killed him. So what do you think this owner will do when he returns? They all quickly said that he will get rid of such wretched people and lease out his vineyard to more deserving people.

Then Jesus looked straight at them again and said that this is exactly what God was going to do to them. He told them that they were indicted by the Scripture that spoke of builders who rejected a stone that God had ordained to be the cornerstone to His kingdom here on earth. But instead of immediately repenting and asking forgiveness, the chief priests, elders, and Pharisees began to plot on ways to get rid of this prophet from Nazareth, just like those in the parable. But they were afraid the adoring crowds might attack them.

But Jesus was not yet finished. He had another story to tell them. That will be the opening in Chapter 22 of Matthew’s Gospel. I pray that you have been blessed by what you discovered in God’s Word through this study. I have no doubt that God will bless you for your dedication and love for His Son and His Word. I am so proud and happy for all of you who have taken the time to study this wonderful story of His Son.

We will begin Chapter 22 on Monday. See you then! – Dr. Robert R Seyda

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Part XII

Verse 43: “So I tell you that God’s kingdom will be taken away from you. It will be given to people who do what God wants to be done in His kingdom.”

I’m sure, these are not the words these Jewish skeptics of Jesus’ claim to the Messiahship wanted to hear. When reading this statement, let us envision what Jesus was talking about. Those who stumble over the cornerstone by not recognizing its rightful place in God’s kingdom will end up being broken, they will come to a fruitless end because the cornerstone was never placed in the spiritual house they were building. And those who would try to remove the cornerstone from its honored place in the belief, doctrine and practice of God’s house, will bring down the whole building on themselves and end up being crushed by the very thing they are trying to get rid of. Only those who embrace this Cornerstone and acknowledge His rightful place in their lives, city, nation, and world, will be able to stand when the winds and storms come.

An examination of these parables of the two sons and the tenant farmers will reveal some striking similarities. First, in both stories, there were sons involved. Secondly, both times the Father owned the vineyard. In the first case, the sons were asked to go work the vineyard themselves, while in the second the son was sent to collect, for the Father, fruit from the vineyard he owned. In the first parable, the two brothers were at odds with their father, while in the second parable, the tenants were against both the father and his son. In the first case one son repented and became obedient, while in the second the tenants never repented of their disobedience.

When putting these two parables side by side we can also see a possible correlation between the two sons in the first parable as representing all of Israel where some rejected Jesus at first but then came to believe in Him, while those who welcomed Him at first then turned against Him and called for His crucifixion. In the second parable, the vineyard stands for all of Israel but the tenants represent the religious leaders. The servants who were sent first represent the prophets who came but were rejected, some even beaten and killed, whereas the son represents Jesus whom they also rejected and then plotted to kill so they could have full control over the vineyard.

Here we sense an echo of a sentiment expressed in Scripture once before: “Listen and pay attention; don’t be proud! For Adonai has spoken. Give glory to Adonai your God before the darkness falls, before your feet stumble on the mountains in the twilight, and, while you are seeking light, he turns it into deathlike shadows and makes it completely dark. But if you will not hear this warning, I will weep secretly because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, streaming with tears, because ADONAI’S flock is carried away captive.”¹ One Jewish commentator went so far as to say, that this means the pride of the kingdom of Heaven will be exchanged for idolatry.² Another scholarly Rabbi says, it is a warning: “O my children, did I not say to you, ‘Give glory to Adonai your God before the darkness falls, before your feet stumble,’³ – before words of Torah grow dark for you, before words of prophecy grow dark, and you are brought to the fate that has now befallen you.”⁴ It’s a shame that these opponents of Jesus could not sense this warning was for them, to open their eyes before they end up stumbling in the darkness of their ignorance that God was holding out His hand to guide them to the light.

While Jesus did not tell these parables to be taken as actual historical events, He did intend that they teach a moral truth. So let us not be like these leading priests and elders, who missed the spiritual point by looking for historical correlation. Jesus is trying to explain that even if He is not accepted at first but then acknowledged later, is better than accepting Him, to begin with, but then never following Him in obedience. The song we find in Isaiah expresses what Jesus was saying about the future, “Open the gates for the good people to enter. They are God’s faithful followers.”⁵ Jesus goes on to say, that for some this cornerstone will become a stumbling block, but for others, it will be a stepping stone.

Verse 44: “Whoever falls on this stone will be broken. And it will crush anyone it falls on.”

We are told by scholars that some Greek manuscripts do not have this verse. However, it is included in the Aramaic Version, the oldest Hebrew version of Matthew, and the translators of the NIV include it as well. This echoes what Isaiah says: “If you people would respect Him, He would be a safe place for you. But you don’t respect Him, so He is like a stone that you stumble over. He is a rock that makes both families of Israel fall. He has become a trap that all the people of Jerusalem will fall into. (Many people will trip over this Rock. They will fall and be broken. They will be caught in the trap.)”⁶

Of course, the idea of taking Jerusalem away from the Jews and giving it to the Gentiles was fighting words. And the Jewish leaders reacted by trying to arrest Jesus. But they knew any overt action on their part would stir up the crowd, and then the Romans would step in and they could be charged with inciting a riot, and that was something the Romans crucified people for. They didn’t want to take that risk. They knew there would be another day, and when that time came, they planned to make it work.

The early church scholar we’ve quoted before has this to say about the historical implications of this parable and its outcome: “The priests of the old covenant who had already ceased to have any hope in God because they were filled with every evil raised their hands against God Himself, inasmuch as they knew Christ to be the Son of God, because they had given up on abstaining from evil. Does this astonish you? Truly every evil man, insofar as his will is concerned, raises his hand against God and kills Him, for whoever does not hesitate to provoke God’s wrath, or despises His commandments, or treats His name with contempt, or utters blasphemies against Him, or murmurs against Him, or looks toward heaven with an angry countenance or raises his arrogant hand against God in anger, would certainly also kill Him if it were possible, just in order to be able to sin with impunity.”⁷

Verses 45-46: When the leading priests and the Pharisees heard these stories, they knew that Jesus was talking about them. So they sought ways to arrest Jesus. But they were afraid to do anything because the people believed that Jesus was a prophet.

Finally, it dawned on them! The Messiah, the Son of God, was pointing out to them the folly of their thinking. By denying Him and not returning to God what was already His they were in effect trying to seize the vineyard for themselves. Jerome gives us his impression on this revelation: “Although [the chief priests and the Pharisees] were hard of heart and on account of their unbelief and wickedness were blunted in their understanding against the Son of God, nevertheless, they were unable to deny Jesus’ straightforward statements and understood that all the judgments of the Lord were directed against themselves. So they determined indeed to kill Him but feared ‘the crowd, for they considered Jesus to be a prophet.’ A crowd is always easily moved when not persisting with their will in their resolution. Additionally, they are like waves and opposite winds blown to and fro. The one they now honor and revere as a prophet they later shouted against: ‘Crucify, crucify’ such a man.”⁸

Whether or not it is historically documented that these same people were the ones who later would join the chorus in demanding Jesus’ execution, there is every reason to believe that some of these very same leading priests and elders did participate. I wonder if, during the crucifixion of Christ on the cross, some of them may have thought back to this encounter and realized that Jesus had correctly identified them, and that would make them eligible for the retribution that God intended to exact as punishment on all those who refused to accept His Son. They may or may not have felt that conviction. But if they had, like the thief on the cross Jesus would have welcomed them to join Him in paradise one day.

The same holds true today. That’s the good news we can share with all those who currently deny Him for who He is, what He is, and all that He has done for them, and even those who once believed but have been lead astray by misinformation or selfish greed. The one big difference is that the Jews were in line to accept Him before He was crucified, but only after being crucified was the rest of the world given the opportunity to accept Him as the Son of God their Lord and Savior. So any fault that He is still not recognized and accepted by the Jews as their Messiah belongs to them, not to Him. So it will be for any sinner who hears the Gospel and is left behind when Jesus comes.