Before reading this commentary, I encourage you to first read the text of Matthew chapter twenty-two.

Verses 1-7

Once again, Jesus spoke to them in parables:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a king (God) who prepared a wedding banquet for his son (Jesus). He sent his servants (the profits) to call those he had invited (the Israelites) to the banquet, but they refused to come.

Again, he sent other servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

But they paid no attention and went away, one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, (the profits) mistreated them, and killed them.

The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.

(2 Kings 24:2) – And the LORD sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim in order to destroy Judah, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servants the prophets.

(Jeremiah 25:8-9) – Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.

Verses 8-10

Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the crossroads and invite to the banquet as many as you can find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered everyone they could find, both evil and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

Make note of the fact that God instructed them to invite as many as they could find. The servants then gathered everyone they could find. The phrases “as many as you can find” and “gathered everyone they could find” shows us that God is calling everyone. God is telling his servants to invite everyone. Anyone they find, they should invite. Every human being today is invited.

But why does verse 10 say both evil and good? We are going to see in these next verses that there are some Christians who come to the banquet, but end up getting thrown out….Let’s take a look now.

Verses 11-12

But when the king came in to see the guests, he spotted a man who was not dressed in wedding clothes (He was not filled with the Holy Spirit). ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes (without the Holy Spirit)?’ But the man was speechless.

Salvation is by faith. Those who put their faith in Jesus are filled with the Holy Spirit (i.e. they are dressed in wedding clothes).

A person can know about Jesus and yet make the mistake of trusting in themselves, incorrectly believing their salvation will come about because they were a good person. It’s entirely possible for a lay person, a church member, a deacon, an elder, or even a pastor or priest to be deeply involved in church activities, ministries, helping the poor, feeding the hungry, etc… and yet not have put their faith in Jesus Christ.

This is the individual who shows up to the wedding banquet without wedding clothes (i.e. The Holy Spirit). They are the person who claimed to be a Christian, yet never put their faith in Christ.

Think about it this way: My first job was mowing grass on a golf course. The employee handbook stated that employees can have one free round of golf per day. Every day I got up at 5:00am. By 6:00am I was on the mower, going from the number one green to the number two green and then onto the number three, etc…etc…. When I finished mowing all 18 greens, I then had to go back and move the holes on each green, I had to maintain the mowers, I had to work on the sprinklers. Our work was to keep the whole golf course running. At the end of the day, I was tired and wanted only to go home and sit down. As a result, I never once took advantage of the free round of golf.

Later, when I was about 40 years old and was reflecting on my life, it occurred to me just how big of an opportunity I had missed. The golf course had a pro-shop. In the pro-shop was a full-time golf instructor. The golf instructor was my coworker. He and I were both employees of the golf course. When I was young, it never once occurred to me that as an employee, he too got a free round of golf every day. I could have asked him to go golfing with me every day. And during such, I could have gotten free golfing lessons from him. I was in my late teens when I worked there.

Now consider this: A young man, 18 and 19 years old, playing 18 holes of golf every day for free and bringing with him a golf instructor. Who knows, perhaps I could have become a professional golfer. Perhaps I could have joined the PGA Tour. When I look back at my life in hindsight, I consider this to be a missed opportunity. I worked at the golf course, but I never played golf.

Likewise, there are many Christians who attend church, volunteer at church, or are even employed by the church, but have yet to put their faith in Christ. It doesn’t matter the denomination. Every Church in America has someone in the congregation or parish who hasn’t yet put their faith in Christ even though they appear, on the outside, to be such a devout Christian.

God judges the heart. We, however, are not able to see into people’s hearts. All that we can do to ascertain someone’s sincerity is examine their actions and speech. Each of us, on the day of judgement, will be shocked at some point, to see who is getting kicked out of the wedding banquet.

How do you know if you are such a person? Ask Jesus! One of the biggest aspects of putting our faith in Christ is that we rely upon Him rather than ourselves. So I am literally instructing you to right now, ask Jesus Christ to help you to put your faith in him and to fill you with the Holy Spirit.

Here is a prayer: “Lord Jesus, help me to put my faith in you. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit.”

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)

Verse 13

Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

This, of course, is referring to hell. The individual who is not filled with the Holy Spirit upon their earthly death will be thrown into hell.

Verse 14

For many are called, but few are chosen.

God sent his servants to invite everyone they could find. “Many are called”. This is the great commission. God wants every Christian to go out into the world and share the gospel (to invite everyone), so that every person on earth might have the opportunity to hear what Jesus has done for them. All are invited; everyone.

The skeptic might ask, “What about those who never hear about Jesus?” To which I would answer, “Where no missionaries go, Jesus goes there himself.” This is the reason, I suspect, why so many Muslims have dreams about Jesus. There are many places in the Islamic middle east where missionaries do not venture. In those places, Jesus goes there himself.

“Few are chosen”. Those who are chosen are those who choose to put their faith in Christ. “to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12b)

Verses 15-16

Then the Pharisees went out and conspired to trap Jesus in His words. They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth…

Ah Ha! So they admit that Jesus teaches the way of God and the truth! By making this admission they are declaring themselves guilty of conspiring against God! Woe to them on their day of judgment. As I have stated before, one of my prayers is that I might have the opportunity to be seated in the gallery of God’s court room. I have always found court room dramas fascinating. I’m very interested to hear what the Pharisees will have to say for themselves while standing before the glorified Jesus Christ to give an account for their deliberate rejection of him.

Verses 17-18

So tell us what You think: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me?

These are supposed to be the spiritual leaders of Israel, yet here they are testing Jesus.

Do not test the LORD your God as you tested Him at Massah (Deuteronomy 6:16)

At Massah the Israelites quarreled with Moses, and they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?” What a coincidence, here are the spiritual leaders of Israel asking the exact same thing again, “Is the Lord among us or not?” Their Messiah is standing right in front of them, yet all they want to do is argue with him.

Verses 19-22

Jesus then proceeds to completely side step the trap they had set for him, leaving them amazed.

Verses 23-29

The Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection…

Have you ever noticed that the Pharisees and Sadducees appear to be colleagues? Perhaps they are even friends, yet they have vastly different spiritual beliefs. Meanwhile, Jesus shows up, also with vastly different spiritual believes and both the Pharisees and Sadducees hate him, even to the point of wanting to kill him.

Today in America, people strive for equity, diversity, tolerance and inclusion when it comes to all other religions except Christianity. Christians are at times treated with disdain and intolerance. This phenomenon however, serves only to illustrate that of all world religions, Christianity stands apart. Many Christians point to this as evidence of the truth of God’s Word. The world hates God, therefore the world hates Christians.

The Sadducees, come to Jesus with a hypothetical scenario in order to question him about the resurrection, in which they don’t even believe anyway. Their question involves seven brothers and one wife. The question culminates with them asking whose wife she will be in the resurrection. But here is what I want you, the reader of this commentary, to focus on: Jesus responds “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.”

Every single error that you might have in your understanding of who God is, comes entirely from your lack of knowledge of scripture. Remember, when Jesus was in the desert being tempted by Satan, every single rebuttal that Jesus gave to Satan started with, “It is written”. The way in which we overcome demonic influence in our lives is by knowing well the Word of God. The only way we can know well the word of God is by faithfully and consistently reading it.

It has become very apparent to me in recent years that many Christians, perhaps most, do not read the Bible but instead form their religious beliefs based either on what someone else has told them, or by their own self-invented spirituality based upon personal experiences, inner feelings and selfish desires.

I have encountered Christians, both in person and via the internet, who, when asked about their spiritual beliefs, have stated opinions so far removed from Biblical truth that it causes me to be left in awe at how any person, claiming to be a Christian, could have possibly landed on such ridiculous conclusions.

27% of Americans do not read books. Another 20% read books reluctantly. The Bible has over 1,000 pages and is a serious undertaking to read especially for those who are not accustomed to reading books. We can all agree that it’s a big commitment to read the entire Bible, not to mention studying it in detail and reading it multiple times over the course of one’s life.

For comparison, here are a few famous novels that each contain over 1,000 pages:
• Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (~1,400 pages)
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (~1,200 pages)
• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (~1,200 pages)
• The Lord of the Rings (as a single volume) by J.R.R. Tolkien (~1,100 pages)
• Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (~1,000 pages)

Consider this: All Quiet on the Western Front, a story of world war one by Erich Remarque, has just 240 pages. The book itself is only 6 inches tall by 4 inches wide and has merely 12 chapters, yet despite its small size, it took me six months to read. This wasn’t because I’m a slow reader, but because I would read a chapter and then put the book down for 2 or 3 weeks before picking it up again to read the next chapter.

If I have a choice between reading a book or casting my line into the surf, I’ll always prefer to go fishing. Or if given the choice between reading a novel or watching the movie adaptation, I’d prefer to watch the movie. Reading a book is to me like work, but I know that if I don’t read the Bible, how in the world am I possibly going to know what to believe about God?

Jesus said “a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him. God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24)

There are tricksters, hucksters and scam artists out there who use the name of Christ in order to advance their own fame and fortune. There are churches with 15,000 people in the congregation following a pastor who used their money to buy for himself an 18,000 square foot home. The only possible way to know if what you are seeing and hearing from a pastor, priest or other bible teachers is true, is to read the Word of God yourself while simultaneously asking Jesus to give you an understanding of what it all means.

So how do you read a 1,000 page book when you’d prefer to do anything other than read a book? First, ask Jesus to give you a love for the Bible. Then, start with the New Testament. That is where the largest bulk of Christian theology is concentrated, and is also where we get to see the Old Testament in hindsight, making it much easier to understand when you begin reading the Old Testament.

Second; just read for five minutes a day. By no means am I suggesting you read one verse. That’s too little and leads to taking verses out of context. But you can find five minutes a day to read the Bible without experiencing any inconvenience. This is a good place to start building up your reading endurance. If you love the Lord, you will make the time.

I also encourage you to listen to the Bible. Not as an alternative to reading, but in addition to reading. By listening to a recording of someone reading the Bible, and by setting the playback speed to 1.5x, you can get through the entire New Testament in 90 days. As a matter of fact, there are 90-day New Testament reading plans which include audio formats.

Verses 30-33

Even though our bodies stop functioning and go into the grave, those who are saved, are not dead. Eternal life means being alive forever.

Verses 34-40

Take careful notice that loving God is the greatest commandment. It is of higher priority than loving your neighbor. There are many churches today who are so fixated on showing love to their neighbors, that they forsake the higher priority of loving God. Some pastors are ashamed of God and would rather give hugs to everyone than to inform anyone of their need to repent of their sins.

If my neighbor’s house were on fire, would it be loving of me to say and do nothing while watching them burn to death inside their home? No! The loving thing to do would be to run over there and pound on their front door screaming at them to get out of the house.

Any pastor who leaves a person in their sin, does not love them. The Christian who tells others that they are on a path to hell, is the one who loves them. Now having said that, there are within every culture, right and wrong ways to go about doing that. In America, its typically frowned upon to walk up to a stranger and scream at them. In America we have a saying “We don’t care how much you know until we know how much you care.” This typically begins by building a relationship.

Verses 41-46

“What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?”

The identity of Christ is an extremely important question. Again, “His worshipers must worship Him in truth” (John 4:24 paraphrased). Who exactly is Jesus?

The Pharisees answer correctly when they said that the Christ is descended from David. Thus, the Messiah (Jesus) is fully man. He is made of flesh and bone. He has a beating heart. He breathes air in and out of his lungs no different than you and I.

“How then”, Jesus asks, “does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord’?” The phrase “In the Spirit” simply means that when David was writing the Psalms, he was writing them through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. But what I want to focus on now is that David calls Him Lord.

A person wouldn’t normally call a son Lord. But, in fact, David does call the Christ Lord. What this is showing us is that Jesus is both fully man (a descendant of David) and fully divine. Jesus Christ is God.

Before reading this commentary, I encourage you to first read the text of Matthew chapter twenty-one.

Verses 1-2

The triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is recorded in Matthew 21:1–11, Mark 11:1–11, Luke 19:28–44 and John 12:12–19.

Once again, Jesus demonstrates his omniscients. Clearly, he is not an ordinary man. He can predict future events with 100% accuracy.

Is this theft? Is Jesus telling the disciples to steal the donkey? No. He is borrowing it. Mark chapter 11 states that the animal’s owner was told his donkey would be returned to him shortly.

I’ve been horseback riding on trails at which the horses were so familiar with the path, that no amount of pulling the reins would convince the horse to leave the trail. They knew exactly where they were going.

When Jesus is finished with the donkey, God has the ability to make the donkey find its own way back home.

Verse 3

“If anyone questions you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This can be viewed in a couple of different ways. The first is that Jesus is calling himself Lord (i.e. Jesus is God). The second possible interpretation is that the Romans had the right to commandeer private property as they saw fit for carrying out their duties. When the disciples said “The Lord needs them” the owner may have thought the disciples had been sent by some Roman official.

Whichever interpretation you lean toward, just know that Jesus knew ahead of time that they would agree to the borrowing of their animals, thus showing that Jesus was not an ordinary man.

Verses 4-5

Jesus, a moment ago gave an accurate prediction when he told the disciples, “Go into town and you’ll find this donkey”. In like manner, 500 years earlier, God spoke through a prophet named Zechariah and said something very similar regarding this present donkey.

“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Zechariah’s prediction, through the power of God, was 100% correct. But did you know that his same prediction also includes an end times prophecy about Jesus’s second coming?

“Then He will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.” This is speaking of Jesus’s millennial reign after the tribulation. This prediction is also 100% accurate. It’s going to happen. Faith is believing that what God has said is true.

Verses 6-11

The people may have been aware of the prophecy just mentioned and they may have understood that what they were seeing was exactly like the prophecy. The people were then very excited and shouting Hosanna, and were praising Jesus.

Verses 12-13

Our modern culture views Jesus Christ as a pushover. Someone who’s a weak pacifist. They view Jesus as being meek and soft. Jesus is the one to whom they can stomp on his toes, spit in his face and assume he’ll do nothing in response.

Today, the most depraved and immoral people will claim that Jesus accepts them just the way they are. Repentance is a vulgar word to them. I once even argued with a man who claimed that Jesus never said the word repent. When I showed him in scripture, that repentance was the very first thing Jesus preached in his ministry, this man then proceeded to argue that repentance didn’t mean repentance.

All such people view Jesus as the meek, mild and humble servant who came the first time. However, they totally fail to consider who Jesus will be when he comes the second time. Not only that, but we are now closer in time to his second coming than we are to his first. He is presently right at the door.

The turning over of the tables in the temple courts are the only moment in Jesus’s earthly ministry in which we see him get angry. But consider for a moment the Jesus who is coming back:

Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war. He has eyes like blazing fire, and many royal crowns on His head. He has a name written on Him that only He Himself knows. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is The Word of God.

The armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, white and pure, follow Him on white horses. And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:11-16)

Also, while on the subject of anger, don’t let anyone tell you that being angry is itself a sin. Rather the Bible says, in your anger do not sin (Psalm 4:4). Meaning that while you are angry do not escalate it into sinful actions. Learn how to cool your heals. Pray to the Lord for patience. Become empathetic toward the people around you. If someone pulls out in front of you in traffic, learn how to step on your brake rather than your horn. People make mistakes all the time, and so do you. As a matter of fact, just yesterday I was driving home not paying attention to the road because I was thinking about this very commentary. I almost missed my turn and had to switch lanes quickly. The man behind me was very gracious and did not blast his horn but instead he let me come over. Be considerate of others needs and learn how to love your neighbor as yourself.

Verses 14-15

The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple and He healed them. But the chief priests and scribes were indignant when they saw the wonders He performed and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

There are some people who start with a position, belief or opinion and work backwards to the Bible. The net result is either having to twist the Word of God to make it fit their opinion or an outright rejection of God’s Word, labeling it false and incorrect. The priests and scribes are starting from the opinion that Jesus can not be the Messiah. Therefore, no matter what he does, they are going to be indignant toward him.

Verse 16

“Do You hear what these children are saying?” they asked. “Yes,” Jesus answered. “Have you never read: ‘From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise’?”

It was only two chapters ago that Jesus said we all need to be like children (Matthew 19:13-15). Now the children are praising Jesus and shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David”.

Parents, you are missionaries and your mission field is your own children. It’s not enough to merely drag them to church each week. If that’s all you do, they’ll quit church the moment they leave home and they’ll become worse than unbelievers. It’s imperative that they see your Christian walk outside of church. And it’s also imperative that they experience the living God for themselves.

Outside of church, you should be reading the Bible with your children, daily. You should be praying with your children and asking them to pray also. You should make note of what they pray for so that when their prayers come to pass, you can remind them of it. They should be associating with other kids who believe (i.e., if your church is populated by the elderly, go to a different church). Is there anything wrong with the elderly? No, not at all. But when your children are in elementary, middle school, high school, or even college and there’s no one else their age at church, they will view church attendance as boring. And if you do find a place that has kids their own age, don’t assume those kids are all Christians. There can be bad influences at church no different than at school or anywhere else. Don’t send your kids to a youth group that only plays games and eats pizza. Send your kids to a youth group where the Word of God is being taught.

Verse 17

Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where He spent the night.

Verses 18-19

In the morning, as Jesus was returning to the city, He was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. “May you never bear fruit again!” He said. And immediately the tree withered.

This event is also told in Mark chapter 11. There it is described as being the following day when the disciples see the fig tree withered. This, however, is not a contradiction because we can call a tree completely withering overnight as having been “immediately”. For example, when a pine tree gets struck by lightning, in most instances the tree is killed instantly from electrocution, but it will take one to two weeks for its needles to wither and turn brown. So, a tree withering overnight can readily be described as having been immediate.

But why did Jesus curse the tree?

Recall from the parable of the sower when Jesus describes the seed sown among thorns as being unfruitful because of the worries and the deceitfulness of wealth choking the word, and causing it to become unfruitful. And then that the seed sown on good soil are those who hear the word and understand it. They bear fruit and produce a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.” (Matthew 13:22-23)

And recall when Jesus compared false teachers to bad trees bearing bad fruit (Matthew 7:15-20)

And when John the Baptist warned the Pharisees “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:7-10)

In Luke thirteen we find the parable of the barren fig tree:

Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone again this year, until I dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine. But if not, you can cut it down.’” (Luke 13:6-9)

Jesus is providing the disciples, as well as we, the Bible readers, a real-world example of what God’s judgement looks like. Those who bear no fruit (i.e. the fruit of faith), will be cut off and thrown into the fire.

There are so many people today who worship the creation rather than the creator. They would accuse Jesus of wrong doing for having killed the fig tree. They would say that everything is lovely and everyone has value just the way they are. They will claim that Jesus loves everyone (a true statement), but as such they incorrectly deduce that Jesus’s love means there’s no need for repentance.

What Jesus is showing us, however, in this example of withering the fig tree, is that without the fruit of faith you have no value to God. The fact that he planted you is evidence that he loves you, but if you don’t bear any fruit (i.e. if you have no faith), the love that he has for you is not going to prevent him from digging you up and throwing you away. He may love you, but do you love Him?

It’s important to understand what faith actually is, because everyone who claims to be a Christian will assert they have faith, but such is often not the case because Jesus said:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23)

What is the will of the Father in heaven? That we put our faith in Jesus Christ. Why does Jesus say he never knew them? Because they never put their faith in Him. So what exactly is faith? We can not claim to have faith unless we first know what faith is. Faith has two critical aspects to it. The first is that we believe that God is real. This is what I call the belief of demons.

You believe that God is one. Good for you! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. (James 2:19)

By referring to demons, I am by no means suggesting that believing in God is somehow evil. Rather I am saying that if you believe that God is real. If you believe that Jesus Christ was a true historical figure who died on the cross and rose from the dead, congratulations! That is a great start. However, those beliefs only rise to the level of the belief that demons have. At that point, you are still no better off than the demons, who, at the end of this age will be cast into the lake of fire.

The second aspect of faith is that you fully believe that what God said is true.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through him everyone might believe. He himself was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

The true Light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-14)

So let me offer you an example:

If a “Christian” couple moves in together before marriage and are having sex without marriage, their actions are a statement of their lack of faith. What they are saying, by their actions, is that they do not believe that what the Word of God says about sex and marriage is true. They, by their actions, are stating that they reject the Word of God.

All of faith can be boiled down to the conversation that took place between Satan and Eve. Satan asked, “Did God really say that?” Eve believed Satan rather than God. Every sin that has ever taken place in the history of planet earth and the human race, did so because someone chose not to believe God (or was ignorant of what God said).

Remember….The Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word was the light of men and the Word became flesh (i.e. Jesus is the Word of God). Therefore, anyone who rejects what is written in the Bible, is rejecting Jesus. You can not have salvation by rejecting faith in Jesus Christ. (However, as long as a person is still living, there is still time to put their faith in Jesus Christ). But what I am talking about herein is that if you call yourself a Christian, and yet you demonstrate by your actions that you do not put your trust in the Word of God; that you don’t believe it and you reject it, we can logically conclude that you don’t have faith.

Salvation is by faith alone. It is not earned. But herein we are defining what faith is. One pastor says salvation is by faith and obedience. A second pastor points to him and calls him a false teacher because, he claims, by mentioning obedience the pastor is preaching salvation by works, but it’s ridiculous to say that faith and obedience are wholly disconnected. If you disobey it is because you didn’t believe God. Nor did you trust Him. You didn’t believe that what God said was true. Thus, obedience is the fruit of faith.

An act of disobedience is an act of anti-faith. We do not earn salvation by getting brownie points for every good work we do. But if salvation is by faith, and by your disobedience, you demonstrate that you don’t have faith then we can rightly conclude a high probability that you may not yet be saved.

If salvation is by faith and you see what the Word of God says, and you don’t do what it says, your actions show that you don’t believe it. Your actions are a rejection of Jesus Christ. We can not reject Jesus Christ and enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Everyone is a sinner. Everyone stumbles into sin on a daily basis. That is not what I’m talking about herein. Rather, I’m referring to the person who reads the Word of God, understands what the Bible is communicating and then says, “No, I’m not going to do that”.

Every day when a Christians stumbles into sin, they later say to themselves “I shouldn’t have done that.” However, there are other “Christians” who say “I’m going to do what I want, and I don’t care that the Bible says not to.”

This is a person who, although he claims the name of Christ, has totally rejected what God has said. Thus, by his actions he demonstrates his anti-faith. He is rejecting Jesus Christ. We can rightly conclude that if he doesn’t repent, Jesus Christ will, like the fig tree, cut him down and throw him into the fire. Despite the fact that Jesus loved him, he had no value to God, (He had no faith), and as such was thrown away.

When Jesus cursed the fig tree and it died, Jesus was demonstrating to the world what will happen to them if they are found (on their day of judgment) to have lived a life devoid of faith.

Verses 20-22

In Florida there is an invasive species of tree called the Brazilian Pepper. It is from Brazil and doesn’t belong in Florida. It’s rapid, wide spreading growth and dense canopy threatens native Florida species. When my wife and I bought our first home, there happened to be a Brazilian Pepper tree in the back yard. We were in the house for only a couple of days when I was at one point looking at the tree from our back window. My wife commented on how she hated Brazilian Pepper trees because of how they make life more difficult for endangered species in Florida.

While continuing to look at the tree from my window, I raised my hand, pointed at the tree and said, “I curse that tree in the name of Jesus”. My comment was intended to be humorous to my wife. Afterward, I thought nothing more of it. However, the next afternoon, when we returned home from the grocery store, I looked out the back window and to my shock saw that the tree was gone. Someone had cut it down and completely removed it. Apparently, my neighbor had taken it upon himself to put a chainsaw to it and cut it down. We had never talked to our neighbor about the tree, he just decided to do it.

I had prayed a curse onto that tree in the name of Jesus, and the very next day, the tree was gone. It never ceases to amaze me, the things that Jesus does and the ways in which he makes himself known to us through the mundane activities of our lives.

Does this mean I believe we can go around cursing every tree we don’t like? No. I don’t think what happened was about the tree, (and it certainly wasn’t about me). I believe what happened was about Jesus making himself known and receiving praise and glory.

When the disciples saw the fig tree, they marveled and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Does this mean we can all pray for a million dollars and next week we’ll all win the lottery? No. Absolutely not. Notice that Jesus said “If you have faith”. We just finished discussing exactly what faith is. Faith is believing that God exists, that Jesus Christ lived, died and rose from the dead, and that we trust that the Word of God is true. Faith = complete and total trust in God’s Word. (Always remember, the Word was with God and the Word was God).

Thus, if we have faith, we’re not praying to win the lottery because by the Word of God we believe and understand that such a prayer would be contrary to God’s will.

In order to receive whatever we ask for in prayer, we must believe that what the Word of God (the Bible) says is true. Thus, the prayers that we make are going to align with the Will of God. We’re not asking for a million dollars, nor are we asking for the vain things of this world. Lust, fame, fortune, pride, and other worldly desires are all things outside of God’s will and thus, if we have faith, we would not pray for such things.

Here’s an alternative: Every person you see, pray for their salvation. Every missionary you meet, pray for their provision to continue sharing the gospel with people around the world. Every widow you encounter, pray for her needs and pray that you might be able to be the one who supplies her needs. Pray for Godly wisdom. Pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Pray that you can understand God’s word more deeply. Pray that you can raise your children to know and trust Jesus. Anything you ask for will be given to you.

Verse 23

When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to Him. “By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You this authority?”

Let’s be honest, this is one occasion in which we can have empathy for the chief priests and elders. Imagine that you’re a pastor, and one Sunday a random person who doesn’t attend your church, walks in. He walks up onto the stage, picks up a hot microphone and just starts preaching the Sunday sermon to your congregation. If you were the pastor, you would immediately be waving your arms at the sound booth and making gestures for them to cut off his microphone. You would have security lay hold of the man and escort him off the property. Later you would probably file a restraining order against him.

But Jesus rightly believes he has the authority to just stroll into the temple courts uninvited and begin teaching those who are there. What gives him this authority?

So behold, I plan to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God, according to what the LORD said to my father David: ‘I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the house for My Name.’ (1 Kings 5:5)

Solomon built the temple to be God’s dwelling place. Herod made it even more grandiose than Solomon. When Jesus walks into the temple courts to begin teaching the people, He is walking into the house that was built for him. It is his house.

Verses 24-27

Jesus already knows that whatever answer he might give, regardless of its content, they are not going to accept anything he says. So instead of answering their question, he proceeds to set a trap for them which he knows will silence them. He’s doing to them exactly what they have tried numerous times to do to him which was to try to catch him in his own words.

Jesus asks, “What was the source of John’s baptism? Was it from heaven or from men?”

They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard John as a prophet.” So they answered, “We do not know.” And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

The scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees have always been to me a mystery. Why did they make up their minds that no matter what evidence was presented to them, even when Jesus rose from the dead, they were not going to accept him as the Messiah.

Verses 28-32

Jesus then tells a story with the intent of illustrating his point about their disbelief.

The first son who refused to work in the vineyard but later changed his mind represents every sinner ever, who lived in rebellion against God but later came to faith. Meanwhile the other son represents the pharisees and Sadducees and to a greater extent Israel as a whole. For they said after leaving Egypt that they would follow God, but then they didn’t.

Verses 33-41

Listen to another parable: There was a landowner (God) who planted a vineyard (Israel). He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it out to some tenants (the Israelites) and went away on a journey.

When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants (The profits) to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit. But the tenants seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.

Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group. But the tenants did the same to them. Finally, he sent his son (Jesus) to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those tenants?” “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants (the gentiles) who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time.”

This is all very reminiscent of the time in which the prophet Nathan told King David a story about a rich man who took a poor man’s only lamb. Nathan described how a rich man, instead of taking from his own flock, took and slaughtered the beloved lamb of a poor man to feed a traveler. David became outraged at the injustice until Nathan revealed that the story was about David himself. “You are the man!” declared Nathan (2 Samuel 12:1-7).

Jesus is telling this parable to the crowd of people at the temple courts which include the chief priests and Pharisees. When asked what the owner of the vineyard should do, the crowd declares that those wretches should be brought to a wretched end.

However, most of them fail to realize that Jesus is talking about them. The chief priests and Pharisees understand who Jesus is talking about. They know he is talking about them.

But as for the rest of the crowd, what this demonstrates is that while people are fully aware of right and wrong, they often fail to see it when it is themselves who are committing the sin. Seldom do we consider ourselves to be the villain of the story. We make excuse after excuse to justify our behavior. But if presented with a story of someone else doing the same thing, we would readily recognize his sin and would declare him a wretched person. Yet we fail to see it in ourselves.

So how do we overcome this tendency? Let’s look at Jesus’s response:

Verse 42

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

Jesus said, “Have you never read in the Scriptures?” Reading from your Bible on a daily basis should be to you the most important thing you do each day. Familiarity with the Word of God is literally the means you have with which to avoid getting entangled in sin and the terrible consequences that arise as a result of sin.

Imagine this scenario: You are drafted into a war. At some point, you are faced with walking across a mine field. You’ve already seen some of your friends walk into the field, step on mines and get blown up. Now it’s your turn. But suddenly someone finds a map which shows the location of all the mines. The map is handed to you. What would you do at that point? You would study the map carefully. This is exactly the same scenario that’s happening with your Bible study. Satan is seeking to kill you. The Bible tells you exactly how to avoid all of Satan’s schemes. The fact that you don’t read from the Bible daily, demonstrates that you’re being an idiot.

Verses 43-46

Jesus is telling them that the Kingdom of God is going to be taken away from the Israelites and given instead to the gentiles (gentile meaning everyone who is not of Israelite ancestry). Jesus is the stone the Israelites rejected. He has become the cornerstone.

Before reading this commentary, I encourage you to first read the text of Matthew chapter twenty.

Verses 1-2

“For”; anytime a verse begins with the word for, therefore, because, etc…, you know it’s a continuation of what was being spoken previously. In this case, verse 1 of chapter 20 is a continuation of the subject matter from the end of chapter 19.

At the end of Matthew 19 Jesus had been talking to the rich young ruler who asked what he must do to get into heaven. Jesus explained to him that it was impossible for him to get into heaven, but only through God is salvation possible. After which Peter came to him and said, “we have left everything to follow You. What then will there be for us?” To which Jesus gives an end times prophecy regarding the disciples. Then he adds the following statement,

“But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” (Matthew 19:30)

Do not view chapter 19 and chapter 20 as being separate. Their division was arbitrary. The last verse in chapter 19 could have just as easily been verse 1 in chapter 20.

In chapter 20 Jesus shares a parable, but when you read it, remember the conversation from the end of 19 was about salvation.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

The landowner = God

The day = a person’s entire life, thus the morning represents a person’s youth and the evening represents a person’s old age.

The vineyard = the world

The work = sharing the gospel and bringing people into the saving knowledge of faith in Jesus Christ.

Payment = salvation (but don’t get confused. While it may appear at this point that salvation is God’s obligation to those who worked, we’re going to see at the conclusion of this parable that it is entirely the opposite).

Verses 3-7

About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ‘You also go into my vineyard,’ he said, ‘and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ he asked. ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. So he told them, ‘You also go into my vineyard.’

What’s happening here? Instead of viewing this parable as time passing on a clock, imagine that the first workers from the morning were young. God finds someone who is 15 or 20 years old and puts upon their heart a calling to put their faith in him and to follow God’s will for their life. They go out into the world and spread the gospel. Maybe they become full time missionaries, or perhaps they become a pastor and work their whole lives in the ministry.

The landowner then went back to the marketplace at the 3rd hour of the day. Let’s say hypothetically that these people are 30 or 40 years old. These people, like the first, put their faith in Jesus Christ and go out into the world to begin spreading the gospel.

At the 6th hour, let’s hypothetically say that these individuals are in their 60’s. Once again, they come to faith in Christ and go out into the world to share the gospel.

But then God goes out at the 11th hour. This represents somebody who might be 80 or 90 years old and literally on their death bed. They have spent their whole entire lives, not doing anything for the lord. Nothing. Perhaps they’ve even spent their life being vocally antagonistic toward God. But on their death bed, they come to faith in Christ.

Verse 8

When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and moving on to the first.’

The key to verse eight is that he instructed his foreman to have them line up with those hired last, at the front of the line and those hired first at the back of the line. Had this not been done, if those hired first received their pay and left, they would never have seen the fact that those hired after them received the same as they. (In other words, if those hired first had been paid first, they would have left assuming that they had earned what they had been given.)

The landowner, however, deliberately set up the situation so that those hired first would see that those hired last received exactly the same as they. Thus, the landowner sought deliberately to force their awareness to the fact that what they were receiving was his generosity rather than something they earned through their hard work. God’s rewards are based on His grace, not human effort.

Verses 9-10

The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when the original workers came, they assumed they would receive more. But each of them also received a denarius.

Here is where we begin to see that salvation is not about work. All the workers received the same thing (salvation), regardless of how much or how little work they had done.

When I was young, I remember my father telling someone that when he died, he wanted it to be quick, such as by an instant heart attack, because he didn’t want to suffer. But even in my youth, I knew that was a bad idea. When a person who is not yet saved, dies suddenly of a heart attack, they go to hell for eternity. However, if it takes a person days or weeks to die, even though they suffer, they have plenty of time to consider their eternal destination and perhaps for the first time in their life, ask the lord Jesus to save them.

When my father was 76 years old he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He went to numerous doctors and none could do anything. They told him, this is the end of your life. My dad knew he was going to die. He spent the last week of his life lying in a hospital bed. We visited him every day, but we went home each night to go to bed. Every night, he remained at the hospital, lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, by himself. My dad had spent his whole life claiming to be a Christian, but having never put his faith in Christ. He never read the Bible, he didn’t go to church and he never prayed, (an outward demonstration of his inner apathy). He devoted his retirement years to the hobby of bonsai, having at one point over 200 bonsai trees. He attended monthly bonsai club meetings and traveled throughout the state to attend bonsai conventions, bonsai auctions and other big bonsai events. Some of his bonsai trees were even displayed at Disney World’s Epcot Center. Two of his trees are still on display to this day at the Brevard Zoo.

During his life he cared nothing for the things of God, for although he knew God, he neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him (Romans 1:21a). It had been the prayer from my youth that his desire to someday die of an instant heart attack would not come to pass, but that he would instead have plenty of time to contemplate his eternity. And God answered my prayer. He laid in that hospital bed for a week before he died. During that time, my wife and I, once again, shared the gospel with him. It’s my continued hope and prayer that in that 11th hour, he asked the Lord for salvation.

But I also knew a man who was about the same age as my father. This man had come to faith when he was just 7 years old. He had spent his whole life in ministry. He was a pastor and built a large church. He led ministries and supported missionaries around the world. He preached in numerous places across the globe, including some that were dangerous. This man, after spending his entire life in service to the Lord, died about 4 years after my father died.

Let’s assume for a moment that my father did ask Jesus to save him prior to his passing. That being the case, the 11th hour workers in this parable represent my father, but the early morning workers represent the pastor I just described. Both, however, received the exact same thing; salvation. One didn’t earn more than the other due to his hard work. Salvation is a gift.

Don’t ever think that by going to church and reading your Bible, you are earning God’s favor. Salvation is a gift given to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. Remember the thief on the cross. Did he do anything to earn salvation?

Verses 11-16

On receiving their pay, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’

But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Did you not agree with me on one denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Again, let me emphasize that the point of the story is not payment for services rendered. Instead, the parable is showing that God gave to each the same thing, not because they earned it but because He was generous.

Verses 17-19

Think for a moment about what Jesus is accurately predicting:

1. He will be delivered to the chief priest
2. They will condemn him to death
3. They will deliver Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged and crucified
4. On the third day, He will be raised to life.

That was four things he predicted with 100% accuracy. There are so many people today who think and claim that Jesus was just an ordinary man. But the reality is that Jesus is obviously not an average person. We’ve seen him heal the sick, give sight to the blind and raise the dead. We’ve seen him transfigured on the mountain. Where Jesus goes the voice of God follows (Matthew 3:17 & Matthew 17:5 & John 12:28). And here we see that Jesus is omniscient, (a quality of God).

For you and I, we can make plans and set appointments. I can put on my calendar that I will arrive at church at 9:00am, but can I accurately predict who’s going to be in the church foyer when I walk through the door? Can I accurately predict exactly what they’re going to say to me when they see me? Absolutely not. Mockers and scoffers will claim that Jesus never said he was God, (which in and of itself is false, because he did claim that), but Jesus’s actions demonstrate that he is God. When was the last time you saw an ordinary man transfigured on a mountain top to where his face glowed and his clothes turned into light? So just accept that Jesus is God, and let’s move on.

Verses 20-28

Here comes John and James’s mommy to straighten out the teacher and make sure her little boys are put into the right classroom. Men; it’s time to grow up. I know of men who are 30 years old but their mother still actively orchestrates their life. I applaud you if you have a good relationship with your mother. If your mother is wise, it’s good to take advice from her, but your no longer 12 years old. You’re no longer her responsibility. You are your own responsibility.

Besides all of that, where has this woman been this whole time? Here we are in Matthew chapter 20 and this is the first time she makes an appearance. Has she even been a follower of Jesus? Does she even know or understand who Jesus is? It appears that she is likely assuming Jesus is going to become king of Israel and she’s asking him to put her sons into important cabinet positions within the government. What she is actually doing, however, is making public fools of her sons and causing division among the disciples.

Jesus responds, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” Jesus is referring to his crucifixion. He is referring to being beaten, tortured and murdered. And they, still not understanding him, respond by saying “Yes”.

Then Jesus says something very ominous which goes over their heads, the same as everything else so far has gone over their heads. Jesus says, “You will indeed drink My cup”. Jesus is telling John and James that by following him, they’re going to be beaten, tortured and murdered.

If their mother had understood what Jesus was saying, she would probably have told her sons to leave Jesus and come back home immediately.

Recall from earlier that Jesus accurately predicted his own death, now he is accurately predicting the deaths of these two men. This again demonstrates that Jesus is not an ordinary man. He is omniscient.

Then Jesus goes on to say, ““But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom My Father has prepared them.”

When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers (James and John’s mother caused division in the church). I have heard stories of people who, like James and John’s mother, seek to make demands of their pastor and elders. Some people view their church membership as being like that of a perks membership program at a hotel, and their tithes as being like payment for services. Let me give you this advice, God likes humbleness. God hates pride. I encourage you, that when you go to church, you sit down, shut up, and listen. If the pastor says they’re looking for volunteers to help with this or that project, if you volunteer, just do what you’re told. Don’t approach a volunteer project thinking you’re going to be the boss when clearly someone else has been put in charge of organizing the project. Be humble! Listen more than you talk. Put your own ambitions aside.

Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

Verses 29-34

This event is told here in Matthew 20, Mark 10 and Luke 18. Mark and Luke’s telling of the event mentions only one blind man while Matthew mentions two. This however is not a contradiction because 1 is a subset of 2. For example, I walk out of a store and see a quarter and a penny lying on the ground. I bend over, pick them both up and put them in my pocket. I then turn to my wife and say, “I just found a quarter”. Was my statement true? Did I find a quarter? Yes I did. I also found a penny but didn’t feel it was worth mentioning. That is exactly what is happening here. Mark even gives us the name of one of the blind men, (Bartimaeus). Therefore, it must be that Bartimaeus was someone worth mentioning, perhaps Bartimaeus was well known in the community, while the other fella was not.

Jesus heals them and they follow him.