Faith, however, is not merely a mental acknowledgment of God’s existence. Faith is believing that what God has said is true, and allowing those beliefs to guide our actions.

For example, imagine two people who want to walk on a frozen lake. Both are told that the ice is six inches thick and will easily support their weight. One person believes what he has been told and trusts the one who told him, so he walks confidently out onto the ice. The other, however, does not fully believe what he has been told, nor does he trust the one who assured him the ice would hold. He remains hesitant, stepping slowly and cautiously onto the ice and remains close to the shore.

When it comes to faith, the question is this: Do you believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and do you trust that what God said in the Bible is true?

Here is an example. Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)

If you believe that what God has said is true, you will strive to read from your Bible daily. If, however, you do not trust what God has said and do not believe it to be true, then you are more likely to be the type of person who says you don’t have time to read the Bible.

Ask the Lord Jesus Christ to help you have more faith.

Some pastors have noticed that roughly 20% of their church’s congregation performs about 80% of the workload. Some congregations even find themselves pleading for volunteers to step in and help.

Serving at church is an important part of growing in our relationship with Jesus. When we offer our time and talents, we help the church function more smoothly and effectively. As a result, more people can be reached with the gospel through a congregation that is well organized and presents Christ in a faithful and excellent manner.

Serving also allows us to meet the practical needs of those within the congregation, including caring for the elderly, single parents, and others who may need help and support.

The first step in finding a place to serve at church is prayer. Ask the Lord to give you direction on where to serve.

Next, consider what you enjoy doing and what you’re talented at. What are you already doing well? For example, if you play the guitar proficiently, that may be the first area to explore. Does your church need a guitarist?

However, don’t limit yourself only to the obvious roles. There is always a need for the less visible but equally important areas of service. For example, if you’re good with computers, remember that most churches have no IT department, let alone anyone who can even diagnose a basic computer problem. Most pastors are not well-versed in web design, so even someone with basic WordPress or HTML knowledge can make a significant contribution.

Perhaps you’re good with tools and something of a handyman; there are likely elderly widows in the congregation who could use help at home with simple repairs. Maybe you enjoy photography and could capture special events for the church newsletter. Or maybe you’re great with kids and could assist in the Sunday school.

There are countless opportunities, both obvious and behind the scenes, where your talents, knowledge, and resources can be used to serve in the church. When you step into those roles, you help your church share the good news of the gospel with the community and support those who are less fortunate.

Debate

This is a clear warning from Jesus about giving sacred truths, like the gospel, to people who will despise or abuse them. We ought to have discernment about who is and who isn’t open to hearing the good news. Jesus also said “if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town” (Matthew 10:14).

This instruction to the disciples emphasizes not lingering where the message is rejected, but moving on to those whose hearts may be ready to receive it. In my opinion, there is a significant opportunity cost associated with debating someone who has already made up their mind in opposition to God. Every minute spent arguing with a hardened atheist is a minute not spent sharing the gospel with someone genuinely searching for God.

Christians are called to steward their time wisely because “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:37b-38). Time is finite; time spent debating someone intent on refuting the gospel is time that could have been invested in guiding those who are truly seeking answers.

Paul wrote to Timothy, “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels” (2 Timothy 2:23). While I recognize that some debates may serve an audience of onlookers, some of whom may be searching for truth, far more can be accomplished through one-on-one conversations giving those seeking a chance to ask sincere questions.

Some Christians may also fall into the trap of debating for the sake of being right or winning, or even for profit, as social media often rewards outrage with clicks and views rather than meaningful engagement.

In the end, my choice not to debate is not out of fear, but out of love for the people God is currently calling. I prefer to invest my time in teaching those who are ready to listen, trusting God to open hearts rather than attempting to force agreement in the heat of an argument. True ministry is about sowing seeds into the good soil where they can grow, not in mic-drop moments of trying to defeat the opposition.

Paul said, the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true (Acts 17:11). I feel confident in saying that the atheist who enters into a public debate with a Christian, does not later examine the Scriptures with eagerness to see if what the Christian said is true.

Did you know it’s very difficult to proofread your own writing? That’s because you already know what you meant to say, so your brain fills in the gaps automatically. As a result, it tends to overlook the actual words and letters written on the page.

Every writer has experienced the frustration of proofreading a piece multiple times, only for someone else to immediately spot a glaring mistake.

I once paid $80 for a box of business cards. I must have proofread the card a dozen times before sending them to print. When they arrived, I eagerly showed them to my wife. But as soon as I handed her the first card, she glanced at it and gasped; I had spelled the name of my business wrong. No matter how many times I checked, my mind kept seeing what it expected to see, completely missing that two letters in the first word had been reversed. In the end, that entire $80 box of business cards went straight into the garbage can.

I use Microsoft Word for my writing, and its spell-check and auto-correct features are invaluable. However, there are several critical editing tasks that Word cannot perform (at least not with the default installation I use). Its spell-check and auto-correct functions will not identify any of the following writing mistakes:

Run-on sentences, sentence fragments, comma splices, misplaced or dangling modifiers, subject–verb disagreements, shifts in tense, shifts in point of view, homophone confusion (e.g., right, rite, write, wright), incorrect prepositions, redundant pairs, wrong plural or possessive forms, using adjectives instead of adverbs, missing commas, improper paragraph breaks, and more.

But a language modeler like ChatGPT can catch all of these mistakes, and more. Every good writer needs someone to proofread their work. However, giving your writing to a random friend or family member offers no guarantee that they have the skills or training to spot these errors. Hiring a professional editor, meanwhile, can cost thousands of dollars and take weeks or even months.

An AI program, on the other hand, can identify every type of writing error; and do so in mere seconds.

But here’s the catch:

AI programs like ChatGPT will always take bright, impactful, and colorful writing and make it bland, boring and dull. For this reason, every writer who uses AI as an editing tool must also learn how to “edit the editor.”

The following is my personal list of how I use AI as an editing tool for my writing.

#1) Every sentence and every paragraph must be my own original thoughts.

When I was in high school, using a calculator on a math test was considered cheating. Any student caught doing so would receive a zero on the test and a call home to their parents. College, however, was very different. In my engineering classes, using a calculator during tests was required; but each student had to have memorized the formulas. Typing numbers into a calculator is meaningless without knowing which formulas are needed to solve the problem.

In high school, using a calculator was cheating because it allowed the student to sidestep the work and let the calculator do it for them. In college, however, the calculator became a tool to display the results of the student’s knowledge.

Likewise, if a person uses an AI language modeler like ChatGPT to bypass the work of putting their own thoughts on paper, they are cheating. They are being dishonest. But if a writer uses ChatGPT as a tool to make the words on the page more accurately reflect their own thoughts, that is professional and mirrors exactly what a human editor would do.

Actually, let me revise that last point. I once wrote for a magazine published by my church’s denomination, which was distributed nationally to all the churches in that denomination. I had a human editor, and I vividly remember the first article I submitted. My editor made so many changes and rewrote it so extensively that upon reading it in the published magazine, I felt guilty being listed as the author. I didn’t recognize a single paragraph. I felt like a fraud and thought it would have been more appropriate if the editor’s name had appeared as the author.

By using an AI editing program, a writer can ensure that the thoughts which originated from their own mind are preserved on the page. Writing errors can be corrected, and the arrangement of words can be refined so the original idea is expressed more clearly and precisely. In my opinion, using an AI editor can be even more effective than a human editor, because I, the writer, know exactly what I intended to say. I remember what I was thinking when I put the words on my computer screen, and I can guide the AI editing process to convey my thoughts accurately. A human editor, however skilled, cannot read minds and therefore cannot fully know what the writer’s original thoughts were.

I feel very fortunate that, in ninth grade, I was required to take a typing class. At the time, I didn’t like it, but as an adult with an interest in writing, being able to type with all ten fingers has been invaluable to me. I genuinely feel sorry for those I see typing using only their index fingers and thumbs, a method they likely learned from operating a video game controller. Can you imagine writing an entire book that way? At 10 or 12 words per minute, it would take years. For me, the best way to start a writing project is to sit down at my laptop and free-flow my thoughts onto the screen, typing as fast as I can think. Those thoughts then form the foundation for what is later edited.

#2) Emotion is what makes good writing

The word “poignant” means to evoke a keenly felt sense of emotion. If your writing contains any poignancy; which is what makes good writing; you can be certain that ChatGPT will try to generalize it to the point that your writing loses all of its emotion. While it may correct a run-on sentence, it can also make your writing dull in the process. As the writer, and the “editor of the editor”, you must restore your poignant expression while also recognizing the valid corrections it made.

I always place the edited output side by side with my original and compare them word for word to see exactly what was changed and why. I might make several changes to the output and then run it through the editor again, repeating the process until I have precisely conveyed my original thought.

#2) Never ask ChatGPT to edit more than one paragraph at a time.

If you write an article and then submit the entire text to ChatGPT for editing in a single copy-and-paste operation, it will likely end up destroying your piece.

Imagine hiring a handyman and telling him, “Here’s my house; fix what’s wrong.” You leave to go to work, and at the end of the day, you come home to find that he has converted your entire house into a duplex. Now your home has two front doors, and strangers are moving in.

Instead, you should have brought the handyman into your home and said, “The sliding door on this closet doesn’t shut properly. Please fix only this door.” A few minutes later, you would find that he fixed it, and that it works perfectly.

By giving ChatGPT only one paragraph at a time to edit, you greatly limit how much it has to work with. As a result, the extent of its alterations is also limited. It can correct your comma splices and adjective use, but it can’t change the overall direction and meaning of your writing. You simply haven’t provided it with enough content to do so.

#3) Don’t let ChatGPT make changes just for the sake of changing something.

ChatGPT will often change words simply for the sake of change, not because the revision improves the writing. That’s why you may often desire to put your words back into the text. The thoughts that originated in your mind are what you want your audience to read. When ChatGPT alters words unnecessarily, it strips the “you” from your writing. The goal of using ChatGPT as an editing tool is to ensure that your own thoughts are clearly and accurately conveyed to the reader. Correcting genuine writing mistakes is important, but making changes just for the sake of change is not.

#4) Remove the AI signatures.

I’m not sure why, but certain words, punctuation choices, sentence structures, and writing styles are so heavily favored by ChatGPT that they have become hallmarks of AI-generated text. The word gentle is one example: “Would you like me to gently recommend a pizza recipe?” “The gentle nature of her suggestion.” “God’s gentle love for His people.”

This really ties back to my previous rule. ChatGPT will edit your writing by inserting words, phrases, and punctuation that you, as the writer, would never use. All of that must be stripped out and restored to reflect the way you actually write.

For example, most people don’t know how to type an em dash (Alt + 0151). However, ChatGPT uses em dashes as liberally as I use salt on scrambled eggs, making them a signature of AI writing. When “editing the editor”, I always replace em dashes with my preferred punctuation; typically, a comma or a semicolon. Much to my consternation, however, I’ve noticed that the Berean Standard Bible, which is what I always use when quoting Scripture and which was published long before the first AI programs existed, frequently employs em dashes. I have to remain constantly vigilant to avoid accidentally “editing” Scripture while reviewing my own commentary writing after using an AI editor.

The obvious goal of writing is to convey one’s thoughts onto paper. Poor writing, however, can cause the reader to walk away with unintended messages. A humorous and often cited example is the phrase “Let’s eat Grandma.” Clearly, the author did not intend for his grandmother to be eaten. The correct sentence should have been “Let’s eat, Grandma,” or better still, “Grandma, let’s eat.”

Every writer needs an editor because it’s extremely difficult to proofread one’s own work. I once bought a book, brought it home, and began to read it. But somewhere in chapter five, I noticed that the author had used the word “containment” where the context clearly required the word “consignment.” I went to the author’s website and emailed him about the mistake. He replied with gratitude and admitted that four human editors had failed to catch it.

The incredible value of using an AI editor is that it’s virtually impossible for the machine to overlook such subtle errors. The machine doesn’t misspell words or make writing mistakes. ChatGPT was trained on about 570GB of text, roughly 300 billion words, or the equivalent of six million books. It is, for all practical purposes, impervious to grammatical errors. While it obviously lacks the human component that we, as writers, must restore to its editing outputs, ChatGPT is, in my opinion, the most effective editing tool available; provided you’re not lazy and are willing to first record your own thoughts and then afterward, take the time to edit the editor.

In this video, we explore Matthew 5, The Sermon on the Mount, The Beatitudes, Salt and Light, Did Jesus Abolish the Law?, Adultery, divorce and advice on marriage.

Jesus Rebukes the Pharisees

Gary Eugene Howell uses the Berean Standard Bible. The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. The Text of the Berean Standard Bible was dedicated to the public domain as of April 30, 2023.

Verses 1-3

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples: “The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.

Commentary

Why? Why should they practice and observe everything the scribes and Pharisees tell them if the scribes and Pharisees are hypocrites? Jesus has just finished thoroughly rebuking them throughout the last half of the previous chapter. It would seem more logical for Him to now instruct the crowds not to follow them. After reading chapter 22, we might expect Matthew 23:1 to say, “Ignore the Scribes and Pharisees.” Why then does Jesus tell the crowd to do everything they say?

The Israelites depend upon the scribes and Pharisees to tell them what the law of Moses says. Therefore, any Israelite who wants to pursue God has little choice but to receive instruction from them. This is why they sit in Moses’s seat. God spoke to Moses, and Moses instructed the Israelites. The scribes and Pharisees study the scriptures and tell Israel what they say. Anyone who wanted to follow God and obey the scriptures had to rely upon the scribes and Pharisees to instruct them.

But Jesus warns the people: “Do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.” He then goes on to explain exactly what he means. Let’s look at the next few verses.

Verses 4-7

They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues, the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of ‘Rabbi’ by which they are addressed.

Commentary

Everything Jesus describes about the Pharisees ultimately comes down to their pride. Pride says, “I’m important.” “I deserve recognition.” “Look at what I’ve accomplished.” “I don’t need God.” “My will be done.”

“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6b).

Pride Is Not Just a Pharisee Problem

We tend to view the Pharisees as the villains of the New Testament, and understandably so given how Jesus addresses them. But people today do the exact same things they did.

Consider this hypothetical: a police officer pulls over a car for speeding, and behind the wheel is a city council member. The first thing out of the man’s mouth is, “Do you know who I am?” That’s pride. Being a member of the city council does not give him permission to speed. He believes his elevated position in the community makes him better than everyone else.

Humility, on the other hand, is very often an intentional choice; one that sometimes requires planning ahead. When someone knows they are about to be promoted, they might say to themselves, “I’m not going to let this go to my head.” Pride, on the other hand, can be the natural default. It requires no effort at all.

When you are promoted, I encourage you to rely daily on Jesus Christ rather than on yourself. Even if you’ve been doing something for years and have become an expert in your field, continue to ask Jesus Christ to help you. The goal is humbleness.

Verse 8

But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers.

Commentary

In the previous verses Jesus said that the Pharisees love the places of honor, the greetings, and the titles. Jesus continues, “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi’…” Jesus is not saying that the word Rabbi is somehow bad. Rather, he is making a comparison to the attitudes and behaviors of the Pharisees.

To obey this teaching, we don’t shed titles. If no one had a title, how would we know who’s responsible for what? Instead, Jesus is saying that the Pharisees loved to be called Rabbi. They craved honor and special places to sit at banquets. You and I, on the other hand, are not to let our titles inflate our egos. Don’t allow yourself to crave attention and glory.

Don’t get to the point where, after being pulled over for speeding, you say to the officer, “Don’t you know who I am?” The officer doesn’t know, and he doesn’t care. Your job is not to be self-important. Your job is to treat others as more important than yourself.

in humility consider others more important than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3b)

Verses 9-10

And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ.

Commentary

Jesus had just told his followers not to become prideful when given positions of authority and honor. Now He tells them not to elevate others because of their elevated positions. We are not to revere or idolize people. Instead, we are to revere God.

Consider this: if, in your mind’s eye, you view a person in authority as infallible, you’ll be inclined to accept everything they say without question. This is how people end up being led astray by false teachers. They assume he is right and never take the time to examine what he is actually saying.

Don’t put people on pedestals.

Verse ten has the same message: do not exalt yourself because of your title. I once disagreed with someone over how a certain Bible verse was being interpreted. When I expressed my disagreement, he immediately informed me that he had been teaching a weekly Bible study for ten years. He didn’t want to discuss the merits of my disagreement. Instead, he wanted to shut me down by exalting himself and his credentials as a Bible instructor. That’s pride.

If he interprets a Bible passage incorrectly, and no one ever points out his error, he will likely continue to interpret it that way indefinitely. It doesn’t matter that he’s been teaching Bible studies for ten years. He may have been teaching them wrong for ten years.

Don’t think of yourself as a know-it-all just because you’re the one teaching the Bible study, and don’t get offended when someone wants to disagree with your interpretation. Be humble and carefully consider what they say.

When leading a Bible study, always seek God’s help, even if you’ve been doing it for ten years.

Verse 11

The greatest among you shall be your servant.

Commentary

This is the application of Jesus’s teaching. In every position you hold, and in every responsibility you’re given, think about who you are serving.

If you own a business, your job is to serve your customers. You also serve your employees in the sense that it’s your responsibility to teach them how to serve your customers. If you’re placed in charge of anything at church, your job is to serve the congregation in those roles and tasks. If you’re elected to an office of government, your job is to serve your constituents. If you are writing a New Testament Bible commentary, your job is to serve those who will read it.

But if in any pursuit, the work you’re doing serves only to exalt yourself, elevate yourself above others, show off, feed your pride, or enrich yourself; you’re doing it wrong!

Verse 12

For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Commentary

Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you. (1 Peter 5:5b-6)

Verse 13

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.

Commentary

The Scribes and Pharisees were supposed to serve the people of Israel and lead them into the knowledge and understanding of God. They should have been feeding the hungry, caring for widows and orphans, and tending to the needs of the people. Instead, they became prideful in their important roles; even to the point of shutting the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. The pursuit of God became their exclusive club, and they didn’t want the “riff raff” to join them.

Jesus is telling them that they themselves will not enter the kingdom of heaven, and they attempt to block others from entering as well.

Verse 14

The oldest manuscripts do not contain verse 14, so I am not including it here. However, it is included in the Gospels of Mark and Luke, and I will comment on it in those sections.

Verse 15

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

Commentary

On the occasions when the Pharisees did attempt to convert someone, what they brought that person into was a religion of dead works, pride, and self-righteousness; which did not lead to salvation.

Verse 16-33

Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred? And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred? So then, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the One who sits on it.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers. You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?

Commentary

“Woe to you, blind guides!” We are in the midst of Jesus listing seven woes against the Pharisees.

1. You will not let in those who are seeking the kingdom of heaven.
2. Your converts become sons of hell.
3. You’re blind and can’t see the errors of your own ways.
4. You disregard the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
5. Your righteousness is only for show; you don’t bother to cleanse your heart.
6. You are whitewashed tombs.
7. You are the sons of those who murdered the prophets.

This is quite a list of accusations. It’s no wonder they didn’t like Jesus. Yet all of these charges were true. Remember, these were the religious leaders of His time. The same danger can exist today. Watch out. Be ever seeing and ever perceiving.

By saying, “If we had lived in the days of our fathers,” the Pharisees were admitting that they were the sons of those who murdered the prophets.

Jesus said, “Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers.” The Pharisees were about to crucify the Messiah. Of all the prophets who were ever killed, these Pharisees speaking to Jesus were about to do worse than all of their ancestors combined. This is truly the highest example of dead religion.

All religions that are devoid of the Holy Spirit make decisions and perform actions based entirely on a heart that is absent of God. This can happen within the Christian religion as well; There are some Christian denominations, churches, pastors, elders, and laypeople who do not have the Holy Spirit.

For example, when a pastor retires and the board of elders is tasked with hiring a new pastor, if those elders do not have the Holy Spirit, by what standard will they make their selection? They will choose their next pastor based on the standard of their own sinful hearts.

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. These are what defile a man…(Matthew 15:19-20a)

Be ever seeing and ever perceiving. Don’t just trust people blindly.

Verse 34

Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town.

Commentary

Throughout the ages, God sent prophets and wise men, but like the Bible study teacher I mentioned earlier, pride blinded the religious leaders of Israel. The scribes and Pharisees were unwilling to be corrected.

Verse 35-36

And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Commentary

It’s interesting to note the last words of Zechariah as he was being murdered.

Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest (Berechiah was likely his grandfather or great-grandfather), who stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He has forsaken you.’”

But they conspired against Zechariah, and by order of the king, they stoned him in the courtyard of the house of the LORD. Thus King Joash failed to remember the kindness that Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had extended to him. Instead, Joash killed Jehoiada’s son. As he lay dying, Zechariah said, “May the LORD see this and call you to account.” (2 Chronicles 24:20–22)

Some translations say ‘May the Lord see and avenge.’ That is exactly what is about to happen. Jesus said, ‘All these things will come upon this generation’; and just 33 years after this moment, the first Jewish-Roman War would begin.”

Israel had been ruled by Rome in a way that allowed it to retain much of its independence and way of life. However, within a few years of Jesus’s crucifixion, and the events of the book of Acts and the letters of Paul, Israel came under the direct rule of Rome, and was severely oppressed, its religious freedoms were taken away.

But I want to consider another possible way of viewing these two verses. Jesus says, “Upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth.” What makes a person righteous in God’s eyes? It is the blood of Jesus Christ. That blood would soon be shed, and it would be these very religious leaders who would be responsible for handing Him over to be crucified.

On the cross, Jesus took all our sins upon Himself. His blood paid for our sins. In that sense, the statement is true: “upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth.” Jesus bore our sins, yet these Pharisees were the very ones who would be held responsible for delivering the Son of God to death.

Verses 37-39

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Commentary

Jesus says “how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings”. Jesus is God; and long before he was born through Mary into the physical world, he had, from heaven, longed to gather Israel’s children together.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 22:13)

Jesus is God.

He continues, “but you were unwilling.” Salvation is not forced upon anyone. The very fact that salvation is by faith means that a person must be willing to be saved. Antagonists often ask, “How can an all-loving God send anyone to hell?” The answer, of course, is that God doesn’t send people to hell; rather, it is these people who are unwilling to go to heaven. In reality, their arguments are rarely presented so simplistically, yet at the core, it always comes down to this: whether or not a person is willing to love God and place their faith in Him. If they are not, they are choosing to forfeit salvation.

Jesus concludes His statement by saying, “For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’” This is a prophecy concerning the end times. The next time Jesus sets foot in Jerusalem will be at His second coming. The battle of Armageddon will look as though it will bring an end to the Jewish people. At that time, Jesus will come to their rescue, and they will shout, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” (See Revelation 1:7 and Revelation 19:11-16 and Revelation 20)

The Wedding Banquet Guest

Gary Eugene Howell uses the Berean Standard Bible. The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. The Text of the Berean Standard Bible was dedicated to the public domain as of April 30, 2023.

Verses 1-7

Once again, Jesus spoke to them in parables: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to call those he had invited 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, mistreated them, and killed them.

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

Commentary

The king represents God, and the wedding banquet is between Jesus and the church. The servants are the prophets, and those who were invited but refused to come represent Israel; particularly Israel’s religious leaders

Verse 7 was, at the time, a future prophecy referring to the siege of Jerusalem in AD 70. When it says the king sent his troops, understand that God has the ability to direct any military force on earth and use it to accomplish His purpose.

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. (2 Kings 24:2)

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. (Jeremiah 25:8-9)

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.

Commentary

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 to the wedding banquet of Jesus and the Church (i.e. everyone is invited to be saved).

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. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man was speechless.

Commentary

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 they’ll earn their salvation through good works and moral living. It’s entirely possible for a layperson, a church member, a deacon, an elder, and even a pastor or priest to be deeply involved in church activities, ministries, helping the poor, feeding the hungry, and so on, 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.

Being Involved and Active While Missing the Opportunity Entirely: A Personal Anecdote

My first job was mowing grass at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens Florida. The employee handbook stated that employees could 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 one green to another. When I finished mowing all the greens, I had to go back and move the holes on each green. I also maintained the mowers and worked on the sprinklers. Our job was to keep the entire 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 daily free round of golf.

Later, when I was about 40 years old and reflecting on my life, it occurred to me just how big of an opportunity I had missed. The golf course had a pro shop, and in the pro shop was a full-time professional golf instructor. That golf instructor was my coworker. He and I were both employees of the golf course. It never once occurred to me while working there, that I could have befriended him and asked him to go golfing with me each day, and during that time I could have gleaned valuable advice about my swing and technique.

Now consider this: a young man, just 18 years old, playing a full round of golf every day in the company of a professional golf instructor. Who knows? Perhaps I could have become a professional golfer myself. Perhaps I could have one day joined the PGA Tour. When I look back on my life in hindsight, I consider this to be a big opportunity missed. I worked at the golf course and took part in every activity required to keep the golf course running, yet I never played golf.

Likewise, there are many Christians who attend church, volunteer at church, or are even employed by a church. They perform activities to keep the church running, yet have not put their faith in Christ.

It doesn’t matter the denomination; every church in America has someone in the congregation or parish who has not yet placed their faith in Christ, even though they outwardly appear to be devout.

God judges the heart. We, however, cannot see into people’s hearts. All we can do is observe their actions and speech. On the day of judgment, each of us may be surprised to see who ends up being kicked out of the wedding banquet.

How can you know if you are such a person? Ask Jesus! One of the most essential aspects of putting our faith in Christ is relying on Him rather than on ourselves. Right now: ask Jesus Christ to help you put your faith in Him and to fill you with the Holy Spirit.

Here is a simple prayer you can pray: “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.’

Commentary

This, of course, refers to hell. Anyone who has not been filled with the Holy Spirit at the time of their earthly death will not enter the kingdom of Heaven.

Verse 14

For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Commentary

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

“Few are chosen.” Those who are chosen are the ones who 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. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance.

Commentary

Ah ha! So they admit that Jesus is honest and teaches the way of God in accordance with the truth! By making this statement while actively conspiring to trap Jesus in His words, they are confessing that they are guilty of conspiring against God! Woe to them on the day of judgment!

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?

Commentary

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

He named the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7)

What a coincidence; here are the spiritual leaders of Israel, asking the very same question again: “Is the Lord among us or not?” Their Messiah is standing right in front of them, yet all they want is to argue with Him.

Verses 19-22

Show Me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. “Whose image is this,” He asked, “and whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they answered.

So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And when they heard this, they were amazed. So they left Him and went away.

Commentary

This passage shows Jesus’s unmatched wisdom. The Pharisees tried to corner Him: if He said pay the tax, He’d anger the people; if He said don’t pay the tax, He’d anger Rome. But Jesus completely sidesteps the trap, leaving them speechless and amazed.

Verses 23-29

That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and questioned Him. “Teacher,” they said, “Moses declared that if a man dies without having children, his brother is to marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died without having children. So he left his wife to his brother. The same thing happened to the second and third brothers, down to the seventh. And last of all, the woman died. In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be of the seven? For all of them were married to her.”

Jesus answered, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.

The World Tolerates Religion but Rejects Jesus

“The Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection…” It’s interesting that the Pharisees and Sadducees appear to have been colleagues, perhaps even friends, even though they held vastly different spiritual beliefs. Meanwhile, Jesus arrives with teachings that are clearly different from both of them, and yet the Pharisees and the Sadducees hate Him, even to the point of wanting to kill Him. Why were the Pharisees and Sadducees able to tolerate one another’s differing beliefs, yet neither could tolerate Jesus?

Today in America, corporations, universities, and organizations often strive for diversity, equity, inclusion and tolerance for all religions except Christianity. At times, Christians are treated with disdain and intolerance. This phenomenon serves to illustrate that, among all world religions, Christianity stands apart. This author views this as evidence to the truth of God’s Word. The world hates Jesus; and this is expressed as a hatred of Christians.

If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. (John 15:18)

How Knowing Scripture Protects You from being Spiritually Deceived

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

Every error that you and I might have in our understanding of who God is can be traced back to our not knowing the Scriptures. Remember when Jesus was in the desert being tempted by Satan (Matthew chapter 4)? Every rebuttal that Jesus gave to Satan began with, “It is written.” The way we avoid deception and false doctrine is by knowing the Scriptures well. The only way we can accomplish that is by faithfully and consistently reading the Bible.

[If you have never read the Bible before, I encourage you to start with the New Testament, because it contains all the core principles of the Christian faith. Most people who attempt, for the first time, to read the entire Bible, begin with the Old Testament and quit somewhere in or around the Book of Numbers, which is largely made up of census data and architectural measurements.]

It has become apparent in recent years that many Christians, perhaps most, do not read the Bible. Instead, they form their beliefs based on what others have told them, or through a self-invented spirituality shaped by personal experience, inner feelings, and preferences.

I have encountered Christians, both in person and online, whose stated beliefs are so far removed from Biblical truth that I am left genuinely bewildered at how anyone claiming to be a Christian could have arrived at such conclusions.

27% of Americans do not read books at all, and another 20% read only reluctantly. Given that the Bible has over 1,000 pages, it represents a serious undertaking, particularly for those unaccustomed to reading books. We can all agree that reading the entire Bible is a significant commitment; not to mention studying it in depth and reading it multiple times over the course of a lifetime.

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)

So how do you read a 1,000 pages when you’d rather do almost anything else? Start by asking Jesus to give you a love for his Word. Then begin with the New Testament. That is where the bulk of Christian theology is concentrated, and reading it first gives you the hindsight needed to better understand the Old Testament when you get there.

Second, begin by reading for just five minutes a day. Five minutes is a good place to start building 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 it. By listening to a recording of someone else reading the Scriptures, you can go through large portions of the Bible in a relatively short period of time.

Verses 30-33

In the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you: ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

Commentary

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

Verses 34-40

And when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they themselves gathered together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question: “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?”

Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Commentary

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself”, this summarizes the entire law. Take careful notice that we are to love God with ALL our heart, soul and mind. But what exactly does that mean?

HEART – I would define this as being the same kind of love which we experience for our spouse, and/or our children. It is an affection. A longing desire to spend time with God.

SOUL – I interpret this as finding your identity in Christ. It means that your self-worth, the sense of who you are and your purpose are found in Christ. This is as opposed to those who find their self-worth in their own achievements, carrier advancements, material possessions, fame, or the recognition of other people.

MIND – I interpret this as your desire to study and learn about God’s and His will for your life. When Jesus says “all your mind”, he is referring to someone who desires to actively pursue God through study and the gaining of knowledge and wisdom.

Verses 41-46

While the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus questioned them: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?”

“David’s,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord’? For he says:

‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’

So if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how can He be David’s son?”

No one was able to answer a word, and from that day on no one dared to question Him any further.

Commentary

“What do you think about the Christ?” Remember that “Christ” is not Jesus’s last name; rather, it is a title meaning “Messiah.”

“Whose son is He?” And they answered correctly: “David’s”. Jesus is a descendant of King David.

Jesus said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord’?”

Jesus then quotes the Psalms:

The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” (Psalm 110:1)

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

The Pharisees answered 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.

A person would not normally call a son “Lord.” And yet David does call the Christ Lord. What this reveals is that Jesus is both fully man (a descendant of David) and fully divine. Jesus Christ is God.