Two Parables: Sons & Tenants

The Parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-32)

Klyne Snodgrass:

"God requires productive and obedient living from his people.... How did people ever get the idea that obedience to the will of God is optional?... Any separation of believing and doing is a distortion of the gospel message and is directly confronted by this parable. A person cannot believe apart from obedience....

"This parable also encourages us to remember that initial responses are not ultimate responses. An initial refusal does not have to stay a refusal, and an initial agreement is not enough. It must be lived."

Klyne Snodgrass, Stories With Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Matthew 21:33-46)

This is a parable of judgment against the Jewish religious leaders, but it is also a challenge to all of us: what are we doing with the spiritual potential God has given us? Are we laboring in the kingdom to produce more fruit, or are we just wasting its potential? Don't be deceived--Jesus says that we will each be held accountable for our actions.

Today’s Scripture:

Matthew 21:28-46

---

***How to Subscribe***

I’m blogging through the Gospels in 2019. Subscribe here to receive a weekday update on that day’s Gospel reading. (There is also an option to subscribe to non-Gospels posts as well through my plain ole Andrew Forrest Newsletter.)

The Fig Tree

A fruitless fig tree was an Old Testament symbol of God's judgment on Israel's idolatry and corruption. For example:

“‘I will take away their harvest,
declares the Lord.
    There will be no grapes on the vine.
There will be no figs on the tree,
    and their leaves will wither.
What I have given them
    will be taken from them.'”

Jeremiah 8:13

So, the episode with the cursed fig tree is a living parable Jesus is acting out in front of the disciples. He is showing them the consequences for the hard-heartedness of the religious leaders.

Can prayer really cause a mountain to be thrown into the sea? I don't really know.

What I do know is that prayer changes things.

Scripture Passage:

Matthew 21:18-27

---

***How to Subscribe***

I’m blogging through the Gospels in 2019. Subscribe here to receive a weekday update on that day’s Gospel reading. (There is also an option to subscribe to non-Gospels posts as well through my plain ole Andrew Forrest Newsletter.)

Overturning the Tables

The reason there were moneychangers and merchants in the temple courts in Jerusalem was so that pilgrims who came in from far away could easily buy an animal for sacrifice. Galilee is in the north of Israel, e.g., and I'm told it was at least a 2 week walk from there to Jerusalem. Obviously, it wasn't practical for Jews coming to worship and sacrifice in Jerusalem to bring animals with them, and the Jews of the Diaspora wouldn't even have local money with them, hence the moneychangers.

I don't think it is the presence of the moneychangers and the merchants that is necessarily wrong; it is their abuse of their position to which Jesus is objecting. If they had offered a fair rate of exchange and fair prices, then they would have been doing the pilgrims a service. But, it seems they were price-gouging, and thereby profaning the Temple.

Today’s Scripture:

Matthew 21:12-17

---

***How to Subscribe***

I’m blogging through the Gospels in 2019. Subscribe here to receive a weekday update on that day’s Gospel reading. (There is also an option to subscribe to non-Gospels posts as well through my plain ole Andrew Forrest Newsletter.)

When It's Time to Fight

The Mount of Olives overlooks Jerusalem, and on Palm Sunday Jesus comes down the Mount of Olives in a triumphant procession as he enters the city. The excitement around Jesus has been slowly coming to a boil, but each time the lid is about to blow off, Jesus calms the crowds, or quickly withdraws, or tells the people not to say anything. Palm Sunday, however, is the moment when Jesus goes public. He encourages the shouts of Hosanna and the waving of the palm branches; his procession is a deliberately provocative and political act. And, just a few days later, he'll be crucified.

So, why does he do it?

I think the answer is that it's finally time for him to engage the fight. Jesus was born to die. Up to this moment, he has been biding his time. Now that the time has come, he's ready.

At some point, the difficult thing can't be avoided--it must be engaged.

Today’s Scripture:

Matthew 21:1-11

---

***How to Subscribe***

I’m blogging through the Gospels in 2019. Subscribe here to receive a weekday update on that day’s Gospel reading. (There is also an option to subscribe to non-Gospels posts as well through my plain ole Andrew Forrest Newsletter.)