Matthew 22-28

We have just finished reading Matthew 22-28. In this section we have the last block of teaching that Matthew builds his gospel around. If you remember, Matthew records five "sermons" that Jesus preached that were used as teaching materials for the early church. These five teaching blocks were for new believers as they began following Christ. They are the Sermon on the Mount (5-7), Instructions for Missionaries (10), the Nature of the Kingdom (13), Greatness in the Kingdom (18), and the End of the Age (24-25).

Actually, chapters 24-25 answers three questions the disciples posed; "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?" Jesus had just told them that the Temple would one day be destroyed so that one stone would not be left upon another (24:1-2). Jesus answers their three questions in a different order than they asked. In 24:4-14, He answers their third question, in 24:15-20, He answers their first question. And in 24:21-44, He answers their second question. Jesus tells three parables, 24:45-51, 25:1-13, and 25:14-30 to emphasize to us the importance of being prepared and faithful to receive from the Lord and to be obedient to the Lord with what He has entrusted to us.

This last block of teaching ends with a picture of the Judgement Day when Jesus Christ returns in glory with all of the angels to separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. We are not as familiar with this process as they were. Sheep are separated from goats by a word, the voice of the Shepherd. Sheep respond to His word; goats do not. They only eat. They are led by their appetites. Then Jesus says that both groups, sheep and goats, will be surprised by the Lord when He tells them that they fed, clothed, and visited Him when He was in need (sheep) and that they did not feed, clothe, or visit Him when He was in need (goats). They both ask the same question, "When did we see You hungry and feed You...?" (sheep), "When did we see You hungry and not feed You...?" It seems as though the goats had done some culling with their benevolence whereas the sheep had shared indiscriminately. We think of the inn keeper in Luke's gospel who did not know it was the Christ who was about to be born, or he would have made room for Him (Luke 2:7).

The teaching is clear on how to prepare for the return of the Lord; receive from God and share with others from the abundance that God gives. Do not judge others as to whether they are "worthy" or not; appearances can be deceiving; just share and see how closely the Lord is to those in need. Jesus assures us that when we do, ministry becomes an act of worship.

There is another important teaching in this section; in chapters 22-23 we see Jesus being questioned by the religious authorities. In Exodus 12:1-7 we see the instructions that God gave the people concerning the Passover lamb. It was to be selected on the tenth of the month and sacrificed on the fourteenth of the month. For four days it was to be examined. If it had any blemishes it was not to be used. During those four days in Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, was being examined. He was found to be without blemish.

The questioning began in 21:16 when Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Children were crying out, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" The chief priest and scribes were indignant and asked, "Do you hear what these are saying?" It seems strange to us that anyone would ask Jesus if He could "hear." Jesus could perceive men's thoughts. Jesus answered their question with a question. This is a known technique of a master teacher to help the students learn. It is better if a student discover an answer rather than be given one. Jesus is seeking to teach as He is being questioned. In each of the next three questions (21:23, 22:17, 22:24) Jesus answers their question with questions of His own. He is not distracted by their attempts to catch Him in His words. Jesus stayed focused and obedient to the Father; preach and teach the Kingdom and demonstrate the powerful reality of it.

The last question (22:36) is the exception. Jesus does not answer with a question. He simply quotes Scripture to answer. This reminds us of when Jesus was being tempted; He would answer the temptations with Scripture (4:1-11). The question He was asked was, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" There was a huge dispute and disagreement over that question among rabbis. Jesus simply quotes from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. Jesus was asked four questions and He asked eight questions. This lets us know that He is the one we must answer to, not the other way around.

Chapters 26-28 are chapters we must take our shoes off when reading; it is holy ground. This is the section of the Last Supper, the garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal, arrest and trial, torture, crucifixion and death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the sin of the whole world. We can say this about that; Jesus Christ gave His life for us in order to give His life to us so that He could live His life in us, as us, before the watching world, for the glory of our heavenly Father. This event changes everything, forever.