Advantages and Responsibility

Matthew 21:28–22:14

Some people claim to be religious. But they do not live for Jesus. These people do not belong to God’s kingdom.

Yes and no (Matthew 21:28–32)

The first parable contrasted two groups. They were the religious leaders and the ‘ sinners’. The leaders said that they were loyal to God. They wanted to obey his word. But this did not happen when John the Baptist came. (Read Matthew 21:25.) John had God’s message. But the leaders refused to follow him. So, their talk was good. They had many ceremonies. But these things did not mean anything really.

But there were the ‘ sinners’. They had refused to obey God’s word in the past. (Their lives showed this clearly.) But they heard John’s message gladly. They wanted to follow Jesus. These ‘ sinners’ had good reactions both to John and to Jesus. But this did not please the religious leaders. The result was that the ‘ sinners’ were entering the kingdom of God. And the religious leaders did not enter the kingdom of God.

An impossible ambition (Matthew 21:33–45)

This is the second parable. It probably comes from a real situation. This sort of thing happened in ancient Israel. Owners of property there often lived far away from it. People would pay rent for the property or business. In this story, it was a fruit farm for grapes (a small fruit). The owner would expect to receive a share of the profits. In Jesus’ day, this situation was very unpopular. So people were interested in the subject.

In the story, the owner sent his servants to get his share of the harvest. The farmers attacked them and killed one of them. The owner sent more servants. But the same thing happened. He even sent his son. But they killed him too.

Jesus explained the meaning of the story. The owner was God himself. The fruit farm for grapes was the kingdom of God. (Note: This picture language was in the OT too. Read Isaiah 5:1–7.) The farmers meant the religious leaders in Jesus’ time. The servants were the prophets. The son was Jesus. So, the lesson was clear. The Jewish leaders would lose their part in the kingdom of God. This was because they had refused to accept the prophets. (John the Baptist was the last of the prophets.) The Jewish leaders were planning to kill Jesus too.

Jesus was teaching important truths in this story. We can be citizens of God’s kingdom. This is a very great advantage. But there are responsibilities too.

There are three responsibilities here. First, a Christian should live a good life (Matthew 21:43). This is like a tree that should have fruit (Matthew 21:34b). Next, Christians must hear God’s word. And they must act on God’s word. We must not be like the farmers in Jesus’ story (Matthew 21:34–39). Lastly, Christians must believe Jesus’ words (Matthew 21:42). This is like ‘building’ upon Jesus. Jesus speaks about a danger too. It is to refuse to believe God’s word. It is to refuse to accept God’s Son. To do this will bring judgement (Matthew 21:41).

Ungrateful guests (Matthew 22:1–14)

This parable is really three stories in one story. Matthew 21:1–7 tell the story of an invitation to a royal wedding big meal. The guests whom the king invited did not want to go to it. He asked them again. But they still refused to come. Matthew 21:8–10 tell how all sorts of people came to the big meal. Matthew 21:11–14 tell the incident about the guest who did not wear wedding clothes. These three stories were describing the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 21:2).

• Matthew 21:1–7. The king is God himself. The big meal is for the Messiah. It will happen at the end of time. The servants are the prophets. The previous parable suggested this. But the prophets may include John, Jesus and the disciples. The story is about three things. First, there is God’s patience. There are many chances to enter God’s kingdom.

Next, there were the people who refused the king’s invitation. They were too busy, because they were doing other things. (These things were not wrong. But they were not as important.) But there was something more serious. They completely refused to accept the authority of the man who sent the invitation. So, there must be judgement for them.

It is hard to explain such behaviour. The invitation was to a royal wedding. Most people would never refuse a chance like that! There is more. In the ancient world, any wedding was a happy occasion. Of course, a royal wedding was extra special. Most people’s lives were very dull. So, a wedding would give them a chance to enjoy something.

• Matthew 21:8–10. Some people lost their right to attend the wedding big meal. So, all sorts of men and women were there instead. They would know that they did not deserve to be there. It will be the same at the end of the world.
• Matthew 21:11–14. The details are not clear at first. There was a custom in Jesus’ time. It was to offer special clothes to guests at a wedding. One person seems to have refused this gift. Jesus was teaching that all are welcome to attend the big meal. They could be ‘bad people’. But they must accept the way that God does things. Otherwise, they would be as bad as those who refused the invitation. Matthew 21:14 probably emphasised this idea.

The message of the parable is clear. Most of the Jews refused God’s invitation again and again. (This was especially true about the leaders.) It was a wonderful invitation. So it is hard to explain why the Jews would refuse it. Other people would accept the invitation. But these non- Jews must do two things. They must come to Jesus. And they must be willing to do what God wants.

Questions

• Think about times when you have said ‘Yes’ to something that is good. Then you have decided against it. Now, think about times when you have said ‘No’. Then you have changed your mind. Make two lists. If the second list is longer, thank God!
• The Jewish leaders thought that they had the right to have all of God’s benefits. Can people who are in churches today be like them? What should these people be like?
• God has given the world to men and women. He wants them to look after it. If this is true, Christians should set an example. How can we do this?
• God has an invitation for people today. Many of them make excuses not to accept it. Make a list of the reasons that they give. How can we make the invitation more attractive? (But we must show that it is a serious matter too.)