Matthew 23:4 By this Jesus means the doctrines of men. For, though man made doctrines may have a semblance of law, they have not the balm of the scriptures. The law of God crushes, but it also heals. This is why Jesus says that his ‘burden is light’ in another place. He may put a…
Matthew 23:3 There is often quite a difference between what is taught of the substance of the law, what it is interpreted to mean, and how it is applied to life. This is what Jesus is getting at. Though the Jewish teachers were careful to preserve and teach the letter of the law, their interpretations…
Matthew 23:2 The authenticity of the ministry of Christ is so very apparent. One whose teaching was so different from the norm in Judaism at the time would be thought to refuse as worthless anything coming from Jerusalem. But, Jesus did not do this. He spoke from the point of view of one who was…
Matthew 23:1 Notice the differentiation between the multitude and the disciples. The Word of the Lord is for everyone. But we can never kid ourselves about the crowds. There will always be those that will not believe. They come to see a show, to hear something new, to judge and criticize, or whatever. Their motivations…
Matthew 22:46 It is remarkable that even though this rest from questioning closely preceded the suffering of Christ there was actually a period during which no one dared to ask Christ any questions. It seems that, just as many orthodox Jews today, they felt that too much discussion of the things having to do with…
Matthew 22:45 Perhaps there were those among the Jewish leadership that were influenced later by this question. Though they remained silent at this time, being unable to answer such straightforward question would enrage the ill-willed among them and convict the more thoughtful of them. Beyond this, the question flies in the face of many today…
I will be on vacation until Monday. The Lord willing I will resume posting then. Have a great weekend!
Matthew 22:44 Looking back to the Hebrew, what we have here is Jehovah God speaking to the Messiah, who is refereed to as Adonai. Obviously, the Messiah must be divine, and yet another person is here said to speak to him who is also said to be divinity. This can only be explained by the…
Matthew 22:43 Here Jesus is referring to Psalm 110:1. In this verse, David distinguishes very clearly between Jehovah God and the Messiah, and yet does not deny the divinity of the Messiah while doing so. Here, in the Greek, we have the Greek word for lord or master used. But in the Hebrew, which Jesus…
Matthew 22:42 The question Jesus chooses to put to these men could have been quite helpful to them had they chosen to listen. Jesus knew that there was a lack of understanding when it came to the subject of the Messiah. This is what he asks about, what they believed in regards to the progeny…