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“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the workers on one denarius, he sent them into his vineyard for the day. When he went out about nine in the morning, he saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He said to them, ‘You also go into my vineyard, and I’ll give you whatever is right.’ So off they went. About noon and about three, he went out again and did the same thing. Then about five he went and found others standing around and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing? ’
“ ‘Because no one hired us,’ they said to him.
“ ‘You also go into my vineyard,’ he told them. When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told his foreman, ‘Call the workers and give them their pay, starting with the last and ending with the first.’
“When those who were hired about five came, they each received one denarius. So when the first ones came, they assumed they would get more, but they also received a denarius each. When they received it, they began to complain to the landowner: ‘These last men put in one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day’s work and the burning heat.’
“He replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I’m doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me on a denarius? Take what’s yours and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what is mine? Are you jealous because I’m generous? ’
“So the last will be first, and the first last.”
While going up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the twelve disciples aside privately and said to them on the way, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death. They will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged, and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised. ”
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached him with her sons. She knelt down to ask him for something. “What do you want? ” he asked her.
“Promise,” she said to him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left, in your kingdom.”
Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? ”
“We are able,” they said to him.
He told them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right and left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. There were two blind men sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David! ” The crowd demanded that they keep quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David! ”
Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want me to do for you? ”
“Lord,” they said to him, “open our eyes.” Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, and they followed him.

Matthew 20

God sent his son into the world to save us. In this parable, which is a retelling of the parable of Isaiah 5, God is the landowner, and his kingdom is the field. It was the job of the ruling Jewish authority (read Pharisees et al) to care for the kingdom and ensure it produced a harvest… they did not. So God sent them, over long generations, over and over again, prophets to show them the way… they still, ultimately, never stayed with the Lord for more than a generation. Ultimately, God sent his son, and they used Rome to kill him. Jesus knew he came to die, he knew what kind of death it would be, and yet he still came. He came so that the kingdom could go into all the world. Following after Jesus means sharing in his suffering. It will not be an easy road, but it is the best one. True healing comes from trusting in him.

When Jesus had finished saying these things, he departed from Galilee and went to the region of Judea across the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. Some Pharisees approached him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife on any grounds? ”
“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that he who created them in the beginning made them male and female,” and he also said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
“Why then,” they asked him, “did Moses command us to give divorce papers and to send her away? ”
He told them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of the hardness of your hearts, but it was not like that from the beginning. I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery.”
His disciples said to him, “If the relationship of a man with his wife is like this, it’s better not to marry.”
He responded, “Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs who were made by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept it should accept it.”
Then children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Leave the children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to me, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” After placing his hands on them, he went on from there.
Just then someone came up and asked him, “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life? ”
“Why do you ask me about what is good? ” he said to him. “There is only one who is good. If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
“Which ones? ” he asked him.
Jesus answered: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as yourself.
“I have kept all these,” the young man told him. “What do I still lack? ”
“If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard that, he went away grieving, because he had many possessessions.
Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were utterly astonished and asked, “Then who can be saved? ”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Then Peter responded to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you. So what will there be for us? ”
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Matthew 19

The Bible never condones divorce. In this passage, Jesus says “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of the hardness of your hearts.” So, while not endorsing it as good, Jesus says, Moses allowed divorce to happen for the hard hearted. Jesus’ teaching on divorce could be summed up this way “don’t do it, unless it’s absolutely necessary.” We are called to love, even our enemies. Life is so much more than just enjoying yourself and gathering all the “stuff” you can. We can’t take it with us, so don’t pile it up.

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “So who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? ” He called a child and had him stand among them. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child — this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one child like this in my name welcomes me.
“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away — it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses will inevitably come, but woe to that person by whom the offense comes. If your hand or your foot causes you to fall away, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to fall away, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hellfire.
“See to it that you don’t despise one of these little ones, because I tell you that in heaven their angels continually view the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If someone has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go and search for the stray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over that sheep more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
“If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he won’t listen, take one or two others with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established. If he doesn’t pay attention to them, tell the church. If he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like a Gentile and a tax collector to you. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you on earth agree about any matter that you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them.”
Then Peter approached him and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times? ”
“I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven.
“For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle accounts, one who owed ten thousand talents was brought before him. Since he did not have the money to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt.
“At this, the servant fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything.’ Then the master of that servant had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan.
“That servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe! ’
“At this, his fellow servant fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he wasn’t willing. Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. When the other servants saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you? ’ And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister from your heart.”

Matthew 18

Who is the greatest? Jesus, not us. It’s easy to lose our way, and we should remember that when one of our own loses their way. We should be seeking to constantly be bringing others back to Jesus, and hoping they will do the same when we go astray. The Christian life is not intended to be an exercise in living in solitude, you can’t do it alone, you need a church around you to be a genuine follower of Jesus… you can’t be a body part without a body. When a fellow believer goes astray, when they are showing fruit that doesn’t come from the spirit, we have an absolute responsibility to go after them. We can’t just put our fingers in our ears and think “tisk, tisk, they shouldn’t do that.” When one member suffers, we all suffer. The church should draw bright lines and hold high standards for genuine Christian conduct. Go to people when there’s an issue, don’t go to other people. Go to them privately. If that doesn’t work, get a small group together and try to help them, go after them, try to bring them back into the fold. If you’re the only one who thinks what they are doing is wrong, then maybe you’re wrong… or maybe you’re in the wrong place. If, however, genuine believers lovingly confront a brother or sister in Christ and they are not willing to change, then for the sake of unity, they can’t remain a part of the fellowship. The church must be unified, sometimes that means when someone has separated themselves from the rest through their divisive words or actions, we have to give them what they want, separation. It’s better to have a smaller unified group, than a huge body who aren’t getting along. God is not divided, neither should his people be. In order for unity to happen, we’ve got to live by forgiveness. Forgiveness presupposes that we are all imperfect. We recognize that when a friend messes up, they can come back. And when we mess up, that means we can to. If we can’t forgive, then we won’t be forgiven. Jesus forgives, Jesus forgave… us, so we forgive others. There’s always a seat at the table of faith for repentant hearts. See you Sunday.

After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. He was transfigured in front of them, and his face shone like the sun; his clothes became as white as the light. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good for us to be here. I will set up three shelters here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him! ” When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown and were terrified.
Jesus came up, touched them, and said, “Get up; don’t be afraid.” When they looked up they saw no one except Jesus alone.
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”
So the disciples asked him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first? ”
“Elijah is coming and will restore everything,” he replied. “But I tell you: Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him. On the contrary, they did whatever they pleased to him. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he had spoken to them about John the Baptist.
When they reached the crowd, a man approached and knelt down before him. “Lord,” he said, “have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire and often into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”
Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and from that moment the boy was healed.
Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we drive it out? ”
“Because of your little faith,” he told them. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
The Second Prediction of His Death
As they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised up.” And they were deeply distressed.
Paying the Temple Tax
When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax? ”
“Yes,” he said.
When he went into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly kings collect tariffs or taxes? From their sons or from strangers? ”
“From strangers,” he said.
“Then the sons are free,” Jesus told him. “But, so we won’t offend them, go to the sea, cast in a fishhook, and take the first fish that you catch. When you open its mouth you’ll find a coin. Take it and give it to them for me and you.”

Matthew 17

Have you really encountered Jesus? Not the Jesus you thought you’d be following, the Jesus of a happy marriage, happy kids, happy job, happy life… but the real Jesus. The one where you don’t have to ask “is that you Lord?” But the Jesus you see and you just know “oh… that’s Jesus.” His glory and his power are undeniable. Even the demons obey him. He knew why he had come, to die, so when he calls us to die, do we listen? When he wants us to die to ourselves, do we hear him, or are we still listening to the Jesus of our own creation, the Jesus in our own minds, happy times Jesus? See you Sunday.

The Pharisees and Sadducees approached, and tested him, asking him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be good weather because the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘Today will be stormy because the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you can’t read the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.
The disciples reached the other shore, and they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus told them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
They were discussing among themselves, “We didn’t bring any bread.”
Aware of this, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves that you do not have bread? Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand and how many baskets you collected? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many large baskets you collected? Why is it you don’t understand that when I told you, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees,’ it wasn’t about bread? ” Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the leaven in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Peter’s Confession of the Messiah
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is? ”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
“But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am? ”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.” Then he gave the disciples orders to tell no one that he was the Messiah.
From then on Jesus began to point out to his disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to you! ”
Jesus turned and told Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Matthew 16

Purity. That means keeping anything that doesn’t look like what’s supposed to be there out. That’s true in our individual lives, and that’s true in the church. We can’t let ungodly/unhealthy people and attitudes persist in our lives. That stuff grows like a cancer. Before you know it that poison infects everyone around. Here’s what matters, “who do you say I [Jesus] am?” Is Jesus your Christ, your Messiah, or is he just an extracurricular activity to put on a college application or something to make you feel better by coming every once in a while? Is he real to you, or have you allowed the impurity of false faith into your life. Be real, be genuine, follow Jesus… really. Jesus’ life was about his death, and so too our life in him is about dying to ourselves. Our preferences, our plans, they are all secondary to his. Die to yourself, more and more each day, and don’t allow false friends, an impure faith, disingenuous belief into your life. Follow after Jesus, for real. See you Sunday.