January 25

Genesis 26; Matthew 25

Daily Catechism

QUESTION 1: WHO IS THE FIRST AND BEST OF BEINGS?

Answer: God is the first and best of beings.
Scripture: Isaiah 44:6; Psalm 8:1; 96:4; 97:9, 1 Samuel 2:2

Genesis 26

Ready:
The previous chapter included Abraham’s death and a description of the line of Ishmael as well as the beginning of the story between Jacob and Esau and the selling of the birthright for a meal.

Reading thoughts:
This chapter is almost a redo of Abraham and his treaty with Abimelech.  It could be that this is a descendent of Abimelech or perhaps Abimelech was much younger than Abraham in their earlier dealings.  A famine takes him into gerar again and by the end he is at Beersheba again in a renewed agreement with Abimelech and more importantly he meets with God and hears the Lord repeat his promise that is clearly extended from Abraham to Isaac. No mention in this chapter of Jacob and Esau but I am sure they are along for the ride and going about their business or hassling one another.

Key Verses:

“23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.” 25 So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.” (Genesis 26:23–25, ESV)

I take the theme as- The promise is extended as Isaac carries on where Abraham left off...though its not all roses.

Rumination thoughts:
    In Gerar Isaac pulls the whole “its my sister” thing like his dad was known for and again it upsets the ones being fooled.  Ultimately God blesses Isaac and he became wealthy in the land.  So wealthy than Abimelech told him to get lost and make some room.  It becomes apparent that Abimelech had disregarded the agreement about the land and the well at Beersheba because he had all the wells in the valley outside Gerar filled up at some point.  Now Isaac goes about digging out the wells again again and negotiating with the herdsmen over the wells.  Isaac deals graciously with the herdsmen and once it is clear that they have reached an acceptable agreement on the arrangement in the valley Isaac blesses the Lord and gives thanks to God.  Once settled there in Beersheba God speaks to him and this seems to be the first time that God speaks to Isaac directly regarding the extension of the promised blessing and covenant to Abraham.  Beersheba turns out to be an important place as we are seeing.  Here God announces himself as the God of Abraham (suggesting that Abraham lives even though he had died) and repeats the promise to Isaac.  Isaac builds an alter to commemorate this huge moment and then worships God there in Beersheba.  Now Abimelech comes around (seeing Isaac’s success surviving in the valley living in cooperation with the herdsmen) and wants to renew the treaty that he had with Abraham (sort of the same thing God just did).  But in contrast to God’s covenant, Abimelech’s treaty was obviously broken since as they are discussing the treaty Isaac’s men are digging out the well that should have still been functioning if Abimelech gave a darn about his first treaty with Abraham.  As far as Abimelech cared the agreement must have died with Abraham and it seems to be that he was really just interested in Abraham because he saw that God was blessing him and he wanted maybe some blessing by association and here again he does the same with Isaac, once he is convinced that God is also blessing Isaac.  If Isaac did not have evidence of God’s blessing then Abimelech probably would not have cared a lick about him.  The chapter wraps with a new conflict or tension in the storyline.  Isaac’s son Esau marries a Hittite (not cool) and this embitters his parents Isaac and Rebekah.  Hopefully Jacob does better.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    1.  I take the meaning to be that only God keeps his covenant perfectly throughout the generations as he promised.  Man is incapable of this and here Abimelech let the promise die at one generation.  The implication is that only God can be trusted to be always true and faithful and good because men will fail and men will often do what serves their own good regardless of the impact on others.  God will keep his covenant and this does not require it to be convenient for him or easy.  Here God lets Isaac, and Abimelech, know that he has indeed extended the blessing of Abraham unto Isaac.  The significance for me is that I know that God’s promises do not depend upon the actions of men who may or may not support me or God’s cause.  I know that the wells may get filled up but God gives the strength to dig them out and the circumstances are not indication of God’s forgetfulness but rather they are a chance for me to show my trust in him.  Start digging, not complaining…the water is there.

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Matthew 25

Ready:
Picking up Jesus’ teaching of the judgement to come he had just finished teaching on how the day will come as unexpected, though there will be signs of the times.  The teaching is continuous and the chapter break, as with all of them in the Bible, is artificial.  Though I recall referring to Matthew “picking up again” in previous days, I do not mean that Matthew wrote in chapter form.  The original “autographs" as the call them (original writing) did not have chapters or verses and did not even have punctuation for that matter.  These were all added later to make it easier to reference and in some ways easier to read.

Reading thoughts:
This chapter is all about being ready and being ready is something that every Christian will indeed do, because those that do not get and remain ready are thrown into hell.  Jesus uses two parables to cover this topic and then moves into a description of the judgment where he will separate between the people who have indeed loved God above all and loved others as themselves and those that have not.  There is a huge call in this chapter to be ready and then an explanation is given as to what ready looks like…will I hear the call?

Key Verses:

“1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.” (Matthew 25:1–4, ESV)

“8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.” (Matthew 25:8–10, ESV)

“11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matthew 25:11–13, ESV)

“14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.” (Matthew 25:14–15, ESV)

“19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” (Matthew 25:19–21, ESV)

“24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed?” (Matthew 25:24–26, ESV)

“30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” (Matthew 25:30, ESV)

“31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.” (Matthew 25:31–33, ESV)

“34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’” (Matthew 25:34–36, ESV)

“41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’” (Matthew 25:41–43, ESV)

I see the theme as- The judgement is coming.  Some are preparing and some are not.  Those who will be ready are those who love Jesus and these know what it is to love him.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-10.  Here Jesus lays out a beautiful parable of readiness and anticipation.  The wise virgins knew that they had to put themselves into this task and they needed to do something here.  The others went as though everything would just be handed to them and they needed not to be thinking ahead.  The wise realized that the bridegroom is coming for those who are prepared for him.
    v11-13.  This is an echo of Matthew 7:21-23.  The people in Matt 7 were doing amazing acts and displaying religious fervor and this was the “evidence” that they indeed knew Jesus as "Lord”.  Jesus told them to depart like he does these unwise virgins because he does not know them.  He closes with “you do not know the day or the hour” and the implied message is that we are to be getting ready and staying ready for his arrival.  What does it look like to do this? This comes in verse 31-46.
    v14-30.  Here Jesus presents another amazing, and closely related, parable about people who are entrusted with gifts, resources, abilities, blessings…the precision of what the “talent” represents (beyond the obvious of money) does not matter exactly.  The servants already know that this master is quite hard.  He is righteous and he is good at all he does and he has high expectations.  He is able to reap even where he does not sow!  So when he leaves them behind with some resources there is an implied expectation that they will do well with what they were given and they will get to work.  There is no expectation of waiting around for the master to come back and multiply the talent…not at all.  Except for one of the servants.  One servant claims that he was afraid and even though he received from the hand of this mighty master who reaps where ho does not sow and he seemed to have been given the authority of this master…still the servant feared failure and feared everything…everything but his master.  The master makes it clear that he ought to have invested the talent in some way because the point of receiving it is not to hoard it and to just hide in a hole and enjoy how shiny it is.  The point is to multiply the glory.  The point is to go and to proclaim the goodness of the master.  The point is to be outward and selfless and fearless and to know that we serve a mighty master.  The point was to get busy and to not be selfish and lazy and focused on things other than the return of the master…or the coming of the bridegroom.  Am I asleep?  Do I hear the call?  Am I hiding the treasure?  Am I hoarding the gifts and blessings of God?  The master casts this worthless servant into hell at the end of this story…the unwise virgins were kept from the marriage feast.  But what does it look like to invest the talents and to trim the lamps?  What does it look like to be eagerly waiting for Jesus and to be prepared?
    v31-33.  The word him, his, and he appears quite a bit in these first three verses.  It is Jesus’ glory, Jesus’ throne, Jesus’ story, Jesus’ judgement of all the nations.  The story is ultimately about the bridegroom and not the bride…the master and not the servant, the king and not the sheep.  We get this wrong and it shows.
    v34-45.  Here the King calls the sheep, who are blessed by the Father, to the kingdom inheritance that was prepared beforehand for them and they receive blessing.  Contrast the message he gives to the goat who are cursed and without family membership and inheritance in verse 41.  Then for each of these two distinct groups he gives a description that seems to identify them as evidencing their identity as either blessed or cursed.  Recall that we are all cursed from Adam and that we all come from the same wicked lump of humanity (Gen 3:14-24, Rom 9:21).  But some are rescued from this state and brought near and adopted into the family of God by grace.  So I suggest that verses 35-40 are a description of what the grace of God does to his sheep while verses 42-45 show what we would be like with a lack of this grace in our life.  Looking at this in the context of the two preceding parables I take it that this is a description of what it looks like to get ready and to be ready versus not to.  It gives me a picture of love for God resulting in love for others (righteousness & justice).  The obedience of faith leads to this or it is not there.  I gave thought to this and to some other passages that took my thoughts and I have put my conclusions below into a short devotion about what it looks like to be eagerly anticipating the arrival of the bridegroom.
    v46.  Here is the end result for the virgins or the servants who are prepared or not prepared…who are walking with obedience of faith or who are just expecting the bridegroom or the master to work a miracle with the oil or the talent when he arrives.  The identity (family or not family) drives the way we live and not the other way around but the way we live is the only evidence and it matters because it is the result of the obedience of faith.  Sheep or goat?  Blessed or still cursed?

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    Translation or Transformation? (to be posted later)

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Soli Deo Gloria!

January 24

Genesis 25; Matthew 24

Genesis 25

Ready:
The previous chapter was the story of how Isaac came to be married to Rebekah by divine appointment.  God guided Abraham’s faithful servant and he found a virtuous woman to be the mother to carry the promise for the offspring.  Noting the ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) table at the bottom of page 79 I see a description of the four types of offspring the Abraham has and this is helpful to keep in mind as we see the story unfold.  This chapter (and the next two) should be read in comparison with Romans chapter 9 to see the full significance of what is happening in the story.

Reading thoughts:
Most notably this chapter covers the birth if Jacob and Esau as well as their interactions regarding the selling of the birthright and it seems to highlight the fact that Esau connected more with Isaac and Jacob with Rebekah.  Abraham dies when Isaac is 75 and this is 15 years after the birth of Jacob and Esau.  We also learn that Isaac was 37 when his mother died, 40 when he took Rebekah as a wife and 60 when the twins were born.  See timeline at the bottom of page 94 in the ESVSB.  The story also covers the additional descendants of Abraham who took another wife and then also concubines after Sarah’s death.  Ishmael’s 12 sons (as promised in Gen 17:20) are listed and Ishmael dies at 137, although Ishmael had been put out of the camp of Abraham.

Key Verses:

“7 These are the days of the years of Abraham’s life, 175 years. 8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.” (Genesis 25:7–8, ESV)

“16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. 17 (These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.)” (Genesis 25:16–17, ESV)

“21 And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.” (Genesis 25:21, ESV)

“22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”” (Genesis 25:22–23, ESV)

“28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” (Genesis 25:28, ESV)

“31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?”” (Genesis 25:31–32, ESV)

“34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.” (Genesis 25:34, ESV)

I see the theme as- "Not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but 'through Isaac shall your offspring be named'” (Rom 9:7, ESV)

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-11.  Surprisingly, Abraham takes another wife and has six more kids.  The ESVSB notes suggest that Keturah may have been a maidservant of Rebekah and that the “concubines" mentioned is likely a reference to Hagar and Keturah rather than another group of women.  I am surprised that God grants him six more kids at 137+ years old here since a big deal is made about him bearing kids at "about 100 years old” (Rom 4:19).
    v12-18.  A brief genealogy is given to show that God indeed made twelve tribes from Ishmael and it describes them as settling in what the ESVSB calls Arabia (Muslims claim this is their lineage).
    v19-26.  Here is the birth of the twins and Isaac must pray and wait for God to open the womb of Rebekah to bless them with children.  The twins are recorded as “struggling” within her and she is told by God when she prayed about this that they were two nations and that “the older shall serve the younger” (Rom 9:12).
    v27-28.  Here it is clear that the boys are very different and each gravitates toward the opposite parent.  This plays into the scenario because Isaac plans only a blessing to pass on to Esau and not any for Jacob.  It seems that Jacob come against the odds and without support and thou he is “hated” compared to his brother by his earthly father he is “loved” in comparison to his brother by his heavenly father.  And this God decided prior to Jacob being born or doing anything to please or displease him as happened with his natural parents who depended upon the merits and personalities of the children to draw distinctions (Rom 9:9-13) but God, in contrast, does not show partiality (Prov 28:21, Luke 28:21, Acts 10:34, Rom 2:11, Eph 6:9, Col 3:25, James 2:9) but judges with perfect righteousness and is not constrained to grant his loving kindness to anyone over another (Titus 3:3-6).
    v29-34. Here Moses records the sinful action of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob for a meal.  In this action Esau dishonors God by caring nothing for the promise of the coming offspring and he apparently could not care less about this nation that one of them was supposed to father.  Jacob, on the other hand, seems intent on fathering this people.  Hebrews 12:16 and Prov 28:21 are condemning of Esau in this regard.  The rocky relationship between these two began in the womb.

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Matthew 24

Ready:
Jesus concluded his seven woes of the Pharisees and seems to now be headed back toward Bethany for evening when he foretells of the destruction of the temple.

Reading thoughts:
This chapter speaks prophetically and is quite difficult to pin down many of the details.  I will reserve much in this discussion because I have yet to study and decide my own position on end times events and there are many differing views on this…

Key Verses:

“3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.” (Matthew 24:3–5, ESV)

“9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.” (Matthew 24:9–10, ESV)

“13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:13–14, ESV)

“21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” (Matthew 24:21–22, ESV)

“26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:26–27, ESV)

“36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Matthew 24:36, ESV)

“44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:44, ESV)

“48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 24:48–51, ESV)

I see the theme as- The end of this world as we know it will come and there will be a judgment before God that will come at an unknown time whereby those that held out and fought the good fight to live before God with trust and hope in Jesus (promised offspring) will be delivered from the wrath of God upon sin and all others will be justly and righteously condemned to hell for their sin of not honoring and thanking God with their lives.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-2.  Jesus tells of a destruction of the temple that will be complete and this can be a reference to the destruction of the temple at the hands of the Romans in AD 70.  This introduces a series of statements by Jesus that are looking into the future.
    v3-8.  Here Jesus describes what he sums up as “birth pains” and Paul uses similar terminology as well in Romans 8:18-25 as he speaks about the future revealing of the sons of God that the creation is eagerly awaiting.  Jesus speaks of others claiming to be the Messiah and some have already done this…no doubt more will come.  I personally do not take to the efforts of many to try to point out these “birth pains” and paint pictures of the impending end of time because I think it is too hard to say and it hurts our credibility (in my opinion).  I think being ready at all times and focusing more on living for Christ and helping others to be glad in God is bueno.  This is the main reason I have not yet settled my own position on the various end time views.
    v9-14.  A few things are said here.  The final thing is probably the most significant and that is an indication that the end will be hastened by the completion of the great commission.  This is in agreement with Romans 11:25 and then Rom 11:12-15 may be indicating the the end will be ushered in upon the conversion of Israel after the great commission is completed (though the sequence of final events here is very debatable).  Notable, however, is the fact that the great commission is about reaching all people groups and yet there could still be gentiles that have not “come in” per Romans 11:25 in an already reached group so I don’t think waiting for an announcement that “we have done it..we have reached all the nations” is a magic trigger…but certainly a critical benchmark.  He speaks also of tribulation and persecution and it cannot be too clear if this was some of what happened in the first few centuries of the church or also in our future (also happens in other countries even now).  There is an increasing lawlessness and a growing cold of the love of many so this very subjective sign is given.
    v15-28.  The abomination of desolation here is to find final fulfillment (some prophesies have what is called a typological fulfillment where it happens twice or more and each is a “type" of the previous) in the ends days with the Ant-Christ taking a position in the temple and demanding worship (2 Thess 2:4, Rev 13:14).  Then the great tribulation is spoken of and there is debate as to whether Christians will be present through any or some or all of this period.  Each position makes argument from scripture but since prophetic scripture is quite difficult there remains about 5 major opinions on these events (see page 2456 in the introduction to Revelation from the ESVSB for details).  One thing is pretty clear and that it that the coming of Christ will not be something anyone needs to point out to us…it will be as plain as thunder and lightning in the sky.
    v29-31.  The elect whom are dead already?  All believers?  Heavens referring to the whole of creation or just literal heaven?  I dunno…
    v32-35.  I dunno.  But I do know that the Word of God remains though the world ends!
    v36-51.  Here is a warning to be ready.  It should not take such a warning for a believer to live for the love of God and others but here is a warning to not delay in walking forward in faith and not delaying in getting real with our faith and with the work God has for us.  A wasted life or worse awaits us if we just burn time here and do not live to the glory of God.  Let us be faithful and wise servants and not wicked ones.  Something is said here that indicates the dual nature of Christ as the God-man because here he says that the Son does not know the day or hour of his own return.  This is a detail that the Father has reserved and has not given to Jesus in his mortal mind (human nature).  However, the orthodox teaching is that Jesus retains all the attributes of God in his divine nature simultaneously.  There are therefore two distinct natures in the one person of Jesus that are united in what is referred to as the hypostatic union and it is unbreakable.  Jesus became a human (and still remained God) at the incarnation and will remain so forevermore.  Here is a quick article in this term and the concept from Desiring God.

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Soli Deo Gloria!

January 23

Genesis 24; Matthew 23

Genesis 24

Ready:
Yesterday’s read was entirely about Sarah’s death and how Abraham acquired land in Canaan from the Hittites as a burial plot.  Isaac is about 36 years old and there was no real interaction with God in the previous chapter.

Reading thoughts:
This chapter presents Abraham’s unnamed servant fetching a wife for Isaac from the area of Haran where God had initially called Abraham.  It seems that because of the account given by the servant regarding the answered prayer and the guidance by God there is no question on the part of Rebekah’s family as to the divine nature of the request.  Rebekah goes and become’s the wife of Isaac without delay and Isaac, who must have been mourning still over his mother’s death was now comforted by Rebekah.

Key Verses:

“2 And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, 3 that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, 4 but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”” (Genesis 24:2–4, ESV)

“8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.”” (Genesis 24:8, ESV)

“12 And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham.” (Genesis 24:12, ESV)

“27 and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen.”” (Genesis 24:27, ESV)

“50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing has come from the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51 Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.”” (Genesis 24:50–51, ESV)

“61 Then Rebekah and her young women arose and rode on the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went his way.” (Genesis 24:61, ESV)

“67 Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.” (Genesis 24:67, ESV)

I see the theme as- Without specific direction from God, Abraham acts with faith to keep the command of God that he "command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” (Gen 18:19)  Furthermore God is faithful to aid Abraham in keeping this command.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-2.  Abraham had been greatly blessed and he saw every promise of God before him and as he drew close to death he made use of his oldest and probably most faithful servant, since this man was in charge over all of his things.
    v3-9.  Here Abraham seems to know that the right thing in commanding his family to do righteousness and justice and knowing that the entire nation to come will be from wife of Isaac he does not think for a moment to take this wife from among the heathens in the land.  He has already expressed an opinion that he does not think there is a fear of the Lord in this land and he knows the importance of a God fearing wife to raise up this nation.  So he directs the servant to gain a wife from his old homeland from his family and the servant obliges.  They have discussion about the whole “well what if the one I find doesn’t think its so hot of an idea?” thing and this helps me see that Abraham was acting by faith and he did not have specific direction from God and he didn’t have a prescription for how this was exactly to go down but he knew in general that the Lord would guide them and he trusted this.  The message was clear to the servant.  1.  Do not take Isaac from this land.  2.  Do not take a wife for him from this land  3.  Take a wife from my family back in Haran.  The other details were for the servant to workout and Abraham trusted God to guide him.
    v10-28.  The servant shows a sincere reliance upon the Lord for success on this important mission and he appeals to God according to the promise to prosper Abraham and according to the faithfulness of God (steadfast love).  This kind of prayer is not about the servant or about his interest but it is appealing to the name and reputation of God himself and so the prayer is about the glory of God being shown.  Further he shows wisdom in looking for a wife who takes concern with his welfare and that of his camels.  He is searching for a virtuous woman (and Abraham didn’t need to tell him to do this)!  He finds success and he worships God in response.  This servant is an awesome guy and he fears the Lord…wise choice by Abraham.  I like verse 21 where he is staring quietly at Rebekah and asking considering if God had prospered his journey.  He did not wonder if he was successful or if he had done a good job but his question was in reliance upon God and he does not seem to consider himself much in this scenario.
    v29-49.  So he gets an audience before Rebekah’s family and he first lets them know that Abraham is wealthy so they do not fear that he comes looking to gain access to their wealth but that Abraham’s family is self sufficient and Isaac is a worthy husband (provider).  He then explains the divine intervention of God to get them to this point and the family is moved by this.  It would appear by their response that although Abraham had left the land where they were previously worshiping idols (Gen 12) they now seem to fear the Lord and they trust that this indeed is God’s will.
    v52-61.  The servant worships God at a few points in this story as he is clearly grateful for every step toward success.  He is very eager to return and he negotiates a swifter departure than the family initially wanted but Rebekah agrees and off they go.  He leaves some riches behind in gratitude and maybe as a dowry.
62-67.  The couple meets and Isaac is pleased with the wife that God has provided for him.  He is so pleased that he is consoled of his grief over his mother’s death and he takes Rebekah as his wife.  No doubt the servant worshiped God again at this point but his story now fades because the focus is Isaac and the faithfulness of God to keep covenant.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    1.  God provides and he answers prayer even when Abraham and his servant didn’t know exactly what was supposed to happen.  They acted based upon principles and upon what they did know and they left room for the details to be handled by God.  The implication is that today we have much guidance in the Bible to follow and we have many principles to apply and can do similar.  The significance for me is that I can also trust the principles of God’s Word and rest in his faithfulness even when I don’t know exactly how he may get me across the finish line.  So I can pray with faith in God’s ability to put mountains into the sea and I can leave room for my misunderstanding of a specific intermediate outcome (will the first girl agree to come) and I can trust God to work his omnipotent goodness toward me (Rom 8:28, Eph 1:19, Jer 32:41).
    2.  I see a principle, by example, that you would not seek to fulfill the will of God haphazardly with means that are less honorable than the goal.  Could Abraham have ever concluded that the way for him to respond to this promise of God to bring this great nation by Isaac is to take an idol worshiping heathen wife from for his son?  This was his previous manner of thinking, it would seem, when he would lie about his wife’s identity!  He appears in this case to be a better example.  The implication is that the promised end does not warrant disregard for the nature and character of intermediate actions.  To the contrary, the promised end should inspire the high nature of the intermediate actions (Eph 4:1, 1 Thess 2:12, 2 Thess 1:11).  I take the significance of this as it relates to my choices to rout sin from my life vs just letting sin remain and “trusting God” to sanctify me like he promises (1 Thess 5:23-24, Titus 2:11-14, Rom 6:6-7).  Do I daily walk in the direction of the Celestial City (reference to Pilgrim’s Progress- read that book!) or am I circling around in Sodom like Lot?  So I do not need an explicit command of God to know how to do the "right" thing.  What thing works toward the goal and is in accord with his Word?  Now I can pray for his blessing and charge ahead trusting him for the outcome and being patient if I need to look for a second girl (you get the point)!

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Matthew 23

Ready:
I pick up here after Matthew had recorded Jesus routing the Jewish leaders and explaining the need to receive the bridegroom and to devote myself to loving God and loving others.

Reading thoughts:
Big chapter here where Jesus presents seven woes of the Pharisees and completely dismantles their errant religious system and announces that they are hell bound and that they are taking lots of people with them.  This is a very serious message and Jesus details the reasons that their kind of faith or religious practice is not what results in salvation.  Jesus concludes with a lament that this is the sad state of Jerusalem and references a Psalm about Israel turning to him for salvation after recognizing the faithfulness of the Lord.  All of the cross-references in this lament passage are very interesting (check it out).

Key Verses:

“2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.” (Matthew 23:2–3, ESV)

“25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.” (Matthew 23:25–26, ESV)

“27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:27–28, ESV)

“38 See, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”” (Matthew 23:38–39, ESV)

I see the theme as- Jesus teaches the summary of the law of God (love God and love others) from the previous chapter through the negative example of the Jewish leaders who knew only the letter of the law as an external thing and not the spirit of the law as internal reality.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-2.  Here Jesus begins a discourse leading up to declaring seven woeful errors of the hypocritical Jewish leadership of the time.  He begins by acknowledging that they actually have a good starting point of relying on the Law of God (the first five book of our current Bible, written by Moses, known as the Pentateuch or the Torah or simply "the Law").  So Jesus says go ahead and listen to the scripture they read you and indeed you should heed it!  But then the problem comes in.
    v3-12.  He then spends a number of verses describing the hypocrisy and correcting their error as follows: 1. They do not follow the Word that they preach and 2. They give out heavy burdens of required obedience and they do not carry it themselves and 3.  They do righteous acts for the recognition and 4. They seek the place of honor and luxury and 5.  They seek recognition and titles as authoritative teachers.  Jesus corrects these things by stating 1. Do not seek recognition as an authoritative teacher but know that you are merely a messenger because Christ alone is the teacher.  2.  The one who is great in faith and who God has gifted mightily will be as a servant and not be seeking honor and luxury.  3.  Those who seek such honor are due to be humbled and yet the one who purposefully humbles himself before God and man will be exalted…though probably in heaven and not here on earth (Prov 25:6-7)!
    v13. Woe number 1. I Take this to be Jesus telling them that they do not teach in a manner that rightly explains the law as a sign post.  They are not teaching people to be on the watch for the divine Messiah to come and to free them from their slavery to sin.  John the Baptist had to do this for them.  They are not teaching a trusting in the coming offspring as a salvation from their sins.  This is the critical element that was required for salvation of OT saints.  They needed to know their sinfulness and trust God that his coming offspring was their salvation from this wretched state.  This was not at all what they taught and sometimes I fear that it is also not what our churches teach.  Too often our focus is on "God’s amazing plan for your life" which sounds like “God is going to free us from these Romans and set us up in a mighty kingdom here and we will have freedom”.  Should our message be closer to “trust in Jesus to have paid for your sins on the cross and walk faithfully with him because he rose from the dead and you can trust that he will empower you to repent and to honor God with your life by seeking first the Kingdom of God and trusting him to meet your earthly needs”?  This is more like the "repent and believe for the kingdom of God is at hand" message that John the Baptist and Jesus gave.
    v15. Woe number 2.  I see this as a slight variation on the false teaching woe.  I think this expresses the fact that when they convert someone to being a Pharisaical law-keeper they give them a sense of arrival and a sense of salvation that is completely false.  Before they knew they were sick and needed God but now they think they are good to go and woefully they are not!  Lord Lord… (Matt 7).  Do we do this by getting people to pray a prayer or get baptized yet they do not have a saving faith based on a right understanding of the person and work of Christ (trusting in the promised offspring)?  Is my trust in my prayer?  Is the trust in my decision?  Do I welcome salvation but not repentance?  What does obedience of faith mean?  Do I see grace as license instead of as a trainer (Titus 2:11-14, Rom 6).  Do I waver then when I un-decide or when I don’t feel so saved?  After-all, why is it that we believe other religions that "believe in Jesus" do not lead to salvation?   Does this relate to how we teach “belief in Jesus" and how we should teach it?
    v16-22. Woe number 3.  I see this as their teaching to rely on what the human brings to the relationship with God.  The temple is the place where we meet with and relate to God and where we are made right with him be sacrifice according to his commands (obedience of faith).  They seem to have been teaching that the more holy thing was our part of the relationship and not God’s temple itself and the integral components of it.  When I take my actions and my obedience and elevate it to be the supreme definer of my relationship or standing with God them I am in error.  The idea is that God sanctifies us and makes us right with him…we don’t do that.  We receive that from him.
    v23-24. Woe number 4.  I take this to be saying that it is wrong to seek out portions of the law that we can easily comply with or that are convenient and consider that to be all hunky dory when we are totally disregarding the parts that are hard.  God is not impressed with my Bible reading or my church attendance if I am cruel to my wife or if I show no generosity and forgiveness to others and if I do not keep my word.
    v25-26. Woe number 5.  Here I see that cleaning up of outward actions and such does nothing to change the desires of my heart.  When I desire selfish gain and I hunger for the world then my external restrictions of not cussing or not lying or not gossiping or not stealing from the government or whatever are not true representation of the state of my heart.  God sees my heart.  Jesus instructs to clean the inside of the plate and this will result in the outside being clean as well.  For this topic of how to get clean dishes I suggest a look at a devotion I prepared some time ago and it can be found at this link: God is not Hiring Dishwashers.  Salvation does not come by the application of a formula or my conformance to a system of belief but by the internal action of the Spirit of God causing me to trust and adore Jesus.  By bringing me into an obedience of faith.  I believe that God has spoken and I act like... by his power.
    v27-28. Woe number 6.  This woe is very closely related to the last but maybe it is more focused on the presentation by the hypocrite.  The previous was maybe more on the actual condition and now on how the hypocrite strives to present a whitewashed and pure image.  The previous may have legitimately been how they thought (by false teaching of their predecessors) they were supposed to do it whereas this is now a disguising of what they know if wrong.  They feel inside and know that they are hypocrites and they know their own lawlessness.  This is repentance time, not keep on going and assume that its all cool time.
    v29-33. Woe number 7.  I take this as Jesus coming against their pride and arrogance to think that they would not have made the errors that their fathers did.  They now honor the prophets who were slaughtered by the unrighteous Israelites who like them, did not hope in the promised offspring to save them from their sins.  I think this is a way of explaining to that when we are guilty we are guilty and that trying to honor the history and the goodness of the religion that I follow does nothing to make me right with God.  Statements about Jesus and church and all that do nothing when my heart is far from God (Matt 15:8).  Jesus here indicates that they have yet some more killing to do…”fill up then the measure of your fathers”...prophetic.
    v34-36. Here Jesus pronounces a condemnation upon them for continuing to reject his messengers.  He seems to indicate future prophets and scribes and wise men.  I take this to be the apostles and others (including some Jewish leaders who convert) who will be persecuted and even killed in days of the early church after Jesus ascends to heaven.  Interestingly he refers to the very first martyr and then to one who was not the very last by chronological order (which would have been John the Baptist or by the existing OT Bible would have been uhh…someone else).  Instead Jesus names the martyr who was the last prophet killed according to the sequence of the Jewish Bible (canonical order).  Meaning in the last book of the Jewish Bible (2 Chronicles) Zechariah was the last prophet killed.  This is helpful in making a case that the Jews of that time indeed held a certain sequence of books and Jesus himself acknowledged it and this reference is said to be confirmation that Jesus considered the Old Testament to be closed to any additional revelation.
    v37-39.  Jesus laments the condition of Israel and he promises that they will yet turn to him.  After-all, God made a unilateral covenant to ensure this!  Take a read of the Psalm that he quotes in verse 39 (Psalm 118) and see if you can tell that he is giving a message that Israel will turn to him and relate this to to Romans 11 where we learn that their sin and failure here was necessary for the salvation of the rest of the world and would eventually come around and lead to the conversion of all of what remains of Israel after the last of the Gentiles “comes in”.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
I think this is all embedded above well enough.

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Soli Deo Gloria!

January 22

Genesis 23; Matthew 22

Genesis 23

Ready:
Moses writes now following his description of the near sacrifice of Isaac which was counter to logic and turned out to be a huge foreshadowing of the work God would do in substituting Christ as a sacrifice to redeem us and to give us new life.  He picks up after Abraham and Isaac, uninjured, return to camp and are informed of some births that Abraham had been unaware of.

Reading thoughts:
So Sarah was 90 when God promised to return in about a year and find her with Son so I take it that Isaac was about 36 years old here when Sarah died.  I notice that Abraham is highly respected by the Hittites in the land and this is one of the people groups who God says will turn over their land to Abraham’s offspring.  There is an extended dialogue between Abraham and this council of some sort that seems to be meeting.  It sounds like he went to this meeting of the people of the Hittites and sole before them.  He showed them respect and asked for the right to purchase a place to bury his wife outside of his camp that was now at Beersheba where he has a covenant with King Abimelech to dwell.

Key Verses:

“4 “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5 The Hittites answered Abraham, 6 “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.”” (Genesis 23:4–6, ESV)

I see the theme as- Abraham’s sadness at the passing of Sarah and the first establishment of Jewish land rights in Canaan.

Rumination thoughts:
    My only thoughts in this chapter really are that Abraham acts in faith to establish a land holding in Canaan at the passing of his wife the mother of Isaac through whom this entire land will come to belong.  I see that he has a good standing with the people there and that he offers them respect.  It turns out that Abraham himself and others after him will also be buried in this location.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    1.  Abraham trusts God for the future but knows that the time is not now to take the entire land of Canaan.  The implication is that there is an example of trusting God by investing effort and resources into what I believe to be his plan for me according to his purposes and how I understand the scripture.  I do not take anything in this example to be negative (since I know I need to understand narrative as descriptive and not necessarily prescriptive).  The significance for me is that I should invest in what I know to be God’s will and I should put forward my effort to do his work with patience and with trust that in his time he will bless me.  Certainly this can be harder for me because God did not come to me and tell me his plan…but none the less I know where I can invest in myself and in the world vs in God and his likely intentions for me in this life.

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Matthew 22

Ready:
We saw Jesus enter Jerusalem and the beginning of Holy Week that culminates with his resurrection.  Jesus has cleansed the temple and established his Messianic authority and set the Pharisees back as being opposed to the kingdom of God.

Reading thoughts:
I see Matthew narrating how Jesus concludes his denunciation of the Pharisees and then faces a few challenges by them perhaps as a backlash to his affront.  In answer to their challenges, Jesus teaches on owing allegiance and devotion to the one whose image we bear.  Jesus then confronts a heretical teaching that there is no resurrection by appealing to the fact that God describes himself as the God of the patriarchs and the implied fact is that they (the patriarchs) are alive and not dead even centuries after their death.  The greatest commandment comes in as the central theme to unite this chapter and lead into the identity of Christ so that the Pharisees might know that to not love him is to fail at the greatest commandment.

Key Verses:

“2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.” (Matthew 22:2–3, ESV)

“8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’” (Matthew 22:8–9, ESV)

“21 They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”” (Matthew 22:21, ESV)

“30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”” (Matthew 22:30–32, ESV)

“36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:36–39, ESV)

“45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.” (Matthew 22:45–46, ESV)

I see the theme as- Recognize your bridegroom and love him above all, coming prepared to the wedding celebration dressed in his own righteousness having loved God and loved others well and having paid appropriate devotion in this life to each (God and others) according to the authority established by God.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-10.  Jesus again gives an example of the kingdom to teach us the revelation of God.  He uses a theoretical wedding that is not necessarily tie to the wedding supper of the lamb mentioned in Revelation 19:6-10 although correlations can be found.  There is certainly a general sense of the marriage between the Lord and his people.  Although Jesus has been denouncing the Pharisees and any who are not recognizing his coming as the Messiah the fact is that Israel is the bride of Christ in the New Jerusalem (heaven) and the nations are welcomed in to join her company through the gates that are open only to those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life and are therefore clean and true, purchased by the blood of the Lamb as an inheritance of sheep that were not of the sheepfold of Abraham by the flesh (Rev 21:9-27, John 10:14-16, Psalm 74:2, 1 Cor 6:19-20).  This parable is acknowledged by many to be difficult and is taken in a few ways.  Most simply it is clear that there is a marriage and there is an original group that ignores the invitation followed by another group who mostly accepts the invitation but some do not come prepared as thought they misunderstand what it is they are invited to.  There is a judgement upon those who ignore the invitation and it is clear that although both good and bad are invited (compared horizontally against one another) once they come in they are dressed appropriately (righteousness of Christ).  It seems that perhaps the guest who is rejected may represent the group that Jesus rejects saying that he never knew them (Matt 7:21-23).  It could be that these presume that they are belonging there but yet do not come prepared in any sense and bear only their own works and their own righteousness.  This can be compared to the pilgrim who comes to the gate of the Celestial City in Pilgrim’s Progress having not entered by the gate and having not received a letter of admittance.  This one is likewise bound and carried off to hell rather than being granted admittance.  I would not take this wedding to be heaven itself and it is probably too much to try to place this theoretical wedding party into some exact representation of an actual place or time in the future.
    v11-14.  Now that the room is prepared and the guests are present and all should be right and ready the king enters for what seems to be an inspection.  His attention is quickly upon a man who has not come in prepared for the event and is unclean.  Without having any answer for himself and having no perception of how one becomes worthy of presence at this wedding (by the free gift of grace trusting in the person and work of Christ as my justification with God and acting in the obedience of faith by devoting my life to him, enjoying the process of sanctification by his Spirit whereby I am molded into the likeness of Christ day by day until the future bodily redemption when I am presented to Christ complete and glorified).  This reminds me of Romans 10:1-4 where Paul says that the Jews are zealous for God but not according to knowledge and that they yet need salvation that is found only in Christ because he is the very righteousness of God to be had by all who trust in him and not in their own efforts.  SPOILER ALERT- Included here is the concept of election that we will not all agree on but I suggest it is pervasive in the Bible (However, I don’t look down upon other views that are Biblically grounded).  For this reason, or others, some will take verses 11-14 to be a completely separate parable.  None the less, here is presented a distinction between what some call (and others reject) the "general call” (gospel message given to the ends of the earth) and the "effective call” (internal call of Christ upon a soul that unstoppably turns the heart to see the beauty of Christ) by the terms “called” versus “chosen” in verse 14.  It seems that the guest in verses 11-13 was not chosen to be there (effective call) despite his decision to come along in response to the general call (zeal for God without knowledge…a knowledge that comes only by the Spirit of God shining into my heart).  Don’t take this passage or me as saying that God turns away any that truly call upon him... for this guest clearly did not know the truth.  A "call upon God" without a trust founded upon the person of Christ (true identity as the Son of God come in human flesh) and work (subsitutionary atonement- died in my place to make mercy and reconciliation a just action for God- and then rose bodily from the dead to give me new life and to be my sole mediator and advocate in heaven) apart from any of my own merit (works) is not saving faith.  This is also not to say that a perfect knowledge of how salvation works (or big vocabulary) is required but clearly the hope needs to be rightly placed or as Paul indicates, it does not save.
    v15-22.  Here the Pharisees and Herodians seek to trap Jesus and they talk him up as being a great truth speaking teacher who is not swayed by opinions of men and so they will now try to force him to give an answer that will upset the crowd (opinions of men) by telling them that they must pay the outrageous taxes of the emperor or alternatively the Pharisees could show Jesus to be leading an insurrection against the emperor.  Seem pretty witty and indeed is likely the best they can do.  But the truth is that all governing authorities are instituted by God (Rom 13) and we are to subject ourselves to them and yet it is God to whom we owe our ultimate devotion as we are his creatures.  Jesus masterfully answers with the truth (go figure).  He uses a coin to teach them that there is some authority here given to the emperor to which we are called to submit but that there is a greater authority from heaven to which we owe not only a tax, but our entire being.  We are made in the likeness of God and as the coin is thus the property of the emperor so our soul is the property of God.  Give God your supreme devotion and love and give Caesar his coin, Jesus says.  Completely stumped and in disbelief that they were just so thoroughly routed, they leave defeated yet again.
    v23-33.  Now a second class of Jews come and give a go at trapping Jesus.  These now try to show that the concept of a resurrection from the dead is absurd because of the moral dilemma created by the very law of God that says a man is to marry the widow of his brother.  Jesus dismantles the argument first by explaining a yet unknown reality that in heaven there will be no marriage as we know it but we will be like the angels who do not marry.  The idea here matches with the concept that human marriage exists as a shadow of our marriage to Christ and it serves a purpose therein that is lost when we are joined to Christ as the bride in heaven.  The real substance supersedes the usefulness of the shadow and makes it void (Eph 5:31-32, Hos 2:19-20).
    v34-40.  The law of God is here summed up after the pattern of the two tables (responsibility toward God / responsibility toward man).  The collective group of Jews wanted to get Jesus to speak against the law since they perceived he was coming with salvation by a different way than following the law.  But his answer gets to the spirit of the law as opposed to the letter of the law as they knew it.  This is a huge teaching and relates to the law being spiritual (Rom 7:14) and true circumcision being of the heart, by the Spirit of God (Rom 2:28-29) and how God is looking upon our heart and not merely our actions.  Since the person and work of Jesus are a complete fulfillment of the law and the prophets (Rom 8:4, 10:4) he does not have any message against the law.  He merely came to do what the law was powerless to do (Rom 8:3-4).
    v41-46.  Matthew concludes with the account of Jesus then turning the tables and asking them a question.  Truth itself looks them in the face and gives them a shattering reality check.  Jesus refers to a passage of the Old Testament that would be very familiar to the Jews as speaking about the Messiah in Psalm 110.  It is rather plain here and in Isaiah that the Messiah is himself divine and not just a human to come and “save” Israel.  But the big thing is how Jesus makes it clear to them that King David call the Messiah Lord.  The Hebrew word used is a term divine in nature and so this human Messiah they were expecting is here shown to be greater than David and before David and divine.  They also know Jesus has been claiming to be this Messiah.  Having known this Psalm and never likely drawn that correct conclusion they had no answer and concluded that there was simply no way to out think Jesus.  I take this as a wrap on the chapter (though he keeps teaching by addressing the crowd next in chapter 23) and buttoning up to whom the devotion is owed and who is the bridegroom and to whom is the real marriage and by whom is the resurrection power of God to rest upon.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
Quickly- I owe the complete devotion of my life to Christ (the Son of God who died in my place), to whom I am truly betrothed, and I am to trust in him alone to give me new life now (Rom 8:11, 6:4) and in a resurrection of my body (Rom 8:23).

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Soli Deo Gloria!

January 21

Genesis 22; Matthew 21

Genesis 22

Ready:
The last chapter covered the birth of Isaac and the sending off of Hagar and Ishmael.  Now Abraham and Sarah are settled and their promised child is weaned and life seems to be just as they expected.

Reading thoughts:
I see the story of Abraham obeying the command of God to sacrifice his Son as a burnt offering to the Lord and God interrupting to provide a substitute offering.  In the end God declares that he has sworn against himself that he will keep this covenant to bless him, multiply his offspring, and grant them the land of their enemies, and that all the nations of the earth will be blessed.  He does this, however, tied distinctively to this action of obedience.  He does this tied to the sacrifice of a son against a clear alternative to withhold the son since it is the only son and he is deeply loved.  God says “because you have obeyed my voice”.  Abraham heard God, trusted God, and acted upon it with the obedience of faith.  Hebrew 11:17-19 says that Abraham was tested and that he believed God would resurrect Isaac because Abraham trusted that God would indeed bring a nation from this boy even though he didn’t understand why then he would need to sacrifice him.

Key Verses:

“1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”” (Genesis 22:1–2, ESV)

“7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.” (Genesis 22:7–8, ESV)

“10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”” (Genesis 22:10–11, ESV)

“12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.” (Genesis 22:12–13, ESV)

“16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,” (Genesis 22:16, ESV)

I see the theme as- God tests Abraham and in doing he also reveals to him how it is that God will swear an everlasting covenant by the obedience and the sacrifice of his own Son in place of his people.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1.  Immediately Moses tells us that this was a test.  Interesting that God tests Abraham.  Certainly God knew his heart and knew the certainty that Abraham was to obey but perhaps the test was more for a revealing to Abraham and to us.  Tests show what something is made of and if it is true.  Tests give us confidence in something.  Perhaps God wanted to give Abraham confidence.
    v2.  Ouch!  God calls Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.  The son that they have waited 25 years for God to give them.  The son that God has promised to bring a nation from and a multitude that cannot really be counted.  The son who will bring the promised offspring to crush the head of the serpent.  Sacrifice this son?  How does that accomplish the purpose?  How can giving up life gain life?  How can obeying God in this case result in the purpose of God being fulfilled?  What is God thinking?  Why have you brought me through all of this to now tell me to kill the boy?
    v3.  He didn’t flinch.  Obviously the record doesn’t indicate everything but there is no mention by Moses here that Abraham asked a single question or had any hesitation.  Off they went.
    v4-8.  So they head off and Abraham prophetically (albeit unknowingly) tells Isaac that God will provide a sacrifice for the offering when Isaac inquires why they did not bring a lamb.
    v9-11.  Here it is.  Abraham goes through with it, no doubt painfully and with tears and who knows what kind of interaction occurred between him and Isaac as he tied him to the altar.  How can this be?  How can God want this promised offspring to be sacrificed when he is the one that all the promises of God are supposed to come through?  Abraham believes the God must intend to resurrect him and so he reaches for the knife, having made the mental and emotional decision to go ahead with the the sacrifice.
    v12-14.  But God stops him in the moment that Abraham made the final commitment to carry it out.  He says “seeing that you have not withheld your son, your only son”…compare this to Rom 8:3 and 32.  Then Abraham spots a substitute in the bushes, provided by God.  He sacrifices the substitute in place of Isaac.  This is as plain of a foreshadowing as can be made to show us how Jesus is the sacrifice that is made in substitution for us.  God reveals the plan of a substitutionary atonement to Abraham like he did to Adam when he clothed him in animal skin (killing an animal instead of Adam himself).  So this test did more than just prove Abraham lives out the obedience of faith.  It has taught him and us more of how God will accomplish our salvation.
    v15-18.  Here God speaks again and announces that it is by his own name or again himself that he has sworn that he will keep the covenant he had already given to Abraham and he ties it to this act of obedient sacrifice of the only son.  So I see at least two things being necessary here.  1.  Obedience of faith (trust in God to do precisely as he says that leads to action) that is true when tested to the extreme and 2. A substitute sacrifice actually being made by a greater father of a greater Son in order to bring about the promise that God has made to Adam and to Noah and to Abraham.  Remembering the already-not yet paradigm presented in chapter 17 it seems that this sacrifice of the Son is the very thing that makes the obedience of faith possible as Jesus is called the founder and perfecter of our faith in Hebrews 12:2 (even Abraham’s I suggest).  This verse in Hebrews says how he founded and perfected our faith…go read it.
    v19-24.  Then Abraham and Isaac return and Abraham seems to get filled in on some details regarding his brother Nahor, who it seems Abraham has been out of touch with since he just ow learns of not only Nahor's children but also a grandchild (unless the narrator is not trying to give chronology to us and is merely letting us know some future details- which is quite possible).

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    1.  God expects Abraham to have and to demonstrate obedience of faith in the most extreme circumstances.  The implication today is that God expects this kind of faith from me and this can only come by the power of God through the cross of Christ and ultimately by his Spirit gifting me this kind of faith.  This takes a circumcised heart by the Spirit of God (Deut 30:6, Jer 31:31-33, Ezek 36:26-27, Eph 2:8-9).  So this asking of Abraham to sacrifice his son was something special in the big story of God revealing his plan of salvation to mankind and I should consider that today I must comply with God’s revealed will in his Word and I am told to test any spirit to be sure that I am not ever listening to something other than the Spirit of God (1 John 4:1-3).  So I should never go jump off a bridge or do something clearly against the Word of God because I felt a “sense” or heard a “voice” that tells me to act against what I know God has said…just like Jesus in the desert.  The significance for me today is that I am to trust God and I am to trust primarily in the sacrifice of Jesus to accomplish my salvation and to be my standing with God.  I am to step forward in faith that because of Christ and his work I am right with God and he is at work in me.  I have the power to live with the obedience of faith in all aspects of my life because of Jesus and his Spirit that dwells in me!
    2.  A sacrifice was necessary but God was pleased to offer it himself and he has swore to deliver us on his name and it is a unilateral covenant that even secures our obedience (already- not yet).  The implication is that God determined that Abraham would pass this test when he passed through the broken carcasses in chapter 15 by himself.  “By myself I have sworn”.  Abraham was walking forward in faith but it was God who secured this.  The significance for me is that I have a dance of obedience of faith to engage in and I can do it knowing that Jesus is praying for and has died for the securing of my faith (Rom 8:34, Luke 21:31-32).  I can see the manifesting of Jesus in my life when I walk in this victory (John 14:21) that is mine for the taking, guaranteed by the blood of the lamb (Heb 6:17, Rom 4:16).  I have responsibility but he empowers and sets his name upon the guarantee that I will fulfill this responsibility (1 Thess 5:23-24)!

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Matthew 21

Ready:
I pick up after Jesus told the parable of the Vineyard and I realize I left out the last paragraph about him healing two blind men.

Reading thoughts:
Here I see right away that he is drawing near Jerusalem and he stops at the Mount of Olives.  The ministry of Jesus lasted three years and this point marks the beginning of the last week of his life (before the cross).  I see Jesus enter Jerusalem as prophesied and many people are crying out for him to save them with “hosannah!” and they recognize him as the Son of David (promised heir…the Messiah).   Jesus cleanses the temple next (although Matthew is likely following a thematic description and not chronological).  Then Jesus curses the fig tree, returns a question for a question to the Pharisees who want to know on what authority he removes people from the temple or teaches in the temple.  Then Jesus teaches about true faith that includes repentance and Matthew finishes the chapter with Jesus teaching a devastating parable of the tenants that completely obliterates the Pharisees and no doubt pushes them harder toward their determination to kill him.  In this chapter Jesus clearly intends to present himself as the Messiah and there is no holding back…the time has come to go to the cross!  This triumphal entry at the beginning of this chapter occurs on what we call Palm Sunday and it marks what is called Passion Week (or Holy Week), which culminates with his resurrection the following Sunday.  Page 1866 in the ESV Study Bible gives a good timeline of events for Holy Week that harmonizes the gospel accounts into one.

Key Verses:

“8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”” (Matthew 21:8–9, ESV)

“13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”” (Matthew 21:13, ESV)

“15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “ ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?”” (Matthew 21:15–16, ESV)

“15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “ ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?”” (Matthew 21:15–16, ESV)

I see the theme as- Jesus enters the City of David claiming his authority as the Messiah and sets himself against any that will not surrender in true faith to the Son of God.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-11.  Jesus fulfills prophecy and enters the City as was promised by God about 400-500 years earlier by Zechariah (Zech 9:9).  The crowds are praising him and asking that he save them but in only five days the crowd will shout “Let him be crucified!” (Matt 27:22-23).  Little did they know that they were saying the same thing, for it was only in this death that the Jews or anyone else would ever be saved from the wrath of God.  Jesus came to conquer through suffering.
    v12-17.  Here Jesus clears the temple and shows that the house of God is a place of worship and is to be honored.  He also shows that he welcomes the lame, the blind, and the children.  The proud teachers and religious leaders are not the ones he came for.  He came to reveal the truth to a people who will rely upon him and who will trust him and who understand their need for him.  Of course many Jews followed Jesus (like the disciples) but the Pharisees are set apart as the religious establishment that did not accept Jesus.  Here Jesus lets the children worship him and declare him as the Christ and the Pharisees simply ask him “Do you hear what they are saying?”.  Of course he does…maybe the Pharisees should listen a little harder themselves.  Then Jesus leaves and spends the night in Bethany (outside of Jerusalem).
    v18-22.  Returning to the Jerusalem Matthew records a compressed account of his withering of the fig tree.  He works a miracle that is also interpreted by many to be a judgement upon this unbelieving generation of Israel.  He teaches them about faith in this lesson and tells that that pray offered in faith is answered.  There are, of course, other teachings on prayer that help us to take this in context and know that we must have right motives (kingdom motives) (James 4:3), and that we must be praying with faith that is in the right thing (namely Jesus and his work on the cross- John 16:23-24) and this faith is only true when it evidences itself in obedience (repentance- Matt 21:28-32, James 2:26, 1 John 2:3-6).  Jesus says that it will be done if we have faith and if we do not doubt.  I certainly do not take this to be not doubting in that the request will be granted but in not doubting in the authority of the name of Jesus.  So he doesn’t mean really really believe that the mountain will be thrown into the ocean.  He means really really believe that Jesus can do whatever he wills and he always does what glorifies the Father in Heaven.  This unwavering belief that God can do what he says is the faith that saved Abraham (Rom 4:20-22).  Do not doubt the identity or authority of the one in whom’s name you pray.  I think this is why this passage comes right before the next one…
    v23-27.  Here Jesus declares (without saying it) that he exercises the authority of heaven when he acts to rule over the things that happen in the temple.  The Pharisees are scared to answer his question and he knows they would not believe that his authority is from heaven so he does not waste the breath in them and prefers to point out to them their own cowardice.
    v28-32.  Here Jesus clearly teaches that ultimate repentance and action is the marker of faith and not an empty confession.  This speaks volumes to us if we rely on a prayer or an event in our past as our evidence to our conscience that we are “saved”.  J.D. Grear wrote a book called Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart and he tackles this concept by asking the reader to not look backward to a ceremony of prayer of anything else that they have done but to only look back to the cross of Christ.  We should consider the present day if we want to know if we have saving faith.  Are we currently showing trust and repentance?  This is the question, not did I get baptized or did I pray the right prayer?  If I look at my life and can’t say that I am living in trust and repentance…then I just need to repent of that failure and ask God for strength and will to do it.  Who knows exactly when I was saved…and who cares.
    v33-44.  This is a big long story to make the point that the Jews have been stiff-necked and they have killed prophet after prophet and even now they will kill the Son of God himself in their unbelief and for this reason the Gentiles will receive the Kingdom “first” to relate it to yesterday’s discussion.  But we know in the end this rejection is actually going to turn around and be the source of Israel’s salvation (Rom 11).
    v45-46.  The chief priests (the "Sanhedrin" or Jewish council) and the Pharisees heard these parables of the two sons and of the tenants and they knew what Jesus was saying.  They heard this on Tuesday and on Wednesday the council would settle on a plan to kill this supposed Messiah (Matt 26:3-5).

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
No time!

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Soli Deo Gloria!

January 20

Genesis 21; Matthew 20

Genesis 21

Ready:
Yesterday I read about Sarah being protected from Abimelech and how God has ensured that his purpose in Isaac being born to Sarah and Abraham precisely when he said is accomplished and this even included interrupting the will of this King who set out to lay with Sarah.  Let me see the beauty of the king in this story and may you renew my mind Lord.

Reading thoughts:
I see Isaac born and Hagar put out into the wilderness with Ishmael and then Abraham enters into a covenant with Abimelech due to the distrust that came from Abraham’s dishonesty.

I see the theme here to be- A promise fulfilled and sole devotion to the promised offspring is required.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1.  It took divine intervention for Sarah’s womb to bear a child and so here it is documented that the Lord visited her and gave her capability where there had been none.  This birth was in the keeping of a promise and is far different than the birth of Ishmael 15 years earlier when Sarah was 75.  Now she was 90 was no longer menstruating.  That is, until the Lord visited her.
    v2-3.  The conception of the child was none the less by Abraham and was a natural course so would have transpired months prior to the birth account listed here.  It is unclear then if God came upon her womb prior to the King Abimelech account and this was part of the protection given to her or if this occurred after and is here just compressed in time for us.
    v4-7.  Sarah’s laughter of unbelief is here turned to a laughter of joy in the God who keeps covenant.  Sarah laughs now at the ridiculous nature of what God has accomplished with her body.
    v8-14.  Here Sarah perceives a bitterness and a problem that she sets out to remove.  Her desire seems to be to protect Isaac from what would be a certain battle over birthright and blessings and since she knows that Isaac is the promised child she asks Abraham to put out Hagar and Ishmael before there comes a great conflict in the future.  Abraham is initially taken back and does not want such a thing but God comforts him and advises him to heed his wife’s request.  It seems that Sarah must have had a proper instinct and that God was pleased to further protect Isaac and to make clear that the hope of Israel was solely upon Isaac.  God promises Abraham that he will indeed bless Ishmael and that he will father a nation and that Abraham need not worry about his welfare.  Trusting God, like usual, Abraham acts upon the request of his wife and puts the two out of the camp to live apart from the Israelites forever.
    v15-21.  Here the woman and her 15 yo child wander and end up in a bad way.  It seems that they are close to death with a lack of water and that God intervenes due to the prayers of the young boy.  God shows them a well and blesses them with provision to sustain them.  This Ishmael grows up and takes an Egyptian for a wife.  Modern Muslims claim this Ishmael as their patriarch who they say settled in Mecca.  Many have doubt and it is difficult to support this with Biblical history but so goes the modern claim of the Muslims that Ishmael is the Arab patriarch.
    v22-34.  Here is an account of Abraham dealing with Abimelech who wants an agreement of honey dealings between the two of them.  This highlights both Abimelech’s perception that Abraham is blessed by God and also that Abraham is not always completely honest.  They come to an agreement regarding this and they make a covenant that secures Abraham’s peaceful dwelling in the land and his enjoyment of the provision of God in the well over which they disputed.  

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    1.  God overcame physical inability in Sarah to bring life that he had promised.  One implication for today is that all things are possible for God and though we do not usually have announcement of his plan, we can trust that God is capable of things that seem impossible in our lives.  The significance for me is that I need not be afraid of asking the impossible from God when I perceive that the request if in keeping with his revealed character and promises (John 14:14).
    2.  God keeps his promises exactly as he makes them and the covenant blessings from Gen 12 come specifically through the Isaac.  The implication today is that God’s promises should not be skewed to fit my need but I should see them exactly as they were intended.  The significance for me is that I need to use caution when claiming a promise that I see in the Bible because sometimes they were meant only for a specific person or for a specific time and to twist it into applying to me might not be right just as it was not right for Hagar and Ishmael.  Yet Jesus is indeed the “yes” and “amen” to all the promises of God (2 Cor 1:20) and we do receive the blessing of Abraham as children by faith (Gal 3:5-9, Rom 9:8).

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Matthew 20

Ready:
Jesus had been teaching on our need to be as children who humbly and submissively depend upon him for all things and here he picks up right were he had concluded a lesson about the first being last and the last first.  The chapter division here is very arbitrary and does not present a break in the teaching at all.

Reading thoughts:
I see Jesus teaching along the train of thought of humility and of the blessings to be received in the kingdom by those who gives up what the world offers to gain what God offers.  He teaches a parable about a vineyard and how the wages are paid out in full even for the time that the laborers were only idle and had not yet even been called into service.  I also see Jesus correlating this teaching to his death and resurrection and to a suffering that cannot be carried by the disciples illustrated in his response to the mother of James and John.

Key Verses:

“4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’” (Matthew 20:4, ESV)

“7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’” (Matthew 20:7–8, ESV)

“10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house,” (Matthew 20:10–11, ESV)

“13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you.” (Matthew 20:13–14, ESV)


“15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”” (Matthew 20:15–16, ESV)

“18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”” (Matthew 20:18–19, ESV)

“22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.”” (Matthew 20:22, ESV)

“26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”” (Matthew 20:26–28, ESV)

I see the theme as- Eternal life comes as a gift of mercy owed to none while the wrath of God is owed to all and will be paid in full to a measure that cannot ever be paid by man lest he is ransomed by the Son of God who received full payment on behalf of his sheep.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1.  Jesus begins a teaching using a parable here in response to the question by Peter in the last chapter where he asked something to the effect of “If the rich man were to receive rewards in heaven when he gives away all he owns then what are we going to receive who have given up all we own?”  Acknowledging the place of the apostles in judging the tribes of Israel he then explains that there will be rewards to all who come unto him and that the better than any reward given is eternal life itself, which comes as the gift of God (Rom 6.23).  Concluding the last chapter then with the reference that many who are first will be last and the last first there is here a transition to explain what he meant by that response.  You see Peter was immediately about comparing rewards and wanting to know what he was “earning”.  Jesus here will explain how earning works in contrast to gift receiving.  He begins by telling them that this parable is a description of the kingdom of heaven.  The parable begins early in the morning with a master who has charge over a vineyard and he is about the business of calling laborers to work his harvest.  Sound familiar?
    v2- He reaches an agreement with the laborers (sound like a covenant?) regarding what will be owed to them in the course of the day and then they are sent out about the work.  I take this to be Israel given the law by Moses as a covenant that establishes that the payment of sin is death and the blessing of obedience is life.  He made clear above that eternal life is inherited and not earned (Matt 19:29 and also Rom 6:23).  So there are clear expectations of labor and of payment for this labor.
    v3-7.  During the course of the day the owner went out and called more laborers at various hours and there is no mention of an agreement with these men except that he tells them they will be paid whatever is right (in the eyes of the master is implied).  I take this to be the Gentiles who do not have a covenant law with God but that are still under sin and are accountable for wages just the same.  God announces to them that he will give just wages to all.  The workers he brings in seem to be just waiting around and doing nothing when he finds them and they are only useful to the vineyard from the time he calls them.  Claiming that they are still standing around because no one has hired them the master tells them to go to the vineyard and work.  I take this to represent believers who are called into faith at different points in history and in their lives.  Particularly in this case with the context I take this to be all of the Gentiles where it was the Jews who were “first” and these Gentiles are “last” to join the workforce and doing so without a specific "agreement”.  (Although John Calvin takes this whole concept more generally- maybe I am just dumb!)  Anyhow, Paul says that all are accountable to God because of the law, not just the Jews (Rom 3:19).  If this is the case then the idle men who were waiting around have been accountable to the master (God) the whole time.
    v8.  Now evening comes.  Evening is often used to refer to judgement and here is to be a reckoning for the wages due to each worker.  I take the bringing in of the last laborer before evening to be the promise that Israel has been hardened and would remain that way until the last of the Gentiles comes in (Rom 11:25).
    v9-10.  Here both the original laborers working under contract and the newly invited laborers who just finished even showing up are all paid the amount that was agreed to in the contract with the first laborers!  Is this justice?  Praise God that he does not deal with us according to justice in view of our labor.  God deals with his children only according to mercy.  What the master gives to all is a full measure of mercy because they were all accountable to him from the dawn of the day and he offers them mercy in full instead of payment for their labor.  Full payment, as agreed is levied, but not to them.  This will come below.
    v11-12.  So now the original group grumbles (like in the desert) because they perceive that they have earned something.  See Paul’s description on why Israel did not succeed in reaching the law that would have lead to righteousness in Rom 9:3–32.  The original group perceived that they were earning something from the master when they did not understand that they owed him their very life.  This agreement for wages was to show them that what God gives is not earned but a free gift of mercy.  The first group is mad…they are jealous.  They have been working all day long.  See Rom 10:19-21 and Rom 11:13-14.  They have endured this whole time in the scorching heat.  See who endures in Rom 9:22-24.  But Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for recognizing the scorching heat but not recognizing the coming of his mercy (Luke 12:55-56)!
    v13-14.  Here the master calls them friend and he tells them that he has done them no wrong.  The master story teller and the author of life is now weaving for the disciples and for us the mystery of this parable.  It is not their endurance that earns God’s mercy on the day of judgment but it is the blood of Jesus.  The master calls them friend these laborers who he just met today I believe to make the connection to Jesus in laying down his life for his friends (John 15:13) and the fulfillment of the law is to do your neighbor no wrong (Rom 13:10) and Jesus is our fulfillment of the law (Rom 8:3-4).  The master explains to them that this is what we agreed to…full payment for your wages which I put upon my Son and you are therefore the recipient of my free gift of eternal life.  Do you not recognize that this is what I had covenanted to do?  Do you not read your Bibles?  Did you think that you could drink this cup of the wages you are truly owed?  I choose these other workers to receive by gift as well and this is not concern of yours.  They did not choose me as you did not.  I choose and I give freely.
    v15.  The master rhetorically asks them if he cannot do what he pleases with what is his and I hear Jesus referring at least to Rom 9:20-23 and 1 Cor 6:19-20 and Rom 14:7-9.  He owns us and we are his.  His wrath is his and his mercy is his. He asks them if they begrudge his generosity and I hear Rom 2:4-5 and Rom 10:12.
    v16.  Jesus concludes the parable closing again with “so [this is how I mean that] the last will be first and the first last”.  I can take this to be that the Jews will come into the kingdom last, once the Gentiles are all brought in.  This of course excludes those that Paul refers to as the elect who do enter the kingdom based on the obedience of faith along the way.  The idea being that the remaining nation of Israel will not convert until the last of the Gentiles come in.  I could also take this to mean that it is the servant who will be most honored and the blessings do not depend upon order in which someone enters the race but merely the choice of God to use them and bless them.  I don’t know which sense is truly meant.
    v17-19.  The fact that Matthew follows this up immediately with the Jesus describing his death and resurrection it seems apparent that he indeed was speaking above about the wages being paid in full by Christ rather than referring to rewards as Peter was inquiring.  I take Jesus answering peter’s question about "what rewards are we earning” with something like “You do not understand.  You do not want justice, believe me.  You want mercy.  You do not want to be judged upon your works, but mine only.  You will not be given what you deserve and this is eternal life!  You will be given mercy only.  I am making the way for this in Jerusalem…watch for it.
    v20-28.  Now a proud mom gets involved here and Jesus, reading her heart no doubt simply says “What do you want?”.  She wants to know if her sons can be given honor like Jesus and sit next to him when he takes his throne.  Oh, gotcha…no big deal.  Jesus tells her that she is clueless as to what she is asking.  Conquering is through suffering.  Greatness comes by humble service.  Authority in heaven is given only by the Father and he loves those who lay down their life.  Furthermore, he asks the rhetorical question regarding whether they can make the payment that is owed.  Can they receive the wage of wrath that is owed to them…or better…the wages owed to all the sheep?  Jesus concedes his argument that he knows they cannot perceive and grants them that they will suffer for the name of Christ, but not like Jesus.  He explains then a conclusion and the key to the parable of the vineyard.  He explains that greatness comes from service and Israel is about a great service to the world right now (Rom 11:11-12, 15).  In daily life we must not seek honor but seek to honor others.  There are multiple dimensions to this teaching.  Jesus concludes with the key that Jesus came to serve (the one with the name above all names) and he came to offer his life as a ransom for many.  This conclusion makes sense of the master of the vineyard calling the laborers friends and saying that he has done them no wrong…indeed he has done them the greatest good!  He has received the wage that was due to them!  He redeemed them with his own blood and now they are his inheritance.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    Quickly- In the end whether Jesus was specifically speaking of Jews and Gentiles when he speaks of first and last does not change the main point I take which is that we are to look not for what we earn but for the free gift of mercy that comes by the blood of the one who receives our true wages on our behalf.  Instead of wages we receive from the riches of the mercies of God in Christ.  Let us not ask with Peter “what are we earning?” but “what are the riches you freely lavish upon us?”.  And let us understand that chronology does not establish anything in the kingdom…so look behind you…there may be someone far greater behind you…maybe even in a cradle…or a manger.  And let’s not think less of new comers or the thief on the cross.  Full payment is made and all is mercy!

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Soli Deo Gloria!