Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

Woe to you  teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth ( W ) of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.   You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.   24  You blind guides! ( Y ) You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Once again the teachers and Pharisees have missed the point of the laws relating to tithing. Tithing was meant to be and act of thanksgiving giving back to the temple as a response to all the blessings God had given them.  But instead they got caught up in the trivialities of tithing like giving a tenth of their spices   In doing so they focused on themselves and how righteous they were to even tithe their spices.  Meanwhile as they were spending so much time on this they were neglecting the weightier matters such as the needs of people for justice and mercy.  Notice Jesus says you should have practiced the latter without neglectin

  Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees Verses 13-22 cover the first three of the seven woes.  13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.  The word "hypocrite" comes from Greek play acting and means to "wear a mask". It also means "hypo-crites", or "above criticism.  You will often find this tendency today where hyper-critical people focus on other's faults, but don't look at their own.  The seriousness of the condemnation was that the Pharisees were closing the door of the kingdom of heaven.  They were playing God.  The standard they had set was perfect adherence to the Law, which neither they nor the people could keep.  Little did they know that with the same standard they were judging, they too would be judgedd. Verse 14 Some manuscripts include this verse which

A Warning Against Hypocrisy 23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:  Jesus directed at the Pharisees and religous leaders and now he turns to the crowds and his disciples.   “The true target of the whole discourse is the crowds and disciples who need to break free from Pharisaic legalism.” (France) 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.  "Moses' seat - Moses was the great legislator of the Jews. By him the Law was given. The office of explaining that Law among the Jews devolved on the scribes and Pharisees. In the synagogues they sat while expounding the Law, and rose when they read it. By "sitting in the seat of Moses" we are to understand authority to teach the Law; or, as he taught the nation by giving the Law, so they taught it by explaining it." (Barnes) 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.  It wasn't what they were teach

Whose Son Is the Messiah? 41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,  Jesus turns the tables on the Pharisees and now asks them a question.  There must have been a pause in the action. You can just imagine seeing the Pharisees huddling to see what trap to set for Jesus next.   42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. This was an easy question to give them. Every Jew knew the answer was the son of David.  This was part of the Davidic covenant God made with David and the people of Israel in 2 Samuel 7.   " This is an unconditional covenant made between God and David through which God promises David and Israel that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) would come from the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah and would establish a kingdom that would endure forever. The Davidic Covenant is unconditional because God does not place any conditions of obedience upon its fulfillment. The surety of the promises made rests sole

The Greatest Commandment 34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.  As we have said, the Pharisees and Sadducees were diametrically opposed in their theology, or teaching about God.  The Sadducees were liberal in their exposition of the Law, and believed only what they could see not in the supernatural.  The Pharisees focused on the Law of Moses. and taught strict adherence a literal interpretation of the Law. However they often added laws of their own in additional to the 613 they found in the Old Testament.   35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:  " This question was also planned to trap Jesus. In asking Jesus to choose one great commandment, they hoped to make Jesus show neglect for another area of the law." An expert in the Law, was also called a scribe.   36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” "The Rabbins reckoned up 613 commandments of the law; and distinguished them into the g

Marriage at the Resurrection 23 That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question.  The Sadducees were sort of like the modern day liberal, protestant movement which questioned anything that was supernatural.  They basically bought into the enlightenment idea, which put reason above all else.   Here is a general synopis of the liberal protestant movement,  " Liberal Christianity, also known as liberal theology, is a movement that interprets and reforms Christian teaching by taking into consideration modern knowledge, science and ethics. It emphasizes the importance of reason and experience over doctrinal authority. Liberal Christians view their theology as an alternative to both atheistic rationalism and theologies based on traditional interpretations of external authority (such as the Bible or sacred tradition). Liberal theology grew out of Enlightenment rationalism and romanticism of the 18th and 19th centuries. By the late 19th and early

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar 15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words.  Faced with no other alternative, the Pharisees try to trap Jesus in his words.  Since they could not reason with him directly, or begin a plot to eliminate him because of his following, they try a more insidious tactic.   16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are.  The fact that the Pharisees and Herodians were teaming up against Jesus shows they had a mutual disdain for him.  The Pharisees had their own disciples too. The two groups were willing to set aside their differences for the sake of uniting against Jesus (Guzik) Though the men were right in what they said about Jesus, their motives were less than pure, especially since we know they were trying to set a t

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet 22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:  Jesus again uses his favorite method of teaching with parables.  Parables, in short, are an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.  This parable is a follow up to the previous parable.  They both point to the Jewish leaders and their rejection of him, which was not God's will.  2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. The marriage feast is often used as a metaphor for the church, which is this bride of Christ and Jesus the bridegroom. Ephesians 5:25 The king represents God. Like the previous parable where the landowner provided everything needed for a fruitful vineyard, the king in this parable prepares a glorious wedding banquet for his son.  " A wedding was (and often is today) the most significant social event of a person’s life. The wedding of a prince would be a spectacular event, and an invitation would normally be prized. " 3 He sent his

The Parable of the Tenants 33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.  Jesus uses another parable, which seems to be a "polemic" (aka a strong verbal attack on something or someone) against the Jews.  Note in the Old Testament, the nation of Israel was called the "True Vine of God".  The landowner does everything in his power to provide the right environment for a productive vineyard.  I.e. He planted the vineyard, dug a wine press to bring out the wine, built a wall to protect it from intruders, hired farmers to do the work, and built a watchtower for the farmers to stay in.  With all these preparations in place, the owner now felt comfortable enough to move to another place. Most intepret the landowner as God, and the farmers the people of Israel.  34 When the harvest time approached, he se

The Parable of the Two Sons 28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ As Jesus' journey moves toward the cross, he uses the opportunity to teach using his favorite method, parables.  He will teach three parables in a row, which all seem to implicate the Jewish leaders and their rejection of him.  The first parable is about a man who had two sons. It would have been was perfectly logical his sons into the vineyard to work.   The father spoke to each son individually in making his request.  Important he asks his son to "work today".  There was an urgency to his request.  29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Though he spoke against it, later he changed his mind and went.  He spoke wrong, but did right.  " I will not - This had been the language of the publicans and wicked men. They refused at first, and did not "profess" to be willing to go

The Authority of Jesus Questioned 23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?” Authority is the " right to exercise power ".  Jesus has already shown his authority over sickness, disease, spiritual forces, and even nature.   Despite all of this, the Jewish leaders question his authority to do these powerful acts, which was always for the betterment of humankind.  They are used to having all the authority, so they feel their sense of authority is being threatened.  They are given authority because of their position within the Jewish religous system, which came from God.  Jesus' authority cames straight from God the Father.  24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.  " The religious leaders raised the question o

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree 18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry.  Jesus is on his way back to Jerusalem and he is hungry for breakfast.  I doubt there was a Denny's near by.   “ He was perfectly human and therefore physically hungry, for hunger is a sign of health.” (Morgan) 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. This is a curious event.  Since we know Jesus is not cursing the tree literally, it must have some deeper meaning.  The issue was that the tree was not doing what it was intended to do.  Most interpret this to mean it was directed at the Jewish people, who were called the Vine of God.  They were God's chosen possession and were supposed to bear fruit.   Jesus offers a harsh rebuke.  He curses it for not bearing fruit and it withers away. " In this acted-out-parable, Jesus warned of coming

Jesus at the Temple 12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.  The temple courts referred to were the outer courts, where people exchanged foreign currencies, animals and birds for money to pay the temple tax. Those who were selling and changing the money were charging exorbitant prices capitalizing on the pilgrim coming from a distance and having no other way to obtain the money. The outer courts were the only place where the Gentiles, the blind, lame and kids were allowed.   " The purpose was the same; to drive out the merchants, who in cooperation with the priests cheated visitors to Jerusalem by forcing them to purchase approved sacrificial animals and currencies at high prices." (Guzik) " A pair of doves could cost as little as 4p outside the Temple and as much as 75p inside the Temple.” This is almost 20 times more expensive. "