The Greatest Commandment


Alex Rollings
Matthew: Christ The Promised King • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 28:15
0 ratings
· 28 viewsJesus responds, what is the Greatest Commandment? He calls us to recognise him as our LORD and to love him with all our heart, all our soul and all our mind and to love our neighbour as ourself.
Files
Notes
Transcript
The door of repentance leads into the Kingdom and into its righteousness.
Intro me
We have a lot of ground to cover today so we’re doing to dive right in. We’re continuing to follow the story of Jesus as told by Matthew in the bible. And we’re into Jesus’ final week, everything is coming to a head in Jerusalem. [calendar]
His week started with a Sunday: Jesus’ triumphal entry - but on a donkey - the king coming in peace. He’s welcomed and praised - if not truly understood by most.
Then on his Monday, he’s turning the temple upside down; overturning tables, driving out sellers - its days are numbered. As he heals the sick he wins the praises of children.
And now it’s Tuesday.. let’s read together from Matthew chapter 21 starting at verse 23. And we’re going to read today’s passage in two parts because there’s quite a lot to cover. Come with me to page 989 in our blue bibles. Matthew chapter 21 starting at verse 23. And Fiona / Liz is reading for us today.
Reading 1 Mt 21:23-32
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?” 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. John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?” They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. “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.’ “ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
Why are they asking about authority? Mt 21:23 Because Jesus is majorly stepping on toes there in the temple, the heart of Jerusalem and Judaism.
Matthew 21:23 (NIV)
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?”
They are the bosses of the temple (or at least so they think). Jesus is a nobody, an outsider from nowhere-ville. Sure, he’s built up a bit of a following in his backwater travels, but this is the big city. He’s on their turf now.
Picture it like a bit of a gang war. Their gang has controlled Jerusalem, controlled the temple at its centre for years. Suddenly there’s a new guy in town acting like he owns the place. “What makes you think you can just walk in here?” “who sent you?” “who’s big boss?” (for the Metal Gear Solid crew)
Jesus dodges their question, taking them back to the ministry of a guy we often call John the Baptist (because his big thing was baptising people, see?) - asking what they made of him. And he has them in a bit of a pickle. They don’t actually think John was anything special or had anything special to say.
But the crowds do - so they can’t come clean. They’re afraid to tell the truth so they lie “we don’t know.” They know, of course - at least they think they know. If they thought John was for real, they would have paid attention to him - and to what he said about Jesus. But they didn’t so they don’t.
But in some ways it is a pretty reasonable question they are asking Jesus. They are meant to be the keepers of the temple so it’s right that they should worry about who does what there. So why won’t Jesus answer their question? It’s not the right time. There’s a time for wisely avoiding saying everything that could be said.
What do you think would have happened if Jesus had spilled the beans? Would they have been convinced, believed him, changed? No. But they would have had the evidence they needed to go get the Romans take out Jesus for them. And it’s not time for that - not Friday yet.
But still, Jesus does give them something rather than nothing. He tells them a parable - a story with a point to make. The two sons. Now this is pretty straight forward. Is it better to say yes, but not do it? or to say no - but do it in the end? It’s the doing that matters, right, not the saying. Alas for politics. I think probably everyone can get on board with this: it’s the doing that matters, not the saying. Even these chief priests are on board with that.
But what’s Jesus getting at? who is saying not doing? who is doing not saying? What’s the doing we’re talking about here anyway? Don’t worry if you’re confused - Jesus is going to lay it all out for us.
Mt 21:31 “The tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God”. “Ahead of you priests and leaders”. What? You can imagine the shock on their faces. They’re the ones who said “no” - but did “yes” in the end - so Jesus, you’re saying we’re the ones who said “yes” but did “no”?
Matthew 21:31 (NIV)
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.
There must have been steam coming out of their ears. That’s slander, Jesus! Unbelievably rude. See, tax collectors were the hated collaborators with the Roman occupiers, fleecing their own people to get rich. Right at the bad end of the good/bad scale. And prostitutes, taking money for sex outside of God’s design in marriage? Right at the bad end of the good/bad scale.
It’s kind of like Jesus chose peak-bad-guy and peak-bad-girl. As he tells us, though they said “no”, they did “yes” in the end. And for the record, people from both backgrounds have featured prominently in Jesus’ story - and are among his followers
“Them! They’re ahead of us?!” these leaders must be thinking, “How is that possible?” But it’s worse than that: Jesus isn’t saying “they’re ahead - but don’t worry, they had a fast-pass - you’ll get there in the end”; it’s not just a question of time or sequence; it’s like there’s a queue, and “those people”, they’ve both reached the front ahead of you, and you’re still in the queue, and closing time is approaching...
If you follow into the next verse, that’s exactly where Jesus places these priests and leaders. “you did not believe”. “even after this, you did not repent and believe”. They’re not the ones who said “no” but in the end did “yes”. They are the ones who said “yes” but did “no”. And they’re still doing it.
But like I said at the start, we have a lot of ground to cover today - so if I can get Fiona / Liz back up, we’re going to read on into Jesus’ next parable - because it’s all connected. Matthew 21 starting at verse 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. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.
Familiar with ancient near eastern viticulture? Don’t worry - you don’t need to be on top of it to make sense of all this. Here’s the big thing to know: God’s people, Israel, are commonly pictured as a vineyard in the Bible. Head over to Isaiah 5 or Psalm 80 to see some examples. That’s the thread Jesus is pulling on here - and in the previous parable too, did you notice the two sons were asked to go work in the vineyard?
So there’s this vineyard and its rented out to a bunch of no-goods who want to take it for themselves, not look after it for the owner. When he sends for his fruit, they beat up the messengers; he sends again and they do it again. And then he sends his son and they kill him, thinking they will come out on top. So when the owner comes, what will he do?
Well, the priests and leaders Jesus is talking to are perfectly clear: “he will bring those wretches to a wretched end”
What’s the parable about? I don’t think it’s massively cryptic. If the vineyard is God’s people, the ones looking after it are these priests and leaders Jesus is talking to - and their predecessors. They’ve rejected the messengers God sent to them - the former prophets - they do it again - the latter prophets, and maybe this John Jesus has been talking about too. Then finally comes the son, Jesus. And they’re going to kill him too, thinking they’ll keep their place and their power.
But let me ask you a question: Do you think their passions are just running so far ahead of their brains that they are caught up in the story and blurt out their response before thinking about what it means? Some commentators do. That they’ve accidentally declared the judgement which they should, and will, receive: a wretched end awaits them, the wicked usurpers. Well maybe..
But if they understood Jesus that way, though their blood would be boiling, surely they’d have come right back at him instead: “you are no Son; you are an impostor! blasphemy! you deserve to die!” I think they must be understanding his parable differently - at least to begin with.
So what could they be thinking Jesus is talking about? Well, I’m sure they’d immediately connect the vineyard with God’s people and the promised land. And ancient Israel had been conquered and governed by various different powers for most of the last 500 years: the Babylonians, the Persians, The Greeks, and now the Romans. Maybe they saw the no-goods running the place as these powers, refusing God, its true owner, His rights.
And they could easily see this Son who arrives only to be thrown out and killed as the time of the Maccabees, a brief return to Jewish power about 140BC; Israel is described metaphorically as God’s son in the Old Testament so they could well take Jesus’ mention of the son as pointing to that Jewish moment. Which the Romans came and crushed sixty years before Jesus arrived on the scene.
So they might have heard Jesus telling a story about how God’s land has been ravaged again and again - and proudly and angrily stated their belief that He would not leave things this way, but intervene, judging and destroying the Roman occupier. Honestly, I think that makes more sense of their reaction - and why they go on to talk about new tenants being appointed - God bringing his land back into his control with a fresh start. I don’t think they immediately saw Jesus pointing at them - or Jesus pointing at himself.
See, this is the first time Jesus goes public about his identity as the son of God, placing himself in the story. Placing himself on a completely different level to all the prophets who had gone before - even this John guy: all just servants where he is the son. If you ever wonder whether Jesus was just a great moral teacher, sadly misunderstood, listen to the story he tells about himself here; he knows and declares his identity: the only son of God. Either he’s maliciously lying, raving mad, or he’s telling the truth. He can’t just be a great moral teacher.
And Jesus isn’t finished with just the parable - he has more to add: he adds the end of the story. “Have you never read,” he says and then he quotes psalm 118- Well, they certainly would have read it - but they had never understood it:
Matthew 21:42 (NIV)
‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes’?
The rejected stone has become the most important one in the building. Jesus is speaking in word pictures again, speaking about himself, the son, the one who would be thrown out and killed as foretold by the parable. The one who would be rejected by these priests and leaders. But the story doesn’t end like those priests suggested, with the son dead and a new tenant in place; it ends with his resurrection and reinstatement over his people. That is what the owner will finally do: restore his son to life and have him rule over his people and land: Jesus is the cornerstone.
And then Jesus goes for the jugular: Mt 21:43
“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
If I’m right, and they hadn’t understood Jesus’ parable was pointed at them, they do now. Jesus declares his judgement on them as the ones who refuse God his due, who would even kill his son to keep their power and place: the vineyard, the Kingdom of God will be taken from them and given to a new people. Given to a people who will “produce its fruit”.
Now they get it: “they knew he was talking about them” v45. The battle lines are drawn.
So that’s today’s passage. That’s what’s going on. Obviously there is a lot more here and we could keep digging for hours. But we have plenty to work on already. What does all this mean for us?
Here’s the thing that stood out me: Jesus’ declaration that the kingdom of God will be given to a people who will produce its fruit.
Jesus is talking about his people, his church. And where the ancient people Israel did not produce fruit, we, the church, will. Here’s my problem: are we really any better than them? Are we really any different to them? Deep down, I know myself. You know what’s inside you. We’re broken, sinful people who have hard hearts and selfish hands. That ancient people didn’t produce fruit - will we really do any better? Can we really hope to do any better?
Or in that parable Jesus told of the two sons, are we really going to be the ones who do what the father wanted in the end? Do you not worry you are much more likely to have said “yes” but then fail to do it? Do you not in fact know that you have failed to do what the father wanted - perhaps sometimes, perhaps often. I do.
There’s a lot of “doing what the father wanted”, a lot of “producing fruit” in Jesus’ words here for us - and frankly that’s scary. If you’ve ever thought of being a Christian as just praying a prayer and receiving a “get out of hell free” card you keep for life and you’re done - well, listen to Jesus. There’s a whole lot more “doing” here, a much bigger agenda for our lives. This is definitely going to get in the way of being free to do what we want any old time.
And if you have been trying to follow Jesus, if you really are a part of this new people, then still, we have to be asking ourselves: are thing really going to turn out any different this time? Are we really so different to those ancient people? Do we really have any hope of doing better?
As I’ve been thinking about this, I think verse 32 is key: Mt 21:32
For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
John - John the Baptist - came to show us the way of righteousness. What is this “way” - or road or path - “of righteousness” we need to believe? Which those priests and leaders did not believe? Let’s go back for a moment to John’s teaching. We don’t actually hear very much of it - but we hear enough.
His central message, which Jesus picks up, is simple: Mt 3:2
and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
What does it mean to repent? Well, imagine you’ve made a bad decision... say you’ve decided to go all the way into the centre of town on the tram. That’s a bad decision. Obviously you have a lot of time on your hands ‘cause it’s so slow - and it’s expensive on top. And it’s just going to be grey and dull and full of tourists when you get there anyway.
Now repentance isn’t sitting on the tram feeling downcast about what’s ahead, accepting the results of your actions. That’s resignation.
Repentance isn’t sitting on that tram just wishing you’d never got on in the first place either. That’s regret. Do you regret decisions you’ve made, their results, their impact on you, on others? It’s a important start - but repentance goes further than regret.
Repentance is agreeing it’s a bad decision you’d made and taking action: getting up. Getting off at the next stop. Crossing over the tracks and heading back the other way. Turning right around. That’s the Hebrew word used for repentance: shuv; to turn.
Becoming a Christian means agreeing with God you were going the wrong way - and turning around. It means recognising and responding to God’s demand for right living - not claiming it doesn’t matter or it’s none of his business or he has no right to tell you what to do. That’s part of this “way of righteousness”.
But John’s message was bigger than just repent. And this is why there’s a reason to hope things could be different this time around. Why there’s hope for a new people who will do what the Father wants. Why there is hope for a new people who will produce the fruit, not claim it for themselves.
John the Baptist also pointed to Jesus, telling us Mt 3:11
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Jesus is going to fundamentally change us through the power of the Holy Spirit alive and at work within us. That’s why there’s a reason to hope. And that’s the other part of this “way of righteousness” meaning things are going to be different this time.
One commentator puts it this way:
Matthew: A Commentary, Volume 2: The Churchbook, Matthew 13–28 (A. The Parable of the Two Kinds of Sons, 21:28–32)
John’s Way of Righteousness was not only demand; it was also promise—of the coming Spirit-baptizing Messiah … The Way of Righteousness is the demand and the gift of being able to do the will of God
And what John promised is fulfilled in Christ. So let’s bring this into land.
As he enters into this final week of his life, the battle lines are drawn. Jesus knows who he is - the son. He knows what’s coming - rejection and death. And yet he looks ahead with confidence to his coming Kingdom because he, the stone the builders rejected, will become the cornerstone, rising and returning to transform his people by sending the Spirit.
So how should we respond?
If you’ve never taken that step of repentance, agreeing with God that you were going the wrong way and turning around, make today the day you do something about it. You have the chance - but you won’t always: Mt 21:44 if that sounds threatening, I think Jesus meant it to be.
Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
If you’ve taken that first step, maybe recently, maybe years ago - but you know today you’re not doing what your Father wants, perhaps in small ways, perhaps huge ways, choose the “way of righteousness” again. Remember it is the demand and the gift of being able to do the will of God. Repent and ask God for the power to change by his Spirit. Do it today not tomorrow. If it would help you to have someone walk with you through this journey, we would love to do that - reach out to the pastoral support team. Talk to Rachel or David/Pat. email care@. or there’s a button in the app.
If you’re worried your life seems fruitless, unproductive for God; if you feel, or fear, you are not “producing fruit”, if it seems unimaginable, then hear Jesus’ confidence and take heart: Mt 21:43 the kingdom has been given to a people who will produce its fruit. Sometimes God’s work in us and through us is hard to see; sometimes its like planting seeds - very unimpressive; there’s a lot of waiting with little to show. Maybe you wish you would change faster. Maybe its so slow you don’t feel like there’s any change. Maybe you wish others would respond more - or respond at all as you speak about your faith, your hope. But we are the people who will produce its fruit - because Jesus is fundamentally changing us through the power of the Spirit.
“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
We’re going to take a minute now to stop and reflect quietly. I challenge you to seek God through his words. What is he saying to you today? What will you do about it?
...
Let me pray, and commit these things to God.