Read Matthew 21:23-27, Mark 11:27-33 and Luke 20:1-8. During the day, Jesus would go into Jerusalem and teach in the Temple. The events recorded in these passages probably took place on Wednesday, although they could have taken place on Tuesday following the cleansing of the Temple as well. The religious leaders, comprised of the chief priests, those leading priests who oversaw the Temple functions; the scribes, those who copied the Scriptures and were the experts in what it said; and the elders, members of the Jewish Sanhedrin, which constituted the national legal authority allowed by Rome confronted our Lord as He taught the people. These were the top religious leaders, experts and authorities of Israel. The Temple and its concerns were their business, their responsibility. And yet Jesus had just stepped in and evicted those doing business and clearly declared it was wrong. This man who had come out of nowhere, who had no formal training, was declaring what they had allowed (and in which probably had a financial interest) was not what God wanted. They decided to confront Jesus about His authority to make such declarations and why He thought He had the authority to act as He did in driving out the merchants. They knew He had never studied under them, the teachers of the Law. As far as they could determine, He came out of Galilee and had no theological training of any kind. They wanted to make it very clear to the people that He had no qualifications, no theological credentials to make the pronouncements He was making and do the things He was doing.
1. What two questions did this group ask our Lord?
a. By what authority are You doing these things?
b. Who gave You this authority?
2. What do you think they were asking by these questions?
When asked by what authority He was doing what He did, they were asking for His theological credentials. What kind of training did He have? How did He know what He knew? Where did He learn what He was teaching? When they asked who gave Him His authority, they were asking under which Rabbinic authority did He study, who had “authorized” His teachings, and what authorities He could cite for His words and actions.
3. What was our Lord’s reply?
He told them He would answer their questions if they would first answer His question. This question was this: Was the baptism John performed from heaven (of God) or from men (just a human endeavor)?
4. How did our Lord’s question differ from that of the religious leaders?
The question the religious leaders asked our Lord was, which human authority do you cite for what you are doing. Our Lord’s question to them was, do you think John’s ministry was based on divine authority or human authority. He was sending the message that it does not matter what human authority you can cite; the real issue is whether or not it is of God!
5. Why would they not answer the question?
No matter how they answered it, regardless of what they honestly believed, they would come out on the losing end politically. If they said of God, the question our Lord could ask is then why did they not believe John. If they said of men, which they obviously did believe, they would upset the people who really thought John was God’s prophet. It was a lose-lose situation for them.
Read Matthew 21:28-22:14, Mark 12:1-12 and Luke 20:9-18. After the chief priests, scribes and elders responded, our Lord began to teach in parables once more. This time the parables were pointed right at these religious leaders. Matthew records three of the parables; Mark and Luke both record just one.
6. Which parable do all three writers record?
The parable of the rented vineyard
7. What or whom do the following objects or characters in the parable represent?
a. The Vineyard:
The Kingdom of God upon earth
b. The Owner:
God the Father
c. The Vine-growers:
The religious leaders representing Israel
d. The Owner’s Slaves or Servants:
The prophets, including John
e. The Owner’s Son:
Our Lord Jesus Christ
Answer07
8. What Scripture did our Lord cite in connection with this parable?
Psalm 118:22-23:
22. “The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief corner stone.
23. This is the LORD’S doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.”
9. What is the Lord telling them by citing this passage?
They were rejecting Him, but He would become the cornerstone of the coming Kingdom.
10. Speaking of the stone that the builders rejected, our Lord states, “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” What is our Lord saying by the first part of this statement, “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces?” What is He saying in the last half, “but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust?”
a. Those who stumbled over our Lord at His first advent, these religious leaders and the nation of Israel as a whole, would fall upon Him and be broken in pieces in judgment. The Jewish leaders and the nation would be broken and dispersed throughout the known world. However, they would not be completely destroyed.
b. When our Lord returned at His second coming, He would fall upon those who oppose Him, the nations under the leadership and control of the Antichrist, and annihilate them completely.
11. What is the point or object lesson of the parable about the obedience of the two sons in Matthew 21:28-32?
It’s not what you do at first that matters so much, but what you do in the end. The prostitutes and tax collectors turned away from God at first, essentially telling God, “I will not obey!” But they later repented at John’s preaching. These leaders tell God, and all who will listen, “I will obey you,” but they do not do it.
12. In the parable of the invitation to the wedding feast, who do the original people invited represent?
The nation of Israel
13. What is represented by the destruction of the city by the armies of the king whose invitation was snubbed?
Probably the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 by the armies of Rome
14. Who are the unworthy, who are now invited to the feast?
The Gentiles
15. What is the point of casting out the wedding guest that was not properly attired?
You cannot crash this party. There is only one way in. You must be invited and come dressed for the occasion. That attire includes the righteousness provided by faith in Jesus Christ. If you are not wearing these garments of righteousness, you are excluded and consigned to the outer darkness.
16. What does our Lord mean, “For many are called, but few are chosen?”
While the invitation to enter God’s Kingdom is a broad invitation extending to all people, few are accepted. Who are chosen? Those who come appropriately attired for the occasion! Most want to wear what they want to wear rather than what is required of the occasion.
The Applications:
What are the applications of these passages to our lives today? Identify as many as you are able.
1. When a church is looking for a new pastor, what are some of the first questions put to a candidate? Usually, they are: Where did you get your training? What degrees do you have? What organization ordained you? These are essentially the same questions that the religious leaders put to our Lord. Underlying all these questions is the same foundational question: what human authority has granted you the right to teach what you teach, or at the least, given their tacit approval to your ministry? The crucial question, however, is the one our Lord put to the religious leaders: Is your ministry from and approved by God or does it only have man’s stamp of approval? These are two entirely different questions for not everyone who has a degree from a solid evangelical conservative institution has a ministry whose source and approval is from God. And not all those whose ministry is from God and is approved by Him have the human degrees of approval after their names!
We usually ask for the human credentials rather than the divine because they are far easier to validate and judge. How does one determine God’s approval of another person and their ministry? Most of the time, we look at their theology and statement of faith. Do they believe what we believe? If they do not, we almost immediately rule them out as not being approved by God, for after all (in our opinion), they do not teach the truth of God’s Word! But what if we were in error in some respects as to what we believed? How would God ever correct us since every messenger He would send, we would reject as not being from Him?
We sometimes look at the numbers in their ministry. Did their former church grow in number under their ministry? Yet this is, for the most part, often a business approach to the church that says the giving increased, the budget increased, we added new buildings and so forth. Using these criteria, many of the leaders of various sects would stand approved. In contrast, many of the Old Testament prophets would not have been approved, and their ministries would have been seen as failures, humanly speaking.
How does one determine God’s approval of another person and their ministry? It is indeed a much harder thing to do. Perhaps James gives us some clues in discussing the wisdom of God versus the wisdom of this world. James says in chapter 3:13-18,
13. Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
14. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.
15. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.
16. or where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
17. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
18. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Perhaps the thing we should instead look at is their wisdom. What is its source; is it from above or of the world? This wisdom can be seen in their lives and in the lives of those they have disciple and taught. If the wisdom they demonstrate is that of the world, it matters not how successful their previous ministry has been or how many degrees or references they have. They do not have God’s reference.
2. “Many are called but few are chosen.” That statement is one that often grates on us. We are not really comfortable with it. It falls on our ears the wrong way. It sticks in our craw. It haunts our thinking. What bothers us seems to be the idea that God plays favorites, that He seems to be capricious and downright unfair. He calls all these people to come and enter the Kingdom, but then He decides to only take a few. All the others came as directed, but He chose not to take them! That just doesn’t sit well with us much of the time.
We usually deal with this statement by recourse to the sovereignty of God as contrasted to man’s free will. It is indeed true that the Word of God teaches both God’s sovereignty and election as well as man’s responsibility and free choice. Yet this passage from the context in which it was made seems to be related more to man’s responsibility and choices rather than God’s election. The idea is that God invites many to come to the wedding feast. Many do not respond because they do not think it to be of any significant value. Their business is more important, so they go on their way doing their own thing. Such were those in the parable to whom God sent the first invitation. They were not chosen to join the feast because they never showed up at the gate! Others were then invited. They came to the gate. But the one not properly attired for the feast was ejected. The point being that to come, one must respond to God’s invitation and come dressed for the occasion. One must come according to the standards God sets and on His terms, not on your own terms.
The word has gone forth. The invitation has been made for man to come to God and enjoy heaven, the new heavens and earth for all eternity. There are multitudes today that seek admittance to the Kingdom, i.e., the wedding feast, but do so without coming properly clothed; that is, they come dressed in their own righteousness that comes nowhere close to the perfection God requires. God has sent out the invitation far and wide. He has set the dress required, nothing less than the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which comes by faith alone in Him and His completed work on the cross. Many have been called indeed. Yet few are chosen. Why? Many never show up at the gates. Their lives are much too important to be bothered with such things. They are not chosen. Others try to come, but on their own terms. These ignore or reject the note on the invitation that clearly states proper dress is required. They, too, are not chosen. Many are called but few are chosen because few respond in the manner so clearly stated on the invitation.