Read Matthew 23:1-39, Mark 12:38-40 & Luke 20:45-47. Our Lord has just been confronted by the religious leaders of the nation in an attempt to trap Him in His answers. They had hoped to demonstrate He had no authority to teach and act as He did or to put a question to Him that He would find difficult to answer. But He turned the tables on them and trapped them, and consequently, they stopped asking Him questions. But now He goes on the offensive. As He teaches the people and His disciples, He publicly condemns them for their hypocrisy.
1. What did our Lord mean when He said that the scribes and Pharisees had seated themselves in the chair of Moses?
They had taken it upon themselves to be the authoritative instructors and interpreters of the Law given by Moses. They were the teachers and considered themselves the final authority on all Scriptural matters.
2. What did our Lord command the people and His disciples (a) to do and (b) not to do?
a. They were to be obedient to these leaders and do all that they were told to do.
b. What they were to refrain from doing was emulating their leaders. They were not to follow the example of these leaders who talked the talk but did not walk the walk.
3. When our Lord told His followers not to be called rabbi, father or teacher, what did He mean? Does this mean we are wrong in using honorific titles such as pastor, reverend, or doctor?
From the context, these religious leaders wanted these titles and the honor they conferred. They were more interested in getting honor than they were in giving it to God and others. The exhortation not to use titles is more an exhortation not to seek these titles for the honor they carry but to seek to be a servant to others.
4. What does Jesus mean when He said these religious leaders strain out a gnat but swallow a camel?
It is in reference to the custom of straining their wine to remove any unclean insect, a very little unclean thing, yet they swallow a camel, another very large unclean animal. These leaders labor to keep the small, less important provisions of the law, i.e., the ceremonial provisions, yet fail to keep the larger, most important provisions, i.e., justice, mercy, faithfulness, loving the Lord their God with all their heart and their neighbor as themselves.
Read Mark 12:41-44 & Luke 21:1-4. Our Lord is still teaching His disciples in the Temple. As they observed the giving in the temple, our Lord uses the gift of a poor widow as an object lesson. In the opinion of that day, the rich were considered to be the more righteous, as evidenced by the fact that they were more materially blessed by God. The reasoning was God would not so bless a person if they were unrighteous. The religious leadership, which was to a large extent materially very well off, liked to demonstrate their piousness by their public giving done in such a way that everyone generally knew what they gave. These rich, many of them no doubt members of the religious leadership, were giving large sums. By contrast, the widow gave a minimal amount.
5. Why did our Lord state the widow put in more than these wealthy donors?
Our Lord was not just looking at how much was given, but how much was given in relation to the amount available to give. Who gave the greatest percentage? The widow.
6. How does this incident relate to our Lord’s condemnation and teaching about the Pharisees?
Our Lord pointed out that the outward piousness and religiosity of the Pharisees was for show, intending only to garner the respect and awe of others. Their giving, which was done in public in a manner where others could hear the rattle of their coins being thrown into the coffers, was done only to outwardly impress people. The widow’s giving was not done to impress others but out of inner conviction.
Read John 12:20-50. John records for us material not found in the Synoptics. This could well have taken place on either Tuesday or Wednesday; we do not know. It did take place as Jesus taught in the Temple. The Greeks who were going up to worship were probably Gentiles who had accepted the Jewish faith but had not taken the final step and gone through circumcision. They had heard about Jesus, who many were saying was the promised Messiah, and they wanted to see Him themselves. As Jesus taught, He most likely was in one of the inner courts, not in the court of the Gentiles. These Gentile believers would not have been permitted access to these other courts. Therefore they caught Philip outside the inner courts and requested to see Jesus. Philip and Andrew then went and told Jesus. The text does not say if Jesus honored the request and went out to the court of the Gentiles to see them, nor does it state that He did not. It seems best to assume He did and that His answer is not just to Philip and Andrew, but to these Gentiles who had accepted the Jewish faith as well.
7. Why do you think Philip told Andrew first, and then they went to Jesus? Why not just go tell Jesus himself?
This was a strange request. Jesus was asked to meet with Gentiles, who, even though they came to worship, were ceremonially unclean. Jesus was about to observe Passover. Should he honor this request or not? Philip likely was not sure, so he first asked Andrew, then they decided to bring the request to our Lord.
8. As Jesus addresses these Gentile believers in John 12:23-33, what is the main topic He talks about?
His death. The hour for the Son of Man to be glorified is the hour of His death. The example of the grain of wheat dying refers to His death. Verse 27 refers to the hour of His death.
9. Why do you think Jesus gave this answer to these Gentiles who wanted to see Him?
They, like the Jewish nation in general, were looking for a Messiah who would deliver them physically from their oppressors. They were looking for a Messiah who was a conquering hero, one who would not die but continue forever. This Messiah, however, would die for their sin and that very soon.
10. What was the reaction of the people when they heard Jesus tell them He would be crucified?
They questioned whether the Messiah was supposed to die and generally did not believe. Many of the religious leaders did but did not admit it because they were afraid of being excommunicated.
The Applications:
What are the applications of these passages to our lives today? Identify as many as you are able.
1. As it was in our Lord’s day, sadly, so it is in our’s as well. A great many of our religious leaders, our pastors, teachers, seminary leaders are more concerned with the honor and respect that comes with the position than they are about genuinely serving their Lord. They love to be called by the titles that precede their names and take great pride in the degrees of letters that follow. This is true over the broad continuum from the conservative to the liberal. These love to occupy the pulpit of large mega-churches cherishing the fame and fortune, power and influence that such positions afford. They have forgotten what it means to be a servant. What should be our response as believers? As our Lord has instructed us, so we are to respond. We should honor and respect those in authority. “All that they tell you, do and observe” insofar as it does not conflict with the stated will of God found in His Word. “But do not according to their deeds,” that is, do not follow their example.
One of the truths about being a slave or bondservant that has been forgotten by many is that a slave does not choose where or how they serve; it is chosen for them by their master. They may have a relatively important function in the master’s household or business and have much responsibility, or they may be given a small, seemingly unimportant task to accomplish. They do not say to themselves, “My talents are being wasted here; I’ll think I’ll go somewhere else and get a better paying job with more responsibility!” They serve at the pleasure of their master. How and where they serve is the will of their master.
The question every servant of our Lord must ask themselves is this: If my Lord chooses to place me in an obscure, inconvenient spot with only a few to whom to minister, would I be willing to serve joyfully in that place my whole life? If the answer to that question is no, then the possibility is great that the person answering so does not truly have the heart and attitude of a servant.
2. Many times, the passage about the widow giving the two small coins is used to justify teaching that we ought to give a large percentage of what we have or that we should give until it hurts. It certainly would have been a hardship to this widow. Yet the focus, I believe, from the larger context (Mark 12:38-44 and Luke 20:45-21:4) is on the motive for giving rather than the amount given. The scribes and Pharisees gave in such a manner that others saw how much they were giving. Why were they giving? From the context, it was to gain the respect and praise of men. Did this widow have that motive? Probably not. She gave because it was her duty before God to do so. She gave the smallest amount allowed, which indeed hurt her financially. But her giving certainly was not going to be noted and impress anyone. No one, that is, except God and our Lord! She gave a greater gift, percentage-wise; it is true, but the fact that truly made it a greater gift was the fact she was doing it not to impress men but to serve God.
Indeed, the New Testament makes it clear that our giving is not to be done to garner the praise and respect of men. Matthew 6:1-4 states: “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”