​How mad did the enemies of Jesus get at him? The gospel accounts were certainly not designed to focus on such a secondary issue. Obviously they became mad enough to kill him! People have always tried to get rid of things that are in their way; one of my professors used to say that sin is attempted murder of God.

It will take a bit of background work to get closer to that anger answer. If you are prepared to come along, I can already assure you that we will arrive at a complete answer only on that Final Day.

Some of the writers of scripture liked to highlight certain actions of those in the text by putting them into the present tense. 'Jesus goes here...', etc. In this account Matthew usually does that with verbs of speaking.

One of the first times he does this (after the first few chapters) is in Matthew 9:14. "Then the disciples of John come to him, saying, 'Why do we and the Pharisees fast, and your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus answers their question.

Notice how similar that verse is to Matthew 15:1: "Then Pharisees and scribes come to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, 'Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.'" What is different is what follows: 'And he answered and said to them, "And why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?"' Then Jesus goes on to confront them with their evil.

This time Jesus avoids answering their question and gives them a question instead. And this is the time where it mentions that the disciples come up to Jesus afterwards and say that the Pharisees were offended. And Jesus does not seem bothered at all by that.

I would think that they were getting quite mad at Jesus already in chapter 15. And at the beginning of chapter 21, Jesus is cleansing the temple. There he says to the people there, 'You ARE MAKING my house a robber's den." (This use of the present tense, as opposed to the other tenses in the other similar accounts, heightens the evil a bit since they are in the MIDST of doing something wrong at this point in time.) And this account details that Jesus healed the blind and lame in that temple, and he also let the children cry out 'Hosanna to the Son of David' in the temple. The text says that the chief priests and the scribes were mad, and they ask him a question. Jesus answers, but he also asks them a question in response. So Jesus is already having some difficulties with his enemies and their questions.

And, then, the text for this Sunday, starting at verse 23 (of Matthew 21), has the chief priests and elders of the people coming up to Jesus while he is teaching. First of all, it should be noted that interrupting someone is quite rude. These interruptions do not happen often in this account.

They have had it with Jesus. And when Jesus says that he will only answer their question if they answer his, that makes it even worse. And, due to the difficulty of the question, when the enemies of Jesus do not answer his question, they are stuck.

At the end of the text for this Sunday is an option that a few more verses can be read (v. 28-32). What makes it worse is that then Jesus gives them a super-easy question to answer. Remember that Jesus is asking this question of the 'spiritual elite'. So I can see this question putting them over the top.

Jesus asked his enemies a question, a choice between two sons, which one did the will of the father. At this point I can see them mad enough at him where they refuse to say the right answer. And that is indeed an option with some of the manuscripts. But, as I said above, things will be clearer on the other side of the grave. For now, our Bibles have them giving the right answer. And Jesus still lets them have it afterwards.

It should also be noted that this pair of people, the scribes and elders, is the group that gets things done in the end. After Jesus' last sermon, they get together and form a plan to kill him. This is the group that sends out a 'great multitude' to arrest Jesus. This is the group that condemns him. And this is the same group that helps make up the story that the disciples came and stole Jesus' body after his resurrection.

That these people were the elders 'OF THE PEOPLE' makes it even worse. Thankfully, Jesus' comforting words at the conclusion of this gospel account were meant for ALL people.

​What did you expect? Those are some significant words. And expectations are powerful things.

If you expect something and you get it, everything is fine. And you might start to feel a little powerful, a little smarter, a little more in control of the situation. But if you expect something and do NOT get it, watch out, right?

And the text for this Sunday, from the first part of Matthew 20, deals primarily with expectations. Those who worked only one hour get paid the same as those who worked a full twelve hours. And it seems to be very unfair.

The text is clear, though, that the master worked it out with the workers who started at the beginning of the day, that they would be paid the typical wage for a day's work. And then, when the master hires the later workers, he said that he will pay them, literally, 'whatever is RIGHTEOUS'. THAT is a significant word, especially when it comes to God.

Expectations are powerful things, but what is the ultimate source of these events that we are trying to predict? Are they coming from ourselves, or are they coming from a righteous and gracious God? Or we holding on to HIS promises, or are we holding on to something that is ours?

EXpectations should only happen after some INspectations--although I doubt that is a word--of the scriptures. We lose our perspective so easily and in so many ways. The Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer help us to get our perspective back, and that was a good reason for Martin Luther to suggest beginning and ending each day in such a way. The scriptures are filled with stories of those who were treated very unfairly, who did NOT get what they deserved.

To be righteous is a term that belongs to God. That term is applied to us quite unfairly, essentially because of the sacrificial suffering and death of a righteous and only Son.

What DID you expect from a loving God?

​This Sunday's text is from the end of Matthew 18. And the last verse of that chapter can really point a person in another direction. Here is that verse, verse 35, the words of Jesus, in the ESV translation: 'So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.'

The first thing to note is that this phrase, 'every one of you', does not occur too often in the Scriptures, at least as much as one would think. A recent speaker called the age we live in one of 'hyper-individualism', and I concur. All too often we forget about the people around us. All too often people are going off on their own, and that is usually not a very good thing--keeping in mind what the Scriptures (along with the Small and Large Catechisms) say about our own sinful nature.

I think that this entire fourth discourse of Jesus really helps to keep us thinking as a group, a 'church', a people who are called out of the darkness, into his marvelous light.

The second thing to note is that the heart is not, in the Scriptures, simply the seat of one's emotions. Emotions are, simply put, not that important. According to the Bible, the heart is essentially the seat of everything in you. The people of old realized that when the heart stopped beating, then the pulse stopped, then all the rest stops--the emotions, the will, the mind, and the body.

An encounter with God is not, necessarily, just an emotional encounter. It is an encounter with the one who made your center and everything around that center. He is the one who knows you better than you know yourself. And sometimes that thought can be a scary one.

It is interesting that God is called a 'heart-knower' two times in the Bible (Acts 1:24 and 15:8) and that this term only appears in the Bible and in early Christian literature. I like it when the Christians make up a new or slightly different word to describe the God of the New Testament. The things that happened at the time of Jesus were indeed so 'new'.

These two times that God is a 'heart-knower' are significant times in the Bible. The eleven disciples are picking a twelfth one, and that is something that really Jesus should have done. And, in chapter 15, the followers of Jesus are debating the importance of good works. This, also, is something that is better left in God's hands ... the nail-pierced ones.

The writer of Acts makes sure that, in chapter 15, he quotes Peter (not Paul) as saying that hearts are cleansed by faith, all because of those nail-pierced hands (v. 8). And Peter certainly sounds like Paul when he says that '...we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus...(v. 11).'

This Sunday there is a Christian education emphasis. And the normal Gospel text for this Sunday still fits quite well with that education emphasis. It is the first part of the fourth discourse in the Gospel according to Matthew (chapter 18).


The entire gospel account fits in well with this emphasis. The symbol of this account is the man, and a man is a teacher. Sometimes an angel of the Lord appeared in the Old Testament and was a teacher about what would soon happen. A couple times he appeared and told a woman she would have a son.


It is interesting that, in the Gospel according to Luke, when the angel appears to Mary, he uses a special greeting, sometimes translated as 'highly favored one'. It's one of the earliest uses of a form of the word 'grace' in the New Testament. After Jesus, the frequency of that word drastically increases. It all started because of Jesus, because of a messenger of the Lord.


I think we treat the five discourses as a lot of commandments. It is normal to do such a thing. And Jesus does say in the so-called 'Great Commission' that (according to the ESV,) we should 'observe everything' that Jesus has 'commanded' us. But there is a better way to understand those final words in the Gospel according to Matthew, and there is a better way to understand the five discourses.


If the five discourses are connected to the first five books of the Old Testament, then they serve as a type of foundation, a type of reference for our situation within the Church.


The church is mentioned within the Gospel according to Matthew--and a whole lot in the epistles. It is a good thing to be reminded why the Church gathers together, what the Church gathers around, and where the Church is headed.


I see a significant amount of connection between this fourth discourse and the book of Numbers, mainly because this is book where the people of Israel have to deal with other nations. This reminds me of Peter's first question that starts off this discourse: 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' One might be very tempted to say, 'Someone who is a Jew!' 


But that is not where this gospel account is headed. This discourse is actually headed in much the same direction, and we have had hints of this direction in other parts of the account. In this discourse, what is small is still important. 


Children are small. Temptations are like traps, and some very small traps can be big trouble for even some large animals. Sins against a brother are small. But Jesus treats all those things as big. 


Feeling small is a good start in the Lord's direction.
 
This Sunday there is a Christian education emphasis. And the normal Gospel text for this Sunday still fits quite well with that education emphasis. It is the first part of the fourth discourse in the Gospel according to Matthew (chapter 18).


The entire gospel account fits in well with this emphasis. The symbol of this account is the man, and a man is a teacher. Sometimes an angel of the Lord appeared in the Old Testament and was a teacher about what would soon happen. A couple times he appeared and told a woman she would have a son.


It is interesting that, in the Gospel according to Luke, when the angel appears to Mary, he uses a special greeting, sometimes translated as 'highly favored one'. It's one of the earliest uses of a form of the word 'grace' in the New Testament. After Jesus, the frequency of that word drastically increases. It all started because of Jesus, because of a messenger of the Lord.


I think we treat the five discourses as a lot of commandments. It is normal to do such a thing. And Jesus does say in the so-called 'Great Commission' that (according to the ESV,) we should 'observe everything' that Jesus has 'commanded' us. But there is a better way to understand those final words in the Gospel according to Matthew, and there is a better way to understand the five discourses.


If the five discourses are connected to the first five books of the Old Testament, then they serve as a type of foundation, a type of reference for our situation within the Church.


The church is mentioned within the Gospel according to Matthew--and a whole lot in the epistles. It is a good thing to be reminded why the Church gathers together, what the Church gathers around, and where the Church is headed.


I see a significant amount of connection between this fourth discourse and the book of Numbers, mainly because this is book where the people of Israel have to deal with other nations. This reminds me of Peter's first question that starts off this discourse: 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' One might be very tempted to say, 'Someone who is a Jew!' 


But that is not where this gospel account is headed. This discourse is actually headed in much the same direction, and we have had hints of this direction in other parts of the account. In this discourse, what is small is still important. 


Children are small. Temptations are like traps, and some very small traps can be big trouble for even some large animals. Sins against a brother are small. But Jesus treats all those things as big. 


Feeling small is a good start in the Lord's direction.
This Sunday there is a Christian education emphasis. And the normal Gospel text for this Sunday still fits quite well with that education emphasis. It is the first part of the fourth discourse in the Gospel according to Matthew (chapter 18).


The entire gospel account fits in well with this emphasis. The symbol of this account is the man, and a man is a teacher. Sometimes an angel of the Lord appeared in the Old Testament and was a teacher about what would soon happen. A couple times he appeared and told a woman she would have a son.


It is interesting that, in the Gospel according to Luke, when the angel appears to Mary, he uses a special greeting, sometimes translated as 'highly favored one'. It's one of the earliest uses of a form of the word 'grace' in the New Testament. After Jesus, the frequency of that word drastically increases. It all started because of Jesus, because of a messenger of the Lord.


I think we treat the five discourses as a lot of commandments. It is normal to do such a thing. And Jesus does say in the so-called 'Great Commission' that (according to the ESV,) we should 'observe everything' that Jesus has 'commanded' us. But there is a better way to understand those final words in the Gospel according to Matthew, and there is a better way to understand the five discourses.


If the five discourses are connected to the first five books of the Old Testament, then they serve as a type of foundation, a type of reference for our situation within the Church.


The church is mentioned within the Gospel according to Matthew--and a whole lot in the epistles. It is a good thing to be reminded why the Church gathers together, what the Church gathers around, and where the Church is headed.


I see a significant amount of connection between this fourth discourse and the book of Numbers, mainly because this is book where the people of Israel have to deal with other nations. This reminds me of Peter's first question that starts off this discourse: 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' One might be very tempted to say, 'Someone who is a Jew!' 


But that is not where this gospel account is headed. This discourse is actually headed in much the same direction, and we have had hints of this direction in other parts of the account. In this discourse, what is small is still important. 


Children are small. Temptations are like traps, and some very small traps can be big trouble for even some large animals. Sins against a brother are small. But Jesus treats all those things as big. 


Feeling small is a good start in the Lord's direction.
This Sunday there is a Christian education emphasis. And the normal Gospel text for this Sunday still fits quite well with that education emphasis. It is the first part of the fourth discourse in the Gospel according to Matthew (chapter 18).


The entire gospel account fits in well with this emphasis. The symbol of this account is the man, and a man is a teacher. Sometimes an angel of the Lord appeared in the Old Testament and was a teacher about what would soon happen. A couple times he appeared and told a woman she would have a son.


It is interesting that, in the Gospel according to Luke, when the angel appears to Mary, he uses a special greeting, sometimes translated as 'highly favored one'. It's one of the earliest uses of a form of the word 'grace' in the New Testament. After Jesus, the frequency of that word drastically increases. It all started because of Jesus, because of a messenger of the Lord.


I think we treat the five discourses as a lot of commandments. It is normal to do such a thing. And Jesus does say in the so-called 'Great Commission' that (according to the ESV,) we should 'observe everything' that Jesus has 'commanded' us. But there is a better way to understand those final words in the Gospel according to Matthew, and there is a better way to understand the five discourses.


If the five discourses are connected to the first five books of the Old Testament, then they serve as a type of foundation, a type of reference for our situation within the Church.


The church is mentioned within the Gospel according to Matthew--and a whole lot in the epistles. It is a good thing to be reminded why the Church gathers together, what the Church gathers around, and where the Church is headed.


I see a significant amount of connection between this fourth discourse and the book of Numbers, mainly because this is book where the people of Israel have to deal with other nations. This reminds me of Peter's first question that starts off this discourse: 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' One might be very tempted to say, 'Someone who is a Jew!' 


But that is not where this gospel account is headed. This discourse is actually headed in much the same direction, and we have had hints of this direction in other parts of the account. In this discourse, what is small is still important. 


Children are small. Temptations are like traps, and some very small traps can be big trouble for even some large animals. Sins against a brother are small. But Jesus treats all those things as big. 


Feeling small is a good start in the Lord's direction.
This Sunday there is a Christian education emphasis. And the normal Gospel text for this Sunday still fits quite well with that education emphasis. It is the first part of the fourth discourse in the Gospel according to Matthew (chapter 18).


The entire gospel account fits in well with this emphasis. The symbol of this account is the man, and a man is a teacher. Sometimes an angel of the Lord appeared in the Old Testament and was a teacher about what would soon happen. A couple times he appeared and told a woman she would have a son.


It is interesting that, in the Gospel according to Luke, when the angel appears to Mary, he uses a special greeting, sometimes translated as 'highly favored one'. It's one of the earliest uses of a form of the word 'grace' in the New Testament. After Jesus, the frequency of that word drastically increases. It all started because of Jesus, because of a messenger of the Lord.


I think we treat the five discourses as a lot of commandments. It is normal to do such a thing. And Jesus does say in the so-called 'Great Commission' that (according to the ESV,) we should 'observe everything' that Jesus has 'commanded' us. But there is a better way to understand those final words in the Gospel according to Matthew, and there is a better way to understand the five discourses.


If the five discourses are connected to the first five books of the Old Testament, then they serve as a type of foundation, a type of reference for our situation within the Church.


The church is mentioned within the Gospel according to Matthew--and a whole lot in the epistles. It is a good thing to be reminded why the Church gathers together, what the Church gathers around, and where the Church is headed.


I see a significant amount of connection between this fourth discourse and the book of Numbers, mainly because this is book where the people of Israel have to deal with other nations. This reminds me of Peter's first question that starts off this discourse: 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' One might be very tempted to say, 'Someone who is a Jew!' 


But that is not where this gospel account is headed. This discourse is actually headed in much the same direction, and we have had hints of this direction in other parts of the account. In this discourse, what is small is still important. 


Children are small. Temptations are like traps, and some very small traps can be big trouble for even some large animals. Sins against a brother are small. But Jesus treats all those things as big. 


Feeling small is a good start in the Lord's direction.
This Sunday there is a Christian education emphasis. And the normal Gospel text for this Sunday still fits quite well with that education emphasis. It is the first part of the fourth discourse in the Gospel according to Matthew (chapter 18).


The entire gospel account fits in well with this emphasis. The symbol of this account is the man, and a man is a teacher. Sometimes an angel of the Lord appeared in the Old Testament and was a teacher about what would soon happen. A couple times he appeared and told a woman she would have a son.


It is interesting that, in the Gospel according to Luke, when the angel appears to Mary, he uses a special greeting, sometimes translated as 'highly favored one'. It's one of the earliest uses of a form of the word 'grace' in the New Testament. After Jesus, the frequency of that word drastically increases. It all started because of Jesus, because of a messenger of the Lord.


I think we treat the five discourses as a lot of commandments. It is normal to do such a thing. And Jesus does say in the so-called 'Great Commission' that (according to the ESV,) we should 'observe everything' that Jesus has 'commanded' us. But there is a better way to understand those final words in the Gospel according to Matthew, and there is a better way to understand the five discourses.


If the five discourses are connected to the first five books of the Old Testament, then they serve as a type of foundation, a type of reference for our situation within the Church.


The church is mentioned within the Gospel according to Matthew--and a whole lot in the epistles. It is a good thing to be reminded why the Church gathers together, what the Church gathers around, and where the Church is headed.


I see a significant amount of connection between this fourth discourse and the book of Numbers, mainly because this is book where the people of Israel have to deal with other nations. This reminds me of Peter's first question that starts off this discourse: 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' One might be very tempted to say, 'Someone who is a Jew!' 


But that is not where this gospel account is headed. This discourse is actually headed in much the same direction, and we have had hints of this direction in other parts of the account. In this discourse, what is small is still important. 


Children are small. Temptations are like traps, and some very small traps can be big trouble for even some large animals. Sins against a brother are small. But Jesus treats all those things as big. 


Feeling small is a good start in the Lord's direction.

​There is an incredible turn-around in the gospel text for this Sunday (Matthew 16:21-28). In last week's text, Jesus said to Peter, 'Blessed are you....' This week, in the text which follows immediately, he says to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan.'

To call someone blessed, and then to call someone 'Satan', now THAT is a significant change. It seems as if Jesus is employing 'hate speech', that he is attacking someone. I am pretty sure he made Peter feel quite badly.

I also think it was important that Jesus made sure that he was clearly understood. Part of his role as Son of Man ... Son of David ... Son of God is to be a judge. A judge has the job of being a judge, making judgments. Sometimes another vocation carries that responsibility of judge as well.

The writer of this account brings out that some religious leaders were saying that Jesus was basically Satan because he was able to cast out demons. Jesus makes a good point when he says that, if Satan casts out Satan, his kingdom will not last for long. And he adds, 'And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul (i.e., Satan), by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges (Matt 12:27).'

Jesus lets other people be judges as well. He helps others to understand the situation more clearly. He helps others to understand why he is there, in the midst of all this trouble and turmoil.

I would like to make the point that Jesus does not say to Satan, 'Go away.' He said that to him at the beginning of the account (Matt 4:10). In the Gospel according to Luke, the clarifying point is made, that Satan leaves 'until an opportune time' (Luke 4:13b). In the Gospel according to Matthew, when Jesus is getting closer to the cross, he says to Satan, 'Get behind me.' Although the name Satan does not show up any more in this account, he will be present in many of the coming events.

Jesus is, quite clearly, the leader. Satan has to get behind; and he does not like that position at all. We, on the other hand, do not mind it.

Jesus, you see, is headed in a wonderful direction. It is for our benefit.