Day 305 (Matthew 20-21) - Year 6
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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap.

Today, Jesus opens with a metaphor about the kingdom that might seem kind of frustrating. He compares the kingdom to a vineyard and its workers. The owner of the vineyard brings in workers at various times throughout the day, but pays them all the same amount, regardless how long they work. The ones who work longer get upset. But he says, hey, that was the deal we made. Stop comparing yourselves to those who work less time than you. Take what I'm giving you. This is probably shocking to the people hearing the parable because it goes against their societal norms.

This parable reminds me of a few things Jesus seems to drive home repeatedly. First, it shows us the tremendous amounts of grace God pours out. If you were with us in the Old Testament, this will be a bit of a refresher. But if you're new here, we want to define the difference between grace and mercy. They are a pair of opposites that work in tandem. Grace is when you get what you don't deserve. And mercy is when you don't get what you do deserve.

So when the owner pays the late hires a full day's wages, he's showing immense amounts of grace. Unmerited favor. Second, this reminds me that entitlement has no place in the heart of a child of God. Since everything God gives his kids is undeserved, then it's all blessing and generosity. Third, comparing ourselves to others is evidence that we've lost sight of what really matters. We've lost sight of our spiritual poverty and God's immense generosity.

Finally, this parable reminds me that we'll likely be surprised at those who are in the kingdom. They may be people who spend their lives in sin and turn to him in their final moments. They may not accomplish much on earth for the sake of his kingdom, but they receive the same kingdom and the same rescue nonetheless. And that is evidence of both his grace and his mercy toward those he's in relationship with.

After Jesus tells this parable, he continues heading toward Jerusalem to begin the celebration of Passover and to be crucified. We'll cover the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday in the days ahead. For now, we'll skip forward to the few other things that happened during the week before his death. And you may notice that his actions and his parables intensify during his final days.

One of his more unexpected acts is cursing a fig tree. He curses it because it doesn't have any fruit on it, and it withers immediately. As a Jewish man living in an agrarian society, Jesus knows it's not fig season. That's still a couple of months away at this point. Figs are usually ripe in June, and Passover is in March or April. By the way, Passover always aligns with Easter because Jesus died and rose again during the Jewish holiday of Passover.

And since Easter is subject to the Hebrew calendar, not the Gregorian calendar, that's why the date can fluctuate pretty widely from year to year.

Ultimately, this fig tree incident would be like Jesus pulling up to a Chick-fil-A on a Sunday morning, and when he realizes he can't get his chicken minis, he curses it and says, may nothing ever be your pleasure again. Then it just collapses into rubble immediately. He knows it's closed on Sundays, so why is he so angry? Or maybe is he just hangry? Here's what's happening. Remember the parable of the fig tree that hadn't produced fruit in three years, and the gardener begged the owner of the vineyard to give it more time? We'd

We read about it in Luke 13. Israel is this fig tree. Old Testament prophets started making this comparison hundreds of years earlier, painting Israel as a fruitless fig tree. We saw it in Jeremiah 8 and Micah 7. Jesus desperately wanted Israel to bear fruit, but it hasn't. The withering is a sign of judgment because of its fruitlessness. Jesus knows his days on earth are almost over. He knows how this all unfolds.

I think it breaks his heart to see that Israel hasn't produced fruit. I think this is a devastated cursing of the fig tree, even though none of it comes as a surprise to him.

After this, he heads to the temple and starts teaching, putting himself out in front of the very people who would later arrest him. The chief priests and the elders question him about his authority, and he turns the tables on them. He gives them a riddle about JTB's ministry, asking where it came from. The answer to that question is also the answer to their question. John's ministry and Jesus' authority both come from heaven. The chief priests and the elders can't accept and receive these truths, but they can't refute them either.

We close today with two parables, both of which represent condemnation for those among the Jews who have rejected Jesus as Messiah. First is the parable of the two sons. One takes his time in being obedient, while the other pretends to be obedient right away, but is actually disobedient. Jesus makes the point that while the tax collectors and sinners and prostitutes may seem to take the long way around, if they eventually repent, that's better than the one who has false obedience.

I think of this parable every time I hear the phrase, better late than never. And for the religious who pretend to obey, their actions prove their beliefs and reveal their hearts. Verbal assent to the truth isn't enough. It has to come from a yielded heart. The final parable is of the wicked tenants, and it's a picture of Christ's death. The tenants of the vineyard don't want to give the master what was rightfully his, so they killed everyone who came to ask for it. The prophets, John the Baptist, and now they'll kill Jesus.

I found verse 38 especially compelling. It says, But in this section, Jesus is talking to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who will also play a role.

What's interesting here is that he says they're not producing the fruit of the kingdom. They're producing lots of fruit. These people are highly religious. But they're producing human fruit, not kingdom fruit. So what is kingdom fruit? Galatians 5, 22-23 says kingdom fruit is spirit-grown, and it has a few defining characteristics. This fruit consists of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Those are its attributes.

In this conversation with the Pharisees, Jesus speaks of himself and says, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. They want to arrest him because of this, but they're afraid of his followers. What was your God shot today? Mine was in the cursing of the fig tree. We've seen lots of places where Jesus speaks life and healing, so it's interesting to encounter a place where Jesus speaks death.

To have the power of life is to have the power of death, too. He holds them both simultaneously. Given that he created everything on earth, it's logical that he can speak at life or death. He can curse it or bless it. And this is all the more interesting in light of what's about to happen in just a few days. He has the power to speak death over all those who are trying to kill him. He could wither their bodies with a word or a thought.

But he doesn't. He walks in meekness and humbly submits to the Father's plan. He does it to magnify God's greatness throughout the universe, to fulfill the story of redemption, and to bring all God's adopted children into his kingdom forever. What a rescue and what a rescuer. He's where the joy is.

As we move through scripture, you'll see several names of God referenced. And as we keep looking for him and for our God shot as we read his word each day, we thought it might be helpful to give you a more comprehensive guide to the names and attributes of God. So we built out a PDF for you that not only lists the names and attributes of God, but also the scripture references where you'll find them. We'd love to share that resource with you. If you want to get this free PDF, all you have to do is go to thebiblerecap.com forward slash names and submit your email address.

That's thebiblerecap.com forward slash names.