Mark 12:1-44 - Skip Heitzig

[Music] welcome to expound our weekly worship and verse by verse study of the Bible our goal is to expand your knowledge of the truth of God as we explore the Word of God in a way that is interactive enjoyable and congregational and you can turn in your Bibles please or turn on your phones or your iPads or Kindles I have to say that nowadays unless you memorize the Bible then just turn in your brain to the book of Mark chapter 12 and let's pray together father we thank you that as we study the Gospel of Mark together that we have the opportunity to have a place like this the sound of water the sound of the voices of praise of brothers and sisters the comfort that comes with this kind of fellowship in this kind of setting thank you Lord that we belong to a family a church an expression a local expression of the body of Christ I want to thank you for all those who have come and all those who have worked so hard to set up chairs and pa equipment and and all the counselors and Usher's and security and Sunday School workers that make an evening like this possible we thank you for them we pray you'd bless their lives and we pray Lord that you'd bless this time together you'd meet us over the pages of your word in Jesus name Amen well one of the verses we're going to read tonight in our journey through the Gospel of Mark hopefully if we get to it and I always have to say that because I plan to do a chapter sometimes too and I'll only make it through part of it but what's good about that is next time we're together we just pick up and move on through that chapter and we'll eventually cover it Lord willing unless the Lord comes back which that's okay with us right before that time so one of the verses that we read about it says concerning Jesus is that the common people heard him gladly people loved to hear Jesus teach he was never boring he held people's attention one of the most excruciating ly painful things for me is to listen to bad preaching because I am a preacher I I do always aspire to learn and gain and grow and expand and and communicate God's truth and and I remember a story about a man a preacher who was asked to speak at a luncheon they asked him to speak 20 minutes but he kept speaking and droning on and on and on and the moderator noticed he was over time so he pointed at his watch the speaker didn't even see it kept talking the moderator went I'm really loud in the back of the room to get his attention the preacher kept droning on and on people started falling asleep like some of you no I'm just kidding are and so the moderator decided you know he had to do something and so he took the gavel and he started pounding on one of the tables to get his attention the preacher kept preaching he wouldn't stop so finally the moderator in frustration took the gavel and threw it at the preacher it missed the preacher and hit an old man in the front row who was sleeping the old man woke up and said hit me again he's still talking never happened with Jesus the common people he held their attention and here's why Jesus employed a very dynamic form of teaching called storytelling he spoke in parables the cultures in those days were an oral and oral culture you'd speak and you'd listen more than reading even though most people did read back then it was an oral and oral culture a lot of people would listen and so the rabbis became adept at telling a good story Jesus often spoke in parables and if you remember I'm gonna jog your memory do you remember what the word parable means it comes from two words para which means width or alongside of and Bolle which means to cast and so para ballet or parable means to cast alongside of so Jesus would cast alongside a story an earthly story with a heavenly meaning to make the heavenly meaning easier to understand easier to apply for the people in this story we begin in Chapter 12 of mark with a parable and here's what's going on if you recall last time we were together in mark chapter 11 Jesus walked into the temple and he he what did he do to the tables of the moneychangers he turned them over and he took a a whip of cords and drove them out of the temple so the leaders came to Jesus and they said by what authority are you doing these things who gave you that authority and Jesus said well before I answer the question I'm gonna ask you guys one question the baptism of John did it come from heaven or was it from men and they thought about and they said well if we say it's from men the people hold him and esteem and we'll be in trouble so if we say it's from God then Jesus is gonna say well then why didn't you listen to him or believe him so they just simply said we don't know we can't answer you and Jesus said then I won't tell you by what authority I do these things either so now he tells a story to reinforce the point that he's making and the point that he's making is they the religious leaders are not even living under the authority of God their lives even though they're asking Jesus for what authority he has their own lives are not under God's Authority so verse 1 chapter 12 then he began to speak to them in parables a man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it dug a place for the wine VAT and he built a tower and he leased it to vine dressers and he went into a far country now at vintage time he sent a servant to the vine dressers that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vine dressers and they took him and beat him and they sent him away empty-handed again he sent them another servant and at him they threw stones wounded him in the head and sent him away shamefully treated and again he sent another and him they killed and many others beating some and killing some therefore still having one son his beloved he also sent them sent him to them last saying they will respect my son but those vine dressers said among themselves this is the heir come let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours and they took and they killed him and they cast him out of the vineyard therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do he will come and destroy the vine dressers and give the vineyard to others now that's a typical parable it's a typical rabbinical form of teaching give this story ask a question and allow the audience to draw their own conclusion that's exactly the format that Jesus uses here it's a parable of a vineyard for two reasons reason number one everywhere they looked around Judea there were vineyards there are seven fruits of the Holy Land one of them is grapes the backbone of their economy in part was the harvesting of grapes and the wine press from which they made wine it was very very important to them so wherever they looked you could see these terrorist hillsides here we are in the amphitheater it's a perfect illustration you're sitting on a terrace you have different levels that ascend and in Israel they would clear away the stones they would build a stone fence around the property to keep animals out to keep Raiders out and then they would in terrorists they would plant the fields they build a wine press and a wine VAT to catch the juice of the wine they would build a tower that again was a lookout post to protect the crop so they were used to it it was a common analogy number two it was an analogy from their own Old Testament Scriptures scriptures like Psalm 80 as a ax chapter 5 Jeremiah chapter 2 that speak of the nation of Israel as a vineyard probably most of you knew that and as you read this it's pretty easy for us to figure out what is going on it's not hard to interpret the vineyard is the nation of Israel the landowner is God the servants are the prophets the one and only son the beloved son that comes is Jesus Christ it's pretty easy to figure this out now it will be more helpful as I read to you Isaiah chapter 5 which was the chapter that was a primary reference that Jesus uses in this parable let me read a portion to you this is Isaiah chapter 5 I'm beginning in verse 1 now let me sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved regarding his vineyard my well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful Hill he dug it up cleared out its stones planted it with the choices vind built a tower in its midst also made a winepress in it and so he expected it to bring forth good grapes but it brought forth wild grapes and now o inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah judge pleased between me and my vineyard what more could have been done to my vineyard than I have not done in it why then what I expected it to bring forth good grapes did it forth wild grapes I won't read it all to you if you were to keep reading Isaiah chapter 5 the Lord announces for the vineyard is the house of Israel so back to mark chapter 12 the story the parable that rabbi Jesus uses the vine dressers or the tenant farmers are there are the leaders the spiritual leaders of the house of Israel to whom God has entrusted the future the well-being especially the spiritual well-being of that nation the servants that were sent as I mentioned are the prophets the son is the son of God Jesus Christ you may recall that when Jesus entered Jerusalem according to a couple of the Gospels Jesus looked over the city he said o Jerusalem Jerusalem listen to what he said the one who kills the prophets and stones all those that are sent unto her how often I would have gathered you as a hen gathers her own chicks but you but you were not willing you killed the prophets he said you stoned those who are sent unto you according to tradition Isaiah the prophet was sawn in two with a wooden saw a brutal death Jeremiah the Prophet placed in a slimy miry pit later taken out and stoned to death prophets like Amos and Elijah their lives were threatened they had to flee because of because of the death threats in the book of first kings the prophet Micah slugged in the mouth hid in the face because people didn't want to hear what he had to say the Prophet Zechariah murdered in the temple precincts according to second chronicles chapter 24 so it's pretty easy to figure out this parable especially since these leaders knew their Bibles they certainly knew that Israel was the according to Isaiah chapter 5 Jeremiah chapter 2 Psalm 80 and others now watch this I'll go back to verse 9 therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do he will come and destroy the vine dressers and give the vineyard to others have you not even read this scripture the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief Cornerstone this was the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes you'll notice that Jesus changes metaphors he changes imagery he begins with the imagery of a vineyard now he changes it to the metaphor the imagery of a building a cornerstone he's quoting a psalm a messianic psalm a known messianic psalm psalm 118 he quotes that and here's the idea the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief Cornerstone the rejected stone prophesied by the Psalms is the rejected son in the parable that he just gave the rejected stone the rejected son are one in the same you are doing said Jesus what is predicted that you would do you are the ones who are killing and rejecting the very cornerstone the foundation of your country your nation your future the Messiah now let me tell you about a cornerstone a cornerstone goes in the corner very good cornerstone was the most important part of a building it was the large stone that formed the foundation the cornerstone had to be perfect because all the other stones were aligned according to the cut of the cornerstone and so builders would would be very particular about how a cornerstone look and they rejected a number of stones till they got the perfect corner stone because the symmetry and the stability of any building depend on how good how well-made that cornerstone is I'm the cornerstone said Jesus I'm the Sun you're the ones that have rejected the cornerstone and the Sun sent by the father into the vineyard just as Jesus quotes psalm 118 Peter also will quote this same passage of Scripture do you remember the story in the book of Acts when there was that lame man at the gate beautiful and he had been there he was placed there every day and he begged for alms and he saw Peter and John coming into the temple at the hour of prayer and he he begged for money and Peter looked at him and he said well silver and gold I don't have but what I do have I will give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk and so the man was healed he started walking a crowd gathered around Peter in that place and they asked him the same thing by what name and by what authority do you do these things first of all was the last time they healed anybody that dude was sick that dude couldn't walk and now he's healed and you're griping about it and you want to know all the little details by what authority and what name and so Peter points that out he points out the ridiculousness of their complaint he said if we are being judged this day for kindness done to this helpless man then be it known unto you and to the whole house of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead this man stands before you whole and then he said this this is the stone that was rejected by you builders it has become the chief Cornerstone nor is there salvation in any other for there is no other name given under heaven among men by which we be saved you see Peter was there the day that Jesus Christ gave this parable and quoted psalm 118 and he goes that's what it means and later on he pulled that out in his own sermon in Acts chapter 4 back to our text in verse 12 and they sought to lay hands on him him being Jesus but they feared the multitude for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them and so they left him and went away boy these guys have a keen eye for the obvious I think he said something against us yep he did you guys are the tenant farmers you guys are the ones that rejected the father you're the ones that rejected the son that was sent you're the ones that rejected the stone you are the one I'm speaking about what this whole setup reminds me of is of a story that happened in the Old Testament a true story with King David King David committed adultery with Bathsheba killed her husband Uriah the Hittite and one day the prophet Nathan came into David's throne David never told anyone thought he could sort of get away with a lie and Nathan said David there was a rich man who had many flocks and many herds and there was a poor man who had one little lamb well one day the rich man was having company coming in from out of town and he needed to kill a lamb to make a meal but instead of taking one animal from the many that he owned he found the one single lamb that belonged to the poor man by this time it had become a family pet I mean they they brought it to bed with him they they cuddled it they pet it you know they named it Fido I don't know but that rich man had the audacity to take the poor man's little lamb and kill it and feed it to his friend for supper when David heard that he said that man must sure he died and the nathan pointed his finger at him and said you're the man you're the one I'm speaking about you were the guy you had many wives and God has blessed you with many riches and God has said he would give even given you more and you took the wife of Uriah the Hittite your soldier your general and you committed adultery with her you took her to be your wife and then you killed him you're the man I'm speaking about in parable form he was busted with a parable Jesus essentially says to them you are the men again busted with a parable they the leaders the rulers the Pharisees the Sadducees the nation itself because of these rulers by and large rejected Jesus Christ but listen carefully they did not reject Jesus because of the lack of evidence they rejected Jesus simply because they didn't want to receive him you know I've discovered that's how people are there's an abundance of evidence logical evidence philosophical evidence scientific evidence evidence that points to God evidence that points to creation evidence that points to Jesus Christ that is to me overwhelming and I remember examining the evidence when I was in my early years of doubt doing medical training at a UCLA program in California and I was I was about ready to give up the Christian faith until I found this evidence that blew me away but I have found that you can give people all of the evidence possible but if they're predisposed to reject Christ they don't want to receive him they're not open and usually there's reasons that they don't want to receive him and that's because they don't want to change their immoral lifestyle and they're looking for some well I can't believe in that fairytale stuff they it's all smoke and mirrors there was plenty of evidence but they were looking for a way to trap Jesus verse 13 then they sent to him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to catch him in his words there's an old saying hostility makes the strangest bedfellows we read here in the same sentence of Pharisees and Herodians we know who the Pharisees are they were the Ritualist they were the legalists but who are the Herodians the Herodians were the enemies of the Pharisees Pharisees hated the Herodians because the Herodians were a politically inclined group that swore allegiance to the Roman dynasty of King Herod Antipas they believe we should submit to Rome submit to Herod for expediency sake we don't want to we don't want to go against the grain we don't want to get in trouble so just go along and submit Pharisees hated them but here they conspire together why because they have something in common they both hate Jesus and they want him dead and they have such a hatred for him that they're willing to put their differences aside for the mutual cause of getting rid of Christ so they come to him to catch him as his words conspiring together verse 14 and when they had come they said to him teacher now listen to how they butter him up teacher we know that you are true lie and care about knowing that is you don't care about people's prestige and power and and and position for you do not regard the person of men but you teach the way of God in truth is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not now as I mentioned these guys were just liars they they approached Jesus with what I call the sandwich approach they butter the bread on both sides they butter them up oh we know you're so wonderful and true and you don't care about anybody's position or prestige or power or education or fashion which is true Jesus was not a respecter of persons but they asked this question is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not in those days taxation was a big issue well hey in these days taxation is a big issue every election it becomes a huge issue should we pay taxes what kind of taxes should we pay how much should we pay should we do a flat tax a graduated tax should we tax the rich more than the poor etc all of these things are debated now on one hand taxes are absolutely necessary for the smooth running of any society on the other hand too much tax can crush the common person so but it was always controversial you need to take taxes from people in those days there there were Roman roads somebody had to pay for them there were Roman aqueducts that brought water to cities somebody had to pay for that there was the pox Romana the Roman peace by stationing soldiers all over the world enabling a safe passage from one city one country one village to another Roman soldiers ensured the safe travel ensured the peace somebody had to pay for that who pays for it you pay for it government takes taxes from you the rub was that as a Jewish citizen when I'm paying my taxes I'm paying for the very soldiers that are taking away my freedom and oppressing me so I am by my money funding the oppression that I'm so opposed to that's why some people believe you shouldn't pay any taxes at all and I still find people even Christians who say the Lord told me I don't need to pay any taxes now we have a name for those people we call them prisoners eventually they get arrested and put in jail but what this question was designed to do is to divide the crowd if Jesus were to say yes you ought to pay taxes that would alienate the common people that might alienate the Pharisees well they were already alienated it would further alienate them now if Jesus were to say no taxes are oppressive don't pay any taxes that's gonna make the Herodians upset it was designed to cause a division they thinkin oh we're so smart we're gonna ask him a question that's gonna get him in trouble verse 15 shall we pay or shall we not pay but he knowing their hypocrisy said to them why do you test me see he knows what they're doing he's exposing their motives bring me a Denarius that I might see it now a Denarius is a small single coin a Denarius was equal to a day's wage for a Roman soldier or a day laborer that was a Denarius it was a small silver coin it was minted by the Emperor only the Emperor had the authority to mint gold or silver coins on one side of a Denarius was the image of Caesar in this case Caesar Tiberius on the other side was a an image of Caesar sitting on the throne with the robes of a priest and the inscription on it said Tiberius Caesar Augustus son of the divine Augustus so it had an image on it what is the second commandment of the Jews say you shall make no image in heaven or on earth not only of God but anything any likeness even of a person the Jews took this so seriously that for them to have to use money that had an inscription on it they hated paying taxes number one number two they have to pay taxes with defiled image Laden currency it was a double rub a double offense to them so Jesus is bring me a Denarius so they brought it and he said to them whose image and inscription is this that is whose face and of whom is this written about and they said to him Caesars jesus answered and said to them render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are gods and they marveled at him there's two parts to that answer folks mankind has a human obligation number one mankind has a spiritual obligation number two render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's in other words Jesus is saying yes it is right to give taxes to the one who's collecting them in this case Caesar Tiberius it's his image on it it's his inscription on it this stuff this money belongs to his domain absolutely render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's let me tell you what that means to you and I we are citizens not only of heaven which we are but we're also citizens of the earth of this state of this city and that means God wants us to pay taxes now I'm waiting for the gavels to be flying but that's Scripture folks you rendered a Caesar the things that are Caesar's Paul the Apostle put it very clear in Romans 13 he said let every soul be subject to governing authorities for there is no authority except that which is appointed by God and the authorities that exist have been ordained by God therefore whoever resists the authorities is resisting the ordinances of God himself he says give honor and for this reason verse 6 of Romans 13 for this reason he said we also pay taxes he says you give honor to Kings you give honor to Prime Minister's that means we give honor to mayors we give honor to governors and we give honor to the President and those who rule this country you render to Caesar the things that are Caesar but the second part give to God the things that are gods Caesar has right to collect your money God has the right to collect your worship he has the right to collect your Allegiance he has the right to collect your submission give to God the things that belong to God as creator as Redeemer as the giver of life he's the one that we give all to we worship Him with heart mind soul and strength yep give your money to Caesar give your life to God so those are the Pharisees and the Herodians and they're just kind of going wow it says they marveled at him wow I was like a great answer can't argue with that one then some of the Sadducees so we have another group Pharisees Herodians and now Sadducees who say there is no resurrection came to him and they asked him saying let me just remind you about the Sadducees the word Sadducees is from the Hebrew word Sadiq team literally means the righteous ones it is believed that the Sadducees first began with Zadok the high priest at the time of David they were in rule up until the time of the Maccabee in revolt and after 70 AD after the temple was destroyed in Jerusalem there were no more Sadducees they just sort of fell off the face of the earth but they were very much in charge the Pharisees were the ritualists the Sadducees were the rationalists the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection the Sadducees did not believe in aims they didn't believe in spirits they didn't believe in miracles and they did not believe in the Old Testament Scriptures except for the first five books of Moses it's all they believed in they believed only the first five books of the Old Testament the ones that Moses wrote were inspired they didn't believe in the others and because they did not believe in the future resurrection they put all of their stock in the here and now they don't believe in a future so it's all about now that's why most of them were wealthy it was all about making money it was all about being wealthy in the temporary earthly realm because they had no hope for the future so most of them were the aristocratic group the Sadducees ran the temple enterprises that's why when Jesus overturned the temple it cut into their profits they were the ones that were the most angry so verse 19 teacher they say the Sadducees teacher Moses wrote now they're quoting Moses because he's the only guy they believe in Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies and leaves his wife behind and leaves no children that his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother now there were seven brothers the first took a wife and dying he left no offspring and the second took her and he died nor did he leave any offspring and the third likewise you get the picture there's seven brothers the first guy dies no kids second guy marries her dies no kids third one marries her dies no kids so the seven had her all seven guys married this chick had no children and they all died look so by this time you're thinking now what is she putting in the green chili when she serves it to her husband because she's like killing off every one of them last of all their little story goes last of all the woman dies also therefore listen to this therefore in the resurrection when they rise whose wife will she be for all seven had her his wife no you're thinking I hope resurrection why would they mention a resurrection they don't believe in a resurrection that's exactly why they say what they said they don't believe in a resurrection they're trying to show how ridiculous the idea of a resurrection is because look if the if the dead rise up in the resurrection since seven men married this one check in the resurrection when they all live again in the future whose wife is she going to be and they think they're so smart they haven't wrapped jesus answered and said to them are you not therefore mistaken one of the other Gospels he said you're ignorant not knowing the scripture nor the power of God now I will tell you this they are referring to a law in the book of Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 25 called the law of levirate marriage levirate marriage and that stated in Deuteronomy 25 it was to protect the widow it was for to protect the land and the name of that family so that if if a husband dies and leaves no offspring and that wife is left she has no claim on the land in future generations and so a brother or a kinsman a relative could marry that lady and then the family name is preserved and the inheritance is passed on from generation to generation for that woman it's to protect her her offspring and the family name we see this practice in the Book of Ruth Ruth's husband Mei Lan dies he was Jewish Ruth was a Moabite as she comes back to Bethlehem but she's a single woman her husband Malin is dead so Boaz marries her he's the go well he's the kinsman redeemer there was a closer relative but he was unable to perform the Redemption ritual and so Boaz moves in marries her all based on deuteronomy chapter 25 so jesus answered and said to them are you not therefore mistaken because you do not know the scripture nor the power of God they thought they were so smart Jesus says you're ignorant you're mistaken for when they rise from the dead not if when Jesus believes in the resurrection for when they rise from the dead they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven meaning angels never die their deathless angels are immortal there's no need for them to propagate because they go on and on and on but Jesus said concerning the dead that they rise have you not read in the book of Moses in the burning bush passage that's Exodus chapter 3 how God spoke to him saying I am the God of Abraham the god of Isaac the God of Jacob he is not the god of the dead but the god of the living you therefore are greatly mistaken I once knew a gal who was so upset at these words of Jesus can you imagine being upset at something jesus said well actually there's a lot of things that might have said us the jesus said but she just hated this passage of Scripture and I remember talking to her about this and she was just so irate she was single she wanted to be married and she believed the Lord would come very very soon and she thought she wanted to get married before the Lord came she wanted to have the earthly enjoyment of marriage and she thought what if as soon as I get married the Lord comes and then in heaven there's neither marriage nor a given in marriage that makes me angry well I know other people this is a great comfort to so I won't even get into that but you can see it would sort of depend on your marital situation what you think but she was just irate over this scripture there's a few things I want you to note about this Jesus said in the resurrection we become like angels he doesn't say we become angels I'll tell you why that's important I can't count how many times I have spoken to Christian people who you know say things like well when they died you know I know that they got their wings and they became angels and now they're angels in heaven that does not come from the scripture that comes from a movie called It's a Wonderful Life every time the bell rings an angel gets its wings that's what Jimmy Stewart I think said it didn't come from the Bible we do not become angels when we die we become like the angels we become death lest we become immortal we live forever in heaven there's no need to procreate marriage is a wonderful blessing that God gives for earthly temporary companionship and also to propagate the human race no need for that in heaven number two Jesus shows that there will be a resurrection he quotes the burning bush passage listen to what he said how God spoke to him saying now listen I am the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob now stop right there Abraham Isaac and Jacob were dead when he spoke these words to Moses he didn't say I was the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob I am the God present tense meaning for him to use the present tense and this is the whole point of Jesus don't you guys even know your Bibles enough to know that God spoke in the present tense he couldn't say I am the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob unless they were still alive awaiting resurrection that was this whole point I'll tell you what and you need to pick up on this point Jesus had a very high view of Scripture and here he's he's showing the difference between a verb tense that's how important it is it's not I was it's I am showing his view of scripture that we should pay attention to the very details of the text read it slowly go over it look at the verbs look at the verb tense the direct object the subject etc then one of the scribes came and having heard them reasoning together perceiving that he had answered them well asked which is the first commandment of all now can you see this chapter is just sort of riddled with confrontation couple asked him a question somebody else asked him a question somebody else it's all confrontation which is the first commandment of all jesus answered him the first of all the commandments is this here o Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind and with all your strength this is the first commandment and the second is like it and it's this you shall love your neighbor as yourself there is no other commandment greater than these the question was what's the greatest commandment the first commandment jesus said let me tell you what the first two Commandments are greatest commandment first commandment here o Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one now that was the expected answer that was the Jewish answer twice a day in that time period and all the way till now today the pious Orthodox Jew twice a day morning and evening prayers we'll pray what they call the Shema Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai elohenu God nyeh HOD here Oh Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one what Jesus quoted it's actually a compilation of three scriptures Deuteronomy chapter 6 Deuteronomy chapter 11 numbers chapter 15 just a few snippets of each one form a prayer recited twice a day called the Shema it's their statement of faith now the rabbi's taught how many Commandments are there we talked about how many Commandments Ten Commandments the rabbi's taught that there were 613 commandments not one not two not ten 613 commandments those 613 commandments were divided into two negative Commandments positive Commandments there were 248 positive Commandments there were 360 five negative Commandments more don't stand OU's the problem was the issue was the debate was which ones were the heavy Commandments which ones were the lighter Commandments they divided them into two camps the heavy and the light the most crucial the least crucial and no two rabbis agreed on which were the most crucial or the least crucial there was always a debate as to which were the greater or lesser Commandments Jesus gives the expected answer here o Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one you will love the Lord your God with all of your heart mind soul strength that's the first commandment that's the most important but he doesn't stop he goes actually there's the second commandment and that is you shall love your neighbor as yourself there is no other commandment greater than these so Jesus sums up all of the commandments all of the Old Testament into two simple commands one word love love God love people love God that's vertical love people that's horizontal by the way did you know that's how the tinkerer Mammon's are divided the first four commandments of the Ten Commandments are about your relationship with God loving God the second six grouping of Commandments from commandment number five all the way to ten are about loving your neighbor loving each other love God love people but there's something else just want to refresh your memory when it comes to the commandments of God God doesn't just look at the outward but he looks at the inward right he looks at the heart he looks at the desires of the heart so a person may say I've never committed adultery in my life have you ever looked lustfully at a woman oh well I mean you know I've never I've never killed anybody have you ever said I hate that guy could kill him I'm gonna run him off the road according to Jesus Christ the inward attitude is just as important because that's where the outward action grows from the Sermon on the Mount he said you have heard that it was said by those of old you shall not murder but I say if you hate your brother your murderer you have heard that it was said by those of old you shall not commit adultery but I say Indy if you look lustfully at a woman you've committed adultery with her in your heart so he started showing that it's not just what you do it's who you are on the inside but here Jesus sums up the commandments into the sum the kernel the irreducible minimum of love love God love each other so the scribes said to him I love this well said teacher it's just sort of ironic that he's speaking to God a good word God yeah I agree with that oh good thank you well said teacher you have spoken the truth for there is no for there is one God and there is no other but he and to love him with all the heart with all the understanding with all the soul with all the strength and a loved one's neighbor as oneself is more than all of the whole burnt offerings and the sacrifices there in the temple compound as this conversation is going on man this guy this scribe whoever he is understands that love is more important than ritual that who you are is even more important than what you do because what you do is determined by who you are he gets that and that's why Jesus says this when Jesus saw that he answered wisely he said you are not far from the kingdom of God but after that no one dared to question him here's the scribe according to Jesus man you're getting it you're acknowledging that loving God loving people is more important than all of the rituals and all of the sacrifice however you're still not in the kingdom of god you're just close to it you're not far from it you're staring eyeball to eyeball with the king of the kingdom he's looking at you you have to love the one who's the king of the kingdom for you to enter the kingdom you're not far from it I'm here the king of that Kingdom then jesus answered and said while he taught in the temple now this is Jesus speaking how is it he has a question for them they've been peppering him with questions now he asked them a question how is it that the scribes say that Christ or the Messiah is the son of David stop right there see that term the son of David that term was the most common messianic term that the Jewish people used to refer to the coming Messiah you know why because God had promised David that his descendant would rule on the throne of David for ever and ever well that couldn't refer to Solomon Solomon died Solomon's kingdom was divided and it was never restored so they believed it has to to the messiah they got that part right the son of David so how is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David then Jesus answer before they could even answer it he answers his own question he said while he taught in the temple how is it that the scribes that's verse 35 I said that how is it that the scribes say Christ is the son of David for David himself said by the Holy Spirit the Lord said to my lord sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool therefore David himself calls him Lord how is he then his son and the common people heard him gladly okay now follow me closely here I know it starts so not all of you have iPads or iPhones you're just thinking I can't even read this in my own Bible you have to go check this out Jesus is quoting Psalm 110 where it says the Lord said unto my lord sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool David wrote that you're calling the Messiah the son of David David calls the Messiah his Lord the Lord said to my lord in Hebrew it's Yahweh said to Aden I both are terms for God God said to God the Lord said to my lord sit at my right hand till they make your enemies a footstool David according to Jesus would never have called a mere physical descendant of himself his Lord but David calls him his Lord how is that possible why do you call the Christ the Son of David David calls him Lord he is showing that the Messiah is more than a physical descendant of David that he is God himself so they're like they're like it's like a mind bender for them I tell you Jesus is just so skilled and so adept at the nuances of the text of Scripture it's a great example for us then he said to them in his teaching be aware of the scribes now he's just like getting down on him I'm gonna pull out the stops get down on these dudes beware of the scribes who desire to go around in long robes they love with the greetings in the marketplaces the best seats in the synagogue's the best places at the feasts who devour widows houses and for a pretence make long prayers these will receive greater condemnation now Jesus sat opposite the Treasury and saw how the people put money into the Treasury and many who were rich put in much let me let me draw a picture for you let me paint a picture Jesus is in the temple courts the outer Court the court of the Gentiles had a covered colonnaded porch called Solomon's porch they didn't serve espresso they didn't serve hamburgers on Wednesday night Solomon's porch we took the name from the Bible was a gathering place for people of all nations that's why we call her a coffee shop that closer toward the temple itself was a covered porch in the court of the women where people would linger after the sacrifices were made just to worship or to spend time in God's presence and there were a couple of chambers one of the chambers was called the chamber of the silent around the chamber of the silent were 13 well I would call him agape boxes they were trumpet-shaped receptacles called shofar wrote in Hebrew which means trumpets or shofars it's the plural of shofar trumpets shaped boxes where people would put money in the chamber of the silent is where a person could give anonymously without fanfare and where if you were poor you could go get help get financial help without being embarrassed but there were people who loved to give with fanfare and they love to put their money in one of those 13 boxes and and get lots of coins so you'd hear the coins drop one after another after another after another and so people will go wow that guy's really generous they did it for that effect Jesus is watching different people gift verse 42 then one poor Widow came and threw in two mites which make a quadrants and we read this and we go on doesn't help me mark was writing to a Roman audience two mites are Hebrew currency it's the smallest denomination in Jewish currency a mite is about an eighth of a cent this woman put in about a quarter of a cent two mites so that the Roman audience could understand he converts it into a Roman currency calls it a quadrants a quadrants was one sixty-fourth of a Denarius remember a Denarius is a day's wage for a roman soldier or for a working class citizen a day laborer so the Roman citizen would go to mites what's that oh oh I see it makes a quadrants I get it so it was very little and so he called his disciples and said to himself and he said to them assuredly I say to you that this poor Widow has put in more than all those who have given into the Treasury for they all put in out of their abundance but she out of her poverty put in all that she had her whole livelihood hey I just want to close by saying did you know that the Bible has a lot to say about the Christian and his or her money did you know that more than half of the parables of Jesus have to do with our finances let me put this into perspective one out of every seven verses in the New Testament it is reckoned deals with the topic of money the scripture has 500 verses on prayer less than 500 on the topic of faith 2000 on the topic of finances or money why is that well Jesus said where your treasure is there will your heart be also so as we close tonight remember the words of Jesus render to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar but give to God the things that belong to God we don't own anything we're Stewart's of everything only one life will soon be past only what's done for Christ will last I encourage you to see all of the resources that you have is not your own but you're a steward over them and you all we all ask the Lord how do you want me to further your kingdom Lord but here's how I really want to close and we're gonna close in a moment with a song really you can't get out of rendering to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar you can try but they'll come and find you and we'll be visiting you in prison so you render to faith the Caesar the things that are Caesar's you're gonna have to do that but worship of God giving your life to Christ that's all voluntary he'll never make you do that here you will be forced to do it one day in eternity at Judgment Day every knee shall bow every tongue shall confess every one ultimately will one day confess that Jesus is Lord and offer praise and submission to him but for so many it's going to be too late have you personally voluntarily submitted surrendered your life to God render to God the things that belong to God he made you and he made you for salvation he made you to have a relationship with himself have you allowed him the right that he deserves to control your life if you yet surrendered and asked Christ to take away your sin and give you everlasting life if you haven't done that I'm gonna give you an opportunity to do that and I can't see your hand so I'm gonna simply ask everyone to stand right now and we're gonna sing a final song of closing song and if you've never given your life to Christ I'm calling you out I'm calling you down to get up from where you're standing now get up out of your seat and just stand right up here I'm gonna lead you publicly in a prayer to receive Christ this is gonna be your night where you're giving God what's due to him and it's been do him all along you give him your life so as we sing this song you get up and come if you've never done that or if you've walked away from the Lord you need to come back home and be forgiven doesn't matter what experiences you've had in the past or what church you belong to if you're not walking in obeying Christ I'm asking you to get up from where you're standing and stand right up here and recommit your life to Christ either way you get up and come right now and stand right here and we're gonna pray publicly to receive Christ just come up and stand with me right here I'll be waiting for you as you come we sing you come you don't hesitate you come right now [Music] I can't my say Ransome like [Music] merci [Music] mazie a couple girls have walked forward I just want you to know guys the girls led the procession tonight the girls broke the ice tonight some of you some of you men may think you know I'm a little too cool for this I'm a little too macho for this one day you're gonna face God in eternity you really want that as your Excuse forever are you sure you know him are you sure that if you were to die tonight you'd be in heaven if not man you need to be sure you're you're sitting back there by the cafe or way in the back over here by between the buildings or anywhere in this amphitheater way off to the side if you don't know Christ if you're not sure you get up and come come to forgiveness come to life come to light [Music] can I say [Music] this mercy [Music] all right yeah give him a big hand come on up guys still might be some more some of you people have heard this for a long time you've seen a lot of altar calls and frankly you've just gotten really good at turning it off about now and not letting the Holy Spirit come in and bring you out you need to you need to stop that you need to throw up the white flag you need to say no to those voices and say yes to Jesus he loves you Jesus loves you so much he died for you we're gonna sing this through one more time you you come if you're not sure [Music] can I say [Applause] [Music] this mess [Music] all right hey those of you who have come yeah give them a big hand [Music] I want you to just hear it for me we don't do this to embarrass anybody you know it's kinda I know you didn't expect doing this tonight standing in front of everybody at the end of a service but we believe that it's very important for you to make a decision publicly do not keep it a secret but to come out step out of the shadows and come into the light figuratively andwell literally in this case but it does something in your heart when you're willing to say look Jesus you died publicly for me I'm gonna live publicly for you and Jesus often called people publicly so I'm gonna say a prayer and I'm gonna ask you to pray out loud this prayer with me just say what I say but say it to the Lord you're giving him your life let's pray lord I know that I'm a sinner please forgive me I believe in Jesus that he died on a cross that He shed his blood for me and that he rose from the dead I turn from my sin I leave it behind me I turn to you as my savior I want to live for you as my lord in Jesus name Amen come on give a big hand further what the Lord did [Music]

Channel: Calvary Church with Skip Heitzig

Views: 5,351

Rating: 4.710145 out of 5

Keywords: Calvary Church, Skip Heitzig, Mark, John the Baptist, John Mark, synagogue, missionary, New Testament, clergy, baptism, satan, devil, King of the Jews, kosher, law, disciples, Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John

Id: -L_wjFDI0Ro

Length: 65min 49sec (3949 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 11 2018