WEEK 11: Matthew 21-28, Acts 16-18
ACCEPTING JESUS | Axiom 3
Jesus had some harsh things to say at the end of Matthew for those who reject him. He taught that those who believe in him would find eternal life, but warned that those who reject him will receive eternal separation from God. The last chapters of Matthew remind us why it is so important to have both the right information about Jesus and the right attitude toward him. Our eternity depends on it (see 101).
WEEK 12: Acts 19-28
MAKING DISCIPLES | Axioms 4 and 10
The last half of Acts records the spread of the church all over the Roman empire. In fact, the church extends all the way to Rome, the world’s capital at the time. The end of Acts reminds us that we are called to carry out God’s mission in the world: to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
Questions for Discussion
1. Read Matthew 24:36-44. How does Jesus describe his return? How can we be prepared for it?
2. How does God use Paul’s imprisonment to further the growth of the church? Have you seen God use trials like this in your life?
3. Why do you think God allows Christians to suffer and face persecution? Take some time today to pray for Christians who are truly suffering for Christ.
COMMENTARY
Matthew 21:12
Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. Jesus became angry when he saw that the temple, which was supposed to be a place of worship, a kind of heaven on earth, had become a market for buying and selling. People who did not bother to bring their own sacrifices to the Temple could simply purchase sacrifices from vendors located there. This not only cheapened the sacrifice, but God was dishonored by people making a profit by selling sacrifices at the Temple. This activity demonstrated that people did not have the proper heart in worshiping God.
Matthew 22:13
This verse reminds us of the painful reality of hell. There really is a place of “weeping and gnashing of teeth,” a place of eternal consequence for our sin. Hell is just punishment for our grievous sin against God, but the good news of the Gospel is that we can escape the consequence we deserve for our sin by putting our faith in Jesus Christ. The punishment we should receive for our sin was poured out completely on Jesus at the cross so that God’s justice could be accomplished, and we could escape the punishment we deserve.
Matthew 23:3
In this chapter, Jesus goes on an intense tirade against the Pharisees, exposing their hypocrisy and showing the useless nature of empty religious obedience. He points out that their religion was purely an external show, more concerned with impressing others and maintaining power than with pleasing God. It is a good reminder to us that God is not impressed with our religious activity if it is only done out of obligation and not out of a sincere desire to pursue His heart.
Matthew 24:36
Jesus affirms here that no one will ever be able to predict the exact time of His return. Anytime an individual or religious organization claims to have some inside scoop on when the return of Jesus will take place, you can know immediately that they are not of God, and not to be trusted.
Matthew 25:31-46
The parable of the sheep and the goats is a wake-up call to many Christians. Christ obviously cared for the “least”, and here we see that he cares about how we treat those on the fringe. We have to be careful, though, not to isolate this passage from the rest of the Bible. He is not teaching that we are saved by our works toward the last, the lost or the least. But God’s heart is for these people, and so should ours be.
Matthew 26:39
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” This is a great example for us as to how we should pray. Notice that Jesus was authentic toward the Father in his prayer. He truly desired to avoid the cup of suffering he anticipated. So he poured out his heart to God, making his request known. But he finished his prayer with the ultimate phrase, submitting himself to the Father’s plan. In the same way, we should pray with fervency and faith, but in the end we must recognize that God is God, and we must humbly submit ourselves to His way.
Matthew 27:51
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The curtain of the temple was what separated the general temple area from the most holy place. Only the priests were allowed to go behind the curtain. This symbolized the separation between the presence of God and the people. But after the death of Christ access to God is now available through him alone. We don’t have to go through a temple or a priest to get to God. The tearing of the curtain symbolizes this.
Matthew 27:52
The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life and appeared to many people. Evidently, after the crucifixion some of the Old Testament believers were raised from the dead and entered Jerusalem. This event occurred as a testimony to the immortal power ascribed to Jesus Christ alone. Only God has the power of life and death. Therefore, the resurrection is the cornerstone of Christianity.
The raising of the saints fits into the overall theme used by Matthew in his gospel which is that Christ fulfills all the prophesies of the Messiah from the Old Testament. Examining Ezekiel 37 and the bones raised to life in connection with this story reveals that an Old Testament prophecy was fulfilled in the raising of these saints. Additionally, the raising of the saints relates directly to the coming kingdom. The raising of a few and not all of the saints shows that Jesus has power to resurrect, but also points forward to the second coming and judgment of Jesus Christ, which will include all those whose names are written in the Book Life by faith in the grace of God.
Acts 17
This chapter shows us the missionary savvy of the Apostle Paul. It is interesting to see how when in Thessalonica and Berea, Paul uses very Jewish images and arguments to prove that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah and Savior of the world. This was because these were Jewish communities, so he is speaking in a way they understand. But when he goes to Athens, a Greek city with little Jewish influence, he proclaims the same ultimate truth about Jesus Christ, but he doesn’t reference the Old Testament at all. Rather, he uses cultural references and images that the Greeks would understand. In fact, the phrase “in Him we live and move and have our being,” is actually a phrase from Greek pop culture poetry discussing Zeus. But Paul capitalizes on their context and uses it to point them to the true Gospel. This is instructive for us to be sensitive in how we present the message of Christ. The message never changes, but the way we present it needs to.
Acts 19:2
“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” This passage, running from verse 1 to 7, can be quite confusing. Why did these men who were apparently believers not receive the Holy Spirit? We can come to the answer by examining the story.
Paul happens upon some “disciples.” It appears that he thinks that they are followers of Jesus because he asks them about receiving the Holy Spirit which was a sign of being a Christian (Acts 2:38). They, though, did not know that the Spirit had come. It turns out that they were followers of John the Baptist. John preached that the Messiah would come and bring with him the Spirit, but as far as these disciples knew this was still something prophesied about for the future. In other words these believers were still Old Testament believers that had not yet heard of the coming of Jesus. Paul, then, explains to them who Jesus is and they believe in him, receiving the Holy Spirit as Christians do today.
Acts 20:5
“These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas.” Notice that the narrative of Acts switches back to first person in verse 5. Evidently, Luke, the author, is now an eye witness to the events he records in this section of Acts as he travels with Paul.
Acts 21:20-22
Many of the early converts to Christianity were Jewish. Even though they accepted Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, it took some time for man of them to understand the true distinction between Judaism and Christianity. They had lived their whole life in the Jewish culture and many of them still believed that it was important to maintain the Jewish lifestyle, including following the Mosaic Law, even though they were now followers of Christ. While Paul and the early church leaders taught that the Law was no longer necessary to be a Christian, James urged Paul to be sensitive to these people’s background not to push them too fast. Therefore, Paul was willing to abide by some of the old Jewish customs as a way of not overwhelming these new Christians. Yet, within a relatively short period of time, Christians as a whole, including both Jews and Gentiles, moved away from the Law and it’s effect on the Christian culture slowly diminished.
Acts 24:14
I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. The term “Christianity” was not in use at this time. Apparently they simply called it “the Way”. Perhaps it was a reference to Christ’s own statement: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”.
Acts 25:11
“If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!” As a Roman citizen Paul had the right to appeal to Caesar. This meant that Paul’s case would be heard by the emperor or a tribunal of the emperor in Rome. Paul was born a Roman citizen and used the privileges associated with that status at times (Acts 22:25-29).
Acts 28:6
The people who lived on Malta must have known the snake that bit Paul to be poisonous. So when Paul seemed to have no negative effects from the snake, they assumed he was a god. In reality, this was simply another display of God’s unique power seen throughout the book of Acts which serves to substantiate the veracity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Acts 28:14
After so many years and hardship, Paul finally has his dream realized of being able to take the Gospel all the way to Rome. The story of Acts often reads like an action movie, with lots of plot twists and turns. But the climax of the story is the fulfillment of the promise God gave to the Disciples all the way back in Acts 1:8. The message of Jesus was taken to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and now to Rome, which to the Jews, was considered the uttermost parts of the world.
