Matthew 22: The King and His Law (7)

Pray Psalm 146.1, 2.
Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
While I live I will praise the LORD;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Sing Psalm 146.1, 2, 10.
(Hallelujah! What a Savior: Man of Sorrows)
Praise the Lord, my soul, give praise! While I live, His Name I’ll raise!
And exalt Him all my days – God forever reigns in Zion!

Read and meditate on Matthew 22.1-46.

Prepare.
1. In this chapter, how did Jesus position Himself in relation to Scripture?

2. Why should we look to Jesus to understand the Bible?

Meditate.
Matthew 22 has one central theme: When it comes to understanding God’s Law, and all His Word, Jesus is the last Word.

The chapter begins with the parable of the wedding feast, where the enemies of the king and his son are rejected, while strangers and foreigners are invited to the feast. We are to learn that a time of celebration and of sorting out is coming, and those who are not prepared for it will end up in misery and regret.

But how shall we prepare? By looking to Jesus as the key to understanding all the messengers (prophets, apostles) of God.

The rest of chapter 22 has Jesus dealing with challenges related to His authority and God’s Word. These challenges were meant to unnerve Him and discourage the multitudes from following Him. Instead, they had the opposite effect. In each case, Jesus showed Himself to be the Master Interpreter of God’s Word. Jesus is the interpretive Key to all of God’s Word. Only in Him can we make sense of the Scriptures and enter the power of God they open to us.

If we leave Jesus out in any of our reading or study of Scripture, we will miss the point of the Bible. As the Son of the eternal King, Jesus brings the message of a coming celebration to honor Him and His bride. All who listen to Him, receive His Word, and take up the Scriptures to prepare for that celebration will find the power to love and the hope of life forever in the Presence of our Savior and Lord.

Reflect.
1. What does it mean to say that Jesus is the interpretive Key to all of Scripture?

2. The writers of Scripture are like the messengers the king sent out to announce his son’s marriage. Explain.

3. How should we use the Scripture to prepare for the wedding feast of the King’s Son?

We must now see how he proves that Christ will hold a higher rank than to be merely descended from the seed of David. It is because David, who was king and head of the people, calls him Lord; from which it follows, that there is something in him greater than man. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Matthew 22.43

You are Lord, Jesus, and I am Your servant. Help me to live for you today as I…

Pray Psalm 146.3-10.
Offer the day ahead to Jesus, that He might use it for His Kingdom and glory.

Sing Psalm 146.3-10.
Psalm 146.3-10 (Hallelujah! What a Savior!: Man of Sorrows)
Trust we not in prince or man – no salvation’s in their hand;
Death shall take them, breath and plans – God forever reigns in Zion!

Blessed are they whose hope resides in the Lord, Christ at His side.
By Him heav’n and earth abide – God forever reigns in Zion!

He is faithful evermore; He gives justice to the poor,
feeds the hungry from His store – God forever reigns in Zion!

Jesus sets the pris’ner free, heals blind eyes that they may see,
lifts those burdened painfully – God forever reigns in Zion!

He the righteous loves the best; wand’rers in His grace are blessed;
needy ones in Him find rest – God forever reigns in Zion!

But the wicked who defame His eternal blessèd Name,
Them He brings to ruin and shame – God forever reigns in Zion!

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).