Jesus and Scripture

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 Matthew 22.1-46. Meditate on verse 29.
What can we do so that Jesus does not say this of us?

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 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 (vv. 1-14). We 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.

In verses 15-22, Jesus deftly avoids a trap set by the Pharisees and Herodians and challenged those who heard Him to make sure they are giving God His due, and not just Caesar.

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. And He tells us what the objective of our Scripture reading must be, to love God and our neighbors in all we do.

In the final section, verses 41-46, Jesus took over the questioning, still pointing to Scripture because Scripture points to Him. He is both the Son of David and David’s Lord. He sits beside the eternal God, the LORD, and, as He so ably demonstrated in this chapter, is putting all His enemies under His feet.

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. 

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Let’s get personal with Jesus’ message.
He says to us, firmly but lovingly:
Frankly, your big mistake is not knowing the Scriptures (Matt. 22.29).
Because “these are they which testify of Me” (Jn. 5.39)!
And if you don’t know them, you don’t know Me. 
Secondly, your biggest blunder is not knowing the power of God (Matt. 22.29).
You spend a lot of time fearing the wrong person or thing when you 
“should fear Him Who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10.28).

“For the Word of God is living and powerful, 
and sharper than any two-edged sword, 
piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, 
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, 
but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him 
to Whom we must give account” (Heb. 4.12, 13).

Now, Jesus says to us, as He said to the testy testing lawyer (forgive the redundancy),
in the Scriptures God has given us commandments to live by. 
The first is greatest, the second follows:
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22.37-40).

Finally, we sum up with the same response as the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, etc.:
“And no one was able to answer Him a word, 
nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore” (Matt. 22.46).

The only wise response to Jesus and Scripture? 
Believe, trust, love, obey, and follow Him.
For “the Word was God” (Jn. 1.1)

“My heart is set 
on keeping Your decrees 
to the very end” (Ps. 119.112 NIV).

Reflect.
1. How do you try to encourage your fellow believers to stay in the Word daily and seek Jesus there?

2. What have you been learning about Jesus from His Word lately?

3. Why is it important to see Jesus in all the Scripture we’re reading?

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

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.
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 by 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. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

Other columns of interest: This week: Our Read Moore podcast begins a new series of readings about St. Patrick from our book, Patrick: A Devotional History. Our Crosfigell teaching letter is pursuing a series on the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column, wraps up our study on “God and Reason” and begins a new study of “Everyday Christianity” on Wednesday. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.