07/22/2024 – Day 050 – Matthew – Chapters 20 – 22 / The transformation of the human heart from prideful to humble, only through the grace of God!
Our last post for today’s ready is dated 07/20/2020, in case you want to call it up. Covered commentary includes the following topics /verses: 1) “Do Hard Things”; 2) The Withered Fig Tree – 21: 18-22; 3) 20:28 – John MacArthur’s quote re: Humbling ourself; 4) 20: 20-27 – Jesus’ response to the mother of the sons of Zebedee as to their place in His kingdom.
I don’t normally repeat prior posts but I’m making an exception on this John MacArthur quote from “The Evidence Study Bible:
“20:28 If the sinless Christ, who is literally God in human flesh and Lord of all, would so humble Himself for us, we dare not denigrate humility or aspire to self-esteem instead of lowliness… Do you want to be blessed?Develop a Servant’s heart. If Jesus can step down from His glorious equality with God to become a man, and then further humble Himself to be a servant and wash the feet of twelve undeserving sinners — then humble Himself to die so horribly on our behalf — surely we ought to be willing to suffer any indignity to serve Him.”
______________________________________
“And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19: 30
A quote from Charles Spurgeon: “The gate of heaven, though it is so wide that the greatest sinner may enter, is nevertheless so low that pride can never pass through it.”
_____________________________________
The Sadducees: What About the Resurrection? 22: 23 – 33
The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, claiming it was not in the law. Why would it be imperative that the resurrection would be inclusive within the law? Take a look at John Gill’s commentary for verse 22:32, the verse that caused the multitudes to be astonished at Jesus’ teaching:
“I am the God of Almighty, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 22:32
Within this section, take a look at “The Evidence Study Bible” commentary:
“22.29. Mistakes in the Bible. In his ignorance man searches for what he considers ‘mistakes’ in the Bible to justify his godless beliefs. He is like a man with a magnifying glass who diligently searches for a tiny dirt speck on the Mona Lisa, so he can justify discarding the whole painting as junk. In the following article from The Almost Christian (written in 1661), Matthew Mead addresses the problem:
There is a proud heart in every natural man. There was much pride in Adam’s sin – and there is much of it in all Adam’s sons. Pride is a radical sin, and from hence arises this over-inflated opinion of a man’s spiritual state and condition: ‘The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers’ (Luke 18:11). This is the unsaved man’s motto.
A proud man has an eye to see his beauty — but not his deformity. He sees his abilities — but not his spots. He sees his seeming righteousness — but not his real wretchedness. it must be a work of grace — which must show a man the lack of grace. The haughty eye looks upward — but the humble eye looks downward and therefore this is the believer’s motto: ‘I am the least of saints — and the greatest of sinners!”
Soli Deo Gloria!