Commuter Bible NT

You may have noticed that the closer we get to Christ’s crucifixion, the more time seems to slow down. This is intentional, as Matthew is highlighting the importance of Christ’s time in Jerusalem before he is executed by the Jews. Today Christ tells his disciples about future things, including the destruction of the temple, which happened only 70 years later, for the old covenant is passing away and the gospel of Christ’s kingdom has come. Jesus tells his followers to expect persecution, false prophets, false messiahs, an increase of wars and an increase in natural disasters. Even so, the gospel will go forth into all the world. Finally, no one knows the day or hour when Christ will return, but that shouldn’t stop us from anticipating that day.

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Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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In the midst of the people of Jerusalem, just days before the Passover feast was to be celebrated, Jesus speaks to large crowds of devoted Jews about the dangers of hypocritical teachers. Here, Jesus doesn’t beat around the bush, but instead openly names and rebukes the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites. He criticizes them for self-righteous behaviors and traditions that only serve to exalt man. The posture that the truly righteous should take, however, is a posture of humility and service. In his rebuke, Jesus says that they will be charged with the blood of the righteous, from Adam’s son Abel to the prophet Zechariah, who was murdered in the temple. This kind of rebuke against a city while standing in the city itself would have caused an uproar, perhaps even turning the crowds’ fanfare into fury.

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Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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Today’s episode begins the parable of the wedding feast, which Jesus tells to the people of Jerusalem. If you’re familiar with the book of Revelation, you’ll recall that as the vision comes to a close, we are shown a wedding feast where Christ is the groom and his bride is the church. God invites all men to this banquet, but many reject this invitation and go about their business. Some even kill the messengers who were sent to invite them. Later, the Pharisees and the Sadducees try their best to trap Jesus in his words. Finally, Jesus turns the tables and asks them a challenging question about the words of King David which they are unable to answer.

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Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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On today’s episode, Jesus enters Jerusalem and is welcomed with great fanfare by the crowds. Those who had concluded that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah had also concluded that the Son of David would reign as king in the same way the David ruled as a king. In other words, they thought he was a wise man who would take the throne, perhaps even by force, and that restoration to geopolitical nation of Israel would be restored. Though Jesus is the Son of David and the promised Messiah, he hasn’t come to claim victory over his foes in the ways that the Jews had surmised. In fact, we’ll see from today’s passage that Jesus rebukes God’s people for their hardness of heart.

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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Our understanding of fairness is often based on what experience by comparison; in other words, we see what other people have in similar positions as ours and we make judgments about whether one thing or another is “fair” or “unfair.” When it comes to the kingdom of heaven, Jesus alters our vantage point to see things from a heavenly perspective. In short, we should not be jealous of God’s generosity towards others. Later, James and John ask Jesus if they can sit on his right and left in the coming kingdom. Jesus tells them that while the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, it should not be so in the kingdom. In fact, anyone who wants to be great in the kingdom must be a servant.

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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Today, Jesus teaches on a difficult topic, and that is the topic of divorce. The Pharisees were often associated with the Hillel school of thought, which advocated for very liberal divorce proceedings which were so petty that even something like burning your husband’s dinner could be valid grounds for separation. Jesus confronts this teaching by pointing back to the garden of Eden as the design of marriage, then by saying that Moses permitted divorce because of the hardness of their sinful hearts, not because it was God’s design for them. We’ll also see how Jesus addresses young man with great wealth who wants to be counted as righteous. This leads into a discussion about the relationship between one’s riches and one’s status in the kingdom of heaven.

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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Matthew chapter 18 is almost entirely comprised of Jesus speaking and teaching, with just two questions posed by his followers. Those questions are, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” and “How many times shall I forgive my brother or sister?” In answering the question of who is the greatest, Jesus brings in a child and says that the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. He then tells the parable of the lost sheep, and gives instruction on how to restore a brother who refuses to repent. On the questions of forgiveness, Jesus responds with the parable of the unforgiving servant, wherein the man who is forgiven much by his master short-sightedly demands equity from his neighbor who owes him very little. As such, that man stands condemned.

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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Today, Jesus takes the three disciples with whom he has a closer relationship up on a high mountain, and there, he is miraculously transfigured before them. This change in his physical appearance, accompanied by an auditory testament to his identity, is in some ways a “sign from heaven” which the Pharisees and Sadducees had requested in our last reading. Jesus did not reveal this vision to those men because they wanted proof in order to have faith; Jesus instead reveals his deity to his disciples who already have faith and have confessed that Jesus is the Messiah. After this, Jesus begins to tell his disciples that he will delivered over into the hands of sinners to die.

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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The Pharisees and the Sadducees were often at odds with each other concerning doctrine and philosophy, but they had a common link in their skepticism about Jesus. Today they ask Jesus to display his power with a sign from heaven. Christ has already performed numerous miracles, but these men have been blind to the truth; they can’t read the signs of the times. Later, Peter makes what is often called “the good confession,” which is that Jesus is not John the Baptist resurrected or Elijah, but the Messiah. Jesus says that he will build his church on this confession, but those who follow him will have to take up their cross in order to do so.

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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The Pharisees and scribes liked to add traditions to the Law that were extrabiblical, meaning that we were found outside of Scripture. When they try to accuse Christ’s disciples of wrongdoing, Jesus turns the tables and shows them the way their traditions actually serve to violate God’s law, rather than fulfill it. He then teaches the crowd that it is not what enters a person’s mouth that makes them unclean, but what comes out of their mouth that makes them unclean. Later, a woman who isn’t Jewish approaches Jesus for help, asking him to heal her daughter. Surprised by her faith, Jesus grants her request. Miraculous signs continue where ever Jesus goes, attesting to his power and authority.

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

facebook.com/commuterbible

instagram.com/commuter_bible

twitter.com/CommuterPod

patreon.com/commuterbible

[email protected]