At the time of this passage, the Jews lived with an unwanted presence - the Roman Occupation. The Coronavirus, much like the Roman Occupation, is an unwanted presence and it is a test to our response in the midst of trials and tribulation. 

When we talk about eternity, the Coronavirus is our not our biggest problem. Our biggest problem is when we eventually die and see God face to face, how are we going to spend eternity? If the wages of sin is death, we have a much bigger problem on our hands. But if we believe that Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law, lived a perfect life, died for our sins and rose from the dead, then we have hope for eternal life. If we believe in Jesus, there is absolutely nothing to fear. 

Two days before Jesus’ crucifixion, we see Jesus back in the temple court during Passover going back and forth this time with the Sadducees. The religious leaders have been relentless in trying to bring Jesus down.

The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection and took the opportunity to try to prove to Jesus how ridiculous the idea of the resurrection life was.

Jesus was once again brilliant in his response. He challenged the Sadducees that they did not know scriptures nor the power of God.

The truth is, the resurrection life is scriptural, and it depends on God’s power to make it happen. God has infinitely more power to make it happen. Everyone has a physical life, but only those who actually have God have the spiritual life they need. Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He died on the cross so that we can have resurrection life. So, if you desire to live for eternity, experience the pleasures that nothing in this life could ever give, Jesus is the only way - He died for you so that you can have eternal life. 

In this text, we see the Pharisees try to plot and entangle Jesus in his words. First, they try to flatter Jesus and then ask Jesus a question regarding paying taxes, where if Jesus answered wrong, could stir up trouble with the Romans. 

However, Jesus responds beautifully causing the Pharisees to marvel at his wisdom and went away. In this sermon, we will expand on the significance and the deeper meaning in Jesus' response. 

In Matthew 22, Jesus is in the temple speaking to the religious leaders. The topic in this section of the text is regarding the kingdom of heaven. Jesus explains in a parable comparing the kingdom of heaven to a king's wedding feast for his son. When the king sent his servants to call those who were invited, we see various responses from the guests. 

As we dive into this text, we need to think about the image Jesus is communicating in describing the kingdom of heaven. It is a feast, it is awesome. The king's invitation has been sent out. How will you respond to the invitation?  

In this text, Jesus gives another parable to the religious leaders. This parable describes a good master who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, did all the work and have everything set up for the tenants. All the tenants had to do is show up and reap its fruit. Once in a while, the master would send servants to get some of his fruit. However, the tenants beat and killed the servants that came to gather some of the fruit. The master then sends his son to gather the fruit, and again they beat and killed him. 

This parable is meant to show the goodness of God. The tenants represent the religious leaders who time and time again rejected, beat and killed the prophets that were sent by God. This is also a foreshadow of the eventual crucifixion of Jesus. 

God wants us to experience the love and blessings he has for us. All we need to do is place our faith in Jesus and when the time comes where we stand before God, we'll get to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus. 

In this text, we see Jesus back in the temple teaching. The religious leaders approach Jesus and questions Jesus by what authority is He doing all these things? Jesus responds to the religious leaders with another question. 

Jesus reveals that the authority that He possessed is from the same authority given to John in his ministry. The religious leaders' response to Jesus also reveal the deep rooted pride that is in their hearts. 

Last week we saw Jesus curse the fig tree, causing it to wither at once. This was a living parable symbolic of the nation of Israel and their Worship of God. 

When the disciples saw this, they marveled at what Jesus had done. As Christians, we never want to stop marveling at the work and the power of Jesus. Part of the problem with the church today is that we stopped marveling at Jesus and replaced it with worldly things. When we look further in the text, Jesus explains His works and how we can do the same if we ask in prayer and in faith. In this sermon, we go deeper into Jesus' response to His disciples and understand what Jesus was saying. 

This week we continue in Matthew 21. We see Jesus returning back to the city after spending the night in Bethany. Jesus encounters a fig tree and seeing that it had no fruit, he cursed the tree and the fig tree withered at once. This is a living parable that displays a spiritual reality: 

1. Fig tree itself is a picture of the nation of Israel.  

2. The figs that didn't exist are the true worship of the living God.

3. The leaves on the fig tree are the empty religious rituals that lacked any kind of substance of true Godly worship.

4. The withering of the tree is the judgement that will come to those who do not have a relationship with God. 

Tune in as we dive deeper into this passage and how we should respond to this message. 

Most people care about what takes place in their house. You don't want burglars scrummaging through your belongings or vandals turning your house upside down. 

Likewise, God cares about what takes place in His house. When Jesus arrived in the temple in Jerusalem, he saw people buying and selling in the temple, taking advantage of those who were preparing for the passover. Seeing this, Jesus drove out the merchants and the money changers. Jesus goes on to do what the House of God was meant to be for - a house of prayer and ministry. 

We kick off the new year back to the gospel of Matthew. This week, we continue in Matthew 21:1-11 which takes place during what we now recognize as Palm Sunday, commemorating Jesus' entry into Jerusalem as Saviour and King, fulfilling a prophecy from Zechariah 500 years ago.