Winter Bible Study Session 4
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Series: Parables of Matthew
DescriptionSession 4Responsibilities toward One Another in the Kingdom of God (Matt 18) The focus of this section of Matthew is how followers of Jesus are to live in relationship with one another. The entire chapter is driven by two questions from the disciples to Jesus (18.1; 21). Jesus employs a parable in each case as part of his response. A. Love and Care in the Kingdom: How Far Does Love Reach? (Matt 18.10-14; see also Luke 15.3-7) Jesus is still answering the question posed by the disciples in 18.1 about who is the greatest among them. Jesus’ response takes the attention away from the individual and places it on the community of faith. Basic Teaching: (1) the immense and undeserved love of God; and (2) the necessity of disciples to show love and care to those who are not rightly related to God, whether lost or wandering away. Laborers in the Vineyard: God’s Amazing Generosity (Matt 20.1-16) Literary Context It is important to note the radical change of setting. The parables of Matt 13 focus on the early stages of Jesus’ ministry as he sowed the seed widely. The parables of Matt 18 and Matthew 20 are part of the critical time of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. This is crunch time. Jesus has already alerted them to his impending death in Jerusalem (17.22-23). His focus now turns to the most critical elements. Basic Teaching The final verses offer the key to understanding the parable. The generosity of God’s grace defies our limited human capacity to understand it. God makes no distinction in granting his grace. No one deserves anything, it’s all grace. At the level of the abstract, we all agree with that. The reality is, when it gets down to the rubber meeting the road, we don’t like it when people get more than they earn. In many ways this parable is just what we need. Most of us in the US are born with a skewed sense of entitlement. It's like Charlie Brown's little sister, Sally, in the classic Charlie Brown Christmas Special. You may recall that at one point Sally is writing a letter to Santa Claus and in the process generates an enormous list of toys she wants. At the conclusion of her North Pole-bound epistle she writes, "But if that is too much to carry, just send cash." When Charlie Brown sees this and despairs over his own sister's greed, Sally indignantly responds, "All I want is my fair share. All I want is what I have coming to me." Sally better think long and hard about that, and so should we. |