King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Wednesday, November 02, 2022
Chapters: MATTHEW 20-21
Study: Workmanship Created in Christ
Hello My Friend,
I am in this baking competition, first prize is ten thousand dollars. I was really excited about it until the time came for voting, I found out that people buy extra votes. I do not want to win because people bought my place, that it not how it works. The first day, I placed twelfth out of forty-eight all without any “hero votes” and yesterday they announced that “hero votes” were two for the price of one, and you can purchase your own votes by the way. Just like that I dropped already and will probably be among the first to get cut for this round tomorrow. I tell you what, I withdraw myself from this competition because I never want to cheat my way to win. This is exactly why we cannot buy our way into heaven! [Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.]
This is my last Wednesday off work for a while, I think that God did it this way because He knows that I like to stay home on my day off and not go anywhere. I have always been a homebody, but the longer I walk with Jesus the more I just want to stay home. Of course, that is not what God wants so, I must be out there. At least, with me going to church from work there would be no excuse to miss church. As we continue in the reading of the Gospels, when Jesus is still in Jericho, Matthew, gives the account of Jesus speaking to the crowd these parables about God’s vineyard, referring to it as the Kingdom of heaven.
[Matthew 20:1-7 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? 7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.]
[And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day,] The house holder is also known as the husbandman. Think about what Jesus is referring to here, God, has determined that there is only one payment acceptable for sin, and that is the sinless sacrifice of His Son. Jesus, purchased salvation on the cross for all, but God, will only grant it to those who accept Him, [Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.]
[Why stand ye here all the day idle?] Notice that he asks them all why they stood there idle, although it is only the last group that shows him asking the question and the response they gave since they were there the longest. [Idle; Not employed; unoccupied with business; inactive; doing nothing. Slothful; averse to labor or employment; lazy;] Does that not sound like half of the people who are fully capable of working here in America right now? Being idle is not the same thing as resting, God gives us all days of rest, but being idle is doing absolutely nothing, and yet expecting compensation for doing absolutely nothing. Let me tell you, God does not compensate anyone for doing absolutely nothing, and we will also give an account for even idle words, [Matthew 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.]
[and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.] Our greatest work for God is not in how much time we spend in serving Him, it is whether or not we have received which is right, and that would be Christ Himself. As Jesus continues with the parable, He goes on to explain this as the house holder returned at the end of the day to pay all those who agreed to work for that penny.
[Matthew 20:9-15 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. 11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, 12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. 13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?]
[and thou hast made them equal unto us,] Remember, they all agreed on a penny for a days work, which may seem like nothing to us, but it was actually quite high for compensation back then. I can see how this can anger those who work longer, but where God and salvation is concerned, we truly are all equal. God, is no respecter of persons when it comes to salvation, [Romans 2:9-11 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 11 For there is no respect of persons with God.]
[Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?] This is God’s decision, since He is the creator of our souls, He will do what He will with what is His. Now, in this case, Jesus, was referring to the Pharisees and Scribes, and how they thought all their “good” works were getting them into heaven. Religion, will never get you into heaven, but it will get you a one way ticket to hell as there is no amount of works that will get you there on your own. God, has determined that sin is what will send our soul to hell, but our faith in His Son’s sacrifice is what gets us into heaven, [Titus 3:5-7 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.]
Do you see that? Those who receive Christ’s finished work as the payment for their sin are made heirs with Christ. That means that we are all brothers and sisters with Christ. I know that that is something else that seems quite strange, but we need to look at salvation through the eyes of God and not our own flesh. We are all tied together in this big ole world by one man and one woman, those being Adam and Eve, but in order to become what would be both, a child of the King and joint heirs with Him, then we need to accept Christ, [Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.]
Now, Matthew also gives the account of the blind man who cried out to Jesus, but he actually mentions that there are two men, [Matthew 20:29-34 And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. 30 And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. 31 And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. 32 And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? 33 They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. 34 So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.]
[What will ye that I shall do unto you?] Until we first, come to the knowledge of Christ, and second, ask Him to save us, Jesus will not save us. And He will keep walking until we call out to Him. Why? Jesus does not force Himself on anyone. Those who come to Him, must come to Him through the eyes of faith and the second that we do, He has that compassion on us and opens our eyes to who He truly is, and then He accepts us, [Romans 3:22-24 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:]
Do you know what the number one reason is that people reject Christ or I should say, choose not to follow Him? They do not want to admit that they are sinners. No matter how good we try to be we all have committed some kind of sin in our lives. Even if it were possible to avoid sin, we have all done something wrong at least once in our lifetime. That same payment of death is required for all sin, whether it be in the telling of a little white lie or committing murder. Let me tell you, religion, is good at allowing sin in the church, many people believe in God, but change His laws to justify their sin and say that it is acceptable. They will either take Jesus out of the picture completely or introduce Him as a mere prophet. But guess what? God will break down every false church one way or another. As Jesus, came into Jerusalem multitudes praised Him and gave Him a glorious arrival, His first stop, the temple of God.
[Matthew 21:8-13 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. 10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? 11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. 12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.]
[This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.] Do you see what the majority of them saw Him as? If they can bring Jesus down to the level of a mere prophet, then they can one; deny the fact that He truly is the sinless Son of God. And two; deny the fact that they are sinners. The word Hosanna means; [Praise God in the highest!], While the multitudes praised Jesus as God, as He entered into Jerusalem on a donkey of all things, signifying that He is the KING of all kings, the leaders of the temple wanted to destroy Him. Why? They knew what they were doing was wrong, and that scared them to death. They even went as far as to question Jesus and ask Him who gave Him authority to go around flipping over tables and casting them out.
[Matthew 21:23-27 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? 24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? 26 But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. 27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.]
[By what authority doest thou these things?] Again, God does not force anyone to receive His Son, if we choose to accept Him, then our future lies within Him. If we choose to accept that God does not exist, that is our choice, and if we chose to believe that Jesus is not the Son of God than that is our choice as well, but we have to live with that decision. God, never stops urging the lost to find His Son, but mercy does run out for those who reject Him. Jesus, explains this through another parable about a vineyard.
[Matthew 21:28-32 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. 29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. 30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. 31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.]
[That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God] It is hard for those who base their salvation on their works to believe in the simplicity of the Gospel. First, they are too proud to even admit they are sinners, and second, they cannot trust that one man alone can save them from their sin. It is easier for the publicans and harlots to accept Him because they are those who admit they are sinners, and need Jesus, [Romans 10:9-12 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.]
By the way, God sends no one to hell, those who end up there are responsible for that on their own. Each individual must decide for themselves whether or not they want to believe in and receive Christ. Most of the Jews think of themselves as above everyone else, believing that they are automatically a part of the Kingdom of God because they are Jews. To illustrate this, Matthew, also gives the account to the parable that Jesus spoke concerning the husbandman.
[Matthew 21:40-46 When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? 41 They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. 42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? 43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. 44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. 45 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. 46 But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.]
[what will he do unto those husbandmen?] This time, it is Jesus who asks them what they think the householder would do to those who kill his son. You see, they knew the Scriptures, but they were just like the majority of Christian churches today, they did not follow it, and came up with their own books for the people who trusted them to “know how to worship God”. This is why they knew that He was talking about them, or at least some of them who had read the Scriptures. Jesus Himself said, [Matthew 11:9-11 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.]
[And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken:] Did you ever trip on something, knowing that you were going to fall, you positioned yourself so that the fall would not be so hard? That is what accepting Christ as our Saviour does. Getting saved, while it cleanses us of our sin, does not exempt us from facing difficulties nor keep us from sinning again. What it does do is keep us from God’s wrath as when Jesus returns, He will judge the earth until its eventual destruction. And then, we who are a part of the Kingdom of God, will dwell with Him forever in the Kingdom of heaven, on a new earth, which Jesus is preparing for us right now, [Revelation 22:3-5 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: 4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You, again for paying the debt that I could not pay for my sin when I admitted that I am a sinner, understood that hell is the price for sin, and then You died a sinless death to save me. Not for works of righteousness did You save me, but by my faith alone. Now, the work that I do for you, it is not to keep my salvation, or to better what I get in heaven, it is to give honor and glory for what You did for me. I know I mess up, nevertheless, You are faithful and just to forgive me when I come to You, confessing my sin. Lord, I am Your witness of what a blessing it is to be a minister of Your truths. Lead me and guide me, give me Your power, mercy, grace, and protection as I serve You until You bring me home. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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