King James Bible Study – [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. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Sunday, November 02, 2025
Chapters: Matthew 20-21
Message: Matthew: Many Called, Few Chosen
Hello My Friend,
As we continue in the reading of the Gospels, we learn how it is possible for one who just received Christ upon their deathbed, received Him years ago and did nothing more, and one who received and served Him faithfully years ago gets into heaven just the same. We also learn that while Jesus did come here as a lowly, poor servant man of God, He is God in the flesh, and has every bit of the authority that He has.
[Romans 9:21-25 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.]
God, is no respecter of persons, even from the very beginning He never meant for one group of people to come to Him, He wanted all of His creation to come to worship Him as He is. He just used the Jews to show the world who He is and never intended for just them to have the opportunity to be saved from hell. And believe it or not, He would save Satan if he only humbled himself, but since that will never happen, hell is his destination as well as everyone else who will not humble themselves and come to Him through His Son. Matthew, also gives the account of Jesus preparing for what is about to happen to Him, He is giving the disciples some advice and warnings to the ones who thought that their own righteousness would get them to heaven. Of all the parables that Jesus spoke next to the one about the prodigal son, my favorite is this one, the laborers in the vineyard.
[Matthew 20:1-4 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.]
So, this man is hiring some field workers and all agreed at the end of the day to be compensated a penny. This was not your average 1¢ penny piece, it was a Roman penny, made of silver and worth about an hours wage today. Well, a few hours later the man returned to see several people just standing around and put them to work as well, he actually did this a few times.
[Matthew 20:5-9 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. 8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. 9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.]
Jesus, tells us the danger in being idle, especially with our words, [Matthew 12:36-37 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.]
When you think about your average days work, it is about eight daylight hours, the third hour is nine o’clock in the morning, so the first group started working at six o’clock in the morning while last group at five o’clock in the afternoon. In other words, the first group worked eight while the last group about an hour. Well, as you can imagine that since they all got paid the same amount, those who had worked all day were not too happy.
[Matthew 20:10-16 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? 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.]
Now, I am sure that we have all felt the same way at times, but the moral of the story here is that there is only one way to heaven and that is Jesus. It does not matter if we received Him years ago or a minute ago, we all get there the same way, [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.]
I think one of the hardest things for me to do is sit around, I can only sit still for so long before I start getting antsy. An idle Christian gets nowhere with God, they may be holding on to their salvation by the thread their faith, but they lose out on so much. And believe it or not, a busy Christian is just as problematic as an idle one, they lose out as well because they are too busy to pay attention to things around them. 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, which Jesus goes on to explain in a rather peculiar way. Matthew, also gives the account on James and John asking Jesus if they could sit next to Him in the kingdom.
[Matthew 20:17-21 And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, 18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, 19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again. 20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. 21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.]
Do you see how we learn that it was their mother who put that in their heads to begin with? While He does respond on a positive note, He makes it a point to let them know what He is not the one to decide whether or not they will be with Him, [Matthew 20:22-24 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. 23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. 24 And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.]
Jesus, was trying to show them that while they too will receive the Holy Spirit as He has received Him after His passion, the walk to get there will be different than the walk He has taken. In other words, we all have our own cup the bear that leads us to Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit into our soul, but not everyone will receive Him, only those whom have accepted Him will God accept, [Romans 9:13-16 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. 14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.]
This is God’s decision, since He is the creator of our souls, He will do what He will with what is His. Of course, the others were angry, they just asked Jesus if He would let them sit with Him on the throne when He reigns, but Jesus has an answer for them as well, [Matthew 20:25-28 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.]
While I do not think that any of the disciples fully understood what Jesus was talking about at that time. Our greatest work for God is not in how much time we spend in serving Him, it is whether or not we used our time wisely, even a person on their deathbed uses the time they have left wisely to receive Christ before they took their last breath on earth, [Ephesians 1:4-7 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;]
Until we first, admit that we are sinners headed for hell, second, come to the knowledge of Christ, and third, ask Him to save us, Jesus will not save us. And He will keep walking until we call out to Him. To again prove that point, Matthew, also gives the account of the blind man who cried out to Jesus, but he actually mentions that there are two men.
[Matthew 20:30-34 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 exactly do we need to do for Jesus to have compassion on us? Believe in Him and in all that He is. 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:]
Now, we are getting to the events that took place prior to Christ’s crucifixion, less than one week before Christ would be hung on the cross for us, He did not walk into Jerusalem, He rode into it riding on a donkey, of all things. Matthew, also gives this account, [Matthew 21:1-5 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.]
As you can see, this was a fulfilling of prophecy, [Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.]. To show the humbleness and piousness of the king, and how he cared for his people, he would ride into town on one of the most lowly creatures, a donkey. This right here signified not only that Jesus Himself is KING, it also proved His care for His people. Matthew, accounts that there were still people there who had no idea who Jesus was.
[Matthew 21:7-11 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 8 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.]
Do you see what the majority of them saw Him as? A mere prophet. This reminds me of what Jesus said when John’s disciples asked Him who He is, [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.]
What Jesus said concerning John, was not only for his praise, but for the people’s profit. John, was a prime example of a perfect minister, dying to himself, yet still knew that without Jesus he would be in hell. And as if their shouting “Hosanna” did not bother them enough, as soon as Jesus got to the temple, he sees all these people selling merchandise and was quite angry.
[Matthew 21:12-16 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. 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. 15 And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, 16 And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?]
The word Hosanna means; [Praise God in the highest!], While the multitudes praised Jesus as God, these fools were trying to figure out how to get rid of Him because many did acknowledge Him as equal to God. Why? They knew what they were doing was wrong, and that scared them to death. Jesus, was referring to this passage, [Psalms 8:2-5 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.]
Wow! Think about it, with all the power that Jesus has, He could have easily come here with all the authority of the Almighty, striking people down at the drop of a hat for the way they treated Him. And yet, He still humbled Himself to be one of us who actually live each day by our daily bread, to experience the challenges that come with living as we do. I do not believe that had He come here any other way that He would be able to save as many as He does. You see, it is all about our faith and the majority of the time our faith only comes when there is no one else to go to, but God. To prove that point, the next morning Jesus, being hungry, cursed a fig tree because it had no fruit on it.
[Matthew 21:17-22 And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there. 18 Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. 19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. 20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! 21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. 22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.]
The disciples did not marvel about Jesus cursing the tree, but that it withered away so soon, and upon His saying what He did. It was actually not even time for the tree to have fruit on it, but this proved His authority, power and Godhead in that all creatures, animate and inanimate, are at His command and disposal, []
No one can challenge or deny the authority of Jesus, if they do then they will not be able to beat that challenge. Actually, in regards to John, the Baptist, the chief priests and elders tried to challenge Jesus’ authority.
[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.]
You see, both the world and religion overthinks things that has nothing to do with God. When Jesus asked this question it was with legitimate reason, the people of the town knew John very well, and by their getting baptized they acknowledged that they were no longer trusting in their own works, but their faith in Jesus. To paraphrase the question, Jesus asked them, “Who sent John to preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, a doctrine the world had never heard of before?” Well, they could not answer because they knew that no matter how they answered they would have been exposed as the deceivers that they were. Well, that prompted Jesus to speak another parable.
[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.]
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. On the other hand, it is easier for those who knowingly live in sin to come to Him because they know they need Jesus, [Romans 5:8-9 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.]
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 they are automatically are part of the Kingdom of God because they are Jews, which led Jesus to speak another parable.
[Matthew 21:33-37 Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: 34 And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. 35 And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. 37 But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.]
The householder is God, the husbandmen are the prophets who were sent to bring people to them, but the Jews rejected Him time and time again, killing many of them in the process. The son of course is Jesus, the rest of the parable is a prophecy about what they were going to do to Him.
[Matthew 21:38-42 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. 39 And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. 40 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?]
Jesus, is referring to this passage, [Psalms 118:19-23 Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD: 20 This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter. 21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. 22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. 23 This is the LORD’S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.]
Religion, may not intend to kill Jesus, but that is exactly what they are doing when they try to use any other means to get into the heaven except through the Gospel of Christ. This includes religions that proclaim Christ, but do not believe in the simple Gospel. If anyone truly believes in the Gospel of Christ and that He alone is the only way to heaven, then the Holy Spirit will be in that person, but if they have not then they are indeed crucifying Christ all over again. You see, the chief priests and elders knew the Scriptures, but came up with their own books for the people who trusted them to “know how to worship God”. Of course, they responded like anyone else would to that question.
[Matthew 21:43-46 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.]
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 that 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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