In this episode, we listen to the intriguing stories and discussions from Matthew 22, where Jesus shares parables about the kingdom of heaven and faces challenging questions from religious leaders. Discover the significance of the greatest commandments and reflect on personal insights that encourage us to seek the answers through Scripture. Join Alan J. Huth as he connects past journal entries to current scriptural understanding, inviting listeners to ponder over the profound teachings of Jesus.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Alan J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
SPEAKER 02 :
Today we are in Matthew chapter 22. We’ll listen to Faith Comes By Hearing’s recording of all 46 verses of Matthew 22. Matthew 22
SPEAKER 05 :
And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast. But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go, therefore, to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find, And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.
SPEAKER 06 :
Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words.
SPEAKER 03 :
And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
SPEAKER 06 :
But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?
SPEAKER 05 :
Show me the coin for the tax.
SPEAKER 06 :
And they brought him a denarius.
SPEAKER 05 :
And Jesus said to them, Whose likeness and inscription is this? They said, Caesar’s. Then he said to them, Therefore, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. and to God the things that are God’s.
SPEAKER 06 :
When they heard it, they marveled, and they left him and went away.
SPEAKER 04 :
The same day Sadducees came to him who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, Teacher, Moses said, If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no children, left his wife to his brother. So too the second and third, down to the seventh. After them all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.
SPEAKER 06 :
But Jesus answered them,
SPEAKER 05 :
You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God? I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”
SPEAKER 06 :
And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching. But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?
SPEAKER 05 :
And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment, and a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, What do you think about the Christ?
SPEAKER 05 :
Whose son is he? They said to him, The son of David. He said to them, How is it then that David in the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?
SPEAKER 06 :
And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
SPEAKER 02 :
In 2007 in my journal I wrote, When I get to heaven, I have a few questions for God. Many people say this. However, my guess is if they get to heaven, they will be speechless before a holy God. This chapter is filled with questions for Jesus. He handles them with great wisdom, dumbfounds those who ask, and silences their ignorance. It will be no different for those here who think they have a few questions for God. In 2016, I wrote, Many say, when I get to heaven, I have a few questions for God. Good luck with that. I think I will just fall on my knees and be grateful for the blood of Jesus that I got in. But in this chapter, Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians all try to entangle Jesus with questions. His answers marvel them. You know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God, according to verse 29, so true today. And I want to flip back to my journal all the way back in 1992 when I wrote, Jesus argues with the Sadducees, and he says, You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures or the power of God. They were astonished at his teaching, according to verse 33, and according to verse 46, and no one was able to answer him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask him another question. So if you have some questions for God, let’s be reminded that Jesus gives us a place to find the answers right here in this chapter. Once again, that power verse, verse 29. So if we have questions, let’s search the scriptures. either individually or through these podcasts, where we can do it together. The last question asked to Jesus in this chapter was, Which is the greatest commandment? And he said to them, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment, and a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Sometime today, might I encourage you to think about that verse. What does it mean to you to love God with all your heart? with all your soul and with all your mind. Think about it. Pray about it. Maybe even jot some thoughts down about what it means for you, again, to love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. What’s the difference between loving God with your heart, with your soul, and with your mind? Lord, we all have a standing invitation to the wedding feast of the Lamb. The question is, are we going to accept your invitation to join you in heaven at that wonderful feast, or are we going to be like some of those we’ve read about today, too busy to come to the wedding feast? And Lord, thanks for reminding us to dress up to get to that wedding feast. to have the proper wedding garment, and that’s a robe dipped in your blood. That’s the only way we’re going to get into that feast. For many are called, but few are chosen. Thank you for reminding us in this chapter that to know and understand the power of God, we need to spend time in your word. Encourage us, Lord. Draw us into your word. And lastly, Lord, help me understand what it means to love you with all my heart, all my soul, and all my mind. Blessed be the name of the Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to Add Bible today. Our radio programming is set for 2025. We will cover 44 of the 66 books of the Bible using the Ezra Project day by day through the Bible 11 book series. We start January 1 with the writings of the Old Testament historical books, beginning with Job. We will cover seven more historical books until spring when we jump into the New Testament writings of Mark, Peter, James, Jude, and Hebrews. By summer, we will go back to the Old Testament writings of all 13 of the minor prophets and we’ll finish 2025 with the writings of Paul. Maybe you don’t want to follow the Ad Bible radio programming in your daily quiet time. Okay, I offer you an alternative plan. Read the Bible chronologically in 2025. The Bible is not organized the way things occurred. You can order an Ezra Project Chronological Bible Reading Journal and experience an amazing journey through the Bible in the order things actually did occur. The first time I read the Bible chronologically, it was an aha experience. While reading Kings and Chronicles, I read the prophets who were alive at that time. In the New Testament, you read about a miracle or a parable by all four gospel writers on the same day. It was a very educational and inspiring way to read the Bible. So over the years, I go back to this method from time to time to break up my Bible reading routine and reignite my passion for the Bible. So if you’ve never read the Bible chronologically, check this method out for 2025. One user said this about our chronological Bible reading journal, quote, Some years ago, I used a couple of spiritual notebooks for my journaling. I’ve attached pictures of the book, and the picture was the first edition of the Ezra Project Chronological Bible Reading Journal. He said then, I live now in Phoenix and cannot find any place that has this type of journal. I’ve used many types of journals recently, but this seems to work the best for my needs. Please let me know if these are still available. Well, yes, they are. In fact, it is our number one best-selling product of all time at the Ezra Project. So visit EzraProject.net and order a chronological Bible reading journal today so you can start January 1st. I know you’re going to enjoy it.
In this episode, we listen to the intriguing stories and discussions from Matthew 22, where Jesus shares parables about the kingdom of heaven and faces challenging questions from religious leaders. Discover the significance of the greatest commandments and reflect on personal insights that encourage us to seek the answers through Scripture. Join Alan J. Huth as he connects past journal entries to current scriptural understanding, inviting listeners to ponder over the profound teachings of Jesus.
