The Parables of Jesus
Lesson 10
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Background
o
Both Parables are about Judgment and both
Parables can be found in the Gospel of Matthew.
o
The first parable is before Jesus arrives in
Jerusalem and the second parable is after he has arrived.
o
Before these parables were given, we see the
transfiguration of Jesus to Peter, James, and John. Jesus had also healed a demon possessed man
and he also predicts his death a second time.
·
Parables
of Judgment
o
A Wretched Man’s Wretched Ending. (Matthew 18:21-35
§
In this Parable we find Jesus answering Peter’s
question on how many times we must forgive our brother. The Jewish rabbis taught that people should
forgive others only 3 times if they were offended by someone. Peter was thinking he was being generous by
asking if 7 was enough (“7” is considered the perfect or complete number in the
bible). Jesus responds with 490 times
(70 times 7), meaning we should not keep track of how many times we should
forgive someone.
§
During biblical times, serious consequences
awaited those who could not pay their debts.
The lender could seize the borrower and his family and require them to
work in order to pay off the debt. The
debtor could also be thrown into jail with the hope that his family would sell
his possessions in order to pay off the debt, otherwise he would remain in
prison for life. The debtor’s family
could also be sold off as slaves.
§
Ten thousand talents is equivalent to millions
of dollars in modern time. It was an
amount the debtor could not pay back as the revenue in Galilee for a year’s
wages was around 300 talents.
·
We cannot pay for our sins.
·
God is the King – all his servants owe a debt
that cannot be paid
·
We should not be bitter or unloving toward
others.
·
Love keeps no record of wrong. (I
Corinthians 13:4-6)
§
This parable teaches us that we should not hold
back forgiveness of others because God does forgive all of our sins if we are
repentant. We need to be reminded at
what Jesus Christ endured on the cross for our sins, his role as the
sacrificial lamb, his willingness to take all of our sins to the cross and to
die for us so that we can be freed from the bondage of sin. Likewise we must forgive others as we have
been forgiven as well.
§
Additional readings
·
Matthew 6:14-15, Luke 17:3-4, 2 Kings 4:1, James
2:12-13
o
The Wicked Trustee. (Matthew 21:33-46)
§
In this parable we see God as the landowner,
Israel is represented as the vineyard, the religious leaders are the tenants,
the prophets and priests who remained loyal to God are represented by the
servants to the landowner, Jesus is the landowner’s son, and the Gentiles are
represented by the other tenants.
§
Jesus was directing this parable to the Jews and
he was exposing the Pharisees plot to kill him
§
This parable is a reminder that God sent his one
and only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to us out of his love. Jesus’s perfect life, his words of truth, and
his sacrifice of love should cause us to listen to him and follow him. If we reject God’s gracious gift of his son,
we reject God himself.
·
Our greatest privilege is to have the kingdom of
God entrusted to us. The greatest sin
is to reject God. The greatest doom is
to be crushed by Jesus.
§
Jesus refers to himself as the “stone the
builders rejected”. Although most of the
people of Israel rejected Jesus, he became the “cornerstone and capstone” of
his new building of the church, which would now include the Gentiles.
§
Verse 44:
Jesus used this metaphor to show that one stone can affect people in
different ways depending upon how they relate to that stone. Some will build upon it, some will trip over
it, and God’s enemy will be crushed by it at the end because of God’s
judgment. Jesus Christ is this stone as
he offers mercy and forgiveness now, but he also does promise judgment at the
end of times for those who reject him.
§
Additional Readings.
·
Isaiah 5:1-2, Jeremiah 2:21, Ezekiel 19:10-14, Psalm
80:8-10, Romans 5:9-11, Matthew 23:33-36, Acts 13:46-49, Acts 18:5-6, Acts
28:28, Psalm 118:22-24, Acts 4:8-12, I Peter 2:4-8, Luke 2:34-35.
·
Questions to ponder/Life Lessons.
o
The first parable makes 3 points.
§
Judgment is coming.
§
There is forgiveness shown to us by God through
the death of Jesus on the cross.
§
The proof of a person’s having received God’s
forgiveness through faith in Jesus is a transformed heart and a changed
lifestyle
o
Is it really possible to forgive and forget?
o
How likely are we to forgive someone many times
for the same offense? Why is an
unforgiving spirit deadly?
o
In what ways has God shown mercy in forgiving
our sins? If God is so willing to
forgive us, why are we unwilling to forgive others?
o
What is the fate that awaits those who reject
Jesus as the Messiah or the Son of God?
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