Under Construction
Contents
Description
Welcome to Focus On The Message – the first component of our Following Jesus discipleship program. This web page contains the lessons for:
Matthew 22
Purpose
Follow this link for information about these key aspects of our training: Purpose, Goals, Habits, Ministries, and Assignments.
Matthew 22
This chapter has 5 lessons. You should ideally cover one chapter (with all of its lessons) in a week, but please don’t let a week go by without completing at least one lesson.
Lesson 1: The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
Main text and related passages:
- Matthew 22:1-14 – Bible Gateway
Checkout the following:
-
- Watch: How to Read the Parables of Jesus Video | BibleProject™ (00:05:42)/
Topics to explore:
-
- Who is the king?
- Who is the son?
- Who are the guests who were initially invited? Who are the servants who invited them?
- What does the destruction of the city represent?
- Who are the people who were gathered after the initially invited guests refused to come.
- What is the meaning of the man who appeared without wedding clothes?
Additional resources to check out:
-
- Matthew for Everyone, Part 2 (The New Testament for Everyone) by Tom Wright – Amazon.com
Training assignment (do this yourself, and use it to help train someone else):
-
- Read the main passage and related passages above.
Lesson 2: Paying Taxes To Caesar
Main text and related passages:
- Matthew 22:15-22 – Bible Gateway
Checkout the following:
Topics to explore:
-
- Consider the trap the Pharisees were trying to set:
- What would have been the outcome if Jesus had simply said “yes” to paying taxes to Caesar?
- What would have been the outcome if Jesus had said not to pay taxes to Caesar?
- Why did Jesus ask for the coin used for paying the tax?
- What features did the coin have? What did it look like? What did it say?
- How did Jesus avoid falling into the trap?
- Caesar’s image was stamped onto the coin. Where is God’s image stamped?
- Consider the trap the Pharisees were trying to set:
Additional resources to check out:
-
- Matthew for Everyone, Part 2 (The New Testament for Everyone) by Tom Wright – Amazon.com
Training assignment (do this yourself, and use it to help train someone else):
-
- Read the main passage and related passages above.
Lesson 3: Marriage at the Resurrection
Main text and related passages:
- Matthew 22:23-33 – Bible Gateway
Checkout the following:
-
- John Dominic Crossan is a theologian with whom I disagree on many issues. I do however like the following quote of his:
“I am not too happy with… the recent shift from academic argumentation (‘I will make your case as accurate and strong as I can before I demolish it’) to political argumentation (‘I will make your case as dumb and silly as I can before I demolish you’)” – John Dominic Crossan
-
- Deuteronomy 25:5-6 – Levirate Marriage
- Genesis 6:1-4 – Sons of God & daughters of men
- Job 1:6-7 – Sons of God & Satan
- Job 38:4-7 – morning stars, angels
- The Bible Project: Spiritual Beings Series
Topics to explore:
-
- Who were the Sadducees and what did they believe?
- What was significant about the passage Jesus used to refute the Sadducees?
- Does this passage teach that we become angels when we die?
- Does this passage raise any questions for you about the nature of life in the resurrection?
Additional resources to check out:
-
- Matthew for Everyone, Part 2 (The New Testament for Everyone) by Tom Wright – Amazon.com
- 31. Love and the Rebirth of the Universe [Matthew] – Tim Mackie (The Bible Project) – YouTube (00:51:12)
Training assignment (do this yourself, and use it to help train someone else):
-
- Read the main passage and related passages above.
Lesson 4: The Greatest Commandment
Main text and related passages:
Checkout the following:
Topics to explore:
-
- This answer by Jesus is sometimes misused in an attempt to validate unbiblical lifestyles. Consider the following “trip” up the “ladder of abstraction” starting with this verse:
- Level 1
- Jesus asked by Pharisee: “What is the greatest commandment in the law?”
- Jesus replies:
- “ ‘Love the Lord yourGod with all yourheart and with all yoursoul and with all yourmind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
- Level 2
- Jesus is asked: “What is the greatest commandment?”
- Jesus replies:
- “Love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
- “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- What’s been lost?
- The context of Torah.
- Level 3
- Jesus said the greatest commandment is:
- “Love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
- “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- What’s been lost?
- The context of Torah.
- The fact that Jesus was responding to a question.
- Jesus said the greatest commandment is:
- Level 4
- Jesus said:
- “Love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
- “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- What’s been lost?
- The context of Torah.
- The fact that Jesus was responding to a question.
- The fact that Jesus was talking about 2 of a set of commandments.
- Jesus said:
- Level 5
- Jesus said: Love God and love your neighbor.
- What’s been lost?
- The context of Torah.
- The fact that Jesus was responding to a question.
- The fact that Jesus was talking about 2 of a set of commandments.
- The context for understanding the meaning of “love”.
- Level 1
- This answer by Jesus is sometimes misused in an attempt to validate unbiblical lifestyles. Consider the following “trip” up the “ladder of abstraction” starting with this verse:
Additional resources to check out:
-
- Matthew for Everyone, Part 2 (The New Testament for Everyone) by Tom Wright – Amazon.com
Training assignment (do this yourself, and use it to help train someone else):
-
- Read the main passage and related passages above.
Lesson 5: Whose Son Is the Christ?
Main text and related passages:
- Matthew 22:41-46 – Bible Gateway
Checkout the following:
-
- The Bible Project: How To Read Biblical Narrative (especially “Design Patterns”)
- The Bible Project: David the Priestly King
- The Bible Project: Son of Man
Topics to explore:
-
- In what way is the Messiah David’s son?
- In what way is the Messiah David’s lord?
Additional resources to check out:
-
- Matthew for Everyone, Part 2 (The New Testament for Everyone) by Tom Wright – Amazon.com
Training assignment (do this yourself, and use it to help train someone else):
-
- Read the main passage and related passages above.
[insert page=’activities/classes-programs/following-jesus/focus-on-the-message/resources’ display=’content’]