Bible Study on Matthew 26, verses 14 to 25, Judas betrays Christ to the chief priests

 

Matthew 26:14 ¶  Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15  And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. 16  And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

 

Judas Iscariot means Judas of Kerioth, according to Strong’s dictionary. Kerioth was a city of ancient Moab. Moab would be in Southern Jordan today.

 

See the prophecy of this betrayal in Zechariah.

 

Zechariah 11:12  And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. 13  And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

 

Also see Jeremiah 18, which will be alluded to in the next chapter referring to this betrayal. Some say the reason that Jeremiah and not Zechariah will be mentioned later is the way the scrolls of the Hebrew Bible were put together and read at that time with the section on The Prophets beginning with Jeremiah so it would natural to refer to that scroll as Jeremiah.

 

Matthew 26:17 ¶  Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? 18  And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. 19  And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. 20  Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. 21  And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. 22  And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? 23  And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. 24  The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. 25  Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.

 

Here is yet another example of an anonymous person performing a singular task that furthers God’s plan along. We know nothing about this person’s life but that he had been chosen by God to provide a place for this last Passover meal of Jesus and His Apostles and was probably a follower of Christ who must have heard Christ foretell that He would be sacrificed. He tells them to tell the man My time is at hand, that is, near or soon.

 

The disciples prepared the meal and Christ sat down with them for this momentous occasion and only He knew it was their last meal together before His crucifixion and resurrection.

 

He announced that one of them would betray Him. Then, Judas, knowing full well it was Him tested Christ’s knowledge of hidden things asking Him if it was Judas who would betray Him. Jesus announced, “you said it.”

 

Now as I have said previously, I did not want to make this a harmonization of the gospels but Matthew doesn’t tell the whole story or go into a great detail about the Last Supper in some of the aspects that other gospels do. What seems to be important from His memory and confirmed by the Holy Spirit is that Judas understood that Jesus knew he was the traitor. Judas is not mentioned in the rest of the chapter and we have other gospels saying that he left when he was identified by Christ. We will get to the account in John, chapter 13, which is more complete.

Bible Study on Exodus 3, verses 16 to 22, God gives Moses instructions

 

Exodus 3:16 ¶  Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: 17  And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. 18  And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. 19  And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. 20  And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. 21  And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty: 22  But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

God gives Moses instructions. Imagine the thoughts of the elders of Israel as this fugitive from Pharaoh’s court, wanted for murder, having disappeared for years not only returns but announces that Jehovah God, the God their fathers worshipped appeared to him and is intent upon delivering them from the bondage of Egypt and returning them to Canaan. It is a bountiful land and a land in which they will prosper. He and the elders are to go to confront Pharaoh, the most powerful man in their world with the power of life and death over them from whom there is no appeal, and demand that the people of Israel be permitted to go three days journey into the wilderness to engage in an act of worship to their God. God also tells him that Pharaoh will not let them go until a magnificent display of power from God forces him to do so. In fact, the Egyptians will be glad to get rid of them and will bestow on them much wealth and personal property in the form of precious jewels and valuable things.

You can imagine Moses’ consternation. You want me to what?!?! Here is an encounter between a finite, frail human being and the God of the universe. See things from each of their perspectives, not knowing versus all-knowing. Moses, in a movie setting, might be looking around for a rock to hide behind.

This brings up a valuable point. Notice that God tells Moses to lie to the Pharaoh. Even though it is highly unlikely that Pharaoh would release his slaves to wander into lands that are the possession of city-states subordinate to him and dependent on his army for protection, in the land of Canaan, the demand is only to let them go three days journey into the wilderness to worship God. This clears up the age-old nonsense question that philosophers and skeptics ask, “would a Christian hiding a Jew in their house be committing a sin if he lied to the Nazis and said he was not hiding a Jew?” When life is on the line and great injustice is being opposed what do you think? Are you justified in self-righteous smugness at saying, “I have not lied,” when you have allowed someone to suffer or die because of your feigned Godliness? This is not situational ethics, but simple common-sense. A lie told to save an innocent person’s life, to keep from crushing a person’s sense of self-worth and value, or to generally prevent a greater evil from taking place may be necessary at some point in your life.

As an example of hyperliteralism there are many heartless Christians who will say that since God has ordained marriage and proscribed divorce, except in very narrow circumstances and where the privilege of remarriage is denied, they would tell an abused woman who is beaten down and whose life is in danger and even the lives of her children that she is sinning if she divorces her abuser. This way of looking at God’s word is clearly not the way God looks at it. Religion, like all systems of living and philosophies, does attract people who are rigid in their thinking and liberal in their self-righteousness. By focusing on such strict understanding of what God says He wants they can then overlook greater sins in their own lives.

Matthew 23:23  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Do what you know is right but as you form the way your convictions interact with your daily decisions keep in mind God's greater purpose.

But, back to the text, God knows what this Pharaoh will do. In fact, He has prepared this Pharaoh for this purpose.

Exodus 9:16  And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

Paul refers to this in Romans but reveals to us the power of the written word of God giving us more to think about regarding the book we hold in our hands;

Romans 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

But, God will set up a scene for the display of His power and of His identity to the world of that time and for the future.

Romans 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

In God’s ministry of reconciling man to Himself He has prepared a time when He will reveal who He is through His power over reality to the world at that time and to all of history.

Bible Study on Matthew 26, verses 1 to 13, the devotion of an anonymous woman

 

Matthew 26:1 ¶  And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, 2  Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. 3  Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4  And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him. 5  But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.

 

Jesus repeats the warning that He will be betrayed and crucified.

 

Matthew 17:22 ¶  And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:

 

Matthew 20:18  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.

 

And in this passage we see one part of the conspiracy to kill Him. Being political to the utmost and crafty politicians the priests, scribes, and elders along with the chief priest, Caiaphas conspire together.

 

Matthew 26:6 ¶  Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, 7  There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. 8  But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? 9  For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. 10  When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. 11  For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. 12  For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. 13  Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.

 

As I have said earlier I didn’t want to make this study a harmonization of the gospels as different eyewitness accounts will contain a slightly different version of events witnessed. For practical purposes I’m going in the assumption that this isn’t Mary, Lazarus’ sister from John 12:3, that this is a different event though similar. This woman in this account in Matthew, like so many other figures in the Bible, is not named but holds a special place in God’s heart and performs a special role. We know nothing of her life from Matthew, how long or short it may have been, or how happy or sad it may have been. But we know that she has been remembered throughout the ages as performing this token of compassion and devotion on the Saviour of mankind.

 

Bethany was about two miles from Jerusalem. See John 11:18. Simon the leper must have been cured or he would not have been allowed to live in a town, John Gill said.  Gill also remarked about the actions of this woman in his commentary found free online.

 

The pouring of this ointment on the head of Christ was emblematical of his being anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows; of his having the holy Spirit, and his gifts and graces without measure; which, like the ointment poured on Aaron's head, that ran down to his beard, and the skirts of his garments, descends to all the members of his mystical body: and was a symbol of the Gospel, which is like ointment poured forth; and of the sweet savour of the knowledge of Christ, which was to be diffused, throughout all the world, by the preaching of it; and was done by this woman in the faith of him, as the true Messiah, the Lord's anointed, as the prophet, priest, and king of his church.[1]

 

Such a box of ointment, if it was a pound as in John 12, could have cost a year’s wages, or so I have read. It was very expensive.

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[1] https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/matthew-26-7.html

Bible Study on Exodus 3, verses 11 to 15, I AM THAT I AM

 

Exodus 3:11 ¶  And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 12  And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. 13  And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 15  And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

Moses begins to express his self-doubt and lack of confidence that he is the person who can do this job. God reassures him. In the exchange God tells Moses to tell the people of Israel who He is, simply I AM THAT I AM. God simply is. He is the source of all reality, time, space, and matter, of things invisible and visible, simply of all that can be said to exist and yet He is beyond that, too. God lives in eternity, limitless time, not one event after another that go on forever but where all events that we would consider past, present, and future are now.

Isaiah 57:15  For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

It is mind-boggling for us constrained in a finite body and mind. We learned in the Book of Job that all events, no matter how seemingly trivial, result from His direct will or by His permissive will. This is who He is. Nothing can happen from dust forming into a clod of dirt in a farmer’s field to a star bursting into a nova millions of light-years from earth without His involvement. He is the God their fathers worshipped. Please see my comments on Genesis 1:1.

When Christ stated these words a crowd fell back.

John 18:1 ¶  When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples. 2  And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples. 3  Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4  Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? 5  They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. 6  As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.

            Christ also identified Himself to the Jews;

John 8:56  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 57  Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. 59  Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

 

            Christ identified Himself to His disciples;

 

John 14: 6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

 

Since Adam’s falling away from God by his disobedience men and women had been creating their own religions to appeal to the God-shaped space in their spirits that nothing else but God can fill. It is part of mankind’s legacy to believe in a world that is not part of this world of the flesh and matter. But the God who created them has begun a work of reconciling man to Himself and we watched this progress through Genesis. Now, He is going to intrude Himself in a very visible way into the existence of the world’s great superpower, Egypt. If we take the Bible as the record of God’s ministry of reconciliation what is happening is amazingly clear.

Most of mankind is the enemy of the God who created them. God is making peace but in a way that, when eternity comes for us, we will know that we had nothing to do with it but to respond in a way that God already knew we would. He has that advantage of seeing the future as well as the past.

Moses is being recruited to play his part in a monumental work, perhaps the most important work of world history before Christ’s resurrection and after creation itself.

Bible Study on Matthew 25, verses 31 to 46, of judgment to come

 

Matthew 25:31 ¶  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

 

This is clearly starting out with a statement of Christ’s return to take over the kingdoms of the world.

 

Revelation 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

 

This is the judgment on the nations of the earth at the beginning of His millennial reign. Look how they are being judged by their treatment of God’s people, a treatment witnessed in our discussion on the Revelation. With the church removed and the saved Jews and Gentiles who come to Christ in the Tribulation being persecuted by the Beast and Satan here the nations are judged by their apathy and acquiescence in the persecution and murder of these saved faithful, one might assume, of any Jews and Gentiles who believed on Christ during the horror to come. I don’t think it is necessary to reprint my comments on Revelation but I would suggest going back and reading or listening to them. Those who participated in the persecution by the Beast and Satan by their consent to the atrocities committed will be reserved for the Great White Throne judgment and their final and eternal destruction in a lake of unquenchable fire for the soul. Notice a description of Hell in Luke 16, the continuation which will be for eternity in the Lake of Fire.

 

There are those commentators, like John Gill, who believe that these are all professing Christians of every nation; the goats; the tares mentioned in the parable of the tares and the wheat and the sheep; the true Christians. Here is what separates them, how they treated other Christians, formerly both Jew and Gentile, or rather if they acquiesced to their torture. These are things to contemplate and pray about.

A Psalm for Sunday, Psalm 71, verses 1 to 13, In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust

 

Psalm 71:1 ¶  In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion. 2  Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me. 3  Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress. 4  Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. 5  For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth. 6  By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee. 7  I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge. 8  Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day. 9  Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth. 10  For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together, 11  Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him. 12  O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help. 13  Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt.

 

 

The Psalmist declares that his trust is in God.

 

Psalm 25:2  O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

 

Isaiah 26:3  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

 

He prays for deliverance and salvation from a threat, making the case that he should be delivered because of the righteousness of God.

 

Psalm 31:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.» In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.

 

Psalm 143:1 ¶  «A Psalm of David.» Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness…11  Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.

 

He wants God to be his fortress, a castle that he can retreat into for safety.

 

Psalm 31:2  Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me. 3  For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.

 

He specifically refers to the unrighteous and cruel who threaten his life.

 

Psalm 17:8 ¶  Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings, 9  From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.

 

Psalm 59:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.» Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me. 2  Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men.

 

Psalm 140:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.» Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man; 2  Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war. 3  They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah. 4  Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings.

 

Again, he appeals to God as his hope, in whom he trusts in whom he has trusted since his youth, even perhaps since he was delivered in childbirth by his own mother.

 

Psalm 13:5  But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

 

Psalm 71:17  O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.

 

Psalm 22:9  But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts. 10  I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly.

 

Again, he reinforces that God is his safe place.

 

Psalm 62:7  In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

 

Psalm 142:4 ¶  I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul…5  I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.

 

Jeremiah 16:19a  O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction,

 

The Psalmist’s mouth will be filled with praise, a sentiment he will reinforce in the next passage. He pleads that God will not discard him in the weakness of old age, again reinforced in the next passage. His enemies are united in the desire to take advantage of his weakness.

 

Psalm 56:6  They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.

   

They believe God has abandoned him.

 

Psalm 3:2  Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.

 

But he pleads with God to hurry his salvation.

 

Psalm 22:11 ¶  Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help…19  But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.

 

Psalm 35:22  This thou hast seen, O LORD: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me.

 

Psalm 38:21  Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. 22  Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.

 

Psalm 69:18  Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies.

 

Psalm 70:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance.» Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD.

 

He wants God’s vengeance on his persecutors which he will repeat in the next passage.

 

Psalm 6:10  Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly.

 

Psalm 35:4  Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt…26  Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me.

 

Psalm 40:14  Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil. 15  Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.

 

Jeremiah 20:11  But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.

 

I can see Christ in this with certain limitations as He forgave His persecutors as He exclaimed from the Cross that they didn’t know what they were doing. I can see us in this passage although we are called to pray for our persecutors, not for their destruction. We can see parallels and applications from this passage but they will twist our doctrine if we don’t apply them to David himself first and foremost and understand that all comparisons break down at some point.

Bible Study on Matthew 25, verses 14 to 30, the parable of the talents

 

Matthew 25:14 ¶  For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15  And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 16  Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 17  And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. 18  But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. 19  After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 20  And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21  His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 22  He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 23  His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 24  Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25  And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26  His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: 27  Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28  Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 29  For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30  And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

Then, after talking about the end times and then about inward preparation and expectancy of Christ’s return, Christ goes into a parable about the wise use of resources in yet another probable reference to people who claim to be religious, who have the outward appearance of such, and yet fall short because of their lack of commitment or faith.

 

The traveling man could represent God with His goods being the Gospel and the talents, a unit of money, referring to the gifts each follower is given. I think at this point a reading of Romans 12 is in order.

 

Romans 12:1 ¶  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 6  Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7  Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8  Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. 9  Let love be without

dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 10  Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; 11  Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 12  Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; 13  Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. 14  Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. 15  Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. 16  Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. 17  Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18  If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19  Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20  Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21  Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

 

There are things that Christ has called us to do in His absence physically, until His return, and we are given gifts unique to us but common to others as well. How we use those gifts is important. What are your gifts?

 

Notice that at the end of this passage there is a dire warning that does not seem to fit our salvation. Those religious-minded Jews who were given the oracles of God throughout history treated them in different ways and will be held accountable for, with all the knowledge they have been given, should they not act on their knowledge which burying the talent is a metaphor for. One of the things that Christ does repeatedly is confront the Jews with their inaction on what they should know, how that the truth has been revealed to them and most, particularly the religious elite, avoid the truth at all costs and reject the promised Messiah.

 

God left the Jews with tasks to perform and gifts to exercise and He will be furious with those who reject Him, and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

So, Christ went from telling them what was going to happen, telling them to be prepared, and then telling them to get busy. Now He will speak of judgment.