Matthew 21:23-32: Help Wanted!

Presented to Swift Current Corps 01 August 2010
and CFOT 15 November 2006
by Captain Michael Ramsay

Have you ever really needed a job? I can remember a short time in my life when, you know the expression, it seemed like I couldn’t buy a job. Because of this – and other things- I am forced to piece together a contract here and a week or two of work there, in order to make ends meet. Every week I go around with Cory, a friend of mine, to speak to potential employers and bid on various contracts. We were in our late teens or very early twenties at this time and I should make one thing clear: Yes we do need the work but we are young then and we are still somewhat picky. Generally we try not to work for less than a certain wage and I generally try to avoid too much manual labour.

Well, one day Cory and I are offered a job at the Esquimalt Navy base. It is only for 2 days and it will be really hard, boring work with a lot of non-stop heavy lifting, and it pays about minimum wage (everything that I didn’t want in a job!). Oh well. Cory says he’ll do it and tries to convince me that we should take the job but I am probably a little too immature back then and I don’t want any job that much so I say ‘thanks’ but ‘no thanks’.

That night I arrive home, check my answering machine, and a better contract; a job that I have been hoping for… does not come through. I open my mail and you notice that there is one thing that always comes through in a crisis though – the bills! And I now have a stack of them! So I call the about the base contract: “sure I can be there. 7 am, okay. Work boots, fine. DREP Building, okay.”

Cory, who told me he wanted to work there, decides to pass on the contract. He doesn’t show up for work. I do go into work that day and the next day. I persevere and finish the 2-day job and at the end of it, I am called into the Boss’ office. He says I can have a new contract if I want to keep working there… with no heavy lifting… about double the pay… an office and a staff of my own, and I can take time off whenever I want. It really paid to go into work that day! I’m glad I took the job. The boss invited us to work for him; I’m glad I didn’t pass on the contract. That reminds me of a parable that Jesus told.

Please refer with me back to Matthew 21:28-31, where Jesus tells this parable about working for God to the religious leaders:
Verse 28, "What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, "Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' He answered, "I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, "I will go, sir'; but he did not go. [Jesus asks the religious leaders] Which of the two did the will of his father?" (pause) They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you!

The Pharisees and scribes do not go to work that day; they pass on the contract; they pass on getting into God’s Kingdom of Heaven ahead of even the tax collectors and the prostitutes. God himself offers them work and they pass up this opportunity to work for God.

Jesus is, through this parable of the two sons (Matthew 21:28-32), as with the parable of the vineyard that we looked at last week (Matthew 21:33-45), and the parable of the King’s banquet, he is answering the Pharisees and Scribes question which is recorded for us in verse 23, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?"[1] (Matthew 21:23-23; cf. Mark 11:27-33; Luke 20:1-8) Jesus is letting the very important religious leaders of his day know not only that He exercises His authority in doing His Father’s work (cf. Matthew 10-12; Mark 3; Luke 11; John 5:17, 5:36, 10, 14-15) but also that the religious authorities do not have any real authority because they are not working for God (cf. Matthew 3:7; chapters 10-12; 23:33; Mark 3; Luke 3:7; chapter 11; John 8:39).

It is like with us. When Susan, John Duncan (or CFS Director) or I call up social workers, the prosecutors, RCMP, other churches or businesses in town; when we are organising food drives or when doing advocacy work for people, we don’t derive our authority from who we are. We derive our authority from whom we work for: The Salvation Army (and ultimately God!). If John - who is still fairly new in his position - calls up a business that doesn’t know that he works here and begins asking for information and forgets to mention who he works for, do you think they would give him the information? I hope not. We derive our authority from whom we work for not from ourselves.

Likewise, if an acquaintance knocks on your door either when you are very busy or in the middle of the night, you might not be so inclined to answer the door. If, however, you peer out the window and see red and blue lights lit atop her car and she in her blue constable’s uniform, you will probably race to the door to see what she wants. Her authority comes from whom she works for.

This is true for all of us: our authority is not our own it is derived from whom we work. We only have real authority if we work for God and Jesus is stating that He does have real authority because He works for God but that the Pharisees, the religious leaders don’t have that real authority because they don’t work for God.

Look with me back at verse 28. The religious leaders know that Jesus is talking to them, they know what he is telling them: that they don’t have God’s authority. They know the man in the parable represents God. They know that Jesus is talking about them because Jesus spells it out for them! Look in verses 31 and 32: “the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.” Jesus says of the religious leaders and “even after you saw it (the way of righteousness), you did not change your minds and believe.” By what authority does Jesus operate, they ask, not the same authority as you do, he replies! Jesus works for God.

Jesus, through this parable, tells the religious leaders that God asked them to come to work for him and, after saying they would (presumably by means of their religious vows), they aren’t working for Him. Now this is significant! This isn’t just Joe Blow on the street who knows nothing about anything that Jesus is speaking to and about here. These are the religious leaders and these religious leaders are the people with apparent authority on earth. These are the people who know the scriptures. These are the people who pray everyday. These are the people in society who fast and are involved in all the religious ceremonies. These are the people who are seemingly trying to please God. These are the religious authorities and they do not have God’s authority because they are refusing God’s invitation to work with Him and they are not going to make it into heaven ahead of even the prostitutes and the tax collectors.

In our society today, who are the apparent religious authorities? Our religious leaders are our pastors, our clerical hierarchy, televangelists and the religious authors. Do you have a favourite author: Someone whose writings really resonate with you? Someone who is popular? Someone who is quoted by others and even gets invited to visit the Pope, our Queen, or the US President? If they have a following, they are a religious leader. And the leaders mentioned in Matthew 21 don’t have the authority that comes from working for God. Today why do our leaders publish their books, is it for God or money? Why do they write their songs? Is it for God or is it for fame? For whom are they working? From whom do they get their authority?

And what about us, you and I here? Will we get into heaven ahead of the tax collectors and prostitutes? If the religious leaders who walked the earth at the same time as Jesus and his disciples seemingly aren’t even working for God, how can we? How can we? When we showed up for church today did we do so to worship God or to see our friends or for some other reason? When we pray, do we really speak to God or do we just roll rote ‘graces’ off our tongues before we eat – if even that. Maybe we don’t even bother to say grace when we are out in public? Are we any better than the religious authorities of Jesus’ day; are we any better than so-named ‘tax collectors and prostitutes’?

And about the fact that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day themselves are missing the point and failing to work for Him and not making it into heaven ahead of tax collectors and prostitutes, I read about some pretty scary things happening with our own religious authorities who don’t seem to be working for God. Did you know that there is even a Bible that they are publishing now which has big sections that have been intentionally taken out of it? In keeping with the ever-prevalent prosperity heresy to which many North Americans seem to fall prey, in this Bible they have removed the sections where God calls for action around money, justice or affluence... “We don't use those passages anyway”, the publisher of this ‘Bible’ says, “There's no single Christian selling his possessions and giving them to the poor.” He goes on, explaining the apparent North American hypocrisy, “Many Christians accept the Western lifestyle, including the degradation of creation and the injustice of our trade, and they only take the easy parts of the gospel.”[2] So then, I ask us today, if this evil is true, which it seems to be of our own society, who are we working for in our country and in our congregation? And will any of us here get into heaven ahead of transvestites or those who sell their bodies for money?

Those that sell themselves for money, the prostitutes; what about them? …And the tax collectors for that matter, what about them? See verse 32. God invites them into his kingdom. He invites them to work for him. He invites them and they believe. They believe. The prostitutes -remember Rehab from Joshua and the battle of Jericho (Joshua Chapters two and six) in the Old Testament? - and the tax collectors - remember Levi (the writer of the book of Matthew) – they believe.[3]

Now, this is shocking for the religious authorities to hear that prostitutes are a part of the Kingdom of God and they aren’t. Today, we are not necessarily so shocked by prostitutes[4] but the religious leaders of Jesus’ day are. Revenue Canada seems like a good job to us. But the tax collectors of Jesus’ day were working for their occupying forces. Some people see them as traitors to their country. And we know what happens to traitors working for occupying forces today – they get killed! But it is these people (even though they may have said ‘no’ to God their whole life) it is these people who Jesus is saying that as they repent[5] and come to work for God they will enter the kingdom even ahead of even the religious authorities”[6]

The prostitutes and the tax collectors believe[7] – and this is important – they don’t just say they’ll work for God. God invites them and they do it! This is great. Even the people who are among the most looked down on in their society - God wants them to work for him and THEY do! They repent and, like the second son in our parable, they go to work for God. They enter the Kingdom of Heaven! They have His authority. Isn’t this great? It doesn’t matter what they have done; it doesn’t matter what they have done to this point. It doesn’t matter. They believe Jesus, they change, they stop what they are doing and they go to work for God and in so doing they enter heaven even ahead of the religious leaders of their day.

And how about us in our day? God wants us to work for Him. Really! And we can, no matter what our resumes look like. This is true. He wants us to experience the full authority that comes from working for Him. I have another friend, Mike. Mike once in his wanderings pulled the trigger on a bank teller at point blank range. Mike is now out of jail and has the full authority that comes from having been working for God solidly for the last decade or so.

Think about it. It doesn’t matter what we have done. It doesn’t matter that we have committed what we might think to be the worst of all sins. God loves us. It doesn’t matter what we have done, how many times we have said ‘no’ to God, as long as we repent. God is inviting each of us to change our minds and work for Him. We are invited to turn and enter the Kingdom of Heaven even ahead of the possibly much more knowledgeable religious leaders of Jesus’ own day and maybe even some of our own day.

It is not too late to work for God. We can still represent God’s full authority. The contract is up for tender. It is not a minimum wage job. It has great benefits. We can work for God. You can work for God. Isn’t this great? Really! Isn’t this great? He really wants us. He wants you to work for him. So, if you are not already, Jesus is asking you to come to work with Him. God has asked you to come to work. If you have said yes, come to work; if you have said no, come to work. Come to work. It is not too late. Even if you have said no up until now, it is not too late to come and work for Jesus.

If you have never said yes to God, or if you have said you would work for him and aren’t. Whatever the reason; whatever you have done, we have a place up here called the mercy seat where you can come and meet God. Come now and work for God.

Let us pray.

Song: Come to Jesus.

www.sheepspeak.com

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[1] Cf . Douglas R.A. Hare, Interpretation: Matthew. (Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1993), 245.
[2] Captain Stephen Court. Armybarmy Blog: Sunday, October 22, 2006. [Cited 22 10 2006]. No Pages. On-line: http://www.fao.org/es/ess/index_en.asp
[3] Cf . Donald A. Hagner, Word Bible Commentary. Vol. 33B. (Dallas, Texas: Word Books, 1995), 614
[4] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Matthew/Exposition of Matthew/VI. Opposition and Eschatology: The Triumph of Grace (19:3-26:5)/A. Narrative (19:3-23:39)/8. Opening events of Passion Week (21:1-23:39)/d. Controversies in the temple court (21:23-22:46)/(2) The parable of the two sons (21:28-32), Book Version: 4.0.2
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Gail R. O’Day, The New Interpreter’s Bible. Vol. 9. (Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1995), 841; cf Donald A. Hagner, p. 614

Matthew 21:33-46 (John 3:16,17): Tenant Farmers.

Presented to the Nipawin Corps, 21 June 2009
and the Swift Current Corps, 25 July 2010
by Captain Michael Ramsay

Click HERE to read the sermon: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/06/matthew-2133-46-john-31617-tenant.html

Matthew 8:11-12: Keep Your Eye on the Ball

Presented to the Swift Current Corps on 18 July 2010
By Captain Michael Ramsay

We just finished the World Cup of Soccer. This is by far and away the world’s most popular sporting event – actually I think it is the most popular ‘anything’ on the planet: did you know that there are more member countries of FIFA (208) than there are members of the UN (192)? I can’t remember how many billions of people they said tuned into the games but it was quite amazing. Did anyone notice those horns they had, the vuvuzelas? It was an earlier international soccer tournament (Gold Cup or Confederations Cup in 2009) where I noticed them for the first time (apparently they have been around since the 1980s and were heard at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico). They are really quite something – on the TV they just sound like a big buzzing of giant bees attacking the soccer stadium. Susan says those horns actually sound like a hungry baby. (Isn’t that right, baby vuvuzela?) I have a friend of mine from Rotary in town here who actually was able to go down to see the games in South Africa. He said it was quite something to be in a stadium with all of those people; the atmosphere he said was amazing. The only thing is that from some places you can’t see very well and in soccer there may be only one goal scored in a game. They don’t show replays at the stadium so if someone stands up in front of you or if you are distracted by a nearby vuvuzela - or something else causes you not to watch the game - when someone scores you miss it and there is no replay in a live match. Those who do not continue to watch, miss the goal. You need to keep our eye on the ball. The goal will have still been scored but those that don’t continue to watch will miss it. I am not sure what happened to my friend but it would be quite frustrating to watch hours of games and never see the winning goals. Depending on Divine providence and distracting vuvuzelas you could literally watch all the games and never see a goal so it is important not to be distracted. To continue to see the winning goal depends on your continued faithful watching of the match.

Doctrine 9 of The Salvation Army: We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ.

Those who do not continue to watch the game miss the goal. The goal will still have been scored but some will miss it. We need to keep our eye on the ball.

The portion of this pericope that we are looking at today has certain elements of this reflected in it, Matthew 8:11-12: “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Some will be thrown into the darkness missing the banquet.[1]

Rather than a soccer game Jesus, when he tells this parable about the Kingdom of God and who will miss it and who won’t, he is talking about a feast. First, does anyone know what a parable is? It is story with a point, a moral. The word literally means a ‘casting alongside’. It is an analogy, a metaphor, telling a story about something to make a point.[2]

Jesus, speaking about aspects of the Kingdom of Heaven here, when he says that ‘many will recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’ he compares God’s Kingdom to sitting at a big feast. The text says that they will be ‘reclining at the table’. In first century Palestine that was how they ate – especially on formal occasions (cf. John 13:23). Instead of sitting on chairs, they recline. They sit on the ground (or sometimes on cushions of some kind that were on the floor) with each person reclining, sort of leaning on the person next to them. This reclining at the table is a part of everyday life that the people around Jesus here can understand; so it is a natural choice for a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven.[3] This is not an uncommon analogy either. Luke records another version of this parable by Jesus or at least a similar illustration and Matthew uses it again in his gospel (Luke 14:15-23; Matthew 22:1-14; 25:10; 26:29). Also this same analogy is used in Jewish tradition and in our Old Testament scriptures as well. It is actually a prominent theme in Jewish eschatological expectations (cf. Isaiah 25:6-9, 65:13-14).[4]

The context of this parable is important for us to note as well as we begin to understand it. Jesus has just healed the servant of a Roman centurion. Remember, it says, Matthew 8:5-9:
“5When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6"Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering."
7Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."
8The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

When Jesus hears this he is astonished and then he tells the parable that we are looking at today. There are some things that we need to know about this exchange here too. This man who has such a powerful faith that he astonishes Jesus, who is he? He is a Roman centurion.[5] What is a Roman centurion? We remember that Palestine/Judea/Israel is an occupied territory at this time and that it is occupied directly by the Superpower of their day, Rome. This centurion is a ranking occupying soldier and as such to many people in the occupied territories he would not be very welcome. We know that just like there are roadside bombs and suicide bombers in occupied countries today, there are people in Jesus’ day who risk their life and limb and others’ lives by attempting to assassinate the occupying soldiers in crowded marketplaces. These first century terrorists and their supporters are referred to as Sacarii, the fourth philosophy, or Zealots (cf. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 18.23ff. See also Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:8; Luke 6:15; John 18:14; Acts 1:3).[6] At least one of Jesus’ very close followers, Simon, is a Zealot and many other people (including I suspect his disciples) expect that Jesus as Messiah, himself, will be the one to defeat these Romans, free Palestine and establish God’s Kingdom via violent revolution (cf. Luke 2:31-32; see Isaiah 42:12, 49:13, 57:18, 60:1-3, 61:2; Zechariah 8:20-23). Now we know that Jesus is establishing God’s Kingdom here on earth as it is in Heaven but he is doing this in contrast and opposition to violent superpowers and we know that Jesus does not achieve his aims through violence (Matthew 5:39, 44; 6:12-14; Luke 6:27, 25; 11:4).

Now there is something else that is very important to note about the proleptic Kingdom to come that Jesus is telling us in our passage today, verses 11 and 12: “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The Kingdom of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, is not just for people born into Judaism. The Kingdom of Jesus, the Christian Messiah (same person), is not just for people born into the churches. Jesus implies that some citizens of even violent, militaristic superpowers like Rome will be a part of the Kingdom of God and some of God’s so-named ‘chosen people’ and some of the children of God’s ‘chosen people’ will NOT be a part of this Kingdom (Luke 2:30-32; Acts: 13:47; Isaiah 49:6; cf. Matthew 4:16; Luke 17:24; John 1:4-9, 3:19-21, 5:35, 8:12, 9:5, 11:9-10, 12:36, 12:46; Acts 26:23; Romans 2:18; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 4:4-6; Ephesians 4-5; Colossians 1:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 Timothy 6:16…). Some of them, instead will be ‘thrown into the outer darkness’ where there is ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’ (cf. 4 Ezra 7:93; 1 Enoch 63:10; Psalms 14:9, 15:10; Wisdom 17:21; cf. Matthew 22:13). This is quite a thing for the Messiah to say; it goes against what many at that time would have believed.[7] Jesus says that some from the east and the west will be a part of the Kingdom and some who are a part of it now will not see it (Ps. 107:3; Isa. 43:5–6; 49:12).[8]

Those who do not continue to pay attention to the game will miss the goal of eternal life. The winnig goal still has been scored (between the cross and the empty tomb) but some will miss it. We need to keep our eye on the ball.

Doctrine 9 of The Salvation Army: We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ. This is (part of) what Christ is saying here.[9]

This would be quite a shock to many people hearing Jesus say this because it was the contemporary belief that no descendant of Abraham could possibly be lost.[10] Jesus disagrees. Many who are seemingly born into the Kingdom will be ‘thrown out’ – now we should quickly note that we are not endorsing the notion of ‘replacement theology’ here: God is not here replacing the Jewish people with the Gentiles or anyone else. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are still all reclining at the table. They haven’t been removed. Jesus is simply fulfilling the prophecies that state that he is Saviour of not just one group of people but rather of the whole world (Genesis 12-17, Luke 2:30-32; Acts: 13:47; Isaiah 49:6; cf. Matthew 4:16; Luke 17:24; John 1:4-9, 3:19-21, 5:35, 8:12, 9:5, 11:9-10, 12:36, 12:46; Acts 26:23; Romans 2:18; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 4:4-6; Ephesians 4-5; Colossians 1:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 Timothy 6:16…). Everyone -whether ethnically, culturally Jew or Gentile or whatever - stands equally before God. The sins of the one will not be judged differently from the sins of the other.[11] Doctrine 6 of The Salvation Army states,‘We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has by his suffering and death made an atonement for the whole world so that whosoever will may be saved’. Jesus establishes his Kingdom so that whosoever will may be saved and this is very good news.

However, there is a flip side to the coin: in this parable Jesus drives home the point here as well that some will reject the salvation that he has provided for the whole world and so they will not be a part of his Kingdom. They, no matter who their parents are; they, no matter who or what else they know; they, no matter whether they even once sat at this very table of salvation or not; they who walk away from the banquet of eternal life will not get to eat of it. And this is sad. Christ has prepared this great feast for whosoever of us will have it since the creation of the world but some of us will reject it (cf. Matthew 22:1-14, 25:34, Luke 14:15-23).

Those who do not continue to pay attention to the game will miss the goal of eternal life. The goal has still been scored (between the cross and the empty tomb) but some will miss it. We need to keep our eye on the ball so we don’t miss it.

Jesus was born (as God incarnate), lived, died and rose from the grave so that we all may have eternal life but some of us will choose to reject that gift; some of us will walk away from the banquet table; some of us will not keep our eye on the ball and some of us, we will miss that all important goal of our salvation.

I encourage us today not to miss that goal. If there is anything that is distracting us from keeping our eyes upon Jesus, I encourage us today to put it aside. Let us not be distracted by the vuvuzelas of this world such as selfishness, self-indulgence; the vuvuzelas of worrying about our own personal life, liberty, and happiness. Let us not be distracted by the vuvuzelas of earthly cares and worldly concerns. Let us not let any vuvuzelas tempt us to take our eye off the ball. Instead let us turn, repent, hunger and thirst for righteous (Matthew 5:6). Let us continue to read our Bibles daily. Pray regularly. Keep our eyes focussed on the Lord and then when all is said and done, we will indeed see the goal and celebrate that great victory of the eternal abundant life with Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let us pray.

www.sheepspeak.com
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[1], R. T. France, ‘Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary’. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 1), S. 160
[2] Cf. Luke Timothy Johnson, ‘The Gospel of Luke’ (Sacra Pagina Series 3: Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1991), 134. More than one third of Jesus’ recorded teachings are parabolic in nature. These “sayings perform the classic function of Hellenistic histories of interpreting the meaning of the narrative”
[3] But cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Jesus use of Parabolic and Metaphorical Methods to Affect the Listeners of the Parable of the Sower', presented to William and Catherine Booth College (Fall 2006). Available on-line: http://www.sheepspeak.com./NT_Michael_Ramsay.htm#Sower : “Jesus tells us directly his purpose for speaking in parables. Luke records Jesus as saying in Luke 8:10, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables, so that ‘looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand.’”
[4] R. T. France, Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1985 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 1), S. 160
[5] Cf. Douglas R.A. Hare, Matthew (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1993), 90. Cf. also Andreas J. Kostenberger, Note on John 12:20-50 (ESV Study Bible: Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Bibles, 2007), 2048. That he is a non-Jew is very important to this parable as are a number of other elements such as the fact that Jesus did this from a distance. Some commentators see Jesus’ reaching out to Gentiles as a foreshadowing of their inclusion into the Kingdom which they maintain can only happen after Jesus’ death.
[6] Clayton Harrop, ‘Jewish Parties in the New Testament’ in Holman Bible Dictionary, Editor, Trent C. Butler, (Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville, Tenn., 1991), pp. 791-794. Cf. http://www.theradicalreformation.com/media/audio/worldview%20class/lecture%2010%20--%20five%20types%20of%20judaism%20at%20the%20time%20of%20Jesus.pdf
[7] cf. Edmond Fleg, ‘Why I Am a Jew’ (New York: Bloch, 1929), 97.
[8] R. T. France, ‘Jesus and the Old Testament’ (London: Tyndale Press, 1971; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1982), p.63. Cf. also Christopher Leighton & Adam Gregerman, 'Isaiah 11:1–11' in Interpretation: a Journal of Bible and Theology Volume 64 Number 3 (July 2010), pp. 284-289.
[9] Cf. Douglas R.A. Hare, Matthew (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1993), 90.
[10] J. Jeremias, Jesus’ Promise to the Nations (1958), p. 48.
[11] Douglas J. Moo, 'The Epistle to the Romans' (NICNT 6: Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1996), p. 126, cf. also N.T. Wright, The Letter to the Romans, p. 440, where he acknowledges that God’s national impartiality was not totally unconsidered in Jewish tradition.

Are You The One To Come Or Should We Expect Someone Else? (Matthew 11:1-11)

Presented to Nipawin and Tisdale Corps on December 16, 2007
Presented to the Swift Current Corps on July 11, 2010
By Captain Michael Ramsay

Click HERE to read the sermon: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2007/12/are-you-one-to-come-or-should-we-expect.html