Session 9: Matthew 20-22

Session Nine: Matthew 20-22

Introduction

Tell of the last wedding you attended. When were you told of the event and what preparations did you carry out before attending?

Tell of a time when another was rewarded or praised while you had done the same work but received nothing. How did you feel? What did you do about it?

Read Matthew 20-22.

Reading Questions

1.       Matthew 20:1-16 is known as the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. What is it that Jesus values through sharing this parable?

2.       Matthew 20:16 echoes Matthew 19:30. What does this say to you?

3.       In the midst of the account of blind men being healed, Jesus says ‘What do you want me to do for you?’. What does this convey of prayers and of healing?

4.       Matthew 21:18-22 again address prayer and faith and repeats Matthew 7:7. What does this say of the heart of God?

5.       In the Parable of the Two Sons in Matthew 21:28-32, how is the importance of words and actions explained?

6.       In the Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22:1-14), who does the man without wedding clothes represent (verse 11)? How is he invited by not chosen?

7.       In view of Matthew 22:15-22, what does Jesus say we should give to God?

Old Testament Links

1.       Matthew 20:28 reflects lines from Isaiah 53:10-12. Read Isaiah 53:1-12 and describe the service that Jesus refers to.

2.       Matthew 21:12-15 refers to Isaiah 56:1-8 and Jeremiah 7:1-11. Discuss those who honor the house of prayer and those who build a den of robbers according to the three passages.

 3.       Matthew 21:42-44 reference three Old Testament passages: Isaiah 8:11-18, Zechariah 12:1-5, and Daniel 2:31-45. What was Jesus saying to the people by referencing these stones?

4.       In Matthew 22:23-33, the Sadducees pose a question which reflects the life of Tamar (Genesis 38:6-27) and the laws relating to care of a widow (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). Jesus’s answer opens references to the God of the living from Exodus 3:6. Why do you think Jesus did not draw on more clear resurrection references such as found in Ezekiel 37:12-14 and Daniel 12:2?

5.       Matthew 22:44 is a quotation from Psalm 110:1. How would you answer Jesus’s question in verse 45?

Application Questions

1.       Matthew 20:25-28 present a counter-cultural idea of the servant being first. How can we carry this out in practical ways?

2.       Jesus diffused a tense questioning session in Matthew 21:23-27. How did he do this? Share any experiences in which you have diffused situations similarly.

 3.       The Parable of the Tenants, Matthew 21:33-46, usually views the tenants as Israel. Consider the tenants as the Church and discuss what the fruits are that we do not share with the landlord. Who could be those who come to collect?

4.       Matthew 22:29 refers to the knowing ‘the power of God.’ Do you know the power of God? Share your understanding of God’s power and your experiences of it.

5.       Share examples of how we can give fully to ‘Caesar’ and fully to God (Matthew 21:15-22).