The Gospel according to Matthew

First book of the New Testament 

(Part 11) 

1. What answer gave Jesus to the Pharisees who asked him whether it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar?

2. A lawyer for the experiment, asked Jesus, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? As Jesus said to him?

3. Speaking to the crowd, Jesus gave the people an odd advice regarding the doctrine taught by the scribes and Pharisees. That advice was that?

4. In the same speech Jesus spoke harshly to the scribes and Pharisees, whom he called hypocrites. What wrong procedures and condemned the Lord imputed to them?

5. Being seated with his disciples on the Mount of Olives, he pointed to several events that would take place in future times, in a passage known as the prophetic sermon. Jesus prophesied, then, about the end of the world?

Text for reading

59. A question about the resurrection - After telling the Pharisees: Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God, Jesus was visited by some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection), which asked him, saying, "Teacher, Moses said: If man die, having no children, will marry his brother with his wife, and raise up seed to his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first having married, died, and, having no seed left his wife to his brother. Likewise the second and the third to the seventh and finally, after all, the woman died. Therefore in the resurrection, which of the seven will be women, since they all had? "Jesus answered them," Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read what God hath declared, saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob? It is not God of the dead but the living." (Matthew 22:21 to 22:33.)

60. Jesus and King David - The Pharisees being gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying: "What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? "They replied:" Of David. " In view of this, Jesus asked, "How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David thus calls him Lord, how is he his son? "Nobody was able to answer him anything. And from that day on no one dared to ask him further questions. (Matthew 22:41 to 22:46.)

61. Who wants to be the largest, is the lowest of all - After censoring the procedures of the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus said to the crowd and his disciples: "Do not be called 'Rabbi, for One is your Master, namely, Christ, and all ye are brethren. And no one on earth your father, for one is your Father which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, who is Christ. The greatest among you be your servant. And what exalts himself will be humbled, and that humbles himself will be exalted." (Matthew 23:8 to 23:12.)

62. Jesus provides the persecution they will suffer their emissaries - Ending its censorship of the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus said, "Behold, I send you prophets, sages and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify, and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city: that upon you come all the righteous blood that was shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. " After saying this, the Lord said, "Verily I say all these things shall come upon this generation. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent! how often would I have gathered thy children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate because I tell you that from now I will not see, until you say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." (Matthew 23:34 to 23:39.)

63. The Lord provides for the destruction of the temple - When Jesus left the temple, came to him his disciples to show you the structure of the majestic building. But the Lord said to them: "Do you not see all this? Verily I say that not one stone upon another will not be thrown down. " (NR: In fact, some years later, in the bloody battle between Jews and Romans, the temple of Jerusalem was destroyed.) (Matthew 24:1 and 24:2.)

64. The end of time - The description of the end times, made by Jesus, is made of strong images, such as the following: "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, is in the holy place: who reads understand , so those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and whoever is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house, and who is in the field return back to their dresses. But woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! Pray that your flight be not in winter or on the Sabbath because then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world until now, nor is there ". (Matthew 24:15 and 00:21.)

Answers to questions

1. What answer gave Jesus to the Pharisees who asked him whether it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar?

Jesus, knowing their malice, said, Why me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. They soon showed. Jesus asked: Whose is this image and inscription? They said, Caesar's. Then the Master said to them It is therefore to Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's. (Matthew 22:15 to 22:21.)

2. A lawyer for the experiment, asked Jesus, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? As Jesus said to him?

Jesus' answer was straightforward: Love the Lord your God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it is, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:35 to 22:40.)

3. Speaking to the crowd, Jesus gave the people an odd advice regarding the doctrine taught by the scribes and Pharisees. That advice was that?

Jesus said to the people in Moses' chair sit the scribes and Pharisees. All things therefore that you say they observe, observe them and do them, but does not comply with their works, they say, and do not therefore bind heavy burdens and hard to bear and lay them on the shoulders of men. But they did not put a finger to move them, and do all the works to be seen of men, and love the first places in the suppers and the chief seats in the synagogues and greetings in the markets, and enjoy being called Rabbi by men. (Matthew 23:1 to 23:7.)

4. In the same speech Jesus spoke harshly to the scribes and Pharisees, whom he called hypocrites. What wrong procedures and condemned the Lord imputed to them?

Jesus accuse them a series of malpractice, summarized below: they devour widows' houses, a pretense make long prayers; roamed the sea and land to make one proselyte, but after having done so, made him the son of hell two times more than themselves, gave great importance to the tithes received but despised the most important law, judgment, mercy and faith, blind guides, were capable of straining a gnat and swallow a camel; cleaned the outside of the cup and dish, but inside it was still full of greed and iniquity were like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of bones and rotting. (Matthew 23:13 to 23:33.)

5. Being seated with his disciples on the Mount of Olives, he pointed to several events that would take place in future times, in a passage known as the prophetic sermon. Jesus prophesied, then, about the end of the world?

This is what Jesus prophesied: "Take heed that no man deceive you: for many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ, and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, look, do not be terrified, because it is necessary that this take place, but still not the end. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached throughout the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come. Further, the Master concluded: Heaven and earth will pass away but my words shall not pass away. But on that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels in heaven, but my Father only. (Matthew 24:3 to 24:14.)