Matthew’s twenty-fourth chapter contains the first half of Jesus’ Olivet Discourse and looks forward to the end of the age. “ While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately and said, ‘Tell us, when will these things happen? And what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’ ” (Matthew 24:3).   Jesus predicted that the last days would be difficult, and “ the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Jesus told stories to help us understand the Kingdom of Heaven. At least nine times in Matthew’s Gospel His purpose is explicitly stated.    “The kingdom of heaven is like…” (Matthew 13:31).   “The kingdom of heaven is like…” (Matthew 13:33).  “The kingdom of heaven is like…” (Matthew 13:44).   “The kingdom of heaven is like…” (Matthew 13:45).   “The kingdom of heaven is like…” (Matthew 13:47).   “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to…” (Matthew 18:23).   “The kingdom

The Vineyard Owner, like the Creator, “saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed” (Genesis 1:31). His vineyard was wonderfully complete with the best grape vines, “a fence around it … a winepress in it, and … a watchtower” (Matthew 21:33).   After leasing the vineyard to tenants, he went away. At the end of the first year, he sent a delegation to collect the rent. Instead of paying what they owed, the evil tenants “took his servants, beat one, killed another, an

The hypocritical and pharisaical religious leaders were at war with Jesus. They wanted to retain their prestige and power, but many people were drawn toward Jesus because of His miraculous power and His new and authoritative teaching. One day, as Jesus was teaching in the temple complex, “the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him … and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority?’ ” (Matthew 21:23). In response, Jesus tol

“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the workers on one denarius, he sent them into his vineyard for the day” (Matthew 20:1-2).   The landowner represents God. We’re the workers.   Some of the vineyard workers were hired early in the morning, others throughout the day, until finally, some were hired late in the afternoon. At the end of the workday, when the paymaster gave the worker

I think Peter was sincere when he asked, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times?” (Matthew 18:21). Jesus’ response was stunning. “No, Peter, not just seven, ‘ but seventy times seven’ ” (Matthew 18:22), almost five hundred times.   To further explain His upside-down, counter-cultural kingdom, Jesus told a story, the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.   “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted

With a little child standing at His side (Matthew 18:2), Jesus warned, “see to it that you don’t despise one of these little ones, because I tell you that in heaven their angels continually view the face of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). God loves children and has commissioned His most-trusted angels as their guardians.   Having said this, He told a parable about a shepherd and his sheep. “If someone has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the

The seventh and final parable in Matthew’s thirteenth chapter is the Parable of the Fisherman’s Net.   “The kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish, and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw out the worthless ones” (Matthew 13:47-48).   Peter and Andrew, James and John, were fishermen. They knew their nets were likely to catch big fish and little fish, good f

What is the kingdom of heaven like? Jesus answers this question by telling two parables.   In the first parable, a man stumbled upon a priceless treasure buried in a field. Imagine a weary traveler, kicking up dust as he meanders down a remote pathway. Suddenly, his foot struck the top of an ancient chest. Curious, the traveler stoops to brush away the soil covering the lid. Opening the box, his eyes fell upon great quantities of glistening gold and gleaming gems. Quickly, th

The Parable of the Mustard Seed is recorded in each of the Synoptic Gospels: Matthew 13:31-32; Mark 4:30-32; and Luke 13:18-19.   The three renderings of Jesus’ parable are largely identical, except for one notable exception. Matthew’s Gospel begins… “The kingdom of heaven is like…” (Matthew 13:31) whereas Mark and Luke begin… “The kingdom of God is like…” (Mark 4:30; Luke 13:18).   The phrase “kingdom of God” occurs sixty-eight times in ten different New Testament books (f