Title: Heaven is like / Matthew 20
As the end of his ministry drew near, Jesus frequently mentioned the events of the cross and resurrection (Matthew 16:21, Luke 9:31, Matthew 20:19) and at the same time he often mentioned the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16:27, 17:1- 3, 18:3, 19:24). The core of the gospel is the cross, resurrection, and heaven.
1 “The kingdom of heaven is like a laborer to be brought into the vineyard” (1-16)
2 “Behold, the Son of Man was handed over to the chief priests and scribes” (17-28)
Jesus, who was talking about the kingdom of heaven, suddenly turned their attention to the events of the cross and resurrection. Because there is no heaven that does not pass through the cross and resurrection. However, the 12 disciples were still interested in occupying a higher place than the cross. The mother of John and James came to Jesus, bowed down, and petitioned that one son be seated at the right and the other at the left. There were two responses to this petition. The first was that in order to do this, one had to drink the cup of the suffering and curse of the cross first, and the second was that he had to wait for God's final judgment. All the 10 disciples who were watching this conversation became angry. Jesus sternly rebuked the angry 12 disciples that those who want to become great should be servants, and those who want to be first should be slaves. And Jesus spoke the words of Matthew 20:28 (Mark 10:45) that most clearly described (Dr.
3 “Two blind men cried out, saying,” (29-34)
Another striking feature of the Gospels appears here. In other words, those who received the mercy of Jesus and the grace of salvation were from the castaway class. They came to Jesus and humbly cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us.”