Watch our May 22, 2022 adult Sunday school class taught by Tom Cantor (Matthew 23:13).
This Sunday, Tom Cantor taughtfrom Matthew 23:13. Tom started by reading Matthew 23:13–33 to get the context. He then looked back at the previous background. He noted that the Lord cleanse the temple of thieves of property, and now he was cleansing it of the thieves of souls.
Tom Cantor also made the important point that the Lord Jesus Christ was having compassion on them for scribes and Pharisees even in his criticism of them. The Lord Jesus his criticism was like the warning of a trumpet (Amos 3:6). Tom noted that their problem was that they were playing religion, being hypocrites. He then went on to contrast the way of works versus the way of Christ – the gospel. He pointed out that the scribes and Pharisees were in a position to be a great blessing (Matthew 23:2–3). This is something they should’ve taken advantage of.
Tom Cantor connected this passage with Jewish evangelism. Tom gave an example from his personal life when interacting with a rabbi. He said there are now two ways that the kingdom of God is “shut up“ to the Jewish community. The first is the pressure of the wall along with the “oral law.” The second is the nourishing of a prejudice against Christ. He said he calls his Israel Restoration Ministries “prejudice counselors.”
Tom also emphasize that some of the Jewish leaders did believe on Jesus (John 7:47–48). He concluded with five reasons people resist Jesus whether Jews or gentiles.
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