Matthew 22: Duel Kingdom Citizenship

Jesus teaches us how to navigate our dual citizenship in God's kingdom and the world, showing that we can honor earthly authorities while maintaining our primary allegiance to heaven.

• Matthew emphasizes Jesus as King throughout all 28 chapters
• Jesus shares the Wedding Feast parable about proper preparation for God's kingdom 
• The Pharisees try to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes to Caesar
• Jesus brilliantly responds with "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's"
• Sadducees challenge Jesus about resurrection, but He corrects their misunderstanding
• Jesus summarizes all commandments: love God completely and love neighbors as yourself
• Christians should be model citizens because we represent God's kingdom on earth
• We only disobey earthly laws when they conflict with God's higher kingdom
• As ambassadors of Christ, we should live above reproach in all aspects of life

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introducing Dual Kingdom Citizenship
• 2:48 The Wedding Feast Parable
• 5:19 The Caesar's Coin Challenge
• 6:58 Sadducees Question Resurrection
• 9:18 Two Greatest Commandments
• 11:02 Living as Kingdom Ambassadors

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:24

Hello everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, matthew, chapter 22, and today's title is Dual Kingdom Citizenship. Dual Kingdom Citizenship we're going to talk about what it is to live in the kingdom of God and in the kingdom of men and women at the same time. Where is our allegiance? What do we do? How do we walk in both kingdoms at the same time? We're going allegiance what do we do? How do we walk in both kingdoms at the same time? We're going to talk about that in just a moment. So, if your Bibles want to open up with me to Matthew, chapter 22, while you're doing that, as always, I want you to take just a moment like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you leave us a five-star review on the podcast and make sure you're going to the Bible Breakdown discussion on Facebook. It's an amazing group of people doing a wonderful job there. The more we dig, the more we find, and you can find links to all of this at thebiblebreakdowncom. Well, if you've been with us over the past several days, and while you're getting your Bible and your coffee and your popcorn and everything ready to go, we have been walking through the Gospel of Matthew and talking about that.

Speaker 1: 1:23

The main theme of Matthew is King Jesus. That theme of Matthew is King Jesus. That in chapter 1 he just opens up and he just kind of blows our hair back by saying Jesus is the king. I can prove it, he is at least the king of this earthly kingdom. But then he spends chapter 2 through 28 just saying but he is the king of all and all authority has been given to him over heaven and earth. And he starts teaching us about what that looked like and what it was like to walk with Jesus while he was on this earth and as we are now quickly getting to the coronation of the king, where he is going to be crucified and then rise again. Jesus is now in the last week of his life and he is setting the kingdom in order. He is talking about what it is to be part of the kingdom of God. He's doing so many great things and today in this chapter he's going to cover a lot of stuff. He's going to cover, you know, parables and just all these things, but we're going to really dial in on something he says in the middle. But we've got to get there first. So if you're ready, let's read together Matthew, chapter 22,. Verse one says this Jesus also told other parables and he said the kingdom of heaven can be illustrated. So once again, remember a parable is a story intended to relay a spiritual principle. So it says it can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son.

Speaker 1: 2:44

When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited, but they all refused to come. So he sent other servants to tell them A feast has been prepared, the bull and the fatted calf have been killed and everything is ready. Come to the banquet. But the guests he had invited ignored them and they went on their way, one to his farm and another to his business. Others seized the messengers and insulted them and killed them. The king was furious. He sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their towns. And he said to his servants the wedding feast is ready and the guests I have invited aren't worthy of the honor. Now go into the street corners and invite everyone, you see. So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.

Speaker 1: 3:31

But when the king came to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn't wearing the proper clothing for a wedding Friend. He asked how is it that you are here without wedding clothes? But the man had no reply. The king said to his aides bind his hands and feet and throw him into outer darkness and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for many are called, but few are chosen. Now pause, this is lost on us because the culture is so very different. But when you were invited to a wedding, you were supposed to dress appropriately and everyone would have had the ability to dress appropriately. There were, there are some scholars who say that everyone would have, you know, their best outfit laid out. There are others who will say that actually a king would provide outfits. So the point here is not that this poor guy was unable to be prepared. The thing is is that he had the opportunity to be prepared, but he chose not to. And so then, according to the parable, when this guy was confronted and go, wait a minute, you had every opportunity to be here, but you chose not to do it the right way. Why? Why are you here and he had no reply. So what Jesus is saying is is he is saying in essence, he's saying I came to the Jewish nation. They didn't want me, so I'm going to spread it out to everybody, but you still got to come into my kingdom the right way. You still got to do it the right way, and I think that's very important for all of us. I love this, verse 15, he says this then the Pharisees met together to plot on how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.

Speaker 1: 4:58

They said to their disciples, along with supporters of Herod, to meet with him. And so they said teacher, they said how we know you are, how honest you are, you teach the way of God truthfully and how impartial you are and you don't play favorites. Now tell us what do you think about this? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus knew their evil motives and he said you hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me here? Show me the coin used for the tax. When they handed him the Roman coin, he said whose picture and title are stamped on it Caesar's. They replied Well then, give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God? And they replied remaze them. And they went away. We'll come back to that at the end, verse 23,.

Speaker 1: 5:44

That same day, jesus approached some of the Sadducees, religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead, and they pose this question. Teacher Moses said if a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child. Who will marry on who? Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children. So his brother married the widow, the second brother also died, the third brother married her, and this continued all the way until all seven of them, last of all, the woman also died. So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.

Speaker 1: 6:27

Jesus replied your mistake is that you don't know the scriptures and you don't know the power of God. Wow, verse 30,. For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect, they will be like the angels in heaven. But now as to whether there will be the resurrection of the dead, haven't you ever read in the scriptures?

Speaker 1: 6:53

Long after Abraham, isaac and Jacob had died, god said I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. God is the God of the living, not the dead. And when the crowds heard him, they were astounded at his teaching. But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with this reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses? You must love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is equally important, and that is to love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments. Now pause.

Speaker 1: 7:44

Now I can't pass this up without telling you this really interesting thing, and that is this when we read that, we hear that Jesus is saying there are two commandments. They're both equally important. Like you can't do one without the other, like you've got to have both. You can't have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without peanut butter and jelly, otherwise it's something else right. Have both. You can't have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without peanut butter and jelly, otherwise it don't. You know it's, it's something else right. And so he's saying on one end, you got to love God with everything you have. On the other end, you got to love God's people. You know the people he created. You got to love your neighbor as yourself. You got to have them both on. This foundation has built everything else. Well, that's true, but what is also known to people at the time, as he is saying, is the number one thing you do is you obey the Ten Commandments. Well, where in the world do you get that? Well, it was widely known at the time that the first five commandments was all about how we relate to God. The second five commandments were all in how we relate to one another. So what Jesus is saying is the big Ten Commandments. Those are what the rest of it's built on. You want to know what the 10 commandments say? Love God, love people. So he's still saying the same thing, but he is saying is is you want to build a foundation? Love God, love people. How do you do that? Obey the 10 commandments. Obeying the 10 commandments is how you obey the law. That was really cool, all right.

Speaker 1: 8:58

Verse 41. Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, jesus asked them a question what do you think about the Messiah. Whose son is he? They replied well, he's the son of David. Then Jesus responded then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah my Lord? For David, said. The Lord said to my Lord, sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet. So since David called the Messiah my Lord, how can the Messiah be his son? No one could answer him and from that time on, no one dared ask Jesus any more questions. In other words, they realized this joker is smarter than us, and so they didn't ask any more questions.

Speaker 1: 9:44

Well, let's go back to this, excuse me, before we end our time together. That is, jesus is challenged on how we should relate to the world around us. Remember, back in verse 15 through 22,. They're challenging Jesus because they are saying if we're really part of the kingdom of God, then why are we? You know, should we actually then interact with the kingdom of men? Should we pay taxes to Caesar? Why should we do that if we're part of the kingdom of God?

Speaker 1: 10:13

And so here's the thing Jesus knew that they were trying to trap him, but he also used as an opportunity to speak the truth to God. And so here's the thing Jesus knew that they were trying to trap him, but he also used as an opportunity to speak the truth to them. And so what he says to them is he says here's the thing you are living in the kingdom of men. You are buying and selling in the kingdom of men. Therefore, since you are living in the kingdom of men, you should then honor the kingdom as it relates to the things that belong to it. In other words, what he's saying is you know why you should pay taxes? It's because you are living with the money that you're getting from the government. You know, by buying and selling through the government, this cash stuff that you got, that is part of the social contract we have with the world around us. Therefore, deal with that social contract as is fair, but, at the same time, understand that your values, your morals, your principles, the deepest stuff in your life, that comes from the kingdom of heaven.

Speaker 1: 11:07

And so you see this bared out throughout the rest of the New Testament, where other parts of the New Testament says that we should honor the authorities around us, we should honor the leaders over us, we should do these different things. And so Jesus is saying is is that you are supposed to be a dual citizen because you're part of two kingdoms, another place. Paul says that we are ambassadors. Now, if you're an ambassador, that means you are the highest ranking individual sent from one nation to another. When you are in that other nation, your citizenship is still from the original nation, but while you live in the nation you're visiting, you abide by the laws of that nation, as long as it doesn't conflict with your original nation. That's how we operate in the kingdom of this world.

Speaker 1: 11:56

Our primary citizenship is the kingdom of God, and as long as where we are living doesn't counteract with the law of God, we obey it. The only time we disobey the laws of men is when it causes us to go against our original kingdom, which is why I think Christians should be the very best citizens, because we live according to a higher calling, the kingdom of heaven, and so my question for you today would be this, and that is do you live as though you were part of a higher kingdom, or do you try to find ways to skirt around the rules, to try to see what you can get by with, because you want to play according to the rules of the kingdom that you live in. Well, that's okay, as long as it doesn't counteract the kingdom of heaven. And the kingdom of heaven says is that we are fair, that we are just, that we are good, that we don't steal, we don't rob, we don't try to cheat our government. We do those things and that's hard, but that's what it is to be in the kingdom of heaven. We're an ambassador, and an ambassador is a representation of the kingdom they're from. So, as ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven, we should always live above reproach, because the king says you're in my kingdom, so show it by the way you live in the other kingdoms.

Speaker 1: 13:11

Let's pray together right now. God, thank you so much for today. I think that your word is deep and is powerful. There's so much in here, lord, that we're never going to be able to get to the bottom of. But we celebrate the journey of being able to. And, lord, sometimes living in this life, we forget, because the kingdom of heaven is something that we can't see, it's spiritual, and so we begin to live according to the rules of the kingdoms of this world and sometimes we forget that we have a higher calling, that we represent you in all things. I pray that you'll challenge us and encourage us about the honor and the opportunity of representing you in all things. We celebrate you today in Jesus name. We pray Amen. Now what God's word says. Jesus says in Matthew 28, 19,. He says all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Matthew, chapter 23.