michael, Author at Share God's Goodness

The day of the Lord Jesus’ return

May 3, 2025May 3, 2025 michael Gospel Matthew study

³²“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ³³Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. ³⁴Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ³⁶“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴²“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. (Matthew 24:32-44)
Here the Lord Jesus said that when you see the branches of the fig tree become tender and leaves come out, you know that summer is near. When you see all these things, you know that the Son of Man is near. What are all these things? All these things are what the Lord Jesus said earlier about the things will happen before his coming. The Lord Jesus continued to say: This generation will not pass away until all these things are fulfilled. What does this generation mean? This generation is obviously not the generation of the Lord Jesus’ audience at that time, because the Lord Jesus has not come yet. The Lord Jesus meant that the signs before His return mentioned earlier will occur in a generation, that is, when you see these signs, the Lord will come again in your generation. But no one knows that day or hour, not even the angels know, and the Lord Jesus himself does not know either, only the Heavenly Father knows. The Lord Jesus continued to say that the day of His return will be as unexpected as the day of Noah. At that time, two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left; Two women will be grinding at a hand mill; one will be taken and the other will be left. This is talking about the rapture, one of the two will be raptured and the other will be left behind.
¹⁶For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)
This is talking about the rapture, the Lord’s coming again, he will descend from heaven, and believers will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the clouds and will be with the Lord forever.
The Lord Jesus said that his return is unexpected, so we must be alert, be prepared, prepare ourselves.
May God bless you and your family!

The Great Tribulation in the Last Days

April 26, 2025April 26, 2025 michael Gospel Matthew study

¹⁵“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— ¹⁶then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. ¹⁸Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. ¹⁹How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! ²⁰Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. ²²“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. ²³At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵See, I have told you ahead of time. ²⁶“So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. ²⁹“Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ ³⁰“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.³¹And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matthew 24:15-31)
The Lord Jesus said that in the last days, you will see the “abomination that causes desolation” mentioned by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place. That is, the abomination of desolation will occur in the holy place, in Jerusalem.
²⁷He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. (Daniel 9:27)
The Book of Daniel predicts that the Antichrist will appear in the last days. He will make a firm covenant with many people within seven years. Three and a half years later, he will stop the sacrifices in the temple and setup the abomination of desolation.
³¹“His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. (Daniel 11:31)
This also speaks of what will happen in the holy place of Jerusalem, where the daily burnt offering is removed and the abomination of desolation is established. The prophecy of the abomination of desolation is fulfilled three times.
In 167 B.C. Antiochus erected a statue of the Greek god Zeus in the Jerusalem temple. He also ordered that swine, biblically unclean animals, be offered on the temple altar, desecrating the holy place (fulfilling Daniel’s prophecy). These acts were loathsome, abhorrent and detestable to the Jewish people and were the first fulfillment of the abomination of desolation.
A second fulfillment of the abomination of desolation occurred in A.D. 70 when Roman armies under Titus sacked the city of Jerusalem. In the process, Titus’ forces destroyed the temple building and altar. It has not been rebuilt to this day.
¹¹“From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. ¹²

Signs of Jesus’ Second Coming

April 19, 2025 michael Gospel Matthew study

³As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” ⁴Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. ⁶You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸All these are the beginning of birth pains. ⁹“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. ¹⁰At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. ¹²Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:3-14)
The disciples asked Jesus in private what was the sign of his coming and the end of the age, and Jesus spoke of the appearance of many false Christs and false prophets.
There is a sect in China called Eastern Lightning or The Church of Almighty God, which was founded in China in 1991. The core doctrine is that Jesus Christ has returned to the earth and lives as a Chinese woman. The sect even kidnaps people and is considered a cult.
Another sect that is very popular in North America is Jehovah’s Witnesses. Their beliefs are also very different. They do not believe that people have spirits, saying that heaven is full and they will live on earth forever. They do not believe in the divinity of the Lord Jesus, and do not believe that the Holy Spirit is one person of the Trinity God. They are also called heretics.
This is what the Lord Jesus said about the appearance of false Christs and false prophets in the last days, wars and rumors of wars, nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom, famines and earthquakes in many places, and Christians will be persecuted. Because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many people will grow cold. Another very important sign is that the gospel of the kingdom of heaven will spread throughout the world. With the emergence of the Internet, the gospel is more easily spread. We know that the day of the Lord Jesus’ return is near.
There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. (Luke 21:11)
In the Gospel of Luke, it predicts that there will be earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in many places in the last days. The global pandemic a few years ago also shows that the day of the Lord Jesus’ return is near.
May God bless you and your family!

About Jerusalem

April 12, 2025April 12, 2025 michael Gospel Matthew study

³⁷“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. ³⁸Look, your house is left to you desolate. ³⁹For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ²“Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” (Matthew 23:37-39/24:1-2)
We see from the history of Israel, they often killed the prophets sent by God, and later they crucified the Son of God, the Lord Jesus on the cross. Here the Lord Jesus said: “How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” They did not take refuge under the wings of God, the wings of the Lord, so they could not get the protection from God, from the Lord, so their house became desolate. The nation of Israel was destroyed in 722 BC. Here the Lord Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple, the second temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD, and the first temple was destroyed in 586 BC. But God did not forget his people, and Israel was restored as a nation in 1948 after more than 2,000 years of destruction.
²⁵I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, ²⁶and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. (Romans 11:25-26)
The Bible predicted that when the number of us non-Israelite Gentiles who are saved is full, all Israel will be saved. That is, at the end of the age, when the time of the Gentile ends, all Israel will be saved.
May God bless you and your family!

Seven Woes to the teachers of the law and the Pharisees

April 5, 2025April 5, 2025 michael Gospel Matthew study

13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. 15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are. 23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. (Matthew 23:13-15/23-24)

The Pharisees were a sect of Israelites. They believed in resurrection and angels. They were self-righteous people. They did not believe in the Lord Jesus. They did not believe the many miracles Lord Jesus performed. They were especially against the Lord Jesus healing the sick and casting out demons on the Sabbath. They even wanted to put Him to death. The Lord Jesus talked about their seven woes. Here are three of them. The first woe is that they shut the door to the kingdom of heaven. They neither entered nor allowed others to enter. They did not believe in the Lord Jesus. did not want to enter the kingdom of heaven. They opposed the Lord Jesus and opposed other people to belief in the Lord Jesus, and did not allow people to enter the kingdom of heaven. You traveled over land and sea to win a single convert. They were the sons of hell, and they made people become the sons of hell twice as much as they did. They also tithed mint, dill and cumin, but neglected the more important matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faithfulness. The Pharisees only obeyed the small things in the commandments, but not the important commandments. The Lord Jesus said that the more important things they should observe, without neglecting the small commandments.

We see in the Bible that the Lord Jesus is severe to the teachers of the law and pharisees while is very merciful to the tax collectors and sinners, he came to call sinners to repentances.

May God bless you and your family!

Warning people not to imitate the Pharisees

March 29, 2025 michael Gospel Matthew study

¹Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ²“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. ⁵“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; ⁶they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; ⁷they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others. ⁸“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. ¹¹The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹²For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. (Matthew 23:1-12)
Here the Lord Jesus told the crowds and his disciples not to imitate the behavior of the scribes and Pharisees, who could talk but could not do. They gave heavy burdens to others, but they themselves would not lift a finger to move them, and did nothing.
³⁸“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. ³⁹You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. (Numbers 15:38-39)
The Book of Numbers in the Old Testament required the Israelites to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel so that they could see and remember to obey all the commandments of God. However, they made their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long in order for others to see.
¹“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. ²“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:1-4)
Here the Lord Jesus said that we should not do good deeds in front of people, deliberately for them to see. Here the Lord Jesus did not mean that we should not do good deeds in front of people, but that the motive for doing good deeds should not be for people to see. If the motive is for people to see, you have received rewards from people, you cannot receive rewards from the Father in heaven.
The scribes and Pharisees also loved the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues, and being called rabbi in the streets. Rabbi means teacher.
The Lord Jesus continued: Whoever is greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Whoever is great must serve others, and whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. God gives grace to the humble.
May God bless you and your family!

The Greatest Commandment

March 22, 2025 michael Gospel Matthew study

³⁴Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. ³⁵One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ³⁶“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” ³⁷Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:34-40)
A Pharisee, an expert in the law came to ask the Lord Jesus: “Which is the greatest commandment in the law? ” The Lord Jesus told him two great commandments:
The first great commandment is in the Book of Deuteronomy of the Old Testament:
⁴Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ⁵Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
Here it talks about loving God with all your heart, soul, and strength.
The second greatest commandment is in the book of Leviticus of the Old Testament,
¹⁸“‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:18)
Here it talks about loving your neighbor as yourself.
In the parallel passage in the New Testament, the Gospel of Mark, Lord Jesus also talks about the two great commandments
30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. ’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ’ There is no greater commandment than these. ”
(Mark 12:30-31)
⁸Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. ⁹The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:8-10)
Here the Apostle Paul says that the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself”. If you love your neighbor, you will not do harm to him, and love has fulfilled the law.
⁹However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” the things God has prepared for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9)
Here it says that what God has prepared for those who love him in heaven in the future are wonders, what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived.
May God bless you and your family!

Sadducees questioned about the Resurrection

March 15, 2025March 15, 2025 michael Gospel Matthew study

²³That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. ²⁴“Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. ²⁵Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. ²⁷Finally, the woman died. ²⁸Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?” ²⁹Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. ³⁰At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. ³¹But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ³²‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” ³³When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching. (Matthew 22:23-33)
The Sadducees and the Pharisees were both Jewish sects. The Sadducees were centered around the chief priests. They did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, but the Pharisees did. So the Sadducees came to question the Lord Jesus about the resurrection.
⁵If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. ⁶The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel. (Deuteronomy 25:5-6)
According to the Old Testament law: “If a man dies and has no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother”
The Lord Jesus told them that God’s power can resurrect people. When resurrected, people will not marry, just like the angels. The Lord Jesus continued to say: “God is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” That is to say, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still alive.
The Bible says that the Lord Jesus resurrected Lazarus who had been dead for four days. I have read testimonies that the dead are still being raised nowadays.
The Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross and resurrected from the dead three days later. His resurrection gives us hope of resurrection.
¹⁶For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
Here the Apostle Paul tells us that when the Lord Jesus comes again, the dead in Christ will be resurrected first, and then we who are still alive in Christ will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord and be with the Lord forever.
⁵¹Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, ⁵²in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
Here Paul says that when the Lord Jesus comes again, the dead in Christ will be resurrected and have an incorruptible body, and we will also be changed, and our bodies will be changed into glorious and incorruptible bodies.
I hope more people will come to believe in the Lord, become new person in Christ, and have

Pay taxes to Caesar

March 8, 2025March 8, 2025 michael Gospel Matthew study

¹⁵Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. ¹⁶They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. ¹⁷Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” ¹⁸But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? ¹⁹Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, ²⁰and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” ²¹“Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” ²²When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away. (Matthew 22:15-22)
Here we see that the Pharisees and the Herodians came to test the Lord Jesus, asking him: “Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” The Herodians were a Jewish sect, supporters of King Herod, the king of Judah. At that time, the Jews were under the rule of Rome, and Caesar was the emperor of Rome. Here the Pharisees wanted to trap Jesus in his words. If the Lord Jesus said not to pay taxes to Caesar, they would accuse him of inciting rebellion. The Lord Jesus is the Son of God, and he knows everything. He knew that they came to tempt him, so he answered: “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” That is, pay tax what is due to Caesar, and offer to God what is due to God.
Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. ²And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”(Luke 23:1-2)
Here we see that later the Lord Jesus was arrested by them and brought before Pilate, they falsely accused him of forbidding the payment of taxes to Caesar. The Lord Jesus did not do so, but they still falsely accused him. If he had done so, it would have been even worse. They did not believe that he was the Christ and the King, and this became the reason for their accusation.
Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. (Romans 13:7)
Here the Apostle Paul said that we should pay taxes if we own tax, we should be law-abiding people.
I hope more people will believe in the Lord Jesus and accept him as the Lord and Savior of their lives.
May God bless you and your family!

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

March 1, 2025March 1, 2025 michael Gospel Matthew study

¹Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ²“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. ⁴“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ ⁵“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. ¹¹“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹²He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless. ¹³“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴“For many are invited, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:1-14)
Here the Lord Jesus spoke the parable of a wedding banquet, comparing the kingdom of heaven to a wedding banquet. Here the king represents God, and the king’s son represents the Lord Jesus. The king sent servants to invite those who were called. God first called the Israelites, but they found excuses not to attend the banquet, and even killed many servants, prophets sent by God, including John the Baptist. Because the Israelites who were called were not worthy, God’s call came to the Gentiles, that is, non-Israelites. Here we see that God called all people, regardless of good or evil, and the banquet was full of guests. At that time, the host of the wedding banquet would prepare wedding clothes for the guests. The king saw that there was a person who was not wearing a wedding clothes. What does this mean?
I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (Isaiah 61:10)
The wedding clothes mentioned above are the garments of salvation and the robes of righteousness that God has prepared for us.
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) (Revelation 19:8)
The fine linen mentioned here in Revelation is the righteousness of the saints.
and to put on the new self, create in the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:24)
Here it says that after believing in the Lord and being born again and saved, we must put on the new man, which is created in the image of God, with true righteousness and holiness.
So wearing a wedding clothes means wearing a robe of righteousness, doing righteousness, putting on the new man, and becoming a new man.
Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” (Revelation 19:9)
I hope more people will accept the Lord’s call to believe in the Lord, be born again and saved, become new men, and be able to attend the wedding supper of the Lamb in the future. The Lamb here refers to the Lord Jesus.
May God bless you and your family!

The Parable of the Tenants

February 22, 2025February 22, 2025 michael Gospel Matthew study

³³“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. ³⁴When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. ³⁵“The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. ³⁷Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. ³⁸“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ ³⁹So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” ⁴²Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’ ⁴³“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. ⁴⁴Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” ⁴⁵When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. ⁴⁶They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.
Here the landowner represents God, the vineyard represents Israel, and the tenants represents the chief priests, Pharisees, scribes, and elders. The servant represents the servant of God, the prophet. The son of the landowner represents the Lord Jesus. The landowner sent his servants to the vineyard represents God sent his prophets to preach the word of God to Israel, and some of them were beaten, some were killed, and some were stoned to death. God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus to them and was crucified by them. Here the Lord Jesus prophesied that He would be put to death by them. The Lord Jesus quoted Old Testament prophecy:
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; (Psalm 118:22)
Here the stone rejected by the builders is the Lord Jesus, who became the cornerstone, on which the church was built, and the church began with the resurrection of the Lord Jesus after his death. Here it is said that the kingdom of God will be taken away from them and given to fruitful people. God chose the Israelites first, and the Lord Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom of God to them first, but they did not believe and rejected the Lord Jesus, and the gospel was preached to the Gentiles, that is, to us, the non-Israelites.
In this parable, we see God’s faithful love and patience, and he gives people opportunities to turn back to Him one time after another.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
I hope that more people will believe in the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, to be born again and be saved, and to have the hope of eternal life.
May God bless you and your family!

Parable of the Two Sons

February 15, 2025February 17, 2025 michael Gospel Matthew study

²⁸“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ²⁹“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. ³¹“Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³²For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. (Matthew 21:28-32)
In this parable, the Lord Jesus mentioned two sons. The first son did not agree to his father’s request at first, but later he repented and obeyed his father’s command; the second son agreed to his father’s request, but did not act. Jesus continued to say that the first son was the tax collectors and prostitutes. They did not obey God’s will at first and violated God’s commandments. However, because they listened to Jesus’ teachings, they repented and stopped sinning, became new creations in Christ, and entered the kingdom of God first; the second son was the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees. They knew God’s law, but they did not obey God’s commandments. They did not believe when John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus preached to them.
Jesus asked them who was the one who obeyed the Father’s commandments, There is no doubt that those tax collectors and prostitutes who believed in Jesus, although they were sinners, they repented because of their belief in Jesus and became people who obeyed the Father’s command.
Jesus used this parable to tell us that repentance and baptism are the key to be born again and be saved. Jesus said that unless a person is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God, unless a person is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. The first son repented and obeyed his father’s command. In fact, the second son could also become a person who obeyed his father’s command. As long as he repented, God would accept them, but they were unwilling. So Jesus said that tax collectors and prostitutes would enter the kingdom of God before them.
May God bless you and your family.