In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul offers one of the longest and most helpful accounts of Jesus’ resurrection and its implications for us as His followers. Paul reminds us it is the resurrection on which our faith stands. If Jesus has been raised then He is the Son of God, and our true Savior and Lord. If He has not risen, as Paul puts it, “We are of all people the most to be pitied. As the chapter continues, Paul talks about how important it is for us to understand the power of the resurrection, and to live our lives in purity before the Lord. He also tells us about the new bodies we will receive when we rise from the dead. 1 Corinthians 15 is a chapter worth reading again and again, because of the rich information, and the rich promises it provides.
1 Corinthians 16 closes Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian believers, and Paul commends certain leaders to the Corinthians for their acceptance and for them to follow. Paul was never a “one-man-band.” He constantly and consistently equipped other leaders and gave them both the authority and responsibility to carry out their ministries in ways that would best advance God’s Kingdom. It is vital for us as Jesus’ followers to follow this model of equipping leaders who will share the good news of Jesus and continue to equip leaders for the following generations. In this way the church will grow stronger, and the Kingdom will advance.
As we return to Matthew 21, we find Jesus’ ministry coming to a climax. He enters triumphantly into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday, and the crowds praise Him. He drives the money changers out of the Temple for making it a “den of thieves.” Then, the religious leaders press Him wanting to know where He derives the authority to do the kinds of things He does. Jesus turns the tables on them and asks them where John the Baptist derived His authority? They realized if they said it was from heaven, Jesus would ask why they didn’t believe him, but if they said it was human authority the crowds would turn on them, because they thought John was a prophet. As a result, they said, “We don’t know.” Jesus then responded, “Neither will I tell you where I derive my authority.”
The chapter closes with Jesus telling two parables, each of which points out flaws in the religious leaders. The first was the Parable of the Two Sons. In the parable a man had two sons, each of whom he asked to go work in the fields. The first said he would, but then he didn’t, while the second said he wouldn’t but then he did. Jesus asked which of the sons did their father’s will? The reasonable answer was the second, the one who said, “No,” but then went and worked in the field. Jesus compared the first son to the religious leaders and the second son to the tax collectors and other sinners. In the second parable, the Parable of the Tenants, Jesus told of a landowner who rented his vineyard out to tenants. When it came time for the harvest, the landowner sent servants to get his share of the revenues, but the tenants mistreated them, and even killed some of them. Finally, the landowner sent his only son, thinking they would treat him well. Instead, they killed him, thinking they would keep the proceeds for themselves with the son out of the way. The religious leaders realized this parable was about them, they were the tenants, and Jesus was the son. This caused them to be more eager to be rid of Him.