Scripture

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

Observation

Jesus tells His disciples that it is hard for rich people to enter the kingdom. In fact it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.

The disciples are astounded and ask Jesus how can anyone be saved? He tells them it is impossible by human standards, but with God everything is possible .

He goes on to tell them that in the age to come, these disciples will sit on twelve thrones. Many who are now the greatest will then be the least in the Kingdom, and many who are now unimportant will be the greatest.

Application

It is impossible for anyone to be saved through human effort alone. The disciples were amazed at Jesus’ words that rich people find it hard to enter the Kingdom. There was an assumption that being rich was a sign of God’s favour.

Jesus reminds them that the rich will be poor and the weak will be strong in the age of the Kingdom of Heaven. God overturns all of our expectations.

Nobody can be saved – rich or poor. But with God, the impossible becomes possible Jesus would soon die on the cross to open wide the gates of Heaven to all who would lay down their own lives and follow Him.

With God, all things are possible. The dead come to life; lepers are cleansed; money is provided; incurable diseases are cured.

We should never abandon hope. Rather, we need to trust the God who does the impossible.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for your ability to save people who seem beyond redemption. You truly are the God of the impossible. Amen.

Scripture

But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had many possessions.

Observation

Some parents bring their children to receive Jesus’ blessing. The disciples want to send them away, but Jesus says,”Let the little children come to me, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to people like this.”

A rich man comes to Jesus to ask him what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus tells him to obey the commandments. The man says he has done this and asks what else must he do?

Jesus tells him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor. The young man goes away sad, for he has many possessions.

Application

Jesus has a way of putting his finger on people’s addictions and idols. For this man, the idol was his wealth.

Jesus, at the man’s request, gives him a fundamental choice. He could enjoy the benefits of wealth in this life or he could give them up for now in order to enjoy eternal life.

It is a bit like the challenge for young children – have one lolly now sitting in front of you on a plate or wait half an hour for five lollies. Many people, adults and children alike, are unable to exercise discipline and patience to wait for the better thing.

This man was obviously aware he was lacking something. He was looking for the relationship with God that just obeying commandments can never satisfy. Jesus says, in effect, that his wealth was standing in the way.

It doesn’t have to be possessions, of course. People make idols of all kinds of things – power, sexual immorality, approval by others and more.

If we are not prepared to give up the thing that blocks our relationship with God, we will never get to Heaven.

Prayer

Lord, please show me the idols that get in the way of my relationship with you, and please give me the grace to surrender them to you. Amen.

Scripture

“Haven’t you read the scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.'”

Observation

Jesus leaves Galilee and travels to Judea. Some Pharisees ask him if a man should be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason.

Jesus replies that the scriptures teach that God made people male and female, and for this reason a man leaves his parents to be united with his wife. Therefore, no one should separate those whom God has join together.

When pressed by the Pharisees, Jesus goes on to say that divorce was given because our hearts are hard. Anyone who divorces for any reason other than adultery by their partner is themselves guilty of adultery.

Application

In the beginning God created people male and female.

Jesus repeat this passage from Genesis because it is foundational to what it means to be human. It is basic biology.

Western culture at the moment is being assaulted by people who want to tear down all distinctions in nature, but especially those between men and women.

Biology teaches us that our sex is hard coded into our DNA. Every cell in our body carries the code – you are a man or a woman. We cannot overwrite this with surgery, hormones, and feelings.

In the same way, marriage is undermined when people say,”Love is love” to justify a form of marriage in which the sex of the people is irrelevant.

God made us male and female. To deny this basic truths is to make God a liar.

Prayer

Father, please help people to understand the basic truth. I reject the claims of those who deny you and I declare that your word is true. Amen.

Scripture

Then Peter came to him and asked,“Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? 7 times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven.”

Observation

Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive a brother who sings against him. He suggests seven times, which was very generous. But Jesus says seventy times seven is the appropriate number.

Jesus then tells a parable of a king who was settling accounts. He discovered that one of his servants owed him millions of dollars. He ordered the servant to be thrown into prison, along with his family. The servant pleads for time to pay, so the king forgives his debt. A fellow servant owes this man a few days wages. The first servant has him thrown into prison despite the man’s pleas for mercy. When the king hears about this, he has the first servant thrown into prison.

Jesus concludes by saying that this is how God will treat those who refuse to forgive their brothers and sisters.

Application

Gods mercy towards us is huge. We think of all the times we have said, “Sorry” to God and received His forgiveness. We should probably add four times that number again of occasions when we should have said “Sorry” but failed to do so.

Forgiveness flows to us from God’s heart because He is love and we are His children.

Part of being a receiver of God’s loving forgiveness is that we forgive those who hurt us. Peter thought he had an idea of God’s grace when he suggested that we forgive people seven times. But Jesus explodes that idea. “Seventy times seven” really means that we do not keep count.

For the child of God, forgiveness should flow freely from our hearts as it does from God’s heart.

“Freely you have received. Freely you must give.”

Prayer

Lord, your love is like an ocean that stretches beyond our imagination. You let my sins sink out of sight and over again. Please let this same grace flow from me to others. Amen.

Scripture

“I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”

Observation

If a man has 100 sheep, he will go searching for one that goes astray. When he finds the stray, he will rejoice over the one that was lost more than the ninety-nine who did not go astray. The Father also rejoices when one of His little ones comes to faith.

If another believer offends us, we should first try to resolve it privately. If that does not work, we should take one or two others to meet with them. If all else fails, we must take the dispute to the church to be adjudicated.

If two people agree on earth concerning anything, the Father will do it. Where two or three gather in Jesus’ name He is with us.

Application

There is spiritual power in agreement, for better or worse.

When we agree in prayer, then God sees our combined faith levels and moves to answer our prayer. Agreement brings a multiplication of faith.

Agreement has a negative side also. When we gossip or speak badly of other christians in a group, then the power of agreement releases satan to pull that person down. When we say a particular person is no good or beyond redemption, we give satan the ability to block that person’s access to the grace of God.

If there is power in agreement, there is even greater power in presence. The presence of Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, pulls down strongholds, releases healing, and brings people to salvation.

When we gather, even as two or three, the church, the Bride of Christ, the Body of Christ is in session. There amongst us is Christ.

The key is that we meet in the name of Jesus, that is, as His representatives. There is no promise for a couple of christians having coffee together, but when we come together “as my followers”, we can know our prayers will be powerfully answered.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for the power of agreement and the power of your presence. Please help me to believe these words and put them into practise. Amen.

Scripture

“What sorrow awaits the world, because it’s tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.”

Observation

The disciples ask Jesus who is the greatest in God’s Kingdom. Jesus replies that we must turn from our sins and become like children to get inside the Kingdom. Anyone who becomes humble like a child is the greatest in the Kingdom.

Anyone who causes a “little one” (whether a child or a believer in Christ) to fall into sin will be judged so terribly that they would be better off with a millstone tied around their neck and cast into the sea. Temptation is inevitable, but sorrow awaits the one who tempts people.

If we are led Into temptation, we should cut off the offending parts of our body. It is better to enter eternity maned then to be thrown into the flames of Hell.

Application

It is one thing to sin ourselves, but infinitely worse if we cause somebody else to sin.

The world system, and those who participate in it, will be judged harshly by God for this reason.

When we look around at the temptations that our society exhorts us to indulge, it is no wonder that Jesus is so harsh. The world encourages us to lust after people, to engage in sexual promiscuity, to indulge in sexual depravity, to drink too much alcohol, to covet cars, houses, and other goods, to be gluttons, to despise authority, and so on.

Jesus shows us a very different way to live. It is not that we should reject everything the physical world offers, or all that society gives, but that we focus our attention on serving the Lord.

We must, therefore, ensure that we resist the seductions of the world. Above all, we must take care not to lead others into sin.

Prayer

Father God, you call me to live a life of simplicity and trust. Please help me to live in a way that pleases you. Amen.

Scripture

Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered? ” Peter replied, “The people they have conquered.” “Well then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free!”

Observation

Jesus again tells the disciples that He will be betrayed into the hands of His enemies to be killed, but He will rise on the third day.

In Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple Tax ask Peter if Jesus pays the tax. He tells then, “yes”. Jesus then ask Peter whether kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered.

Jesus concludes that the citizens of the kingdom are free. But He sends Peter to go down to the lake where he will catch a fish that will have a coin in its mouth.

Application

Every adult in Israel was required to pay half a shekel each year to pay for the maintenance of the temple. Jesus stated that, as citizens of God’s Kingdom, they were exempt, but He provided the money for the tax anyway.

Christians are required to pay taxes in our society. Our taxes do not go to support the old covenant worship, but to providing services for people. We might argue about Government priorities, but we cannot claim to be exempt from taxes.

Jesus’ death and resurrection brought the old covenant to an end. The new Temple is the people who make up the covenant community. It is no longer a physical building but a spiritual reality.

There is no need for us to pay the temple tax. We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

Lord, it is an awesome thing to realise that I carry the Holy Spirit in the same way that the temple was once considered your dwelling place. Amen.

Scripture

“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

Observation

Jesus and the three disciples come down from the mountain, where a man comes and kneels before Jesus. He pleads for Jesus to heal his son. He asked the disciples, but they could do nothing.

Jesus is exasperated by this lack of faith. He rebukes the demon, and it leaves.

The disciples ask Jesus why they could not remove the demon. Jesus replies that if they had only a mustard seed of faith, nothing would be impossible for them.

Application

Jesus rebukes His disciples for their lack of faith. Even a mustard seed of faith would be enough to move a mountain, much less heal a sick boy.

This is a rebuke for all of us. We just don’t have enough faith.

We fail to experience miracles because our faith is so tiny, so insignificant as to be meaningless.

I think that Jesus is trying to tell us that we need to trust Him more, especially with the big issues in life.

How do we get faith? By believing.

We have to make that decision to walk by faith and not by sight, to believe what God’s word says, not by what our eyes see or a doctor tells us.

This is not to say that we will become a sideshow of miracle workers. No, it is normal Christian living..When faced with opposition or a lack of something, we say to the devil,“You have no authority here. Be gone! “

Prayer

Lord, a mustard seed of faith is all that I need to see you at work. Please plant that in my spirit and cause it to grow in me. Amen

Scripture

But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ”This is my beloved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.”

Observation

Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a high mountain to be alone. Jesus’ appearance is transformed, and His face shines like the sun. Moses and Elijah also appear.

Peter wants to build some shelters as memorials, but a cloud overshadows them and the Father speaks from the cloud. “This is my beloved Son.”

The disciple fall to the ground in fear. Jesus comes and touches them. He then tells them not to tell anyone about this event.

Application

This event, especially the voice of the Father speaking from the cloud, was overwhelming for the disciples. They were terrified, although they should have known that Jesus would keep them safe .

Sometimes getting a revelation from God can be very terrifying. We often think of the Holy Spirit as being gentle like a dove, and He is. But sometimes He manifests as a wild wind and tongues of fire.

I remember one lady who came to me and said that she had had an encounter with the Lord in which she experienced his wrath. Even though she had been serving the Lord for many years,it was in her own strength, and not from submission to God.

We need to be open to what the Lord wants to show us and teach us. Sometimes that will stir up unpleasant emotions, but it will always be good for us.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, please reveal your true nature to me as you did for the disciples on on the Mount of Transfiguration. Amen.

Scripture

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.”

Observation

Jesus begins to tell His disciples that he is going to Jerusalem to be crucified, but on the third day he will rise again. Peter rebukes Jesus, but Jesus says to Peter, “Get behind me satan!”

Jesus tells His disciples that following Him means to turn away from our sins and to take up our cross. If we try to hold onto our life, we will lose it, but if we give it up for his sake, we will save it.

Jesus is coming to judge all people according to their deeds. Some standing there will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom.

Application

To be a follower of Jesus means that we must die to ourselves.

Firstly, we have to turn away from our selfish ways. We can’t be a follower of Jesus on our own terms. We must be prepared to change our way of life to conform to Him.

Secondly, we have to take up our cross. That means literally dying. The only people who took up crosses in Jesus’ day were condemned criminals on their way to a nasty death.

To take up our cross means that we let go of every form of ownership, every ambition, every plan. Jesus owns it all. This is very liberating.

Finally, we are to follow Jesus. This is the positive aspect of repentance.. We exchange self-serving for Jesus-serving, selfishness for love, and so on. We learn to live as Jesus lived, applying every action and word of Jesus in the gospels to our own life.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, there is no way I can do this by myself. Thank you for the Holy Spirit, who makes it possible to live for you. Amen.