Scripture

“I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you do, for John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did.”

Observation.

The religious leaders demand to know by whose authority Jesus does things. Jesus answers them with a question: Did John’s authority come from heaven, or from people?

The religious leaders are stuck on a dilemma. If John’s authority came from God, then they will have to explain why they did not believe him. But if they say it was human, they will be mobbed by the crowd who believe he was a prophet.

Jesus says that because they refuse to heed John’s message tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of Heaven before they do.

Application

Salvation is not about believing a set of beliefs or saying a prayer. Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God, which is not a political entity as such but the people who together walk in the ways of King Jesus.

Repentance, that is turning away from our selfish ways to live God’s way, is important. We must recognise that God’s way for our life is very different from our own self-directed ways.

Jesus told the religious leaders that God would judge them because they refuse to pay attention to John the Baptist’s message. They were worse than the worst of sinners because at least some of those tax collectors and prostitutes heard John’s message and repented of their sins.

True faith, true religion, is to find out what God wants of us and then, in humble obedience, to go and do it.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, please help me to turn away from all selfishness and to obey you in all things. Amen.

Scripture

Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.

Observation

Jesus goes to the temple and clears out the merchants and money changers. He says to them, “My Temple will be called a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

The blind and the lame come to Jesus and He heals them. Children sing His praises.

The next morning. Jesus looks to a fig tree to see if there are any figs. When there are none to be seen, he curses the fig tree, and it withers straight away.

Jesus tells the disciples that if they have faith and do not doubt, they can move mountains with faith. We can pray for anything and receive it.

Application

Where does doubt come from? Is it just that we find it hard to believe that God can do things? We know in our hearts that God can do anything. The test is to believe that He will do this one thing.

It is not always lack of faith in God’s ability, so much as we fail to believe in His willingness.

We wonder if our motives are right, or if we are worthy to receive from God. We fear our prayers are wrong.

There are many reasons to doubt. We have just one reason to believe, and that is the nature of God. He has promised to give us good things. He is able to keep his promises and willing to answer our prayers.

So we can boldly pray, taking faith to believe the answer, then trust God for the result.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you tell us to believe and do not doubt. Please give me that kind of faith. Amen.

Scripture

“Whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Observation

Jesus tells the disciples that when they get to Jerusalem, He will be betrayed. He will be mocked flogged and crucified, but on the third day, He will be raised from the dead.

The mother of James and John comes to Jesus and asks that her sons be given the places of honour next to His throne. He tells them this right is not His to give.

Jesus tells His disciples that in the world rulers and officials lord it over people, but among them the one who wants to be a leader must be the servant of the others. The Son of Man came not to be served but to give his life as a ransom.

Application

Leadership in the world is about telling others what to do. It is often a power trip, boosting the ego of the leader. While this tends to tyranny and dictatorship in many government systems, in a democracy it can result in the person being perceived as autocratic and removed from real life, ad ultimately they will be voted out.

In the church, all leadership, must be servant leadership. Any hint of self-promotion or pride in a leader must be dealt with. Pastors and others who use their position for their own glory must repent or be fired.

Christian leaders are called to be servant leaders. The way of promotion in the church is to serve sacrificially. To be promoted is to be given more areas in which we die to ourselves.

Our model, as always, should be Jesus who gave His life as a ransom for us.

Prayer

Father, please remove all pride from my heart and equip me to serve others and to serve you. Amen

Scripture

“So those who are now last will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

Observation

Jesus tells a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven.

A landowner goes early into the town to employ workers. He goes again at different times in the day, promising each batch of workers that he will pay what is fair. He even goes at five o’clock in the afternoon when there is only a limited time of daylight left for the men to work,

At the end of the day, when the men are to be paid, the landowner instructs, the foreman to pay first those who were employed last. He pays these people a full day’s pay The men who were there all day complained when they receive the same amount as those employed at the end of the day,

The landowner responds that he is free to do what he likes with his own money.

Application

Sometimes people complain that those who experience a deathbed conversion are getting something of a free pass from God. They have been free to sin all their lives and still get to go to heaven.

This overlooks the fact that following Jesus is abundant and fruitful life now. Those who get saved in their last few days or weeks of life are the ones who have missed out on God’s glorious, grace.

In this parable, the people who worked one hour in the vineyard were paid exactly the same as those who worked the whole day. The landowner knew that these men still needed the full day’s pay to get through their lives and support their families.

Whether we come to faith early in life or later in life, we need the same amount of grace. We need the same forgiveness. And because God’s grace is unlimited, there is always enough for everyone who will receive it.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, your way of doing things confounds us at times. I thank you that you are wiser than me. Amen.

Scripture

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

Observation

After the rich young ruler leaves feeling sad because Jesus told him he had to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor, Jesus tells His disciples that it is very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of Heaven. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.

The disciples ask “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus replies that in human term, it is impossible, but with God everything is possible.

He goes on to say that when He returns in glory and the world is made new, then those who are now important will be less so, while those who are the least important now will be the greatest

Application.

The disciples are amazed at the teaching of Jesus. He tells them it is impossible for the rich to be saved. The disciples think if rich people with all their advantages cannot be saved, then who can?

The answer is nobody can be saved by their own resources. Whether we are rich or poor, we all need God’s help, God’s grace, to be saved. Nobody can get into the kingdom by their own efforts.

But what is impossible for man is possible for God. Praise be to Jesus! He has opened the door for all who will go through. His death on the cross, paid for my sins and yours as well.

With God, everything is possible, even the salvation of a sinner like me.

Prayer

Thank you Father for saving me. Thank you for the cross which opens the door for all who trust in Jesus. Amen.

Scripture

Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”

Observation

Some parents bring their children to Jesus for Him to bless them. The disciples turn them away. But Jesus says, “Let the children come to me. The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these little children.”

A rich man asks Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus lists,some commandments of the law. The man replies that he has obeyed all these commandments.

Jesus then tells him he must sell all of his possessions and give the money to the poor, and he will have treasure in heaven.

The young man goes away very sad.

Application

This young man was trapped by his riches. His possessions literally held him captive.

By naming his idol. Jesus gives the man the opportunity to be freed from it to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We don’t know if he later repented and followed Jesus.

An idol is anything that gets in the way of following Jesus. For some people, like this young man, the problem is money. For others, it can be family, career, power or love.

We don’t all have to sell our possessions and take a vow of poverty in order to follow Jesus. But we do all have to let go of those things that are more important to us than He is.

We talk glibly of giving our hearts to the Lord. What He wants is all of us- every passion, desire and ambition.

Only when we surrender everything to the Lord can we be certain of eternal life.

Prayer

Lord, please show me what I need to surrender to you and give me the grace to do it. Amen.

Scripture

“Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

Observation

Some Pharisees try to trap Jesus with a question, Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for any reason?

Jesus replies by quoting the verse in Genesis that says a man and woman become joined in God’s sight so nobody should split apart what God has joined together.

The Pharisees pushed back by asking, why the law of Moses allows a man to divorce his wife. Jesus says, this is a concession to hard-hearted men.

Application

In the west, even in the church, we take sex very lightly. Influenced by evolution and materialism, we see sex as just a thing we do with our bodies, usually for pleasure, and that is all.

God sees a spiritual dimension to sex that we who are blind do not see. God has ordered that sex be a part of marriage between a man and a woman. In sexual union, we become one flesh with our partner.

If we go around engaging in sexual relations with multiple partners, we damage spiritually ourselves and our partners. That one flesh binding that sex is meant to facilitate becomes weak and ineffective.

When sex becomes seen as something of no consequence, its sacramental and symbolic power are nullified.

God’s intention in designing us the way we are is that we become united in heart and body with one person and that we keep ourselves holy and separate from all other sexual practises that would undermine that one flesh relationship.

Prayer

Lord, you have made us with a sex drive that can both be exhilarating and hazardous. Please help me to be faithful to you in this dimension of life. 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 a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, he will leave the 99 to rescue the one. In the same way, it is not the Father’s will that any should perish.

If a believer sins against you, there is a way to seek restoration. Firstly, try to work it out privately. If that does not work then take two others with you. If that does not resolve the issue, take the case to the whole church which might choose to remove him.

Whatever we bind in Earth is forbidden in heaven. When believers agree on discipline, it carries the weight of Christ’s authority. For whenever two or three gather in His name, He is in our midst.

Application

This section is packed with favourite texts which are taken out of context and twisted often out of recognisable shape. When we read this passage together, it shows that

1. The parable of the lost sheep is not about evangelism, but about restoring people who walk away from fellowship.

2. Jesus doesn’t give us an open order for intercession that any group of two or three christians get their payers answered. No, this is about the authority of the church when imposing church discipline.

3. The things we bind and loose on Earth are not spiritual powers, but in fact judgements placed on brothers and sisters who are sinning against other believers.

When we read the scriptures in context, rather than extracting a text from its context, our understanding of God’s word and of God Himself become much more coherent.

Prayer

I thank you, Lord, that you give us a process for when believers go astray. Please help us to trust you in these situations. Amen.

Scripture.

“But if you cause one of these little ones who trust in me to fall into sin, it would be better to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned into the depths of the sea.”

Observation

The disciples ask Jesus, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”

Jesus sets a little child before them and says that to enter God’s kingdom, we must become like little children. Anyone who is humble like a little child is great in the Kingdom.

But, if anyone causes a child to sin, they would be better off drowned in the ocean. The world tempts people to sin and will be judged for. it. Sin is so important that we should be better off cutting off the parts of our body that causes us to sin. and therefore enter into eternal life.

Application

It is the nature of the people of the world to lead us into temptation. That is what they do. They will be judged for that. How great is the punishment coming to those who cause children to sin.

In Western culture, our attention is mainly focused on the material world and the present time. But Jesus says that we are being prepared for eternity and we need to live our lives in the light of that.

Hell is the eternal destiny of those who live in sin and reject Jesus. Heaven is the place for those who trust in God.

Jesus here says that those who cause little children to sin are the ones who will receive the greatest punishment.

Forgiveness comes to all who put their faith in Christ. When we ask Jesus to forgive us, it is a reset on the story of our lives. The slate is wiped clean and we have a new beginning.

Prayer.

Father, you lay out for us in stark terms, the choice that lies open to all people. Thank you for sending Jesus into the world to save all who receive Him. Amen.

Scripture

“However we don’t want to offend them. Go down to the lake and throw in a line, open the mouth of the first fish you catch and you will find a large silver coin.”

Observation

In Capernaum the collectors of the temple tax Come and ask Peter, “Doesn’t your teacher pay, the temple tax?” Peter replies that he does.

Jesus asks Peter do the citizens, pay taxes or the conquered subjects? Peter says that it is the foreigners who pay the tax.

Jesus says, as citizens of Israel, they are free. But then He tells Peter to go to the lake, throw in a line and the first fish he catches will have a silver coin in its mouth for the tax.

Application

No doubt those who call themselves sovereign citizens. might look at verse 26, where Jesus says

“Well then the citizens are free” as justification for their beliefs, that they should not have to pay taxes and other government fees.

Jesus says here that we don’t have to pay the tax (In fact, Jesus was exempt from the temple tax because he was a rabbi) but we should pay it anyway to avoid giving offence.

In modern societies, where taxes fund a large amount of infrastructure such as roads, hospitals and schools, christians have a moral duty to contribute to the goods and services that they consume.

Jesus says, “Let’s pay the tax but we might as well have some fun doing it.” And so he sends Peter fishing for the money, which is awesome.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, we don’t enjoy paying taxes. Please help me to joyfully render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. Amen.