Scripture

“Don’t you realise I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and He would send them instantly? But if I did that, how would the scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen next?”

Observation

Judas, along with a crowd of armed men comes, and he greets Jesus with a kiss, the pre-arranged signal of who must be arrested. So the men arrest Jesus, but one of Jesus’s followers pulls out a sword and slashes off the ear of the high priest’s slave.

Jesus tells His followers to put away their weapons. The Father could send a thousand angels to protect them. But for now, they must allow God’s plan to unfold.

Then, as Jesus is taken away, the disciples flee.

Application

Jesus was not helpless as He was arrested in the garden. He could have summoned a legion of angels to rescue Him. But this was not God’s course for Him.

Having prayed in the garden for the strength to take the cup of suffering, He must now proceed to the cross.

It is an awesome thought to consider that the cross was God’s idea, and that obedience was Jesus’ path to exaltation.

He could have refused the cross at any time. He could literally have transported Himself away from the place of suffering. But then we would not be saved, We would still be lost in our sins.

It is because of His love that He willingly embraced the cross.

Prayer

Thank you. Jesus for setting me free from sin. Your suffering open the way for my salvation. Hallelujah! Amen.

Scripture

Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scripture and you don’t know the power of God.”

Observation

Jesus is approached by some Sadducees who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. They pose a question to Jesus that is meant to prove that he’s wrong. The question involves a woman, who marries a man who dies. She is passed along a line of brothers without producing any children. So, whose wife will she be in the resurrection?

Jesus responds by saying these people know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. Marriage is not an institution for the next life, but it is for producing children in this life, Moreover, the proof of the resurrection is seen in that God describes himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he is the God of the living, not of the dead.

Application

The Sadducees were the liberals of the Jewish people. They basically denied everything supernatural, including the resurrection of the dead.

Like modern liberal christians, they didn’t know the scriptures and they didn’t know the power of God.

We can learn much about the Lord and His ways from studying the Bible. We find that there is much in the word of God that contradict so much of the world views of unbelievers.

The resurrection of Jesus gives us hope because it demonstrates the power of God. The same God who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to us also. What a glorious hope that is! The same God answers prayers and provides all that we need.

Let us endeavour to do all that we can to know the Scriptures and the power of God.

Prayer

Lord, you are a mighty God. Please help me to understand your Word and to have greater faith in you. Amen.

Scripture

“Well, then,” he said “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

Observation

The Pharisees decide to trap Jesus into saying something that would get him into trouble. They send a deputation of various factions to meet Him. They start with flattery to disarm him. But then ask the question, “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

Jesus sees through their words because he looks at the heart. He tells them to show him the coins used to pay the tax. He asks, “Whose image is stamped on the coin?” “Caesar’s”, they reply.

Jesus, then tells them to give to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar and to God that which belongs to God.

Application

Nobody likes paying tax. This was especially true in Israel where the ordinary people had to pay tax to the hated occupying Romans

By asking Jesus. if it was right to pay tax to the Romans, the Pharisees thought they had trapped Him. He couldn’t say “No” because that would be treason. But He couldn’t say “Yes” because that would discredit him in the eyes of all the people.

Jesus does not directly answer the question, but turns it into a teachable moment. He points out that the coins have Caesar’s image on them, marking them has already belonging to Caesar.

The second half of his answer, that we give to God, what belongs to God is a reminder that people are made in the image of God. If it is right for me to render tax to Caesar, then it is also right for me to give my life to God, who created me.

For this reason, our lives are not about gaining power or status over the other image bearers. Rather we are called to give ourselves to serving God and to serving others.

Prayer

Lord Jesus. Please help me to distinguish between what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to you. Amen.

Scripture

“’Friend,’ he asked, ‘why is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

Observation

Jesus tells them (the priests and Pharisees) another parable about the Kingdom.

A king prepares a great feast for the wedding of his son. He sends his servants to notify the invited guests. that the feast is ready, but they refused to come. They make excuses and some even kill the king’s messengers.

The king then sends his servants out to invite everyone they find to come to the feast. The king notices that one of the guests is not wearing the right clothes. So he orders him to be bound and thrown into the outer darkness.

Application

The king is God the Father and the son is Jesus. The wedding is obviously the end times feast referred to in Revelation.

The originally invited guests are the Jews, particularly the leaders who reject God’s commission to be His people. They beat up and even killed the prophets, who gave the invitation to His wedding feast.

With the original invitees refusing to honour the king by attending his feast, the king invites everyone, good and bad, to come to the feast. That is us, the Gentile followers of Jesus.

One guest got into the feast improperly dressed. Paul tells us that we must be clothed in Christ. This man was dressed in his own righteousness, the deeds that are like filthy rags.

There are people in churches who have not put on Christ, They have come in through the door of the feast, but they will be kicked out.

Prayer

Thank you, Jesus, for inviting me into your great Feast. Please help me to remember to be clothed daily in you. Amen.

Scripture

“Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces and it will crush anyone it falls on.”

Observation

Jesus tells a parable about a landowner who plants a vineyard and then makes various improvements to the property. He leases the vineyard to some share farmers. At harvest time, he sends servants to collect his share, but the tenants beat up the servants. He sends a bigger group of servants and finally his son, but they kill them all. Finally, he sends an army to kill the evil farmers.

Jesus says that the kingdom will be taken away from the priests and teachers and given to a nation that will produce good fruit. The priests and Pharisees realise that Jesus is speaking His stories against them. They want to arrest him but they dare not because of the crowds.

Application

This is one of those hard sayings that commentators either slide past or offer contradictory explanations.

The basic issues concern, the identity of “that stone.” Does it refer to Christ himself who is the stone the Builders rejected, or is it His statement that the kingdom will be taken from the religious leaders to be given to a new nation, a new kind of people.

In either case, we have a choice, we can come to Christ or the warning of the Kingdom being taken as broken people, repentant people. Or else we can be crushed by God’s judgement.

This is always the choice that Jesus offers people: turn away from your sins and follow me. for the kingdom of God is here.

Are you in or out? There is no middle of the road position.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for opening the kingdom of God to everyone who will repent. Amen.

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.