Matthew 25:31-26:13 - Jesus In the Least

Where is Jesus?


I heard a joke about a Mom who was so proud of her seven year-old son. He would sit on the floor in the  playroom every Sunday afternoon and repeat to his four year-old brother what he learned in Sunday School. After a while, the younger brother began to repeat the lessons to his stuffed animals! On their way home from school one day, Mom dropped by the Pastor's office with her boys to show them off. "Ask them a question about the Lord," the woman prompted. The Pastor folded his arms across his chest and bent over toward the eldest boy. "Where is Jesus, Johnny?" The boy didn't say a word. He had never been in the Pastor's office before, and the big man with the big voice was a bit intimidating. "Johnny, where's Jesus?" he repeated. The two boys looked worried now as they clung to each other. Frustrated that her boys were making her look the fool, the mother put her hands on her hips and stomped, "Johnny, tell Pastor where Jesus is!" Instantly, Johnny grabbed his brother by the arm, flew out the office door and down the sidewalk two blocks to his house. He raced up the stairs to his bedroom, threw open the closet door and huddled with his brother behind the coats in the dark. The younger brother whispered in confusion, "Why are we hiding, Johnny?" "Quiet, Billy. Somebody has stolen Jesus and they're blaming US!"


So, where IS Jesus? Most people say He is in heaven. Many people say He is in their heart. One day He will come in His glory to judge the people of every nation. Jesus Himself describes this separation of people into two groups. In light of other Scripture, we know that Jesus is not describing a salvation based on good works. But what Jesus reveals in today's passage is an essential characteristic of those who are saved. The righteous have compassion upon and are moved to action on behalf of the needy. People in right relationship with God are also in caring relationship with people. They feed the hungry. They clothe the naked. They show hospitality to strangers. They visit the sick and imprisoned. Mercy and service are signs of a saved soul.

Christ gives us a glimpse of His glorious return, and answers for us the question, "Where is Jesus?" Jesus is behind the empty bowl. Jesus is in the stranger's shoes. Jesus is in the sick bed and in the jail cell. He is the orphan, the widow, the marginalized and disenfranchised. And the sign of the righteous is that they care and are moved to action for them. 


Funny tough, Jesus teaches that neither the righteous nor the unrighteous recognized Him in the poor and lonely. They simply demonstrated the true nature of their hearts when confronted with "the least." What does your response to the weak, the hurting, the needy say about YOUR heart? From today's text, we know where Jesus is...


Where are you?


Pray: Lord of all compassion, stir up Your mercy in me. Help me to see You in the eyes of the broken. Compel me with Your Spirit of goodness and love to meet the needs of my fellow man. I know I can't help everyone; but I can help someone. Make me an instrument of Your grace.

Matthew 25:1-30 - Ready To Go!

How soon before you take a trip do you get ready to go? Do you plan well in advance, make lists to check off, anticipate a variety of scenarios and pack accordingly? Maybe you're so familiar with the trip and all it entails that you can wait until the final hours to pull it all together. My wife and I are opposites about this. She starts preparing long before I do. I try to keep her from getting anxious about too many details and she helps me not to forget anything important. The balance works nicely and we always have a great time traveling together.

Today, Jesus tells a pair of parables about being ready to go when He returns. At this point it would be good to remember that parables are not allegories or extended metaphors -- a parable doesn't usually have special and detailed symbolism. A parable is usually told to make one point. You can try to make the oil and the lamps and the talents of gold represent something, but they are probably just oil and lamps and bags of gold.

In the first parable, ten young women are anticipating being part of a wedding party. They are waiting for the groom to arrive so they can go out to welcome him and join his entourage. As he may arrive at night, the girls would be wise to have lamps and an adequate supply of oil for them. Of the ten, five prove to be wise and five foolish. The groom arrives at midnight; five lamps are burning brightly and five are flickering out. Five young women meet the groom and are ushered into the wedding feast. Five others make a last minute dash to buy more lamp oil and miss the whole affair. The window of opportunity to go with the groom was narrow and only those who had prepared in advance were ready and able to go.

We need to help as many people to be ready to go as possible. We know the Bridegroom. We know that His arrival cannot be anticipated with split-second accuracy. Our own time of departure from this world is also unpredictable. So the time to be ready to go is now. The groom told the foolish virgins, "I don't know you." If we really know Jesus, then we know we don't want to miss His coming! To enter into the wedding feast of the Lord is the ultimate blessing, and those who know Him won't be scrambling last minute. Help as many as possible to know, love and eagerly anticipate Christ's return.

Along with being ready to go to the wedding feast of the Lord, the second parable tells us that we should present a nice gift when we get there. This story involves a master and his servants. The servants are given varying amounts of gold to take care of while the master is away. Even the servant who is given the least is still given a hefty chunk of change. Translating the original unit of measure used in this parable, the servant who received one bag of gold was still holding about twenty year's worth of day-laborer wages!

The servant with the most, put that gold to work and doubled it. The servant with less put his gold to work and doubled it, too. But the one with the least didn't understand his master, but rather feared him and worried more about losing some or all of what he had. So he buries it. When the master returns he discovers two servants who have doubled his trust. Amount was not the issue. The one with ten bags and the one with four bags in the end received the same commendation and reward. The issue was investing the trust to present a good return to the master. The one who feared and could only return exactly what had been given him was dismissed and punished.

We need to recognize the extraordinary wealth we have been entrusted with by God, and steward it wisely. When Christ returns, we must have a fruitful life with return on His investment to offer Him as He comes. Your life is golden, by the grace of God. Invest it in the things that Jesus values and holds dear. And when He comes you will receive the blessed commendation -- "Well done good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your master!"

Matthew 24:29-51 - Clueless

"For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away."

Jesus gives us some insight into the days of Noah. Here's a guy who embarks on a building project so out of the ordinary, so out of proportion to anything anyone has ever seen up until that time, and still there were some who had no clue what it was about. Could people really have something so unavoidable, so newsworthy in the midst of their daily circuits, and yet be so unaware of its significance? Or was Noah's explanation received as the eccentric exaggerations of an aged zealot? Was the ark present and under construction for so many decades that they simply took it for granted? Did it's extraordinariness fade over time, slipping into the background of their more individual concerns - 'what's for dinner, did you get the wine, who should I marry, do you like his fiancee?'

Jesus taught that it would be the same way when He comes again. But let's not jump all the way to the Second Coming. Isn't it true that the resurrected Christ is alive today? Isn't it true that He can speak to the heart today in an extraordinary, unavoidable and life-altering way? And today, wouldn't the ark that stands as a testimony to the activity and intentions of God in our midst, and holds the family of the faithful and the hope of all - wouldn't that 'ark' be the church? And yet so many have no clue what it is about. They are unaware of the church's significance, or they have chalked it up to a construction of eccentric zealots.

Sadly, unlike the steadfast witness of Noah's clan, the church has done quite a bit to undermine its own credibility. Our voices HAVE sounded at times like senile ranting. We have frequently veered off God's blueprint and built country clubs and fortresses and walmarts instead of sea-worthy vessels. So, even though there are many who are clueless, careless and callous, there are many who are just confused.

Let's get back to building an ark, a temple, a church, a community that actually resembles the plans God gave us through His Son (with project management by the Holy Spirit.) Let's make sure the clueless get plenty of clues. Let's make sure the connoiseurs and the courtiers are primarily hungering and thirsting after righteousness and planning to be members of the Bride of Christ.

Pray: God, help us to know truly what You mean for your church to be and do. Make us clear witnesses to the grace and truth of Jesus Christ. Use us to make sure the least amount of people possible are taken by surprise at Your return.

Matthew 24:1-28 - Honey, I Think It's Time ...

We've all seen it played out many times to peals of laughter. The young wife appears in the doorway and announces to her neophyte husband that their firstborn is about to arrive. Instantly he is a frantic dervish without a brain. He is running into walls. Wearing one untied shoe he grabs an armful of pre-packed bags and throws them and himself into the family car. He is down the block before he realizes he has left his contracting bride at home.

Sometimes I observe a bit of the same high anxiety when I hear some believers talk about the "last days" or the "end times." It is true that on more than one occasion the final days of history and the return of Jesus Christ is described as "birth pains." But Christians don't have to respond to this reality of our faith like the father-to-be in the aforementioned comic scenes. In the paragraph before Paul's writing to the Thessalonians about the Second Coming, he urges them to "aspire to live quiet lives." There is no need to become panicky or alarmist as end time signs begin to appear. Here are some of the signs Jesus lists in today's passage:

• The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem
  (accomplished A.D. 70; Titus and the Romans)
• Deceivers claiming to be the Messiah
• Wars and rumors of wars ("don't be alarmed," Jesus adds)
• Famines and earthquakes ("just the beginning," Jesus indicates)
• Hatred and murderous persecution of believers
• Many will betray Jesus and turn from the faith
• Wickedness will increase and love will grow cold
• Daniel's prophecy of the "abomination of desolation" will be fulfilled
• The greatest distress the world has ever seen will take place
• False messiahs and prophets will perform amazing wonders
• The gospel of the Kingdom will be preached to all the nations

In the anticipation of all this, can we heed the words of Jesus to 'not be alarmed?' Can we live "quiet lives" in the face of the approaching crisis? Jesus' last comment at the end of this passage seems at first cryptic. "Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather." But maybe it is very straight forward. Vultures tear up the dead, not the living. As long as I am alive in Christ, I don't have to panic. The vultures will come for the deceivers and the warmongers and those who abandon the faith, for the cold-hearted persecuters and the cockamamie messiahs, but they won't come for me. I am alive in Christ.

Jesus Himself says He doesn't know the day or the hour of His return and the moment of it is described as a flash of lightning and a thief's arrival under cloak of night. If it is to be sudden and unexpected, then I ought to be doing today and tomorrow what I hope to be doing when He shows up. I believe that is a calm and unalarmed discipleship that participates in the preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom to all the nations. Yes, make Christ known in word and deed, steady as she goes, until the Groom says to His Bride, "Honey, I think it's time."

Pray: God, you have made known to us the end from the beginning. You are life and life eternal; You are fullness of joy forever. We have all this guaranteed to us by Your grace through faith. Heaven is our inheritance, and no wordly distress of any magnitude can strip us of it. Glory to You, true Prophet, Messiah and King!

Matthew 23:13-39 - Woe...Woe...Whoa!

  Have you ever been warned that you were going to be read "The Riot Act?" In 1715, the British under King George I instituted a "Riot Act" to be able to control unruly crowds of twelve or more, particularly those who opposed King George. Once read in public to the crowd, the gathering would have to disperse within an hour or face severe penalties. Nowadays, we use the phrase to mean any occasion when a person or group is sternly warned or corrected. In light of the modern idiom, Jesus definitely reads the Pharisees the "Riot Act" in today's passage from Matthew.

I have preached on this passage before under the title, "How Not to Be a Pharisee." Although the format of Jesus' rebuke indicates 'seven woes,' I find there are twelve solid instructions within this chapter to guide us away from the foolishness of phariseeism.

• Practice What You Preach (23:1-3)
• Lighten Other People's Loads (23:4)
• Work for God's Approval, Not Man's (23:5-10)
• Lead By Serving (23:11)
• Practice Humility (23:12)
• Make It Easy for People to be Saved (23:13)
• Make Disciples of Jesus, Not of Yourself (23:15)
• Value Christ, Not the 'Things' of Christianity (23:16-22)
• Prioritize the Higher Virtues (23:23-24)
• Be Righteous from the Inside Out (23:25-28)
• Accept God's Correction and Wisdom (23:29-36)
• Live Under the Savior's Wing (23:37-39)

Instead of an unruly mob of twelve, be glad to have this gathering of twelve rule your approach to the Christian life. Consider each of these bullet points as twelve stalwarts calling you to join them in exalting Christ, His Kingdom and it's principles. The "Riot Act" was employed to disperse any activities contrary to the rule of the King. I think I'll read the Matthew 23 Riot Act to myself, to disperse any phariseeism that might be gathering in the back alleys of my spirit.

Pray: Lord, thank you for your boldness and your clarity about what does and doesn't reflect true spirituality, true devotion and Kingdom character. Help me to conform to your refinements and transform me. The last thing I want to hear from you is "Woe!"

Matthew 22:34-23:12 - Sometimes Too Hard; Sometimes Too Easy

                                                                                                                               You might just have one or more

of these at your house. It's a two-pronged robe or towel hook. Once, when I was asked to speak at Council Time in AWANA, I unscrewed one from the back of my bathroom door and stuck it with duct tape to the fellowship hall wall. The kids were memorizing Matthew 22:37-40.

"Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The hook was the "hook" for the lesson. It represented the two-pronged imperative that the entire life of a disciple is lived out of. The child of God, the follower of Christ, needs only to remember one thing -- to love. If you forget everything that's written in the Law and in the Prophets, but you remember to love, you've got it covered. One supreme action, commanded to be poured out in two directions - like the two beams of a cross. Vertical love; loving God with everything I've got. Horizontal love; loving other people, all people, as if they were me.
 
Today's text begins with Jesus having silenced the Sadduccees. So the Pharisees took a shot at Him and the result of that volley was, "from that day on no one dared to ask Him any more questions!" Jesus baffled the self-proclaimed experts. His sayings were too hard to understand. Hmmm. Really? Or were they too easy? Love God. Love others. Done. But then, how could these holymen maintain their reputations through position, power and meticulous piety? Jesus had brought them low by the profound simplicity of love. They had exalted themselves and Christ humbled them. But those who humble themselves to love God and man through selfless service - these he promises to exalt.
 
Don't ever be a Pharisee. Don't be a "do as I say, not as I do" hypocrite. Don't preach and not practice. Be a disciple of Jesus. Be His follower, His student, His imitator. Pour out love in two directions. And keep asking for His help. So easy, yet so hard.
 
Pray: I do love you, Lord. Help me to love you more. And help me to demonstrate that love by the way I love others. I cannot say I love You and hate my brother. Humble me. Teach me. There are no greater lessons than Your lessons of love.

Matthew 22:1-33 - Power Lines

Many of you are all too familiar with the concept of heavy snow and ice bringing down power lines. The nation has suffered severe storms this winter. Thousands have had to endure the consequences of crippled electrical supplies to their homes. There was plenty of current being generated; it just couldn't get through. The lines were down.

After explaining to the crowds another charactersistic of the Kingdom of God, staving off a challenge by the Pharisees and correcting the theology of the Sadduccees, Jesus states, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God." The Scriptures are the Word of God and the power is the Spirit of God. Together, the Word and the Spirit are the dynamo that generates the current of truth by which we can conduct our lives. We can understand the nature of the Kingdom of God when we are connected by the Spirit to the Word. We can become wise and discern with subtlety; we can know, trust, and practice sound theology when the line to the source remains up.

Stay plugged into the Word. Lean on the Spirit of God to empower the Word and your understanding. "Lean not on your OWN understanding ..." as the ancient Proverb teaches. Whether it's the mission of God in relationship to human history, or the relationship of faith to human government, or the practical implications of doctrine - all this and more becomes clear through Spirit and Word.

When the storms came up and the power lines came down, people suffered a loss of comfort, a loss of food, a loss of communication, a loss of light. Similar losses on a spiritual level are experienced when the conduit is cut between our souls and God's truth. Don't let the blizzard of busyness or the whiteout of doubt or the weight of life's challenges keep you from being connected to the empowering Word.

Pray: Lord, it is so easy to let the stuff of earth cut me off from the treasures of heaven. Help me to prioritize my time with You, in prayer, study and meditation. How can I expect to stay charged up when I keep pulling the plug?