Matthew 21:1-5 Riding on a Colt!

Matthew 21:1-5  As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her.  Untie them and bring them to me.  If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”  This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

The Prince of Peace is coming, prepare the way for him.  Riding on a colt: this is not how a prince or king will come to a place where he desires to show his authority.  No, he would not be riding on someone else’s colt, indebted to others for his transportation.  But the Prince of Peace who spoke the world into existence rode to Jerusalem on a colt that was not his own.  He was beholden to the benevolence of others.  Jesus came in humility and turned the whole world upside down.  He was the chief of counter culture.  He owned nothing.  “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”  Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”  (Matthew 8:19-20)  He had no place under his sole possession where He could lay his head.  He moved from city to city, relying on others for a place of rest or for food to eat.  In Jerusalem He stayed in an olive grove with his men at night.  The Pharisees criticized his disciples for eating grain from a field with unwashed hands.  This grain could have been used by the Israelites to help the poor and the indigent.  “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.  Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you.  I am the Lord your God.”  (Leviticus 23:22)  The disciples probably took advantage of this law of God; otherwise, they would have been stealing someone else’s grain.  Jesus lived dependent on the goodwill of others and on the laws of benevolence in his society.  He did not have two cars in the driveway or a house with room to spare, accommodating hallways, a large entryway, and rooms not occupied every day.  No, Jesus the King of the universe lived counter to the expectations of the culture.  In today’s focus, Jesus sends his disciples to commandeer a donkey and its colt.  Not by force, but by asking in the name of “the Lord.”  Who is “the Lord,” the owner might have asked?  But he doesn’t, for he either knows Jesus or he knows the term “the Lord” means someone of importance.  By riding on the colt, Jesus symbolizes a person of a different quality, not like the world’s princes or kings.  Such people of authority would come riding on a powerful steed, symbolizing power and authority.  But Jesus is not a king as the world perceives a king.  As He tells Pilate: My kingdom is not of this world.  If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders.  But now my kingdom is from another place.  (John 18:36)  The kings and princes of the world rule by power, subjecting others to their wills.  But Jesus by riding humbly on a colt reveals that He is something other than these kind of rulers.  He is the King of Peace, coming to unite people to God the Father.  Jesus who owns nothing of importance, only his gown and clothing, willing gives his life, his blood for the people who cry, “Crucify him!”  He fulfills the requirement of his Father to love his enemies.  He displays God’s love for all people in the world, both Jews and Gentiles, one with knowledge of the law and the other ignorant of God’s righteousness.  For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations.  His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.  He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.  For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.  (Ephesians 2:14-18)  He came to preach peace, bringing us not only to the Father God, but also to each other.  He came to unite, not tear down.  Man’s propensity is to tear down, to separate based on human values—they are a law to themselves.

Jesus came to Jerusalem where the Temple of God is located, in a manner opposite of the fierceness of authority.  He came riding on a colt, representing his nature of peace and goodness.  He came with a gentle spirit.  A gentle, humble spirit is seldom manifested in the rulers of this world.  Rather than gentleness and humbleness, boldness and brazenness are front and centered throughout their reign.  People because of their own fierceness want a ruler who tells them to beat up others or go to war, for he then speaks their nature of godlessness.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.  (Galatians 5:22-26)  Jesus came to Jerusalem not to judge the people, but He came there to reconcile them to God by giving his life for them.  He came to give them a right relationship to God and to others.  In the nature of Jesus, there is no need for laws, for everyone who is found IN JESUS will treat his neighbors and others as they want to be treated.  The Spirit of God’s nature manifests the love of God for people.  The prophet Isaiah speaks of this future King of Peace and his eternal righteous reign.  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.  (Isaiah 9:6-7)  Jesus will establish a reign that will be full of justice and righteousness.  No law will be needed, for the law of the God of peace and harmony will be written on our hearts.  God will perfect us by making us into his likeness, one new humanity, with the old Adamic nature gone.  Jesus came to Jerusalem in a robe of kindness and love.  He died on a cross, asking God to forgive humanity for their anger against him.  Forgive them for they do not know what they are doing, for their nature of sin and rebellion is as familiar to them as the skin on their bodies.  They know of no other way to live in this world of the flesh.  They cannot and will not submit to the God of righteousness and goodness.  God still loves his creation: Adam.  He loved him so much that He did not destroy him for his disobedience.  He removed him from the Garden.  God’s love for Adam, for humanity, is beautifully carried out as Jesus humbly rides into Jerusalem.  He is riding to the cross.  He will die for those that the Bible says are enemies to God’s righteousness.  The Bible states, no one is good, not even one.  But Jesus came, riding on a colt, to redeem man, to create new creatures, born of man, but made new IN CHRIST JESUS. 

As we see in Micah, God asks us to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.  (6:8)  Jesus fulfills every requirement to walk rightly in God’s eyes.  We sometimes do what is right and good, but other times we fail miserably to give mercy and goodness to other people, especially if we perceive them as enemies.  Any construct in our lives that is not based on God’s goodness and on his love for all people is problematic.  To satisfy God’s demands on our lives, we must be perfect, perfect all of the time.  Jesus is the one who is Perfect.  He is grace, He is mercy, He is love.  God’s demands on our lives are many.  Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.  (Matthew 25:34-36)  These are activities that most of us are not very good at.  Yes, we might give a few dollars to the poor or indigent at certain times of the year.  Or, we might think of the disabled or the displaced occasionally.  But, Jesus is talking about this kind of life being a constant part of our nature.  We are to serve others humbly, going to Jerusalem on a colt to give our lives to God.  We sing in some churches: “I Surrender All.”   “All to Jesus I surrender.  All to Him I freely give.  I will ever love and trust Him.  In His presence daily live.  I surrender all, I surrender all.  All to Thee My blessed Savior.  I surrender all.”   But we know this is not true.  We are not going to surrender all.  Our storehouse of reserves is mainly for us and not others.  In other words, our lives are tainted with self.  Jesus’ life was not tainted with self.  He truly surrendered all.  He gave everything to his Father God, even his life.  When Jesus talked to the rich young man who desired to follow God, He asked for his wealth too.  The rich young man could not go that far.  The disciples who had given all to follow Jesus, understood the impossibility of following God in complete righteousness.  They questioned Jesus about who then could enter the kingdom of heaven if it is so hard to do.  Jesus replied, With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.  (Mark 27:10)  We should do good works; we should constantly think of doing good things for others.  But only Jesus fulfills the requirement of being good all the time to all people.  Therefore, it is only through God’s work of grace that we find acceptance with him.  His grace alone has set us free from sin and death.  All of this comes from Christ through the cross of redemption.  Dear friends, the best we can do is ride to Jerusalem humbly, following our Master, giving our lives for others.  

Matthew 20:29-34 Have Mercy On Us!

Matthew 20:29-34  As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.  Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”  The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”  Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.  “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”  Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes.  Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

When told to be quiet, they shouted all the louder.  This scene of the two blind men being healed is a good illustration of faith.  They repeated their cry for Jesus to have mercy on them many times.  Their persistent call for Jesus’ attention irritated the crowd; the crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet.  The crowd had little sympathy for them, maybe because many blind men or beggars sat along roads or in the midst of their town squares, asking for money and care.  If they would have cared for these blind men, they would have encouraged Jesus to stop and give these two blind men a few comforting words or maybe a few coins.  But because their hearts had become hardened to people who needed the welfare of others, they threw harsh words at them, told them to quiet down, not to disturb such an important man, for He might even be a prophet, a man from God.  They understood Jesus was an unusual person, perhaps a reincarnation of one of the prophets or even John the Baptist: On the way he asked them, (the disciples) “Who do people say I am?”  They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”  (Mark 8:27-28)  The people might have changed their daily routine to see Jesus, but the clamor from these two blind men disturbed the whole scene.  Their cries, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” were too much for the crowd to tolerate.  However, faith sometimes requires crying out incessantly.  Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.  He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.  And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’  “For some time he refused.  But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”  (Luke 18:1-5)  In ending his teaching, Jesus asked a rhetorical question: However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”  What kind of faith?  Is it the blind men’s faith?  For sure, they believed Jesus could help them.  They wanted him to interact in their lives by healing them.  “Have mercy on us!” was their cry.  Do we actually have that kind of faith or have we removed the Jesus of power and authority from our lives?  Is Jesus more than just a hope of our imagination, a far away desire of something different in our lives.  The two men could not go to Jesus, for they were blind.  What they wanted from Jesus was for him to come to them and display his power by healing them.  Do we want Jesus to come to us and be involved in our lives as He desires?  Will this kind of faith of desiring Jesus more than anything be found in our lives, especially at the end of time?  

Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.  Jesus asked them, how do you want me to display my mercy on you?  Of course, He understood what they wanted, but he wanted them to say clearly what they expected.  “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”  They were not asking for comfort, a few words to help them endure their plight; they were asking for sight.  They stated their concern before Jesus with a belief that Jesus could heal them.  In their blindness they had faith.  They had faith in the stories they had heard about Jesus, for they were not his followers up to this time.  Later, they did follow Jesus.  Immediately they received their sight and followed him.  They understood that Jesus was the miracle worker, the salvation of those who were hopelessly bound to the circumstances and vicissitudes of this life.  Jesus did not come for the well, but for the sick, for those who have experienced the heartbreaks of this world.  He came primarily for the helpless, the hopeless, the men and women on the side of the road.  Then why are not all men and women who are in need healed when they cry out for help?  Why do some of us go to our graves with the infirmities of this world draped upon our physical bodies?  Are we not people of faith?  Should not all of our hospitals be emptied out by people of faith?  Why sickness?  Why death?  In Jesus’ parable about the persistent widow and in his experience with the two blind men, the landscape of a different reality is revealed.  Faith is important to change the reality of life, but faith does not just resurrect the flesh from the grave or give blind men sight or women justice.  Faith as an enduring quality changes the landscape of this world to the reality of another world, changes the condition of men and women permanently from an earthly existence to a heavenly one.  Faith brings new creatures into existence, without fault, holy before God.  As the widow who received justice, we should be persistent in crying out for the needs of life.  As with the two men who received their sight, we should be praying for healing of our infirmities and sicknesses.  But in the land of Israel during Jesus’ time and during the times of the mighty prophets there were many sick and disabled.  In the disciples' time, there were many sick.  Peter, and the apostles healed many.  In Acts 5 all that came near Peter were touched, even his shadow brought healing to people.  These healings were light switches, revealing that the Holy Spirit was in the midst of humans.  Jesus confirmed He was the Messiah through his miracles.  The light of God’s reality and his intimacy was affirmed through miraculous events and healings and in the case of Sapphira and Ananias, their deaths.  The people were in awe of God’s power in their communities—many turned their lives over to the God of Existence.  Salvation spread throughout the world through the power of the Holy Spirit.  After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.  Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.  (Mark 16:19-20)  Miracles and healing exist today, especially in the dark places of the world where the word is not known to many.  These are light switches that turn on God’s light to a dark and despairing world.

We should have faith and confidence that God is in our actions every day, that He will work out his purposes in our lives.  Enduring faith will not be set back by the troubles and handicaps of this world.  For we know as Christians that anything we experience in this world is temporary, lasts only as long as we are in the flesh.  So positive experiences or not, our condition in life should be given to God.  Paul speaks of this enduring faith, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.  For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.  (Romans 8:18-21)  Even creation has been brought into bondage of decay, living and dying as humans live and die.  But all of this is within the will of God, for his plan is for a more glorious existence for us than this fleshly world provides.  He will liberate creation from decay and bring freedom to his children.  Paul says knowing his own struggles in the flesh, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.  Whatever we are experiencing in our lives is insignificant compared with the glory that we will know when we are with God in eternity.  God has designed us as new creatures able to receive the glory that God himself basked in.  Paul says, in his glimpse into this mystery of a new creation, We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.  No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.  None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.  However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”—the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.  (1 Corinthians 2:6-10)  Paul’s words blow our minds, for he says we humans lack understanding of the glory that is set before us in eternity.  This mystery of God, planned before the beginning of time, exceeds our words, our sight, our hearing, our thinking.  We cannot even express what God has planned for his redeemed.  We stand speechless when trying to describe eternity, God’s glory.  We attempt to describe an afterlife with God with concepts and images we know: houses, lands, authority, time, and so on.  But God is the Magnificent Word that spoke everything into being.  The two blind men were crying out for the Lord’s intervention in their lives of flesh.  Jesus heeds their request: He has compassion on them and touches their eyes.  He performs a miracle, turns on a light switch.  Something unbelievable, something that could not happen, happens.  But He is the miracle worker, He honors people’s faith, they believe God is in control.  We who live in the land of the flesh, must honor God with faith.  We must not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:6-7)  With thanksgiving, knowing we are in God’s hands, we should submit our lives to him daily, knowing He answers persistent faith in his way.  Let us rejoice that He is with us in everything we do or endure.  He knows our needs even before we express them.  God is the lover of our souls.  He is proud of us who live by faith.  Because of his love for us, we have a future existence that is beyond our imaginations.  Walk by faith breakfast companions.  

   

Matthew 20:20-28 First Will Be Last!

Matthew 20:20-28  Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.  “What is it you want?” he asked.  She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”  “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them.  “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”  “We can,” they answered.  Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant.  These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”  When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.  Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

We are still seeing in this account of the Zebedee brothers the theme, the last will be first, and the first will be last.  We have already discussed the rich young ruler’s inability to give up everything in this world, to become the least in the world’s eyes for the cause of Christ.  We have seen the master of a vineyard treat the last hired, the least productive workers, equally with the first hired.  In today’s focus Jesus clearly hammers down the idea of people changing positions from last to first and first to last.  Those who desire to be great in this world must be servants to all; they must take the place of the least respected or honored in this life of the flesh.  The last will be first is a construct that surfaces throughout the Bible.  Abraham gives Lot the best land in Canaan when they were deciding where they should live.  Jacob, the second born, wins Esau’s birthright as the firstborn.  Joseph, a slave, rises to become Pharaoh’s right hand man.  Moses, an abandoned Jewish baby, as an adult leads the Israelites out of slavery.  We see King Saul chosen from the ignoble tribe of Benjamin, the least of the twelve clans.  David, the youngest most immature son of Jesse, was chosen over his brothers to rule Israel.  The Babylonian slave Daniel rises to second in command in that country.  We know many of the prophets were ordinary men, given the privilege of being oracles of God.  In the New Testament, God calls John the Baptist, who is an unknown, to fulfill prophecy: As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.  Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low.  The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.  And all people will see God’s salvation.’” (Luke 3:4-6)  John, a wilderness dweller, was given the privilege of announcing Jesus the Messiah to the world.  Jesus, another ordinary man, lived in Nazareth, born from a virgin’s womb, nothing but a carpenter, away from the power structure found in Judea, in Jerusalem.  The least will be first and the first will be last runs throughout the New Testament.  The disciples were common people.  Peter becomes least with his catastrophic denial of Jesus, but is elevated to be the first one to minister about Jesus’ resurrection and his saving power.  We see Jesus proclaiming the poor widow who gives two mites as being great in the kingdom of God.  Jesus identifies with the least, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.  (Matthew 25:34-36)  God honors greatly the last, not the first: kings, rulers, and lords of this  world.  This theme of elevating the least is a cardinal principal in God’s mysterious plan to redeem humans.  God uses the faith of children to illustrate what is needed for humans to be rescued from damnation.  He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.  And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”  (Matthew 18:2-4)

Even in the geopolitical world, Israelites are the least.  Small in number and in land, not very important to the world. In the astrophysics of existence, our world is but a speck in our own universe and much less than that in our galaxy and the galaxies beyond.  Why we might ask is least so important?  Why did not God make us the largest and the best in all of existence?  Why do not the Galaxies revolve around our planet, our existence?  Probably because God was doing something unheard of, unimagined even by the angels.  He was making children, adopted through the work of Jesus Christ his Son.  The least are those who must know God through their sheer dependency on something better in this world.  Their hope of better depends on God.  If Christians lived much longer than anyone else, the whole world would be saved in a generation.  If Christians were never ill, never in need, the world would understand there is a God to serve.  If all that we know validated the existence of God, faith would not be needed.  But faith is the only way to God’s domain, essential in crossing over to a life in the Spirit.  To know the everlasting, timeless God, we must activate faith in our lives.  In the book of Daniel we get a glimpse of the God we serve.  I watched as thrones were put in place and the Ancient One sat down to judge.  His clothing was as white as snow, his hair like purest wool.  He sat on a fiery throne with wheels of blazing fire, and a river of fire was pouring out, flowing from his presence.  Millions of angels ministered to him; many millions stood to attend him.  Then the court began its session, and the books were opened.  (Daniel 7:9-10 NLT)  He is the God of existence.  Millions of angels minister to him, others stood to attend him.  His Being is beyond our understanding, our knowledge, our awareness of what is.  Therefore, his plan of redemption is not based on our feelings, our knowledge, our anthropomorphic understanding of him.  No, He is the God of existence, millions of divine entities minister and attend him.  But his plan of redemption was for us to know him and to be intimate with him through faith, not knowledge or wisdom, for our concept of heavenly reality is too time warped, too based on our earthly existence.  But God’s plan for redemption was not to include us into merely existing, but to change our nature by the work of Jesus Christ into his perfection without one fault.  A holy God who sits on a fiery throne will not let flaws enter into his eternal presence—we must be perfect.  Perfection does not come from our works, for we are horribly flawed lawbreakers, but comes fully from Christ’s work alone.  Everything from the beginning of the Bible to the end points to this reality.  A holy God can only be approached by a holy people.

Jesus came as the great servant to all people.  So much so that He became the least among people by going to the cross.  On the cross, He was mocked and ridiculed.  If you have so much power, come down from the cross and restore Israel to its rightful place of honor.  In today’s verses, we see Jesus asking James and John, Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?  Do you really know what you are asking?  In Daniel’s revelation of God we see the Lord descending to be near the Holy One of existence.  Of course, where the Lord is so are we.  James and John did not have a clue what they were asking.  Jesus tells them in the terms they might understand what it would mean to be in the household of God, what it would cost them.  “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Jesus’ illustration clarifies the last will be first, and the first will be last.  To be great or even accepted into the household of God, you must live a life given to God by faith.  Your reality, what you believe is great, is not the way to the throne room.  All of what Jesus is saying is counterintuitive to the flesh.  We honor greatness, strongness, powerfulness, capableness, not the least.  Jesus tells them, if you want to be great in God’s kingdom, you must be as God is, you must be a servant TO ALL.  To be his child, you must care for others as He cares for them.  Of course Jesus fulfills that template, only him.  He became the least so that we could be the most in the kingdom of God.  He made himself of no reputation so that we might be known by God.  Faith is not a matter of wisdom and knowledge.  Faith is the wholehearted belief that God loves his people so much that He will carry them into his household.  The body of Christ is made up of us.  We have been created NEW.  Not made over humans, perfecting us as one would work on an old car, restoring it to newness.  No, God has made us new creatures who can relate to him as his children.  The Holy Spirit has been given to us to know God, to hear God, and to talk to God.  That is not the old creature made new, but we are a new design.  Our newness comes through Jesus the Lord.  Yes, all of this is counterintuitive, but the plan of God allowed us to be free to rebel, to  be made fully in his image.  He could have made us perfect in every way, but we would not have been free.  Children of God must be free to discover what it means to love God fully.  We find this love in Jesus, for He loved us when we were yet sinners.  But his love for us makes our allegiance to God strong, an eternal allegiance.  Breakfast companions, we are those people who love God, who are placed with God in high places.  Let us sit with him, in his presence of PEACE, JOY, AND VICTORY IN CHRIST.    

 

Matthew 20:17-19 Raised to Life!

Matthew 20:17-19  Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem.  On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them,  “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law.  They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified.  On the third day he will be raised to life!”

In the above scene Jesus again tells the disciples of his imminent death, experiences at the end of life that no man could endure easily.  His own people, the Jews, would betray him to the hated Romans for execution.  Before his death, He would be whipped; a whole company of soldiers would gather around him to strip him naked, mock him as king of the Jews, place a painful crown of thorns on his head, spit on him, and beat him with a staff.  He would be forced to carry his cross to his execution, much like digging your own grave before you are killed.  Jesus emphatically told the disciples that He faced the cross.  He would fulfill the will of the Father to have him crucified for the sins of the world.  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son to die on a cross. (John 3:16)  Of course this will of the Father God was not the will of the disciples for Jesus.  When Jesus had earlier informed the disciples of his death, Peter responds with a word of rebuke to Jesus.  Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said.  “This shall never happen to you!”  Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!  You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”  (Matthew 16:22-23)  Jesus’ harsh response to Peter’s words of encouragement and allegiance to him must have confused Peter, for he was telling Jesus, we and the people who are your admirers and followers will never let this awful thing happen to you.  But instead of being praised for such positive and helpful words, Jesus calls him Satan, the source of evil.  Jesus could call a man no harsher words than Satan.  But anything other than the will of the Father God is evil, for God is the source of all good things, and in this case the offering up of his Son, Jesus, on a cruel cross.  Yet from a human perspective, this death would not be good.  In the eyes of a loving Father, Christ’s death personified God’s goodness.  Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.  After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.  Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.  For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.  (Isaiah 53:10-12)  In this act of mercy and goodness at the hands of the Lord, God’s salvation came to all people.  The chains of evil that bound all mankind to judgment would be broken by the sacrifice of the Lamb.  No longer would man have to pay the price for his sins, as in the days when lambs were slaughtered by the priests morning and evening every day for the sins of the people, but God would pay the price in full by giving his Son to die on a cross, once and for all time.  Because of such a love-deed, God rejoices over his redeemed people.  The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.  He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.  (Zephaniah 3:17)  Yes, God rejoices, but the disciples see no good in this act of sacrifice.  They go away from the cross mourning, in deep sadness, not gladness.

We know the disciples could not appreciate Jesus’ prophesy of his coming death.  James and John diverted the whole conversation of Jesus’ death to what place of status they will receive in heaven.  Their mother asked Jesus to “grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”  (Matthew 20:21)  They were not concerned about the horrific details of Jesus’ death but about their own interests—a good example in scripture of sheep who go their own way, the basic sin of self-interest.  They were concerned about themselves if Jesus passed away.  Jesus had told the disciples a number of times that He would be crucified.  Judas listened in on these prophesies of Christ’s death.  He heard the words, but must not have believed that they would be carried out as Jesus described them.  For when he betrayed Jesus, he was not aware of the consequences of his betrayal.  Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed.  So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.  When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.  “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”  (Matthew 27:3-4)  Judas betrayed Jesus for money, probably understanding that his hope for a better life by following Jesus was not going to be fulfilled.  Jesus had not gathered around him men who were violent, a militia that would take over the government by force.  Jesus seemed impervious to such an idea.  They were living in an olive grove at night, camping out, fearful of the Jewish elite.  How could this group of men ever attain anything good in this world of power and authority?  Jesus seemed to be the wrong kind of leader, for He talked about love, forgiving one another.  Jesus even identified with the least of these.  How could a man who teaches loving your enemies throw off the yoke of the Roman masters?  For Judas, following Jesus was a dead end with nothing much to be gained.  His choice to love the world and everything in it was detrimental to him when he forfeited the kingdom of God.  What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?  Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?  (Mark 8:36-37)

We must ask ourselves this question, Is the cross in my life?  Jesus said explicitly, Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up THEIR CROSS and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.  (Mark 8:34-35)  How deep the cross was in the disciples’ lives was revealed later.  They all fled when Jesus was arrested, saving their own lives for another day.  Just as Judas, they had heard the words of Jesus, but did not know the cost to their lives when they chose to follow him.  On the day of the mob arresting Jesus, the dynamite of life blew up in their faces.  Their hopes of greatness by following Jesus came to a catastrophic end.  They fled, not knowing what the future held for them.  Even Peter, who was brave enough to follow Jesus to the high priest’s courtyard, chose this life over dying for Jesus and the kingdom of heaven.  They all had seen Jesus’ marvelous works; they all had heard his great teachings about loving others and God.  They heard his cry for the people to repent.  Jesus spoke as God himself would speak, but they abandoned him when He was in the hands of his tormentors.  As Pilate said when he mocked Jesus as a king:  When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”  (John 19:5)  The disciples fled because they saw Jesus as a man of the flesh, not as God.  Their faith blew up when they saw Jesus in the hands of other men.  How could the Son of God be abused by mere men?  How could He be divine if he was incapable of protecting himself?  This is exactly what the leaders of the Jewish society wanted the people to think of Jesus.  As Pilate said, He was nothing else but A MAN.  Consequently, the chief priests and the elders could readily say, “Crucify! Crucify!”  A man could be crucified, but not the Son of God.  This was obvious in the crowd’s  thinking, and it was obvious to the disciples.  But as Judas forgot and maybe the disciples forgot, Jesus had a closing comment in his prophetic words about his death: On the third day he will be raised to life!  Jesus, the gift of God for humans to have eternal life, would be raised to life.  The resurrection reveals that God has brought eternal life to human beings.  His love for his creation was fully realized at the cross.  But the question remains for us, Is the cross in my life?  Are we willing to follow Jesus to the end of our lives or are we deciding on how to win the most out of this life?  Some of us choose Jesus to have an abundant life here on earth.  Is that choice to have a better, more satisfying life here or do we seek eternal life, the abundance of life IN AND THROUGH CHRIST JESUS.  Do we follow Jesus for bread and fish?  Or do we follow Jesus to honor him as Lord and Savior?  After the resurrection the disciples followed Jesus to the cross by dedicating their lives to him no matter what the cost.  In times of stress and calamity in our lives, are we there in the courtyard saying, “Yes, I am a disciple of Christ.”  In Acts 5 the disciples were flogged and ordered never to speak in Jesus’ name again.  This is a different group of disciples: they were glad to suffer for the name of Jesus.  As with Paul, are we willing to carry the cross as he did when experiencing the stresses of life.  Paul encourages us in Philippians 3 to be full of joy, to rejoice, and to place everything into Jesus’ hands.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live IN CHRIST JESUS.  The disciples really did not understand what Jesus was saying when He prophesied about his death, but the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit made it all clear.  Christian friends, today we live because of the cross; the gift of God is eternal life.  Amen!