Category: Devotions

The meaning for the reason of the coming of Christ was hidden from his Disciples by their prejudice and belief that they would conquer with Him. They knew their Scriptures of the glorious impact of the Messiah but their hope and excitement of his glory blinded them to the necessary suffering. They just couldn’t see it.

“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!” (Matthew 20 v 17-19)

He took the disciples aside. This was the third time of doing so and perhaps there were other occasions too. Your purpose needs to be reiterated time and again. It needs to be ever before you.

He provided more details this time, he spoke of the Gentiles on this occasion which he hadn’t done before. Sometimes our purpose is one of discovery and this is done over various seasons of our life.

He knew he had to take them with him, “we”. Who do you need to come with you? The people you choose are the ones who will enable you to get to that place.

Jesus spoke of being delivered over (a betrayal), being condemned, mocked, spat at, flogged and killed. There will be times when you feel out of control and pushed from here to there. If that happens know it happened to the one you follow before you.

“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!” (Matthew 20 v 17-19)

The third and final time that Jesus tells the team what is going to happen. The first, Peter opposes the plan (Matt 16:22-23); the second time the disciples were filled with grief (Matt 17:23); and this time they say nothing. They were numb. Just like I was when I heard on the radio an Afghan man who had worked for the U.N. say he knows he will be killed because he cannot get out of the country. Just hearing the words and the emotion behind the words was enough to numb me.

Can you read the words of Jesus again?

He is leading the way, he knew his purpose and he was focused.

Your purpose in life is that of Christ, it will take many different forms but ultimately will be for people, in the end it will have something to do with the transformation of their lives through the love of God.

Focus on the last verse and see again what happens on the third day!

It may not be easy and you might be afraid of what lies ahead but we have a third day, all of us who follow Christ have a third day! Amen!

I said those words but the person I was speaking to was filled with only injustice that they had not received what they ought to have done.

The following story found only in Matthew is not teaching us about salvation or how to gain eternal life because both are not achieved through works. But it is about how we live our lives within the Kingdom of God. Let me come back with 3 simple thoughts. But first …

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denariusfor the day and sent them into his vineyard. “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” (Matthew 20 v 1-16)

This parable speaks to us that if ever we feel we are entitled to something because of our work and our commitment then we have lost sight of the real value of who we are and what we are doing within the Kingdom.

The working hours were 6am – 6pm generally speaking in the Jewish world and mind.

The landowner went out at 6am; 9am; 12 noon; 3pm and 5pm. Each hired labourer was given a day’s wages regardless of how many hours they worked. It indicates that the day’s work wasn’t for the wage, it wasn’t about entitlement, but it was about the wonderful opportunity of being in the Kingdom and working for Him.

• You should be thankful: don’t compare what you have been given with what others have.
• You should be thankful: don’t replace your gratitude with self-entitlement.
• You should be thankful: don’t see serving Christ in any other terms than grace given to you for the opportunity.

Many commentators have expressed different views on what are difficult verses to truly understand. (When the Bible gets difficult I always hide behind the fact my devotional blog is just that, a devotion. Nothing more and certainly nothing that can be compared to a commentary. So I hide again!)

A final thought on the pursuit of more ….

“Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” (Matthew 19 v 27-30)

What was Jesus saying in this context of the wealthy young man? He wouldn’t create the lack in his life for Jesus but Peter and the disciples had. He had pursued more wealth and was pursuing eternal life but wouldn’t pursue lack so walked away sad. However, they had left all to follow and Jesus knew it. He knew they had left their homes and their families for Him.

• They would have positions of authority. Not denying the fact that if I was God I would definitely make sure these 12 were in a good position in our eternal future! (Well not Judas, I would probably swap him for Matthias or the Apostle Paul). But I am thinking more about their authority post Resurrection/Ascension and post-Pentecost when they were filled with boldness, released as missionaries, their gospels and teachings influencing still today the spiritual Israel of God, the Church. These are the thrones of authority.
• Jesus knew that not only the 12 but ‘everyone’ who had stopped pursuing their more and had given up or forsaken for Jesus would gain in this life ‘a hundred times as much’ of new homes of fellowship and new families filled with wonderful relationships. That is the beauty of the world-wide Church and many missionary will tell you their story of finding new families across the world.
• Our eternal home and our life there seems to be impacted by our deposit in our life on this earth. Perhaps we should live more in the light of that fact than we do. What we give up now for the kingdom will be restored to us in our eternity. One day, surrounded by eternal riches (whatever they are) we might be able to say, “We have left all we had to follow Jesus!” It will be so worth it!!
• Finally a reminder of the upside down kingdom of Christ. “the first will be last, and many who are last will be first” in the context of the wealthy young man and the pursuit of more. They are a warning to us all that earthly success will not lead to heavenly reward. In fact our pursuit of success, wealth, fame (even in the guise of goodness and the gospel) can become an entrapment to our lives where we end up losing it all. I have met many who have done so and it began as they commenced the pursuit of more.

If what you are pursuing takes up more time and more focus than pursuing Christ then it has to go.

Even if that be your moral living and keeping every commandment in an ultra-disciplined pious way or you have become wealthy (nothing wrong with that) but the way that happened was the desire for more took over your life, then it has to be surrendered.

 ^“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19 v 23-26)

It is hard for those who are not desperate, who do not have nothing, who do not need to trust and rely on God for their future to get into the kingdom of God. It is these things that the rich man didn’t have that make us rich. Those with nothing but God often look happier than those who have everything but not Him.

The disciples were once again stunned. Everyone believed that the wealthy were the blessed but Jesus says the wealthy have a stumbling block and it is the condition of the heart. It is difficult for them. Jesus uses a funny image of the largest land animal they can imagine going through the smallest hole. It probably was that which he meant rather than a hole in the city wall that traders would pass through at night. Probably because it was the most impossible (and funniest) of images.

So who could make it? Who could be saved if the wealthy couldn’t get there then there is no hope for them? Jesus looked at the disciples and in the look there was a pause, long enough for them to remember this amazing statement which we quote in every context of our lives and so we should: With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

We can pursue ‘more’ of anything and everything can become an idol if we choose to make it so. The pursuit of more will never satisfy and it will always leave a person outside the rule of God. However, God can meet any person at the place where they have found themselves. He can meet the wealthy, the religious and those who have pursued every idol you can think of and He can break into their life and do what looks impossible. How? It starts with this story of ‘selling everything and giving to the poor’. It is a heart that says all my ‘stuff’ is worthless, all I have become and all I have pursued is worth nothing compared to choosing Christ.

There was no lack.

That is what he lacked.

“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” (Matthew 19 v 20-22)

If this man had walked into many churches we would have got him saved and certainly a tithing member as soon as possible! However, Jesus seems to purposely offend this man and to make it so difficult for him.

Jesus doesn’t say “repeat the sinners prayer and you’ll get eternal life,”

He says this and it is all pointed towards the commandments he has kept in reference to people.

You have everything

You have done everything

But you lack one thing

There is no lack in your life.

In the one area where you are rich the most, in your relationships, here is what you must do.

This is not another commandment for you to accomplish perhaps using your riches as a crutch.

Sell everything.

Give to the poor.

Lay your life down.

Come to me with lack.

Come to me with nothing.

This is how you follow me.

With lack.

Total reliance on me for your salvation and eternal life.

The response of the man was that the earthly actually mattered more than the heavenly and Jesus knew it.

It is hard for those who have it all and want to pursue it all because they have no lack, no desperate need, no longing. They are full.

Ambition can lead to a trail of hurt people and damaged relationships behind us; it can lead to burnt out people incapable of sustaining the pressure of the pursuit of more; it can mean we will do almost anything to achieve what we set out for even sacrificing the values of our own life and once we reach that place then our downfall is never far away.

Meet our ambitious young wealthy man ….

“Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honour your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbour as yourself.” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” (Matthew 19 v 16-20)

This is an incredible young man in that he has kept not only the 5 commandments Jesus mentioned but when he says he has done so he is meaning he has kept them all. This is not unusual as we also know the Apostle Paul would say that he was blameless with regard to keeping the law (Phil 3:6).

Jesus states the 5 commandments perhaps because they are the ones focused on our connections with people or maybe simply because in stating 5 commandments he is meaning them all. In any case, the young man has kept them all.

Be careful when you have evidence that you are doing well in comparison to others.

Be careful when you believe you are pleasing God because of what you do.

Be careful when everyone can see how hard you work.

This wheel of life will demand more and more but it will never satisfy.

The answer was not in his performance or his obedience, he didn’t lack there. We can all get to the place where we are doing everything that is needed but we are still not satisfied. The answers to life are never found in the exterior.

Check your ambition today in what is your true motivation for your pursuit of more.

Pastors, why do you want your churches to grow?

Church members why do you want to take up that position within church?

Parents why do you want your children to succeed?

Workers why are you working every hour in the day?

Ask yourself the hard question: Why? Why am I pursuing more?

“Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” (Matthew 19 v 16-17)

Here comes a man, a wealthy young man we will find out from Matthew and in Luke a ruler, perhaps a Jewish leader in the synagogue.

Matthew focuses less on who he is and more on what he wants. He is pursuing gain. His heart is to own something, to add to his mounting possessions, this is his one great concern, to have more. The ultimate is to get the ticket for eternal life. Of course he already knows how to do this but it seems hopeless. He knew that works saved and so he tirelessly and slavishly tried to keep everything. Jesus obviously knows this and that is why he tells the man to keep the commandments for eternal life. But performance religion becomes impossible.

Be careful what you are longing for. Be careful what grabs your attention. It may be good but it may not be God.

The young man came to Jesus with his concern and Jesus responded with his concern for the man. The young man came wanting and Jesus responded by wanting him.

Our concerns may not be His.

Desire for greatness, status, fame and fortune masked under religion is hard to expose. It is manipulative and deceptive. Above all it is sad because there is no end to it and once you are hooked you will die trying to be someone you were never created to be.

Response from Jesus: “what are you saying? Only God is good. Are you calling me God?”

He wasn’t. But Jesus brilliantly handles this situation which leaves us with a smile on our face. He does it a lot.

“Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.” (Matthew 19 v 13-15)

The disciples were not the best crèche workers. There was so much more important things to do than looking after babies and little children. This event reveals once again that it has nothing to do with children’s ministry but everything to do with the heart and Jesus became angry with what was being revealed.

What did the disciples do wrong?

1. The disciples got in the way of people and Jesus.
2. The disciples tried to prevent or at least control the blessing.
3. The disciples saw the blessing as a bothersome nuisance.
4. The disciples failed to know the heart of Jesus.
5. The disciples’ view of the lowest category in society was different to that of Jesus.

The disciples were not the mirror image of Jesus. When you looked at the disciples that day you were not looking at Jesus, in fact their behaviour and responses were the opposite to who He is.

I think the same question should be asked today: are we the mirror-image of Jesus to the world?

1. Do we get in the way of the Way?
2. Are we controllers?
3. Do we get annoyed at our plans being affected?
4. Do we let go of the heart of Jesus, for example, his heart of love for sinners was never condemnatory at any occasion?
5. Do we turn our nose up at the outcast?

Challenging questions perhaps, but no one said it is easy being a disciple, it never was.

I spotted something this morning looking at the start of this chapter. Matthew tells his readers something 5 times in his gospel:

“When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.” (Matthew 19 v 1-2)

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, Matthew 7:28

After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. Matthew 11:1

When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Matthew 13:53

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” Matthew 26:1-2

There are 5 sections in his gospel and in between each section we see the landscape change, the moment is over and Jesus moves on but though there is change Jesus remains true to His calling.

So in the 2 verses we have read: Galilee is over, the majority of his ministry Jesus has spent with the Gentiles but now he and his disciples are heading to Jerusalem. Matthew reveals the direction, ‘the other side of the Jordan’ and we are reminded of the Baptist who first saw the revelation of Jesus the Messiah. Still, even though there are changes, people are still there and Jesus reaches them and heals them.

So how would this help Matthew’s readers in their ever-changing 1^st century world? More to the point how does this help you in 2021? Perhaps things are changing for you and if they are then you must remain true to who you are.

Don’t stop just because things have changed, you don’t change.

Don’t stop being the person God has made you and called you to be.

Don’t stop reaching out to people.

Don’t stop fulfilling the promises and plans that God has set out for you or is revealing to you.

Don’t stop just because what is ahead is uncertain, move forward with certainty in Him who never leaves you.