Who is the Messiah? How do we know who this Savior is? As the Jewish leaders understood it, Psalm 89 would indicate that the coming Messiah would be a descendent of David (a “son of David”). This was the totality of clues that they would receive from the Old Testament. Because of this, they kept meticulous records of all of the family members of the Davidic line. All of David’s children, and grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, all the way down to Joseph and Mary, were recorded and verified.
When Jesus came as the acclaimed “Son of David,” this was very important. His arrival into the city of the kings, Jerusalem, on a donkey (like his royal ancestor’s had done) signaled a coming change in the kingdom. The overwhelming shouts of, “Hosanna! Son of David!”, had created a sort of fevered excitement in the city as people were obviously beginning to see Jesus as the great descendent of David that would liberate them from their oppressors.
This was a monarchial society. He was heir to the long lost throne. In their minds, His miracles had proven that God had anointed Him to be their king, and now was the time that they would coronate this “Son of David.” The kingdom would be re-established and this zealot would lead His people to freedom from all foreign powers. They longed for Him to lay His claim to the throne and lead them to victory and international prominence.
They couldn’t have been more clueless. The Messiah was not only going be the “Son of David.” Yes, He would be descended from David, but this was not His full identity. Rather, His identity would be found in another Old Testament text. As Jesus finished out the His teaching during Passion Week, this point needed to be made. He was in fact, the very Son of God. His Davidic ancestry was just a proof, it was not the totality of His identity.
In order to show this truth, Jesus quoted His ancestor David in Psalm 110. In this text, David tells how that God (Jehovah, translated “LORD”) spoke to the Messiah, and in the Psalm, David calls the Messiah, “My Lord.” This was of vital importance. No ancestor would call a mere descendent His “Lord,” this was a massive indication that David respected the coming Messiah as one Who was on par with God, as Paul would say in Philippians 2, “equal with God.” Here, just two days before His sacrificial death, Jesus was shoring up the theology of His disciples. He had explained that resurrection would happen, now He was establishing for them that His purpose was greater than coming to fulfill the throne-claiming role of David’s heir. He had come as the very Son of God who would save the world. David had a lot of sons, but this One was going to be different.
Food For Thought: Read Psalm 110. This was the Psalm that Jesus quoted. What are some other truths that we can see in this Psalm that Jesus Himself would have known?
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Mark 12:18-34
Jesus was never confronted with a question that He could not answer. He was God, and as such, He knew the entirety of the Scriptures as it were His very own words. This is why when He was confronted with a hypothetical question, He didn’t struggle or stumble over His words.
The Sadducees were a religious sect that did not believe in a resurrection in spite of the many indications of such in the scriptures. One of their prime arguments against a resurrection from the dead was a scenario that they had formulated. In this scenario, a certain married man had six brothers. After he died, his second brother married his widow, but eventually died. This repeated through all of the brothers, all of them eventually marrying this woman and dying (I would start to wonder about this girl with all these dead husbands). Their question to Jesus at the end of this hypothetical was “In the resurrection, whose wife will she be?” This was a ridiculous proposition, and they figured that they could stump Jesus with this “impossible” hypothetical.
Why did they care about resurrection? Why would they talk to Jesus about resurrection on this week? Why just two days before His death would they be confronting Jesus and challenging the veracity of resurrection? This was of massive importance. They thought that they were asking a question that would stump Jesus and His disciples, but they were actually just setting the stage for Jesus to teach His followers the greater truth that physical death is not the end. Customarily, when Jesus was challenged with a preposterous question, He would refuse to directly answer the question; but in this case, He engaged the questioners and gave clarity to the argument.
After hearing their question, Jesus answered by first confirming that there would indeed be a resurrection. Secondly, He reprioritized existence after the resurrection for the Sadducees. They thought that death was the end, and if there was resurrection, the afterlife was consumed with the same priorities that this life was, namely in this case, marriage. Jesus explained that marriage was not of primary importance in the presence of the Holy, Triune God of all the ages.
Jesus did not say much here about His own personal resurrection, but the truth that resurrection was indeed a fact would be of great concern and comfort to His disciples later that week. As Christians, we look back at the events of that Passion Week, and see that Jesus eventually died and resurrected. In Romans 6, Paul goes on to say that because of His resurrection, we can find victory over sin. Jesus is not a dead Savior, but a living one, and as a living Savior, we can rely on Him to help us in our gravest hour of need.
Food For Thought: Read 1 Corinthians 15:19-20. What does Paul say is our situation if Christ did not raise from the dead?
The Sadducees were a religious sect that did not believe in a resurrection in spite of the many indications of such in the scriptures. One of their prime arguments against a resurrection from the dead was a scenario that they had formulated. In this scenario, a certain married man had six brothers. After he died, his second brother married his widow, but eventually died. This repeated through all of the brothers, all of them eventually marrying this woman and dying (I would start to wonder about this girl with all these dead husbands). Their question to Jesus at the end of this hypothetical was “In the resurrection, whose wife will she be?” This was a ridiculous proposition, and they figured that they could stump Jesus with this “impossible” hypothetical.
Why did they care about resurrection? Why would they talk to Jesus about resurrection on this week? Why just two days before His death would they be confronting Jesus and challenging the veracity of resurrection? This was of massive importance. They thought that they were asking a question that would stump Jesus and His disciples, but they were actually just setting the stage for Jesus to teach His followers the greater truth that physical death is not the end. Customarily, when Jesus was challenged with a preposterous question, He would refuse to directly answer the question; but in this case, He engaged the questioners and gave clarity to the argument.
After hearing their question, Jesus answered by first confirming that there would indeed be a resurrection. Secondly, He reprioritized existence after the resurrection for the Sadducees. They thought that death was the end, and if there was resurrection, the afterlife was consumed with the same priorities that this life was, namely in this case, marriage. Jesus explained that marriage was not of primary importance in the presence of the Holy, Triune God of all the ages.
Jesus did not say much here about His own personal resurrection, but the truth that resurrection was indeed a fact would be of great concern and comfort to His disciples later that week. As Christians, we look back at the events of that Passion Week, and see that Jesus eventually died and resurrected. In Romans 6, Paul goes on to say that because of His resurrection, we can find victory over sin. Jesus is not a dead Savior, but a living one, and as a living Savior, we can rely on Him to help us in our gravest hour of need.
Food For Thought: Read 1 Corinthians 15:19-20. What does Paul say is our situation if Christ did not raise from the dead?
Monday, October 7, 2013
Mark 12:1-17
The week began with the people of Jerusalem lining the streets crying “Hosanna!” to Jesus, pleading with Him to save them from their oppressors. That was Monday. On Tuesday, He had returned to the temple, and had demolished the tables of the extortionists. The Sanhedrin (the Jewish religious ruling body) was now seeking for ways to destroy Jesus.
After they questioned His authority, He masterfully handled their treacherous inquiry. Without stopping, He continued on to tell them a parable. The parable was a solid indictment against them, and Mark tells us that they certainly understood it. While He was telling them a parable about a group of wicked men plotting to murder another man, they secretly were plotting how they could kill Him. There must have been a fair amount of shame and embarrassment in having their wicked desires played out so clearly in front of them.
Their frustration and hatred were mounting on this Wednesday, but they couldn’t do anything because killing Him today would just prove Him right, and would probably enrage the crowd that was so enamored by Him. So they devised another strategy. Jesus was incredibly popular with the people. Many were still convinced that He had come to set them free from the bondage to the Romans. To them He was a political Messiah who had come to liberate them and allow them to rule themselves. The Pharisees were going to capitalize on this misconception, and begin to sway the public opinion of Jesus.
“Master,” sneeringly they offered this term of respect to the one they hated, “we know that you are true and don’t care what people think about you, but only care about what God thinks: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” This was the trickiest question they could come up with. You see, if He said to pay taxes, the Jewish rebels looking to Him as the political Messiah would feel double-crossed, perhaps even undermined. They didn’t want to pay the wicked Caesar anything. But if Jesus sided with them, and said to not pay the taxes, the people who favored Caesar would go immediately to the Romans and accuse Jesus of insurrection. This tension is what makes Jesus’ succinct response so masterful.
“Bring me a coin.” They brought it. “Whose picture is on this coin?” They responded “Caesar’s.”
“Then, give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give God the things that are made in His image.” Verse 17 finishes this story with, “and they marveled at Him.” How could He answer in such a clear, understandable way? How was such a young teacher such a masterful thinker? More importantly for them, how could they ever defeat Him? He was just too good at this. They would never be able to defeat Him. The only victory that could be had was one where He would lay down His own life.
Food For Thought: Read Luke 23:1-2. What lie did the Pharisees tell the Romans to convince them that Jesus was deserving of Roman punishment?
After they questioned His authority, He masterfully handled their treacherous inquiry. Without stopping, He continued on to tell them a parable. The parable was a solid indictment against them, and Mark tells us that they certainly understood it. While He was telling them a parable about a group of wicked men plotting to murder another man, they secretly were plotting how they could kill Him. There must have been a fair amount of shame and embarrassment in having their wicked desires played out so clearly in front of them.
Their frustration and hatred were mounting on this Wednesday, but they couldn’t do anything because killing Him today would just prove Him right, and would probably enrage the crowd that was so enamored by Him. So they devised another strategy. Jesus was incredibly popular with the people. Many were still convinced that He had come to set them free from the bondage to the Romans. To them He was a political Messiah who had come to liberate them and allow them to rule themselves. The Pharisees were going to capitalize on this misconception, and begin to sway the public opinion of Jesus.
“Master,” sneeringly they offered this term of respect to the one they hated, “we know that you are true and don’t care what people think about you, but only care about what God thinks: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” This was the trickiest question they could come up with. You see, if He said to pay taxes, the Jewish rebels looking to Him as the political Messiah would feel double-crossed, perhaps even undermined. They didn’t want to pay the wicked Caesar anything. But if Jesus sided with them, and said to not pay the taxes, the people who favored Caesar would go immediately to the Romans and accuse Jesus of insurrection. This tension is what makes Jesus’ succinct response so masterful.
“Bring me a coin.” They brought it. “Whose picture is on this coin?” They responded “Caesar’s.”
“Then, give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give God the things that are made in His image.” Verse 17 finishes this story with, “and they marveled at Him.” How could He answer in such a clear, understandable way? How was such a young teacher such a masterful thinker? More importantly for them, how could they ever defeat Him? He was just too good at this. They would never be able to defeat Him. The only victory that could be had was one where He would lay down His own life.
Food For Thought: Read Luke 23:1-2. What lie did the Pharisees tell the Romans to convince them that Jesus was deserving of Roman punishment?
Friday, October 4, 2013
Mark 11:15-33
God is Sovereign, and as such, the plan of redemption always included the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). There was no other way. The penalty of sin is death, and a Just God required a sacrifice of sinlessness to be offered for those who were under His condemnation. In God’s omniscient and omnipotent Providence, the death of Jesus was all part of a pre-existent plan to satisfy His wrath and to extend His redemptive love to the fallen descendants of Adam.
The death of Jesus was also reactionary, but only in the minds and hearts of the religious leaders and the Roman executioners. When you read the gospels, it doesn't take long to find reasons why the religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus. They despised Him. They hated His new teaching, His bold claims, and His seemingly brash actions. His miracles stood as a frustrating testament to the veracity of His claims. Because of this, the religious crowd constantly sought to undo the things that He had done. Their antipathy reached such an unhealthy level that eventually the gospel of John says they even sought to kill Lazarus after he had been raised Him from the dead by Jesus. It is no wonder they would eventually turn to killing Jesus.
And at the height of their frustration and hatred for Jesus, He came to Jerusalem and stoked their fury. Entering the temple complex, He devastated the tables of the corrupt money-exchangers who offered “acceptable money” to purchase temple offerings, for a fee of course. He turned to the dove and lamb handlers who were extorting their countrymen out of their money in the “name of God,” and with a braided cord He whipped them until they fled from the temple porch.
“Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? But you have made it a den of thieves.” He was challenging the religious leaders on their own turf now. The line had been drawn, and He was not backing down from what He knew was right. God’s Temple was a place where all people should come to worship, not a place where a few enterprising businessmen could run a lucrative racket. God does not want His house tainted with sin, namely in this case, greed.
The religious leaders were certainly enraged by this outburst from Jesus. When they challenged His authority their attempts were only frustrated by His overwhelming logic. So, they continued on throughout the week plotting and planning His destruction. How would they be able to undo Him? How could they destroy Him? They would have to find someone close to Him. In their minds if they could kill Him they would completely undo all of His purposes. Little did they know that by fulfilling their reactionary sinful desires they would not be thwarting His plans, but rather would be accomplishing the very thing for which the Sovereign God had sent Jesus – redemption through His death.
Food For Thought: Reread v.27-33. In context, what “authority” are the priests and scribes questioning in Jesus? How did He masterfully handle their question?
The death of Jesus was also reactionary, but only in the minds and hearts of the religious leaders and the Roman executioners. When you read the gospels, it doesn't take long to find reasons why the religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus. They despised Him. They hated His new teaching, His bold claims, and His seemingly brash actions. His miracles stood as a frustrating testament to the veracity of His claims. Because of this, the religious crowd constantly sought to undo the things that He had done. Their antipathy reached such an unhealthy level that eventually the gospel of John says they even sought to kill Lazarus after he had been raised Him from the dead by Jesus. It is no wonder they would eventually turn to killing Jesus.
And at the height of their frustration and hatred for Jesus, He came to Jerusalem and stoked their fury. Entering the temple complex, He devastated the tables of the corrupt money-exchangers who offered “acceptable money” to purchase temple offerings, for a fee of course. He turned to the dove and lamb handlers who were extorting their countrymen out of their money in the “name of God,” and with a braided cord He whipped them until they fled from the temple porch.
“Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? But you have made it a den of thieves.” He was challenging the religious leaders on their own turf now. The line had been drawn, and He was not backing down from what He knew was right. God’s Temple was a place where all people should come to worship, not a place where a few enterprising businessmen could run a lucrative racket. God does not want His house tainted with sin, namely in this case, greed.
The religious leaders were certainly enraged by this outburst from Jesus. When they challenged His authority their attempts were only frustrated by His overwhelming logic. So, they continued on throughout the week plotting and planning His destruction. How would they be able to undo Him? How could they destroy Him? They would have to find someone close to Him. In their minds if they could kill Him they would completely undo all of His purposes. Little did they know that by fulfilling their reactionary sinful desires they would not be thwarting His plans, but rather would be accomplishing the very thing for which the Sovereign God had sent Jesus – redemption through His death.
Food For Thought: Reread v.27-33. In context, what “authority” are the priests and scribes questioning in Jesus? How did He masterfully handle their question?
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Mark 11:1-14
The crowds roared as Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem. Both David and Solomon had ridden a mule when they had come to take the crown. Now, during this last week of His life, He came into Jerusalem, carried by a donkey’s colt. Thousands of people pressed against each other along the way. Hurriedly, men scattered their coats on the ground in front of the colt as Jesus pressed on through the crowd. The implications of this entrance were obvious. The masses had been helped by His serving, healing hands, and now he had arrived back in Jerusalem, as it seemed, to be king.
He was the Son of David. He was the Messiah. He would be the new king. In their minds, He would overthrow the Roman oppressors. He was about to set up a new kingdom, with Him at its head. They would be His people, and He would be their Savior. The day had come, and as He passed by them they screamed “Hosanna! Hosanna!! Hosanna!!” a Hebrew word meaning, “Save Us!! Rescue Us!!” They wanted Him to liberate them, and He would, just not the way they wanted Him to.
You see, this great, fake-coronation day ended. He eventually got off the colt, and walked back to the town of Bethany a couple miles outside of Jerusalem. He never took a throne. He never set up a kingdom. This was not the day that He would save the world. It was the day that He fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, “shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” He had come, and they wanted the salvation that the Messiah was supposed to bring. But they did not find it that day, so they returned home, heads hung low with disappointment. Some Messiah He turned out to be.
Jesus had not become what they had wanted Him to be. They had a very specific expectation for Jesus to fulfill, but He had fallen far short of that. In less than a week, they would be ready to shout “Crucify!!” at this same one who had dashed their hopes on this day. Little would they know that through His crucifixion He would become the Savior that they had been looking for on this disappointing day.
Jesus did not come to simply save mankind from the oppression of physical enemies. He came to liberate us from the darker, greater, spiritual foes. He came to liberate us from the power of Satan and sin. He came to offer freedom to the slaves of sin. He came to “offer His life a ransom” for all those who would believe in Him. He came to bring hope to the hopeless, and life to the lifeless. Their request of “Hosanna!” would be fulfilled by the end of the week, just not the way they suspected. More importantly, He was going to accomplish the “Hosanna!” work for any who would come in faith to Him.
Food For Thought: Read Genesis 22:1-14. What type of animal did Abraham and Isaac ride to the place where Isaac was to be sacrificed? How do you think this relates to what God was doing with Jesus?
He was the Son of David. He was the Messiah. He would be the new king. In their minds, He would overthrow the Roman oppressors. He was about to set up a new kingdom, with Him at its head. They would be His people, and He would be their Savior. The day had come, and as He passed by them they screamed “Hosanna! Hosanna!! Hosanna!!” a Hebrew word meaning, “Save Us!! Rescue Us!!” They wanted Him to liberate them, and He would, just not the way they wanted Him to.
You see, this great, fake-coronation day ended. He eventually got off the colt, and walked back to the town of Bethany a couple miles outside of Jerusalem. He never took a throne. He never set up a kingdom. This was not the day that He would save the world. It was the day that He fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, “shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” He had come, and they wanted the salvation that the Messiah was supposed to bring. But they did not find it that day, so they returned home, heads hung low with disappointment. Some Messiah He turned out to be.
Jesus had not become what they had wanted Him to be. They had a very specific expectation for Jesus to fulfill, but He had fallen far short of that. In less than a week, they would be ready to shout “Crucify!!” at this same one who had dashed their hopes on this day. Little would they know that through His crucifixion He would become the Savior that they had been looking for on this disappointing day.
Jesus did not come to simply save mankind from the oppression of physical enemies. He came to liberate us from the darker, greater, spiritual foes. He came to liberate us from the power of Satan and sin. He came to offer freedom to the slaves of sin. He came to “offer His life a ransom” for all those who would believe in Him. He came to bring hope to the hopeless, and life to the lifeless. Their request of “Hosanna!” would be fulfilled by the end of the week, just not the way they suspected. More importantly, He was going to accomplish the “Hosanna!” work for any who would come in faith to Him.
Food For Thought: Read Genesis 22:1-14. What type of animal did Abraham and Isaac ride to the place where Isaac was to be sacrificed? How do you think this relates to what God was doing with Jesus?
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Mark 10:32-52
Exalted, Praiseworthy, Important, Glorious, Renowned, Adored, Magnificent: what comes to mind when you hear these words?
Do you picture somebody who fits one of those titles? Do you think of a place or an event, perhaps a concert or a great speech? Do those words breed aspiration in you? Do you get a great desire to be recognized as a combination of those words? Do you feel a weight in yourself that tells you this is what you want your epitaph to be? The life of moderation, unexcited, un-thrilled, unnoticed seems like less than what you would desire. So, of course, being adored and exalted as magnificent, important, praiseworthy, or even glorious seems like a better alternative. Who wouldn’t want to be recognized?
With this mentality men become fools. Seeking the applause of other men, the promise of fame, and the deceitfulness of wealth, generations of human beings have become the laughing spectacle of centuries past and of entertainment present. I think of the people who don’t know how to sing attempting to do so on nationally broadcasted talent shows. The fear and shame of a rating-obtaining humiliation does not hinder tone-deaf dreamers from entering for the chance at “greatness.”
This pursuit of fame is by no means a new phenomenon. Perhaps the advent of “Reality TV” shows has exaggerated this scenario over the past decade, but the tendency of self-serving men to seek laud and applause of others is a human heart issue that predates the days of Jesus. Jesus’ own disciples succumbed to this self-exalting heart posture. As we read today in verse 35-45, we see the open, self-seeking attitude of James and John and the jealous response of the other ten disciples. This was not a problem reserved to just one or two of the disciples, this self-worship pervaded the entirety of the disciples. They all wanted to be exalted.
Christ lovingly rebuked His disciples and helped them again with their faux definition. They had bought into the world’s view of greatness, and sought to find a place of prominence that superseded that of their peers. Jesus longed for them to understand the message of greatness that He was preaching with His life. So to teach them the deep truth of true greatness again, He stated His mission very clearly. The definition of greatness was bound in this testimony of Jesus: “the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minster, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Greatness was found in serving and in sacrificing, not in seeking your own. Jesus would eventually die to offer the disciples a greater hope of glory far beyond the praise and acceptance that they could ever find here on earth.
Food For Thought: Read Philippians 2:5-11. What does Paul tell us we should do in light of what Jesus has done?
Do you picture somebody who fits one of those titles? Do you think of a place or an event, perhaps a concert or a great speech? Do those words breed aspiration in you? Do you get a great desire to be recognized as a combination of those words? Do you feel a weight in yourself that tells you this is what you want your epitaph to be? The life of moderation, unexcited, un-thrilled, unnoticed seems like less than what you would desire. So, of course, being adored and exalted as magnificent, important, praiseworthy, or even glorious seems like a better alternative. Who wouldn’t want to be recognized?
With this mentality men become fools. Seeking the applause of other men, the promise of fame, and the deceitfulness of wealth, generations of human beings have become the laughing spectacle of centuries past and of entertainment present. I think of the people who don’t know how to sing attempting to do so on nationally broadcasted talent shows. The fear and shame of a rating-obtaining humiliation does not hinder tone-deaf dreamers from entering for the chance at “greatness.”
This pursuit of fame is by no means a new phenomenon. Perhaps the advent of “Reality TV” shows has exaggerated this scenario over the past decade, but the tendency of self-serving men to seek laud and applause of others is a human heart issue that predates the days of Jesus. Jesus’ own disciples succumbed to this self-exalting heart posture. As we read today in verse 35-45, we see the open, self-seeking attitude of James and John and the jealous response of the other ten disciples. This was not a problem reserved to just one or two of the disciples, this self-worship pervaded the entirety of the disciples. They all wanted to be exalted.
Christ lovingly rebuked His disciples and helped them again with their faux definition. They had bought into the world’s view of greatness, and sought to find a place of prominence that superseded that of their peers. Jesus longed for them to understand the message of greatness that He was preaching with His life. So to teach them the deep truth of true greatness again, He stated His mission very clearly. The definition of greatness was bound in this testimony of Jesus: “the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minster, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Greatness was found in serving and in sacrificing, not in seeking your own. Jesus would eventually die to offer the disciples a greater hope of glory far beyond the praise and acceptance that they could ever find here on earth.
Food For Thought: Read Philippians 2:5-11. What does Paul tell us we should do in light of what Jesus has done?
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Mark 10:13-31
My little girl, Cecelia, just had her first birthday. She has been growing steadily and has even mastered the “when Johnny comes marching home again” leg-dragging crawl. She still can’t talk, although she loves to yell and get attention. Imagine with me, however, for the sake of illustration, that she could talk. Imagine with me that one day I came home from work to find Cecelia talking and in her room by herself. Engagingly, I invite her to come enjoy dinner with her family, but quickly she declines with “Dad, thanks, but I got this one. I’m alright on my own.” In that moment, of course I am going to be surprised, perhaps even overwhelmingly so. “Cecelia, you are one year old. There is no way that you will be able to take care of yourself,” I reply. Without missing a beat, she motions toward her plastic pots and pans that she got for her birthday, “Naw, Dad, I can just make myself my own food.” With that, she picks up a couple cheerios off the floor and drops them in the plastic frying pan. As she crawl-drags herself and her little plastic frying pan back across the room, she eats one of the cheerios and mutters an unconvincing, “Mmmm. That’s good!”
This would be absolutely ludicrous. That kid can’t live off of dehydrated cheerios. That kid can’t even take care of herself. It would be ridiculous for an infant to try to act self-sufficient. The very fact that she is an infant indicates that she is in need of help. This truth was made clear as a group of mothers brought their babies to Jesus. They came in search of a blessing from Jesus, but He turned it into one of the greatest object lessons of the Christian life. There Jesus sat in the midst of infants, helpless infants. “Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, shall not enter there in.” In essence, “you are a child, and I offer you the parental help that you are desperately in need of.”
The only hope that anyone has, is to place their faith in Jesus and what He has done. This is why what happened next set the truth even deeper. Immediately, a rich young ruler asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit the kingdom?” Jesus never changed His message. He was not intimidated by an inflated pocket book. Rich clothes did not impress Him. He was not overwhelmed by the latest in fashion. Without missing a beat, Jesus responded, “Sell all your stuff and give your money to the poor.” Mark went on to tell us that this was a very hard thing for this man to hear because he had many possessions.
Instead of being like a helpless child, this man had found his sufficiency in the pile of stuff he owned. The deceitfulness of his wealth had given him a sense of security that he did not want to replace with the real security of faith in Jesus. Like a toddler with a cheerio in a plastic frying pan, he turned away from the One Who could truly meet his needs and left forever unsatisfied, but self-convincing all the while.
We need faith. We must have faith, but we must have faith in that which is worth trusting in. Moth, rust, and decay destroy all things here, and whatever doesn’t rot or decay can be stolen or taken in a moment’s notice. For this reason, Jesus implores us to turn, like a helpless infant, in faith to Him away from the false security offered by our plastic cookware.
Food For Thought: Read Matthew 6:19-34. What does Jesus tell us about the value we should place on things?
This would be absolutely ludicrous. That kid can’t live off of dehydrated cheerios. That kid can’t even take care of herself. It would be ridiculous for an infant to try to act self-sufficient. The very fact that she is an infant indicates that she is in need of help. This truth was made clear as a group of mothers brought their babies to Jesus. They came in search of a blessing from Jesus, but He turned it into one of the greatest object lessons of the Christian life. There Jesus sat in the midst of infants, helpless infants. “Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, shall not enter there in.” In essence, “you are a child, and I offer you the parental help that you are desperately in need of.”
The only hope that anyone has, is to place their faith in Jesus and what He has done. This is why what happened next set the truth even deeper. Immediately, a rich young ruler asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit the kingdom?” Jesus never changed His message. He was not intimidated by an inflated pocket book. Rich clothes did not impress Him. He was not overwhelmed by the latest in fashion. Without missing a beat, Jesus responded, “Sell all your stuff and give your money to the poor.” Mark went on to tell us that this was a very hard thing for this man to hear because he had many possessions.
Instead of being like a helpless child, this man had found his sufficiency in the pile of stuff he owned. The deceitfulness of his wealth had given him a sense of security that he did not want to replace with the real security of faith in Jesus. Like a toddler with a cheerio in a plastic frying pan, he turned away from the One Who could truly meet his needs and left forever unsatisfied, but self-convincing all the while.
We need faith. We must have faith, but we must have faith in that which is worth trusting in. Moth, rust, and decay destroy all things here, and whatever doesn’t rot or decay can be stolen or taken in a moment’s notice. For this reason, Jesus implores us to turn, like a helpless infant, in faith to Him away from the false security offered by our plastic cookware.
Food For Thought: Read Matthew 6:19-34. What does Jesus tell us about the value we should place on things?
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