Thursday, July 28, 2016

Matthew 13: 47-53

Jesus said to the disciples:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.
When it is full they haul it ashore
and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
What is bad they throw away.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

“Do you understand all these things?”
They answered, “Yes.”
And he replied,
“Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom
both the new and the old.”
When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.

God’s judgment will be on all mankind, believer and non-believer alike. We will all be gathered together and then separated according to the way we lived our lives. The good will inherit God’s royal nature. The bad will be cast into the abyss. This story is told many different ways throughout scripture so that all can hear it in the way they best can understand it. The second part is the more important part to those who have been called by God to be a minister.

Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.

Everyone who has heard the voice of the Lord has the responsibility to spread that good news to all who will hear it. As a husband and father I am the head of the domestic church. If the head of any church does not have a life centered in Christ that head will lead the church astray. Ordained clergy are set aside by God to lead the greater church closer to him. On these leaders is placed a greater responsibility to hear the voice of the Lord and to pass it on to the people with the fullness of truth and love.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Matthew 13: 44-46

Jesus said to his disciples:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”

The greatest treasure man can ever hope to possess is eternal life with God. God does not hide this treasure from us. He not only tells us how to obtain it but he personally showed us. He lived by example. When we realize the treasure being offered to us we joyously give all that we are in hope of attaining it. We give our lives to Christ in order that we might have a share in his.

A young man went to a wise teacher searching for the Kingdom of heaven. The teacher led the man out into a stream until they were up to their necks. The teacher then plunged the man under the water and held him there until the young man thrashed about violently struggling to get a breath. Right before the man would have drowned the teacher released him and let him have his air. The teacher told the man that he will find the Kingdom of heaven as soon as he craved the Lord more than the air in his lungs.

How much do you crave the Lord? Are you ready to give your entire life to gain the treasure he has in store for you?

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Matthew 13: 36-43

Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the Evil One,
and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his Kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the Kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

Ask any agrostologist the best way to have a weed free lawn and he will tell you to have a vibrant and healthy lawn. When the lawn is weak, unhealthy, or sparse it give weeds a chance to germinate and take over the yard. If caught early, the weed population can be kept in control but if left unchecked weeds will eventually take over the lawn and choke out the grass.

The same is true with good and evil. Where you have a strong population of good evil cannot get a foothold. Where good is weak or sparse evil takes over. If evil is flourishing in our culture today it is only because the good has grown complacent. We either nurture the good so it becomes strong and vibrant or we allow evil to continue to grow.

You cannot pluck out weeds one at a time and be successful. Likewise, you cannot pluck out weeds without also damaging the soil that also grows the good. They only way to drive out the weeds is to surround them with vibrant, healthy grass.

Monday, July 25, 2016

Matthew 20: 20-28

The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her,
“What do you wish?”
She answered him,
“Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom.”
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
He replied,
“My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

“You do not know what you are asking.”

When did Jesus come into his glory? Jesus came into his glory, not at the resurrection or the ascension, but when he became the obedient son of the Father. Jesus came into his glory on the cross. Who was seated at his left and at his right? It wasn’t the sons of Zebedee. It was two thieves.

“Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”

The brothers answered “yes” not fully understanding the question. Then when the time came they ran like the other disciples. Jesus assured them that they will indeed be killed for their faith in him as he was about to be. These things they could not understand for it had not been revealed to them yet.

Those who wish to be great in the eyes of the Lord will be the least among men. Those who wish to be great in the eyes of the Lord must become doulos, slaves, servants of God’s children. Just as the Son of Man came to serve and give his life for many we are to serve and give our lives to the Lord.