How Abraham's Great-Grandson Ended Up In Egypt

Genesis 37:1-36

37 Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the generations of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” 11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer.20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes 30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?” 31 Then they took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not.” 33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son's robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

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God’s promises are trustworthy, and just as God said, so it happens: Abraham has a son with his wife Sarah. His name is Isaac. And Isaac has twin boys with his wife Rebekah. Their names are Esau and Jacob. (Jacob is also called “Israel.”) And Jacob has twelve (!) sons with four different women; the eleventh son is his favorite, a brilliant, immature boy named Joseph.

We shall see that when Exodus begins—we’ll begin reading Exodus on Monday—that the children of Israel find themselves enslaved in Egypt. How do they end up there? Our text today provides the answer, and the whole saga begins when Joseph is kidnapped and sold into slavery by his brothers; then through a series of strange coincidences, the entire family ends up in Egypt.

Note the cause of the event that ends up with Abraham’s family in Egypt: the violent kidnapping of one young man by his brothers. Sin has consequences, and in this case the consequences of the brothers’ sin leads to the enslavement of their descendants.

And yet, God is able turn those events into good.

Trust Is The Only Way

Genesis 15:1-21

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”

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The Lord has promised Abraham that through his family all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:3), but the problem is that Abraham has no children!

So, God cuts a covenant with Abraham and promises that what he has said will come to pass. Here, God tells Abraham that his descendants—and the very fact that God mentions “descendants” means that Abraham will one day have a son—will live for a while as an oppressed people in a foreign land, but that when the time is right, they will come back to the land that God promised to give them.

Note that God promises this to Abraham but that it hasn’t yet happened! In other words, the only way Abraham can continue is to trust God.

The same is true for us today—there will always be a gap between God’s promises and plans and what we currently understand about them. This means the only way to live within God’s plan is to trust, which is just another way of saying living in faith.

What has you worried today? What would it look like if you trusted God in that area today?

Your Entire Reason For Existence

Happy New Year!

There is nothing you can do this year that will have a greater positive effect in your life than reading the Bible every day. You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to my Daily Bible newsletter. (Spread the word and see if anyone else wants subscribe.)

We begin a new book today—Exodus!

The opening letter below appears in the print version of this reading guide.  We include it here. (Today’s scripture reading can be found after the MONDAY, JANUARY 1 header below.)

Happy New Year! —Andrew

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Start here.

The first book of the Bible is the book of Genesis. But I think you could make the case that the story of the Bible really begins with the second book of the Bible, Exodus.

Exodus tells us how God forms his people and founds his nation, Israel. Exodus is about how God rescues his people out of slavery, gives them the Law, and commissions them as his representatives. When Exodus begins, Abraham’s family (also called the children of Israel) is a clan of 70 people sojourning in Egypt. When Exodus concludes forty chapters later, Israel has become a nation. All the pieces are in place for the biblical story to move on and show us how God will save the entire world.

THE MAIN THEME OF EXODUS

The main theme of Exodus is Rescue. First, God will rescue Moses from Egypt, and then God will use Moses to rescue the Israelites from Egypt, and God will commission his people to be the vehicle by which God will bring rescue to the entire world. Over and over again we will learn that God is a rescuer who commissions men and women to participate as rescuers themselves.

READING “MAPS” FOR EXODUS

The reason so many people struggle to understand the Bible is because we have a hard time seeing the story from a 30,000 foot view—we get lost in the details. So, I find it helpful to think of a “map” when I’m reading a book of the Bible. Here are two maps that have helped me.

MAP #1: EXODUS, LAW, TABERNACLE

One way of thinking about Exodus is to see the story in three parts:
• Part 1 is about the Exodus from Egypt (chapters 1-18);
• Part 2 is about the Law Israel receives at Sinai (chapters 19-34);
• Part 3 is about the Tabernacle whereby God dwells with his people (chapters 35-40).

The Exodus (part 1) is about God rescuing and forming his people;
The Law (part 2) is about God instructing his people how to live and be his representatives in the world;
The Tabernacle (part 3) is about God’s transcendent presence among his people.

This threefold way of dividing up the story has been helpful to me, but it is not the way I’ve divided up our reading plan.

MAP #2: MOSES, THEN ISRAEL

Another way to think about Exodus is to see it as made up of two stories, first the story of Moses, and then the story of Israel.

Everything that happens to Moses prefigures what will happen to Israel. Israel’s story expands and elaborates on Moses’s story.

For example:
- Moses is oppressed by Pharaoh → Israel is oppressed by Pharaoh;
- Moses is saved through water and the reeds → Israel is saved through water and the reeds;
- Moses wanders in the wilderness → Israel wanders in the wilderness;
- Moses meets God on the mountain in the fire → Israel meets God on the mountain in the fire;
- Moses is commissioned by God on the mountain and given a new identity → Israel is commissioned by God on the mountain and given a new identity.

Accordingly, I’ve divided our reading plan into two parts:
• Part 1 is The Story of Moses (chapters 1-4);
• Part 2 is The Story of Israel (chapters 5-40).

In Part 1, we will learn how God forms his man for the task ahead;
In Part 2, we will learn how God forms his people for the task ahead.

HOW THIS READING PLAN WORKS

Part 1 will begin very slowly and deliberately. I want to teach us how to pay attention to every detail and dwell over every word. By the time we get to Part 2, things will pick up and move at a faster pace.

Remember, consistency is more important than intensity! That is, don’t try and read the whole Bible in one sitting—rather, pace yourself and make a commitment to be consistent.

To that end, the readings are parceled-out on weekdays only—if you get behind, catch up each weekend.

Each day I’ve written brief commentary to help you get something out of your reading; the commentary is NOT the point, the Bible is the point. If the commentary helps you, great! If it doesn’t, no worries— just skip it.

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WHY EXODUS MATTERS, AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF WE READ IT WITH OPEN MINDS

Exodus is about how God formed his people and founded his nation. It is about how God makes a man (or a woman) ready for mission and how God shapes a people (or a church) for mission.

It is my prayer that our study of Exodus will be used by God to shape us individually as men and women of faith and fire, fit for the task ahead, and that Exodus will shape and strengthen us as his church.

Let’s GO.

P.S. I’ll be teaching two All-Church Bible studies on Exodus in January and February. These are large events with hundreds of people in attendance. I always close with Q&A and most of the questions come from our middle and high school students. Wednesdays, January 10 and February 7, 6:30-8:00 PM in the Asbury Sanctuary. (Dinner available beforehand, 5:00-6:30 PM. 18 and under are free on Bible study evenings!) Going to be out of town? Catch the livestream: www.asburytulsa.org.

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Monday, January 1

Genesis 12:1-3

12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

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Rescue is the great theme of Exodus. First, God rescues Abraham’s family—the Hebrews, also called the children of Israel—from slavery in Egypt. Then, they are formed into a nation through their wilderness wanderings; at Sinai they are given the Law and commissioned to be God’s chosen people who will be part of his plan to rescue the entire world.

So, I think you could say that the biblical story really begins with the second book of the Bible, Exodus. Yet, you cannot understand Exodus without going back to the first book of the Bible, Genesis— the book of beginnings—and seeing how we got here. So, this first week in our reading plan we are going to go back to Genesis and look at some key passages and details that will help us get our bearings.

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The opening chapters of Genesis tell how God created the world beautiful and good, and then how human and spiritual rebellion led to evil and death and idolatry and slavery, culminating in the account of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11).

Then the very next thing that happens is that God chooses one man— Abraham, called Abram until Genesis Chapter 17—and declares that he will use this one man and his family to rescue the entire world. God chooses one for the benefit of the many. This is the same pattern we will see in Exodus: namely that God chooses Moses to bring blessing to the Hebrew people, and then how God chooses that people to bring blessing to the entire world.

This is the same pattern that God still follows—he will use one person to be his vehicle to bring the blessings of Eden to many other people.

This year, God wants to use you to bring blessing to others—are you willing? In fact, the reason you are alive today and have seen this new year arrive is because the Lord isn’t done with you yet. Your entire reason for existence is to say to the Lord, “Use me to bring blessing to others.” And when you do that, your ordinary life becomes part of the extraordinary divine mission.

So, how does one do that, and what does that look like? It begins with saying “Yes” to God in faith and then taking the next obedient step right in front of you. Note that the only thing Abraham has to do is to “Go.” Abraham has to be willing to be obedient and do what God asks, but God is the one who will bring blessing.

When God’s people trust him in faith, wherever they go they are used to bring the blessings of Eden to others around them.

As you look back over the last year, where were you standing in the way of God’s blessings? What might the Lord want to take you from and take you to as this new year begins?

The End Is The Beginning - LONG Post

Note from Andrew

Today is the final post from our Gospel of Matthew reading plan. We started in August, and here we are. You did it! Today’s commentary is LONG, but it’s important, and I hope you’ll take the time to read it all the way through before the new year begins.

What do we do now that Matthew is over?

Between now and January 1, I’ll continue my reading through the psalms, one psalm a day. I’ll post tomorrow about the psalms plan and give some info on how to use an app to stay current. (Tomorrow we are on Psalm 108.)

Then, on January 1, we start EXODUS! Pick up your Exodus book at Asbury on 12/24 or on 12/31.

Can’t wait until Sunday—Christmas Eve! Please pray for me.

Now, back to our show.

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Matthew 28:16-20

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

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For the last four months, we've been reading through the Gospel of Matthew, and today we come to the end: the final words of Jesus to his disciples.

THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH

“Organizations lose their way when they lose their why.” - Michael Hyatt

Why does the church exist? What is its purpose? An uninformed observer, after visiting churches throughout the country, might conclude that the church exists to:

• Host worship services on Sundays; or
• Feed the poor in soup kitchens; or
• Mobilize marchers for a political cause.

And that observer would be wrong. Although churches should host services on Sundays and be in ministry to the poor and work for change in society, none of these worthy activities are the actual mission of the church.

Instead, the mission of the church is to make disciples.

This mission is found in its original context in the Great Commission of Jesus: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you” [28:19-20, NIV].

A disciple is a student. A Christian disciple is someone who is in apprenticeship to Jesus, so as to learn the Jesus way of living. According to Jesus, this is the point of the church: the church exists to make disciples.

GO EVERYWHERE AND TEACH EVERYTHING

The mission of the church is to go wherever people are and teach them everything Jesus said and did. Jesus does not tell his followers that their mission is to have vibrant worship services or to feed the poor or to be engaged politically; he tells them to make disciples. If we take Jesus’s command seriously, we will inevitably host weekly worship services and be in ministry with the poor and we’ll be engaged politically, but these things are the results and implications of the church’s mission (i.e., discipleship) and not the primary mission itself.

Discipleship to Jesus is emphatically not narrowly confined to what we might call habits of personal piety such as prayers, moral living, and Sunday school attendance. Discipleship is not something we do for a few minutes in the morning before we engage with the real world. Note the words of Jesus in the Great Commission: “teach them everything I have commanded you.” Even the most cursory reading of the gospels shows that Jesus was not merely concerned with matters of personal piety.

Likewise, discipleship to Jesus must be much more than habits of personal piety in our own lives. Discipleship affects all of life, from the personal to the political. After all, from a human perspective, it wasn’t personal piety that got Jesus killed — he was killed because he was a threat to the powers and principalities. Jesus was not killed because he was irrelevant to real life, but because he was specifically concerned with real life.

PUT ON YOUR OXYGEN MASK FIRST

As a pastor, I’ve seen the following many times: a husband and a wife have children who become the focus and emotional fulfillment of their lives. They would do anything for their children’s happiness, and they often do. Over time, this focus on the children causes the husband and wife to neglect their own relationship, and the marriage begins to wither. One day, the husband and the wife come to the conclusion that divorce is inevitable, and they break the news to the children. Unintentionally, the parents’ apparent focus on the children – at the expense of the marriage – ends up harming those very children in the long run.

First things must come first; our problem is that we tend to focus on second things, and wonder why we aren’t getting first results. There is a reason the flight attendant tells you to put your oxygen mask on first, before tending to your child. After all, if you asphyxiate and keel over, there will be no one to help your son or daughter. First things must come first.

The situation in many of our churches today is that we are spending our time focusing on good things, but they are secondary concerns rather than our first mission. Let me reemphasize, the problem is not that worship services and food banks and political engagement are bad things. In fact, they are good and necessary things we need to be doing, and things that Jesus commanded. The problem is that putting these outcomes of discipleship in place of discipleship itself means that we are setting ourselves up to fail, like a panicked mother who forgets to put on her own oxygen mask.

For example, hosting a vibrant worship service is not our first mission, though it is a good thing – a very good thing. If we are actively and effectively making disciples, we will have vibrant worship services on Sundays. But, if we come to believe that vibrant worship services themselves are the point and put our efforts toward that end, at best we’ll have superficial shows that lack the power to change hearts, and at worst our churches will be empty.

In a different vein, some American Christians have mistakenly concluded that you can have social justice without discipleship. It didn’t work for the Marxists, and it won’t work for us. This is because social justice is an abstract idea that is impossible without real men and women bringing it about. If we want to see social justice in America, it won’t happen apart from training men and women to die to themselves and sacrifice on behalf of their neighbors. In other words, it won’t happen without discipleship. To put discipleship first is not to abandon social justice: on the contrary, the only way to move toward social justice is through the ancient practices of discipleship.

There is a reason the world is such an unjust place, and that reason is sin. It makes people selfish and it makes people cruel. The only cure for sin is the gospel, and it is through the practice of discipleship that Jesus “breaks the power of cancelled sin,” as Charles Wesley proclaimed. If the church focuses on training people to be apprentices to Jesus, that effort will unleash ferocious forces of compassion into the world — we’ll do more work with the poor, not less.

BRANCHES DON’T NEED MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS

At the Last Supper, Jesus spoke to his disciples about vines, branches, commitment, connectedness, and fruitfulness. Here are a few selected verses:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower.... Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches.... If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.” [John 15:1-8]

The branches don’t strain and they don’t strategize; the branches produce fruit naturally, effortlessly, because they are connected to the vine. Jesus promised his disciples that if they stayed connected to him, then their ministry would be fruitful. To see an example of fruitful ministry, we look to the ministry of Jesus himself and we see that through him, “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them” (Matthew 11:4-5, NIV). Once again, a focus on disciple-making is not a focus on personal piety: the mission of disciple-making is the only way to actually transform the world.

IT WORKED!

“How was it possible for this obscure Jewish sect to become the largest religion in the world?"

Sociologist and world religions scholar Rodney Stark asks an excellent question in his book, The Triumph of Christianity:

"[Jesus] was a teacher and miracle worker who spent nearly all
of his brief ministry in the tiny and obscure province of Galilee, often preaching to outdoor gatherings. A few listeners took up his invitation to follow him, and a dozen or so became his devoted disciples, but when he was executed by the Romans his followers probably numbered no more than several hundred. How was it possible for this obscure Jewish sect to become the largest religion in the world? [emphasis added] — Rodney Stark, The Triumph of Christianity

Christianity grew because the followers of Jesus did exactly what he told them to do: they made disciples by going everywhere and teaching everything Jesus commanded.

Churches grow when they make disciples. It’s possible to grow churches through the superficial, but it won’t last — in that case both the people in the church and the church itself will be like the seed that fell on rocky soil. [13:20-21] To experience true and lasting growth, we need to focus on making disciples.

One of the criticisms of disciple-making is the charge that the “real” work of the church will be neglected. What that is meant to convey is that if we focus on making disciples we will become inward-focused, irrelevant, and neglectful of those in need.

What’s fascinating, however, is the original disciples trained other disciples, who trained others, and that, in the early days of the church, these fledgling apprentices to Jesus were known even by their enemies for their care for others – particularly the poor. For example, during the plagues that afflicted the Roman Empire, Christians stayed behind in the infected cities to care for the sick, though this action meant that they often died themselves. As Professor Stark explains:

“Indeed, the impact of Christian mercy was so evident that in the fourth century when the emperor Julian attempted to restore paganism, he exhorted the pagan priesthood to compete with the Christian charities. In a letter to the high priest of Galatia, Julian urged the distribution of grain and wine to the poor, noting that ‘the impious Galileans [Christians], in addition to their own, support ours, [and] it is shameful that our poor should be wanting our aid.'" —Stark, 118

A disciple learns from his teacher. The early Christians learned from Jesus to lay down their lives and love their neighbors as themselves. The church’s focus on discipleship meant that the church grew, because the pagans saw the witness of the disciples of Jesus and were convinced of the truth of the gospel.

The gospel is true and actions based on that truth will be effective. If you rotate crops and fertilize correctly, you will have a bountiful harvest. If you base your life on the words on Jesus, then the things he said would happen, will happen. The words of Jesus aren’t a theory: they are the truth about the world itself. The words of Jesus are as true as gravity, and as inescapable.

And so for 2,000 years, whenever the church has taken the Great Commission seriously and put its effort into making disciples, it has flourished.

When Jesus used his last words to tell his disciples their mission was to make disciples, he knew what he was doing.

Let’s go.
And Merry Christmas!

The Resurrection

Matthew 28:1-15

28 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

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If they could have produced a body, they would have.

Instead, they had to resort to self-evidently ridiculous lies: if the disciples stole the body while they were sleeping, how would they even know that's what happened?

The tomb was empty.

(And it still is.)

Joseph Of Arimathea

Matthew 27:57-66

57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

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We are almost finished with the Gospel of Matthew! Three quick points on today's account of the burial of Jesus:

• Joseph of Arimathea is a good man. His faithfulness probably seemed like a waste--why lavish so much attention on a man who was already dead? But some actions are just right in themselves, and there doesn't have to be a larger point. And, of course, what can seem useless to us won't really ever be wasted by the Lord anyway.

• The fact that it is a “new tomb” in which Jesus’s body is laid shows that the women couldn’t have been mistaken when they later find it empty—Jesus’s was the only body previously in there;

• Pilate and the Jewish leadership try to prevent the Resurrection by ordering a guard to keep watch over the tomb. Talk about a useless gesture: there was no power in the universe that could have kept Jesus in the grave!

The Death Of The Son Of God

Matthew 27:45-56

45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” 55 There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

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Jesus’s death changes the world. He is the ultimate Temple sacrifice— so the curtain is torn and the Temple is no longer needed—that brings forgiveness of sins and reconciliation to God’s people. His death saves, even the Old Testament saints who died beforehand— note the opening of the tombs. And, his death brings into God’s family the Gentiles who see him and believe.

Crucified Under Pontius Pilate

Matthew 27:11-44

11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” 12 But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. 19 Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” 20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” 23 And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” 25 And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. 28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

32 As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. 33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. 37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 38 Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 44 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

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As you read through Matthew’s terrible account of Jesus’s Passion, some things to notice:

• Jesus is a man of peace, but he is accused of fomenting rebellion against Rome; it is ironic, then, that the people demand the release of Barabbas, an actual revolutionary, and asked for the crucifixion of Jesus;

• Pilate knowingly crucifies an innocent man;

• The people cry out for Jesus’s blood; as the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus’s blood will be poured out for the very ones who demand his crucifixion;

• This is Jesus’s enthronement as king, complete with the crown of thorns;

• The cross is Jesus’s throne;

• The Jewish leaders repeat the same temptation that the devil placed before Jesus in the wilderness (4:1-11) when they tell him to save himself from the cross

Murderous Hypocrisy

Matthew 26:69-75; 27:1-10

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” 73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” 74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

27 When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. 2 And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor.

3 Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” 5 And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, 10 and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”

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Note the punctilious concern the religious leaders have with the blood money of Judas:

“It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money” [27:6].

And yet they see no problem with having Jesus sent to Pilate to be crucified on trumped-up charges.

It’s as Jesus previously said about them,

“You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!” [23:24]

Lord, save us from that kind of blindness today.

The Irony Of Their Blasphemy

Matthew 26:57-68

57 Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. 58 And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end. 59 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, 60 but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward 61 and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’ ” 62 And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” 67 Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?”

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There is a bitter irony about Jesus’s trial before the high priest. Jesus is accused of blasphemy, when in fact it is the Jewish leaders who spit and strike the Son of God.

The Moment of Betrayal

Matthew 26:47-56

47 While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” 49 And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. 50 Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. 51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” 55 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. 56 But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.

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The religious leaders were afraid to arrest Jesus publicly because of his popularity with the Jerusalem crowds, but Judas’s offer to betray Jesus has given them their opportunity. Jesus rebukes violent resistance when he says “those who live by the sword will die by the sword” [26:52]. It is Jewish armed resistance against Roman rule that leads to the destruction of the Temple, but the leaders refuse to heed Jesus’s warnings and would rather have him crucified instead.

Note that Jesus is not a victim, but allows himself to be captured.

Gethsemane

Matthew 26:36-46

36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

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Jesus is troubled by the separation from the Father he is about to endure on the cross, and he prays three times that he might avoid the crucifixion. Nevertheless, he submits to the Father’s will.

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Peter, James, and John are the three disciples who were with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration and the ones who confidently predicted they would stand by him.

“Although Jesus charges them to ‘watch with me,’ they repeatedly fall asleep. The fervency of spirit that James and John manifested when they confidently announced that they were able to drink his cup (Mt 20:22-23), or the determination of Peter when he insisted ‘I will not deny you’ (Mt 26:35), is no match for the weakness of the flesh, unless these disciples, aware of that weakness, direct their resolve not to their own inner resources but to a constant dependence on God in prayer.”

—David Bauer, The Gospel of the Son of God

The same is true for us today: we are much weaker than we think, and so we must be in constant prayer for the Holy Spirit to strengthen us.

Pride Before A Fall

Matthew 26:30-35

30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 33 Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” 34 Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” 35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.

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Jesus quotes Zechariah 13:7

“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered”

And predicts that the disciples will all deny him. They refuse to accept the prediction, though of course it proves true.

Pride always goes before a fall. Lord, help us to see ourselves clearly today.

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But Jesus also offers a note of hope in his sad prediction of their denials:

“But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee” [26:32]. They turn their backs on him, but he doesn’t give up on them.

Thanks be to God.

The Meaning Of The Last Supper

Matthew 26:17-29

17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 18 He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’ ” 19 And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. 20 When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. 21 And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” 23 He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” 25 Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.”

26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

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I find it fascinating that, when Jesus says at the Last Supper that one of the disciples will betray him, each of them asks in response, "Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?"

I wrote yesterday that if even Jesus can be betrayed by someone he loves, then it can happen to any of us.

But it's also true that any of us could be the betrayer. If we think we are the kind of people who would never betray someone we love, then we need to be careful, lest like Peter, we end up doing the very thing we swore we would never do. (That's in tomorrow's reading.)

There is the potential in each one of us to be Judas. In fact, I think the more we humble ourselves and admit that we're not better than anyone else, the less likely it is that we become the kind of people who sell their friends for 30 pieces of silver.

Pride goes before a fall. So, help us, Lord, become faithful people.

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Note how Jesus explains that Judas’s betrayal is both part of God’s plan—

See Psalm 41:9,

Even my close friend in whom I trusted,
who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.—

and at the same time an act of human evil that will bring consequences upon the betrayer.

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Then Jesus explains that the Passover was always about him. Jesus will, through his death on the cross, lead his people out of slavery to sin and death and into the promised land of forgiveness and freedom—it’s the ultimate exodus moment.

Judas And The Woman With The Perfume

Matthew 26:1-16

1 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” 3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. 5 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”

6 Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. 8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” 14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.

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Judas was hand-picked by Jesus, saw Jesus do spectacular miracles, heard Jesus teach in a way no one has ever taught before or since, and still: Judas agreed to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. In fact, the religious leaders have resolved not to arrest Jesus during the Passover festival, but Judas’s betrayal gives them their opportunity.

If even Jesus was betrayed by someone he loved, why are we surprised when it happens to us?

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Unlike Judas, the unnamed woman in Simon’s house extravagantly anoints Jesus as king and anoints his body in the only anointing he will receive before burial. She is a model of faithful discipleship.

The Last Judgment

Matthew 25:31-46

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

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Did you notice the terrifying detail in Jesus’s description of the Last Judgment?

Both groups are surprised by what the master says to them.

The reaction of the righteous:

37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ [25:37-39]

And the reaction of the unrighteous:

44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ [25:44]

In other words, neither the righteous nor the unrighteous are aware of whom they have become. Over time, their habitual actions in either direction have become part of who they are to the extent that they aren't aware of them anymore.

We are becoming what we're doing. Each choice is making us. (And we're not even aware of it.)

What choices are you making today?

You'll Get What You Expect

Matthew 25:14-30

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

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In speaking of the Second Coming, Jesus tells his disciples to be vigilant and prepared [24:44]. He then tells three parables illustrating what it means for his disciples to be ready.

The Parable of the Talents is the third parable of the three.

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Compare the way the one-talent servant views the master with the way the master actually behaves:

+ The one-talent servant thinks the master is "a hard man;"
  + Whereas the master is actually really generous and joyful.

If people are convinced that the Lord is cruel and hard, it will be very hard for them to accept his gracious gifts. This is what Jesus means when he says,

“For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” [25:29]

If you believe God is gracious and good, you'll be open to receive more goodness and grace. If you are convinced God is cruel and hard, Jesus implies that at the end, you'll get exactly what you expect.

How can you be more intentional today with the opportunities God has given you?

Two Parables of Preparation

Matthew 24:45-51; 25:1-13

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

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The Boy Scout Motto: “Be Prepared.”

In speaking of the Second Coming, Jesus tells his disciples to be vigilant and prepared [24:44]. He then tells three parables illustrating what it means for his disciples to be ready.

The Parable of The Unfaithful Servant and the Parable of the Ten Virgins are the first two parables in the series of three about preparation.

What do you think Jesus is telling us about preparation by giving us these two parables?

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We must not assume that because Jesus has not yet returned that he won’t ever return—rather we must exercise constant obedience so we can always be ready for his return.

Are you ready today? What have you been putting off? Don’t delay—you don’t know how much time you have.

The Destruction of the Temple and the End of the World

Matthew 24:3-44

3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. 9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

32 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

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Jesus has just predicted that the Temple would be destroyed:

24 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” [24:1-2]

So, when they are alone on the Mount of Olives outside of Jerusalem proper, his disciples naturally ask him,

“Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” [24:3]

In the verses that follow, Jesus gives a long answer to both questions. It’s important to keep in mind, then, that Jesus is answering two different questions here:

1. When will the literal Temple be destroyed?

2. What signs of his Second Coming should his followers be

   looking for?

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The Temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70, just as Jesus here predicted, but his Second Coming has not yet occurred.

With regard to question #1, Jesus tells his disciples what to be watching for before the Temple is destroyed. He gives them clear signs to expect.

With regard to question #2, Jesus makes it clear that the destruction of the Temple is not the same thing as his Second Coming and the “end of the age.” In fact, he says that there will not be signs presaging his return, but that the Second Coming when it arrives will come suddenly, like the floods in Noah’s day [24:37-42]. Because there aren’t signs,

“[t]herefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” [24:44]

What does it look like to be ready? Jesus tells three parables that illustrate what readiness looks like. Read on to find out.

The Consequence for Israel of Rejecting Jesus

Matthew 24:1-2

1 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

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What Jesus predicts here is actually what happened: the Temple in Jerusalem--a stunning architectural and engineering achievement-- was pulled down, stone by stone, by the Romans in AD 70.

Why did God permit the destruction of the Temple? Because Israel refused to accept Jesus as Messiah and instead—in the generation after Jesus—preferred to seek military salvation by trying to overthrow the Roman empire. That action provoked vicious Roman retaliation, retaliation that included the destruction of the Temple. Jesus foresaw all that would happen.

How painful it must have been for him to know what was going to happen and yet still see his people stubbornly persist in the way that was leading to destruction.