The Chair of Moses

Mat 23:1-12. KJ2000
(1) Then spoke Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
(2) Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
(3) All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not according to their works: for they say, and do not.
(4) For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
(5) But all their works they do to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
(6) And love the uppermost places at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
(7) And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
(8) But you be not called Rabbi: for one is your Teacher, even Christ; and all you are brothers.
(9) And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, who is in heaven.
(10) Neither be you called masters: for one is your Teacher, even Christ.
(11) But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
(12) And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
This passage is often passed over as applying to the Pharisees only. Or, for the more rabid species of Protestant, it is the prohibition of calling a priest, "father." As for that, we would have to give up "teacher" as well. 

This passage is much more about us. Consider it this way: suppose you are taken in by some pompous, self-serving teacher of the Gospel who is in love with the sound of his own voice. Does this excuse you from living as a Christian? It may condemn your teacher but it does not excuse you.

The military had an expression for it: you salute the uniform, not the wearer. You may think the lieutenant is an idiot, but he's a commissioned idiot—and you salute him. Your teacher may indeed be pompous and self-serving, but you are to learn from him what you can, and follow Christ in doing it.

Jesus does not leave the matter at what the ordinary disciple must do. He brings out a series of examples for teachers and ministers of all types which should serve as warning.

We are not to "call" - we are not to presume that our teachers and ministers are so like God as to be worshiped. Indeed, we are to see that they are human like us. We are to honor them for the service they perform, not the title they wear.

We are not to "be called" - not to seek the titles. We are not be "rabbi" - Chrysostom translates this word as "guide." We are certainly not to be master, and indeed teacher is out of reach. Servant is the preferred role, whatever we are called.

Well, then, how does an ambitious teacher succeed in this? By service.

If you pursue greatness in the church, you will never achieve it. It's like being a hypochondriac: the more often you take your malady to the doctor, the sicker you are. You cure hypochondria by not going to the doctor.

If you pursue service, you will find greatness in the church. Status and position are not the goal; service is. Status and position will follow as the church needs; reward will flow from your Master.

For those who are accustomed to business life and climbing the ladder, look at it this way: service is the key. Therefore, there is unlimited opportunity in the church, for there is no limit to the service Christ can receive from us.

By What Authority?

Luke 20:1-8 KJ2000

(1) And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders,
(2) And spoke unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority do you these things? or who is he that gave you this authority?
(3) And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me:
(4) The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?
(5) And they reasoned among themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did you not believe him?
(6) But if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.
(7) And they answered, that they could not tell from where it was.
(8) And Jesus said unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.


For some time in our state, politicians ran for office on a platform of "law and order." They vied with each other to see who could promise the most vigorous (and harsh) prosecution and treatment of criminals. People expect our government to deal with crime swiftly and severely.

That was true in this day as well, and the "law and order" types have come around to Christ to check his credentials. After all, the man has been cleaning out the Temple of some "honest" merchants; so it would be best to see if this man has the proper authority to do so. At least, that's the cover story. His righteousness and their hypocrisy have conspired to prevent an arrest—so far.

Jesus takes up the question of authority somewhat obliquely.

He brings to their mind the late John the Baptist, and asks about his authority.

John, of course, testified to Jesus. So if John's authority is valid, then (by implication) so is that of Jesus.

This was not the answer they wanted. If they say John had authority from God, then so does Jesus. If not, the people will stone them. They're caught between the fear of stoning and the fear of the truth. They take neither.

It is still true: who you are determines how you see Jesus. As David said in Psalm 18:26, "To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd." Their reaction to Jesus shows us what they were. And our reactions to Jesus show us what we are:

Some of us are in denial. It can't be true, therefore it isn't true. Miracles can't happen, people don't rise from the dead, and therefore no evidence will convince me. I don't want to hear the truth.

Some of us are fence-sitters. Maybe it's true, maybe it's not, but I'm just going to sit back and wait, hoping for something else to come along. No commitment, no glory.

But some take Jesus in the honest man's embrace. An honest man, confronted with the facts, takes action. Even if the facts don't fit his preconceived notions, he does what is right. And when that honest man finds Jesus, he knows the pearl of great price when he sees it.

Completeness

And I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28. Whenever anything begins to disintegrate your life with Jesus Christ, turn to Him at once and ask Him to establish rest. Never allow anything to remain which is making the dis-peace. Take every element of disintegration as something to wrestle against, and not to suffer. Say—‘Lord, prove Thy consciousness in me’, and self-consciousness will go and He will be all in all. Beware of allowing selfconsciousness to continue because by slow degrees it will awaken self-pity, and self-pity is Satanic. ‘Well, I am not understood; this is a thing they ought to apologize for; that is a point I really must have cleared up.’ Leave others alone and ask the Lord to give you Christ-consciousness, and He will poise you until the completeness is absolute.

The complete life is the life of a child. When I am consciously conscious, there is something wrong. It is the sick man who knows what health is. The child of God is not conscious of the will of God because he is the will of God. When there has been the slightest deviation from the will of God, we begin to ask—‘What is Thy will?’ A child of God never prays to be conscious that God answers prayer, he is so restfully certain that God always does answer prayer.

If we try to overcome self-consciousness by any commonsense method, we develop it tremendously. Jesus says “Come unto Me and I will give you rest,” i.e., Christ-consciousness will take the place of self-consciousness. Wherever Jesus comes He establishes rest, the rest of the perfection of activity that is never conscious of itself.

Choosing the Right Church

But [as for] you, teach what is fitting and becoming to sound (wholesome) doctrine [the character and right living that identify true Christians].  - Titus 2:1

I went to church for years and years and never heard a message about the power my words had on my life. I may have heard something about my thoughts; but if so, it wasn't enough to make any impact on my life because it did not change my thinking.

I heard about grace and salvation and other good things. But it wasn't everything I needed to know in order to live in the righteousness, peace, and joy God offers to all who believe (see Romans 14:17).

There are many wonderful churches that teach God's Word in its entirety; and I encourage you to make sure that wherever you choose to go to church, it is a place where you are learning and growing spiritually. We should not go to church just to fulfill an obligation we may think we have to God. We should go to church to fellowship with other believers in Jesus Christ, to worship God, and to learn how to live the life Jesus died for us to have and enjoy.

Have you ever been expressionless with sorrow?

And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. Luke 18:23.

The rich young ruler went away expressionless with sorrow; he had not a word to say. He had no doubt as to what Jesus said, no debate as to what it meant, and it produced in him a sorrow that had not any words. Have you ever been there? Has God’s word come to you about something you are very rich in—temperament, personal affinity, relationships of heart and mind? Then you have often been expressionless with sorrow. The Lord will not go after you, He will not plead, but every time He meets you on that point He will simply repeat—“If you mean what you say, those are the conditions.’

“Sell all that thou hast”—undress yourself morally before God of everything that might be a possession until you are a mere conscious human being, and then give God that. That is where the battle is fought—in the domain of the will before God. Are you more devoted to your idea of what Jesus wants than to Himself? If so, you are likely to hear one of His hard sayings that will produce sorrow in you. What Jesus says is hard, it is only easy when it is heard by those who have His disposition. Beware of allowing anything to soften a hard word of Jesus Christ’s.

I can be so rich in poverty, so rich in the consciousness that I am nobody, that I shall never be a disciple of Jesus; and I can be so rich in the consciousness that I am somebody—that I shall never be a disciple. Am I willing to be destitute of the sense that I am destitute? This is where discouragement comes in. Discouragement is disenchanted self-love, and self-love may be love of my devotion to Jesus.

We Would See Jesus

And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: The same came therefore to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired of him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip came and told Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone: but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. He that loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serves me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serves me, him will my Father honor.

Joh 12:20-26 KJ2000

It is one of the curiosities of the New Testament. We don't know who these Greeks were; we're not even sure if the answer given here was actually delivered to them. They are standing just outside the Temple in the Court of the Gentiles—as far as a non-Jew could go. Jesus is most likely teaching in the next court, the Court of Women. So these Greeks catch a disciple with a Greek name (Philip) and ask for an interview.

The traditional history of the church tells us that these men were ambassadors from the king of Edessa, bearing an invitation to Jesus to visit that country. (Edessa was in what is now eastern Turkey). If so, Jesus declines their invitation in a magnificent way. In doing this, he lays out three principles for us:

Sacrifice for God brings great fruit. Christians often ask why they have to sacrifice. After all, God doesn't really need whatever it is we are offering, right? But our Lord makes it clear that God takes that sacrifice and multiplies it. As a father will push a child in a swing, so our Father pushes us to greater heights. He's just waiting for us to get started.

Sacrifice to God brings honor. We understand this from our earthly experiences. We honor those who sacrifice for the good of others. We award medals to soldiers who sacrifice. Is it so surprising then that God honors those who sacrifice on his behalf?

There are no half-way Christians. The temptation for those facing sacrifice is to do the job half-way, keeping back a portion for personal pleasure. Our Lord draws us a picture here: can you plant the grain of wheat half-way into the ground? If you do, it is neither fit to eat nor will it grow.

There is an old saying: you cannot jump the canyon in two leaps. The Christian life is just that: a leap across the canyon of this life into the table land of heaven. Some of us have a wide canyon to leap; others are fortunate enough to have a narrow one. But all of us must leap it in one bound. If you do not commit your all—heart, soul, mind and strength—to your Lord, it is not worth the time and trouble to commit anything. He will accept nothing less than all of you. In return, you will receive all of Him. His love, His life, His grace—all these are yours when you commit yourself entirely to him. But do not be timid about it. You don't want to change your mind half-way across the canyon. 

House of Prayer

And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but you have made it a den of thieves.
Luke 19:45-46 KJ2000

One of the chief tactics of Satan is to attempt to deny the church either space or time in our lives. From those who insist that a church building would ruin the neighborhood (think of the evil influence it would have on the sales of the nearby adult book store) to those who know the best time to schedule an event is on Sunday (too much competition on Saturday), the world knows it must deprive the Christian of time and place to worship. Satan's objective is to see that you have no place to be with other Christians, and no time to spend with God alone.

We see an earlier version of this here. In all the planet there is one spot—and not all that large—where God has placed his Name. In that spot we find (for the second time in Christ's ministry):

The merchants of religion are working happily—selling "approved" sacrificial animals, changing common money into sacred money. It's quite profitable, and look how convenient it is! Right there in the Temple; one stop shopping.

 

Indeed, the Temple itself has broad plazas. Traffic is thick in old Jerusalem, and this is a convenient shortcut.

They, like so many of us, had forgotten the simple meaning of the phrase, "house of God." It means simply that the Temple is God's own possession, and subject to his command. You can no more lead your donkey cart through it than you could through my house.

Time moves on. Paul tells us that we are God's temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). So it seems fitting to ask if we, as the temple of God, are suffering from the same conditions:

Is our religion for sale? We usually think of this in terms of a money-grubbing TV evangelist, but it applies to all of us. Do you give up the command of Christ to make a buck?

 

Is your temple a shortcut for earthly desires? If the church is nothing but a good place to meet girls, or to make business contacts, then you're leading that donkey through God's house.

Be warned: If you do not make him the sacred center of your life, you are risking the scourge of Christ. He will come to you and drive out all that does not belong. How much better that you should examine yourself, and throw out what does not belong in your temple! Then when your Lord returns, he will come to his temple and, finding it in order, praise the one who kept it that way.

 

Cursing the Fig Tree

And on the next day, when they had come from Bethany, he was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if perhaps he might find anything thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of you hereafter forever. And his disciples heard it. 
(Mark 11:12-14 KJ2000).

This incident provokes a simple question: Why? Why would Jesus curse this tree for its failure to provide figs—which were not in season? There are some interesting answers:

The power of God

Remember that Jesus has, up to this point, cursed no one. He's pronounced much woe upon the hypocrites, for they pretend to be the agents of God when they are not. But up to this point he has never pronounced doom upon anything else. You can almost hear some theologian arguing, then, that only the hypocrites will go to hell—for Jesus never actually did anything to anyone else. By this simple act, Jesus saved us from a great deal of poor theology.

It is fitting, however, that the act was performed not upon a man, nor even an animal (used in the Old Testament as a sacrifice), but a plant. In his first coming, our Lord came to seek and save the lost, and it is his Father's will that none should perish.

The disciples' faith

Jesus is proceeding to his death. It is important for the disciples to know that he has the power to crush those who would crucify him. It is also important that they know he is capable of the willpower to crush and destroy such evil. Knowing this, no other conclusion is possible: Jesus went to the Cross willingly, in order to make atonement for our sins.

Symbolism

Perhaps the most significant way to see this is symbolically. Jeremiah made the fig the symbol of the nation of Israel (Jeremiah 24). We know that Adam and Eve made coverings of fig leaves to hide their sin. So if we see the fig tree as the nation of Israel, and the leaves as covering for sin—we should expect to see figs, the fruit of the tree. Fruit is often used by Jesus as a metaphor for righteousness. Jesus is telling the disciples that the nation of Israel will soon be withered and gone, for it failed to produce righteous fruit.

Know this, then: our Lord wants all to repent and be saved. But if we will not, he has both the power and will to destroy. He is patient for a time, waiting for us to repent. But his patience will end. Will we show the fruit of righteousness by then?

　 

Chastening

Despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him. Hebrews 12:5.

It is very easy to quench the Spirit; we do it by despising the chastening of the Lord, by fainting when we are rebuked by Him. If we have only a shallow experience of sanctification, we mistake the shadow for the reality, and when the Spirit of God begins to check, we say—‘Oh, that must be the devil.’

Never quench the Spirit, and do not despise Him when He says to you—‘Don’t be blind on this point any more; you are not where you thought you were. Up to the present, I have not been able to reveal it to you, but I reveal it now.’ When the Lord chastens you like that, let Him have His way. Let Him relate you rightly to God.

“Nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him.” We get into sulks with God and say—‘Oh well, I can’t help it; I did pray and things did not turn out right, and I am going to give it all up.’ Think what would happen if we talked like this in any other domain of life!

Am I prepared to let God grip me by His power and do a work in me that is worthy of Himself? Sanctification is not my idea of what I want God to do for me; sanctification is God’s idea of what He wants to do for me, and He has to get me into the attitude of mind and spirit where at any cost I will let Him sanctify me wholly.

 

What About Me?

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
- 1 John 4:8 NIV

God is love, and His nature is that of a giver. He gives, He helps, He cares, and He sacrifices. He does not do these things occasionally; they represent His constant attitude toward us. Love is not something God does—it is Who He is. He always offers us love, generosity, grace, and help. God does chastise His children when they need it, but He even does that out of love and for our own good to teach us the right way to live.

Everything God does is for our good; all of His commands are intended to help us have the best lives we can possibly have. Because God's love has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (see Romans 5:5), we can love and be kind to others, which means taking the focus off of ourselves, silencing the internal voice that asks, What about me?, and learning to follow Jesus' example of being kind, generous, and loving toward others.

He Lowers to Raise

"Thy LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, and lifteth up" (1Sa_2:7)

All my changes come from Him who never changes. If I had grown rich, I should have seen His hand in it, and I should have praised Him; let me equally see His hand if I am made poor, and let me as heartily praise Him. When we go down in the world, it is of the LORD, and so we may take it patiently: when we rise in the world, it is of the LORD, and we may accept it thankfully. In any case, the LORD hath done it, and it is well.

It seems that Jehovah's way is to lower those whom He means to raise and to strip those whom He intends to clothe. If it is His way, it is the wisest and best way. If I am now enduring the bringing low, I may well rejoice, because I see in it the preface to the lifting up. The more we are humbled by grace, the more we shall be exalted in glory. That impoverishment which will be overruled for our enrichment is to be welcomed.

O LORD, Thou has taken me down of late and made me feel my insignificance and sin. It is not a pleasant experience, but I pray Thee make it a profitable one to me. Oh, that Thou wouldst thus fit me to bear a greater weight of delight and of usefulness; and when I am ready for it, then grant it to me, for Christ's sake! Amen.

Batter in the Bowl

My daughter and I consider brownies to be one of the seven wonders of the culinary world. One day, as we were mixing the ingredients of our favorite chocolate treat, my daughter asked if I would leave some batter in the bowl after pouring most of it into the baking pan. She wanted to enjoy what was left over. I smiled and agreed. Then, I told her, “That’s called gleaning, you know, and it didn’t start with brownies.”

As we enjoyed the remnants of our baking project, I explained that Ruth had gathered leftover grain in order to feed herself and her mother-in-law Naomi (Ruth 2:2-3). Because both of their husbands had died, the women had returned to Naomi’s homeland. There Ruth met a wealthy landowner named Boaz. She asked him, “Please let me glean . . . after the reapers among the sheaves” (v. 7). He willingly consented and instructed his workers to purposely let grain fall for her (v. 16).

Like Boaz, who provided for Ruth from the bounty of his fields, God provides for us out of His abundance. His resources are infinite, and He lets blessings fall for our benefit. He willingly provides us with physical and spiritual nourishment. Every good gift we receive comes from Him.

Dear God, thank You for the blessings I enjoy! You minister to Your children out of Your limitless abundance. I worship You as my provider.
 

Our greatest needs cannot exceed God’s great resources.

God commanded His people to be generous and to allow the poor to gather food from their lands at harvest time (Lev. 19:9-10; Deut. 24:19-22). God is the defender, protector, and provider of the poor, the helpless, and the oppressed (Deut. 10:17-19; Ps. 9:9-10; 146:5-9). Sim Kay Tee
 

Wisdom and Revelation

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
- Ephesians 1:17–19 NIV

Rather than focus on negative things in life, the Bible teaches us to see good things in Christ with the “eyes of your heart.” Ephesians 1:17–19 says that the Spirit of wisdom and revelation are important so we may:

• Have knowledge of God, or know God Himself. This is not knowledge gained through education, but revelation.
• Know the hope of our calling, the eternal plan of God and how we fit into it. We can be thankful that God has called us to be His sons and daughters, and as such, we have an inheritance.
• Know that revelation knowledge of God’s power is available to us. We can do anything God asks us to do because of the greatness of His power.

Give thanks today that you can know God, have hope, and live in His power!
Prayer of Thanks
I thank You, Father, that You have given me hope in Christ Jesus. Today, I will focus on the good things in my life and listen for Your voice. Thank You that You lead and guide me in the wisdom and revelation of Your Word and Your Holy Spirit.

The Invitation

What I have forgiven ...has been for your sakes ...to keep Satan from getting the advantage over us; for we are not ignorant of his wiles and intentions.  2 Corinthians 2:10-11

Suppose we receive a package from an overnight carrier. After we open it, we stare at a beautiful, oversized envelope, with our name written on it in exquisite calligraphy. Inside, the invitation starts with these words: You are invited to enjoy a life filled with misery, worry, and confusion.

Which one of us would say yes to such an outrageous invitation? Don't we seek the kind of life that keeps us free from such pain and distractions? Yet many of us choose such a life. Not that we blatantly make that choice, but we sometimes surrender even temporarily to Satan's invitation. His attack is ongoing and relentless-the devil is persistent! Our enemy bombards our minds with every weapon at his disposal every day of our lives.
 
We are engaged in a warfare, a warfare that rages and never stops. We can put on the whole armor of God, halt the evil one's advances, and stand fast on the Word of God, but we won't put a complete end to the war. As long as we are alive, our minds remain Satan's battlefield. Most of our problems are rooted in thinking patterns that produce the problems we experience. This is where Satan triumphs. He offers wrong thinking to all of us. This isn't a new trick devised for our generation; he began his deceptive ways in the Garden of Eden. The serpent asked the woman, Can it really be that God has said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden? (Genesis 3:1a). That was the first attack on the human mind. Eve could have rebuked the tempter; instead, she told him God would let them eat from the trees, but not from one particular tree. They couldn't even touch that tree, because if they did, they would die.

But the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die, For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference 'between good and evil and blessing and calamity (vv. 4-5). This was the first attack, and it resulted in Satan's first victory. What we often miss about temptation and the battle our enemy levels against us is that it comes to us deceptively.

Suppose he had said to the woman, "Eat of the fruit. You'll bring misery, anger, hatred, bloodshed, poverty, and justice into the world." Eve would have recoiled and run away. He tricked her because he lied and told her what would appeal to her. Satan promised, "You will be like God. You'll know good and evil." What a marvelous appeal to the woman. He wasn't tempting Eve to do something bad, or at least he phrased it in such a way that what she heard sounded good.

That's always the appeal of sin or satanic enticement. The temptation is not to do evil or to cause harm or bring injustice. The lure is that we will gain something. Satan's temptation worked on Eve. And when the woman saw that the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate (v.6).

Eve lost the first battle for the mind, and we have continued to fight for it since that time. But because we have the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can win and we can keep on winning.

Victorious God, help me resist the onslaughts of Satan, who attacks my mind and makes evil seem good. I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Live with Purpose

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord [always being superior, excelling, doing more than enough in the service of the Lord], knowing and being continually aware that your labor in the Lord is not futile [it is never wasted or to no purpose].

 1 Corinthians 15:58

Life without purpose is vanity. Webster's definition of purpose is "something set up as an object or end to be attained." Christians ought to be people with purpose. We are all purposed to seek the kingdom of God, which is His righ¬teousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (see Ro¬mans 14:17).

Today is an opportunity to willfully and deliberately seek God with the intent to know Him better than we knew Him yesterday. Today we can deliberately move forward with the intent to accomplish good things for the Kingdom.

The Rich Young Ruler

Mark 10:17-22.

(17) And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
(18) And Jesus said unto him, Why call me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
(19) You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honor your father and mother.
(20) And he answered and said unto him, Teacher, all these have I observed from my youth.
(21) Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing you lack: go your way, sell whatsoever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
(22) And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

Suppose you had the chance to ask Jesus one, and only one, question. What would it be? It might depend upon your circumstances; if you were ill, you might ask for healing, for example. But what if your circumstances were high and good indeed?

That's what we have here. The man is rich in the things of this world. We may conclude from the fact that Christ does not rebuke his presumption but instead loves him that he indeed has kept the commandments. In short, he is a man who has been blessed by God with all earthly blessings, one who is righteous under the Law of Moses—and still he has a question. "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"

If you want the right answers, you must ask the right questions. Jesus points him to the Law, but only to bring out the fact that something is yet to be fulfilled. Jesus is that fulfillment of the Law. He makes that point to the young man by pointing out that only God is good. It forces the question: who is this man Jesus? If he is indeed God in the flesh, then he is lord over all who worship God. It is that lordship which is at the center of this tragedy. Many of us are willing to accept Jesus as a great teacher and moral authority—but that is not his claim. He claims to be God. If he is, then he should be your Lord. If he is not, you should despise him.

The matter becomes even more radical in Jesus reply. Note that it says that he loved this young man. And why not? God loves those who keep his commandments. Why then did not Jesus simply commend him? It is precisely because he loved him that he challenged him—on the issue of lordship. Either the man's money was his master, or God.

Like Nicodemus at night, the ruler was looking for the last small step. As Nicodemus was told to be born again, this man is also told to renounce his life and turn about radically. One thing stands between him and eternal life: his money. Get rid of it; then follow your Lord. The issue is not the money; the issue is lordship.

How about you? Is there something in your life which stands between you and your Lord Jesus? Is there anything which causes you to put Christ "on hold" while you deal with it? Many things can do this; a job, your stocks and bonds, your hobby, your spouse (or the one you are pursuing), the new house, the new car, or just the everyday cares of this world—how will I make it until the next paycheck? One Lord—the question is, which?

　

Little Children

Mark 10:13-16.

(13) And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.
(14) But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Allow the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
(15) Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
(16) And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

Have you ever asked a baseball player for an autograph? We all have the feeling that, somehow, something of another's "greatness" will rub off on us if we can make physical contact. Something of that is seen here in these mothers who brought their children to Jesus.

The drama comes from the disciples. They try to hold the children back. The great man is busy, there are huge demands on his time, children this small are unimportant, he can't be bothered with such things. It is not respectable!

And it isn't respectable. It's righteous. The Creator of time itself has time for these little ones; who more? He does what polite society thinks unreasonable: he loves the least. In their society children were not possessed of "high marginal incomes," and thus courted by advertisers. They had nothing, and therefore the world considered them as nothing.

Consider the least of our society today. Take, for a specific example, a young woman who is addicted to drugs, has a baby, no job and is single. How does the body of Christ, the church, treat her?

Do we shoo her away lest her terrible example rub off on decent Christian teenagers?

Or do we take her in our arms with the love of Christ?

Such a person resembles a child of that time. Spiritually, they are often completely uneducated. Economically, they're at the bottom of the heap. Their burdens are greater than they can bear, and like children they need a lot of help, encouragement, counsel and even wisdom.

Christ tells us that "of such" is the kingdom of heaven! Why would God welcome "such" into his kingdom? Is it not so that his mighty power and great love might be displayed?

Power? Yes, even the worst of sinners can be redeemed by the blood of Jesus.

Love? Yes, no matter how undeserving, God looks upon the sinners of this world as his children, and has compassion on them.

Christ does not just "put up with" these children—he welcomes them into his arms. He blesses them so that we might see that no one is too low to enter the kingdom. We, the church, need to open our arms to the wayward children of this world, so that we might bring his blessing to them, too.