July 2
Matthew chapters 19-21
It was especially difficult for me to get
up this morning, since I have been suffering from a migraine since
yesterday. I don't know if it's the heat or my eyes or what exactly,
but I'm miserable. Even the kitten is annoying.
But David made
sure I got out of bed this morning and I made the train on time and got
to work when I was supposed to. But, I didn't read today's scriptures
until just now, after I finished all the work on my desk. I'd love to
tell you that this gave me a particular insight, but I'm afraid today is
a wall to bang my head against.
I did and will do again. Jesus
is once again put to the test by the Pharisees, who are too stupid to
give up. He has many things to say about marriage and divorce that I'm
not going to get into here - I left my husband after several years of
his neglecting the family, and he is actually the one who filed for
divorce. Now I'm marrying a man who is divorced from one woman and the
widower of another. Yet God still loves me, still takes care of me,
still uses me. I'm not going to argue.
No good deed. . . Jesus
again has to explain something that should be very simple but isn't
because we always want to know if it really applies to us, or just
everyone else. The upshot of which is, if you're not prepared to live a
life of obedience, then that's the real loss.
The Master of the House. Here are two descriptions of a perfectly just and righteous God. Don't ignore them.
At
the airport here, I work in Facilities. Which means I have, and have
had, access to the contract process by which we deal with vendors.
Personally, I think it's a vague, non-specific process, with too many
generalizations. To me, a contract is about this is what you will do
for me and this is what I'll pay for it to be done completely and done
right. Simple, what? Yet human nature still says "Let's do as little
as we can get away with and then ask for more money."
I don't write the contracts, but if I did, the vendors would hate me.
So
it is with the Master of the house. He told us exactly what He wanted
and how it was to happen, starting in Genesis and going from there. The
early workers were the Jews, the Chosen People. But later there were
others - Rahab in Jericho; Ruth who married Rahab's grandson; Namaan the
leper, and on and on. People who chose to become a part of God's
plan.
And then there's us, at the eleventh hour (which, by the
way, is where the saying comes from). Guess what? God's contract never
changed from the beginning. This is what we get for being a Child of
God, no matter if you started early or just got here. And it's His
choice to do this. Thank you Lord, for loving me like that.
Absentee
Landlord. This is quite the story, and one we should keep in mind,
especially when we are tasked with ministry. But it applies to every
Christian, no matter how "involved" they are in the Body. And it was
specifically directed at the Pharisees, who were all about tradition
instead of all about God.
The servants the Master sent were,
historically, the prophets of Israel. The Jews, being a "stubborn and
stiff-necked people," basically ignored and then harassed the prophets
when they came, so much so that God quit sending them for 400 years
before John the Baptist came to proclaim Jesus.
And the Son is Jesus, who they killed.
A
righteous and just God will forgive us our sins, but He will also
punish the people who utterly reject Him. Lucifer, in all his light,
desired to be the Master, and look where it got him. And we're not even
as powerful as an angel.
Humility. Jesus knew what was coming.
It's seem such a short time in Matthew, but it was actually 3-ish years
between John the Baptist and the Cross. And Jesus was going willingly
to do what God has promised, even to death. The rest is the Palm Sunday
story, but what a story! A triumphal entry into the capital city of
the Jews, the anger and authority to cleanse the temple of the shysters,
the depth of His compassion as he heals two blind men along the way.
Even the small children were proclaiming Him. Can't argue with a child, they're stubborn little things.
The
Pharisees one last gasp. "By whose authority do you do and speak these
things?" Umm, if you haven't sorted out all the clues by now, then why
should I tell you? Healing, miracles, teaching with authority - who do
you think gave Jesus this? Give it up boys, you won't win, although
you think you will.
The crowds believed. And it scared the
religious rulers. Because if people actually did what Jesus was
preaching, they'd be out of a job right quick. Little did they know
that just when they think they've won, along comes the most important
event in human history - the Resurrection.
And honestly at this
point, I'm not sure I can wrap this up succinctly. I'm anxious to read
tomorrow's passages, even though I know the story so well. This is the
beauty of the Word, that is becomes new in our hearts every time we dig
into it.
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