My Words Will Not Pass Away

Today’s reading is Matthew 24.

Only two things are certain, we are told: death and taxes (not necessarily in that order). However, this old saying simply isn’t true. For there are some who will not die, but merely be changed (1 Corinthians 15:51). Taxes…well…that one is pretty certain. However, there is something more certain than death and taxes: Jesus’s Word.

Though I do believe the day is coming when the Lord will dissolve and burn up the earth and the heavens with fire (2 Peter 3:10-12), I do not believe Jesus is predicting the passing away of heaven and earth in Matthew 24:35. I could be wrong, but I believe He is comparing the heavens and earth with His own Word. His Word is more solid, more true, more foundational than even the heavens and earth. It is more likely for the mountains to crumble into the sea and the stars to fall from the sky than for Jesus’s Word to fail.

In specific context, His point is the judgment He was describing was going to come. The disciples must not grow complacent, but be watchful. No matter what anyone else said, they needed to be prepared for judgment. Even if everything about their lives and existence were thrown into upheaval, like the earth disappearing and sky falling, the judgment He was teaching was going to happen. I believe that particular judgment was the one on Jerusalem in 70 AD when the temple was torn down stone by stone (see Matthew 24:2).

However, this point about Jesus’s Word goes beyond just this particular discourse. In the same way Jesus’s Word about judgment would not pass away, His Word about humility, about persecution, about life, about light, about building on the rock, about anger, about lust, about anything will not pass away. If Jesus said it, it’s true. If Jesus promised it, it will happen. If Jesus revealed it through the Holy Spirit to the apostles and they wrote it down, it is going to be precisely that way. This is why doing what He said is like being a wise man who built his house on the rock. His Word is a rock that doesn’t shake, doesn’t falter, doesn’t move, doesn’t crumble, doesn’t dissolve.

No doubt, you and I have plenty of choices to make today. Remember, for all the advice we have received, the words of Jesus are sure. They will not pass away. It is more likely that the ground beneath your feet will disappear into nonexistence than that Jesus’s Word will fail you. Hang on to Jesus. Do what He says. You can’t do better than that.

Today’s reading is Matthew 24.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family

1. What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
2. What is Jesus’s Word?
3. Why is it good to read Jesus’s Word regularly?
4. What keeps people from reading Jesus’s Word regularly? How can we maintain a God Bible reading habit?
5. What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?

Withered

Today’s reading is Matthew 21.

In Matthew 21, Jesus is going out of His way to connect with Old Testament prophecies. He is showing who He really is as the story hurtles toward the climax of His death, burial, and resurrection outside Jerusalem.

In the triumphal entry, He makes sure He fulfills Zechariah 9:9, riding into town on a donkey. In the cleansing of the temple, He quotes Isaiah 56:7 and then makes sure to mirror its message about gathering outcasts. Then He curses the fig tree. In a vacuum, this is just about the oddest thing Jesus ever does. It almost doesn’t seem fair to the fig tree (which another gospel account tells us wasn’t even in the time for bearing fruit). However, now that we are primed to see Jesus fulfilling Scripture, this story reminds us of promise and prophecy. We shouldn’t read it in a vacuum but as a purposeful re-enactment of God’s promise and prophecy in Jeremiah 8:13. In fact, on the heals of Jesus’s work in the temple, this picture provides a stark contrast.

When I would gather them, declares the LORD, there are not grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree; even the leaves are withered, and what I gave them has passed away from them.

Jeremiah 8:13 (ESV)

The cursing of the fig tree is highly symbolic. Jesus has come to Jerusalem, represented by the fig tree. He expects to find fruit. But in the house of prayer, He finds instead a den of thieves. He intended to gather His people, but His people were bearing no fruit. Instead, as we saw in the previous vignette, He gathers the outcasts and leaves the people withered. What a contrast!

The fig tree was a promise of coming judgment. In fact, continue reading in Jeremiah.

Why do we sit still? Gather together; let us go into the fortified cities and perish there, for the LORD our God has doomed us to perish and has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord. We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror.

Jeremiah 8:14-15

We see a striking picture of judgment coming on a city. Guess which city? You guessed it–Jerusalem. Those who gather in the city of Jerusalem would ultimately be destroyed. Of course, those who look to the city of God, His church, would be delivered. But that was going to be a striking kind of person. It would be made up of Jewish outcasts and then Gentiles. And here we are today, continuing to bear fruit for His glory.

Or we had better be. That is the lesson for us. If we quit bearing fruit, we will not fare better than the fig tree. God is glorified when we bear fruit, let’s keep it up today.

Tomorrow’s reading is Matthew 21.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family

1. What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
2. Why is it important to see Jesus as fulfilling these prophecies and promises?
3. Does seeing this cursing of the fig tree as a symbolic re-enactment of Old Testament promise and prophecy change what it means to you? If so, how?
4. How do we bear fruit to glorify God?
5. What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?

More Bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah

Today’s reading is Matthew 10.

I get it. It’s not usual for a daily devotional reading to be centered around a passage of judgment. Usually, we try to find something uplifting and encouraging. Usually, we try to find something that makes the reader feel good. Every once in a while, however, we have to remember what is at stake. Judgment is coming.

Please, understand what Jesus is saying. Do you recall what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah? Do you recall the intense judgment? Do you recall that only three people survived that judgment? Fire and brimstone rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot and his daughters were the only ones to make it to safety. How do you suppose the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah are going to fare in the final judgment? It is possible Jesus is actually saying, “Do you remember how awful it was for Sodom and Gomorrah on their day of judgment? That day was easier on them than the day of judgment on the towns of Israel who ignore My ambassadors will be when it comes.”

I have no doubt that was in part a reference to the coming judgment in 70 AD when God used Rome to bring judgment on the Jews and destroy Jerusalem. However, there is no doubt the ultimate fulfillment is for anyone who ignores the word of Jesus given through His apostles, the final judgment will be worse than it was or will be for those who were judged in Sodom and Gomorrah.

Please, understand what is at stake for us. Jesus isn’t saying, “I’m coming. If you don’t measure up, I’m going to judge you.” He is saying, “Judgment is coming. If you turn to Me, I’ll save you from it.”

Will you turn to Jesus? Can we help you do so?

Tomorrow’s reading is Matthew 10.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family

1. What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
2. Why don’t we like to think about a coming judgment?
3. Why do we need to think about the coming judgment?
4. What advice would you give to others to encourage them to turn to Jesus before the coming judgment?
5. What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?