Throughout the years many followers of Jesus have always been interested in the end times.  This is not a new phenomenon, the disciples even asked Jesus about it.  I have been asked questions about the end countless times over the years.  Let’s look at what Jesus says in Matthew 24 together today.

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. 9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

I think that over the years people have focused on the wrong part of Jesus’ message here.  Many have tried to identify wars, natural disasters and persecution as “signs” of the end.  Certainly Jesus says that those will happen but those things have been happening since before Jesus’ time on earth.  Instead we should focus on what else He says, stand firm and preach the gospel to the world.  Those are the only parts of this that we can actually control and do anything about.  The rest is up to God.  We don’t know the when but Jesus is clear about the what.  What we should do is stand firm and share His message and love with the world.  According to Google searches there has been a recent surge in people looking for signs of the end of the world.  I suggest instead of looking for signs we look for Jesus.  We fix our eyes on Him and point others to Him whenever we can.

If Jesus’ fate was not sealed up to this point it certainly must have been after the events of Matthew 23.  He calls the Pharisees out blatantly on their hypocrisy the chapter ends with the famous 7 woes of the Pharisees but let’s look at the beginning of the chapter together today.

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others. 8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Jesus tells His followers to obey the law of the Pharisees but He makes a clear point for them not to live like them.  The Pharisees love a life of religious show but not true hearts of following God.  The call of a follower of Jesus is not one of esteem but of humility.  Our faith journey is meant to more and more point us toward our need for God not to make us point out how good we are on our own merit.  A. W. Tozer once stated that the closer we get to God the more we recognize just how sinful we truly are.  The Pharisees were far from God because they thought that they were pretty good.  May we be a people who recognize our need for God more and more and hold on tight to Him.  He is always holding on tight to us.

Matthew 22 is filled with the teachers of the law asking Jesus questions to try and trick Him and get Him to say something that they could use against Him.  They ask about marriage, taxes, and the law.  Let’s look together at the last two questions and Jesus’ reply to them. 

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, 44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ 45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

I love that Jesus finishes by asking them a question and telling them that their answer is wrong.  Something tells me that He laughed with the disciples about that one for quite some time.  In the midst of these questions we learn some important truths.  Perhaps the Great Commandment being the most important.  Jesus takes the entirety of the law and sums it up to loving God and loving people.  I know we talk about that a lot but how often do we truly think about it and allow love to be the driving force in our lives.  What if we began to run all of our actions through a filter of asking if that is the most loving thing we can do.  What if we really strove to love our enemies?  Imagine if we truly loved God with ALL of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  I pray that God would give us the strength to more and more be a people who lived and loved this way. 

I have always loved Jesus’ parable of the two sons.  The question that comes up from the story is what is more important attitude or action?  The reality to Jesus is that both matter equally.  You can do the right thing with a bad attitude or for the wrong reasons and still be at fault.  You can also have the best attitude and best of intentions and not follow through and still be wrong.  Let’s look at the story together today in Matthew 21. 

28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ 29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

Clearly the Pharisees are represented by the first son.  They “obey” the law but seem to completely miss the point and in turn miss Jesus the promised Messiah.  Perhaps Peter is an example of the second son.  Shortly after this he promises that he would never deny Jesus only to do it three times.  We probably have all found ourselves in this story maybe even as both sons at one time or the other.  The point is that God cares equally about our attitudes and actions.  In fact if anything He seems to care more about our hearts.  We all will fail and struggle but the real question is do we long to obey and serve God?  Do we love Him enough to want to do what He asks of us even if we do fail?  I pray that God gives us all both a heart that longs to follow Him and the strength to follow through. 

Hello Advent Family,

Have you ever noticed that the economy of God is vastly different from ours?  We want everyone to get what they deserve except when it comes to us.  We want the grace and blessing that God offers us even though we do not deserve it.  Jesus tells a parable to illustrate God’s economy to us all in Matthew 20.  Let’s look at it together today.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ 7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ 8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ 9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

This doesn’t seem to fit with our sense of fairness.  The reality is that a denarius was more than a fair wage for a full day’s work.  The workers were not complaining that they didn’t receive fair treatment but that others received more than they deserved.  In God’s economy of grace that is the way things work.  We all receive far more than we deserve.  We deserve punishment and receive the riches of eternal life.  Let’s be a people who embrace that grace and share the wealth!

Have you ever noticed that it is times when you are in your greatest need that you lean most heavily on God?  We may know that we should lean on Him always and we may even do well at that for a season.  Those times when we are at our end we seem to really rely upon God.  When we recognize that we are always in great need of God we tend to do better in our relationship with Him and with others.  Jesus has an encounter with a man who is interested in God but does not recognize his need for Him.  Let’s look at it together today.

Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” 17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” 20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

The man’s problem was not his wealth.  His problem was that he thought he was good enough for God on his own merit.  When Jesus asked him to sell what he had and follow Him it wasn’t about the money.  It was about what we rely upon.  Do we rely upon our own strength, wealth, power, and success?  Jesus’ point is that when we rely upon ourselves and do not recognize our need for God it truly is tough to find Him.  May God give us all a fresh sense of our need for Him so that we may rely upon Him every day!

I believe that Matthew 18 is one of the most important passages in scripture for the life of the church.  Dealing with conflict is such an important skill and Matthew 18 sets out a precedent for how to do it appropriately.  Let’s look at it together today.

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. 18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”