Recognizing Jesus

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 25:31-46

TO CHEW ON: " ' And the King will answer and say to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." ' " Matthew 25:40


One of the popular motifs of the Christmas dramas we used to put on in Sunday School was the poor, beggarly misfit becoming a type of the Christ child. It turned out that the person who noticed and served this unfortunate one amid the hustle and decorations, the shopping and food preparations, was the one who had the true Christmas spirit.

Recognizing Christ in unusual places and people is the theme of our reading today. Seeing and caring for His needs in those around us—the hungry and thirsty, the lonely stranger, the forsaken prisoner, the person who needs warm clothes ("naked") and sick—brings not only the King's commendation but the label of "righteous" and escape from eternal punishment (Matthew 25:34, 45-46).

Jesus talks in other places of coming in disguise:

• In Mark 9:41 the person who serves Christ's disciples with as little as a cup of cold water gets a reward.

• " 'Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives not Me but Him who sent Me' " says Jesus in Mark 9:37.

• At another time, Jesus answered a question about how to inherit eternal life with the parable we call the Good Samaritan. In it, the person (Samaritan) who helps his needy neighbour (a beat-up Jew) is the one who loves his neighbour as himself, fulfilling one of the conditions for inheriting eternal life (Luke 10:28-37).

I look at these examples and ask myself—do I recognize Jesus when He comes to me disguised as a child, or a needy stranger, or a sister in trouble? Or am I more like those "goats" in our reading, who will someday appear before the King with 'Duh… Lord, when did I see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison?'

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please take the scales off my eyes. Help me to recognize You however  and wherever You appear. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Kingdom secrets

The Sower - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 13:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "The disciples came to him and asked, 'Why do you speak to the people in parables?' He replied, 'Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.' " Matthew 13:10,11 NIV

We all love to be in-the-know. Here Jesus told His disciples, you are.

Though the parables appear to be simple stories which Jesus' listeners loved because they were so homey and relatable to life, they also hold deeper truths than what  appears to the eye / ear. "…secrets of the kingdom of heaven" Jesus called them.

[Secret = musterion  from mueo "to initiate into the mysteries" hence a secret known only to the initiated, something hidden, requiring special revelation. In the NT the word denotes something that people could never know by their own understanding and that demands a revelation from God. The secret thoughts, plans and dispensations of God remain hidden from unregenerate mankind, but are revealed to all believers" - Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Live Bible, NIV - Kindle Location 232,200.*]

Though Jesus told His disciples the knowledge of the kingdom had been given to them, they still needed Jesus' explanation, His "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means" (Matthew 13:18). As we read Jesus' interpretation of the sower story (the verses that follow today's reading) we see what kind of metaphor this was and how Jesus intended his listeners and us readers to interpret it from a literary standpoint.

But there is another level of understanding possible, beyond literary interpretation and to which Jesus referred when He said to the disciples: "… the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them" (Matthew 13:11).

What distinguished the you from the them? It was that the you—the disciples—believed in Him. They were open to the truths He taught and willing to line up their lives with them. The them, the crowds, the Pharisees and religious leaders didn't believe. Some were downright hostile.

Jesus goes on to describe these believers as those who had (knowledge, insight, obedience) and so would be given more whereas those who didn't have would lose even the little understanding they already possessed (Matthew 13:12).

Jesus' truths are revealed:

• to little children - Matthew 11:25.
• by God in heaven - Matthew 16:17.
• to those enabled by the Father - John 6:65.
• by His Spirit - 1 Corinthians 2:10,14.
• "to the Lord's people" - Colossians 1:26, 27.
• through "an anointing from the Holy One" - 1 John 2:20, 27.

As we study the Bible and read it's parables and stories, let's not lose sight of the supernatural help necessary to really get them. That help leads to understanding that comes not only from our heads, but also involves our hearts.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to be the kind of listener that has, and will be given an abundance. Amen.


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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission (*Kindle version). All rights reserved worldwide.

Kingdom of Heaven primer

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 10:1-20

TO CHEW ON: "'And heal the sick there and say to them, 'The Kingdom of God has come near to you.'" Luke 10:9

If there is one subject of Jesus' teaching that is mysterious, fascinating and exciting all at once it is His teaching about the Kingdom of God. "The Kingdom of Heaven or Kingdom of God is the central theme of Jesus' preaching," says a New Bible Dictionary article on the subject. It goes on to give an overview of the Kingdom of God (Heaven) as it spans history.

Though there are intimations of this kingdom in the Old Testament (borne out by their teaching of a deliverer, Messiah), it really comes into focus in the New. John the Baptist proclaims that the Kingdom is at hand - thus his emphasis on repentance, because God is coming as King to purify, sift, and judge (Matthew 3:1-12).

Jesus takes up the message from John adding to the repentance theme the aspect of salvation. He declares that the kingdom is already among them (Matthew 12:28). "His whole preaching and ministry are marked by this dominant reality. In Him the great future has already become 'present time.'" The Kingdom in his ministry is characterized by His casting out of demons (Luke 11:20), healing of sickness (our focus verse today) and actually breaks Satan's grip of control on this world (Luke 10:17,18).

But in Jesus' teaching, the Kingdom of God also has a future, mysterious, hidden aspect. In His parables (the whole purpose of which, He explains, is to teach about this Kingdom - Mark 4:10-12) the Kingdom is seed growing secretly, leaven, a tiny mustard seed, a hidden treasure, a pricey pearl (Mark 4:26-29; Luke 13:20,21; Mark 4:30-32; Matthew 13:44, 45, 46).

"Indeed the hiddeness of the kingdom is deeper still," says the Bible Dictionary entry. "The King Himself comes in the form of a slave….The Kingdom has come; the Kingdom will come. But it comes by the way of the cross before the Son of man exercises His authority over all the kingdoms of the earth (Matthew 4:8; 28:18) He must tread the path of obedience to His Father in order thus to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15)."

 And so the Kingdom has an ongoing history. The whole world is vulnerable to it (Matthew 13:38). It spreads to all nations (Matthew 28:19).

We in the church age are a part of it:

"The Church is the assembly of those who have accepted the gospel of the kingdom in faith, who participate in the salvation of the kingdom…. They are also those in whose life the kingdom takes visible form, the light of the world, the salt of the earth; those who have taken on themselves the yoke of the kingdom, who live by their king's commandments and learn from Him (bold mine).

The Church as the organ of the kingdom is called to confess Jesus as the Christ, to the missionary task of preaching the gospel in the world; she is also the community of those who wait for the coming of the kingdom in glory, the servants who have received their Lord's talents in prospect of His return. The Church receives her whole constitution from the kingdom..." New Bible Dictionary, Op. Cit.

Do you begin to see the bigness of this thing of which you and I are a part, yet still anticipating? It loads the phrases which we repeat so glibly from the Lord's Prayer (Luke 11:1-4): "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" with a weight of added meaning. It makes me want to give myself to kingdom pursuits with renewed passion, so that it could be said to those in my sphere of influence: "Know this, that the Kingdom of God has come near you."

PRAYER: Dear God, help my inadequate mind and spirit grasp the truth of Your kingdom. Help it to be evident in my life in wisdom, power, humility, love and all its manifestations. Amen.

All quotes taken from The New Bible Dictionary (Eerdmans, © 1962, reprinted 1979) pp. 693-695.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Lessons from nature

"' Look at the birds ... your heavenly Father feeds them.'" Matthew 6:26

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 8:1-9

TO CHEW ON: "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?" Psalm 8:3,4

Here David looks at the vast heavens at night, feels incredibly small, and uses that thought as a jump-off for pondering the place of man in God's creation.

Jesus often uses illustrations from nature in the lessons He teaches.

In the Sermon on the Mount, He draws attention to the birds. Though they live without forethought, they don't lack. He points to the lilies who,  He says, without any effort on their part, are more beautiful than a king in his glory. Surely God who feeds these creatures and clothes these flowers has the ability to care for His listeners then (and us today) without our fretting about it (Matthew 6:26,28).

Another time Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed. Though its beginning is tiny, it grows to tree-like size (Matthew 13:31,32).

When talking about the kingdom of heaven, Jesus compares it to a field of grain. Man scatters the seed on the field but after that "the earth yields the crop by itself" without man's help. Just so the kingdom inexplicably grows, and matures on its own (Mark 4:28).

Walking along the road on day, Jesus points to a ripening fig tree. Just as the changes in the tree alert the passersby to the fact that the summer is coming, He says,  so watching current events should tell those who are alert that the coming of the Son of Man is near (Mark 13:28 and Luke 21:30).

Do you ever see spiritual lessons in nature? Let's look at the natural world with eyes open and alert to see what it might be saying to us about God and His ways.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known - Psalm 19:1-2 NLT.

PRAYER: Dear God I am in awe of the way nature reflects Your ways of working in the realm of the spirit. Please open my eyes to see You everywhere. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.