When Is Jesus Christ Coming Again?

When Is Jesus Christ Coming Again?

Matthew 24

 

 

A few days before the religious leaders arrested Jesus and put Him to death, Jesus gathered his disciples together on the Mount of Olives to tell them again (He had already tried to tell them) that he would soon have to die.  There were so many things Jesus wanted to share with his disciples but these men weren’t always able to hear what Jesus was trying to say.  And even though Jesus tried to tell them that He would be put to death and then rise from the dead, these followers of Jesus just didn’t understand.  I wonder if we aren’t like that too.  But Jesus kept trying to get through to them.  And He promised that He would send his Holy Spirit to continue helping us understand.

 

As Jesus was sharing and talking with his disciples, they asked Him to tell them when the end of the age would come and what would be the sign of His coming?  They knew that Jesus had promised that He would come again, so they wanted to know when it would be. 

 

Jesus answered them: “Both of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, or the Son, but only the Father.  Take heed, watch and pray: for you do not know when the time is.”  (Mark 13:32-33)  How many times have we heard various religious leaders say that they know the very day that the end will come?  Jesus clearly tells us that nobody can say when that day will be or exactly when Jesus will come again.

 

 We can see certain signs or hints that His coming is getting near, Jesus tells them.  (Matthew 13:32)  Before He comes again there will be wars and rumors of wars, and widespread famine, and disease and earthquakes in many different places.  (Matt. 24:6 and 7)  Jesus also predicted that before his return there would be an apostasy, or a falling away of believers from the Christian faith.  Many believers will grow cold in their faith and also in their love.  (Matt. 24:12)  And faithful Christians will be persecuted.

 

While they were discussing what would happen in the future, Jesus pointed to the beautiful temple in Jerusalem.  The Jewish temple was a magnificent building with huge limestone blocks adorned with golden ornamentation.  Every Jewish person was very proud of their temple.  But Jesus told his disciples that their temple would be destroyed.  He said: “Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”  (Matthew 24:2)  Just as Jesus prophesied, the temple in Jerusalem was indeed destroyed in 70 A.D. and the Jewish people were led away into captivity and scattered into every nation!  And the nation of Israel disappeared from off the earth for nearly 2,000 years!   

 

Jesus uses the tragic events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem as a picture of conditions preceding His own return.  Many prophecies can be found in Scripture promising that the nation of Israel would eventually be restored before Jesus comes again.  But after nearly 2,000 years of wandering the earth many Jewish people had given up hoping that they would ever have a nation again.  An impossible dream!  But then amazingly, in 1948 the new state of Israel was established!

 

 Only God could have gathered many of the Jewish people back to their land and put them together again as a nation!  The miraculous restoration of the Jewish people back into their own country after nearly 2,000 years of wandering throughout the whole world had been foretold in Scripture and is a sign that the end of the Gentile world power is near.  (Luke 21:24) 

 

Jesus continues talking about what will happen before He comes back.  He tells his disciples: “For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark.  And they did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man.  Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.  Watch, therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”  (Matthew 24:37-42)

 

Jesus says that the time when He comes back again will be like the days when Noah was living.  The days of Noah closed an era with judgment, and Christ’s return will also close an era in judgment. Noah’s day before the flood was a time of great wickedness. (Genesis 6)  And the days before Christ’s return will also be a time of great wickedness.  In Noah’s day the flood took away all of the wicked people so that only the righteous were left to inherit the earth.  And likewise when Jesus returns the wicked people will again be taken away and only the righteous will be left to inherit the kingdom of God.   

 

Jesus went on to tell the disciples that before He comes again little false christs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders and deceive a lot of people into thinking that they are the real Christ.  But Jesus said that when He returns everyone will know that He has come and they won’t have to guess.  “As the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”  (Matthew 24:27) 

 

Jesus describes his coming this way: “… the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light: the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  The sign of the Son of Man will appear in heavens, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”  (Matthew 24:29b-31) 

 

Jesus tells the disciples that the gospel will be preached to every group of people and every country in the world before He returns again.  (Matthew 24:14)  Even though during the end time there will be religious deception and social evils, political problems and natural calamities, disloyalties and persecution, still Jesus’ followers are to keep on loving one another and spreading the Christian faith and giving to the poor.  It won’t be easy.  Jesus links the worldwide witness of the gospel to His Second Coming. 

 

In a time of indifference and carelessness the Lord will appear with startling suddenness.  Jesus said that some will be taken to meet Him, while others will be left.  Jesus told his disciples: “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”  (Matthew 24:42)  While we wait for our Lord’s return, let us remain honest and truthful and loving and faithful.  And let’s continue spreading the gospel.  He is there for us so let us be there for Him. 

 

   

Jesus Came unto His Own but His Own did not Receive Him

 

He Came unto His Own but His Own did not Receive Him

Matthew 21:28-22:14

 

 

 

A few days before Jesus died on the cross He told the people more stories and parables.  And this time Jesus told stories that were not mainly about God’s love and blessing towards his people but stories that were about God’s anger and judgment and about God taking away his blessings from his people.  These are difficult stories to read and I didn’t want to include them in my blog, but of course I have to.  There are some preachers today who only tell the nice happy stories in the Bible and leave these dark mysterious stories alone. 

 

But we must read all of God’s Word!  The words of love and grace and the words of warning and judgment.  The words we understand and the words we don’t.  Take in the whole counsel of God.  And the same Bible that tells us that our God is a God of love and mercy also tells us that our God is a God of justice and judgment. 

 

God loves everyone and wants to forgive every person on earth.  God wants all of his wandering children to come home to Him.  But God doesn’t make everyone come to Him or force everyone to love Him!  Never!  God’s children can refuse to accept His gift of forgiveness and love.  We can reject God and refuse to speak to Him.  And when we cut Him off long enough our actions will have consequences!

 

In speaking about Jesus Christ the Scriptures say: “He came unto his own, and his own did not receive Him.  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become the children of God, to those who believe in his name.”  (John 1:11-12)  Jesus came first to his own people, the Jewish people.  Scripture says: “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)         

 

Once during Jesus’ ministry a non-Jewish woman comes to Jesus and begs him to heal her sick child.  But when she first asks, Jesus ignores her request!  Finally He explains to her why He had ignored her.  He tells her that the food should be given to the children and not to the dogs – meaning that Jesus’ gift of salvation and his healing miracles (the food) were meant first for the “children” (the Jewish people) who believed in God and not for the “dogs” (the non-Jewish people who were idol worshippers).

 

  But then the Gentile (non-Jewish) woman keeps begging Jesus and finally she tells Jesus that even the dogs eat the scraps that are dropped under the table by the children while they are eating.  At this Jesus is so moved by this humble woman that He heals her daughter and commends her for her faith.  This story illustrates how Jesus’ gifts were meant to be given to the Jewish people first before any non-Jew at that time.  The time for the Gentiles to be included in salvation and blessings had not come then, and that is why Jesus put the non-Jewish woman off at first.  These things are God’s mysteries that we can only wonder about.   

 

When Jesus’ gift of salvation was not received by the Jewish religious leaders of his generation and also with many of the Jewish people, it was finally time for this precious gift of salvation that Jesus brought to be shared with non-Jews as well. And Jesus’ parables that He tells to the religious leaders gets this point across.

 

 Jesus’ Parable of the Wedding Feast begins with the king inviting his very closest friends and relatives (the Jewish people) to this special wedding feast for his son.  Many fine dinner preparations are made but the relatives and friends of the king make fun of the king’s invitation and don’t bother to answer him as to whether they will be attending.  Several of the king’s relatives harm the king’s servants who come with the invitations and others even kill some of the servants delivering the invitations. 

 

The king is angry and hurt that his own loved ones and family have treated him badly and he sends out his armies to destroy some of them.  Then he tells his servants to go out into the highways and invite as many people as they can find both bad and good so that the wedding halls will be filled with guests feasting and celebrating his son’s wedding.  The story ends with the king arriving and looking around at all of the guests enjoying his lavish wedding party.  The king is pleased; however one man is not wearing a wedding garment.  (The king had given each guest a special garment to wear to the wedding.)  So Jesus’ story ends with this man who is not wearing the correct attire being thrown out of the wedding party.  (Matthew 22:1-14) 

 

Of course the king’s beloved relatives who were given their invitations first and refused  were the children of Israel, God’s people.  In antiquity the nation of Israel had learned to worship God alone while all of the other nations were heathens sacrificing to idols.  So the king in the story (God) invites his people (Israel) to the wedding for his son – (offers them salvation through his Son, Jesus and eternal life in his kingdom) .But many of the king’s relatives and close friends ignore his invitation and the king is angry and deeply hurt.

 

 A lavish dinner (spiritual blessings) has been prepared and a gala party is to be given but there are no guests to come and enjoy.  The upset king sends his servants into the highways (Matt.21:8-9) to invite everyone- the rich and the poor, the good and the bad -to receive his gift of salvation.  (Evangelization of the Gentiles or non-Jews)  But when a wedding guest tries to slip into the wedding but does not bother to wear the proper clothing, he is thrown out. (Jesus takes away our sins and clothes us with his righteousness.  We cannot enter heaven on our own strength – wearing our own dirty clothes. We must be clothed in the righteousness of our Savior.  Our own righteousness (our dirty clothes) is not appropriate for the kingdom wedding and not good enough!    

 

The second parable Jesus tells is similar to this first one and has a similar meaning I believe. - The Parable of the Wicked Vinedresser. (Matthew 21:33-41)  The story goes that the owner of a vineyard goes on a long trip and leaves his vineyard in the care of renters who are supposed to care for the vineyard and live off of it.  Each year the owner will send his servants to the vineyard to see how it is doing and to collect the owner’s share of the yearly crop. (or the rent)  But each year when the owners’ servants travel back to the vineyard to collect his share of the fruits from the yearly crop they are beaten up by the renters and the owner of the vineyard never receives his share of the grapes that were grown on his land.

 

 Finally the owner sends his son to collect the rent.  “Surely, my renters will respect my son and give him my part of the fruit from the crop,” he thinks.  But instead, when the renters see the son coming down the road they decide to kill him!  They reason that since the son will inherit the vineyard from the owner that if they kill him they can take over the vineyard.  So the scheming renters ambush the son and kill him!  When word gets back to the owner he is terribly grieved and angry and sends his soldiers to throw the murdering renters out of his property.  And then the owner rents his vineyard out to new people. Jesus was saying that the new tenants (everyone who accepts Christ) would enjoy the king’s lush vineyard now ands the original tenants (the Jewish nation) would lose their favored spot in the vineyard because they rejected the son.   

 

Jesus tells another story about the “Cornerstone”.(Matthew 21:42-44)   He starts out by reading this Scripture: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” (Psalm 118:22)   And concerning this “stone” Jesus says: “Whoever falls on this stone will be broken: but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”  (Matthew 21:44)  Jesus is the Cornerstone in the story.  (Ephesians 2:20, 1 Corinthians 3:11 and Acts. 4:11)  He was talking about Himself.  Jesus, the Cornerstone holds up everything and his church is built upon Him.  We believers are called “living stones”.  Jesus is telling the religious leaders that they have rejected the very stone that is the chief cornerstone.  And then Jesus warns that rejecting this stone that holds everything in place (rejecting Jesus) has consequences.  Smaller stones can be broken or ground to powder if the builder disregards the Cornerstone by not putting these stones in their right place.

 

These stories of Jesus teach that after He was rejected by his own people, the Gentiles – and many Jews too, were to have their time where they were to become the Church through Jesus Christ.  (Romans 11 and 12)  The Jewish nation had their special time and now it seems to be the Gentile’s turn. 

 

But Scripture also teaches that the whole nation of Israel will once again be brought to Jesus and will acknowledge him as their Messiah and Savior at the close of the time of the Gentile prominence. (Romans 11:25)  We cannot understand these mysteries of God, but God would not be God if we could understand everything He does.  But we can trust that God who knows the beginning from the end and has created everything and is just and all knowing and merciful and loving knows what He is doing.  And His plans for all of his children are past finding out.    

 

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Jesus Enters Jerusalem as a King and Cleanses the Temple

Jesus Enters Jerusalem as a King and Cleanses the Temple

Matthew 21

 

 

 

One of the many prophecies in the Bible concerning Israel’s promised Messiah is a passage foretelling that the Messiah would come into Jerusalem as a king bringing salvation and humbly riding on a donkey.  This prophecy was given by the prophet Zechariah in around 520 B.C.  And it reads: “Rejoice greatly, O daughters of Jerusalem!  Behold, your King is coming to you.  He is just and bringing salvation.  Lowly and riding on a donkey.  A colt, the foal of a donkey.”  (Zechariah 9:9)

 

 In this verse we see how much God’s ways differ from human ways.  The Jewish people   were looking for their Messiah to be a conquering king.  They might have pictured him as a pompous warring king charging in on his white horse with his army of mighty men and flashing swords ready to fight and conquer their Roman oppressors.  But instead of a proud warring Messiah, the Jewish people were told by their prophets that their conquering Messiah would be a lowly Servant Messiah riding into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt.  

 

 The Jewish religious leaders may have overlooked this prophecy in Zechariah since it did not fit with their expectations of what they wanted their Messiah to do for them.  They wanted their Messiah to deliver them from the hated Roman rule.  But it might have been difficult for them to grasp that their Messiah – Jesus - was coming to do so much more!  Do we make the same mistake and try to make Jesus fit into our expectations?  We decide what we think He should do and then have trouble believing that He is doing so much more?  Can we let God be God?  Or do we try to put God in a box? 

 

Soon after Jesus triumphantly entered into Jerusalem on a donkey with crowds praising him as their Messiah; He was arrested, judged and crucified.  And after He spent three days in the grave He rose from the dead.  So our humble Servant Messiah – Jesus -  conquered death and hell and saved us from our sins.  He was and is indeed a Conqueror!    

 

During the last week of Jesus’ ministry, just before He was arrested and crucified, He fulfilled this prophecy in Zechariah 9:9.  In this dramatic way – by riding into Jerusalem as a king to the praise and cheers of the people - Jesus was proclaiming that He was and is the Messiah.  Scripture tells us that Jesus told two disciples to go to a certain place where they would find a donkey tied there with her colt.  Jesus told the disciples to untie the donkey and bring both the donkey and the colt to him.  The disciples were to tell the donkey’s owner, “The Lord has need of them.” And Jesus assured them that the owner would let them take both the donkey and her colt.  Jesus as Son of God is able to see and know these things.  Both animals were brought to Jesus and since He rode the colt, the mother donkey was needed there to quiet the little colt that had never been ridden before.

 

Scripture describes what happened when Jesus rode the colt with the donkey following  it into Jerusalem.  “A very large crowd gathered to greet Jesus as their king and to spread their clothes over the roadway before him.  And others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road to honor Jesus.” (In those days a king’s subjects paid homage to him by providing a carpet for him to walk or ride on.)   Thousands of people ran ahead of Jesus and shouted out: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!’”  (Matthew 21:8-9)

 

 Biblical prophecies foretold that the Messiah would come from David’s line, so when the crowds greeted Jesus by calling him the “Son of David” they were publically acknowledging Jesus as their long awaited Messiah.  And the Hebrew word “Hosanna” means “Save now.” The shouts of Hosanna from the crowd in Jerusalem were recognition that Jesus is the Lord who will save – He is God.  Scripture says that after Jesus had ridden the donkey into Jerusalem the whole city was moved!  (Matthew 21:10) 

 

Right after Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem He went into the temple and became angry at what He saw there.  Scripture says: “Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He said to them: ‘It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.’”.  (Matthew 21:12-13)

 

Tradition has it that the outer court of the temple had stalls where animals were sold and foreign money was exchanged for Jewish shekels.  This large money making market was controlled by the high priest Annas and was a source of extortion.

 

 The priests were supposed to be humble men of God and shepherds of God’s people, helping people come to their God.  Instead the priests set themselves up as a higher status than others, proudly considering themselves to be more pious and better that the rest.  God had not intended this.  They prayed long pompous prayers in the center of the streets so that everyone could see how righteous they were.  Elevating themselves above their people while becoming rich by cheating their people, and all the while using God’s Name!  

 

No wonder Jesus was angry with these men of God gone wrong!  They were not bringing  people to God but keeping them away from God.  Jesus said that they lay heavy burdens on the people, keeping them from God. (Luke 11:46)  These wealthy self righteous priests had turned the temple, which was supposed to be a house of prayer, into what Jesus called a “den of thieves.”  Temple costs were unreasonably high and worshippers were being taken advantage of financially each time they came to God’s house to pray.  And these fraudulent money making practices were protected by the priests who were misusing their God given power  

 

Would Jesus find any of the same problems He found in the Jewish temple so long ago if He were to physically walk into any of our churches today?  Would He turn over any of our money tables?  Would He need to cleanse our churches like He cleansed the temple?  Or would He find our churches to be houses of prayer as He said they should be?

 

What is a Christian church today supposed to be?  Scripture says that we believers in Christ are the Church – that the Church is the humble body of Christ.  But some of our churches have moved from modeling themselves to be the humble body of Christ and instead are trying to follow the models that the popular culture uses.  The culture today admires elegance, money, opulence and success.

 

 People today must be constantly entertained.  We must have big expensive fast moving productions with lots of action. Rock stars, fast games, flashing lights, loud music and movers and shakers for our leaders.  And some churches have retrofitted themselves to add these things.  Is that always good or not?  Mega churches and huge event centers have arisen sometimes with stages and theater lighting instead of altars.  If the church doesn’t provide entertainment then they are told that the people will be bored and not show up.  Does the church have to change being the humble body of Christ and compete with the world in order to survive?

 

So many churches try to play the game and follow the models that are popular in the world today.  Is that good or bad?  Some folks think they must “do” something outwardly to gain salvation - work their way to heaven.  Give more money, go on a mission, say more prayers.  We are an action oriented generation.  So we must do something to win salvation, work to earn righteousness, or so some think! 

 

But Jesus tells us that He is the only One who can give us salvation.  We can never add anything to that or work our way to heaven or do anything.  Jesus has done it all and He alone offers us the one and only free gift of salvation.  All we need to do is accept it.  Believe it inwardly. (Ephesians 2:8-9)  It all seems too simple, too easy because it is.  If there is anything we have to “do” it is just to believe.  Have faith.  Jesus said: “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”  (John 6:29)   

 

And we need churches that help us believe in Jesus and churches that try to be what they are supposed to be – the body of Christ!  Churches that provide fellowship and love and spread God’s Word and minister to the sick and the poor.  We need church leaders and pastors who are humble shepherds and who help the people come to God.  Would Jesus find these qualities in our churches if He were to physically walk in and visit today?  Would He be pleased with what He would find in your church?     

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

God's Ways are Past Finding Out

 

God’s Ways are Past Finding Out!

Matthew 20

 

 

Jesus had so much to teach his disciples and so little time.  He reminded his disciples that time was getting short – that soon they would be traveling to Jerusalem and when they got there He would be betrayed.  (Matthew 20: 17-19)  And Jesus adds that the religious leaders will give him over to the Gentiles and they will put him to death.  (The Roman soldiers who were Gentiles carried out the orders to crucify him.)

 

All this talk about Jesus dying made no sense.  The disciples did not want to hear what Jesus was telling them.  They were still arguing about which one of them would be the greatest when Jesus comes into his kingdom.  ((Matthew 20: 20-21) So Jesus tells them that the greatest among them will be the servant – the one who serves.  And the one who desires to be first will be a slave to the others.  (Matthew 20: 26-27)  And He tells the disciples that He will be their example.  That He has come to serve them (and us) and He has come to give his life a “ransom for many.”  (Matthew 20:28) 

 

Jesus sat down and told a story to the disciples and to the crowds.  Maybe this story could help them to understand that God sees and judges things differently than we do.  Jesus tells them the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.  Jesus starts out this way:  “The kingdom of heaven is like a vineyard owner who goes out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.  He agrees with the workers to pay them a denarius for the day’s work and then he sends them out into his vineyard to pick the grapes. (Matthew 20: 1-2)

 

The vineyard owner wonders if he has enough workers to bring in all the grapes so he goes out again in the middle of the morning and finds more people standing around in the marketplace looking for work.  He hires these people also and sends them off to his vineyard telling them that he will pay them what is right.  A few hours later the vineyard owner goes out again and hires even more workers to pick grapes and yet again in the middle of the afternoon, promising to pay them all whatever is right.  And then just as the sun is going down the vineyard owner rushes out and hires even more workers for that last hour of work.  He wants to get the job done!  (Matthew 20: 3-7)

 

The work day was about twelve hours and ends when the sun goes down.  They can’t pick grapes in the dark.  Remember they didn’t have electric lighting back then!  Jesus continues his story:  “The owner of the vineyard asks his steward to call the workers and give all of them their wages beginning with the last group and on to the first.  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour and received a whole denarius, the first group who had worked all day supposed that they would receive even more money.  But then when the steward gave them their wages they were given a denarius also, like they had been promised.  It didn’t seem fair and they complained to the owner of the vineyard.”  (Matthew 20: 8-11) 

 

And this is what the workers who worked all day said to the owner of the vineyard:   “These men who came and worked only one hour got the same pay as we did!  Don’t you see that we worked all day and bore the burden and the heat of the whole day?  It isn’t fair!”  (Matthew 20: 12)  And the owner of the vineyard answered the workers that he just wanted to be generous and give the same amount to the men who only worked one hour.  Didn’t he have that right?  And anyway, he had given them what they had all agreed on at the beginning of the day.  Jesus’ story or parable ends with these words:  “So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few are chosen.”  (Matthew 20:16) 

 

What do we learn from Jesus’ parable about the workers getting the same amount of pay even though some work long hours and some hardly work at all?  What is He trying to teach us?  One of the lessons here is that God is absolutely sovereign and gracious in granting rewards.  And rewards will be given by heaven’s standards and not earths. The disciples had been arguing about who would receive the grandest reward in heaven for their services.  Perhaps Jesus is trying to rebuke the spirit of serving for the reward itself rather than serving out of love. 

 

 And I suppose that Jesus is telling the disciples and all his followers that things will be judged very differently in God’s kingdom than we are used to here on earth.  Jesus starts out by saying that the kingdom of heaven is like this parable.  (Matthew 20:1)  It may seem to us that the kingdom of heaven is an upside down kingdom!

 

We may think that we have never been in a situation where the person who worked twelve hours got the same amount of pay as the person who worked only one hour!   Even God would see this work situation as unfair, we think.  But would He?  We have all been that person at one time or another - the person who worked twelve hours and got the same amount of pay as the person who worked only one!  We have all had chances in our lives to ask why God acted or didn’t act to make things “fair” to our way of thinking.

 

Have you ever been mad at God because He didn’t do things the way you thought He should have?  He didn’t stop you from that big mistake?  Or from the accident that took your loved ones’ life when others were spared?  Your beloved child died when other children laugh and play and grow to adulthood?  And the disease that is taking over your body isn’t getting better even after you have prayed and prayed about it?  Where is God anyway?   Why is He silent?  It doesn’t seem fair. 

 

Job asked these questions when he had sores all over his body and God had allowed all of his children to die and all of his wealth to disappear.  God had called Job a “righteous” man.   And since Job was so righteous, where were his rewards for being so good?  Job wondered about that and didn’t think it was fair!  He wanted God to come down and explain it to him.  He wanted to argue his point!  A human arguing with God!

 

 But then God did show up and answer Job.  But God’s answers to Job were really questions.  Job got a glimpse of God’s mighty sovereignty and total power and overwhelming love.  Job could visualize God’s great loved for him and how God plan was working only good things into his life.  Job fell on his face and worshipped his God accepting the fact that he could not understand how God worked by rational thinking but only by faith alone.  Job’s faith finally rested in the fact that God’s will toward him was good and that God’s ways are past finding out.      

 

Scripture says that: “Humans judge by outward appearances but God judges the heart.”  (1 Samuel 16:7)  We judge a person by the number of hours worked or by how much physical strength or beauty he or she has.  We judge by how many games a sports team can win and how much money a person can make.  We can only judge what we can see on the outside and on the surface and we don’t ever see the whole picture!

 

 Our judgments are influenced by the opinions of others around us and clouded with prejudices.  We often join a crowd in believing something because at the moment it is the “in” thing to believe and we want to fit in.  We often believe what is in vogue and what we are “supposed” to believe!  And even though we think that we are judging “fairly”, in truth we humans are fickle and as Scripture puts it: “Now (on this earth) we see through the glass darkly…” (1 Cor.13:12)       . 

 

But God can adequately assess how faithful we are, how much we love and obey, and what we are all made of.  God can see it all.  We are to let God judge because He is “faithful and just” and He is always fair.  He is the One who created the whole world and keeps it moving and He sees the whole picture.  God is holy and merciful and full of love.  We need to trust God in all of his judgments and rest in his unfailing grace.  He sees the beginning from the end and His will for us is good.  (John 10:10)   “Oh the depths of the wisdom and knowledge of God.  How unsearchable are His judgments, and  His ways are past finding out.”  (Romans 11:33)    

 

      

 

Jesus Talks about Divorce

 

 

Jesus Talks about Divorce

Matthew 19

 

 

 

The Pharisees followed Jesus everywhere he went trying to trick him into saying things that they could use against him.  They caught up with him as he was traveling east of the Jordan River with his disciples, healing and teaching as he went.  “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?” they asked Jesus.

 

And Jesus answered: “Haven’t you read that God who created the human family in the beginning made them male and female.  So for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh?  So then, they are no longer two, but one.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not humans separate.”  (Matthew 19:4-6) 

 

The Pharisees questioned back: “Then why did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and put the wife away?” (Matthew 19:7)  Every Jewish person knew that God led the Jewish nation to their promised land through Moses.  So if Moses gave out certificates of divorce to the husbands who wanted to divorce their wives then God must have allowed Moses to do that. (In the patriarchal societies of the ancient world, husbands could divorce their wives but wives could not divorce their husbands!)  

 

The Pharisees were referring to a law concerning divorce given by Moses and found in Deuteronomy 24:1-2)   Here it is:  “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some fault in her, he can write her a certificate of divorce, put it in her hand, and send her out of his house.  When she has departed from his house, she can go and becomes another man’s wife.”  This certificate of divorce for the wife had the effect of nullifying all the husbands’ rights to the dowry (money) she had brought into the marriage.  So the certificate is a protection for her.

 

 Does this law given by Moses provide divine sanction for divorce or does it simply recognizes that divorce was practiced among the Israelites?  God’s perfect will would be that every marriage would last till death and would be a great love affair!  But alas, we humans have been given free will by God! And our forefathers quickly chose to use their free will to sin.

 

  Because people are sinners and not perfect, marriages are not perfect either.  Scripture says that God hates divorce.  But sometimes divorce is the only way out of an impossible situation.  And I don’t believe that God wants to leave his children stuck in impossible situations such as abuse or mental cruelty or abandonment. 

 

Paul was asked if a believer in Jesus should leave or divorce his/her marriage partner if they were not a believer.  And this is his answer:  “If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her.  And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. …But if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave, a brother or a sister in Christ is not under bondage in such cases.  But God has called us to peace.”  (1 Corinthians 7:12,13,15)

 

 Paul is telling church members that they can get a divorce if their unbelieving spouse doesn’t want to stay in the marriage and leaves or abandons them.  In such cases God has called them to peace, he says.  (1 Cor. 7:15)  I have known church leaders today who have ordered their church members not to ever divorce under any circumstance!  This goes against Jesus’ teaching concerning divorce – and Paul’s also.  And according to some church leaders the person who was abandoned in the marriage is still mired in marriage with the person who ran off and remarried, making life for these unfortunate ones even more confusing!.  These judgmental churches try to make the person who has been divorced feel like the worst sinner around.  Instead of helping these miserable ones, these churches leave a lot of lonely people feeling guilty and stuck forever in limbo.    

 

God allows us to do what we choose and He will not force us to remain in a marriage against our will.  It is God’s will that we choose to love our spouses and be faithful in our marriages, but He gives us our own free-will to make our own choices.  Love is always to be given freely - a high and beautiful choice each partner must make.  And it is impossible to order or force a straying husband or wife to return and love their spouse.  The fact that both the husband and the wife in a marriage choose freely to love each other for a lifetime, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer – this choice to love is one of the reasons that the covenant of marriage is so sacred and holy! 

 

God’s perfect will for his children is love and peace.  Scripture says that God hates divorce  And God hates war and killing too.  But sometimes nations are forced by an aggressor into war and killing.   God does not call for those nations under attack by aggressors to be passive and not fight to protect themselves and their children.  And God does not call for a husband or wife in a marriage that is under attack by unfaithfulness or abandonment to remain in the path of destruction forever with no way back to sanity.  In both situations - war and divorce- I believe that God calls us out of the ugliness of divorce and back to love and to peace.    

 

Jesus answered the Pharisees:  “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of the hardness of your hearts, but in the beginning God did not make marriage to end up in divorce.  And I (Jesus) say to you, that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.  And whoever marries the divorced wife commits adultery too.”  (Matthew 19:8-9)

 

 Jesus also repeated this command concerning divorce in Matthew 5:31-32 when He was preaching the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus seems to be saying that adultery is the only sin that could tear up a marriage.  And since marriage is a binding promise before God between the two partners, the marriage wouldn’t have to be broken by adultery if the partner who committed adultery would repent and the other partner would forgive.     

 

Jesus’ disciples were amazed and they murmured back and forth about this.  “If this is the case (if it is a sin to divorce your wife unless she is sexually unfaithful) then it is better not to marry.”  (Matthew 19:10)  Even Jesus’ disciples seemed to think that divorce should be for more reasons than sexual infidelity.  

 

The divorce rate in our society is high.  The movies and the media would make you believe that everyone is cheating in their marriages and no one can be happily married for long.  People divorce for seemingly any and every reason: and this is wrong.  The marriage partner finds another person outside the marriage more attractive than the person they are married to.  So they dump their spouse and up grade to the newer more attractive person in their eyes.  Thus the marriage partner is treated like an object to be used and then discarded.  There is a God who will judge! 

 

 Jesus says that divorce is caused by the hardness of hearts or by selfishness.  So God would call us to develop soft hearts and unselfish attitudes for our marriage partners.  To never treat a beloved husband or wife as an object.  And to be faithful in our marriages!  To take the promises we made before God to love and serve one another through this life seriously.  The instability divorce causes, tears at the fabric of society.  But the ones who are hurt the most by divorce are the children left behind in the wreckage. 

 

I have the habit of reading the obituaries in the newspaper.  I like to read about how people lived out their lives.  And everyday I read about people who have been married for fifty, sixty and even seventy years to a devoted spouse when they died.  It just takes two people with soft faithful hearts to make a good marriage work.  Over the years we have met hundreds of couples who are dedicated to one another and have wonderful blessed marriages.  These couples are everywhere.  True romance and grand love affairs are what God has in mind for his children.  Let’s enjoy! .       

Jesus Teaches us how to Treat Those who Harm us

Jesus Teaches us how to Treat Those who Harm us

Matthew 18

 

 

Jesus’ disciples were sure if they followed Jesus long enough they would become famous!  That’s what they really wanted!  Someday they would sit on golden thrones in heaven and the world would bow down to Jesus and to them.  But they were still arguing among themselves as to which one of them would be the greatest and the most important?  Once before they had fussed with each other about which one would be the top man in heaven and Jesus hadn’t commented.  So they asked Him outright: “Who will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1)  And Jesus shook his head and tried to teach his disciples some lessons about humility. 

 

Jesus called a little child over and as the child stood there with Jesus in front of the disciples, Jesus answered their question: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like a little child, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoever welcomes a little child like this one in My Name welcomes Me.  But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the sea.”  (Matthew 18:3-6) 

 

Children are humble and unpretentious.  And Jesus is calling his followers to be like little children and simply trust and depend on God.  The way to greatness in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus is saying, is to become like little children and be harmless and meek.  I don’t think the disciples were expecting Jesus to give them that answer.  And perhaps we followers of Jesus today don’t want to hear him when He calls us to be like a little child.  We are too busy jockeying among ourselves to be one of the “important” people-and we compete with our fellow workers to be on top – or to be the greatest! 

 

But Jesus is teaching us that we are to put all of that aside when we follow Him.  If we welcome a little child or the sick, the person in prison, the grieving and the needy, we welcome Him. And Jesus says we should not harm or lead astray one of these little ones and cause them to sin.  And then Jesus starts talking about offenses.  He says: “Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin!  Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!” (Matthew 18:7) 

 

God created us humans to be united as one big family.  But that unity is strained and often broken by these offenses that Jesus spoke about.  And it breaks God’s heart to see his beloved children throwing away that unity – throwing away family.  God commands us to treat one another with love and fairness.  And He gives us his Holy Spirit to help us do that. But we can throw it all away when our feelings get hurt or when we disagree with a loved one or when we are treated unfairly! 

 

 Arguments and disagreements can surface quickly and tear apart the unity of the family that God put together.  And wars and violence tear the fabric of the human family even more.  So Jesus is saying: “Woe to the person through whom they (harmful offenses, violence, etc.) come” I think Jesus is saying that his followers are to be peaceful, childlike and humble and not insult or hurt or be offensive to one another when they disagree. They are to do their best to protect the unity of believers and the peaceful relationships with all people.   

 

Then Jesus tells three parables that have the same theme.  They all teach about how God wants us to behave toward one another.  First Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep.  (Matthew 18:10-14)  The Good Shepherd has one hundred sheep and one sheep is lost.  Is this sheep lost and missing because of sin or missing in a relationship?  Jesus doesn’t say.  But the shepherd doesn’t write that sheep off.  He goes out all night long, leaving the ninety-nine behind and he searches over the hills and through the valleys looking for his one lost sheep.  And when he finds it he is excited and rejoices and throws a party.

 

  Isn’t Jesus telling us here that every lost person is very important to God?  Important enough for Him to frantically search for the lost one through the long dark night!  Jesus reminds the disciples about who He is and what his mission is about.  Jesus tells them:  “The Son of Man has come to search for and save that which is lost.” (Matthew 18:11) 

 

Since the lost are so important to our Lord and since He searches all night to bring them back, shouldn’t the lost be important to us too?  Important enough for us to go out into our dark night looking and praying and grieving until we find these lost ones and bring them back into unity -the unity of family –or the unity of the body of Christ?  Unless the missing refuses to come back and wants to remain missing that is.  Isn’t Jesus telling his disciples that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven are the ones who join our Lord in searching for those who are lost in their midst?

 

Right after Jesus tells the story of the lost sheep, He tells the parable of the sinning brother.  This is another story about how we should deal with relationships that have been strained or broken.  Jesus advises that we show the brother his fault and then take several others with us if he doesn’t listen to us the first time.  Finally we even bring the matter up to the church and get their help in bringing back peaceful relations between ourselves and our brother(or sister).

 

Jesus says that if the brother refuses to reconcile even when the church is there encouraging him to, we may have to forget him!  Here is what Jesus says to do if the brother will not reconcile: “treat him as you would a pagan or a (hated) tax collector.”  (Matthew 18:17b)  That sounds pretty hopeless doesn’t it?  Is that really what the Lord wants?  I don’t think so!

 

But then Jesus immediately adds: “But I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Again I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.”  (Matthew 18:18-19)  Is Jesus telling us here that if we pray for these seemingly “hopeless” situations – the situation where the brother or close relative refuses to reconcile – that we will have what we ask for?– that what we loose on earth will be loosed in heaven?  If we will love the one who hates us and forgive and pray that God will change his heart, then we will have what we ask for.  It doesn’t say how long that might take but it will happen!  I do believe that that is what Jesus is saying here!  What do you think? 

 

It seems Jesus is telling us to work and pray hard at straightening out problems that have caused a strain or break in a close relationship, even by using help from others if possible.  We are an individualistic society and many times when we have been treated badly by another person (or we have hurt them) we feel hurt and we criticize behind the other persons’ back.  And never deal with the person face to face and try to reconcile or clear up bad feelings.  And the community usually leaves it alone.  So the problem is never resolved and the unity and love that was meant to be is never restored. 

 

Jesus finishes with a third parable, the parable of the unmerciful servant.  This servant had an enormous debt of ten thousand talents that he owed to the king.  And since he couldn’t pay his debt he and his family were about to be thrown into prison forever..  But the servant fell down on his knees and begged the king to forgive his huge debt and amazingly the king took pity on him and forgave him the whole ten thousand talents. 

 

The servant was free and forgiven!  A great burden had been lifted from his soul!  Overjoyed he danced out of the court but then he just happened to see a man who owed him a very small amount of money.  The smile disappeared from the servant’s face and a scowl replaced it.  “Pay me my money immediately or go to prison” the forgiven man snarled!  The poor man who owed him the tiny debt fell down on his face and begged for more time to pay.  But the unmerciful servant refused to listen to his cries for help and threw him and his family in prison. 

 

Jesus is telling his disciples that since our heavenly Father is merciful to us and forgives  all of our sins, that we are to be children of our Father and be merciful to the people who sin against us and forgive them too.– write off what they owe us.  Move on.  Peter asks Jesus: “Lord how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me?  Up to seven times?”  And Jesus answers: “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”  (Matthew18:21-22) 

 

Jesus taught many lessons in Matthew 18 concerning how we are to love each other and how we are to treat those who harm us. How we are to forgive and forgive again and how in all our dealings we are to have a humble heart like a child.  Jesus invites us to join Him in going out and searching for those who are lost.  And He tells us that if we care enough what we bind on earth will be bound in heaven!  That He will answer our prayers for the lost. Jesus begs us to live in peace and He gives us his Holy Spirit to speed us along the way.  While we are on this earth people may harm us and some will offend us.  But Jesus calls us to take his lessons from Matthew 18 to heart and to live out our lives in peace and love.  Can we do it?

 

 

 

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