Matthew 24:29-35

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” So today Jesus is responding to that second question that the disciples posed in verse 3: …and what will be the sign of your coming…

Jesus answers that question in verses 29 to 31. I can envision a lot of that, but what I wonder is this: Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man… (v. 30) I wonder what will be that “sign”. The cross…? Pisces…? Intriguing!

There is something else in those few verses that makes me wonder: …all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven… (v. 30b) I know that we are looking at our Lord from our three-dimensional perspective. But I wonder HOW “all the tribes of the earth” will see Jesus’ return, presumably all at the same time. I try to picture this universal cloud of Jesus returning – the entire earth “covered”. GLORY!!

Folks, it’s ALL glory…!!!

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 24:15-28

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” I’ve read these end-time prophesies hundreds of times and heard a lot about the great tribulation and the rapture – never knowing just exactly what I believed about all that. Different writers have it all explained and come to different conclusions. But today I noticed something new: … if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. (v. 22) I knew of the tribulation and the “run for your life” verses, but somehow missed the devastation so enormous that … no human being would be saved. I don’t want to be around for that!

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 24:1-14

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” The disciples asked Jesus three questions: …when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? (v. 3b) Today He is answering the third question, the “end of the age”. In our next two readings He will answer the first two questions.

As I read through Jesus’ description of the end times, I was struck that He might be speaking directly to and about His disciples – tribulation, death, being hated, falling away, betrayal, false prophets… Then I came to the end of the last verse: …and then the end will come. (v. 14b) After all that, all the way to “the end”! So we all still have that to look forward to. Not a happy thought!!

One other item of note is Jesus’ humanity: As he sat on the Mount of Olives… (v. 3a) Not a big deal, but notice – Jesus has been at the temple teaching and preaching (v. 1 and chapter 23). Now He is headed west, maybe to Bethany for the evening, possibly to the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. On the way there He passes down into and through the Kidron Valley and climbs up the Mount of Olives – then just sits there for a while looking down at Jerusalem and the temple. A perfectly normal thing to do… And His disciples ask Him questions – privately. Take a break, sit down, chat. Perfectly normal…!

Slava Bohu!

Luke 20:45-21:4

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” I’ve probably noticed it before: …who devour widows’ houses… (v. 47), but never really thought about it. Is Jesus saying that the scribes are able to take advantage of uneducated Jewish widows, promising them “whatever”, then taking ownership or control of their properties? Here is what I found online: “This they did under pretense of counseling them in the knowledge of the law and in the management of their estates. They took advantage of their ignorance and their unprotected state, and either extorted large sums for their counsel, or perverted the property to their own use.” https://biblehub.com/commentaries/mark/12-40.htm That’s cruel!!

Slava Bohu!

Mark 12:38-44

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” The Widow’s Mite. Jesus is commending this widow, who put in only about one penny – but it was all that she had to live on. However, I don’t think he was condemning or chastising those who were giving more. He said that …they all contributed out of their abundance… (v. 44), but I don’t see that comment as degrading the gifts from those who had more. As Treasurer, I can assure you that if we did not have donors who gave “out of their abundance” our budget would be a whole lot worse off than it is now!

The Old Testament sets the tithe as a standard, as David said this past Sunday. However, Jesus’ words go a lot further, as He said to the “rich young ruler”, “Go and sell all that you have and give to the poor … and come follow Me.” (Matthew 19:21, Luke 18:22, slightly edited) At St. Andrew’s, my sense is that there are many parishioners who go much more than their tithe, others who are careful to meet the ten percent fairly closely, and others who fall short of the OT guideline. We accept whatever gifts come in and offer no further guidance, except that we ask Vestry candidates to be committed to the OT guideline of the tithe. So, give whatever God puts on your heart. Pray about it and seek Him first!

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 23:37-39

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem. Three items for today…

First, Jerusalem was a special place for Jesus – likely, for all Jews! Presumably He had been coming here every year for three decades, since He was a young child. And it would have always been a special place for Him and His young friends, to make the trip together and to spend time roaming the city. The temple must have been a magnificent structure to behold, in His youth and as an adult. Plus, after He had begun His ministry He had been back a time or two, including a major encounter with the Jewish leaders over His healing of a man born blind. So yeah, Jerusalem was a special place.

Second, …your house is left to you desolate. (v. 38) Given Jesus’ love for Jerusalem, it must have been extremely troubling for Him to look into the future and see the coming destruction some 3+ decades later. And although He would have “gathered your children together” (v. 37), it was left for His disciples to do just that after His Resurrection and Ascension. Jerusalem stood at the center of His followers’ early Christian ministry until Jewish (and Roman) persecution drove them far afield. His wish will be fully fulfilled when He gathers us all together when He comes again!!

Third, For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” (v. 39) So I wonder if this lament is chronologically misplaced. It was Palm Sunday a few days earlier when the crowds were chanting/singing this very Psalm (118:36), yet Jesus is speaking these words in a future tense. So it could have been (must have been?) on an earlier trip to Jerusalem that He spoke this lament. Confusing, but interesting…

Only three verses, but a lot of content! GLORY!

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 23:25-36

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Jesus continues his chastisement of the scribes and Pharisees. A couple of things I noted… First, this verse always troubles me: So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (v. 28) I know others can say the same thing, but I feel like Jesus is addressing me, that outwardly I look righteous (translate, religious?), but inwardly I know myself – a self that I am happy others do not see. On a number of earlier occasions I have written that I am sympathetic to the Pharisees. I have no sympathies here, but I am recognizing who I really am. Just that…

The second item is verse 34: Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city… As translated here in the NASB, Jesus is perfectly predicting the future of persecutions for His followers and for those who come after them. A bit of confusion comes with other translations. Both the ESV and the NKJV translate “I am sending…” as “I send”. That present tense “I send” could also be interpreted as past tense. As an example, “I send you to the store for five items and you forget the main thing!” However, later in that verse both of the other translations have “…will kill..” and “…will crucify/flog…”, so the NASB translation reads more clearly, and Jesus is in fact predicting the future. All the way into the 21^st century…!!

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 23:13-24

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” It’s hard for me to relate to a lot of what Jesus is talking about in these verses. Swearing by the temple or the gold in the temple, by the altar or the gift on the altar… For the most part, we don’t hear people saying that they swear by this or that. Most common is “I swear on my mother’s grave.” Or in the courtroom, “Do you swear…?” So that paragraph is a bit lost on us unless we do some serious Old Testament research.

However, I have strained (scooped) many a gnat or fly out of my drinks and have never intentionally swallowed one!! And never have I ignored a beetle or a cricket in my drink and figured I would just drink it rather than scooping it out. That all sounds preposterous!! But what Jesus is saying is that the scribes and Pharisees were so fastidious in their small points of the Law (or their additions to the Law), but were ignoring items that were more problematic for them to deal with – things like equal justice for all or mercy instead of harsh judgment.

I don’t know where we (or I) stand on matters like this. But the one example that constantly hits me is our U.S. evangelical focus on abortion and same sex issues. Don’t get me wrong – I am on the same side of these issues as the larger evangelical community. But for that larger community there seems to be altogether too little focus on the poor, the orphans and the widows – or the “stranger in our midst”. Especially the stranger in our midst – so many billions in other countries or waiting at our border, hoping for a better life. I don’t mean to get political, but world poverty has been an issue on my heart for more than 50 years, since I first saw real, ravaging poverty in slum villages in Vietnam. We have so much, they have so little. I do believe that we in the USA are …straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel (v. 24).

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 23:1-12

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Jesus says in verses two and three that the scribes and Pharisees have the proper authority to speak to the people, but that they do not act on what they preach. That is, He tells His followers to listen to their words, but not to follow their actions. Then He goes on, by way of explanation, to hit on a verse that troubles me: …and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. (vv. 6-7) It troubles me because it’s another pride fault in my life. I like being referred to as “Dr. Ruppel”. I like speaking to a crowd and having people tell me what a good job I’ve done. I even like you RTB’ers telling me to stay with this group when I was ready to drop it after ten years. You truly touched my heart, effectively saying, “We love you too much.” Yeah, I like all that…too much!!

So how to overcome that pride thing? The last two verses in today’s reading speak truth – be a servant and be humble. I try to give the glory to God whenever I am complimented on this or that thing. I know I’ve been blessed with a number of gifts and without those God-given gifts I would never be in any position to receive “the praise of men”. I think I do the servant thing OK, but it’s a hard thing for me to be humble. I’m working on it.

Slava Bohu!

Luke 20:41-44

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Matthew and Mark place today’s reading right after the scribe questioning Jesus about the “great commandment”. Luke, however, places these verses after the Sadducees’ questioning Jesus about the resurrection of the dead. Even with different preceding verses, both Mark and Luke have the crowd (presumably the Pharisees) unwilling to ask Jesus any more questions. So with His listeners silenced, Jesus decides to ask them a question, as to how David can call his Son “Lord”. I find it interesting that Jesus has taken the initiative in asking that question after He had silenced them with His responses. He was teaching them how little they knew, in spite of their great knowledge.

Matthew’s final verse in this incident is even more telling: And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask Him any more questions. (Matthew 22:46) The scribes and Pharisees had no answers and now no more questions. After Jesus had answered so perfectly the Sadducees’ question about the resurrection and the scribe’s question about the great commandment, we must surely wonder why the Pharisees (some of them) didn’t just throw in the towel and sit at Jesus’ feet and learn all they could from Him. It’s a simple answer, really: pride! The same thing that keeps us holding on to our own “idols”. Folks, let’s never get to the point where we have stopped asking Jesus questions…!

Slava Bohu!