Matthew 25:31-46

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” The Final Judgment… These details of the Final Judgment occur only in Matthew. Jesus leaves little doubt as to the existence of heaven and hell: Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (and) Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (vv. 34, 41) These verses are the most vivid portrayals of heaven and hell that we find in the Gospels, especially “the eternal fire”. Jesus confirms these words in today’s final verse: And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (v. 46) We seldom begin our non-believer sharing time with questions of heaven and hell, but there are occasions when that reality is a reasonable question to ask. Carol and I experienced that very situation not long ago when we were on a short vacation and the question of heaven or hell was appropriate to a young man with whom we were speaking. But typically we don’t lead with “hellfire and damnation”! Still it’s a real fear that we have for those we love.

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 25:14-30

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” The talents… To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. (v. 15) Maybe I’ve noticed it before, maybe I haven’t – that he gave to his servants each according to his ability. That’s an important caveat to this parable that we need to remember. We each have gifts and they vary in type, quality, and abundance. I’ve long believed that the Lord gifted me in math and public speaking, a perfect complementary pair for my lifetime spent teaching economics. Surprisingly to me, these two gifts are often listed as two of the greatest fears that people have. So the Lord who gifted me with those two gifts expected me to use them accordingly, but He does not expect nearly as much from others in using these two gifts. By contrast, I am not gifted in art or music. So you don’t see me singing in the choir or leading an elective at Creative Arts Camp. However, you will hear me singing from the pews, and you’ll find me actively participating in Creative Arts Camp. And if you don’t think you are particularly gifted, you need to do some serious soul-searching or find a “gifts inventory package” that can help you to see where God has gifted you. We are all gifted, in thousands of ways!!

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 25:1-13

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” An insignificant, but interesting item… Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. (v. 7) My Study Bible guided me in understanding this sentence. The ten virgins were going outside to meet the bridegroom, so they probably would have been using torches as “lamps” instead of typical oil lamps (to withstand the night air). The torches were rags soaked in oil and mounted on a stick. The outer edges of the rags burned while the torches were lit, and those outer edges needed to be “trimmed” and new oil added when the torches were lit again. So that’s some understanding for “trimming their lamps”. I had always wondered!

A couple of items of note… When Jesus is telling parables, some items might seem unlikely for real life. There are two of those items in this parable. First, when the bridegroom is coming at midnight and the five foolish virgins have no oil, the wise virgins tell them to go buy oil from the dealers. At midnight…?? Maybe not. The second item is that the foolish virgins were shut out from the wedding when they arrived late. If they were like bridesmaids I would expect that they would have been known to the bride and that they would have been admitted. Again, strange…! However, Jesus is telling a parable and making a point that the Kingdom will be shut to those who are unprepared when He returns.

Finally, once again we have those fearful words, Truly, I say to you, I do not know you. (v. 12) Lord, help us to be known to You!

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 24:45-51

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” The faithful servant and the evil servant. So, is Jesus referring to specific people here? Mostly, that is, might He be thinking of the scribes and Pharisees as the evil servant? That thought came to me in today’s last verse where Jesus says that the master will …assign him a place with the hypocrites (v. 51), and Jesus has regularly referred to the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites. Or is Jesus saying that the scribes and Pharisees are already doomed in that place where …there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (again, v. 51), and that those who model after the evil servant will join the scribes and Pharisees in that place? So, to whom is Jesus referring when He contrasts the faithful and evil servants?

The preceding paragraph describes the coming of the Son of Man. So if today’s reading continues that thought and reflects forward to the “End of the Age”, then Jesus is returning and finding all sorts of people grouped into one of these two servant categories. I know that all of us want to be among the faithful servants – and from what little I know of myself and the rest of you, I would place us in that “faithful servant” category. But with “day and hour” completely uncertain, what if Jesus comes on a day when he does not expect Him and at an hour which he does not know (v. 50) and we’ve grown lazy from His delayed return? Ouch.

Rich Wilkinson posted on Facebook a couple of days ago, something like the following: The early church asked “What must I do to be saved?”, while today’s church asks “What can I do and still be saved?” Think about that for a bit.

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 24:36-44

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. (v. 36) That sentence left me a bit confused as to the Son’s time frame. Was Jesus referring to Himself not knowing the “day and hour” while He was still on earth? Or is this a “forever” thing, that after His Resurrection and Ascension and His seat at His Father’s right hand, that He still does not know the “day and hour”? That the Father will one day tell Him, “It’s time!” A really intriguing thought…!

But think about it. Jesus, seated at His Father’s side – He doesn’t know when He will be sent back to earth. But He waits patiently, fully obedient, fully confident in His Father’s time frame. Might it be possible that we could be like that? Fully patient, fully obedient, fully confident in our heavenly Father and His wishes/desires/plans for our lives…??!! WOW! There’s nothing more that I can add to that thought…!! GLORY!

Slava Bohu!

Luke 21:20-33

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Typically, back in those days, when an invading army was approaching, the citizens would flock to the safety of the city and its city walls. Not so this time, Jesus says, with three warnings: if you are in Judea, flee to the mountains; if you are in the city, you must leave; and if you are in the country, do not enter the city (v. 21). He saw in the future that Jerusalem would be trampled, as they were in 70 A.D.!

I commented yesterday on Jesus’ encouragement in yesterday’s reading (verse 9). Today we see it again: But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. (v. 28) I particularly like the phrase, “…straighten up and lift up your heads…”. Rather than being downcast at what you see going on around you (sun, moon, stars, seas, waves, plus the powers of the heavens shaking; vv. 25-26), stand up, look up, watch and see His redemption playing out! I still don’t particularly want to be there at that time, but again it’s encouraging to know that He has His “elect” in His protection. Glory!

Slava Bohu!

Luke 21:5-19

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” I’ve gone back and forth on this “destruction of Jerusalem” vs. “end of the age” issue, but my Study Bible helped out this morning. It suggested that much of verses 8-18 in today’s reading could easily apply to both of these events. That is, we may not be choosing between an either/or position. So that’s helpful.

Another helpful item was in verse 9: When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified… Someone this past Tuesday night (at EHS) said to me that they get angry when they watch the news. I understand that – I get angry too! We may get angry for different reasons, but national and world events can easily trouble us, especially when we are powerless to do anything but pray. So Jesus’ words are a major consolation to us. Things happen, but He is in control and He has us in His protection. As we read in the past few days, His angels will sweep us up from the four corners of the earth. Thank you, Jesus!

Slava Bohu!

Mark 13:24-31

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” But in those days, after that tribulation… (v. 24) These few words reflect back to the “tribulation” mentioned in verse 19. Then verse 24 goes on to talk of the sun, the moon, and the stars, and the powers in the heavens, events never before seen in all of creation. Putting all these things together gets us to the point where much of what was discussed in the earlier part of the chapter does indeed refer to the “End of the Age”, not to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

One continuing troubling item is in verse 30: …this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Obviously, “this generation” cannot refer to the generation living while Jesus spoke these words, since many of those events did not take place during His generation. One footnote that I saw suggested that “generation” could be translated as “race”, that is, all of humankind. My Study Bible suggested that “this generation” possibly referred to those who were alive when the events described in verses 24 to 27 were taking place, that they would not die without witnessing the coming of the Son of Man. It takes a much deeper study of these verses in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, in conjunction with Revelation to begin to put all this information together. Many have tried and still no one knows “the day or the hour” (Matthew 24:36).

One item that I had passed over in Matthew jumped out in Mark: And then He will send out the angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. (v. 27) It is comforting to know that “His elect” will be taken from (or after) all this tribulation – that Jesus has a special place for “His elect”. We just pray that we and our Spirit-filled descendants are included in that group.

Slava Bohu!

Mark 13:14-23

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” I don’t recall any of the Synoptics’ “duplicate” writings that we have read so far that have been so word-for-word as Matthew and Mark on today’s reading, “The Abomination of Desolation”. So, what to say??

I thought I’d look at verse 19: For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. That phrase, “…tribulation as has not been…”… I’m trying to imagine the worst tribulations this world has seen – earthquakes; hurricanes, typhoons and tsunamis; war, especially bombs falling for hours on end; avalanches, mudslides, and volcanic eruptions. So now combine all these horrors and keep it up for days, weeks, months…!! Horror!! As I said a day or two ago, I don’t want to be around for those days!!

Slava Bohu!