Matthew 21: 12-17, Jesus at the Temple

 ¹² Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’^[e] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’^[f]”

 ¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

 ¹⁶ “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

   “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,

   “‘From the lips of children and infants
   you, Lord, have called forth your praise’^[g]?”

 ¹⁷ And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

The commercial included 3 NBA stars. They were kibitzing (great word, huh?) back and forth when one of them finally proclaimed “This is my house!”

The implication was clear: His house, his rules…

Today we see Jesus proclaiming “this is my house!” as he entered the temple.

His house…his rules.

His rules? “My house shall be called a house of prayer”. So…the merchants were kicked out.

We understand this. Most of us have put quite a bit of equity into our homes: Blood, sweat and tears…along with lots of cash. One thing that accompanies that kind of investment is a sense of ownership. We decide what goes on inside those walls. I remember telling one of my sons, many years ago, “if you’re going to drink, you cannot live in my house”.

My house…my rules.

Yet, we walk into church on Sunday like we own the place. We bring our Starbucks and wear our most comfortable old jeans. I’ve actually seen slippers. All in the name of being “relevant”. We want the world to be attracted to what we’re doing so we design it with the world in mind.

Why would we be surprised when the moneychangers show up and set up their tables?

But when Jesus made his proclamation, προσευχή meant “prayer”, not “relevance”. Whatever it is we’re doing in there…let’s be careful that what comes out is a reputation for prayer.

By the way, this all went on in the “fellowship hall”…not the sanctuary…in case we’re disposed to draw a legalistic distinction.

Live boldly out there today…

Matthew 21:1-11, Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

 ¹ As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

 ⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

 ⁵ “Say to Daughter Zion,
   ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
   and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

 ⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

   “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

   “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

   “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

 ¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”   ¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Didn’t this whole think come right out of the blue? I don’t recall a prior event that prepares us for this outpouring of adulation.

But then…it was prophesied…

Which tells me this: If God wants something done He will move in the hearts of people to get it done.

This event is inexplicable if understood any other way. The lesson is simple. Has God moved in our hearts lately in any comparable way?

Live boldly out there today…

Matthew 20:29-34, Two Blind Men Receive Sight

 ²⁹ As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. ³⁰ Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

 ³¹ The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

 ³² Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

 ³³ “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

 ³⁴ Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

In my lengthy experience inside the church I find that we are not particularly good at prayer. Which explains why we don’t do it very much and it often disappoints us.

I can’t count how many times I’ve heard “and…God bless the missionaries in Africa”.

Huh…? What does that mean?

That’s a prayer…no matter how heartfelt…that is destined to disappoint us. Why? Because there is absolutely no way to measure it. If I were a missionary in Africa and heard that prayer I’d ask “did you read my prayer letter?”

Of course it’s safe. It’s so generic that we never have to wonder if God is answering us. On the contrary, how will we ever know…for sure? Believe me, “not failing” isn’t the same as succeeding. Ask any athlete.

So Jesus asks them “what do you want from me”?

“We want our sight.”

Specific, measurable and achievable…all the hallmarks of a good prayer.

When was the last time we could identify specific (not coincidental) answers to our prayers? Whose fault might that be?

Live boldly out there today…

Matthew 20:19-28, A Mother’s Request

 ²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

   ²¹ “What is it you want?” he asked.

   She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

   ²² “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

   “We can,” they answered.

 ²³ Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

 ²⁴ When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. ²⁵ Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ²⁶ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

We have to love moms. Where would we be without them promoting us? Although, moms often have an inflated view of our abilities and value…as we see in this passage.

I have wondered if James and John were not the instigators of the question at the beginning of Matthew 18…”Who is greatest in the kingdom?” When they didn’t like the answer, they brought their mom. We call this “bringing in the big guns!”

Jesus makes a keen distinction. While Jesus, himself, can determine the physical fate of his disciples, “you will indeed drink from my cup” he makes it clear that he has no authority to determine who does…or does not…receive honor. That is up to God the father.

Does it matter? Well, or course it does…

We have now spent close to three chapters In the Life of Christ. Jesus has told them (3 times) that he is going to suffer and die. At the same time the disciples (at least some of them) have figured out three different ways to figure out which of them was most important. It’s in our nature.

Are they even listening?

I was at a chaplain conference just a week before most of us were going to meet a promotion board. The unspoken reality was simple: All of a sudden the folks who we had regarded as friends for many years were now competition. I noticed the tension at every session…although we were all too polite to verbalize it.

At our closing dinner three of us were visiting and I noticed one of us had all his ribbons crooked and misplaced. It was embarrassing. The third chaplain looked at me and burst out “this is a guy we can beat!”

 There it was…out in the open. Part of me was relieved at the truth that had been spoken. The other part of me was disappointed that I was so petty.

Admit it…

And, of course, we make no friends in the process. The other disciples were furious when they found out about the private meeting…as they had every right to be. Such attitudes are not appropriate in the Kingdom of God…where servant hood is cherished.

It’s probably a good thing that these things are best left up to the Father.

Live boldly out there today…

Matthew 20:17-19, Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time

 ¹⁷ Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, ¹⁸ “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death ¹⁹ and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

This time the disciples don’t respond. They get it…after the third time. Only now will they be able to adequately contemplate and plan for their future.

One of the principles Jesus employs is repetition. He will repeat it until we get it. If we’re tired of hearing it, perhaps we should listen a bit more carefully when he speaks the first time.

Live boldly out there today…

Matthew 20:1-16, The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

 ¹ “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.”

I mean to be humble about it, but over the years I have led many people to faith in Christ while they were on their death bed. I’m a chaplain. It’s what I do.

I admit there have been times I’ve thought it’s not fair. They “live like hell and go to heaven” While the rest of us spend our entire lives trying to live within the confines of our faith…not always successfully.

It could be Charles Manson. It could by Osama Bin Laden. Wouldn’t we be surprised to see them in glory?! More likely we’d be scandalized.

How could I possibly NOT rejoice when a person comes to faith? Well, I do actually rejoice…every time…it just occurs to me that it’s less than fair.

It’s where human pettiness gets embarrassing…

After all, a man’s salvation does not cost me a thing. Since it cost Christ everything, I guess Christ can decide what’s fair. Furthermore…when I came to Christ…I thought the bargain was more than fair. How could that assessment turn into such small-mindedness?  

Whenever our field of vision is cast horizontally rather than vertically we become myopic.

Live boldly out there today…

Matthew 19:16-30, The Rich and the Kingdom of God

 ¹⁶ 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,’^[c] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’^[d]”

 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.”

 ²⁷ Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”

 ²⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife^[e] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

Dr Blake came to my office and asked if I could help her raise some funds for a worthy veterans project. Before the meeting was over I gave her $10,000. As she thanked me profusely I reminded her I wasn’t giving her “my” money…but money that had been donated for veterans. She said she wasn’t aware of such funds…

Well, that’s because I don’t tell a lot of people. I’m responsible for these funds and I am very careful about how they are invested. I don’t give these limited resources up easily.

Best of all, when I share these funds…it’s painless. It doesn’t cost me anything. If it was my money she would not have fared as well.

Ownership naturally breeds selfishness…”Mine is mine and yours is yours!”

It’s the American way…just not God’s way. Central to the thinking of a Christian is the notion that God owns it all. What we possess is only on loan from our Savior.

Do you have anything left? I mean, is there anything in your life you are still claiming as your own? If so…you cannot enter God’s Kingdom.

Wow! Those are tough words. Though, I didn’t utter them…Jesus did. And, it’s not the first time.

Its human nature to covet those things God has given us to watch over. We need to remember that any day God can ask for them back. What will our response be? Will we “go away sad because of our great wealth?”

Live boldly out there today…