Day 305 – Matthew 20-21

Talking Points

• Jesus tells a parable likening the kingdom of heaven to laborers in a vineyard. There are several points to take away from this:
  – No matter what stage of life a person places his faith in Christ, the reward is the same — eternal life.
  – This is true because of the graciousness of the Giver.
  – We serve a compassionate God.
  – God is righteous and just — infinitely so.
  – Our God keeps His word. He is completely faithful.
  – He is generous. We should not be so quick to forget His generosity shown to us, gratefully rejoicing when others receive it.
  – The very best place to be is working in the Master’s fields.
• The Bible says that Jesus, seeing the two blind men, was “moved with compassion” (Matthew 20:34). The phrase is one word in the original language which means to be stirred in your core with love and pity. This is the essence of our Lord. His “lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail” (Lamentations 3:22).
• A case of mistaken identity: In the famous Triumphal Entry account, Jesus rides into Jerusalem amidst shouts of “Hosanna!” It is a Hebrew word that means, “God save, now!” Some of the crowd believed Jesus was a prophet. Most, if not all, believed Him to be some sort of political leader sent to save them from Roman oppression. What they missed was that Jesus was truly the Savior, not leading a political coup, but delivering them from the bondage of sin. What they didn’t realize was the One they hailed as God’s savior was actually God, come to save!
• False religion and for-profit religious practices always raised the ire of Jesus. He knew it produced incalculable harm, leading people away from God. (It still does.) Throughout these chapters, Jesus acts and speaks in consistent condemnation of those who practice such falsehood. In fact, He saves His harshest reproofs for them.

Thoughts

Faith is a strange thing. In these chapters, we find faith can enable great miracles, such as withering a fig tree, can facilitate the unimaginable, such as uprooting and moving mountains, and can result in answered prayer — even “all things you ask” (Matthew 21:22). Jesus Himself actually says those things are possible.

Really? Do you ever wonder if that is what Jesus meant? Do you ever wonder if those results are actually possible? Mountains moved?

Here’s the truth: The faith Jesus is talking about has parameters. For instance, our faith is not in a situation or desired condition. Our faith is not placed in people or even in ourselves (though we do hear that a lot lately). And, here is a weird one: Our faith is not in faith. Notice how many times well-meaning people tell us we need more faith or a greater faith in order to see the results we seek. But, our faith is in God, alone. In wisdom and grace, He has chosen to move according to our faith. He tells us it is this faith that pleases Him and solicits His response. So, how do we grow in that type of faith?

The answer is found in what may be mistaken as an unimpressive process — by spending time in God’s Word. In reading the Bible, we see God’s Word always holds true. We learn obedience to His Word always bears fruit. We see God is always perfect in the guidance and wisdom He shares. As we learn to trust those things, our faith grows correspondingly. Then, as we increasingly submit to the process and spend more time in God’s Word, our faith continues to grow! All of that to say — to be great in faith, His Word must be great in us! And, the good news is Jesus shows us that kind of faith knows no bounds!