EVERY DAY WITH JESUS
Followers (Disciples) of Jesus
A devotional consideration of the Gospel of Saint Matthew
(This is also found on line at www.saintlucas.org)
MONDAY, January 23, 2012 Matthew 23:33-36 33 “‘You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.’”
Persistent love The heart of God is filled with love, undeserved love, for sinful man. Every single one of them. God persists in loving even when the love is not received and people do not respond.
The above words from Matthew were Jesus’ words to some of the would be leaders of the Church in His day. They were wicked men. They deserved God’s wrath forever. However, before His eternal just judgment came upon them, in love He did everything in their lifetime to call them to repentance so that they would not have to receive His wrath. He persisted in loving them, seeking them, sending messengers to call them to repentance. He was sending them and He would continue to send them.
Such love was costly. Some of the ones God’s love sent would be brutally treated even killed. The costliest aspect of His love was the sending of His eternal Son to suffer at their hands and to receive from His own hand the punishment that their sins deserved.
Yes, God’s love is persistent. When people persist in rejecting that love, the result of their rejection if clear. Those who reject the blood of His Son and shed the blood of His servants will receive the just eternal sentence their unbelief and hatred deserve. The Savior and His messengers whom they rejected are precious to the LORD.
PRAYER: LORD, I praise You for Your persistent love. May I always heed Your call to repentance and receive Your forgiving love in faith. AMEN
TUESDAY, January 24, 2012 Matthew23:37-39 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’[a]”
Heartbroken love Recorded by Matthew these heartbroken words of Jesus echo down through the ages. What love! He knew what He was about to do for them - die for their sins. He knew what they were about to do to Him - cheer His death sentence. Still, He loved them, wanted them for His own, and willingly paid the price for their sins. My friends, that’s love!!
Put your name in the opening phrase: “‘O , , …’” His heart of love longs for you too. He is the heavenly Bridegroom seeking you as His bride. Praise God the Holy Spirit, the love for you that fills Jesus heart, which consumed His life, and culminated in His death and resurrection has been received in your heart by faith.
PRAYER: LORD Jesus, I praise You for Your heartfelt love for me. Strengthened by Your Spirit, may I never turn away from but rather respond to Your love. AMEN
WEDNESDAY, January 25, 2012 Matthew 23:37-39 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’[a]”
Heart’s desire The heart of Jesus loved all the citizens of that city, Jerusalem. He wanted to gather them as His own. He wanted them to come to Him and receive His protection from the temporal and everlasting troubles of sin. He “longed” for them to be His own. That was His heart’s burning desire.
Jesus has the same longing for you and for everyone else alive on our planet today. By the grace of God, Martin Luther captured that awesome love in these fitting words: “All this He did that I should be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.” (from the explanation to the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed)
He wants you! He has you. Be His. Receive His blessings. Respond to His love.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, how awesome that You desire me for Your own. Let my life show that You have what You desire - me. AMEN
THURSDAY, January 26, 2012 Matthew 23:37-39 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’[a]”
Hard hearts The Savior has a soft spot in His heart for all sinners. He knows what they deserve. He understands that they cannot deliver themselves. So, in love He came to do what they needed done. He came to live for them to provide the righteousness they need to live in God’s presence. He came to die for them to remove the guilt that separated them from God.
The soft tender-hearted love of Jesus is met by a heart of stone from sinful man. He wants them, every one of them. By nature, none of them want Him. Up to that point, in general the citizens of Jerusalem “...were not willing”. Hard hearts!
What can soften such hearts? Nothing less than the continued knocking on their hearts door with His Word to shatter those rocks and then heal them.
PRAYER: LORD, my old self has a hard heart too. Strengthen my true heart, the new heart received through the work of Your Holy Spirit, so that the love from Your heart may increasingly be received and responded to from my heart. AMEN
FRIDAY, January 27, 2012 Matthew 23:38 “‘Look, your house is left to you desolate.’”
Heart sick Failure to receive their Savior’s heartfelt love brought desolation to their city in general and to each of their lives in particular. They could have had His blessing. Instead, they were experiencing the hard life and the hopeless future that comes to people who persist in rejecting the love of God and His will for their lives.
Unless they repented after hearing these words or in the days to come, it would only get worse. Their house was “desolate” at the present time. The Romans ruled them politically. The self-righteous dominated them spiritually. They were wasted. It wouldn’t be long before their beloved temple would be leveled and their city destroyed by the might of the Romans. Devastation would be their lot because their hearts did not receive God’s Christ.
To the extent that our former self influences our personal thinking and behavior, we too present God’s blessings from being fully received in our lives. Sin is devastating. Our old self will never understand that. He is bent on self-destruction and he brings devastation to all around us. But, “Our help is in the Name of the LORD”. In Him we find pardon for our foolish wickedness and wisdom that leads to godliness.
PRAYER: LORD, save us from self-destructive rebellious behavior. Heal our hearts by faith and prompt our hearts to love as we are loved by You. AMEN
SATURDAY, January 28, 2012 Matthew 23:39 “‘For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’[a]”
Hopeful heart The persistent loving heart of God which continues to send messengers who speak of the Son He sent as a sacrificial Lamb to take away the sins of the world - that love will not prove unsuccessful. Although it will be forever rejected by some, even many or perhaps even most, some will respond. The love in His heart will reach their hearts and be received in heartfelt faith. When He returns as Judge of the living and the dead, they will be among those who joyfully confess “‘Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the LORD!’”
The story of the early Christian church tells of many whose hearts were changed by the loving heart of God as it was revealed through His Word. They acknowledged that their hearts had been hard. They repented of the killing of His Son. They believed the amazing truth that their murderous action had been forgiven. Even more amazing, they believed that the very death which they had sought was the source of their life. They believed that the One they crucified died for them and had paid for that sin and every other sin. They received forgiveness and eternal life in the One Who died and rose for them.
That truth has reached your heart too! You have the sure hope of eternal life through faith in Jesus. In You God’s heart receives what it desires - you: your heart, your life, your presence with Him forever in heavenly glory. Awesome truth and hope!
PRAYER: LORD, I believe in You as my Savior, therefore my heart is filled with hope. May that hope fill my life with praise and service to You. AMEN
SUNDAY, January 29, 2012 Matthew 24:1,2 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
The Last Time “Jesus left the temple and was walking away...” Over thirty years before, a young woman named Mary had entered the temple along with her husband Mary. They were carrying her baby, named Jesus. He was being brought to the temple to present Him to the LORD - to give Him as a holy child to the LORD to do the LORD’S will. Twelve years later He had returned to that temple - still holy, still eager to know and serve God.
Since the time He was twelve He no doubt had made the annual appointed appearances at the temple. Some of His later visits and the things He said and did while there are recorded in Scripture. Now, He was leaving that temple for the last time. A momentous event!
The temple that God commanded to be built had been the place where His saving gracious Presence was to be found. The daily morning and evening sacrifices, the annual sacrifices, and the special sacrifices which were offered there all proclaimed His forgiving mercy. Soon the pardon that those sacrifices provided and promised would be fulfilled with the holy sacrifice of the One they pictured. The temple and its commanded rituals would be fulfilled in Him and no longer be needed. His sacrifice would provide the promised salvation. His Personal Presence would replace the temple. Wherever His Word and sacraments would be used, there would be the temple where He would be graciously present.
Jesus walked away from the temple - rejected by the religious leaders but approved by God. With the sacrifice He offered later that week, the temple became obsolete. Its commanded rituals would be fulfilled in Him and no longer be needed. His sacrifice of Himself would provide the promised salvation. His personal presence would replace the temple. With His resurrection the new and lasting temple would be established. He Himself would be the temple. Wherever His Word and Sacraments would be used He would be present, be worshiped, and bring blessing.
PRAYER: LORD Jesus Christ, thank You for fulfilling in person all that the temple and its worshiped promised. Now You Yourself are present with Your Church in all places as its temple. May we worship and honor You throughout the world in every way at all times. AMEN
