More Than A Teacher

Matthew 26:26-30

Jesus is the Teacher, but He’s much more! This Teacher dies for His students! This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

During the Last Supper, Jesus tells His students about a new covenant. A union with God in which His life is the basis of an unbroken relationship!

His perfect sacrifice, not our imperfect performance!

There can be no enduring accord with God that depends on our performance alone. There must be a covenant filled with grace! Didn’t we see that from the very beginning?

Adam and Eve’s relationship with God depended on their performance. And actually not much was required to maintain their part of the bargain. Just don’t eat the fruit of one tree!

How hard could that be? Apparently, difficult enough because they did not – could not - live up to it!

Next came the Law of Moses, with not one command but over 600 of them. Quite expectedly, nobody could keep all those either.

Surely, we are supposed to understand an entirely new kind of arrangement is needed. One that recognizes our inherent weakness! One that accounts for the fact we always break our side of any pact!

The prophets predicted and longed for such a relation with God. And now Jesus announces – It’s here! I’m here!

Jesus offers a relationship with God that is sustainable because He takes the punishment for our failures in advance. Now there is constant forgiveness even as we fail.

Finally! A covenant we can keep. Even energizes us to do our very best to please this Teacher!

What's He Worth?

Matthew 26:14-25

It’s a fair question, I think. What is a relationship with Jesus worth?

Judas has an answer. 30 pieces of silver!

He trades three years of friendship for some shiny metal.

Only good for a few months of bread! Perhaps a week’s cruise on the Mediterranean or a few days of luxury on the beaches of the Red Sea!

We don’t know what he planned to do with the money.

But we know where it was eventually spent - on a cemetery plot! His own! That’s all he got out of it, as it turned out.

Judas didn’t trade his friendship with the Teacher for 30 coins. He was deceived. He traded his own life for it!

That’s what a relationship with Jesus is worth. It’s worth our life. We shouldn’t be deceived. Our life depends on our connection to Him.

Poor Judas didn’t understand that until it was too late.

It’s still a good question to ask. What’s He worth?

The answer is the same for us as it was for Judas, isn’t it?

If we betray our association with Jesus, like Judas, we betray ourselves.

Judas’ story is a sad one. Like the other apostles, he could have done great things. The saddest words of tongue or pen, it might have been!

What is a relationship with Jesus worth? The story of Judas answers the question for all of us. It’s worth our lives.

Something Beautiful

Matthew 26:1-13

Jesus is only a few days from the cross. The wheels are spinning faster now. His enemies are ramping up their plan to kill Him.

The Teacher knows and informs His students that He will soon be crucified. They seem oblivious. There is only one who understands!

A woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

The disciples object to this extravagance! Jesus doesn’t.

When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.

There, it’s happened again! Just as the Teacher said it would! Her lavish display of love has been told once more in memory of her!

What is more important this woman saw into the future and her love for the Teacher led her to devoted action. She led with her heart!

Does Jesus still notice when we do something beautiful for Him? When we listen – believe what He says – and then our love and affection for Him moves us to extravagance?

We know how Jesus was touched by her attention and love - She has done a beautiful thing to me!

Looking For Jesus

Matthew 25: 31-46

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

Some think of the final judgment as a kind of trial. The judge will decide who is good and who is not! But here the Teacher refutes that concept.

Notice carefully. Here Jesus is not pictured as deciding who is a sheep and who is a goat. Everyone is already one or the other! He is merely separating them for final sentencing.

The sentence? To the righteous on His right hand, He says - Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. Those on the left are not so fortunate!

The righteous are surprised by His reason for their acceptance:

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

The cursed are equally surprised when they are told of their failure to help Jesus when He was in need. So, both the righteous and the cursed ask essentially the same question – When did we see you hungry or thirsty or sick or in prison?

I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me! And, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.

If this is how it will be – how it is - should we start looking for Jesus every day?

Lost Interest

Matthew 25:24-30

In these uncertain economic times, we certainly indentify with one of the classic observations of American humorist, Will Rogers. The return of my money concerns me more than the return on my money!

Here, however, the Teacher seems vitally concerned with the return on His money. The one talent man faithfully returns all the money His master entrusted to Him. But the master is not pleased!

Why? Because of the lost interest!

Of course this parable is not really about money. The Teacher is talking about how it is in the kingdom of heaven. And the main idea is that we are all trustees of everything God has given us and we will one day be called to account.

Everything we have - our talents, our time, our opportunities to do good, our money, indeed our very lives – are on loan from God. And the Master expects us to turn this into some eternal profit!

The one talent man is condemned because he is a lousy trustee. He buries the talent, squanders the potential for making any increase for the Master.

Why did he do it? He says because he was afraid. The Master says he was wicked and lazy.

Who do you think is right? Could they both be right?

And how do we reconcile the fact we are saved by grace with the idea that as trustees we must give an account for lost interest on gifts entrusted to us?

What Now?

Matthew 25:14-23

Jesus is our Savior. This means we have a hope of heaven one day!

But…what now? What are we to do in the meantime?

This is the question the Teacher begins to answer in this parable. And His answer involves using what God has entrusted to us in His service.

Here, the approved servants were motivated to be diligent in their service because they believed the Master would show up some day to settle accounts. And he did!

They believed the quality of their service mattered. And they were right again! What difference did it make? They received the Master’s approval and increased opportunity for service!

Of course, we understand it is only through Jesus’ sacrifice that anyone can be saved. It by His grace, not by our works! No room for boasting!

But clearly what we do with what God has entrusted to us really does matter. And it answers the question, What Now?

Serious students know their progress in becoming more like the Teacher counts for something, both now and then! They want to use their lives to do what He thinks is important today!

Of course, we understand good service doesn’t save us. Only what Jesus did on the cross can do that. But clearly becoming better students now will make a significant difference for us in the final coming of the kingdom of heaven.

Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!

They Won't Share

Matthew 25:1-13

The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

Even as a child this parable seemed clear to me. Jesus is the expected but seemingly late bridegroom. The ten virgins are Christians preparing and waiting for His Second Coming.

Five were actually prepared and expectant. Five were foolish. As the bridegroom delayed His coming, some of them became drowsy. Stopped watching for Him and fell asleep!

Suddenly the bridegroom comes. The unprepared ones can’t go forth to meet Him. Their lights have gone out! They don’t have oil for their lamps.

They desperately attempt to borrow some from the others who have extra oil. However, they won’t share!

As a child I remember feeling sorry for these foolish ones. And it really bothered me that these supposedly wise virgins were too selfish to share their oil!

If they won’t share, how wise is that? I know, they said there wasn’t enough oil to go around. Ok, but they can still fix this problem, can’t they? Why not offer to share their light, walk out together to meet the bridegroom!

Only later, I understood. There are some things that simply cannot be borrowed or shared. A prepared character is one such thing!

If you’ve been paying attention to the Teacher and I haven’t, I won’t be able to borrow the oil of your prepared heart! A watchful, prepared Christian character is not something others can provide for us.

'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.