Read the Bible in a Year (13OCT19)

DAILY REMINDER – Today, October 13’s Bible reading is Matthew 26.

NEXT DAY REMINDER – Tomorrow, October 14’s Bible reading is Matthew 27-28. May God bless you with the reading of His WORD.

MATTHEW MOMENT – (13OCT19) “When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, ‘As you know, the Passover is two days away – and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified’” (Matthew 26:1-2). The disciples had been with Jesus for 3 ½ years as He ministered through giving the spoken Word, healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons, and lived by example. Now, His time on earth was nearly done, and there was little time left before He would be betrayed by a “friend” and handed over to evil men. Jesus tried to prepare the disciples for what He was about to go through, but even they could not imagine the weight of the world that was resting on Jesus’ shoulders. Judas, who made arrangements to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, was about to send His master to a horrible death. Peter, although he claimed that he would be with Jesus unto death, denied knowing Him when the pressure was on. After Jesus’ arrest, the disciples scattered in fear and Jesus was left alone to face His accusers. Nevertheless, Jesus would have done it all over again if that meant saving just one soul.

The love that God has for His children, which was manifested through His Son’s sacrifice, was a love that many people do not know anything about. The word “love” is oftentimes thrown around like a popular hashtag, but the Father put His Word to action when He sent Jesus to die for our sins. No one could ever love us as much as He does, and yet, many have rejected Him and still do. The Bible says: “Greater love have no man than this, that would lay down his life for a friend” (John 15:13). If only the world would embrace the love of the Father, they could appreciate the gift of the Son. Unfortunately, more will reject Him than receive Him, but through our witness as believers, we can pray that all who see us will see Jesus and come to accept Him as their Lord and Savior. Something to ponder….

QUESTION OF THE DAY - (13OCT19) “Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him and said, ‘Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?’” (Matthew 26:67).  Jesus was betrayed with a kiss, arrested, and taken before the Sanhedrin. They questioned Jesus about Him claiming to destroy and rebuild the temple in three days and to Him being the Messiah. The religious leaders had gathered false witnesses to accuse Jesus of wrongdoing, but Jesus did not say one unkind word to them. His only response was that they would see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Father and coming on the clouds. This angered them even more, and the chief priests and Sanhedrin accused Jesus of blasphemy – worthy of death. They mocked Jesus for being the Messiah and Prophet. They spit, punched, and even slapped Him. Religious leaders they were, but God they did not know.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day thought they knew God, but they did not even recognize His Son. They felt as if they were good with God by keeping the laws of Moses, but they failed to show love, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. They had faith in their works but not in the One for whom their works were to be reflective of. Isn’t it strange that the religious leaders who were supposed to be teachers of the law were the very ones who broke the law? Let’s see, what commandments did they break? They had other gods and images because they did not recognize nor honor the Son of God but worshiped the idea of Him instead. They disrespected the name of the Lord by calling the Son of God – Beelzebub. They broke the Sabbath because they did not reverence the Lord of the Sabbath. They plotted His murder, gave false witnesses, coveted Jesus’ popularity, dishonored the Father, and was adulterous against Him. Therefore, in their hypocrisy, they were blinded to the Truth that they were transgressors of the Law in need of a Savior.

We must be careful not to be like the Pharisees that Jesus warned the disciples of. Some of these will be the ones to put Christians to death prior to His return due to their own blindness and cowardness. There will be a great divide even in the church where the ones who are truly for Christ will be viewed as hateful, while the compromised church will be praised. Nevertheless, we must be ready to take our stand because Jesus will reward those in the end who endures. The Bible says: “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household” (Matthew 10:24-25). Something to ponder….