NB: Due to a posting glitch yesterday (my bad!), we are resending yesterday’s Scriptorium for today.
Matthew 20: Calvary in Sight (3)
Pray Psalm 34.1-3.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make its boast in the LORD;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
Sing Psalm 34.1-3.
Alleluia (Lowe): Mighty God, While Angels Bless You
I will bless the LORD at all times; I shall praise Him evermore!
My soul makes its boast in Jesus—Him we gladly all adore!
Refrain v. 3
Magnify the Name of Jesus! Let us lift His Name in praise!
Read Matthew 20.1-19; meditate on verses 17-19.
How would you have responded to this, had you heard it with the disciples?
Prepare.
1. What did Jesus confide in the disciples?
2. Did He tell this to all the people who were following Him?
Meditate.
Jesus wanted the disciples to keep focused on the business at hand, which was His work of redemption. So He took them aside (v. 17). The crowds were fickle. They loved the miracles, the free meals, the healings, and His casting out demons. They would celebrate with rejoicing His entrance into Jerusalem in just a short while. But they would turn on Jesus and cry for His death when they had to make a choice between Him and the religious leaders. Had Jesus disclosed these next steps to the crowds, there’s no telling how they might have responded. But His disciples needed to keep focused on the real reasons for Jesus’ coming—His great work of redemption on the cross. And they needed to prepare themselves for the fact that while this would be a beautiful work of Jesus, accomplishing it would not be pretty.
And yet, Luke tells us, they understood nothing of what He said (Lk. 18.34).
Jesus shows us how to live the life of faith: Keep the end in sight. He knew He would rise again, and He understood all that implied. The joy of that victory, set down before Him (cf. Ps. 22.21-31), enabled Him to bear all the rest (Heb. 12.1-3). We need to keep the end in sight as well: a joyous day of resurrection is coming, followed by eternal life with Jesus in the new heavens and new earth. With such a sure and eternal prospect before us, what could cause us to dismay or lose hope?
At the same time, be realistic about the journey. Jesus knew that some hard times were just ahead—shame, suffering, betrayal, crucifixion, and the grave. But in the light of the resurrection, He could endure the cross, despise the shame, and go with joy to fulfill His purpose. Jesus did not promise us an easy road as His disciples. He said we would be hated. We can expect persecution. Spiritual forces of wickedness will try to distract, defeat, and destroy us. But if we keep focused on the long-term promise and hope, we can bear up and endure no matter what this world throws at us.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Jesus is always teaching. Always.
Here, He had the heaviest burden to share with them, with the greatest hope attached,
yet He did not impart this in a lecture hall, a synagogue, or an interventional family sit-down.
“Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem,
took the twelve disciples aside
on the road and said to them…” (Matt. 20.17).
For this most important dialogue, He said it according to Moses the Law-giver:
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children,
and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,
when you walk by the way,
when you lie down,
and when your rise up” (Deut. 6.6, 7).
A constant chatter of the things of the Kingdom, imparted as a process, not an event.
Then Jesus spreads the guilt around to every human being on the planet:
I will be betrayed by one of My own disciples.
I will be turned over to the religious leaders of the synagogue.
They will condemn Me to death.
They will hand me over to the Gentiles.
They will mock and scourge and crucify Me (Matt. 20.17-19).
And all who fall within the category of being human will have a hand in My death.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3.23).
And then He shares the best news of all:
On the third day, after My death, I will arise
—resurrected—Victorious over sin and death!
“And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and of His Kingdom there will be no end” (Lk. 1.33).
“…through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life…
by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous…
so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5.18, 19, 21).
“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
The One Who is and Who was and Who is to come,
because You have taken Your great power and reigned” (Rev. 11.17).
Jesus is always teaching. Always.
He continues to teach us through His Word, daily (Heb. 4.11-13).
Affirming the truths that He told the twelve all those years ago:
I will be betrayed, I will be killed, I will rise again (Matt. 20.17-19).
And I have come that you may have life, and that you may have it more abundantly (Jn. 10.10).
Follow Me. I have Kingdom work for you to do (Eph. 2.10).
If you are thankful for what I have done, you can show Me.
“If you love Me, keep My commandments” (Jn. 14.15).
“Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road,
and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” (Lk. 24.32).
Reflect.
1. Why was it necessary for Jesus to die? Why is this Good News?
2. How was it possible for Jesus to rise again? Why is this Good News?
3. How is Jesus advancing His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven? Why is this Good News?
I consider the reason why he did not publish his death to have been, that the report might not spread too widely before the time. Besides, as he did not expect that the warning would be of immediate advantage, he reckoned it enough to entrust it to a few, who were afterwards to be his witnesses. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Matthew 20.18
Pray Psalm 34.4-9, 19, 20.
Praise God for Jesus’ sacrifice, and for His mighty resurrection and Kingdom.
Sing Psalm 34.4-9, 19, 20.
Alleluia (Lowe): Mighty God, While Angels Bless You
When I sought the LORD, He answered and from fear delivered me.
Those who look to Him are radiant; shamed their face shall never be.
Refrain, vs. 3
Magnify the Name of Jesus! Let us life His Name in praise!
When I cried to God, He heard me, and from trouble rescued me.
’Round their camp His angel lingers that they may delivered be.
Refrain
Taste and see how good is Jesus; blessed are all who in Him hide.
None shall lack for any blessing who in Christ will e’er confide.
Refrain
See the Righteous as He suffers: God will save Him from His pains.
All His bones He keeps through suff’ring, every one, intact remains.
Refrain
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: Our Read Moore podcast continues readings from the book, The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart. Our Crosfigell teaching letter is pursuing a series on the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column is working through a study of the role of reason in the life of faith. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
