Daily Gospel Devotional: September 12

Matthew 21:23-27 / Mark 11:27-33 / Luke 20:1-8…

Nothing more to say…

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, when He cleansed the temple the first time, they had questioned His authority (John 2:18). They are asking the same question again, even though they knew that Jesus always claimed His authority was from God (John 8:28-29). They were hoping He might say it directly here in the temple, because the crowd was at a fever pitch because of Jesus’ teaching (Luke 19:48), and they thought they might charge Him with blasphemy.

Instead, Jesus confronts them with a counter question. “John’s baptism” referred to his ministry of repentance, preparing people for the coming of Messiah, and announcing the Messiah. The leaders realize that Jesus has put them on the spot. If they say it is from God, then they are exposed as frauds for rejecting it (Luke 7:29-30). If they say it’s from man, they would be accused of blasphemy instead of Jesus, because most people saw John as a prophet. They either have to admit that Jesus is the Messiah, or deny that John the Baptist was a prophet of God.

So they answered that they did not know where it came from. Their refusal to answer the question shows their refusal to receive the light that was given to them, both through John and through Jesus. Wherever John’s authority came from is where Jesus’ authority came from. They claimed to be religious, but were simply rejecting God on all counts.

It is just so today. Sometimes people claim to be agnostic when they just want to avoid what they really know to be true. Many use the excuse of not being able to understand the Bible as a reason for not admitting the truth they do know, and what their conscience tells them. But none of that will excuse you before God. God has made Himself clear. The reason you don’t understand Jesus is that you won’t admit that He is right about your sinfulness.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Daily Gospel Devotional: September 11

Matthew 21:20-22 / Mark 11:20-26...

Faith in God…

The disciples noticed that the fruitless fig tree (Matthew 21:18-19 / Mark 11:12-14) had dried up. Jesus used this to teach two important lessons. A saving faith will lead to a living faith, and spiritual fruit is the sign of spiritual life. He mentions two specific fruits of genuine faith that are very difficult to counterfeit. Jesus also teaches us that these things are linked.

The first fruit was prayer, a fruit He found missing in the temple (Matthew 21:13 / Mark 11:17). He was not teaching us that grace has given us a “blank check” and that all we have to do is express sufficient faith to “fill it out”. We must always have confidence in God’s power but also submission to His will (Mark 14:36 / 1 John 5:14-15). Prayers are expressions of faith, that God will accomplish even the impossible, according to His sovereign will.

The second fruit was forgiveness. Forgiven people become forgiving people. If you know God’s forgiveness in your heart, you can forgive others from your heart. Conversely, unforgiveness is the great obstacle of faith and faithful prayer. It is when we are not forgiving others from our heart that we begin to doubt God.

The object of faith is God, who empowers His children to believe, serve, and glorify Him through the power of the faith in Him that He gives to us. The opportunity of faith is to believe in Him for and through the seemingly impossible. The obstacle of faith is unforgiveness. We must be willing to forgive, because a biblically forgiving spirit is a faithful one.

It is time for some fruit inspection in your life (2 Corinthians 13:5). Are you only appearing fruitful from a distance? How is your prayer life? When the tough times come, do you still believe in God, faithfully praying? How is your forgiveness account, do you dole out the mercy and grace from your heart and before God quickly, or do you have a bitter bank statement? Does a closer examination reveal true, lasting fruit (Psalm 19:12-14, 139:23-24)?

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Daily Gospel Devotional: September 10

John 12:44-50…

Famous last words…

And Jesus cried out and said…He had already departed and hid himself from them (John 12:36). Here John is giving a summary of what Jesus had been saying and revealing in this gospel account. The words of Jesus cry out against the fear of men (Matthew 10:28 / Luke 12:4-5 / John 12:42). To believe in Jesus is to believe in God the Father (John 1:3, 15:24 / 2 Corinthians 4:6 / Colossians 1:15 / Hebrews 1:3). To believe Jesus is to receive Light from God (John 8:12, 9:5, 12:35), and to reject Jesus is to remain in darkness (John 3:19 / Ephesians 5:14).

Jesus came to save people (John 3:16-17), and those who reject Him are rejecting the only means of salvation (John 14:6 / Acts 4:12 / 1 Timothy 2:5). They will not do the things Jesus has said are the commandments of God (Matthew 7:24), and so therefore they will be judged according to the words Jesus has spoken (Matthew 7:26). These commandments are essentially a call to believe on Jesus as Messiah, as Christ, as the Son of God, as the only Savior, and as our personal savior (Matthew 10:32 / Mark 1:15 / Luke 12:8 / John 6:28-29).

It is all one package together. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is functionally subordinate to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:27-28 / Philippians 2:6-7), obeying His will perfectly and completely (John 5:19, 8:28-29, 42, 14:10). Jesus is not the originator of the message, He is on a mission from the Father and it is the Father’s words He speaks. The words and works of Jesus that result from the commandment the Father has given Him are the source of eternal life in the world. Therefore, to believe in the Son is to believe in the Father, is to have eternal life (John 6:68, 17:3, 20:31 / 1 John 2:25, 3:23-24, 5:11-13, 20).

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©