the book of Matthew | Daily Encouragement

“’Truly I tell you,’ Jesus said to them, ‘no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.'” (Luke 18: 29-20, NIV)

While some may classify these words of Jesus as a “hard saying”; in reality these words are some of the most gracious in all of the bible.

There is a worthy tale that illustrates what Jesus is saying: A rich man had a son who painted a self-portrait. Though no one would ever mistake the painting as the work of a skilled artist, the father treasured this painting above all else, because the son — who was his sole heir — had been killed in war and the painting was a reminder of his beloved son. In his will, the rich man required that the painting be sold at auction with all of his other possessions. On the day of the auction, estate agents and bargain hunters from far and wide converged at the rich man’s estate for the sale. The first item up for bid was the son’s self-portrait. The crowd grumbled. They had not traveled to the sale to bid on the work of a third-rate artist. They were there there to buy houses, land, livestock, and fine furniture!

At first, no one wanted to bid on the painting, but the auctioneer made it clear that in accordance with the rich man’s will, the painting must be sold ahead of all other property. So, to move along the process, one person made a small bid for the portrait. Hearing no other bids, the auctioneer said, “Sold!” to the lone bidder, then added, “You’ve just purchased the entire estate: Houses, land, livestock, and fine furniture. The lot is yours.”

The crowd was stunned.

The executor of the rich man’s estate appeared at the podium to address the unhappy gathering of would-be buyers, and said, “In accordance with the desires of the father, the person who gets the son, gets it all.”

We can make our lives “a la carte” and risk missing the One; or we can take the One above all others and ahead of all else — and having gotten the Son, get it all. As Jesus taught us: “Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all of these [other] things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) – Luther

Tagged hard sayings, kingdom of God, the book of Luke, the book of Matthew

April 19

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“The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.” (Luke 23: 55-56, NIV)

“The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.’^“Take a guard,’ Pilate answered. ‘Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.’ So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.” (Matthew 27: 62-66, NIV)

On the Saturday after Good Friday, life continued.

The women who were disciples of Jesus prepared to do the next necessary thing as best they could before ceasing all work in obedience to God’s commandment. Meanwhile, the opponents of Jesus were also making preparations to thwart any “deceptions” by the crucified Lord’s followers. Neither friend nor foe expected what was to occur in God’s plan, in God’s time, in God’s way on Sunday morning.

As current-day disciples of Jesus, we should aspire to be like the women: Doing all that we can, while we can, for the next necessary thing before us; but always giving God’s word and God’s will priority — even if God commands that we stop, rest, and wait in the midst of the darkest day of our lives; even as the enemies of God plot against us.

In hindsight, we see that God used the women’s faithfulness in ways that tied together all of Good Friday’s “loose ends,” while utterly frustrating the designs of His enemies. Looking ahead, we must also be diligent, faithful, and obedient if we are to be — as the women were on Resurrection Sunday: First witnesses to the incomparable faithfulness and power of God.

We can be like that! – Luther

Reminder: Daily Encouragement will be on break tomorrow. Have a great day in the celebration of our Lord’s resurrection, and the fact that as He is, so shall we — because He said it, and has the power to make it so! Lord willing, see you on Monday!