Urgency



Matthew 18:5-9
5“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,
6but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
7“Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!
8And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.
9And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.


As Jesus continues to teach His disciples, He also knows that His Passion is drawing ever closer. The amount of time He has to teach them is short. In our reading for today there is a feeling of urgency. These are important concepts and He uses hyperbole to get His point across.

There are two warnings in these verses. First, if you are going to be a person who influences others know that doing so comes with responsibilities. Your message must be one that comes from God for the punishment for purposely leading others astray is dire. For me personally, these verses are a serious warning every time I read them. There are consequences for putting this information (and my spin on it) out there! It is not to be taken lightly but with all seriousness.

The second warning is for the person who leads or teaches others. (Another personal note - that includes everyone for we all influence at least a few people in our lives. You don't have to carry the title teacher or preacher to be included in these warnings!) Jesus points out that we must be self-aware enough to realize that we are all leading someone. People are watching you and copying your life in some way. If you are embracing your sin others will assume that is a good way to go. Once again, the consequences for that are dire.

This is a tough passage. But we have to always keep everything in balance. Yes, we are responsible to those we lead to show them a path that lead toward God rather than away from Him. But we are also a people who are deeply loved and constantly guided ourselves by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. We are only two days into the Easter season where where we remember that Jesus died for our failures and brings redemption when we sin. The passage for today isn't meant to bring condemnation ("for this is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" - Romans 8:1) but warning. We cannot slide through life unaware of the impact of our actions; nor can we condemn ourselves. The balances lies in Jesus.
 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv
Read more

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl
Read more