It's NOT About You, Really! (Matthew 25:1-13)

SCRIPTURE

Matthew 25:1-13
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

COMMENT

So very much like the last post from Matthew 23. Kind of like a part two, which I talked about at the end of the post. In chapter 23, Jesus is addressing the leadership. In this section, He is addressing the hearers with a definite message: DO NOT BE LIKE THEM!

We feel the need to worship, but sometimes the focus of that worship is misplaced, and we worship the messenger rather than the sender of the message. Some preachers exploit this, and have become multi-millionaires in the process. They sometimes preach prosperity, and other times they preach pain and suffering. But the thing they do not preach is the cross of Christ, and without that, their preaching is in vain. (1 Cor 1:17, 1 Cor 15:14)

Repentance. That is where the servant's heart comes from. It is not enough just to be a servant, there must also be the servant's heart. That is why the cross must be preached, for it is the basis for our actions. We offer our lives as living sacrifices in view of God's great mercy toward us. (Romans 12:1-2) DO NOT BE LIKE THEM, those who would ignore, or even worse, abuse the cross of Christ by making it about us and what we do or need. I think one of the teachings of Christ that we tend to not want to think about is the idea that the road to heaven is a narrow one. Many have chosen a path, but it is not the right or righteous path. My belief is that those on the wide path are not just those who don't want any part with God, but also those who seek to go to heaven, but are not taking the correct path to get there. Do we really believe that the path to God is about us and our own righteous deeds? Is it really a "try harder, do better" mentality that will get us to our goal? How did that work for the Jewish leaders? Read the book of Philippians, look at all that Paul was, and how he learned that is was meaningless, like dung, and the only thing that mattered was Christ, and Him crucified.

Philippians 3:12 "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own." Why does Paul press on? It is to earn salvation, or is it because of what Christ has already done? SO then, the life and deeds of Paul, his service, are not a means of achieving salvation, but rather a response to the salvation he has been granted. Praise God!