The Last Resort
Opening Prayer
Lord, give us hearts that are quick to turn to You. Revive, renew, regenerate our hearts.
Read Matthew 23:37-24:2
[37] “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. [38] Look, your house is left to you desolate. [39] For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'” [1] Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. [2] “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Do you welcome Jesus as a truth teller in your life?Jesus was a good Jew. He grew up in a religious culture and observed his faith to perfection. He was an “amazing” young theologian (Luke 2:47) and was able to defeat any religious scholar in an argument. So when he spoke woe over Jerusalem and its people, you can imagine that the crowds sat up and took notice.In this passage, Jesus reflects on how the Jewish religious leaders have repeatedly rejected the prophets of God, himself included. He leaves them with a cryptic threat: they won’t see him again until he begins the endgame, at which point they’ll know him in truth (39). As he leaves with his disciples, Jesus makes another startling statement (24:2). He is referring to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, when the Temple will be completely destroyed. Since the Jewish people have repeatedly ignored God, there’s only this option left. It’s sobering stuff. And yet how incredible that at the end of a chapter in which Jesus rails against Jerusalem and its religious leaders, he still hints at their redemption, through his coming again (39). That’s scandalous grace.
Apply
Take some time in silence. Ask God to deepen your understanding of his holiness and his grace.
Closing prayer
Father, when You look at me, may You find a receptive and obedient child of God.
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