Posts by reachchurch

Read This Week: Mark 5

Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” – Mark 5:22-28 NIV

Mark 5 contains one of the most beautiful contrasts of people that Jesus ministered to during His earthly ministry. It is a reminder to us that God is no respecter of persons, that He greatly loves all people and offers His salvation and healing to all who will reach to Him in faith. It is an illustration of the truth that we all come from different backgrounds, cultures, persuasions, and statuses, but we have the same reach and invitation to be known and changed by Jesus.

The woman with the issue of blood and Jairus could not have been more different. One was wealthy; one was broke; one was a successful person of note, and one was an anonymous street person. But both had tremendous needs; both were desperate; both pursued Jesus in faith, and both acted. Verses 22-23 and 25-27 tell us both of their respective plights and faith-filled, humble actions:

Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him… A woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.

In response to their same reach, Jesus welcomed and helped both of them. He reacted in grace and mercy to their same pleas and reach for help. Both encountered the same Savior, the same authority, the same reception, and they both got the same response from God. The contrast and parallel between these two people reveal the comprehensive love and power of Jesus Christ applied and available to all people.

The wealth and notoriety of Jairus could not save his dying daughter any more than the desperation, sorrow, and distress of the woman could solve the health issue that was threatening her life. They both expressed the same faith with the same reach that led to supernatural healing. They both needed Jesus:

He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” … Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” He took the child’s father and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). 

The takeaway for us is despite our differences, we all have the same opportunity to reach out to God. Not everybody has the same story, the same issues, or the same faith. But we all have the same reach, and Jesus responds to our faith no matter how weak or unsure it is. When we reach to and believe in Him, He freely shares His power with us, and unbelievable, special things happen in our lives.

Read This Week: Mark 4

He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” – Mark 4:21-25 NIV

Just as we saw in Matthew, Jesus uses parables in Mark as a way to teach spiritual lessons to His followers and the crowds. This chapter contains four parables that hold so many eternal truths and principles relevant to our understanding of the kingdom of God and its application to our daily lives. The earthly story with a heavenly meaning highlighted this week is the lampstand in verses 21-25.

In this parable, Jesus uses a lamp that was common and familiar back then and is still pertinent to us today. We all have lamps in our houses and, we know the importance of light to our lives, activities, and ability to see; we are conscious of how vital that light is to our well-being. The Lord used this concept to communicate the prominence with which the spiritual light in believers should be on display. Jesus says in verse 21:

“Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?”

The lamp in this passage is in reference to the kingdom of God established in Mark 1:15 and spoken of at the beginning of this chapter (v 1-8). Jesus designates the proper platform for the kingdom and the witness of the gospel and says it is to be displayed prominently. Followers of Jesus are like the lamp called to reveal God’s light and illuminate His truth wherever they go. Christians are to be filled and replenished by the Bible like oil in a lamp. This filling increases the lighting strength and causes it to shine brighter wherever shown.  

Lighting a lamp and then covering it up does not make sense. Not only does it defeat the point of the lamp to give light, but it is also wasteful of the fuel used to light it. To have the light of Christ inside of us and to withhold it undermines its transcendent purpose. God has done His supernatural work in us for the evidence of it to be in sight. It is too glorious, beautiful, luminous, and eternally beneficial for us to hide it under the bed or keep it from a dark world and those in desperate need of the gospel.

May the Holy Spirit give us the power and confidence to not allow fear and perceived consequences to cause us to hide our light. May we find encouragement and strength from the Word to light up every relationship, circumstance, workplace, neighborhood, and environment that we inhabit. May the light of our actions and words burnish the salvation of the gospel and the love, joy, peace, and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Read This Week: Mark 3

Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
– Mark 3:20-21 & 31-35 NIV

One of the actions that Jesus accomplished when he came to earth was to establish a new family – the family of God. Mark 3 verses 20-21 and 31-35 have been misinterpreted in their context and meaning as Jesus neglecting or forsaking his blood relatives for other people. But nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus was always doing the will of God, and that was not going to change even for his family. Instead, His mission included the establishment of a family that extended beyond kin people to those bonded through their relationship with God through Christ. That is what He is doing in this chapter.

Jesus is not being dismissive to His family when he remains in the house and does not go out to see them or give in to their request in verses 31-35:

Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 

He knew their motives were good and looked out for his best interests. But Jesus wanted to demonstrate to those in the crowd and the religious leaders that His purpose and mission were greater than the desires of His family. He did not need help or assistance, but only to do the will of the Father and show His followers that they should do the same. He says in verse 35, Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.

The Lord, by his example, shows us that we must not allow anyone (even our dearest loved ones) to influence us in a way that will cause us to stop doing God’s will. His actions point to his words that our love for God should be so deep, passionate, and great that love for our family or anyone else would pale in comparison.

Our family may not even understand (verses 20-21) or support our love for God, but that should never be a deterrent to following Him. Additionally, it is important to note that Jesus is not suggesting we ignore or abandon our families. It is His will for us to care for and provide for our loved ones, but nothing in life can take precedent over the Lord.

The beautiful takeaway from this chapter is that when we follow and have a relationship with Christ, we are not abandoning our family; we are gaining a new one by doing God’s will. When we trust Jesus as our Savior, we experience the new birth and enter the family of God. We get to share in the divine nature, experience His grace, celebrate His goodness, and express His love together. So, God, in His mercy, does not ask us to abandon our family. He provides us with a new one in His name and for His glory.

Read This Week: Mark 2

Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat, and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” – Mark 2:8-12 NIV

Mark 2 continues to show us the authority and action of Jesus from the previous chapter, as demonstrated before the people and recorded for us. Jesus began to show in His miracles and acts that there was much more to His mission than healing the sick, relieving affliction, or touching those suffering. There was something greater for people to experience in their lives; they could enter the kingdom of God. The story of the paralytic man offers the best illustration of what lay behind the miracles and words of Jesus.

In this narrative, we observe the spiritual power in Jesus’ actions and meeting of felt needs. We understand that He offers an eternal solution to our greatest problem and not just a momentary fix. This realization is significant because we often want symptom treatment or temporary relief rather than a lasting cure. Temporary relief of our immediate problems is sometimes more attractive than a lasting cure. In our lives, we can merely look for fleeting results and deny Jesus the opportunity to give us a permanent answer.

Death, disease, and illness are interrelated in humanity due to the fall. The human problem comes as a result of original sin. In Romans 5:12-15, the Bible gives us a clear picture of the predicament we are all in because of sin. It says in verse 12: When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.

But this passage in Romans continues in verse 15 with what we see played out in Mark 2 between Jesus and the paralytic man. Sin is the root issue that needs the highest form of healing even as our physical problems because of sin persist. It says:

But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.      

It is awesome to see the words of Scripture written after the life of Jesus be tied back to the distinct and practical actions of Christ. The theology of Romans 5 is personified in the person of Jesus in Mark 2. He not only offers to heal the man’s life-long malady in response to his and the faith of his friends but He gives the man what he ultimately needs – spiritual healing. Christ says to him in verses 10-11: 

But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”

When Jesus said, “Get up and walk,” He wasn’t just exhorting a paralyzed man to use his now functioning legs to walk home. He was telling him to get up from his old life and embrace his new one. Jesus was not just telling him to live in the experience of walking to his dwelling place, but to live in the joys of everlasting life and prepare for his eternal home.

This lasting touch is what Christ offers to us as well, He is more than a temporary fix to our earthly issues. He is a lasting reconciliation to our eternal reality. When we experience salvation through faith by His grace, He tells us to get up and walk. Get up from the old life and walk with and do life with Him in the new one.

Read This Week: Mark 1

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God… Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” – Mark 1:1 & 15 NIV

The Gospel of Mark is the narrative of Jesus in action. We see more of Christ doing than teaching. The gospel account was written in the late 50’s AD and confirmed by Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, who lived from 60-135 AD. Mark was a translator and assistant to the Apostle Peter, and he recorded Peter’s eyewitness account of the life and movements of the Lord. 

The book contains one of the great openers of any book in the Bible. It reads like the first lines of a spell-binding, classic novel; only the word of God transcends anything that came after it. Mark begins with this definitive line in verse 1: The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. 

Mark wastes no time giving the whole and distinct picture of who Jesus is from the beginning. The Christos or Messiah establishes the supremacy of Jesus and shows that he is no ordinary person. He emphasizes the divine activity of Christ and how He interacted with and met the physical and spiritual needs of people. Many of Jesus’ sermons are not written here because the focus is equally on what He did as what He said. There was perfect unity in His person, life, and example and something for us to strive to emulate.

There was authoritative unity in Jesus’ ministry. He was not just a teacher, proclaimer, healer, or remover of unclean spirits. He was and is all of it. He was a true action hero, a savior, and a servant who embodied the heart of God in word, deed, and service unlike anyone before Him or after. In the first chapter and the chapters to come in Mark, Christ is revealed as God’s suffering servant. He came to minister to hurting people and to die for the sins of the world. There has never been an action hero like that and will never be again.

These truths should set the tone in our daily walk with God and the way we conduct ourselves in the world and with others. We can be encouraged that the Jesus we follow is not one of legend but of one who was firmly established in human history. We can draw strength and hope from the reality of Jesus’ deity and that His actions were a reflection of the Father, the one true God. When we say we have faith in Christ, we’re not longing for an abstract or mystical force or comic book hero. We are placing faith and trust in the real, supreme authority given to Jesus, and that is all the power we need to live a successful life.

Read This Week: Matthew 28

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:16-20 NIV

Have you ever wondered what it must have been like to be a disciple after the resurrection? It must have been terrifying, exciting, and awe-inspiring at the same time to witness the arrest of Jesus, know of His violent death on the cross, be aware that He had been buried in a borrowed tomb, and then see Him alive again. Then the mind goes to what it must have been like to be on that mountain in Galilee when Jesus laid out his mission for the world. Ideally, one would hope to be eager, prepared, and full of anticipation and reverence. But reality indicates that we would be probably somewhere in the variance of worship and doubt like the disciples.

In Matthew 28, Jesus had been raised from the dead and appeared to many. He then told his followers to go to the precise place where he wanted to commission them for His work on earth. Then verse 17 tells us of the mixed reaction of the remaining 11 disciples:  

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.

Some worshiped, and some doubted. The word doubt in this context means “to hesitate or be uncertain.” They held their belief in Jesus, but their hesitation and lack of faith prevented them from worshipping him. And this lack of worship could hinder their effectiveness on their mission.

But Jesus speaks into them with all of His divine authority that we saw in the last chapter and says: 

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Like us, even when the faith of the disciples was sincere, it was weak and shaky. Yet Christ gives them convincing proof of his resurrection and the authority of His word, so their faith could triumph over doubt. He does the same thing for us. He gives us His Word as undeniable proof and the power available to us to carry out His eternal and purposeful mission on earth. The Bible and Holy Spirit empower us to do life with God, and when they fill us, we transform from doubters into worshippers who share the Good News with others.

The contrast of reactions in the disciples can be a microcosm of our Christian experience. In a moment, the Gospel eternally alters our lives. Jesus saves and changes us by his resurrection power. He reveals Himself in ways we cannot imagine while calling us to be on a mission with Him. All the while, some worship, and some doubt. The church is filled with worshippers and doubters, redeemed people exercising faith in Christ or a debilitating lack of it. But believers have the constant presence of God to counter human, emotional doubt. There is no day or hour that the Lord Jesus is not present with His church and the family of God. Jesus makes this promise in verse 20: And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

The prayer of Christians should be that we not get caught up long in the discrepancy of worship and doubt. We must stay connected and seek God constantly, so our role in His mission for the world is not hindered by ambiguous faith. The desire of our heart should be for Jesus to receive glory in the world through our worship. And in every area of our lives, allow Him to help us be worshippers and not doubters.

Read This Week: Matthew 27

They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is Jesus, the king of the Jews. From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. – Matthew 27:33-37; 45-51 NIV

The tendency is to read Matthew 27 and lose sight of the spiritual and eternal authority still embodied in Jesus. It is easy to look at His arrest, His trial, His appearance before Pilate, and the antagonism of the crowd and think things have spun out of control. It is natural to believe that when one submits to custody, they still have rights but have lost all authority. But this was not the case with Christ. He retained all the authority of God while under the subjection to the processes of man.

This keeping of Jesus’ authority can be seen in the way He responds to questioning. It did not make sense for someone accused of things that He was to respond in such a way to the charges. Pilate, the Jewish leaders, and the crowds are in turmoil, but Jesus calmly expresses faith in God. He is not afraid, for he knows that no human authority will decide his fate. He is still in control. Verses 11-14 capture this remarkable moment:

Meanwhile, Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

Jesus kept His authority in the laying down of His life according to the will of God. Even while going through a trial, being wrongfully accused of a crime, being beaten, humiliated, condemned to die, and placed on a cross, He still had the power to be the sacrificial atonement for our sins. Jesus said to the disciples and His followers that no one takes His life from Him. He gives it upon His own accord and in sync with the will of the Father. He has the authority to lay His life down and the authority to take it up again. This authority is how He was able to say with finality and make these things happen in verses 45-50:

About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

In His eternal power and authority, God is always in control. He never gives up His authority. No person, no entity, no process, no human construct, philosophy, or opposition can strip Him of His sovereignty and supremacy. Even when it looks bleak and as if all hope is lost on earth, God remains in control. Even as Jesus was arrested, tried, beaten, crucified, and buried, He was still in the driver’s seat. No one has the authority to take His power or His ability to accomplish His will. 

Believers should be encouraged by the truth and promise that God is always in control. His authority is gracious and merciful because it offers us salvation and a relationship with the glorious and righteous Savior. His authority is loving because it sustains us through all the seasons and challenges of our lives.

Read This Week: Matthew 26

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives… He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” – Matthew 26:26-30, 40 NIV

Matthew 26 is about the power of moments and the steadfastness of the mission that Jesus was on. It is apparent here and throughout this entire gospel that the life and ministry of Christ are purposeful. Everything he did was within the will of God and intentionally on the mission that He came to fulfill. 

As we read this chapter, it is important to keep this idea of Jesus’ words, actions, and mission in view. The disciples often failed to understand this reality as they walked with Him, but that does not have to be the case with us. We can read and absorb these powerful moments and events in the context and light of the meta-narrative of God and the accomplishment of His eternal will through Christ.

We see God’s will and mission in the story of the woman with the alabaster box. It shows not only a beautiful act of sacrifice, love, and devotion to Jesus but also has theological implications for the Gospel. The disciples saw it as a kind yet wasteful gesture of expensive perfume but, Jesus interprets the action as preparing him for burial as was the custom in that culture. What the disciples saw as a frivolous act was a love-filled foreshadowing of the burial of Jesus after His sacrificial death on the cross. It was symbolic of both the human devotion of the woman and the divine sacrifice of Christ.

We see God’s will and mission in the betrayal of Judas. Jesus demonstrates that it is a sacrificial and loving act to receive someone as they are and invest life in them by his treatment of Judas. It also shows that we can trust God’s plan amid bad choices. His perfect will is not stopped by flawed behavior. In what followed next, we see Jesus overcome the fallenness of betrayal with the power of love. Betrayal chooses to forget. Love chooses to redeem.

We see God’s will and mission in the last supper. Jesus breaks bread with the disciples and gives it to them as a symbol of remembrance of what was to come. It anticipated His necessary bodily sacrifice for all. He identifies the cup of wine as his blood, the blood of the new covenant that is necessary for the covering of sin. We observe the Lord’s Supper in the same way, to remember what Christ did for us and to honor His payment of our sin debt that we could never pay.

We see God’s will and mission in the garden as Jesus submits in divine humility to the will of the Father even as he suffers in his humanity. This demonstrates to us the humble submission to God that we should have in our daily lives, decisions, and actions. We further see God’s will and mission in Jesus’ arrest and trial as it furthered accomplished the plan of salvation and glory that would come to the Lord for all time through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It shows us that nothing on earth can’t prevent the movement of God’s work and the furthering of His kingdom.

We see God’s will and mission in Peter’s denial of Jesus. It would be a temporary setback for an incredible comeback in the disciple’s life. Peter, a lying coward at this moment, would be transformed by the resurrection, appearance, and ascension of Christ. He would later stand on the steps of Pentecost and with truth, boldness, and courage, proclaim the saving message of Jesus to the world. It is one of the great examples of personal redemption and transformation for the cause of Christ. God’s will provides moments that ensure our lowest and worst moments don’t have to be the defining moments of our future.

Read This Week: Matthew 25

For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger, and you invited me in, I needed clothes, and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me. Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. – Matthew 25:35-36, 40 NIV

Inherent to the Christian life is the service of other people. It is one of the indications and outward expressions of our faith. As we have already seen in the gospel of Matthew loving and serving others is directly correlated to the love and passion we have for Jesus. Doing unto others as we would have them do unto us is an earmark of the presence of God in our lives. Chapter 25 once again reinforces the truth and teaching of being a good steward of God’s resources, truth, and love.

We see here that the treatment of people and especially other Christians is the basis of determining the relationship an individual or group has to Christ. Jesus makes it clear in these parables within the chapter what we do to His followers and the world at large is done to him. The words of Jesus in these passages communicate to us that Christianity cannot merely be just a social connection, a spiritual construct, or a way to do charity. It is the transference of the love of Christ through the follower of Jesus to other believers, our neighbors, and those in the margin who are less fortunate. Jesus says in verse 40:

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

In the stewardship of our lifestyles, activities, words, and freedoms, we often fail to be mindful of, regard and love others, especially those suffering. But when we love others as if we are doing it for Jesus, we will humble ourselves and serve for the sake of other people and their wellness. Doing life with God will change our understanding and make us aware of needs, injustice, and the responsibility we have to fight for the least of these. The strong should look out for the weak. The privileged should advocate for the less fortunate. The safe should stand in the gap for the endangered. We cannot do what we want as Christians without stopping to consider others. That approach can expressly lead to marginalization and, even worse, painful indifference.

Jesus directly addresses indifference in this chapter. The charges against the lost ones (vv.41-43) do not concern obvious moral issues but are focused on their indifferent attitude toward Jesus and His people. Their indifference is what led to their fate, not their direct violations. Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel once said, “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.” Christ taught this first, and verses, 35-36 shows what the opposite of indifference looks like:

For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger, and you invited me in, I needed clothes, and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me.

God’s love is the opposite of indifference, and the things done in His name will emulate that. Followers of Christ are not indifferent towards Jesus and His mission. We are not indifferent towards the Holy Spirit that empowers us to do life for Him every day. We are not indifferent towards the resources that God gives us, or towards needy people all around us. Followers of Christ are not indifferent towards a world that is lost. What we do to others, we do to Jesus. When it is done for others, it is done for Him.

Read This Week: Matthew 24

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. – Matthew 24:36 & 42-46 NIV

James Clear, the author of the best-selling book, Atomic Habits, said this about how important daily growth and consistency can be to a successful life. He wrote, “It is so easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements on a daily basis.” Clear’s assertion is that we are better served by daily faithfulness to doing things the right way versus looking for and trying to take advantage of one big moment. Christ was ahead of the curve on this idea in Matthew 24 by stressing a readiness for the big God moment by being vigilant, wise, and faithful every day.  

Earlier in the passage, Jesus was speaking about the destruction of the temple and the signs of the end. His teaching builds a sense of understanding about the kingdom and the urgency and priority of the mission. The apocalyptic and revelatory language that Jesus uses in verses 1-32 serves to point his followers and listeners to increase their faith not only when things get big or challenging but at all times. He desires for Christians to use wisdom and be mindful of the will of God every day as they wait on the end of their life or the return of the Lord. He says in verse 35: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Constant readiness and daily wisdom, faith, and preparation are at the crux of the message. Readiness is the operative word as the believer does not know when their time is up. So they should always be ready to serve God, steward their talents and gifts, love and care for others, and make a difference for the gospel in the world.

The word servant in verse 45 also means steward or one who properly takes care of or uses something that belongs to another. While we are here on earth serving Jesus and waiting for our appointed time, we are to be faithful and watchful stewards of what God has given us. Christians do not have to possess all the answers or know what will specifically happen at the end. But we must be ready each day to be faithful and wise as we grow in our devotion, build our character, communicate the gospel, and make an impact on a lost world. 

The servants of God in this passage are watchful, prepared, and ready consistently to be found faithful in the work of the Lord. The same expectation is there for us today. Our concern should not be with the seemingly big moments, what will happen in them, or what we are doing in comparison to others. Instead, we must be wise to faithfully take care of our life and use it for the glory of Christ, to be ready to let our light shine in the Holy Spirit’s power in our homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces each day.

Jesus said it will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. When a new morning dawns for the follower of Christ, no matter what lies ahead, the message is to just be ready.