READINGS FOR MARCH 8, 2024: JOB 14, MATTHEW 25, PSALM 18:1-6 JOB 14 The first four verses of this chapter deserve a lifetime of reflection, not a few brief paragraphs. Nonetheless, let’s make a start. Here are the verses in all of Job’s grandeur: “Man, who is born of woman, Is short-lived and full of turmoil. Like a flower he comes out and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain. You also open Your eyes on him and bring him into judgment with Yourself. Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one!” Underneath the despair above, there is truth. Our earthly lives do zoom by. There is indeed uncertainty in our younger days, stress in our middle years, and declining health as we age. Whether a believer in God or not, we often feel judged as inadequate and insignificant by life. It can feel as if no one can extract us from this perceived hopeless, purposeless life.
Victor Frankl, Holocaust survival and psychiatrist, wrote the classic book Man’s Search for Meaning. He observed that those in concentration camps who had a sense of purpose fared much better and survived much longer than those who did not. He suggests finding purpose in one of three ways: 1) completing tasks, 2) caring for others, or 3) suffering with dignity.
Job was originally a successful doer but later had no tasks to complete because all his work was destroyed. He cared for friends and family, but later they either all died or became his accusers. He did suffer with dignity until the combination of tragedies, accusations from friends, and silence from God overwhelmed him at times. The end of his story is still to come.
Knowing Job’s situation and that of the much greater sufferer, Jesus, READ MATTHEW 25:
- Read the Parable of the Virgins knowing that Jesus, our sacrificial bridegroom, paid the ultimate price for us, his bride, because we are so significant to Him.
- Read the Parable of the Talents and find joy completing the kingdom tasks our Lord gives us with the spiritual support we need leading to a reward kept for us forever.
- Read the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats knowing that because Jesus first cared for us, we can care for Him in return by caring for the least of His brothers and sisters.
MATTHEW 25 The Parable of Wise and Foolish Virgins. Jesus builds on the then-common practice of a bridegroom fetching his betrothed from her home to then process back to his home for the wedding feast. Along the way, invited folks would join in the procession to the feast. In this case there were ten virgins planning to join. This parable refers directly back to Jesus’s warning in Matt. 24:42 which is repeated almost verbatim at the conclusion of the parable: “Be on alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour” (Matt.25:13). To external appearances all the virgins appeared alike, considered pure in behavior and equipped with needed lamps. What was the problem with the foolish virgins? Hear the bridegroom’s final devastating statement: “I do not know you” (vs.12). They were shut out because they did not have a personal relationship with the bridegroom. They represent the unsaved who cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Do we have a vital born-again relationship with Jesus?
READINGS FOR MARCH 8, 2024 CONTINUED: MATTHEW 25, PSALM 18:1-6 The Parable of the Talents. Jesus casts Himself in the role of a master going on a journey. He entrusts three servants with differing amounts of talents: five, two, and one. The servant with five talents immediately set to work increasing his amount; the one with two did the same. The servant with only one feared taking any risks and hid his talent. Note Jesus gives us a hint His second coming might be delayed by his saying the master stayed away a long time. When the master finally returned, He praised those who doubled their investment. Their reward was greater responsibility and entrance into the master’s joy (kingdom of heaven). He scolded the risk-adverse servant; called him wicked and lazy; gave his talent to the servant with ten; and cast him out into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Too harsh? The fruit of our lives reveals the abiding state of our souls. Hear Jesus:
“I am the vine. You are the branches, he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:5-6). DO WE STAY CONNECTED TO JESUS AND RISK FOR HIM WHATEVER HE HAS GIVEN US?
The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. This is really a hybrid parable, containing some direct instruction. It is like the preceding parable in that it emphasizes the outward deeds of a person reflect the inner condition of the soul. Jesus casts Himself in the role of King but also as hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, and in prison. Only those who ministered to Jesus in these needy conditions entered into the kingdom of heaven. Those who did not were escorted into eternal fire. But literally who are these needy people? Jesus said they are “brothers of His” (vs.40). Remember what Jesus said earlier: “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matt.12:50). Although it is always good to help anyone in need, this passage likely refers to helping Christians in need. This view agrees with the following verses: 2 Corinthians 11:9, 1 John 3:17-18, James 2:15-17, andRomans 12:13.
Whom do we know among our Christian family who could use a touch from us today?
Psalm 18:1-6 This is song David wrote for a choir director. It is a song of praise describing what God is to him: his strength, his rock, his fortress, his deliverer, his refuge, his shield, his salvation, and his stronghold. David praises God for answering his call. (How often do people ignore our calls, texts, emails or we do likewise to others? Not our Lord.) David praises God for hearing his personal distress cry, even though the universe God rules from His Temple is vast. (Try getting a response from the leader of any organization.)
No wonder Noah offered a sacrifice immediately upon emerging from the Ark. No wonder Moses wrote a praise song immediately after crossing the Red Sea. No wonder Joshua piled up memorial stones after crossing the Jordan. No wonder the one leper came back to praise God for healing. The greater wonder was where the other nine were. Does God ever wonder where we are when we fail to offer Him praise for who He is and what he has done for us?
