MATTHEW 20 UP TO JERUSALEM The training time continued as the Lord Jesus explained more kingdom principles to His disciples. Most of us try to balance value on the basis of effort expended. To many the worth of a person is measured by how much they have accumulated as a result of the labor they have put forth over the years. Many will scorn a person who has been given an inheritance not having to work for what they possess. The Lord Jesus taught them that the sovereign graciousness of the Lord does not have anything to do with us earning His grace and generosity. Those who are poor and outcasts have an equal worth in God's reckoning as those who seek to earn their own way into the kingdom of heaven. Many people cannot understand grace for some reason. When we esteem ourselves higher than others for any reason, grace seems unfair. The grumblers and complainers don't have a proper knowledge of the God of all grace. "God is no respecter of persons." Religious people still stumble over the riches of God's grace. Independent people also have a hard time admitting to their need of anything from anybody - including God. Self-satisfied people do not want anything to disturb the false peace they have built around themselves and by themselves.
We need to be reminded ourselves, and those we seek to help come into the kingdom, that we must come to God without anything of ourselves to merit His grace and favor. Those who are saved by God's grace all come to God valued by Him alone, not themselves or others.
As I followed in my mind the journey of Jesus, He left the far side of Jordan and started the ascent from the depths of the Jordan Valley to heights of the city of gold. On the way He told them a third time of the things that were going to happen to Him there. Now, instead of refusing to believe it could happen like when they heard of it the first time, or the great grief they had when He told them the second time - this time we read of no response on the part of the disciples. Perhaps by now they were resigned to the fact that the crucifixion was going to take place. Now on the way up to Jerusalem maybe they were thinking the kingdom of which they were now a part, would come into the public then - after His resurrection. The fact of the resurrection of Christ wasn't really understood until after it had happened. Zebedee's wife came to the Lord thinking that He would take over the rule of the nation then. Her request was a testimony that she was confident He was the Christ. It is kind of natural for a mother to want her sons to be in a place of authority or at least, recognition. The fact of the kingdom was believed. The principles, practices and time were still not understood.
Humility is not usually associated with the leadership of a kingdom. The Lord used this incident as a "teaching moment" to teach all the disciples a fundamental principle. He used Himself as an example they could all recognize. He was serving them, not they serving Him. He was meeting the needs of all who came to Him - the poor, the sick, the sorrowing - He met their needs. Then He applied the greatest possible benefit. He came to give "His life as a ransom for many." The supreme act of leadership is to give one's life for others.
Service has a price. We usually would rather be served than serve. We are more inclined to take the high place than the low. We rather like it when people look up to us instead of ignoring or looking down on us. But in the kingdom of heaven, the way up is down. The way to win is to lose. The way to get is to give. The way to live is to die. And the way to lead is to serve.
The final time Jesus passed through Jericho, there was a rich tax collector named Zacchaeus the Lord saved as He came into the city and two blind men received their sight and followed Him, on the way out of Jericho. The grace and mercy of the Lord was made very evident there even though it was a city under a curse. On the way up to Jerusalem, the sovereignty, the sacrifice, the service, the grace, the mercy and the compassion of the Lord Jesus were all demonstrated to those who followed Him. As we go onward in our way to the city of God, kingdom characteristics should easily be evident in those of us who learn of Him and follow Him.
On the upward climb to our heavenly home, There are choices to be made and things to be done, That disciples of the Lord can do in this kingdom work. And the length or shortness of the tasks we dare not to shirk, Because our Sovereign Master has equipped us to ably serve, And until the harvest is all brought in, we are not to leave. That harvest is precious to Him and it should be to us. The Gospel message of life and hope has been given to us in trust.
There will be complicating factors that arise before we are through. In some life-issues we will hardly know what to do.
Many people pressing into the kingdom have baggage they bare, And the best we can do to help them is to let them know we care. Trying to help them solve the many difficulties they are in, Doesn't excuse them from the consequences of their past life of sin. They need someone who is willing to come alongside, And open the scriptures and pray for the Holy Spirit to guide.
The ones who exalt themselves God says will be abased. Serving in the kingdom doesn't start at the top but at the base. The Lord's personal testimony of His sacrifice is the key As to what has value in the kingdom and for eternity. To be sitting beside the greatest Servant of all, Means we will be ready to act as we wait for His beck and call. When a person is in need, and that need He leads us to know; It is up to us, the grace and mercy of God to that person we must show.
When on the way "up to Jerusalem," our celestial home above, It is expected that we show our reality by the way we express love As a characteristic of disciples who love and follow the Lord. Seeing God working through us to bless others is a great reward. This begins with compassion from within - the result of our gratitude To the Lord for His grace and goodness to us - this will be our attitude. What we do is done out of our appreciation for the ransom price He paid. And the Person we want to honor is the One to whom our surrender we made.
"Father, the compassion of the Savior as He went up to Jerusalem is a challenge to me to be compassionate and to "let my light so shine before men that they will glorify the Father in heaven." May I not avoid or ignore the need of compassion so many people have. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."