The Way of Readiness

Introduction

If we will be looking in Matthew chapter 24, I want to begin in just a few minutes reading in verse 1 of that chapter. I want to lead our way into that by concluding some things in Matthew 23. So good to see you here this morning. I know we have a lot of visitors coming in town for family events. We have some of our people gone for the same reason, and many of us will be traveling over the next week. And so hope those things go well and our travels are safe and we enjoy our time with family. Let’s open scripture together. I want to look at the end of chapter 23 of Matthew, where Jesus offers this lament. He has just condemned the scribes and the Pharisees.

He’s called them hypocrites numerous times at this point, exposing the fruitlessness of their worship. And then he laments Jerusalem, the state of this city that’s supposed to be the city of God. It’s supposed to be the heart of their worship. The temple is there, but instead they kill the prophets, they stone the people who are sent to it to speak truth. And he wishes he could help them. But in his continuation of the condemnation of the temple in verse 38, he says, See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you will not see me again until you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And this is where we pick up beginning in chapter 24, this kind of interesting little interlude with what takes place from the condemnation of the Jewish leaders.

And now he’s going to work into a more private discussion with the disciples. And it is kind of fascinating how all this takes place with what the disciples are going to mention here, that then allows Jesus to kind of launch into this final discourse. So we’ve we’ve made it this far in the book where we’ve reached the last major sermon or teaching section, which is in chapters 24 and 25. And so we have this discussion about the destruction of the temple that’s going to take place here. There’s some debate between people about when is it talking about the destruction of the temple? When is it talking about final judgment? I’ll just tell you now, I lean toward almost all of it being about the destruction of the temple, with little pieces of it talking about final judgment.

And then twenty-five, the end of twenty-five, which we’ll read here in a little bit, I do think is kind of a discussion about the end of times, the final judgment, and what that’s going to look like. But along the way, Jesus has some teaching episodes, as Jesus tends to do, he tells some parables to try to illustrate some really important points that he wants his disciples to understand about all the things that they’re seeing, the feelings that they’re having about all of this. He wants to kind of bring this down to what is most important as he’s kind of nearing the end of his time here on earth. I want to begin reading in verse one. It says, Jesus left the temple, so he’s done all this condemnation of the temple, he has judged the rulers and the leaders, and now he’s turning around and he’s leaving.

Jesus left the temple and he was going away when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, You see all these, do you not? Truly I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age? And Jesus answered them, see that no one leads you astray, for many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray, and you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another, and many false prophets will arise and lead many astray, and because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold, but the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

I want to jump down to verse 32. He says, From the fig tree learn its lesson. So we already had an illustration earlier about a fig tree that had leaves and had no fruit, and he used that to then launch into this condemnation of the temple with its fruitless worship. So he’s coming back to this image here. From the fig tree, learn its lesson. As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near at the very gates. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

But concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away. So will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field, and one will be taken, and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken, and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming, but know this that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.

Therefore, you also must be ready. For the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has sowed over his house to give them their food at the proper time. Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, My master is delayed, and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards, so the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour he does not know, and he will cut him in pieces and put him in with the hypocrites.

In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The discussion continues on with a few more parables. We’re not going to read all of these.

1. Don't Take Security in Things That Cannot Protect You

Young people, maybe you’ve seen your parents get upset about something, maybe at you or one of your siblings, or someone else, and that can be a tense moment. And you so you maybe you try to find some way to break that tension. Oh, look at that building. Isn’t that beautiful? Look at that, right? And so Jesus is leaving the temple here, and in their, I guess, ignorance of where this would lead, they point out, oh, look at the temple. Isn’t it nice? In Mark’s account, it’s even more pointed. It says, Oh, look at these wonderful stones and wonderful buildings. I tend to think they kind of still don’t get it. Jesus has just condemned the temple and everything going on, and as they’re walking out, they’re like, oh, isn’t it pretty?

You know, and now he’s ready to launch into what’s going to come of this. They are captivated. They are brought in, as is the history of God’s people, all the way back from the time of Jeremiah, which we talked about last time. Jeremiah 7 and the temple sermon there, where they take all of their trust and their faith. It’s in the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. It’s still standing. Certainly, God is here with us because the temple is here. And so they put their security in this idea that this building or the structure still stands and they can still go there and do their sacrifices and have their worship and the priestly service. And all of that makes them have this confidence, really, it’s a false confidence that they shouldn’t have had because they’re living in sin, that everything’s going to be okay.

And so they’re saying peace when there is no peace. This is the context of Jeremiah 7, which Jesus actually alludes to back in chapter 21 when he starts condemning the temple. This is a problem that has existed for a long time that people tend to put their safety, their security, and the wrong things. As they’re walking out, the disciples, instead of contemplating all the condemnations and the problems that Jesus has talked about, their eyes are distracted by the beautiful stones and the buildings. Look at how amazing this is. It looks so great. It’s strong and fortified, impenetrable. Nothing can get through here. I mean, this is God’s temple. It’s the place, it’s the heart of worship, and they’ve struggled with this concept already, looking at people like the rich ruler.

I mean, if that guy can’t be saved, who can be saved? I mean, their hearts and their minds are still attached to the old system and the old ways that Jesus has been trying to break down and deconstruct through his entire ministry. And in a very pointed way, he said, You see what’s happening here? The heart of Jewish religion, it’s empty and fruitless. There’s nothing going on here that God approves of and likes. And then chapter 23 is just this outright rebuke of the people who should have been leading them in the right direction. And a lot of what’s going to happen in the next two chapters, part of which we read, is Jesus saying, don’t miss it like those people missed it. These people who were supposed to get it and they were supposed to receive me as the Messiah and see the work of God taking place through me, and they completely missed it, and they didn’t pay attention, they weren’t awake and they weren’t ready.

Don’t be like that. And he uses this destruction of the temple, the destruction of Jerusalem, to kind of launch into a bigger concept. Certainly part of it, a lot of it is about the destruction of Jerusalem. But as tends to be the case with judgment prophecy, particularly what’s taking place here in a kind of an apocalyptic type language, it’s a lot like revelation if you read through it. It’s not meant to just focus on that moment alone, but this is the sort of thing that happens when the Lord comes in judgment. And so be ready for it. Whether it’s the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, or whether it’s the destruction of the things that we tend to put our faith and trust in our time and our place, all of it we need to understand is not the right thing to put our faith in.

Don’t take security in things that cannot truly protect you. That’s what Jesus wants us to understand. Whether that’s temples, like they’re looking at, or some other types of buildings and structures, whether it’s systems, you know, economic systems or government systems, you know, put my faith in capitalism or in socialism or whatever the ism is that I think is going to protect me or make things so much better, it’s not. That is not the answer. And it cannot ultimately protect any of us. As much as we try to do the right thing here in this place specifically.

That brings true security and safety and peace. That is not the answer. Anything that I say or anything that one of the elders says or anything a teacher says, all of this should be checked against the reality of the words of Jesus Himself. Don’t put trust in men, don’t put trust in buildings, don’t put trust in signs, don’t put trust in the wrong things. Put trust in the words of Jesus Himself and the truth that comes from that. That’s what actually matters. He tells them, many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another, and many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Verses 10 through 13. If I put my faith and my trust in people, in human physical things, in matter, the types of things that you or I could build, like a building like this, and I think, well, I go to the right building, or maybe even I have the right friends, or any of those kinds of things. Here’s the reality that Jesus points out. People fall away. People betray us. People do the wrong thing. And so if everything is built up and caught up in the relationships I have with people or with objects, when those things fail me, I’m going to be undermined. It’s not that. Those things can be good and they can be important. Certainly, Jesus wants us to come to places like this.

And he wants us to build these relationships. But the reality is someone could be a hypocrite. Someone could betray us. That doesn’t take away from the truth of what Jesus tells us. It doesn’t undermine who he is and what his mission is and what he wants me to accomplish and what he wants you to accomplish. Just because humans fail and humans do the wrong thing, and just because material things fail, one day, sometime down the road, some of you young people, you’ll come back to this thing, and it’ll probably be some decrepit building that no one uses anymore. That’s what happens. That’s what takes place in life. Don’t get caught up in the beautiful stones, in the wonderful buildings. That’s not the answer. That’s not where true peace is found.

It’s much more about what’s actually happening within those buildings and within those stones. That’s what can be truly beautiful or truly decrepit, as Jesus points out in the previous chapters. It’s all about how we’re responding to the will of God and what he wants from us. That is where trust should be placed in the truth of Jesus and His mission and His words. Do not get caught up in appearances. He’s actually just restating the same messages he’s already given in previous chapters. Alright, so we go back to chapter 23. Remember what he told him? As he’s condemning the scribes and the Pharisees, you clean the outside of the cup and plate, but inside, you’re full of greed and self-indulgence. You hypocrites, you’re like whitewashed tombs.

This is the outside, right? This is the beautiful stones and the beautiful buildings. You make all that look really good, but inside you’re full of dead men’s bones. The outside and the appearances don’t really matter. Don’t get caught up in that. Get caught up and be focused and put trust in what Jesus has to say on the matter. It is following Jesus that brings safety and security. And so he ends this section by saying, Heaven and earth will pass away. All the things, good and bad, whatever they might be. They’re all matter, they’re all physical. All of this is going to be done away with at some point, but my words will not pass away. Matthew 24, verse 25, 35, excuse me. We want to put something, faith in something that is secure, something that is solid.

2. Do Not Worry About the End; Be Faithful Now

It’s going to be the things that Jesus says. That’s what I can depend on. That’s what I can put my faith in. That’s not going to go away. Everything else can be shaken, can be destroyed. Secondly, and maybe the core issue that he wants to point out to his disciples is do not worry about the end. Be faithful now. People are fascinated by the end of time, aren’t they? Every year I see this prediction or that prediction, you know. If we put these numbers together and we combine these verses, then we end up with like February 13th, 2029 is the end of time, or whatever the prediction is. And then, of course, when that’s wrong, the calculations change, and someone comes up with some other answer, and people are fascinated with this kind of thing.

And even if it’s not specific dates or those kinds of things, people want to kind of sift through chapters like Matthew 24 and 25. What clues and signs can we pick up at that will show us when the end is actually going to come? And let me just suggest to you that if that’s the way you’re approaching Matthew 24 and 25 or Mark 13, you are missing the very point Jesus wants to make.

So whatever we want to apply this to, whatever kind of judgment or the end of some major thing is going to take place, we just don’t know. And this is the point Jesus wants to make to them. Stop worrying so much about the end and just make sure you’re ready for whenever it comes. That’s it’s just a distraction. Trying to calculate and figure all this out and decide, okay, I think these signs, you know, we have some wars, or we have this major tsunami, or whatever it might be. This is how it always goes, right? Some huge major event. Is this the end times? You know, there’s a war going on in Ukraine and Russia, and then there’s some tsunami that takes place, and then there’s earthquakes.

This must be signs of the end. That’s signs you don’t know how to read your Bible. That’s what Jesus wants us to understand. This is what he’s talking about. Stop getting caught up in all these things about the end and realize the most important thing is being ready for whatever end comes in my life. The truth is, it’s much more likely that one day I’m gonna have a heart attack or a stroke or some other thing is gonna take place, and it’s not even the end of the world. It’s not even the end of the nation or whatever I can imagine this huge major event. It’s just gonna be my end. And what Jesus wants his disciples and what he wants us to understand is we need to be ready for that now.

Don’t wait and make the calculations and try to figure it out so you can be ready then. That’s gonna be a failure. Take aim at the issue right now, getting the heart right. This is what he’s been working on actually through his entire ministry, as we’ve been working through Matthew. Is my heart right with God? Am I doing the right things? Am I pursuing the right sorts of ideas and concepts? And consistently, what he’s wanting his disciples to see is don’t get caught up in all the appearances, don’t get be worried about all the false Christ who say, hey, I’ve got the way. If you follow me, I’ve got all the answers. Don’t get caught up in all that kind of stuff. Just make sure you’re understanding the will of the Son of God Himself, the Son of Man, and you’re following Him and you’re pursuing His things, and you’re not getting distracted by all the things taking place in the world, getting caught up in all that, but you’re focusing on am I right with God right now?

Because right now could be the end. We don’t know. And the most important thing for us to do is make sure at this very moment, not sometime in the future that we’ve calculated or figured out or thought about, but that right now we are prepared for the coming of the Lord. And so he gives them this warning about Noah. You know, this is just like the days of Noah. Noah warned people, he’s this preacher of righteousness, he’s building this ark and all this, but nobody knew when this is all going to take place. And then suddenly Noah goes in the ark and the earth opens and water starts coming and it starts raining, and the time came. You know, people were still getting engaged, they were getting married, they were doing all these things that you do in life.

And nobody expected that day to be the day, but it was. The warning is stay awake. You must be ready, he says. And he doesn’t mean stay awake and try to find the signs. You know, look for the events that are going to tell me the end is coming. Just stay awake and be alert. Make sure you’re ready no matter when that happens. And he tells some parables to help us and help us think through this process a little bit. There’s three parables here. There’s one about the master who goes away. Well, there’s actually two about masters who go away, but the first one is the master goes away and he leaves somebody in charge. And the expectation is he’ll come back at some point, and this person has done what he was asked to do.

Interestingly, what he’s asked to do is feed his people. So we’ll come back to that here in a little bit. But the expectation is he’s going to take care of the people under his charge. And the warning, which I think is actually another direct attack on religious leadership of the day, going back to concepts in Matthew 23, this picture of abusive religion, where they’re laying heavy burdens on people. It talks about here beating the people and being unkind to them, not doing the very thing he’s supposed to be doing is doing the opposite. Which is sort of what happens with the scribes and the Pharisees, who are supposed to be feeding people with the knowledge of God, and yet they’re keeping it from them. They’re keeping them out of the kingdom, as we learned in Matthew 23.

So he’s very pointed even here with what he’s doing with these parables. But there are little nuances of what he’s wanting them to understand. This reality sometimes, if we aren’t prepared, the moral decay that comes, right? What we see in all of these have to do with delay. Every parable has to do with delay. It’s not what we expect. And so this person’s put in charge of this, and over time he decides, ah, you know, I’m just going to start doing the things I want to do. I’m going to do what benefits me. And so he’s disregarding, he’s neglecting the people under his charge. He’s spending time doing things that he wants that are not in alignment with what the master wants. And then the end result is the master comes back at a time he does not expect, and he’s judged harshly for his lack of integrity, the fact that he didn’t stay the course.

The next parable, one you likely are pretty familiar with is the parable of the ten virgins. Five are foolish and five are wise. And you probably remember some of them come with lamp, with a lamp and extra oil, and the others do not. And what’s actually interesting about this story is the same things happen to everyone, except for one thing. You know, they all fall asleep, they’re all waiting. The bridegroom hasn’t come, he’s delayed. It’s the same experience, but the real problem with the five foolish ones is they did not prepare to endure. They didn’t prepare for the wait.

Their spirituality is shallow. It didn’t carry them through to the end. And what Jesus wants his disciples and wants us to understand is that things aren’t going to be easy. There’s going to be difficulties.

And you’re going to have to go through difficulties and struggles and through delays. And you would like for the Lord to come. Have you ever said that? Have you ever been in a situation where you thought, I just wish the Lord would come right now. It would make things way easier. You know, you’re going through some sort of difficulty or struggle. And you know, you know, it’s it’s gonna be great. When the Lord comes back and we’re with him and we get to spend eternity with him. It’s gonna be amazing. And it’s not that we don’t enjoy some things here, and we don’t like that some of the things that we have here, but it’s hard, isn’t it? There’s stresses, there’s things we go through that are not easy.

And so there’s times in our minds where, man, it would just be so much easier if the master would just come back right now. But that’s not the reality. We don’t know. And what Jesus wants us to do is not have shallow faith, not have a shallow spirituality that can’t weather storms and difficulties and delays. And that’s what he’s explaining here. Bring the extra oil. Go deep. Make sure you really understand who I am and what I want. It’s not just surface level stuff. This is not just the minimum requirement. That’s not going to get you through. That’s what these foolish virgins did. They brought the minimum, right? They brought the lamp with some oil in it, but eventually the lamp burned out, and so did they.

Their spirituality was shallow, it wasn’t deep, and so when the delay came and there was difficulty, they burnt out. They had nothing left. Don’t be like that. That’s what Jesus is saying. Be ready. Prepare for the reality that there’s going to be things that are hard and difficult. And then there is probably the most famous of the three, and that is the parable of the talents. And this, the master gives each something to have responsibility over, which is a key part of the story. And he goes away for a time. And when he returns, he’s going to call them to account. What have you done with what I’ve given you? So clearly, this concept of delay or expectation in the midst of difficulty or living this life has more to do with responsibility.

What we’re doing with what we’re given. So there’s integrity in the first story. And then wisdom, preparedness, going deeper than just shallow faith and shallow religion. And this last one has to do with the responsibility we have as God’s people. How we operate as stewards. And a key part of this comes to the latter part of the parable where he talks about this one talent man who is not lesser just because he’s because he has one talent, but because he lives in fear. He lives in fear. He’s so afraid he’s going to do it wrong that he does nothing. He just takes what God has given him, he buries it in the ground.

And he thinks this is the best course, right? I’m just going to preserve what God has given me. Well, when it’s time to give account, he’s told you should have invested with what you were given. Preparing for the end, being ready, isn’t just preservation. It’s not hunker down, bury yourself, and then just give back what you were given. That is not the expectation that God has for us. And that is the illustration of the idea of investing. Right? Investing with what God has given us. He’s not interested in your 401k or that you have a good retirement. That’s not the point of any of this. But it is the idea of taking what we’re given and actually using it to benefit the kingdom, not just burying it in the ground so that when the Lord comes back, we say, see, you gave me this and I still have it.

I didn’t mess it up. That is not the point of Christianity. No, it is to take what we’re given and to use it for the purposes of the kingdom and to glorify God, and the one talent man does not do that. And there is severe judgment that comes from his desire to just preserve and not to actually grow.

So I can’t make these decisions. But I do have to recognize the harshness of what comes from this. He doesn’t say, you know, you messed up, but you still got what I gave you. The other two, he says, enter into the joy of your master. But he’s upset with this guy. He says, there’s all sorts of things you could have done with what I gave you, but you just chose not to. So he takes what he has and he gives it to another. And he says, to take this servant and throw him in the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Man. That’s a lot. Just for his lack of interest in investing in the responsibility that God gave him.

That’s pretty hard to hear. Anyone who’s reading this or thinking through it, thinking, am I actually using, am I using well what God has given me? That’s the very point Jesus wants us to get from it. Right? Are we ready for the end? Being ready for the end means being faithful now. It means taking what God has blessed me with right now and using that for his purposes and his kingdom. And maybe it doesn’t seem like much. I’ll tell you right now, if you take your money and you bring it to the bank, you’re not going to get much for that. I mean, like pennies. You put a, I don’t care how much, $50,000 with the bank. How much are you going to get back in interest?

It’s like pocket change. It’s not much. But you know what? It’s something. That’s better than taking it and burying it in your backyard and doing nothing with it, which actually it’s losing value. That’s a whole other discussion. But look, the whole point is, do something with what you have. Now, maybe in my mind or in your mind, as we’re looking at the things we’re doing, we think, ah, it’s just not much. But God isn’t asking us to make sure we produce 100% or 300% or 500%. He’s asking us to produce, to invest in what he’s given us. That’s the way that we’re ready for the end. However, we can do that, and it may seem small or it may seem big to us. That’s really not all that important.

What’s important is that we’re taking what God is giving us and we’re using that. That’s part of our preparation for the end. Stop worrying about the end. Be faithful now and use what God has given us now. That’s the focus of what God wants from us. And then there’s the last section of this.

3. Know What Jesus Values

And it’s people who want to be ready for the end. We need to make sure we know what Jesus values, what’s important to him. Well, he tells us here in chapter 25. When the Son of Man comes in his glory, this is chapter 25, verse 31, Matthew 25, 31, when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all his angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink? And when do we see you a stranger and welcome you or naked and clothe you? And when do we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the king will answer them. Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, and to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

For I was hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison, and you did not visit me. Then they also will answer, saying, Lord, when do we see you hungry or thirsty, or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, did not minister to you. Then he will answer them, saying, Truly I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. And these will go into eternal punishment, but the righteous and to eternal life.

That God cares about, that Jesus cares about, but it is interesting to me here, that what he truly cares about in this text, which is a portrayal, I think, of the end of time here in Matthew 25, is how he treat people. He doesn’t say your rabbis had all the right answers, and in their debates they got everything correct.

You figured out the man of lawlessness and Thessalonians. So go ahead and come on in. You understood deeply the book of Revelation in Hebrews. Welcome. Now, are those things good things to study? And no, of course. They’re part of God’s word, and we want to put some attention on them. But ultimately, the two greatest commands get put together into one in this text. And that’s what I want us to see. Because as we’ve already talked about, you can have all, and Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 13. You can have amazing faith, and you can have all sorts of abilities and talents, and if you don’t have love, you have nothing. You can know all the right answers, and you still can be completely wrong.

This is part of the point Jesus is making to the scribes and Pharisees. Even if you are right, you’re wrong because of how you treat people. And so, in the context of all that, and that’s important to understand there’s a context to this, he’s sort of bringing this all home. He’s summating the point here and saying, hey, if you want to enter the kingdom of God, here’s how you do it. You see somebody hungry, you feed them. Right? Someone who’s naked, you clot them. People who are in need, you take care of people, and here’s the fundamental key to this. It’s not just that you do kind things or you do nice stuff. That’s great. But it’s the point Jesus makes when they say, Hey, when did we do this?

Or when did we not do it? On the other side, when he says this, as you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind, and your strength. And the second is like unto it, love your neighbor as yourself. John says a very similar thing in 1 John. You say you love God, but you hate the brother who you see. How can you actually love God who you don’t see when you hate the person who you do see? That doesn’t make any sense. And so the two commandments come together as one. When did you do it or when did you not do it? When you either did or didn’t do it to the least of my people, you did it to me.

In those moments, you either love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, your mind, and strength and neighbor yourself, or you didn’t.

This is what matters to Jesus in the end. This is completely anti-Pharisaical. The kind of people who were holier than thou. They were too good to be with those lower people. They wouldn’t even go into their homes. Because they weren’t holy enough. Jesus condemns this on a number of levels. But you can be assured to the disciples listening to Jesus who know the Pharisees quite well, this would have been an abiding condemnation. I mean, the people who are sick or poor or who are struggling, God hasn’t blessed them. Why would I, why would I go spend time with them? I’m trying to be separate. I’m trying to be holy. I’m trying to be different. This is the mindset, at least of some of the Pharisees that Jesus deals with.

And what Jesus is saying, you know, it’s quite the opposite. If you actually love me with your whole heart, you will see other people as people made in the image of God, and you will care for them. And when you do that, you demonstrate you love me. Now, I’m not saying other things don’t matter at all to Jesus, but he clearly demonstrates here what is extremely important to him. And I have to say, one day when I face him in judgment, I’m going to have to answer these questions. Did I help people who were hungry? Did I care about the sick, the people who are struggling, who are going through difficulty, or were they just pawns in the story of my life in my relationship to God where I become self-righteous and I think I’m so holy.

This is the problem Jesus is facing with Jewish establishment. And it may very well be the problem he’s facing in my heart if I’m not careful. If I’m putting my trust in the wrong things, if I value buildings and structures and physical things rather than the words of Jesus himself, if I’m not letting teachings like this actually convict my heart and change me, but I’m taking comfort in systems and organizations and things that make me feel good about myself when I’m actually not doing what Jesus says to do. When we understand it on these terms, it is very convicting. The Pharisees regrate at tithing meant and dill and cumen. But then they neglected what actually mattered. What was truly valuable? Justice and mercy and faithfulness. And so what we see in these stories is there are real eternal consequences attached to where we put our trust and who and what we follow.

Conclusion

Jesus says, don’t blindly follow systems in the world, people in the world, organizations in the world. Don’t thoughtlessly follow blind guides who lead you into ditches. Seek to be with others who are seeking security through the good news of Jesus and His way of life. And if we do that, it doesn’t matter how difficult the road is, the things that we go through. I want to kind of bring this all back to the focus of what we’ve been doing all through Matthew. If we’re living like Jesus with Jesus’ people, that is the way. That’s the way to live. And that’s the encouragement for us this morning looking at this text. Sometimes seen as rather complex, but I think it’s pretty simple. Be faithful now. Serve God now.

Don’t get so caught up in the appearances of things and how strong something looks. Jesus is what matters. Follow him right now. Don’t be distracted by the things in the world. Understand he is the right way to live. He gives us this model, he tells us what to do, and every single one of us can do our best to follow that. And if we do that, we have security and peace. We have faith that God will deliver on his promises and that we will be with him for eternity. If you’re not part of God’s people this morning, we can help you with that. That’s all pretty plain, too. You can be baptized into Jesus Christ this morning, right now, for the remission of your sins. The things in your life that have gone wrong that you have done in rebellion to God, those things can be wiped off of your account, remembered no more.

And now you can live in the light of the kingdom of his son. Can we help you? Why don’t you come now as we stand and we sing?