On His Way to Jerusalem

Before you start todays devotional, ask the Lord to use it to grow you up in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Jesus invites us to follow Him in the “ordinary” days as He teaches anyone who will listen, interacts with His disciples, and, of all things, enjoys the company of children.

The Lord loved children. He warns against any who causes them to stumble or to lead them into sin. He gives top priority to sharing the gospel with them. He is still thinking of the “little ones” when He told the parable of the lost sheep. Tenderly He explains His primary purpose in coming to us was to save the lost.

70 x 7

No doubt as Jesus traveled and taught, people came to Him with their problems. What do we do when our brothers hurt us? Work it out in a peaceful way, He said. If that’s not possible, take it to a group. And if not that, to church leadership.

Of course, most people problems revolve around forgiveness. No doubt Peter heard this and asked, “How often should I forgive a brother?” The rabbis said two or three times. Peter suggests seven. The Lord said, “70 x 7” times. Then He tells a story about a man who had been forgiven a huge debt (2 million dollars) but refused to forgive someone else a $17 debt. This principle of forgiveness was a new thought for everyone. They had never heard Ephesians 4:32. Because God has forgiven us, we are to forgive each other. What God requires, He shows us how to do.

Marriage and Divorce

There was no better time than this to talk about divorce, an issue then as it is today. The religious rulers tested Jesus with a question. (Would He oppose Moses’ Law?)

Jesus took them back to God's ideal of marriage: A man and a woman became one flesh. Divorce wasn’t in God's original plan because sin wasn’t in God's original plan, and divorce is always a result of sin. God’s ideal is never divorce, but He is merciful to us and forgives us.

What about when adultery breaks up the marriage? Christians are granted divorce so the innocent partner can remarry. God doesn’t regulate the lives of unbelievers but wants them to respond to the message of the Cross first.

What Keeps You from Jesus?

An accomplished young man asks Jesus, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

Wisely, the Lord Jesus asked him first about keeping the commandments related to his fellow man. Murder? Adultery? Honor your parents? Love your neighbor. He had kept all these commandments, yet still recognized a lack in his life. Now the Lord asks him about his relationship to God. If you want to be complete, Jesus said, go sell all you have, give the money to the poor, and then come, follow Me.

His riches were his stumbling block. Yours could be something else. Is there something separating you from following Jesus with your whole heart? Ask Him to show you what’s in the way. You are truly saved when you realize you are a beggar with empty hands and nothing to offer Him for your salvation. If we think we can do something or pay God for salvation, we can no more be saved than a camel can be put through the eye of a needle.

Maybe the Lord’s encounter with the rich, young ruler made Peter think. “Lord, we have left everything to follow You. What will we get? (See Matthew 19:27-30.) The Lord didn’t rebuke Peter for being selfish. Instead, He told him what a great reward God is preparing for His followers who have sacrificed for Jesus' sake.

God turns this world’s priorities upside down. Faithfulness to the task, rather than the amount of work done or type of work, governs our rewards in heaven.

1. Dr. McGee suggests the root of almost all people problems is a forgiveness issue. Do you agree? What can Ephesians 4:32 teach us?

2. Why is forgiveness so hard, particularly when it happens more than once?

3. The young man who asked Jesus about eternal life was prevented from following Jesus by his riches, but there are many things that can get in the way of us following Christ. What are some things that get in your way?

Additional Resources

Listen to Dr. J. Vernon McGee’s complete teachings on Matthew 18.