Troublemaker

And thank you ... what a fierce piece this is! Jesus doesn't beat around the bush: with His presence comes trouble.

It reminds me of two quotes from this episode of The Chosen:

"The very fact that He is the Messiah means there's going to be trouble." - Andrew

"Do you know what you're getting yourself into?" - Quintus

But ... didn't Jesus come to make everything right? Why trouble?

Because light and darkness clash. At the Fall, you see the entrance of darkness. Since there is a struggle between light and darkness and good and evil, no surprise that when the Light (Jesus Himself) comes into the world, there is a struggle with that.

Trouble.

Do you experience the same?

That can be frightening. I can just imagine reading the section and thinking, "Well, I'd rather not." Understandable. Until you discover how good and beautiful the "light" is. Until you discover ho Jesus is. Until you discover how He is worth everything and following Him brings you fulfillment. Even if it costs you everything.

Trouble.

In Andrew, you see fear.

In Quintus, you see something completely different again. What do you see? What do you experience?

Moving on to Quintus and the conversation with Jesus, "Do you know what you are doing and where this is leading?"

Jesus doesn't address it. He continues. You see no paralysis through fear, no flight from that which He knows is inevitably coming. But a quiet living out of what God the Father gave Him to do. Isn't that a wonderful example for us?

Don't get me wrong, fear is very human, flight is very understandable. But when you notice these reactions in yourself, what do you do? Do you turn yourself to Him who knows what it is to go through trouble? Again and again, let it be our prayer: "Lord, make me more like You."

Take the following questions to think about:

• Do you experience trouble? Where, when, how?
• What do you do with trouble and what does trouble do to you?
• What touches you most from the section from Matthew?

Prayer: "Lord, I would like to be more like You. Not paralyzed by fear, not fleeing because of what I see. But quietly, looking at You, the King of light. The Prince of Peace, who wants to give peace in my heart even though 'trouble' is very near. Lord, make me more like You. Amen.

P.S. This is the last day of this reading plan. We hope it has helped you as a follower of Jesus and that you have enjoyed it.

The materials in this reading plan come from Alongsiders, a European discipleship movement and Jesus.net.

Of course, there is much more to discover! Do you want to take the next step? Do you have a heart for discipleship and do you want to know more about how to follow Jesus together with others? Visit our website.