Heaven is for the Asking

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.

Note this carefully: Heaven is for the asking. You do nothing, nothing, for salvation. You are saved by faith in Jesus Christ through His marvelous grace. However, your reward in heaven is determined by what you do down here on earth. We’ve seemed to lose sight of that. What kind of a place are you preparing for yourself?

The mother of disciples James and John asked Jesus a favor. In Your kingdom, may my two sons sit on Your right and left hand?

At any other time, you might excuse a mother such an ambitious request. But Jesus let her know she didn’t know what she was asking. Those places of honor were for His Father to assign according to their reward. The Lord makes it clear by example that the way to be great is to take the lowest place. He said this, of course, as He headed to Jerusalem “to give his life a ransom for many.”

The “Triumphal Entry”

When the Lord entered Jerusalem the week before He died, He came in a new role. Previously, He entered the city quietly by the sheep gate, through which the animals for sacrifice were brought. But not this time! Now He rides in as King, and those with Him recognize He’s making a statement. Nothing could be more forward or daring than riding on a little donkey, a practice reserved for kings. The donkey was the animal of peace while the horse was the animal of war. Jesus came into Jerusalem, offering Himself as King—a humble King, fulfilling Zechariah 9:9. He is never more kingly than when He approaches the cross. He is inviting Jerusalem to consider His claims one last time. It is their opportunity to accept Him or reject Him.

He came to Jerusalem that week as Priest, as King, as Prophet. These are not triumphal entries, because He is on His way to the cross to die for our sins. When He enters Jerusalem again, His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives. This will be the real triumphal entry!

Toe to Toe with the Religious Rulers

Meanwhile, the religious rulers were becoming ugly and hateful towards Jesus. They no longer question what the Lord Jesus is doing; they can’t deny the miracles. They can only question His authority.

But Jesus meets their challenge deliberately, forcing them to act when and how He chooses. Jesus is in full control of the situation, and they couldn’t ignore how intentionally Jesus moved against them. Once again, the rulers hope to trip Jesus up, but Jesus turns it right around on them, teaching them several parables which deliver a scathing message to them.

One of the parables describes a householder (God the Father) who sent his son (the Lord Jesus) to check on a field. The husbandmen (Israel) kills the son in order to get his inheritance. The religious rulers can’t miss His implication. They were livid at such a comparison. Jesus then compared Himself to the Old Testament “stone which the builders rejected. . .” and warned them that the kingdom of God will be taken from the Jews and given to the church. (See 1 Peter 2:9. The church is that “holy nation.”)

The religious rulers knew exactly what Jesus was saying and determined then and there Jesus must die. The only question was when.

1. Describe Jesus’ attitude and actions toward the religious leaders. What motivated this? How does this relate to “religious” people today?

2. What does the idea that “the way to be great is to take the lowest place” look like in practice?

3. Why would Jesus make a claim that He is King if He came to die for our sins?

Additional Resources

Listen to Dr. J. Vernon McGee’s complete teachings on Matthew 19:14—20:23 and Matthew 20:24—21:17.