Matthew 20:17-34 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God Sent Himself - August 26, 2021

God is with us. Prophets weren’t enough. Apostles wouldn’t do. Angels won’t suffice. God sent more than miracles and messages. He sent himself; he sent his Son. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).

Jesus has been where you are; he can relate to how you feel. And if his life on earth doesn’t convince you, his death on the cross should. He understands what you are going through. No one penned it more clearly than did the author of Hebrews. “Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help” (Hebrews 4:15–16 CEV).

Matthew 20:17-34
Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time

17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
A Mother’s Request

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

21 “What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Two Blind Men Receive Sight

29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Thursday, August 26, 2021
Today's Scripture
Matthew 10:1–7
,
32–33
(NIV)

Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spiritsa and to heal every disease and sickness.b

2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.c

5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.d 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.e 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heavenf has come near.’

“Whoever acknowledges me before others,f I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.g

Insight

As with other lists of Jesus’ disciples in the Gospels (Mark 3:16–19; Luke 6:14–16), in Matthew’s account (Matthew 10:1–4), Simon Peter appears first and Judas Iscariot (the betrayer) last. Among these special agents who became the foundation stones for the church (Ephesians 2:20) were Matthew the tax collector (Matthew 10:3) and Simon the Zealot (v. 4). Under normal circumstances, these two wouldn’t likely be part of the same group. The tax collectors were Israelites who were employed by the Roman government to collect taxes from their own countrymen. They had a reputation for extortion and because of their constant contact with gentiles were considered ceremonially unclean. On the other hand, before being called by Jesus, Simon the Zealot (as the term Zealot indicates), was in some way associated with a group of devoted Jewish patriots who were resistant to Roman rule and even resorted to violence. Both were on Jesus’ core team.

To learn more about Matthew’s gospel, visit ChristianUniversity.org/NT218.

By: Arthur Jackson

Heeding the Warnings

Whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
Matthew 10:33

When a pickpocket tried to pilfer my property while I was on vacation in another country, it wasn’t a surprise. I’d read warnings about the danger of subway thieves, so I knew what to do to protect my wallet. But I never expected it to happen.

Fortunately, the young man who grabbed my wallet had slippery fingers, so it fell to the floor where I could retrieve it. But the incident reminded me that I should have heeded the warnings.

We don’t like to dwell on warnings because we think they’ll get in the way of enjoying life, but it’s imperative to pay attention to them. For instance, Jesus gave us a clear warning while sending out His disciples to proclaim God’s coming kingdom (Matthew 10:7). He said, “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven” (vv. 32–33).

We have a choice. In love, God provided a Savior and a plan for us to be in His presence for eternity. But if we turn away from God and choose to reject His message of salvation and the real life He offers for both now and forever, we lose out on the opportunity to be with Him.

May we trust in Jesus, the One who chose to save us from being eternally separated from the One who loves and made us.By:  Dave Branon

Reflect & Pray

Why is rejecting Jesus such a serious thing? How have you chosen to respond to His call?

Heavenly Father, thank You for providing salvation through Jesus. And thank You for sending warnings to remind me of the importance of putting my faith in Him.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, August 26, 2021

Are You Ever Troubled?

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you… —John 14:27

There are times in our lives when our peace is based simply on our own ignorance. But when we are awakened to the realities of life, true inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus. When our Lord speaks peace, He creates peace, because the words that He speaks are always “spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Have I ever received what Jesus speaks? “…My peace I give to you…”— a peace that comes from looking into His face and fully understanding and receiving His quiet contentment.

Are you severely troubled right now? Are you afraid and confused by the waves and the turbulence God sovereignly allows to enter your life? Have you left no stone of your faith unturned, yet still not found any well of peace, joy, or comfort? Does your life seem completely barren to you? Then look up and receive the quiet contentment of the Lord Jesus. Reflecting His peace is proof that you are right with God, because you are exhibiting the freedom to turn your mind to Him. If you are not right with God, you can never turn your mind anywhere but on yourself. Allowing anything to hide the face of Jesus Christ from you either causes you to become troubled or gives you a false sense of security.

With regard to the problem that is pressing in on you right now, are you “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2) and receiving peace from Him? If so, He will be a gracious blessing of peace exhibited in and through you. But if you only try to worry your way out of the problem, you destroy His effectiveness in you, and you deserve whatever you get. We become troubled because we have not been taking Him into account. When a person confers with Jesus Christ, the confusion stops, because there is no confusion in Him. Lay everything out before Him, and when you are faced with difficulty, bereavement, and sorrow, listen to Him say, “Let not your heart be troubled…” (John 14:27).

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

We can understand the attributes of God in other ways, but we can only understand the Father’s heart in the Cross of Christ.  The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 558 L

Bible in a Year: Psalms 119:89-176; 1 Corinthians 8

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, August 26, 2021

The Mirror That Loves You - #9034

We were eating with friends at a restaurant, and my wife unobtrusively gave me "the sign." She brushed her upper lip with her fingers. I know what that means - it's not romantic. No, some crumb of my dinner has managed to escape going in my mouth, and it's on my mouth instead. If we're alone when that happens, I usually tell her, "Oh, I'm saving it for later." I don't know why she didn't just let me embarrass myself. That's called love, isn't it? I mean, I have no way of knowing I'm carrying something that's going to embarrass me or make me look bad because I can't see myself. But she could, and she loved me enough to tell me.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Mirror That Loves You."

There are things we can't see about ourselves - things that aren't particularly flattering. That's why we have mirrors. And some of the most revealing mirrors in your life aren't glass reflectors hanging on a wall. Nope! They're people who love you enough to show you things about yourself that you might not otherwise see.

In fact, mirroring, I think, is an important part of loving a person; holding up a mirror and helping them see things about themselves - beautiful things and things that are not-so-beautiful. Proverbs 27:17, our word for today from the Word of God, talks about this loving responsibility we have for one another. God says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Iron striking iron, of course, can create some friction,right? But it also helps create a sharper edge, a greater usefulness.

God has placed you in people's lives to be a mirror for them, and He's placed people in your life to be a mirror for you. That's what husbands and wives are supposed to do for each other, what parents should be doing for their child, and even children for their parents, with proper respect, of course. Friends, fellow believers, associates, supervisors, employees - they can all be voices from God, letting you know things about yourself that you might otherwise miss.

The question is, "How are you responding to the mirrors in your life?" You just getting mad at the mirror or are you walking away refusing to change? Proverbs says, "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses" (Proverbs 27:6). In other words, the people who really care about you will love you enough to tell you the truth about you. And then God tells us, "He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise" (Proverbs 15:31).

Yes, mirroring lets the person we love know how they're coming across. It lets them know the damage they may be doing; it lets them know what they might be doing that's displeasing to God. And it also shows that person the good things about them that they may not realize. See, as a mirror for somebody you love, you need to praise their strengths and their insight, their good ideas, their progress and their growth in an area of weakness...even if it's only a little growth. Our constructive criticism needs to come in the context of a lot of affirmation, not lots of condemnation - or they won't know that we're saying it because of how much we love them. It's not going to feel like we love them.

Loving someone means mirroring them - showing them the things they can't see. And it means receiving what they show us as love that cares enough to tell us the truth. Pay attention to what your mirror shows you - you can save yourself a lot of embarrassment and a lot of regret!