Daily Devotion with Greg Laurie “The Unpopular
Truth” Monday, 25 November 2013
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For there is one God and one Mediator
between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.(1 Timothy 2:5)
One of the most often-asked question
regarding the Christian faith goes something like this: "What about the
person who has never heard that Jesus is the only way to God? What about the
person in the middle of the jungle who has never heard the gospel?" (They
are always in a jungle for some unknown reason—or in the desert.)
The teaching that Jesus Christ is the
only way to God has never been popular. But maybe it has never been more
controversial than it is today. If you want to get someone's blood boiling,
then say that Jesus is the only way to God. The "coexist" bumper
sticker on their car will catch fire.
The idea that you would have the audacity
to say that Jesus is the only way is, in effect, saying that other religions
are not true. That is the way it works itself out, and people don't like it. It
is acceptable if you say that Jesus is a way to God. But when you dare to say
that He is the only way, then you can be certain that will have some pushback.
But here is what it comes down to. We
have to say what the Bible says, whether it is popular or not. It is not for me
to edit the message of the Bible; it is for me, as a Christian, to simply
deliver it.
It would be like a doctor's discovering a
very serious problem with a patient's health, but then being unwilling to say
what that problem is, because it might make that patient uncomfortable.
We have to tell people the truth about
their real condition, which happens to be sinful, and then seek to save them,
which is to point them to Jesus Christ as the only solution.
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Matthew The Laborers in the Vineyard
20: “For the kingdom of heaven is like a
landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
2 After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage,[a] he sent them
into his vineyard. 3 When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others
standing idle in the marketplace; 4 and he said to them, ‘You also go into the
vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. 5 When he went
out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6 And about five
o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why
are you standing here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has
hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 8 When evening
came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and
give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ 9
When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily
wage.[b] 10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but
each of them also received the usual daily wage.[c] 11 And when they received it,
they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one
hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day
and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing
you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?[d] 14 Take
what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to
you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are
you envious because I am generous?’[e] 16 So the last will be first, and the
first will be last.”[f]
A Third Time Jesus Foretells His Death
and Resurrection
17 While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,
he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way,
18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over
to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; 19 then
they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified;
and on the third day he will be raised.”
The Request of the Mother of James and
John
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee
came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him.
21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Declare that these
two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your
kingdom.” 22 But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you
able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”[g] They said to him, “We are
able.” 23 He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right
hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it
has been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the ten heard it, they were angry
with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that
the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants
over them. 26 It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among
you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be
your slave; 28 just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and
to give his life a ransom for many.”
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
29 As they were leaving Jericho, a large
crowd followed him. 30 There were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When
they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord,[h] have mercy on us,
Son of David!” 31 The crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet; but they shouted
even more loudly, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!” 32 Jesus stood still
and called them, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to
him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched
their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him.
Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
21: When they had come near Jerusalem and
had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2
saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will
find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If
anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will
send them immediately.[i]” 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken
through the prophet, saying,
5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had
directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on
them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd[j] spread their cloaks on the
road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The
crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole
city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds were saying, “This is
the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
12 Then Jesus entered the temple[k] and
drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the
tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 He said
to them, “It is written,
‘My house shall be called a house of
prayer’;
but you are making it a den of robbers.”
14 The blind and the lame came to him in
the temple, and he cured them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes
saw the amazing things that he did, and heard[l] the children crying out in the
temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became angry 16 and said to him,
“Do you hear what these are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never
read,
‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing
babies
you have prepared praise for yourself’?”
17 He left them, went out of the city to
Bethany, and spent the night there.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
18 In the morning, when he returned to
the city, he was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the side of the road, he
went to it and found nothing at all on it but leaves. Then he said to it, “May
no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. 20 When
the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at
once?” 21 Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not
doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you
say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done.
22 Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.”
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
23 When he entered the temple, the chief
priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said,
“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this
authority?” 24 Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you
tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these
things. 25 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human
origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will
say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human
origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” 27 So
they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I
tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “What do you think? A man had two
sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’
29 He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The
father[m] went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’;
but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said,
“The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the
prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to
you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax
collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did
not change your minds and believe him.
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
33 “Listen to another parable. There was
a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in
it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another
country. 34 When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants
to collect his produce. 35 But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one,
killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other slaves, more than
the first; and they treated them in the same way. 37 Finally he sent his son to
them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son,
they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his
inheritance.’ 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed
him. 40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those
tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable
death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at
the harvest time.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never
read in the scriptures:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;[n]
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of
God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits
of the kingdom.[o] 44 The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces;
and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”[p]
45 When the chief priests and the
Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. 46
They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded
him as a prophet.
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
22 Once more Jesus spoke to them in
parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a
wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his slaves to call those who had been
invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other
slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my
dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is
ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ 5 But they made light of it and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his slaves,
mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his slaves,
‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore into
the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10
Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both
good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the
guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, 12 and he
said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he
was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and
foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
The Question about Paying Taxes
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to
entrap him in what he said. 16 So they sent their disciples to him, along with
the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the
way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do
not regard people with partiality. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it
lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their
malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me
the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 Then he said to
them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” 21 They answered, “The emperor’s.”
Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the
emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they heard this, they
were amazed; and they left him and went away.
The Question about the Resurrection
23 The same day some Sadducees came to
him, saying there is no resurrection;[q] and they asked him a question, saying,
24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies childless, his brother shall marry the widow,
and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers among
us; the first married, and died childless, leaving the widow to his brother. 26
The second did the same, so also the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of
all, the woman herself died. 28 In the resurrection, then, whose wife of the
seven will she be? For all of them had married her.”
29 Jesus answered them, “You are wrong,
because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the
resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like
angels[r] in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not
read what was said to you by God, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is God not of the dead, but of the living.” 33
And when the crowd heard it, they were astounded at his teaching.
The Greatest Commandment
34 When the Pharisees heard that he had
silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them, a lawyer,
asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is
the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the
greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love
your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and
the prophets.”
The Question about David’s Son
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered
together, Jesus asked them this question: 42 “What do you think of the
Messiah?[s] Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said
to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit[t] calls him Lord, saying,
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet”’?
45 If David thus calls him Lord, how can
he be his son?” 46 No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did
anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
Footnotes:
Matthew 20:2 Gk a denarius
Matthew 20:9 Gk a denarius
Matthew 20:10 Gk a denarius
Matthew 20:13 Gk a denarius
Matthew 20:15 Gk is your eye evil because
I am good?
Matthew 20:16 Other ancient authorities
add for many are called but few are chosen
Matthew 20:22 Other ancient authorities add
or to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
Matthew 20:30 Other ancient authorities
lack Lord
Matthew 21:3 Or ‘The Lord needs them and
will send them back immediately.’
Matthew 21:8 Or Most of the crowd
Matthew 21:12 Other ancient authorities
add of God
Matthew 21:15 Gk lacks heard
Matthew 21:30 Gk He
Matthew 21:42 Or keystone
Matthew 21:43 Gk the fruits of it
Matthew 21:44 Other ancient authorities
lack verse 44
Matthew 22:23 Other ancient authorities
read who say that there is no resurrection
Matthew 22:30 Other ancient authorities
add of God
Matthew 22:42 Or Christ
Matthew 22:43 Gk in spirit (NRSV)
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