Tag: Last Shall Be First

Spiritual Tension…

Matthew 16:25 (NIV)

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it.

In our Verse of the Day, Jesus presented a challenge to those who followed Him; and that challenge extends to us as believers today! It poses a spiritual tension that impacts our view of self, life, and purpose; and we are familiar with similar paradoxes presented in Scripture such as:

“The last shall be first, and the first shall be last.” (Cf. Matthew 20:8; Mark 9:35; Luke 13:30)

“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Cf. Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14)

In these types of dualisms, we find Jesus teaching us that seeking self-importance; engaging in self-promotion; and reliance on self-preservation are misguided approaches when it comes to having a meaningful and fulfilling life in Him. Jesus is telling us that pursuing significance in your life with a worldly point of view is not going to produce the eternal results we want to achieve … the works for which God created us. (Cf. Ephesians 2:10) And I believe that each of us probably enter this tension each day. It is the struggle between our own wills and the will of God for us…. So, let’s look at our verse in the surrounding context because I think that will shed more light on the life approach Jesus is calling us to pursue:

Matthew 16:21-28 (NIV)

21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. 22 Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what they have done. 28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom.”

Jesus presents a powerful lesson to us here. And in the context, we learn more about what Jesus meant when He said, “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it.”  The context begins with Jesus explaining the upcoming events surrounding His death; and Peter (naturally) does not believe it is appropriate for Jesus to suffer or for those foreboding things to occur. Who would want their friend to be mistreated or killed?  Yet, Jesus rebukes Peter saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me. You are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (ESV) And therein lies the tension we experience when evaluating what we believe our lives should be or how we believe they should turn out. Too often, we are pursuing the things of man and not setting our minds on what God wants for our lives.  Perhaps this is why Jesus asks the more pointed question:“What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Verse 26) Jesus is trying to get us to see the error of our thinking and calls for a radical “reset of our mindset.”

Notice how Jesus associates what Peter was thinking and the direction he was going in the conversation with the spiritual darkness and deception of Satan. Do not underestimate the “influence” that Satan can have upon your thought life … your mindset … to take you in a direction that is away from what God has ordained for your life. Satan will attempt to align you with the wisdom of the world … but that is not of God.  We are in the world but chosen to not be of the world.  (Cf. John 17:14-15) Our Lord Jesus learned and demonstrated that a life aligned with the will of the Father is to be humbly submitted and reverently obedient. As Paul observed, “And being found in appearance as a man, Jesus humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross! (Cf. Philippians 2:8) Therein lies the solution to our dilemma – the tension we feel when choosing between our own way (the way of the world) or submitting to the direction God has ordained for us.  Jesus kept it simple for us when He said to His disciples, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. (Verse 24)

If you want to redeem your life, then you will need to let go of the one you are clinging to. You can accomplish this; but you’ll need to deny yourself and take up your cross (the place of self-sacrifice) and follow Jesus. If you want to be first, then you need to place yourself last. You can accomplish this; but you’ll need to deny yourself and take up your cross (the place of self-sacrifice) and follow Jesus. If you want to be looked up to and admired for all of your accomplishments and success, then you need to be quiet and not boast. Let your deeds speak for the themselves. After all, did not God gift you and afford you the opportunities for success? Give Him the glory!  And remember, you can accomplish this; but you’ll need to deny yourself and take up your cross (the place of self-sacrifice) and follow Jesus.

My friends, the way Jesus taught us to approach life is quite opposite to what the world says you and I should do to be successful. If we want to be productive and effective in His Kingdom, we will have to embrace a more unconventional approach of how significance should be viewed for our lives.  God said the meek shall inherit the earth; not the strong and mighty. (Cf. Matthew 5:5; Psalm 37:11) God said to give first and generously, and it shall be returned to you. (Cf. Luke 6:38) As John the Baptist affirmed when looking at his own life in comparison to the Messiah, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (Cf. John 3:30) And so, to save your life, you must lose it. To be exalted, you must humble yourself. And, yes, the first shall be last, and the last first. This is the wisdom God has been revealed to us in His Word … through His Son.

It is my prayer that we will come to a full understanding of these principles for life. I think we will find both “power” and “freedom” in these approaches. But most of all, I believe we will experience what God desires for each of us in our relationships … with Him and with each other. As Paul concluded, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. (Cf. Romans 12:1) So, “lose” your life in service and ministry to others, and there you will find your true life … the life God intends for your good and for His glory!

So Now You Know…

Have a Blessed Day!

Great Is Your Reward…

Matthew 5:11-12 (NIV)

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

In our Verse of the Day, Jesus gives His followers some insight on what being a devout believer will entail. Our profession of faith in Jesus will come at a cost … it will require a sacrifice. But our Lord Jesus affirms our devotion to Him comes with a blessing … a great reward in heaven … salvation and eternal life!

Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV)

1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, 2 and He began to teach them. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Luke 6:17-26 (NIV)

17 Jesus went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all. 20 Looking at His disciples, He said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22 Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. 23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. 24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. 25 Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.

When we look at these two presentations of the Sermon on the Mount, we see unexpected teachings of how true relationship with God is defined. Luke, true to his literary form, provides additional contextual commentary along with the recording of some contrasts (woes) that were spoken by Jesus. What we get here is a radical picture of what discipleship means in addition to a glimpse of the blessedness that following Jesus will produce in our lives. And I will note that Jesus did not say: “Blessed are those who have great possessions or sufficient finances….”

Jesus teaches that to be truly blessed in this life, to have intimacy with Him, we need to be emptied of all the things that the world seeks. He calls us to see the depth of our spiritual need … to mourn over our sin and disobedience … to weep over our self-centeredness and lack of compassion … to hunger and thirst for righteousness … to be more gracious and forgiving of others … to advocate for unity and peace … to seek holiness and humility in our hearts and lives … and to be willing to suffer for His Name and the Gospel.

I believe that who you and I will become in Christ, as we abide in Him, will be the outcome of sacrifice and suffering. Jesus told His disciples: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” (Cf. Matthew 16:24-25; Mark 8:34-35; Luke 9:23-24) John recorded a similar discourse: “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” (Cf. John 12:25-26) And Luke records the following teaching of Jesus that affords us further detail on the matter:

Luke 14:26-30; 33 (NIV)

26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

Jesus indicated that there would be a real cost to discipleship; and He admonished followers to consider that cost before they began to follow Him. My initial thought was: “Is there really any choice?” Jesus preached radical ideas that challenged the religious paradigms of His time. So, when He asked His disciples if they wanted to leave Him as others had done, Peter answered: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (Cf. John 6:67-69) Indeed, no matter what we might “perceive” is the cost of believing and following Jesus, I think it is clear that we must give up everything for His sake! Yet Jesus has assured us of “great reward” for doing so. As the Apostle Paul expounded:

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NKJV)

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

If we look at what is happening around the world, even within our own nation, the cost of being a believer and worshipper of Christ Jesus is becoming more apparent. And I believe the historical record of persecution serves witness to this precedent. From Stephen to present-day martyrs scattered across the globe, those who have died for their faith in Jesus testify of the ultimate sacrifice that could be required of any believer.  And I sense we are challenged to ask ourselves if we are willing to do the same. As Paul told the Philippians: “It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him….” (Cf. Philippians 1:29) And Paul challenged Timothy: “So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.” (Cf. 2 Timothy 1:8) All these thoughts call for introspection … as we consider the cost of allegiance, devotion, and faith. Jesus asks us to believe Him … to trust Him at His word … with everything.  And it is my prayer that we will do so….

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. ~ Jesus            (John 15:18-19)

So Now You Know…

Have a Blessed Day!