March 23, 2010 (Matthew 11-13, Luke 8, 11)

Again, I was struck with the 'fact' that Jesus is our only hope, both in this life and the life to come. In the following verses spoken by Jesus, especially the ending ones, is something that I have read so many times and yet wondered of the possibility of the 'reality' of them:

^{Matthew 11:27} “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

²⁸ Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.”

In looking up the word "yoke" here are a couple of meanings:

"any device that bears the weight of another thing" or "a connection between two things so they move together"

I think Jesus wants to 'bear the weight of this life for us" and He gives us the Holy Spirit as the connection that allows 'us' to move together. This is one of those things that He will continue to have to reveal, because although I know it is true with my 'head', I am not quite sure of the reality in my 'heart'.

A couple of other things. As I read the following, I thought of our country:

^{Matthew 12:25} Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart."

If we take Jesus at His word, if our country continues along the path we are taking, it is doomed. If only we could be at the place we were after 9/11 - when the country was united against a common enemy that was "outside" ourselves. Now it seems as if we are united against each other.

And now some verses with no commentary:

^{Jesus - Matthew 12:30} “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me."

^{Matthew 13:10} His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”

¹¹ He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. ¹² To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. ¹³ That is why I use these parables,

For they look, but they don’t really see.
They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.

^{Matthew 13:40} “Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴² And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

Hell is a reality, and that is the destination of all who don't "know" Jesus. Not just know about Him, but truly have a relationship with Him. I think all too often we forget that fact and live in our own blind little world. Those without Christ will spend eternity in hell. He wants us to work with Him to warn them of the danger to come and of His love for them to spare them.