Friday, April 4, 2025

New Testament Reading Plan: Matthew 20

I don’t know about you, but I find the accounts of Jesus’ life truly fascinating. The Bible has stories of many different prophets, but Christ was the greatest prophet of all.

Nowadays we see and read about people who claim to have the ability to see into the future. There are always psychics and fortune tellers waiting to take your hard-earned dollars to tell you what awaits you. 

While I do believe there are present day people with the gift to prophesy, I also know that most of these claimants are shysters and charlatans. As hard as it is to imagine, the ability to know exactly what is going to happen in the future, down to the last detail, would be very powerful. 

And…that is exactly what Jesus did.

Matthew 20:18-19 NIV
¹⁸“We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death ¹⁹and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life.”

Christ is the only human to ever walk this earth and accurately predict his persecution, death, and resurrection. What an incredible demonstration of his power. Not only did he know what was coming, he also had the love for me and you to follow through with it. 

When I consider the courage that took, I am overwhelmed. I love my family dearly, and I like to believe I would put my life on the line for any one of them. But to be honest, if I knew ahead of time that I was going to go through excruciating torture and suffer an agonizing, brutal death in order to save them, I am not positive I could find the courage to do so, no matter how much I love them. Could you? 

Now ask yourself, if you would even consider giving such an extravagant gift to someone who despised or wronged you…. Because that is exactly what God did through his Son, Jesus.

Yes, even though we had wronged him and he knew what was coming, Jesus endured it all so that each of us could be forgiven of our sins and have eternal life with him in heaven. This was God’s great gift to an undeserving mankind. 

Have you accepted it?

Questions: 
Have you really paused to consider what Jesus endured for you?

Have you received his gift of salvation by accepting him into your heart?

Next Steps: 
Take time to study the account of Jesus’ death and resurrection, fully absorbing the details.

If you have not accepted Christ’s gift of salvation, make today the day. Pray and accept his forgiveness and love.

Prayer:
Father, I am in awe of all you went through because of your love for me, even though I did not deserve it. Thank you for your free gift of salvation. I admit that I am a sinner and I need you in my life. Please forgive me and allow me to accept this amazing gift. Thank you for your grace and mercy and love. I love you and want to follow your teachings. Please help me from this day forward to focus on you and turn away from sin that holds me back. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.

Series Theme Verse:
Hebrews 4:15
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.

This post was written by Ned Miller, a Findlay attendee and regular contributor to the LivingItOut.