Sunday: A Voice from Heaven — John 12:27-33
Have you ever experienced an inner struggle, pulled between walking the easier path or serving God? Be assured that Jesus also faced the weakness of His flesh, and made the hard choice of doing His Father’s will. The ultimate price Jesus would suffer was an agonizing death, yet He knew this was His destiny. He turns His eyes from Himself to the Father, and places glorifying God’s name above everything. For the third recorded time in Jesus’ ministry, the Father speaks audibly from heaven. The reaction of the people shows that they weren’t looking for the kind of Messiah that would die for their sins, but One that would deliver them from Roman tyranny.
Monday: Light of the World — John 12:34-50
Even as darkness is the absence of light, the absence of the living Messiah would cause a deep darkness. Many who refused the ‘Light” while He was with them would never trust in Him. The Lord had drawn a line in the sand to say, in essence, “Receive Me now, or be lost forever.” The tragic thing is that they feared men more than God. Making a decision for Christ was a radical and dangerous proposition. The offer today is the same: believe Christ, despite the cost, and receive eternal life!
Tuesday: Questioning Jesus’ Authority — Matthew 21:23-27; Mark 11:27-33; Luke 20:1-8
Attempting to discredit Jesus’ authority and destroy His credibility, the chief priests and elders ask Him a leading question. Sensing their motives, Jesus turns the question back on them with His question about John’s authority, If they admitted that God had sent John, they would be trapped, for they hadn’t accepted him. If they said that John was empowered only by the people, the people would have turned on them, for the people had received John as from God. The real key is that these leaders had rejected God—they were snared in their own trap!
Wednesday: The Two Sons — Matthew 21:28-32
The vineyard in this parable represents the Nation of Israel. The two Sons represent two classes of people within Israel, namely, the self-righteous religious group, and the publicans and sinners. The religious crowd rejected John the Baptist’s ministry, while the nonreligious people repented and were baptized. But those who rejected John’s teaching were actually rejecting God. It means nothing when we “talk the talk,” unless we “walk the walk!” (Read James 2:18)
Thursday: The Wicked Vinedressers — Matthew 21:33-41; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19
This parable is based on Isaiah 5:1-7. Despite God’s goodness to Israel when He sent His servants (prophets) to them they were mistreated or killed. In merciful response, God sent His own Son to them to restore them. But the husbandmen seized the Son and slew Him without the camp just to claim the Son’s inheritance. Caught up in the story, the crowd unknowingly passes judgment upon their leaders and themselves!
Friday: The Chief Cornerstone — Matthew 21:42-46
To those who reject Jesus Christ, the Messiah, He is a stumbling stone, meaning that rejecting Him is the ultimate cause of their downfall. But to those who receive Him (the Church), He is the cornerstone. Everything in the building is measured and aligned with that principal foundation rock.
Saturday: The Wedding Feast — Matthew 22:1-14
The period described in this parable must follow Jesus’ resurrection, as the Father is still inviting the people of Israel to come to the Feast in spite of what they did to His Son. Yet again they reject His bidding, and it seals their doom. The Father turned then to others, opening the celebration to “whoever” would come. The timing of this story would identify the servants as ministering believers in the early church.