For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Matt. 21
In the parable of the two sons, which son do you most identify with? What has the Father asked you to do? Have you done it? When the chief priests and elders questioned Jesus’ authority, He asked them about John the Baptist, then followed his question with two parables. Though they refused to answer about John, these religious leaders correctly answered Jesus’ question about each parable. They could see that the first son was the obedient one and that the vineyard tenants were wretched people who deserved a wretched end. Furthermore, they knew that Jesus was talking about them in these parables. Yet still they somehow failed to fully make the connection. Their pride stood firmly in the way.
Jesus told these men that they were paying lip service to God without actually doing what God wanted. And He told them that they were not giving God what was due Him but were mistreating and killing His servants and even His Son. They knew what Jesus was telling them, but still they refused to listen. Such is the power of pride. It disconnects our senses and what we know from our hearts – the very core of who we are – and from what we choose to believe. Thus, we have eyes that don’t see, ears that don’t hear, and a heart that can’t receive the truth.
Pride can happen to anyone, even to faithful followers. That’s why it’s so important to be on our guard against it. In Matthew 5, Jesus talks about removing a speck of dust from a brother’s eye while ignoring the plank in your own eye. This is pride. We can see our faults in others, but refuse to acknowledge that they are our faults. Thank God that He has broken those chains so that we no longer have to be slaves to pride!
Jer. 9-10
Some things never change. Lies and deceit have ruled he human heart since the beginning of time. We see it in the Garden of Eden, here in Jeremiah, in Jesus’ time, and all around us even today. God said that even friends and family can’t be trusted. “For every one of them is a deceiver” (From Jer. 9:4). The NIV has a footnote by the word “deceiver” that says, “or a deceiving Jacob”. I found that interesting. Jacob, whose early life was defined by deception, is the one God chose for the line of His promise. This passage suggests that we are all Jacobs. So in some way, his story is our story. Like Jacob, God transforms us from those who are defined by deceit to those who are chosen and defined by God.