For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Matt. 27
Jesus often accused the religious leaders of trusting in merely human rules rather than in God. How clearly that truth was demonstrated when Judas returned the thirty pieces of silver! “The chief priests picked up the coins and said, ‘It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.’” (Matt. 27:6). Talk about missing the forest for the trees!! In the midst of carrying out their plot to put an innocent man to death, they were concerned with handling his blood money ‘legally’. Really?!? As incredulous as it seems, I need to understand that this is the human heart in its element. It is not a good element! Which is why I need to circumcise my own heart – removing that fleshly element – so that I can live in true obedience to God alone.
Jer. 21-22
What on earth made the leaders of Judah think that God, to whom they were not devoted, might step in and save them? They refused to acknowledge Him, so why should He acknowledge them? People like to rely on God’s softer points – His unconditional love and His mercy. When they find themselves in need of it, they go pleading for it. All the while, they ignore God’s harder points – His absolute holiness, righteousness, and justice. God did not demand their undivided obedience because He is authoritarian. He demanded it because He is holy. He knows His holiness will consume like a fire anything that is not holy.
God’s love is indeed unconditional. But His love does not stop the destruction of wickedness that His holiness demands. “Though you are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon, I will surely make you like a wasteland, like towns not inhabited.” (Jer. 22:8b). God loved and valued His people, but they were wicked. Thank God for His grace, which provided a path to His mercy. But God’s mercy and forgiveness, though not dependent on our righteousness, require that we receive them. That means that we open our hearts in humble repentance, allowing them to flow not only into us but also through us. Note that God gave the people a way to life and a way to death. If they stayed where they were, their choice was death. It was surrender, however, that led them to life.