The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright
rescues them. Wicked men are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the
righteous stands firm. ~Proverbs 12:6-7
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them. He delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all, He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. Evil will slay the wicked. The foes of the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems His servants. N no one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him. ~Psalm 34:15-22
Today marks the last day of Jesus’ public ministry. He has been in the temple courts again. The religious leaders have tried their hardest to trip Him up on some point of law. None have succeeded. Finally, Matthew records: “No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on, no one dared to ask Him any questions.” (Matthew 22:46) “The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them.” Jesus has the final word of the day in the seven “woes,” or warnings that He issues to the leaders in Matthew 23 and then, Jesus, and His disciples head back to Bethany for one last, stress free evening among friends.
On the way, now that they are alone, Jesus takes the time to do more teaching, in what is referred to as, The Olivet Discourse. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem. Since Jesus and His disciples walked everywhere, they were probably in pretty good shape so that they would have been there in less than 30 minutes. He would want to take the time to share all these things that were on His heart for His friends. So, He may have stopped to chat with them for a while instead of just talking along the way.
They have been watching Jesus deal with the powerful who just seem determined to destroy Him. Now, Jesus takes the time to paint a bigger picture for them, beyond this moment, to give them a glimpse of how it will end. He warns them of the coming destruction of the temple and the coming judgement in the end. He lets them know that life will be hard, but that it is all part of God’s plan.
“Wicked men are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous stands firm.” David, the Psalmist here, adds depth to the picture that Jesus is painting with his reassuring words of just how much God cares for His own. We could be tempted to wonder why God did not better protect His own Son, who would suffer immensely in just a few days. That too is part of the bigger picture that Jesus is painting for His friends.
Interestingly, however, David does say: “He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.” That is true for Jesus as well. None of Jesus’ bones were broken, even as he hung on the cross. That simple fact calls one to read the Psalm again and wonder how else God stood near, in ways that we just don’t see now.
If you have the time today, read the Olivet Discourse, Matthew chapters 24 & 25 for yourself. Imagine that Jesus is warning you of the things to come. Then, reread Psalm 34:15-22, as God’s commitment to you through what may lie ahead. We know so much that the disciples that evening did not. Yet, there are many things that we still don’t know. What we do know is, God is with us. What we see is not always how it will be, but when we do see God’s picture in its entirety, it will be glorious.
Prayer: Father and Jesus, You so lovingly and carefully took the time to explain to Your children about Your plan for redemption, and forgiveness so that I could be alive to enjoy the future glory! You took thousands of years of Biblical history to inspire and inform your prophets and psalmists, so that we would have a rich and detailed understanding of Your love and our sin and our need of Savior. That is why, when Jesus ministered to us through his life and death on the cross, we could know, with assurance, that this gospel is the one and only true Gospel! Thank You! And I pray that I will just as lovingly and carefully take the time to share this good news with anyone who is willing to listen, or at least plant the seed in the hearts of those who will listen better later. In Jesus' name, amen.
Song: Ask Me What Great Thing I Know
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them. He delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all, He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. Evil will slay the wicked. The foes of the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems His servants. N no one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him. ~Psalm 34:15-22
Today marks the last day of Jesus’ public ministry. He has been in the temple courts again. The religious leaders have tried their hardest to trip Him up on some point of law. None have succeeded. Finally, Matthew records: “No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on, no one dared to ask Him any questions.” (Matthew 22:46) “The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them.” Jesus has the final word of the day in the seven “woes,” or warnings that He issues to the leaders in Matthew 23 and then, Jesus, and His disciples head back to Bethany for one last, stress free evening among friends.
On the way, now that they are alone, Jesus takes the time to do more teaching, in what is referred to as, The Olivet Discourse. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem. Since Jesus and His disciples walked everywhere, they were probably in pretty good shape so that they would have been there in less than 30 minutes. He would want to take the time to share all these things that were on His heart for His friends. So, He may have stopped to chat with them for a while instead of just talking along the way.
They have been watching Jesus deal with the powerful who just seem determined to destroy Him. Now, Jesus takes the time to paint a bigger picture for them, beyond this moment, to give them a glimpse of how it will end. He warns them of the coming destruction of the temple and the coming judgement in the end. He lets them know that life will be hard, but that it is all part of God’s plan.
“Wicked men are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous stands firm.” David, the Psalmist here, adds depth to the picture that Jesus is painting with his reassuring words of just how much God cares for His own. We could be tempted to wonder why God did not better protect His own Son, who would suffer immensely in just a few days. That too is part of the bigger picture that Jesus is painting for His friends.
Interestingly, however, David does say: “He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.” That is true for Jesus as well. None of Jesus’ bones were broken, even as he hung on the cross. That simple fact calls one to read the Psalm again and wonder how else God stood near, in ways that we just don’t see now.
If you have the time today, read the Olivet Discourse, Matthew chapters 24 & 25 for yourself. Imagine that Jesus is warning you of the things to come. Then, reread Psalm 34:15-22, as God’s commitment to you through what may lie ahead. We know so much that the disciples that evening did not. Yet, there are many things that we still don’t know. What we do know is, God is with us. What we see is not always how it will be, but when we do see God’s picture in its entirety, it will be glorious.
Prayer: Father and Jesus, You so lovingly and carefully took the time to explain to Your children about Your plan for redemption, and forgiveness so that I could be alive to enjoy the future glory! You took thousands of years of Biblical history to inspire and inform your prophets and psalmists, so that we would have a rich and detailed understanding of Your love and our sin and our need of Savior. That is why, when Jesus ministered to us through his life and death on the cross, we could know, with assurance, that this gospel is the one and only true Gospel! Thank You! And I pray that I will just as lovingly and carefully take the time to share this good news with anyone who is willing to listen, or at least plant the seed in the hearts of those who will listen better later. In Jesus' name, amen.
Song: Ask Me What Great Thing I Know
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