They Gambled for His Clothes

Dr. Ray Pritchard

“When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took His clothes and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier. They also took the tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, ‘Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see who gets it’” (John 19:23-24).
 The soldiers rolled dice while Jesus was dying.
 The soldiers who did the actual crucifying got to split up the garments of the unfortunate victim. You might call it a little added bonus for serving on an otherwise gruesome detail. In the best of times, crucifixion was a messy, bloody, unpleasant business. No one would complain about the soldiers rolling dice for the clothes of a murderer or a thief or a terrorist.
 But Jesus was different.
 As the long series of trials had shown, Jesus had not committed a crime. He didn’t deserve to die, and certainly not by crucifixion. Yet here he was, the rabbi from Nazareth, the miracle-working teacher of God’s truth, the one they called the “King of the Jews,” who was in fact the Son of God.
As he hung on the cross, suspended between heaven and earth, beaten, bruised and bloody, every breath an agony, the soldiers cast lots for his clothes. After the soldiers divided the main part of his clothing, they decided to cast lots for his tunic. The fact that it was seamless, woven from top to bottom in one piece, means that it was a valuable piece of clothing. Such a garment would be ruined by dividing it, which is why the soldiers cast lots.
 This act also fulfilled Psalm 22:18, “They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing.” Did the Roman soldiers know they were fulfilling Scripture? Of course not. They were merely doing what soldiers do sometimes: rolling dice to decide the winner. But even in that tiny detail we see the Holy Spirit at work. Although man’s cruelty was in full bloom that day at Calvary, nothing happened apart from God’s plan. When the Father determined that his Son should die, he even arranged the rolling of the dice for Jesus’ tunic.
Though hated by the rulers, he is loved by his Father who oversees every detail of his Son’s death. Stripped of all his earthly possessions, he is not stripped of his Father’s care.
What seems to be the cluttered rush of events turns out to be the plan of God unfolding to bring salvation to the world. Even the soldiers gambling for Christ’s tunic fit into the divine plan.
He was stripped of everything that we might be clothed in his righteousness. Charles Wesley’s hymn And Can It Be? has a verse that speaks to this truth:
No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine; Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Lord Jesus, we are amazed by how far you went for us. May our lips never fail to sing your praise. Amen.

The Other Thief on the Cross

Dr. Ray Pritchard

“Then one of the criminals hanging there began to yell insults at Him: ‘Aren’t You the Messiah? Save Yourself and us!’” (Luke 23:39).
Two thieves were crucified with Jesus.
We mostly remember the one who repented.
But what about the other one?
Here’s what we know for sure. These two men were both criminals of some sort. Luke uses a word that simply means “evildoer.” Matthew and Mark use a different word that means “robber” or “plunderer.”
It’s also helpful to know that when Jesus was first crucified, both criminals began to mock him by shouting insults. Anyone looking at the scene shortly after 9 AM would have concluded that the two thieves were equally disdainful of Jesus, the man hanging from the center cross.
We’ll talk about the penitent thief tomorrow.
For a moment let’s focus on the crook who didn’t repent.
He began to shout at Jesus, “Aren’t You the Messiah? Save Yourself and us!” When the text says he yelled it as an insult, the verb is the one from which we get the word blasphemy. The impenitent thief blasphemed the Lord Jesus by mocking his power. Note the tone of what he said, “Aren’t you the Messiah?” That’s different from saying “If you are the Messiah,” which involves a bit of doubt. What he really means is, “You’re obviously a fraud because if you were the Messiah, you would rescue yourself and us.”
Both thieves had exactly the same experience that morning. They were both taken from their cells, both forced to carry their own cross, both had nails driven through their hands and feet, both were in terrible physical condition, and both men would shortly die. Beyond that, both men had the same chance to observe the man on the middle cross. They both heard him cry out, “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.” Both men knew they didn’t have long to live.
One man used his dying moments to blaspheme the Lord. He obviously did not fear God. Angry and desperate, soon to face God in judgment, he did not repent.
The crowd taunted Christ and dared him to come down from the cross. Reflecting on this, William Booth said, “They claimed they would have believed if he had come down; we believe because he stayed up.”
We learn much here about the hardness of the human heart. Some people prefer hell to heaven so that is where they will go. Some will not be persuaded even when they are in the presence of Jesus.
We learn something about our Lord from this. Though the crowd taunted him to come down, he would not turn from his rescue mission on behalf of the human race. If he had come down, we would all be lost. Thank God he stayed on the cross and died for us.
Philip Bliss, beloved gospel musician and good friend of D. L. Moody, wrote “Hallelujah! What a Savior!” shortly before his untimely death in 1876. The second verse reminds us of what Jesus endured while he was dying:
Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
 Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you stayed on the cross all the way to the end. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Amen.

Saved at the Last Second

Dr. Ray Pritchard

“Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise’” (Luke 23:43).
Jesus died between two thieves.
One man wanted nothing to do with him, but the other man wanted to be forgiven. Let’s take a look at that second thief.
Was any man ever in a more desperate situation? Brutally crucified, he is dying in agony for crimes he had committed. He is a guilty man justly punished. He deserves to die and he knows it. By sundown, he will be dead.
His case has been tried, the judgment announced, the sentence carried out. All purely legal avenues have been exhausted. This man is as close to death as you can be and still be alive.  Now at the last moment he makes one final appeal to the Supreme Court of the Universe: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (v. 42).
I submit to you that here we have the most amazing example of saving faith in all the Bible. Jesus is hanging next to him, a bloody mess, a sight awful to behold. His feet and arms are nailed to the cross, ropes hold his body upright so it won’t fall off. Every movement is agony, every breath torture. Beneath him and behind him the howling mob screams for blood. They jeer, they hiss, they curse, they spit, they roar like wild hyenas. They cheer as he coughs up blood, they shout with approval when someone aims a rock at a piece of tender flesh. It is garish, hellish, brutal and inhuman.
Somehow this thief saw Jesus at his weakest moment, and he believed in him. He is a crucified sinner trusting in a crucified Savior. No man ever looked less like a king than Jesus did that day, yet this man saw him as he really was.
Jesus’ answer is simple and clear: “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). What a day this was for that misbegotten criminal. In the morning he’s in prison, at noon he’s hanging on a cross, by sundown he’s in paradise. Out of a life of sin and shame, he passed immediately into eternal blessedness.
Remember that two thieves were crucified with Jesus that day, but only one believed. As J. C. Ryle put it:
One thief on the cross was saved, that none should despair; but only one, that none should presume.
This very bad man was saved at the very last moment. Thank God it is so. He had lived an absolutely rotten life, yet he died a Christian death. It happened by the grace of Jesus Christ.
Over two hundred years ago William Cowper wrote a famous hymn called There is a Fountain that includes a verse about the dying thief. To my knowledge, this is the only hymn that mentions this man:
The dying thief rejoiced to see,
That fountain in his day.
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.
All that God wants from us . . . and all that he will accept . . . is simple faith in his son, Jesus Christ. When we place our faith in the Lord Jesus, in that very moment we are saved.
The question is simple. Are you ready to die? You have nothing to fear if you know the Lord.  You are not ready to die if you don’t. Do you know him? What will you do if you don’t know him?
 Thank you, Lord Jesus, for making a way for sinners to be saved at the very last second. With all my heart, I am trusting you as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

What’s Your Verdict?

By Rick Warren

“‘What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?’ Pilate asked them” (Mark 15:12 NIV).

Two thousand years ago, in the Middle East, an event occurred that permanently changed the world. Because of that event, history was split. Every time you write a date, you’re using the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as the focal point.

What does this mean to us today? In one sense, Jesus Christ is still on trial. He’s on trial in the heart and mind of every person who has not yet acknowledged him as the Son of God, the Savior of the world.

Was Jesus a liar, a lunatic, or Lord?

Jesus claimed to be the Savior of the world. In John 12:47, he is recorded as saying: “I didn’t come to judge the world. I came to save it.” Some people say, “I believe Jesus was a good teacher.” But he couldn’t be just a good teacher, because a good person would not say, “I’m God, and I’m the only way to Heaven” unless it was the truth.

So, what’s your verdict?

Is Jesus who he says he is? Is he God? Or is he a lunatic or a liar?

If he is who he says he is, when will you start following what he says to do with your life?

Today, you sit in judgment of Jesus Christ. Just as Pilate asked, “What shall I do then with Jesus who is called the Christ?” you also must decide whether or not he was who he said he was.

How Much Will March Madness Cost Our Economy?

Jim Denison | Denison Forum on Truth and Culture

March Madness began yesterday for men's college basketball teams. There are more winners and losers than the sixty-four teams that began the tournament, however.

 

If you're one of the forty million people who filled out a bracket, know that your odds of predicting the winner of every game are one in 9.2 quintillion. (Baylor's loss yesterday ended my chances.) But beer and pizza companies always win during March—beer consumption escalates nearly thirty percent, while pizza orders increase by nineteen percent.

 

Meanwhile, productivity in America loses. Experts estimate that lost wages paid to distracted and unproductive workers could reach as high as $1.9 billion. That amount of cash stacked in dollar bills would reach approximately 120 miles into the atmosphere. That's seventeen times higher than the altitude at which commercial jetliners fly. 

 

Clearly, what we do in private affects what we accomplish in public.

 

This fact relates to our spiritual lives as well. In My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers claims that "my worth to God in public is what I am in private." Why is this true?

 

One: Private sin enslaves us to sin. Jesus was clear: "Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin" (John 8:34).

 

As Chambers explains, "The penalty of sin is confirmation in sin. It is not only God who punishes for sin; sin confirms itself in the sinner and gives back full pay. No struggling nor praying will enable you to stop doing some things, and the penalty of sin is that gradually you get used to it and do not know that it is sin. No power save the incoming of the Holy Ghost can alter the inherent consequences of sin." Sin always leads to more sin.

 

Two: Private sin leads to public shame. James warned us: "Desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is full grown brings forth death" (James 1:15).

 

C. S. Lewis observes: "Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself." What you choose determines who you are.

 

Three: You cannot measure the eternal significance of present faithfulness. When we see Jesus, "whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully" (2 Corinthians 9:6).

 

So choose personal obedience to God's word and will. You will avoid enslaving sin and public shame, and your faithfulness will be rewarded forever. Oswald Chambers asks, "Is my master ambition to please him and be acceptable to him, or is it something less, no matter how noble?"

 

What is your answer today?

 

Whatever It Takes

by shani4jc

In Luke 19, we read the story of Zaccheaus who wanted to see Jesus as He passed through town. There was only one problem...Zaccheaus was too short to see over the other people. Not easily deterred, he climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see over the crowd. Many of us may be familiar with this story, but I have to admit, I have never thought too much about the role the tree played in the story. I mean, it's just an ordinary tree, right? Nothing special...just a regular tree except for one thing...it was a tree that was planted long in advance to meet the need of someone who wanted to see Jesus. God knew before the tree was even a seed that one day it would serve as a tool to help someone see Him. I wonder how many times as that tree grew that God looked upon it and smiled, knowing how it would help Zaccheaus get a glimpse of His Son. He does the same for us, you know! There is no limit to what He would do to help us see Jesus. He divinely orchestrates every single detail of every single life in order for each of us to see Him! He will grow a tree, move a mountain, dry up an ocean...whatever it takes for us to get a glimpse of Him! Why does He go to so much effort for us to see Him you may ask? It's simply because He knows that once we catch a glimpse of Him, we will never be the same!

Defeating the Enemy

by shani4jc

"Be sober, bi vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.  Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world." 1 Peter 5:8-9

Most of us are keenly aware that we have an enemy, Satan,  whose primary goal is to destroy us.  He is relentless in his pursuit of us, wanting nothing more than to annihilate us in the most painful way possible.  He hates us with a passion!  He never backs down...he never grows tired of hurting us.  The Bible tells us to fight him by resisting him.  How are we supposed to resist an enemy that comes disguised as the most beautiful thing we have ever seen?  How are we supposed to resist an enemy that hides in the shadows, waiting for a single moment in which we let our guard down, to sneak in and attack?  There is only one way to resist him...by clinging to Christ!  On our own, we are no match for our enemy; however, in Christ, our enemy is no match for us.  We can't defeat Satan by facing him...we can only defeat Satan by facing God.  Never forget that you are victorious in Christ.  When the enemy is on your heels, run to Jesus.  You can be guaranteed that the enemy will flee.

Already Judged

by Dr. Charles Stanley
John 3:17-18

As a society, Americans are fond of their rights. We're very protective of our liberties, even when they might bring harm rather than good. That can be true of spiritual matters as well. For example, exercising the "right" to reject God's plan of salvation leaves a person in a condemned condition.

I have heard the following phrase often in my years of ministry: "I don't believe God is going to condemn me to hell." I agree, but not with the comment's intended meaning--that a person is worthy of heaven on the basis of his own merit. You see, it is true that the Lord doesn't condemn people to hell. He allows them to opt for that eternal destination themselves. They have a right to choose.

God says that those who do not believe in Jesus Christ have been judged already (v. 18). In other words, by rejecting--or politely ignoring--their need for a Savior, unbelievers have chosen to remain unsaved and unforgiven. Scripture teaches that there will one day be a judgment, but God has already determined that those who trust in Christ will stand with Him while the rest will be sent away (Matt. 25:34-46). An unrepentant man or woman is not condemned by God but, rather, has chosen to remain in the company of all those condemned by their own free will.

God desires that everyone come to a saving knowledge of His Son Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:9). To that end, He has granted each person the right to decide whether or not to follow in obedience. However, those who reject the Savior are forewarned that they have settled for condemnation.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING....

By Francie Baltazar-Schwartz

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"

Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."

I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him.

Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.

Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

Life after Death

by Charles Stanley

Luke 12:16-20

The thought of dying frightens many people. But believers have no reason to fear. Jesus's resurrection and empty tomb prove that there is life after death!

Unbelievers who dread their demise have two different approaches to life. One group piles up wealth, good deeds, or worldly success in the hope of passing it on to their children or to charity. They expect to "live on" in the memories of those who benefit from their hard work. But it is the rare person who's still remembered a few generations later. And none truly live on.

The other group chooses to laugh in the face of death. Their philosophy is "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die" (1 Cor. 15:32). Their existence seems pleasurable from the outside, but can you imagine a more futile way to live? God does not intend for us to go through life with such meaninglessness.

Here's the key to significance: fulfilling our unique, God-given, eternal purpose. In this life, we do not labor to leave a physical legacy or waste our days pursuing pleasure. Instead, we help those in need, influence our culture, and reach out to the lost. And when a believer enters the heavenly place Jesus has prepared, he or she keeps on working for Him.

For the believer, death is not a fearsome end. It is the doorway to a new life of serving the Lord in heaven. Our days on earth are just the beginning of our existence. This time will seem like only a few minutes compared to an eternity spent in His presence.

Jesus Receives a Compliment from His Enemies

Dr. Ray Pritchard

“Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians” (Matthew 22:15).
Twenty years ago my older brother took me to visit a cemetery outside Florence, Alabama, near the remains of an antebellum mansion called Forks of Cypress. The mansion was built in 1830 by James Jackson, an early settler of northwest Alabama. My brother and I walked among the ruins of the mansion and then crossed the country road into the dense forest on the other side. After a quarter-mile we found the Jackson family cemetery. There was no sign marking the spot—only a five-foot-high stone wall surrounding about fifty graves. Inside we found a tall marker over James Jackson’s grave with a long inscription extolling his virtues, which were many.
As I walked along, my eyes fastened on the marker of one of his sons. There was a name, a date of birth and a date of death, and a five-word epitaph: “A man of unquestioned integrity.”
Five words to sum up an entire life. Sixty-plus years distilled into five words. But what truth they tell.
“A man of unquestioned integrity.” I cannot think of a better tribute.
In the Bible one man stands out above all the others as the preeminent example of integrity—Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. He was the only truly blameless person who ever walked this earth. All the other great men had their weak points. But not Jesus. No one could pin an accusation on him to make it stick. Not even his enemies.
Matthew 22:16 tells us how His opponents sized up His character in the last few days of his life. The statement comes from the Pharisees who “laid plans to trap him in his words” (verse 15). They sent some of their well-trained disciples to trick him with semantics. Ponder carefully their opening remarks: “Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.”
This isn’t just a compliment. It’s an honest evaluation of Jesus by men who intended to murder him. The Pharisees and the Herodians didn’t like each other, but both groups hated Jesus.
What does Integrity involve?
Reputation: “We know”
Commitment to truth:
In words: “You teach the way of God.”
In relationships: “You aren’t swayed by men.”
Consistent lifestyle: “You pay no attention to who they are.”
Even as they attempted to trip him up, Christ’s enemies had to confess that his reputation, his commitment to truth, and his consistent lifestyle made him a man of integrity.
Why is this important? If Jesus had any skeletons in his closet, this was the moment to display them publicly. But they didn’t because they couldn’t because Jesus was exactly what he seemed to be. His life matched his lips; his deeds matched his words; his character backed up his claims.
That’s what integrity is all about.
We hear a lot these days about family values and the need to rediscover virtue in American society. But the basic building blocks of virtue are actually very simple. We’ve known them all along: honesty, perseverance, faithfulness, kindness, loyalty, self-control. The problem isn’t in the knowing—it’s in the doing.
My mind wanders back to a forgotten tombstone and those five simple words; “A man of unquestioned integrity.” I’m not sure what anyone will write on my tombstone. But I wouldn’t mind if someone felt I deserved those five words.
It’s a noble goal for all of us.
Lord, help me to live so that no one will be surprised to find out I’m a Christian. Amen.

Render to Caesar--and to God!

Dr. Ray Pritchard

 

A Roman denarius from the time of Christ

“Therefore give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21).
No one likes paying taxes.
We’ll start there because that’s where the Pharisees and the Herodians started. It helps to know that these two groups didn’t like each other, but they both wanted Jesus dead. Because most Jews hated the Romans and hated paying the taxes the Romans imposed, the Pharisees and Herodians came up with a question for Jesus that was meant to trap him.
Here’s the question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?” It’s tricky because if Jesus says no, he wins popular approval, but the Herodians will report him to Rome as a revolutionary, bringing swift reprisal from the army. If he says yes, he satisfies Rome but loses face with the masses who hated their Roman overlords.
Jesus doesn’t directly answer the question. Instead, he asks his questioners for a coin. They gave him a Roman denarius (pictured above) with the image of Emperor Tiberius on the front with the inscription, “Tiberius, Caesar Augustus, Son of the Divine Augustus.” On the reverse was “Pontif Maxim,” meaning “High Priest” of the ancient Roman religions. Besides being a monetary unit, it also promoted idolatry because it deified the Roman emperor.
Since Rome issued the coin with the emperor’s image, it meant that the emperor “owned” that money. The same is true today. An American $5 bill has a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, meaning it is legal tender issued by the government. I happen to have a handful of bills in my wallet right now. None of them have my picture. If I tried to pass off bills with my image as real money, I would soon be arrested for counterfeiting.
Jesus’ answer has two parts:
1. Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. Jesus seems to be saying, “Look at the coin. Caesar’s image means the coins belong to him. Give him what he demands,” which means “Pay your taxes.”
2. Give to God what belongs to God. We can understand this properly by asking, “Whose image do we bear?” Just as the Roman denarius was stamped with the image of Caesar, we have been stamped with the image of God. He made us, he owns us, and we owe our life to him.
There is a deeper sense in which Jesus is saying, "You need to decide what matters most. If Caesar wants money, give him money, but Caesar is not God. Pay your taxes, but do not forget your higher allegiance."
The Lord wants to make sure that we “give to God what belongs to God.” He’s not just talking about money. We owe the Lord everything. We must not hold back on him.
The familiar hymn Take My Life and Let It Be shows us the true application. In successive verses, the song says:
Take my Life.
Take my Hands.
Take my voice.
Take my silver and my gold.
Take my will.
And then finally,
Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee,
3ver, only, all for thee.
If we follow that progression, we will always end up in the right place. We will take all that we have and give it gladly to the Lord, and we will be “ever, only, all for thee.”
No wonder they were amazed and could not answer him (v. 22). His words hit too close to home.
Will you today give to God what belongs to him?
My Lord, when I am tempted to hold back, may I remember that you never held back but gave yourself for me. Please help me live ever, only, all for you. Amen.

The Sadducees Ask a Trick Question

Dr. Ray Pritchard

“At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” (Luke 20:33)
Talk about a run of bad luck.
A woman marries a man who dies leaving her with no children to carry on the family name. So along comes the younger brother who marries her and then dies leaving her with no children. Then another brother and another one and another, until she has married all seven brothers who all managed to die leaving her childless.
And the natural question is, “Whose wife will she be in the resurrection?”
 It’s hard not to laugh out loud when you read that story, which is exactly the point the Sadducees wished to make. They concocted a ridiculous example to show the absurdity (to them) of the whole idea of a resurrection of the dead. But Jesus turns the tables on them by saying, in effect, “Fellows, you’ve got it all wrong. You think the next age will be nothing but a continuation of this age. But it’s not. The rules that govern this age don’t govern the next age.”
Jesus then goes to the deeper point that God is not the God of the dead but of the living (Luke 20:38). He adds a wonderful phrase, “For to him all are alive.” Here we have the truth underlying the Christian belief in the resurrection of the dead. God will raise the dead because he cannot fail to keep his promise. He who calls himself “the God of the living” will not leave his people in the grave. Our hope for the future rests not in science, not in speculation, not in some proof text, but in the character of God himself!
If he is our God and we are his people, death is not the end of the story. A better day, a brighter day, a glorious day of resurrection awaits all the people of God. In the meantime, between now and then, we go to be with the Lord. This is what Paul meant when he said, “To die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Not even death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When death comes to us, we can know this much for certain. The Lord who has been with us throughout our earthly journey will not abandon us when we need him most.
If you want to know the truth about life after death, there are only two ways to be sure:
1) See for yourself. All of us will do that eventually. 2) Take the testimony of someone who knows.
This is where the words of Jesus take on life-changing power. He’s been there, he entered the realm of death, he experienced it fully, he was as dead as anyone has ever been. On the third day he came back from the dead, never to die again. We have the authoritative word of the Son of God who emerged from the grave with the keys of death and Hades in his hand. Because of Jesus, we are not left to wonder what happens when we die. Death cannot change our relationship with God because he is not the God of the dead but of the living.
Those who know Jesus have entered into a relationship that even death cannot sever. Our hope for the future is as secure as the promises of God. For the Christian, death is not the end but the beginning of life forever with the Lord.
Lord Jesus, you have defeated death once and for all. We look forward to that wonderful day when the dead in Christ will rise immortal and incorruptible. Even so, Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Jesus Praises a Poor Widow

Dr. Ray Pritchard

Front and back of the lepton (or "mite"). 
The widow gave two of these tiny coins. 

“This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury” (Mark 12:43).
First things first. It’s “mites” plural, not the widow’s mite, as some people say. The term itself comes from the King James Version, which used “mites” to translate the Greek word lepta, a term that referred to a tiny coin worth almost nothing at all. If she had dropped in one coin, it would be a lepton, but she put in two coins, thus the plural term lepta.
Does that matter?
Yes and no. It doesn’t matter in the sense that this poor widow had almost nothing to start with, so it’s the difference between putting one penny versus two pennies in the offering plate. Either way, you can’t meet your budget with one penny or with two.
It’s also true that we often favor the rich over the poor. That was a problem in the early church when the ushers would give the man with a gold ring the best seat in the house while making the homeless fellow stand in the back (see James 2:1-10). Big gifts impress us because we can do so much more with $5 million than with $5.
And, really, what good is 2 pennies?
But Jesus sees it differently. By the way, don’t miss the fact that Jesus sat down across from the temple treasury and watched as the people came with their offerings. Jesus pays attention to who gives and when and where and why. Those things matter to him.
Think about this. Jesus not only knows how much we give; he also notices how much we keep for ourselves. He’s not that impressed when a man worth $100 million makes a $5 million gift. In Jesus’ eyes, he didn’t give as much as the widow who gave two tiny coins.
He gave out of his surplus.
She gave out of her poverty.
Here comes this poor widow. She is about 60, maybe 5’4”, body worn from long years of labor, dressed in a simple hand sewn smock. As she approaches the treasury, she clutches two pennies in her hand. It is the smallest copper coin in Judea, worth almost nothing. It’s all the money she has. She throws the coins in the mouth of the receptacle. They make a tiny clink when they hit the bottom. Quickly she turns to go away. No one speaks to her. She’s just another widow. In a moment, she is gone. No one notices her.
No one except Jesus.
In his eyes, her gift was bigger than all the rich people who brought their coins to the temple that day. No doubt his words shocked the disciples. No one but Jesus could have made that judgment. A great mind-reader . . . and a great heart-reader . . . was in the temple that day. He saw the gifts, and he judged the givers.
Let us learn from this that Jesus turns the values of the world upside down. We look at the outside; God judges the heart. We look at the amount on the check; Jesus looks at what it cost us to make the gift.
In his eyes, a rich man who gives a million dollars matters very little. But a widow who gives away her last two pennies earns his praise. In her act, Jesus saw a moving display of the true spirit of sacrifice. There is a lesson here for all of us. Strange as it may seem, our money is best used when we give it away.
Lord, forgive me for hoarding what you have given me. Help me to be generous with my time, my talent, and my treasure. Amen.

The Judas in All of Us

Dr. Ray Pritchard

From the movie Judas (2004)

“’What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?’ So they weighed out 30 pieces of silver for him” (Matthew 26:15).
With this entry, our series on “Faces Around the Cross” takes a turn in a new direction. From here on out, our focus will be solely on events surrounding the death of Christ.
It is now Wednesday of Passion Week. The whole city of Jerusalem is in turmoil over this man called Jesus. Who is he? Where did he come from? How does he work his miracles? And the greatest question—Is he really the promised Messiah, as some say?
Meanwhile, the religious leaders bide their time, looking for an opportunity to arrest him. Filled with hatred and envy, they have already decided that Jesus must die. Getting rid of Jesus would keep the peace and also rid them of a man they cannot control and they cannot defeat. But how will they do it?
Enter Judas, the most mysterious of all the disciples of Jesus.
As far as we can tell, Judas saw all the miracles Jesus performed. He was in the boat when Jesus calmed the storm. He saw Jesus turn water into wine. He helped pick up the leftovers after Jesus fed the 5000 with five loaves and two fish. He must have been standing there when Lazarus came out of the tomb. Not only that, he heard Jesus give the Sermon on the Mount. He listened to his parables. Judas was there when Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
He heard it all.
He saw it all.
He walked with Christ every day.
He was one of Jesus’ handpicked men.
He knew the Son of God personally.
Make that list as long as you like. Add one other fact. No one ever suspected him. Peter never said to John, “Hey, that guy Judas seems a little shifty to me.” Bartholomew evidently never wondered about his motives. James never suspected he was pilfering from the money bag. As late as the Last Supper, when Jesus openly predicted that someone would betray him, no one pointed at Judas and said, “He’s a traitor.”
We’ll have more to say about Judas in the days to come. But for the moment, let’s focus on the fact that no one suspected him. What happened to him could happen to me. What he did, I could do. If I think otherwise, then I have missed the point of this story. Judas is a lot like us and we're a lot like him. In fact, the more religious we are, the more like Judas we are. After all, you can't get much more religious than being an apostle. He was as "in" as any person could ever be.
And yet he betrayed the Lord.
Is Judas alive today? No, but his spirit still lives. It lives in all those who play the religious game. It lives in those who come to church for what they can get out of it. It lives in all those who are pretending a commitment to Jesus Christ that isn't real in their hearts. It lives in all those who just go through the Christian motions. It lives in those who come to church, give their money, follow the rules, and yet don't love the Lord Jesus.
There’s a little Judas in all of us. If we think anything different, then we’re more like Judas than we know.
Spirit of God, search my heart and reveal any false way within me. May my Christian profession be matched by genuine love for Jesus. Amen.

Peter's Feet

Dr. Ray Pritchard

“You will never wash my feet—ever!” Peter said (John 13:8).
Feet stink when they are dirty.
That’s a human fact, not a cultural observation. After a long, hard day, your feet have absorbed a pounding. If you wear sandals, they have been exposed to dirt everywhere. If your feet are in socks, they are likely to be sweaty. And then you have all the usual foot problems--ingrown nails, corns, calluses, cracked heels, and for some people, fungus of various kinds.
In those days you normally washed your own feet after the host offered you a basin of water. You knelt down, removed your sandals, washed your feet, and then dried them with a towel. If a man had servants, they might be delegated to do the job for you. This was the mark of high achievement in society: that servants washed the feet of your guests. But under no circumstances would the host wash the feet of his guests. The master would never stoop so low as to wash the feet of those beneath him.
Slaves washed feet.
Masters never did.
That’s why Peter is shocked when Jesus stoops down and begins to wash the feet of his disciples. Everything was upside down! They should be washing his feet; he shouldn’t be washing theirs.
Jesus came to a world of dirty feet.
Our journey through life is much dirtier than we think. You never know what you might step in that will leave you defiled and unclean. We don’t like to think about that, but it is true. No matter how hard we may try to stay clean, we are all dirtier than we think, and we end each day dirtier than when we started.
That’s why Jesus told Peter that although he was clean already, he still needed to have his feet washed. “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet” (v. 10). Two different words are used here-one meaning a complete bath and the other meaning to wash something. Coming to Christ is like taking a bath. We are made clean as our sin is washed away. But we still need daily cleansing.
When we come to Christ, the guilt of our sin is removed forever. Because we live in a dirty world, we need cleansing every day.
Regeneration cannot be repeated.
Cleansing must be repeated.
Think about the course of your life over the last 24 hours:
You have said things you ought not to have said.
You have responded unkindly or too quickly.
You have done things you ought not to have done.
You have left undone acts of mercy.
You have not been perfect, nor have I.
That’s why we need what Jesus offers. We need to be cleansed again every day. We need salvation that takes away the guilt of sin and provides for daily cleansing. Jesus fits us for heaven, he removes the guilt of sin, and he daily cleanses us from every sin when we call on him (1 John 1:9). Through his bloody death on the cross Christ provides all that we need, now and forever.
We are great sinners who need a great Savior. We have one in Jesus Christ, who stooped so low that he was not ashamed to wash our dirty feet.
Lord Jesus, thank you for your blood that washes my sin away. I ask you to wash my dirty feet so that I might walk closely with you today. Amen.