Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
I had to read this a few time to make sure I did not miss something. Jesus tells us that we are to "be careful to do everything " that the Pharisees tell you but "do not do what they do." This makes me wonder about all the denominations and sects we have today. I am taking away the fact that the teachers of the law should be listened too, but not set as a role model or put on a pedestal. This seems like a DUH statement but it took me a bit to catch this and realize that this is Jesus saying focus on me and my word not those who preach it.
You hypocrites! This was said several times and I get the feeling that the Pharisees did not get or understand what Jesus was saying. They feared what Jesus said without understanding it. I pray that I can avoid the traps of pride and religion.
Chapter 24
2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
This is the statement that gets Jesus crucified. I don't know why this is interesting to me but I envision people spying on Jesus and his group but could it have been one of his own followers who shared the information to the authorities?
6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
The above scripture was in response to being asked for signs of the time and Jesus's coming back. We have been seeing most all of these signs. If I understand scripture then the only other events we are waiting on are the preaching the good news to the whole world...
9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.
Who will be handed over to be persecuted? Is this for Christians or who??? What does it mean to be hated by all nations. Is it possible to live life while being hated by people. How can we be peacemakers and share lover with people who hate us. We are told to love and pray for these people aren't we??? It says in verse 13 that we are to stand firm even when all the chaos of the world is swirling around us. How do we fix our eyes and grow our faith to not be tempted to be led away by the false prophets.
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[c] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.[d] 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
I try to image this in my mind and I can not even begin to understand. The elect being gathered by angels, what a site that must me and I wonder at the fear the non-elect will be experiencing during this process... The chapter is ended with the day and hour unknown but that we are to be ready at any time. Am I living my life in a way that I am ready? I really need to check my priories and question my motives because the things of this world seem so important but with eternity approaching at any moment, it makes me wonder why I get so caught up in the cares of the world. God help me to have and keep an eternal perspective!
