August 3, 2024

Passage Read: Matthew 21-22
Meditation Verses: 21:25-27

Thought

The chief priests and elders couldn't answer Jesus's question, not because they didn't have an answer but because they weren't willing to go on record with their honest answer. They hadn't believed John; they were offended by John as surely as they were offended by Jesus, because he called them out for their hypocrisy. So they had to believe that he came by his own design. They couldn't believe he was sent by God, because then they would convict themselves of sin. But if they gave their honest answer, they would lose credibility with the crowds, because they believed John was sent from God. The crowds, many of them, had repented and been baptized by John.

Application

How many times do I get myself in trouble with God and God's Word because I'm unwilling to believe the obvious answer? The obvious answer regarding John was that he was sent by God. Which means I must believe and obey his instructions. The obvious answer regarding God's Word is that it was written by God to teach me how to live, so whenever I hit a passage or teaching I don't like, my response must be the same: submission and obedience. God is good in all He teaches, though not all of it is easy. My flesh recoils at much of it, but I get myself in trouble by refusing to believe and obey what God teaches. I'm a fool to resist God's plain and simple teachings. They are not hard to understand; they are hard to accept. But accept them, I must.