Wednesday Reading: Matthew 17:22-23
Key Verse: Matthew 17:23
23 And they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised again. And they grieved exceedingly.
Devotion:
It is not a nice thing when we have to face the death of someone else, never mind your own. If we know that the person who has died is a Christian then we know that they are in a much better place, being in Heaven with Christ. But when we have to face up to the fact that someone has died without knowing Christ then we have to face the fact that they are facing a horrible end the likes of which we cannot grasp. But Christ knew that end and He knew what had to be done to save us from that end. Even though we still have a choice as to whether we want to know Him or not, we do not think of the consequences.
Christ knew full well the consequences of our unbelief and also knew of all the temptations that Satan would lop our way to deceive us. He knew that He would have to show that physical death is only the start of eternal life and He also knew that having to lay down His own life on that cross for our sins was going to be the only way to set us free. He knew that He would have to face untold humiliation before laying down His life. He knew that He would have to teach us to lay aside earthly riches and face Him instead. He knew all the pain and grief to come – and yet He willingly stepped forward and paid it all in full. What love!
I am sure that the disciples did not understand fully what was going to happen, just like we do not grasp the enormity of what He has done. I’m sure that they had not grasped the full extent of what people would have to face should they reject Christ. If we did we would not let anyone walk past us without introducing them to Christ. The zeal of the disciples after they had witnessed the resurrection should speak volumes to us – showing us that what they saw was not only very real but what they had learned and try to teach us was also very real. The bible is the truth – you had better believe it!
Points to Ponder:
What part of life do you not like?
Would you be willing to face it to save someone?