What is a man profited

Bible Reading: Matthew 16

Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

What does it mean when Jesus refers to a man gaining the whole world? Could it mean gaining a great amount of money, fame, influence or power? Could it mean the person who achieves greatness in the eyes of the world? Many sports heroes of our day might fit the bill. The wealthy and powerful would fit into this, but what about the person who has yet to gain these things, but is dead set on that being his/her goal?

Should we not let Jesus head this off at the pass? Not only is it no profit to gain the whole world and lose your own soul, but Jesus is helping us to understand that by pursuing this as your goal, you are headed for a major loss!

What does it mean to lose your soul? Well, certainly it means to be sentenced to hell for eternity. This is the destiny of every person who does not believe on Jesus Christ. It is also a loss of soul to live in this life without a relationship with God. Since we are created y him to worship him with all our soul, if we do not worship him, we will worship something.

Mark 12:29-30 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

If you do not worship the true God, you will worship something. Will you worship money? Will you worship power? Will you worship fame? Will you worship ability? The loss of soul happens when you do not use your soul to worship God. Since he created it, he knows exactly what it is for and the powerful attraction this world has on us. If you lose your soul what would you give in exchange for it? What will you present to God on judgment day? If you wasted your soul on this world and your soul is designed to worship God, what will you have to show?

The answer to these questions is nothing. Nothing can replace the human soul. It is costly. It cost the death of the Son of God to redeem it. Love God, don’t love the world.

In Christ,

Rody

One greater than the temple

Bible Reading: Matthew 12

Matthew 12:6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

Jesus made this claim of himself. This was quite a statement seeing that the temple was the centerpiece of Israel’s worship of God. Think of all the many pages of Scripture that are dedicated to the instructions for the building of the tabernacle and the ministry of the priests in Israel. For Jesus to say there is one greater than the temple was akin to blasphemy. As a matter of fact, he was accused of being demon-possessed by the religious leaders of the day because of this statement.

Think of what Jesus said for a moment. The temple was the place on earth where God met with his people. They came to the temple to offer sacrifices and the priests offered intercessory prayer for the nation every day in the temple. When he was exiled in Persia, Daniel prayed facing the temple in Jerusalem (Daniel 6:10). When Jesus met the woman at the well, she wanted to discuss which mountain God must be worshipped on because there was a discrepancy between Jews and Samaritans as to where the right place for worship and sacrifice should be. Jesus told her:

John 4:21-24 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Again, Jesus actually referred to his body as the temple.

John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

The right worship of God was through the temple until Jesus came. From then on, the right worship of God is through the Son of God.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

If does not matter where on earth you are – you can worship the Father through Jesus Christ! You don’t need a Levitical priest because Jesus is our mediator:

1 Timothy 2:5-6 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

We don’t need a temple, we know the One who is greater than the temple! King Jesus!

In Christ,

Rody

Capernaum exalted unto heaven

Bible Reading: Matthew 11

Matthew 11:23-24 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

Jesus ‘upbraided’ the cities where most of his mighty works were done. He had done miracles in Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. (He did miracles in other cities too, but these were where most of his mighty works were done.) Why would he say that Capernaum was exalted unto heaven? This is the city where Jesus took up residence after he left Nazareth. This is the city of Simon, Andrew, James and John. They ran fishing businesses on the Sea of Galilee. Capernaum is on the Sea of Galilee. The reason that Capernaum is exalted to heaven is that God in the flesh came to live there!

No other city on earth has experienced what Capernaum did during those days. Jesus lived there and he did many mighty works there because of the timing of his ministry. And yet, listen to the ‘upbraiding’ he gives to the city! He says it shall be brought down to hell. Why? Because the people for the most part remained in unbelief when they heard Jesus preach and saw the mighty works he did. He compares Capernaum to Sodom and says that if Sodom had seen what Capernaum saw, it would have remained! Jesus says that if Sodom had met Jesus, the people would have heard his words and repented and believed. He says the same of Tyre and Sidon:

Matthew 11:21-22 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.

Because of this, Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom will receive more tolerable judgments that will Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. They will still receive judgment and condemnation, but it will be greater for the cities that saw so much of the ministry of Jesus.

What do we learn from this? We learn that people who have much of the light of Jesus are expected to repent and believe. I wonder what Jesus says about America? There are many American cities with a church on every corner! What about us? Are we radically changed because of knowing Jesus?

In Christ,

Rody