Daily Devotion for Lent 2019 - Day 15

Scripture Reading: Matthew 11:1-30 (NRSV)

As I read today's passage, I am reminded that Matthew is writing from a later perspective than when these events actually took place.

We see this no more so than in verse 12:

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. (NRSV)

Jesus and John the Baptist are still conversing by message at the beginning of this chapter but verse twelve implies a great time between John and the present.  Matthew wrote his Gospel following the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 which would have greatly impacted how he wrote it and how people received it.

Matthew seems to be regretting how people could be witnesses to all of the miracles of Jesus and still not embrace him as the Messiah.  The "wise and intelligent" refuse to see.  Has God really hidden these things from them or is it more likely that they had the most to lose?  Those in power would not have appreciated Jesus leveling the playing field in regard to healing and acceptance of sinners.  This would diminish their own hold on the top of the social food chain.  They also apparently didn't appreciate John's asceticism either as he called them to repentance!

What do infants or children see 

that adults often miss?

Jesus offers rest to the weary.  We see this at the beginning of the chapter when he reminds John's disciples of what they see and hear.  His yoke or teaching is something that will give us life if we would only set down our need to lord it over our fellows.

How do we emulate Jesus by developing gentleness and humility in our hearts?

If I am honest, my own sense of self-importance gets in the way of this all too often.

I find that I am like the wise and intelligent.  I can see the things going on all around me but I am unable to perceive the miracles that are right in front of me.

How would it look if we stepped back from our own sense of being and tried to see with new eyes?


Prayer for the day:

God, we find that we are often weary.
We are carrying heavy burdens.
We don't even realize that we are carrying them and yet they weigh us down.
Help us to set them aside, even if just for a little while.
And as we practice walking without them, may this help us to find rest.
It may be that we become accustomed to it.
Amen.


Photo by Jay Hsu via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.