In my times in London, I’ve always enjoyed riding “The Tube” of the London Underground. Each time the train’s doors open, you hear the warning: “Mind the Gap!” That’s wise counsel.

For those with eyes to see and ears to hear, the West is amidst a cold civil war. It is a war of ideas, of course. To use a cliche, ideas have consequences.

Like the lyrics from one of my enduring favorite bands expressed it in “A Day In the Life,” “I read the news today, oh boy . . . .”

Well, I read the news today, too, but it wasn’t about a lucky man who’d made the grade. A day from our contemporary lives is more likely to reveal that millions of Americans apparently want a borderless nation. I don’t mean to patronize such people, but may I call their attention to definitions? A nation without borders is not a nation.

It’s interesting that they don’t see their cognitive dissonance. They lock their car doors. They lock the doors in their homes. They keep their pets on leashes or on their property, behind fences, etc. But yet they don’t seem bothered by illegal aliens entering the nation illegally, raping, pillaging, murdering, etc. That is, until the evil comes to their home. Then suddenly, reality gets real clear. But it’s too late then.

So much for “Mind the Gap!” counsel.

Will we mind the gap before it’s too late? I hear some thinkers pontificate that it’s already too late. I do not accept that. Defeatism is suicide. If you’ve already given up, I’m not sure what one might say to you. I guess you can stream more videos until your heart stops beating and eventually die. But the reality is that you died long ago, when you gave up. Let us not give in to despair. Some folks do have eyes to see and ears to hear. Not all are fools and stooges.

Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8 (ESV), “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

That’s wisdom. That’s minding the gap. That’s not ostrich-like, head-in-the-sand Pollyannaism. That’s wisdom for those who are in Christ, for those who think God’s thoughts after him, for those whose minds are being renewed (Romans 12:1-2).

Will we mind the gap? Will we recognize that blind guides lead the foolish into the ditch (Matthew 15)? As Solomon writes again and again, “Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice?” (Proverbs 8:1, ESV). In other words, will we mind the gap?

Bottom line up front: Less Is More

Text: At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:1-4, ESV)

Context: As I have continued teaching through Matthew’s gospel line-by-line over the past year or so, it is amazing to me how often we find Christ has to humble us. I’ve probably read Matthew’s gospel over 50 times over the last year, trying to be sure I follow the storyline that the apostle lays out. Teaching it verse-by-verse forces me to slow down. When one is a fast reader, it is easy to read right past something that I should not have. And when it comes to Scripture, there’s never a passage to neglect. This is the Book of all books.

About the passage above (Matthew 18:1-4), J.C. Ryle wrote, “Would we know whether we are really converted? Would we know the test by which we must try ourselves? The surest mark of true conversion is humility. If we have really received the Holy Ghost, we shall show it by a meek and childlike spirit” (Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew).

Humility. Not exactly sinners’ default posture, is it? Nope. We like to think we’re better than the next fellow, don’t we? We thrive upon comparison, at seeing the speck in other people’s eyes. Meanwhile, we’ve got logs the size of redwood trees in our own.

But Christ just kept hammering home that non-negotiable: humility.

He says to his disciples that they’ll never enter the kingdom of heaven without it (v. 3).

I remember saying of my father-in-law that he lived the best sermon I ever heard preached. What did I mean? Simply that he was among the greatest and simultaneously humblest men I’ve ever known, respected, and loved. And I have no doubt that he heard a heavenly welcome that went something like this: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Introduction: This Sunday I will again be teaching the saints as we gather again under the authority of the Scriptures. We are exploring Matthew 17:14-27. A few of the themes God addresses in this passage follow:

• ‘Levels’ of faith
• the nature of spiritual warfare
• the sovereignty of God

Questions: One of the questions that fascinates me in this passage is, How ironic is it that Peter, James, and John just descended the Mount of Transfiguration where Christ alone had received the glory via the cloud, the Father’s voice, Jesus’ face shining like the sun, the radiance of his garments, etc. and yet the next episode revolves around some of the disciples’ little faith?

All of these manifestations surely stirred the theology of Moses, Elijah, Peter, James, and John. The books of Exodus, Revelation, and Elijah’s ministry in the Old Covenant surely were brought immediately to their minds and hearts. But when verse 14 begins the transition, we see that some of the disciples apparently had weak faith. Why do I say that? Because Jesus said it: “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?” (Mt 17:17, ESV) That’s a stinging rebuke from the Lord Jesus. No ‘meek and mild’ Jesus stuff there.

A man had come to some of Jesus’ disciples for the healing of his (the man’s) son. The boy, according to verse 15, had seizures. Perhaps he was what we might call epileptic, I don’t know. But in verse 18 of the text, Jesus “rebuked the demon” that plagued the boy, and in verse 20, Jesus rebuked his own disciples for their little faith. I write all this to ask this question: How ironic is it that Peter, James, and John just descended the Mount of Transfiguration where Christ alone had received the glory via the cloud, the Father’s voice, Jesus’ face shining like the sun, the radiance of his garments, etc. and yet the next episode revolves around some of the disciples’ little faith?

I think the teaching is clear: Our ‘levels’ of faith ebb and flow. I cannot speak for others, but I know if I’m honest that there are times in my life when I’ve relied on myself and my strategies to make things shake out like I desired. And very often the Lord has seen fit to take me to the mat. He’s closed doors that I desired to walk through. Looking back, God’s ways were right and mine were selfish and wrong.

Then there have been times when I trusted the Lord at levels that were much greater, where I lived out a total reliance upon the providence and direction of God. I even wrote a novella with that theme: Lily is about an English teacher who seeks to find her way when God seems to hide his face.

A second question that interests me in this passage is, What do we see in this episode about spiritual warfare? There is no paucity of wacky stuff out there about spiritual warfare, but much of it is, in my view, far afield from what Scripture teaches. Nevertheless, it is clear that God allows demonic influence in the world in order to show his (God’s) glory and his power over the demonic realm. It seems to me the whole point of Matthew 17:14-21 is that our faith is to be in the Lord Jesus Christ because he (God the Son incarnate) is sovereign over weak faith, strong faith, illness, the demons, and evil. That seems to me the point. It’s the same lesson as God was teaching at the Mount of Transfiguration, namely, for us to get our eyes upon Jesus–that Christ is bigger than our crises.

Bottom line up front (BLUF): Do you wish to be great? The path may differ from what you envision.

Currently I’m reading a handful of books on significance. Why? Because I’m seeing a trend on the mission field, namely, that many people (younger people, esp.) experience feelings of insignificance. They feel they don’t matter—at work, at play, at home, at church, etc. Their reactions are often to create false images of themselves as important, influential, brave, and sought after. Many of these folks are being disingenuous and they know it. So, how does one speak wisely to such an issue?

The Folly of Secularism: The secular worldview has no transcendent unchanging standard by which to speak to this, of course. Since God is removed in secular humanism, all folks are left with is preferences. If someone experiences feelings of insignificance, too bad. “Suck it up, Buttercup!” talking points is what you can expect. Why? Because there is no objective, unchanging, righteous standard (God) by which to evaluate wisdom from folly in the religion of secular humanism.

Greatness God’s Way: Much of Jesus’s teaching in Matthew’s gospel is consumed with Jesus excoriating the scribes and Pharisees. Why? Well, they should have been the wise, humble, godly teachers and shepherds. Instead, they were foolish, cocky, defensive, ungodly theological bureaucrats who led themselves and their followers into destruction (see Matthew 23, e.g.). But will we listen to what Christ taught all who would be significant and even aspire to greatness: “The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Mt 23:11-12, ESV).

Encouragement/takeaway: Did we catch it? “The greatest among you shall be your servant.” In a world where people are longing to matter, the secular reflex is to say, “Well, you do you,” whatever that’s supposed to mean. It’s a sort of bubblegum psychological band-aid devoid of substance. But the biblical worldview completely upends that and says to us: The reason you long to matter is because you do matter to God and to fellow pilgrims but human sin has alienated us from our Creator and Redeemer. In short, the bad news is that you and I are sinners, east of Eden, rebels against the Holy. But Christ is the rescuing, redeeming, atoning Savior for all who come to him in repentance and faith. And the way to experience your significance is to know you’re created in the image of almighty God who was, and is, and is to come. He knows the very hairs on your head and the very innermost recesses of your mind and soul. Use your best labors to honor him and those he puts in your path by serving him and others. Why? Because God delights in exalting the humble and humbling the proud.

Bottom line up front: The hubris of inexperience vs. the wisdom of experience and lessons learned.

Introduction: In some of my student days, I was blessed in particular by one of my professors being a man of remarkable giftedness. He was an OB/GYN doctor, a pastor, and a seminary professor. But perhaps more than anything else, he was a true shepherd. He loved us students; his actions made that clear. He invested in us. He was others-centered. If you’ll pardon the awkward syntax, he was very unfull of himself and focused on serving others.

Scripture’s Connection: This morning after PT, I was in said professor’s favorite book of the Bible–Leviticus. I used to marvel at how people could actually enjoy the book of Leviticus–until I understood and learned to see and savor Leviticus for what it teaches about holiness vs. sinfulness, about cleanness vs. uncleanness, about God-centeredness vs. self-centeredness.

As I read and thought this morning over what I was reading, I returned again and again to this: “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and shall fear your God: I am the LORD your God” (Lev 19:32, ESV).

Practical Questions of Application for Soldiers in the Military and Soldiers of Christ: Ever experienced trying to follow the lead of one who had positional authority but who was not ready to lead wisely? Sure, we probably all have. Some folks, by hook or by crook, may have titles, offices, or positions of leadership, but they don’t have the character or competence to lead wisely. They’re oftentimes full of themselves. Their aim is not to serve but to be served, the opposite of what Christ commands of his people: “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mt 20:28, ESV). That’s what my professor-shepherd taught so well–how to be others-focused.

A second question comes to mind, too. Ever recognized a pattern of wisdom wherein a wise leader surrounds himself with many aged and wise and not just the young and ambitious? One of the men of old whose works I continually study penned this: “The young soldier may be more mettled and venturous, but the old soldier is more to be trusted because of his experience and skill. It is no small advantage to have been an eyewitness of the several appearances God has made for his church, and of several storms that have gone over her head” (Thomas Boston, A Complete Body of Divinity).

Encouragement/takeaway: What God is teaching through Moses’ pen in Leviticus remains practical wisdom: Welcome and heed the wisdom of the aged and experienced in your life. Look to them. Why? It’s not just because they’ve lived longer. There is (sadly) no lack of old fools. But there is, by God’s grace, also a body of precious, wise, Spirit-filled, others-focused saints in your midst. Honor them. Seek to learn from them. Listen to them. They’ve seen much but they’ve also learned much. They can be–and should be–your concern, too. May we have the humility to cultivate relationships with the wise in our midst. Or as Moses wrote, we should “stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and shall fear your God: I am the LORD your God” (Lev 19:32, ESV).

Question 1: Have you not heard something along these lines? “Fear is cowardly!” Or perhaps a Joshua-laden encouragement along the lines of, “Don’t be afraid; be of good courage!” Or perhaps, “Be a man! Don’t wuss out!”? I have. Endlessly. Often completely ripped from their proper context.

Proposal: God blesses (wise) fear.

Scripture: “Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments!” (Psalm 112:1, ESV).

Question 2: When’s the last time you heard that taught accurately?

Teaching: The Lord does not solicit pittances or sham honesty. He actually vomits such overtures. There’s a biblical picture for you (Rev. 3:16).

The Lord says to his people that he blesses wise fear. Why? Because once one comes into true recognition of who God is, he/she sees who he/she is, and is broken by the devastation of truth.

Encouragement: There’s no end of acting. (Actually, there is, but that’s for another article.) It’s among the world’s oldest professions, alongside others which go without saying.

Here is all I want to encourage us with for now:

God sees; God knows; and God is altogether holy.

Once we get that in our viscera, we will be changed to fear the Lord, as a wise person ought to and does.

Leave the fools and hirelings to entertain fellow fools. But as for the Christian, let him/her fear the Lord, and discover the benediction of heaven.

Bottom line up front: The devil loves distraction.

The enemy of truth loves to distract people. That way, forces of evil more easily slither in to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). It’s easy to forget the most important truths. Therefore, let God’s people be those who remember accurately.

Historical context: I was studying Isaiah 22. It’s an “oracle” passage. Oracle in theological realms means a pronouncement/announcement from God. Today’s generation might think of computer software when they hear the term “oracle.” Readers may think of Delphi in Athens, Greece. But an oracle in Scripture denotes a pronouncement/announcement from God. Oracles divide into two types: oracles of weal/blessing and oracles of woe/judgment.

Isaiah 22 is an oracle concerning Jerusalem in the 700s B.C. Guess what it was about? You guessed it. The people had forgotten God. They suppressed the truth of God. They took the blessings of water and prosperity as evidence of their importance, their name, their abilities. But God spoke an oracle to call them not to be distracted by the trappings of perceived blessing. He called them via his oracle to remember the fount of all blessing: God.

The oracle reads this way: “You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him [God] who did it, or see him who planned it long ago” (Isaiah 22:11, ESV).

Encouragement/takeaway: It would be hard to think of a time when people can be so easily distracted. There’s seemingly no end to scrolling, memes, videos, etc. Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman remains a classic read for a reason. The devil loves distraction. Why? Because people can so easily default to self-worship, self-centeredness rather than the worship of God, God-centeredness, and selfless service.

God spoke via an oracle through his servant Isaiah to remind his people: Don’t fall for the distractions. Focus on God. Cut through the pretenders. Love good and hate evil. As Paul phrases it in the New Testament, “Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good” (Romans 12:9b, ESV). Don’t fall for the distractions; discern the true and enduring.

It would be utter folly to try and improve upon the pathos of the biblical account. Therefore, here is Matthew’s version of the crucifixion of the Christ. (A few of my comments follow the inspired text.)

As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Mt 27:32-54, ESV)

Encouragement/takeaway: Today I closed my office door and read Matthew’s account. No one who knows me will be surprised that I wept as I read it.

He told them exactly what they would do. And they did it all. He told them exactly who they were. And they proved it. He said who he was, and they mocked him. And yet he lived it out till the cross and even beyond the cross, just as he had said.

Here was the only truly fully good man ever. And the world system hated him because of that. It’s tragedy at a level unsurpassed. I don’t care if it’s in Milton, Dante, Shakespeare, McCarthy, Faulkner, Aeschylus, Euripedes, Sophocles, or another. I’ve studied them all. No one was like the Christ. No man ever spoke and lived like that–not even close.

For those who might find themselves within the hearing of the gospel this Sunday, pay attention. Even if the speaker is weak, unprepared, self-absorbed, or worse, don’t focus on that. Focus on the truth of the message: This God of consummate glory came for sinners. And as such, you qualify. Listen to him; study him; read his Word. And come. You are welcome.

Three main images/places/events fill the pages of Scripture on Thursday of Holy Week:

• The Last Supper (Passover)
• Jesus’ Upper Room Discourse
• Jesus’ Prayer in Gethsemane.

In a few hours, Jesus would be betrayed for a month’s wages, arrested, subjected to a mock trial, condemned, shamed publicly, scourged, stripped, crowned with thorns, spat upon, and nailed to the wood.

Matthew’s account reads as follows:

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” (Mt 26:36-46, ESV).

In Matthew 26, we see how Jesus prayed in his familiar spot in Gethsemane. Judas knew Jesus would be there. And in John 13-17, we see Jesus wash his disciples’ feet, predict Judas’ betrayal, and continue his discourse about the exclusive salvation wrought by Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone.

In Luke 22, we see Jesus teach his followers the gospel and how he is the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world, and that the Old Testament promises are fulfilled in him (Christ) and his church, the true Israel of God, and Christ institutes the Lord’s Supper with his disciples.

It all coheres. The entire biblical narrative fits together seamlessly because it is one coherent story. When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper with his followers, he connected the theological doctrines regarding the Suffering Servant and spotless Lamb from Isaiah 53 to himself.

When he taught the disciples in the Upper Room, it was gospel 101—how we sinners are under just judgment, but that Christ is the substitutionary atonement for all who come to him in repentance and faith. And when Christ prayed at Gethsemane and his betrayer did what he did, again it was all in precise fulfillment of the Old Testament (Psalm 41:9; Zechariah 11:12-13, e.g.).

Encouragement/takeaway: If I were an honest skeptic of the Christian faith, I would be drawn to this. Why? Because truth is what matters most to me. If Christ was and is who he demonstrated himself to be, then, as Flannery O’Connor’s character said in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find, “If [Jesus] did what He said, then it’s nothing for you to do but thow (ibid.) away everything and follow Him.”

O’Connor put those words in the mouth of a very sinful character. But as with most things, O’Connor was spot-on, bull’s-eye in her stories. Why? Because all of us must deal with the truth claims and evidence of Christ and the Scriptures.

We can ignore them, suppress them, and mock them, but truth has a way of conquering those who might labor to bury it–even bury it in a tomb in Jerusalem, Israel 2,000+ years ago. After all, Resurrection Day (Sunday) was coming. Again, just as foretold.

Just two days remained before Jesus would go to the cross.

It was Wednesday. Matthew 26 is riveting in its pathos:

When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people. (Mt 26:1-5, ESV)

Historical Context: Jesus taught in the temple for days: “And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet. And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him” (Lk 21:37-38, ESV).

People recognized that no one taught like this. Jesus’ authority was clearly superior to the false religious leaders of the corrupt system of his day. That’s why the entrenched system of self-serving religious hypocrites hated Jesus; he (Christ) called their bluff. He saw through them, and they hated him for that reality.

And yet Christ would die for the ungodly.

The chief priests and the elders, Matthew writes, “plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him” (Mt 26:4, ESV). Catch that? By stealth. Secretive schemers. Conniving murderers. The innocent Lamb of God was being betrayed, framed, and subjected to a bogus arrest and mock trial, and it was all unfolding per the direct sovereign hand of God.

As Peter says it, “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23, ESV).

In other words, God used the evil of men to bring about the redemption of all who repent and believe upon Christ. The men are responsible for their choices, their evil. And yet God would use it all to redeem a particular people for himself.

In two days, Jesus would carry his cross as far as he was humanly able, until another had to help him. He had been beaten and scourged so profoundly, he was the flayed suffering servant. And yet he would complete his mission. The cross was still ahead for him.

The Last Supper was coming. And Jesus praying in Gethsemane was closer now. And of course Judas’ ultimate betrayal of the holy.

This–all of it–fulfilled in precise detail, just as was prophesied and written.