 In Matthew 23, Jesus gives a warning concerning the scribes and the Pharisees with such intensity and specificity that it seems out of character for His usual meek and mild manner throughout the Gospels.
His intensity in calling out these religious rulers should cause us to take note. While He is angry, He is still sinless and maintains a righteous judgment in this word of warning, correction, and rebuke to what these individuals have done and continue to do. Watch our study of Matthew 23 as we consider these harsh yet honest rebukes to the religious leaders and how we might heed Jesus’ warning today.  The scenes we read in Matthew 21 show us that God wants to enjoy the fruit of our fellowship with Him. But it upsets Him when people pretend to be His people but bear no fruit for Him to enjoy and show no concern for Him, His representatives, or His Son.
Sadly, we see through Jesus’ teaching that fruitless phonies who pretend to be His people will eventually treat the people who do have a heart for Him poorly. And ultimately, they will treat Jesus with scorn. But it doesn’t have to be this way. He offers forgiveness. And those who receive His forgiveness will forgive others. This is fruit that comes from fellowship with Him. Is this a fruit you have in your life that God can enjoy? He can’t force His forgiveness upon you, but desires to enjoy this fruit that is cultivated in genuine fellowship with Him. You don’t need to impress Him (or anyone else). He didn’t come to make bad people good, but to give dead people life—real, full, and eternal spiritual life. Learn from the mistakes of the religious leaders. Don’t turn away and leave. Follow Him.  “So Jesus stood still and commanded [Bartimaeus] to be called.”
–Mark 10:49 It’s interesting that Jesus stood still. How would blind Bartimaeus find Him? Yet through this detail, Jesus teaches us to come to Him. Remember, Jesus didn't say, "I'll come to you when you are weary and heavy laden." He said, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden." (Matthew 11:28-30). The choice to come to Him is yours, even though it may involve difficulty, cost, risk, or consequence. The rich young ruler struggled with this invitation (see Matthew 19:16-22), but Bartimaeus took action, threw aside his garment, rose, and came to Jesus (Mark 10:50). His garment would have been everything—bed, blanket, home, security, and means to survive. And yet, Bartimaeus realized it was worthless compared to coming to Christ. Have you chosen to follow Jesus? Are you willing to make that choice? Friend, nothing in this world compares to the worth and value of following Jesus. Hear the same encouragement as Bartimaeus: "Take courage! Rise! Jesus is calling you!" Choose to set aside your personal security and come to Jesus. When Jesus left Jericho, He was followed by many who wanted to hear what He had to say. But there was someone who kept getting in the way—a blind beggar named Bartimaeus who interrupted, crying out loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" He had a genuine, desperate need and was reaching out to Jesus the only way he knew how.
Watch our study of Matthew 20:29-34 (and Mark 10:46-52) as we considered Jesus' response to this interruption.  Why do we grumble and complain when we see God give others what we don’t think they deserve, or opportunities He hasn’t given us? After all, we deserve those things!
But do we really? Do we really want what we deserve? Everything we have is God’s mercy. Every opportunity is His grace. Every chance we have to serve in ministry is more than we justly deserve. When we lobby leadership for perceived positions of power and think we have a right to fight for what we really deserve, we forget about what we actually deserve. None of us can truly and genuinely serve apart from Jesus. Our resume, pedigree, or experience is never the reason we receive any opportunity to serve. Only with humility can we realize that ministry isn’t about us. Ministry looks like coming after Jesus, denying ourselves, taking up His cross, and following Him in humble, self-sacrificial, others-centered service. People often have a “what’s in it for me” motivation for ministry rather than simply a desire to serve. We’re not the only ones who struggle with motivation in ministry. Jesus’ closest and most devoted followers struggled with the proper motivation for ministry.
Jesus really meant what He said when He taught, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23). When we ask what we’ll get out of serving Jesus, we’re asking the wrong question and have the wrong motivation. Watch our study from Sunday as we reflect on our own motivations for ministry and look to Jesus as the best model for serving with genuine motives. |
From Pastor Dom...When I first gave my life to Jesus, there were friends in my life who helped me to grow in my understanding of God, through His word, and for those friends Archives
July 2026
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