In today’s short reading, Jesus helps us to understand salvation. By using a metaphor, He explains what He’s offering us and what we need to do to receive it. What is a metaphor? A metaphor is a comparison of things that are basically not the same, but which have some striking similarities. For example, I might say, “That man is like an oak tree.” What is similar between the man and an oak tree? I probably mean that he is very big and strong. I don’t mean that leaves grow on him or acorns fall from him each September!

Jesus used metaphors that the people He was teaching could easily understand. He first spoke of carrying heavy burdens and being weary. All of Jesus’ listeners could understand what He was talking about because they didn’t have cars and trucks in their day to help them carry things. People carried most things on their backs if they didn’t have a donkey or a cart. Can you imagine having to carry your groceries all the way from the supermarket to your home on your back? You’d be pretty worn out by the time you got home!

The burden Jesus was talking about was the burden of sin and guilt that unsaved people carry with them all the time. Some people do a good job of ignoring the weight of that load, but their weariness is evident from the looks on their faces. Jesus wants to remove that load of guilt, giving them rest from it. He wasn’t talking about a physical weariness and rest, because He promised rest for their souls (see Matthew 11:29). Once a person has received forgiveness, a great load is removed from his mind and his conscience.

Jesus made it very clear that, in order to be saved, people first must recognize and admit that they are burdened and weary. Second, they have to want to be unburdened. Then they must come to Jesus, which means they must recognize that He is the One who can help them.

Jesus also said that He had a yoke He would place on those who came to Him. A yoke is a big piece of wood that is placed around the neck of an ox, attached by ropes to a plow or wagon. When a man places a yoke on an ox, it means he has work for that ox to do, and it means that he is the owner and master of the ox. This tells us something very important about salvation that many people unfortunately don’t understand. When we come to Jesus, we are making Him our owner and master; we are ready to go to work for Him. Being saved means being submitted to His will. It means listening to and learning from Him, being His disciple.

Many people have supposedly “accepted Jesus” as their Savior, but never have submitted themselves to obey Him. They still want to control their own lives, and they demonstrate no evidence of any submission to Jesus. Even though they may think they are saved, they really aren’t.

Although Jesus wants to be our owner and master, He assures us that He will not be a harsh one. He won’t whip us or drive us mercilessly! Rather, He said that He is a master who is humble and gentle. He loves us dearly, a million times more than any man ever loved his ox! The yoke that He puts on us “fits perfectly” (Matthew 11:30). That is, it’s custom-made by His loving hands so that it won’t scratch our backs or hurt us in any way. And the burden He gives us to pull is not heavy. We won’t strain under His load. When people say that they don’t want to become followers of Jesus because it would be too hard, we should remind them of what Jesus said here. His burden is light.

Like most teachers, Jesus sometimes repeated to one group what He’d already taught another group. Some of what we read today Jesus taught during His sermon on the mountainside (see Matthew 6-7), so we’ll only consider what is new to us.

Teaching about prayer, Jesus used an illustration about a man who was visited late at night by a friend. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any food to feed his guest, so he walked to another friend’s house to ask if he could borrow three loaves of bread. The problem was that it was midnight, and the friend and his family were already in bed. Naturally, it was a bother for him to get up and give the man three loaves of bread, and he even said so.

If you’ve been reading from the New Living Translation, the translators have, I believe, taken a little too much liberty at this point in the story. They make it sound as if the man who needed the bread ignored his friend’s excuse and continued to knock on his door until he finally got up and gave him what he wanted. But the original Greek actually says that his friend got out of bed and gave him bread because of his shamelessness. That is, he was very bold to make such a request, expecting a favor so late at night. It took a lot of nerve to do what he did, and it showed that he had great faith in the kindness of his friend. His friend felt obligated to live up to what was obviously expected of him, and so he got up and gave the man what he wanted. Even the New Living Translation says that the friend gave the man what he wanted so his reputation wouldn’t be damaged. That is, he wanted the man to continue to think that he was a true friend and a kind person.

Jesus’ point is not that we should continually repeat our prayer requests to God so that He’ll eventually give us what we want. In fact, Jesus taught during His sermon on the mountainside that we shouldn’t continually repeat the same words in prayer, because God knows what we need before we ask (see Matthew 6:7-8). Rather, Jesus was encouraging us to have boldness when we make our requests. People who have faith ask boldly, just like the man in Jesus’ story. In everyday life, people who get what they want are people who expect to get what they want. People who expect little get little, and they don’t ask, seek or knock. The same thing is true in prayer. People who expect little of God get little from God. But people who expect much of God boldly ask Him for what they want and get it. They have an “I don’t take ‘no’ for an answer” type of attitude, and persist in faith.

To further encourage us in prayer, Jesus used an illustration about children making requests of their fathers. Kids are world-famous for boldly asking their parents for many things. Jesus said that if fathers grant their children what they ask for, how much more will God give His children the Holy Spirit when they ask Him. This indicates that one of the things God expects us to request boldly from Him is the Holy Spirit. And it teaches us that we should shamelessly make our requests to our heavenly Father just as we do with our earthly fathers.

Q. Do born-again Christians who already have the Holy Spirit living inside them have any business asking God for the Holy Spirit?

A. Yes, they do. Jesus’ promise that God would give the Holy Spirit was given to people who can call God their heavenly Father. They could only be people who are already born again, otherwise God is not their Father. And people who are born again already have the Holy Spirit living in them because they’re born of the Spirit. So, Jesus’ promise definitely applies to those who are already born again. The New Testament tells us that God wants to baptize His children in the Holy Spirit in order to empower them for service and witnessing, but they must boldly ask Him.

Q. If you are born again, have you shamelessly asked your heavenly Father for the Holy Spirit?

Application: Are you, like so many people, waiting for opportunity to knock on your door? Or are you, as Jesus encouraged us, boldly knocking on opportunity’s door? Are you expecting much from God? Does it show by your bold requests and acts of faith?

Today we read about Jesus sending out seventy-two of His disciples to preach in towns He planned to visit. His instructions to them were very similar to those He gave His twelve disciples when He sent them out to preach. The seventy-two were also sent out in pairs, so they must have ministered in at least thirty-six towns. Jesus knew that some of the preaching pairs would be unwelcome where He was sending them. However, He sent them anyway, so that no one in those towns could accuse God before His judgment seat, saying, “You never sent anyone to tell me how I could be saved.” The seventy-two were fully authorized as Jesus’ messengers, just as much as Jesus was God the Father’s authorized messenger. He told them, “Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God who sent me” (Luke 10:16).

When the seventy-two returned from their missions, they were thrilled to report to Jesus that they had not only been able to heal sick people as He had promised them, but they had also been able to cast out demons in His name. They were amazed that demons, whose power had previously awed them, so quickly obeyed, as if they were powerless.

Jesus, however, wasn’t surprised at all. He knew that Satan and his demons were no match for God’s power, and told the seventy-two about something He’d witnessed ages ago. Before the world was created, Satan tried to exalt himself, but was cast out of heaven by God. When he was, he could put up no resistance, because God is infinitely more powerful. Satan fell from heaven like lightning. One second he was in heaven, and BOOM!, the next second he was on the earth! God the Father had given Jesus authority over everything (see Matthew 10:22), including the devil and demons, and Jesus in turn had given the seventy-two disciples authority “over all the power of the enemy” (Matthew 10:19). Demons are no match for God and for those who have God-given authority over them.

As happy as the seventy-two were about their authority over demons, there was something else Jesus said they should be even happier about—that their names were registered in heaven. Just thinking about how God had revealed the truth to those who were childlike, like the seventy-two who had just returned from their missions, moved Jesus to begin thanking His Father. As He later remarked, His disciples were so privileged to witness His ministry, something that Old Testament prophets and kings longed to see. How privileged we are to be able to read about Jesus’ life and ministry. How blessed we are to know Him and His Father! And how thankful we should be that our names are also recorded in heaven in “the Lamb’s Book of Life” (Revelation 21:27)!

Q. From whom does God hide the truth?

A. From those who think they are wise and clever (see Luke 10:21). Those are people who are proud. That’s why it’s a good idea regularly to admit that you need God to enlighten you, because there’s a lot you don’t understand. Proverbs says, “With humility comes wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2).

Q. Jesus told the seventy-two that He had given them authority over all the power of the enemy and that they could “walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them” (Luke 10:19). Did He literally mean that they could crush snakes and scorpions?

A. That is unlikely, and we certainly don’t have a biblical example of any of Jesus’ disciples doing such a thing. More probable is that Jesus was referring to demons when He spoke of snakes and scorpions. Most people are afraid of those two creatures, and they’re also afraid of evil spirits. But those who follow Jesus have authority over them and have no good reason to be afraid. According to what Jesus said in Mark 16:17, all believers in Him have authority to cast out demons.

Application: Just as Jesus sent out the seventy-two, so we have been sent out by Him to be His representatives. The New Testament says that we are “Christ’s ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20). And just like the seventy-two, we are fully authorized by Jesus. He said in John 13:20, “Truly, anyone who welcomes my messenger is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me.” Are you acting like Jesus’ representative, doing what He would want you to do in every situation?

Jesus wants His followers to love one another as devoted friends. But sometimes, through thoughtlessness or misunderstanding, two followers of Christ are divided. What should you do if that happens to you? In most cases, you should simply overlook other people’s thoughtlessness, knowing that if they knew better, they’d do better. But when a fellow believer sins against you so that your relationship with him is severely damaged, you should follow Jesus’ instructions about how to work out your problem.

First, you should privately confront the believer who has offended you. It should be done gently and lovingly for several reasons. One, because you yourself are imperfect, and your imperfection gives you less of a right to be critical of others. Two, because upon confrontation, you may discover that you are the one to blame for the problem once you hear the other person’s side of the story. Often people discover that their disagreement was nothing more than a misunderstanding.

If the other believer did actually sin against you, the large majority of the time he will ask for your forgiveness when he’s confronted. Occasionally he won’t, and there can only be two possible reasons. Either he is stubborn and unrepentant, or he really hasn’t sinned against you as you think. So at that point, you need the help of a few other believers. Jesus said you should take one or two of them with you to confront the offender again. Of course, you’ll have to convince those you want to take with you that you are right and the other person is wrong. They may, at that point, help you to see that the fault actually does lie with you, and if they do, then you should be the one asking for forgiveness and seeking reconciliation.

But let’s say that your one or two helpers agree that you’ve been wronged, and with you, confront the offender for the second time. Either one of two things will happen. Either the offender will acknowledge his guilt or maintain his innocence. Most times, under the influence of several others who agree with you, the person will admit his guilt and ask your forgiveness. You, of course, are obligated to forgive him according to what we read today in Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant. And thus your relationship will be restored.

If the offender still refuses to admit guilt and ask for forgiveness, then the matter should be taken before the whole church. (Keep in mind that for the first three hundred years of Christianity, most churches met in homes and consisted of no more than twenty-five people.) This is the final way of making certain that you have truly been sinned against, as the church considers your story and the evidence. If they decide you are right, they should confront the offender one last time. When he realizes that the whole church agrees with you, he should be persuaded of his sin and ask your forgiveness, thus restoring your relationship as you in turn forgive him. However, if he still refuses to repent, then he should be put out of the church and treated like an unbeliever, because he is obviously not a true follower of Christ. Jesus said that the church has heaven-given authority to do such a thing (see Matthew 18:17).

Jesus’ instructions provoked Peter to wonder how many times he was obligated to forgive a fellow believer, suggesting that seven times was a good limit. Jesus, however, said that there was no limit, and then He told a story that explained why God expects His children to be so merciful. We’ve been shown so much mercy from God that it would be wrong for us to refuse to give mercy to others. In fact, if we refuse to forgive a fellow Christian who asks for forgiveness, God will reinstate our formerly forgiven sins. That is serious!

We must keep in mind that God offers forgiveness only to those who admit their guilt. Those who don’t admit their guilt aren’t forgiven, although God mercifully and patiently waits for their confession because He wants to be reconciled to all who have sinned against Him. We should follow His example. God expects us to forgive anyone and everyone who asks for our forgiveness, and He expects us to be merciful to those who don’t ask for our forgiveness. In the parable of the unforgiving servant, notice that the first man asked for forgiveness, and his fellow servant also asked for his forgiveness, but he refused to give what he had received. That is what made the king so angry. In a sense, forgiveness can’t be given until it’s first requested. Jesus once said, “If another believer sins, rebuke him; then if he repents, forgive him” (Luke 17:3, emphasis added). Notice in what we read today that there is no forgiveness offered to the unrepentant man who was found guilty by the whole church.

Q. If a fellow Christian doesn’t say hello to you in church, do you think you should begin the process Jesus outlined in Matthew 18:15-17?

A. No. You should work on becoming more like Christ yourself and less like a little baby who is offended so easily. Mature Christians overlook many things that offend others.

Q. How many times do you think God will forgive us when we ask for His forgiveness?

A. He will forgive us an unlimited amount of times, because that is what He expects of us. He certainly wouldn’t expect more from us than He does from Himself!

Application: Is there any fellow Christian with whom your relationship is not right? In light of what we’ve read today, what can you do to begin to work toward reconciliation?

When we read the story of Jesus’ meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well, we learned that Jews and Samaritans generally hated each other. Samaritans were a mixed race of Jews and Gentiles, considered impure by other Jews. Jesus, of course, was a Jew, but He loved everyone because He was also God. And, unlike most Jews who traveled from Galilee to Judea by taking a long route that bypassed Samaria altogether, once again we read of Jesus journeying right through the heart of that region.

On His way, an entire Samaritan village refused to accommodate Him and His disciples only because they were Jews on the way to Jerusalem. This infuriated the two brothers, James and John, who consequently asked Jesus if they should call fire down from heaven on that Samaritan village, just as Elijah had once done upon a band of enemy soldiers. They felt the Samaritans should die for their offense.

Jesus rebuked both brothers for their attitude, saying (according to some manuscripts), “You don’t realize what your hearts are like. For the Son of Man has not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”

Like James and John, we sometimes think that God should immediately kill sinful people, and wonder why He doesn’t. The reason is because He is so merciful and longsuffering. God is so merciful that He wants to give them plenty of time to repent. He knows that their fate is permanently sealed at death, and that hell awaits the unrepentant. Certainly Jesus wasn’t pleased by the hatred of the people in that village, but He knew that they were acting just like most Jews acted toward Samaritans. In fact, His own disciples were no different than the unaccommodating Samaritans. If the Samaritan villagers deserved to be burned with fire for their prejudice, so did James and John!

In the second portion of today’s reading we learn that, just like today, there were many people in Jesus’ time who wanted to follow Him on their own terms. And, like today, those people disqualified themselves from being Jesus’ true followers. Luke related three examples of such people.

The first man claimed he would follow Jesus no matter where He went. Jesus warned the man that he was making a vow that might be difficult for him to keep, because He had no place of His own to sleep each night. He and His disciples slept out in the open or relied on the hospitality of sympathetic friends. Of course, followers of Jesus today don’t need to literally follow Him from place to place, but they, too, should first count the cost before becoming His disciples. Too many people want to follow Jesus as long as it doesn’t inconvenience them. Consequently, they may think they’ve become His disciples, but they really haven’t.

The second man agreed to be Jesus’ disciple, but requested that he first return home to bury his father. It seems unlikely that his father had just died and that he just wanted to attend the funeral. More probable is that his father was elderly and could die at any time. So he wanted to delay his decision to follow the Lord. But the decision to delay following Jesus is a decision not to follow Jesus, because Jesus is calling everyone to follow Him now.

The third man also agreed to follow Jesus, but requested that he first say good-bye to his family. There is, of course, nothing wrong with saying good-bye to your family, but it seems Jesus knew this particular man was actually hesitating to follow through on his decision to become a follower and wanted to think about it for a while with the help of his family. The man had “put his hand to the plow” in the field, about to begin plowing, but was looking back toward his home, asking himself if he really wouldn’t prefer to head back there and rest. Jesus expects that people who pledge allegiance to Him will follow through with their commitment.

Q. Jesus obviously expects us to be more devoted to Him than to anyone else, even our family members. What does this tell us about Him?

A. It tells us that Jesus is God, because only God has a right to expect us to be more devoted to Him than to our own families! It also tells us that we had better be more devoted to Him than to anyone else.

Application: All three men we read about today verbalized a commitment to follow Jesus. But the real mark of a follower of Jesus is not what he says, but what he does. Those who aren’t willing to make any sacrifice for Christ’s cause, or who indicate that they will follow Him in the future, or who hesitate in following through with their promise are fooling themselves.

The first part of today’s reading is a continuation of what we read yesterday, when Jesus was teaching about the value of little children who believe in Him. Today we again learn that it’s wrong to despise little believers because God places such a high value upon them. He cares about them so much that He has specially-assigned angels that watch over them. That tells us how God values them. People on earth hire guards to watch and protect only what is valuable to them, and God is the same. Also, those specially-assigned angels are not second-string angels who have nothing else to do, and thus God makes them watch children just to keep them busy. They are not angels who are low-on-the-totem pole angels, who live in the most remote places in heaven, far from the action. No, the angels who watch over God’s little children are angels who are very close to God, constantly in His presence.

Some children believe in Jesus, but are led astray, just like a sheep might wander away from its flock. Jesus said that is was not the will of His Father that a believing child would ever go astray and ultimately perish, and He will go to great lengths to seek and rescue that child. So we should have the same attitude towards younger believers. Did you realize how special and important you are to God?

This is why your parents are taking time each day to teach you God’s Word. You’re very important to God, and no matter what other important things your parents have to do, the most important thing they can do is what they’re doing right now.

Unfortunately, just one chapter later, we find that as parents were bringing their children to Jesus for Him to lay hands on them and pray for them, the disciples were telling the parents not to bother Him. Why? Simply because they didn’t think that such children were worthy of Jesus’ time. But Jesus corrected them sternly. Jesus treated kids like most people only treat politicians, company presidents and movie stars!

Q. So you’re a kid and now you know how much God values you. Should you now strut around like a proud peacock, expecting people to treat you like a president or movie star?

A. No, God wants you to be a servant, considering others as being more important than yourself. He loves you a great deal, but not more than anyone else.

Application: It’s wonderful to know that God loves all His children very much, young and old. That is why we should love each other, and not overlook anyone who believes in Jesus.

The Temple tax was one that all Jews were supposed to pay once a year for the upkeep and maintenance of the Temple in Jerusalem. It wasn’t a large tax, but it wasn’t a small one either, equivalent to about two days’ wages for a working man. Because the Temple tax, like most taxes, was unpopular, special tax collectors were assigned to certain areas, and were responsible to see that as many people as possible paid. Perhaps knowing how influential Jesus had become in Galilee, several tax collectors approached Peter to find out if Jesus endorsed and personally paid the tax. Confident that Jesus was a very upright person (to say the least), Peter assured his questioners that Jesus did pay the tax, but then went to talk to Jesus about it. He was perhaps fearful that he had misrepresented Jesus, or he may have been planning on asking Jesus for the money to pay the tax while the tax collectors waited outside.

In a small way, Peter had misrepresented Jesus, and this becomes clear as we read Jesus’ and Peter’s conversation. As Peter entered the house where Jesus was, before he could ask Him about the Temple tax, Jesus asked Peter a question about who kings normally tax. Unfortunately, if you’ve been reading the New Living Translation as I suggested, you missed something significant that Jesus said. In the New American Standard Bible, Jesus’ question to Peter is recorded as, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” Peter responded, “From strangers,” to which Jesus replied, “Consequently the sons are exempt” (Matthew 17:25-26). Jesus did not, as the New Living Translation says, contrast citizens of a kingdom and foreigners, but as kings’s sons and his subjects.

What difference does this make? A lot. Jesus was not implying that He, being a citizen rather than a foreigner, was exempt from paying the Temple tax. Rather, He was implying that He, the Son of the King of all creation, was exempt from paying a tax on a house that belonged to that King! He was, once again, claiming to be God’s Son!

Although He really didn’t have a responsibility to pay the Temple tax, Jesus didn’t want to offend the tax collectors, indicating that they probably were waiting outside for His money. So He gave Peter instructions for getting enough money to pay the tax for both of them. All Peter had to do was walk to the shore of the Sea of Galilee, throw in a line, and the first fish he caught would have a coin in its mouth that would exactly pay their tax!

Let’s use our imaginations to picture what happened next. Peter walks out of the house and says to the waiting tax collectors, “I’ll have the money for Jesus’ and my tax in just a minute—I just need to go pick it up. Please follow me.” Together they walk to the shore where Peter picks up his fishing rod and casts a line into the water. In a second or two, he has a fish on his line and reels it in. He takes the fish off the hook, opens its mouth, reaches in to pull out a coin, and hands it to the astonished tax collectors! I wonder if they had any more questions for Peter after that! I wonder if they became followers of Jesus themselves!

Q. What is it that made this story so miraculous?

A. God may have created a coin for a fish to pick up, but I think that’s unlikely because it would make Him a counterfeiter. Therefore, He must have directed a fish to a coin that had accidentally fallen into the water from someone’s purse, hand or pocket. So God had to know the exact whereabouts of a lost coin under the water, direct a fish to put it in its mouth, and have that same fish bite Peter’s bait at a precise time! On top of all this, God had to let Jesus know in advance what was going to happen so He, in turn, could instruct Peter about getting their tax money!

Application: Although God rarely supplies our needs through coins in the mouths of fish, He often surprises us by using unexpected sources. That way, we are more likely to realize that He is the supplier. He cares about His children, and He loves to provide for them as they trust and obey.

As the time of His death drew nearer, Jesus began avoiding the crowds in order to spend time teaching His disciples. He knew that they would be the ones to carry on His work after His ascension, and He had a limited amount of time to get them ready.

If they were to succeed in doing Christ’s work, it was of foremost importance that they have a correct view of themselves and other believers. God won’t use people who think they’re somebody important or who want to be somebody important. Proud or selfish people who want positions of respect disqualify themselves from Christ’s ministry. Jesus wants us to consider ourselves servants, and see everyone else as being more important. Yet the disciples had been secretly arguing over who was the greatest! Jesus told them what we should all keep in mind: “Anyone who wants to be the first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” In God’s eyes, what makes people great is servanthood.

Jesus also needed to remind His disciples of the proper view they should have of other believers, especially “lesser” ones. God loves all of His children, and so all should be valued by us. Jesus took a little child in his arms, a person that very few others would even have noticed was present, and talked about how valuable he was. Children and other so-called “insignificant” people are often pushed aside, but according to Jesus, they shouldn’t be. Jesus said that if we, as His representatives, take notice of and welcome a little child who believes in Him, we are actually welcoming Him. We are called to love people as God loves them, and this is the heart of being a follower of Christ.

On the other hand, because God loves people the world deems insignificant and unimportant, we are guilty of a great sin if we don’t value them as God does. Jesus said that if anyone causes a child who believes in Him to lose faith, it would be better for that person to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck! Why? Because that would be a better fate than what will actually happen to the person who causes a believing child to lose faith—he will spend eternity in hell! That shows us how much God loves “unimportant” people.

John told Jesus about a man who was using Jesus’ name to cast out demons, but because he wasn’t part of their group, the disciples told him to stop. This gave Jesus another wonderful opportunity to continue adjusting His disciples’ view of others as they prepared to take over His work on earth. Too often, we’re looking for what makes people different from us so we can exclude them. Jesus, however, is looking for what is similar so He can include them! He told His disciples that they shouldn’t have stopped the man from using His name to cast out demons, explaining that, “No one who performs miracles in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me” (Mark 9:39). We should adopt this same attitude, working to include people rather than exclude them, because that is how God feels. Jesus said that God will reward anyone who shows even a little support for one of His followers!

Q. Jesus said, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better to enter heaven with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands….And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It is better to enter the Kingdom of God half blind than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where the worm never dies and the fire never goes out” (Mark 9:43-44, 47-48). Did He really mean that people should cut off their hands and gouge out their eyes?

A. No, He must have been using a figure of speech we call hyperbole, or exaggerating to make a point unforgettable. Jesus couldn’t have meant that people whose hands and eyes have caused them to sin should cut them off and gouge them out, because we all have hands and eyes that we have used to sin. If everyone literally obeyed Jesus on this, everyone in the world would be without hands and eyes. What Jesus was saying is that it is sin that sends people to hell, and so there is no price too high to pay to avoid sin. We should do what is necessary to avoid temptation, and if something is causing us to stumble, we need to remove it from our lives.

Application: Are you guilty of valuing other believers based on their age, their profession, their skin color or where they live? Is there anyone that you’ve been convicted about undervaluing? Will you change?

Jesus, Peter, James and John were just coming down from the mountain where Jesus had been transfigured when they found the other disciples engaged in an argument with some religious teachers. A man had brought them his son who was possessed by an evil spirit, but they had failed to cast it out.

We know that, prior to this, Jesus had given His disciples authority to cast out demons (see Matthew 10:1; Mark 3:14-15; Luke 9:1). And, prior to this, they had successfully cast out demons (see Mark 6:13). So why, this time, did they fail? When they later asked Jesus that very question, according to Mark’s Gospel, He told them it was because that particular kind of demon could only be cast out through prayer. However, Matthew recorded Jesus’ response as being: “You didn’t have enough faith” (Matthew 17:20). Both Matthew and Mark were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write their books, and so we must conclude that Jesus gave both reasons as to why the disciples failed.

Lack of faith seems to have been the primary reason for their failure, because as soon as Jesus heard they’d failed, He lamented, “You stubborn, faithless [or, unbelieving] people! How long must I be with you until you believe?” (Matthew 17:17). Also, when the boy’s father asked Jesus to help him if He could, Jesus responded, “If I can?…Anything is possible if a person believes” (Mark 9:23).

Even though the disciples had God-given authority to cast out demons, their authority didn’t work unless they exercised faith. Again, this is proof that God’s will doesn’t always automatically come to pass in our lives. We must believe what God has said, or else we may not experience what God has promised. As Jesus said, “Anything is possible if a person believes” (Mark 9:23, emphasis added). Notice that what is possible depends upon each individual’s faith.

In previous times when the disciples had successfully cast out demons, they must have had sufficient faith. Had their faith grown weaker? Probably not. I would be more inclined to think that this particular demon required stronger faith to expel than any demon they had previously dealt with. The reason is because this demon manifested itself in some very dramatic ways. It would take more faith to cast out a demon when it was making someone fall to the ground in violent convulsions, foam at the mouth and grind his teeth than it would to cast out a demon from a calm-looking person! Faith requires disregarding the contrary circumstances, and when the contrary circumstances are greater, greater faith is needed. It takes more faith to move a mountain than a molehill!

Perhaps that was why Jesus also said that this demon could only come out through prayer. Spending time in prayer can’t increase anyone’s authority over demons, but it can increase his faith in the authority he already possesses as he meditates on God’s promises.

Possibly this demon put on the same show for the disciples as it did for Jesus, robbing them of their faith. But Jesus’ faith didn’t waver during His encounter. He was not afraid, and immediately upon hearing of His disciples’ failure, commanded that the boy be brought to Him. As soon as the evil spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy to the ground in a violent convulsion, making him writhe and foam at the mouth. It was probably hoping to scare Jesus, stealing His faith, and thus continue to torture the boy. Jesus, however, was not moved by what He saw, and confidently commanded the demon to come out of the child and never enter him again. It reluctantly obeyed, screaming and throwing the boy into another convulsion as it came out. Finally, the boy was motionless, and the unbelieving crowd thought he had died. Jesus, of course, wasn’t thinking such thoughts, and, taking the boy by the hand, helped him to his feet. That was one happy boy, one happy father, and one amazed crowd!

Q. Jesus asked the boy’s father how long his son had been afflicted. What does this reveal to us about Jesus?

A. First, it reveals His compassion. As Jesus saw the boy’s agony, He began wondering how long the boy had been suffering to such a degree. It also reveals to us, once again, that Jesus was not all-knowing, even though He was divine. He stripped Himself of omniscience when He became a man.

Q. The demon-possessed boy’s father told Jesus that his son had suffered since childhood with his affliction, and the demon had often thrown his son into fire and water, trying to kill him. What does that tell you about demons?

A. It tells us how evil and wicked they are. This particular demon took a perverted pleasure in making a little boy suffer for years, torturing and trying to kill him.

Application: Thank God that Christians don’t have to be afraid of demons or the devil, because Jesus has delivered us from their power. Because we have Jesus inside us, now they’re afraid of us! We can learn from today’s reading that when the devil puts on his best show to discourage us or fill us with fear, that means he is scared!

Peter was convinced that Jesus was the Messiah and Son of God, but when Jesus announced to His disciples that He would soon die in Jerusalem, Peter politely took Him aside to correct Him. Surely Jesus was mistaken! What good would it do for God’s Son to die? Obviously, Peter didn’t yet understand the main reason why Jesus became a man—to die for our sins. Jesus rebuked him sternly, wanting to make a lasting impression on Peter and the rest of His disciples. It was God’s will for Him to die. It would be no accident or twist of fate, and Jesus was certainly not mistaken. He had been born to die.

Obviously, Jesus was not playing games and was fully committed to His cause. He was paying the highest price possible to redeem humanity. And just as He was giving His life for the people He would save, He expected those He saved to give up their lives for Him. He wasn’t requiring that they all die physically as martyrs, but He was calling all of them to die to their selfish desires and live for Him. That is what He meant when He said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life” (Matthew 16:24-25).

Although the price might seem high, any other course would be foolish. By seeking after your own selfish desires, you might, as Jesus said, eventually own everything that can be bought, but you would spend eternity in hell. Jesus Christ is the one who will one day judge all people according to their deeds, and only those who were submitted to Him will be permitted entrance into His eternal kingdom. So no matter what the cost, the only smart choice is to die to selfishness and live for Jesus.

Jesus went on to say that there were some present who would not die before they would see Him coming in His kingdom. His promise was fulfilled just six days later, when Peter, James and John saw Him transfigured and glorified before them. “His face shone like the sun, and his clothing became dazzling white” (Matthew 17:2). That is how our Savior and God will look when we see Him in His kingdom! That is how Jesus will look when we stand before Him to give an account of our lives. Imagining that day should provide all of us with ample motivation to serve Him with all our hearts while we’re on the earth.

Q. When Jesus was transfigured on a high mountain before Peter, James and John, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. Does this teach us anything about what happens to people after they die?

A. This proves that people’s spirits live after their bodies die. Some people think that when people die, they die like an animal, ceasing to exist. Some cults teach that when people die, they cease to exist until God resurrects them. The error that both are making is that they are not acknowledging that human beings have spirits. When their bodies die, their spirits live on, and go to heaven or hell. One day everyone’s body will be resurrected and rejoined with his or her spirit. But in the meantime, their spirits are very much alive. The spirits of Moses and Elijah must have come from paradise to meet with Jesus that day on the mountain. One day they, like us, will receive new, glorified bodies.

Q. Why do you think that Moses and Elijah were chosen by God to meet with Jesus that day?

A. Nobody knows for sure because the Bible doesn’t say. Perhaps it was to make an impression upon Peter, James and John’s minds that Jesus’ future kingdom would include all the redeemed people of the ages, including the great men of the Old Testament. Or, maybe God wanted them to be certain that Jesus was not Moses or Elijah, because we know that some people thought Jesus was Elijah (see Matthew 16:14). Or perhaps Moses and Elijah made a request of God to meet with His Son! Regardless, we’ll all someday have the same privilege as they had.

Application: Peter, James and John never forgot what happened that day on the mountain. Peter later wrote about it in a letter, saying, “For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming again. We have seen his majestic splendor with our own eyes. And he received honor and glory from God the Father when God’s glorious, majestic voice called down from heaven, ‘This is my beloved Son; I am fully pleased with him.’ We ourselves heard the voice when we were there with him on the holy mountain” (2 Peter 1:16-18). What we’ve read about today really happened, as did everything else we can read about Jesus in the Bible!