Daily Blast - The Book of Matthew: Chapter 20
Scripture
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Reflection
Did you ever think about the fact that your bible has a load of sub-titles in it that just weren't there originally? For example, my bible splits Matthew 20 into four "mini-stories" and gives each one its own little title:
1. Labourers in the vineyard;
2. Jesus foretells his death a third time;
3. a mother's request;
4. Jesus heals two blind men.
Four separate mini-stories, right? Well, no, not really. Those little titles weren't there when Matthew wrote the book. These aren't a random collection of mini-stories. They have been carefully woven together.
Challenge
CHALLENGE: today your challenge is to read the whole chapter again BEFORE you read the rest of this blog. Do this:
1. Pray before you read it and ask God to speak to you.
2. Then, as you read, try and find one thing that links any two of those mini-stories together.
3. Finally, text a friend (anyone you like) about something that stood out to you or something you think they would appreciate.
(Once you've done that, keep reading below)
Reflection part 2
So, what's the link here? Well, this is what I saw (God may say something different to you):
The labourers were so obsessed with their own earnings that they failed to see how blessed the late-comers were. John and James' mother asks Jesus to give her sons special treatment over all the other disciples. And then to end the chapter we have a load of people telling blind men to shut up and sit down. These mini-stories are like our own lives, linked together by selfish people (including ourselves) doing selfish things.
But there's another link: Jesus' servant-hearted love reaches into these stories and turns selfishness upside down. Every time there is someone failing to value other people Jesus speaks up and acts to put things right and make sure people understand how it should work when he's in charge. Take a look:
1. After the story of the self-obsessed labourers Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to die a humiliating death so the world could be forgiven.
2. No sooner has he talked about his own death that he's being asked to give certain people special treatment and so he gives his disciples a team talk, telling them they should live to be slaves for others and serve one another.
3. Finally, in the chaos of the clambering crowd, Jesus notices those who are being silenced and pushed aside and he goes to them, speaks with them, and heals them.
Every day of our own lives is full of our own mini-stories. The subtitles on my day could be:
1. Waking up and getting myself and my children ready for the day.
2. Having a conference call with work colleagues
3. Spreadsheets spreadsheets spreadsheets...
4. Blah blah blah (Boring, I know)
In each of these mini-stories, I make loads of choices and frequently mess up. And while your day mat or may not be more interesting than mine, I suspect we all make a mess of things sometimes. But Jesus isn't interested in making us feel guilty about the mess; he is interested in being the link between these mini-stories every day of our lives. As he walks with us He wants his love to flow right through our own mini-stories in such a way that it (His love) is part of the bigger story of our lives.