“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Matthew 13:43
Light at the End of the Tunnel
It is said that people can endure almost anything if there’s some goal to shoot for, some “light at the end of the tunnel.” Prisoners of war have talked about undergoing horrible treatment of all sorts but making it out alive because they thought about the day they would be released, or when the war would end, or reuniting with a loved one.
This world can be tough, with all its stresses and challenges. We struggle to focus on eternal things. We get caught up in the rat race of life. We fail to love God and our fellow humans, and we feel guilty because of it. We experience sinful actions from others, even from close loved ones. We deal with the temptations of the devil, the temptations of our sinful flesh, like lust, greed, and laziness. Our minds become cloudy, etc., etc. It’s tough!
But there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Someday you’re leaving this world, and you’re going to a world that is so far better that it can’t even compare. Because Jesus paid for your sins on the cross and rose from the dead, the doors of heaven are wide open for you. And, it’s going to be awesome!
Looking at that “light” at the end of the tunnel, you and I can endure anything.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, may the thought of the glorious eternal life you won for me give me the strength I need to endure the trials and tribulations of this life. Amen.
“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Matthew 13:40-43
Shine Like the Sun
Many people like to be scared. They enjoy watching horror movies and reading scary books. The reason? Some believe it’s all about the amygdala, the small threat detection center of our brain. The frightening images fire up the amygdala, which releases adrenaline and leads to feelings of exhilaration in some people.
God’s Book, the Bible, also talks about some scary things. On the day Jesus visibly returns to this earth, angels will weed out of God’s kingdom all who do evil. The evildoer and all sin will be burned up in the blazing furnace. It will be a time of weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Whether you like to be frightened or not, that just sounds scary. And it will certainly not lead to feelings of exhilaration.
It’s scary to think about standing before God. Why shouldn’t I end up in the blazing furnace? Why won’t I need to gnash my teeth and weep over God’s rightful punishment being inflicted on me?
Because today’s Bible reading says that the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Please understand, this has nothing to do with me. If I stood before God and had to answer for my sin, off I would go to the fire. My sins would rightfully condemn me. But the Son of Man came into this world to rescue us from the fire. The hell I deserve, he took for me. And the righteousness and goodness that I fundamentally cannot provide, he gave to me. His death and resurrection are the guarantee that this is true. He offers the same for you.
So, when Jesus does come back in the flesh, there will be exhilaration. Not borne of fear, but of delight. Because of Jesus, we will shine!
Prayer:
Thank you Jesus, for rescuing me. Help me to let my light shine to others in my life. Amen.
“‘Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’” Matthew 13:30
Until the Harvest
Some people believe that the weed Jesus talks about in this parable is the darnel plant. It looks like wheat, grows like wheat, and produces seeds that are similar to wheat. Not surprisingly, then, it has earned the name “false wheat.”
But there is one way to distinguish the darnel plant from wheat. When it ripens, its seed pod turns black. The wheat pod is a golden brown. True and fake become apparent at the harvest.
Jesus promises that everything will work out at the harvest, in other words, on the Last Day of this world’s existence. That’s good for us to remember. Because it’s easy to forget about the harvest. We can get so wrapped up in this life that we assume it will always be the growing season. Jesus reminds us that there will be a Last Day. On that day, the phone we own, the car we drive, and the house we live in will not matter.
Keep an eye on the harvest. That means repenting of our sinful choices. For the times when all we wanted to do was blend in with the weeds rather than stand tall like wheat, we repent. We ask God to forgive us. But we also take comfort. The one who told this story is also the one who bled on a cross to take away our sins. The one who told this story wants you to rejoice in the fact that you are not a weed but wheat growing strong in the field of his kingdom.
He also wants you to understand your role in the world. Share and live your faith. Rejoice in the love of your Savior. God has a plan for you. It all ends with you standing before him at the harvest, shining like the sun in the kingdom of your Father.
Prayer:
Lord God, always keep me in your hands and help me keep an eye to the harvest. Nourish my faith through your powerful Word and help me live my life of faith in joy. Amen.
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1 When it was decided that we [1] would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, of the Imperial Regiment. 2 After boarding a ship from Adramyttium, which was going to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.
3 The next day, we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends to receive their care. 4 From there we put out to sea and sailed on the sheltered side of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5 We crossed the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia and landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us on board. 7 We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus. Since the wind did not permit us to go further, we sailed on the sheltered side of Crete, off Salmone. 8 With difficulty we sailed along its coast and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.
9 Since so much time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous because the Fast [2] was already over, Paul advised them, 10 “Men, it looks to me as if the voyage is going to end with disaster and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and the owner of the ship than to what Paul was saying. 12 Since that harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix and winter there. (Phoenix is a harbor on Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.) 13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they could carry out their plan. They raised the anchor and sailed close to the shore of Crete.
The Storm
14 But before long, a hurricane-like wind, called the “northeaster,” rushed down from the island. 15 Since the ship was caught in it and could not head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we sailed on the sheltered side of a small island called Cauda, we were barely able to secure the skiff. [3]17 After hoisting it on board, the men tied ropes around the ship to reinforce it. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and in this way were driven along. 18 Because we were tossed around so violently by the storm, the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s gear overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the violent storm kept pressing down on us, finally all hope that we would be saved was disappearing.
Footnotes
Acts 27:1 Luke is included.
Acts 27:9 The Fast refers to the Jewish Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16) in the fall, just before the winter months, when sea travel was treacherous.
Acts 27:16 A small service boat (also mentioned in verses 30 and 32)
19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20 Rather, I first told those in Damascus and Jerusalem about it, and then throughout the entire country of Judea and also the Gentiles. I told them that they should repent and turn to God, while also doing works that are consistent with repentance. 21 These are the reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.
22 “But I have had help from God right up to this day, and so I stand testifying to both small and great. I am saying nothing other than what the prophets and Moses said would happen, 23 that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”
24 While Paul was saying these things in his defense, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you insane.”
25 But Paul replied, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus, but I am clearly speaking words that are true and sensible. 26 Certainly the king to whom I am freely speaking knows about these things. Indeed, I cannot believe that any of these things has escaped his notice, because this has not been done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.”
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “In such a short time are you going to persuade me to become [1] a Christian?”
29 Paul replied, “I pray God, that whether in a short time or a long time, not only you, but also all those who are listening to me today would become what I am, except for these chains.”
30 After he had said these things, [2] the king stood up, along with the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 31 After they had left, they said to one another in private, “This man is doing nothing worthy of death or chains.”
32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Footnotes
Acts 26:28 A few witnesses to the text read to make me.
Acts 26:30 Some witnesses to the text omit After he had said these things.
1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.”
Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense. 2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate that I am going to make my defense before you today concerning all the things about which I am being accused by the Jews, 3 especially because you are an expert in all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4 “All the Jews know the way I have lived from the earliest days of my youth, among my own people and in Jerusalem. 5 They have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest party of our religion.
6 “And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, 7 the promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God night and day. I am being accused by the Jews concerning this hope, O King. 8 Why does it seem unbelievable to any of you that God raises the dead?
9 “I too was convinced that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem. After receiving authority from the chief priests, I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 I often tried to make them blaspheme by punishing them throughout all the synagogues. Because I was so insanely angry with them, I even pursued them to foreign cities.
12 “That is how I came to be traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At noon along the road, O King, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, [1] ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ [2]
15 “Then I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“The Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 Now get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things you have seen [3] and to the things I will reveal to you. 17 I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you. 18 You are to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive the forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
Footnotes
Acts 26:14 Or Aramaic. The Greek word is Hebrew but likely refers to the Aramaic dialect spoken by the Jews at that time and place.
Acts 26:14 Goads are pointed sticks used to urge or direct an animal. To kick against the goads means to resist stubbornly.
13 Some days later, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 14 Since they were going to stay there a number of days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king. He said, “There is a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix. 15 When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked for a sentence of condemnation against him.
16 “I answered them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man [1] before the accused has met the accusers face to face and has had an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation.
17 “Therefore, after they came back here with me, I did not delay. On the next day I took my place on the judicial bench and ordered the man to be brought in. 18 When the accusers stood up, they charged him with none of the crimes I was expecting. 19 Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who was dead, but who Paul claimed is alive. 20 Since I was at a loss how to investigate these issues, I asked if he was willing to go to Jerusalem to be tried there concerning these charges. 21 But when Paul appealed to be kept in custody until his majesty the emperor would decide his case, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.”
22 Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.”
“Tomorrow,” he said, “you will hear him.”
23 So the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the courtroom together with the commanders and the most prominent men of the city. When Festus gave the order, Paul was brought in.
24 Festus said, “King Agrippa and all the men who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish crowd petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found that he has done nothing that deserves death. Yet, since he appealed to his majesty the emperor, I decided to send him. 26 But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore, I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this preliminary hearing I may have something to write. 27 Indeed, it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without clearly indicating what the charges are against him.”
22 Then Felix, [1] because he was rather well informed about the Way, adjourned the proceedings. He said, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case.” 23 He ordered the centurion to guard Paul, but to let him have some freedom and not to prevent any of his friends from taking care of his needs.
24 Several days later, Felix appeared in public with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 While Paul instructed him about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and replied, “Leave me for now, but when it is convenient, I will send for you.” 26 At the same time, he was also hoping that Paul would give him money, [2] and for this reason he sent for him as often as possible and talked with him.
27 After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Portius Festus. But because he wanted to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.
Paul on Trial Before Festus
Acts 25
1 Three days after Festus arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 2 Then the high priests and the leaders of the Jews brought formal charges against Paul 3 and asked Festus for the favor of transferring Paul’s case to Jerusalem. Their plan was to ambush and kill Paul along the way.
4 However, Festus replied that Paul was being held in custody at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there soon. 5 “Therefore,” he said, “let some of your leaders go down with me and press charges against him, if there is anything evil about the man.”
6 After spending no more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea. The next day, he sat on the judicial bench and ordered Paul to be brought in.
7 When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him and brought many serious charges that they could not prove. 8 Paul said in his defense, “I have not committed any offense against the Jewish law, against the temple, or against Caesar.”
9 But since Festus wanted to do the Jews a favor, he said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”
10 But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s judicial bench, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as also you yourself know very well. 11 If I am guilty and have done something worthy of death, I am not trying to escape death. But if there is nothing to the charges they are making against me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”
12 After Festus conferred with his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”
Footnotes
Acts 24:22 Some witnesses to the text add when he heard these things.
Acts 24:26 A few witnesses to the text add in order that he might release him.
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