“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.” – Matthew 18:23-24

Thus begins a critically important parable for every follower of Jesus to understand: The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (or Two Debtors). Probably the most important thing to understand in order to truly “get” this parable is the amount of this first debt. 10,000 talents. What on earth is that?

In the 1st Century, a talent was worth 20 years’ wages for an ordinary worker. 20 YEARS. Multiply that by 10,000 and you discover that this debt was worth 200,000 years’ wages!!! What?!?

That’s an astronomically, unimaginably, ludicrously enormous amount of money. It would be many billions of dollars in today’s currency. Jesus said that’s what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. In what way? That mind-boggling amount is what the weight of your sin against God is like! Seriously.

When the man in the parable was called to account for his debt, he begged for mercy and promised to work hard to pay it off. Of course, nobody can pay off a debt like that. So the master (representing God) graciously forgave this astronomical, unimaginable, ludicrously enormous debt. That’s exactly what God has done for you if your sins have been forgiven in Christ! This is what Jesus accomplished for you on the cross. He paid your unimaginably large debt.

Most of us fail to truly appreciate how horrible our sins really are. The daily or hourly rebellions and disgraces that take place in our thoughts, hearts, words, actions, inactions, and silences. This parable illustrates what that’s really like. The good news is that you don’t have to pay this debt (which you couldn’t if you tried) because Jesus paid it for you. Your debt of sin has been cancelled, nailed to the cross of Christ.

Of course, the ultimate point of this parable is about how we treat other human beings who have wronged us. People who owe us a considerable debt of pain that’s nonetheless minuscule in comparison to what we owed the Lord for our sins. Will we respond with the same grace we’ve been shown? Or will we respond in self-righteous wrath and bring into question whether we have the slightest understanding of God’s grace? #FollowJesus

“And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.” – Mark 9:2-3

For a brief moment in time, Peter, James, and John were blessed to see Jesus in His eternal, divine glory. Jesus as He had always been before stepping out of glory and into our world as a newborn baby. Jesus as He would appear once more after His Resurrection and Ascenscion. This Transfiguration of Jesus was clearly an overwhelming experience for them. It was also life-changing for them.

As you read the letters of Peter and John, which were written decades later, this glimpse of glory anchored their faith and motivated their ministry for the rest of their lives. They poured out their lives as an offering to the Lord because of what they saw and heard at the Transfiguration and the Resurrection. That’s what makes the Bible so powerful and why you can have complete confidence in its truth.

The authors risked their lives every day because they were eyewitnesses to Jesus. They saw, heard, and touched the reality of the resurrected Jesus. They heard the voice of God while seeing the glory of the transfigured Jesus. Glory that was always His from eternity past. They knew, and communicated with everything they had, that Jesus really is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God come in the flesh. He is the second person of the Godhead, the Lord, God incarnate.

Believe what they have told you! Meditate on this Jesus often. Picture for yourself the awesome majesty of Lord Jesus, Who rules and reigns in Heaven. Let the reality of Who Jesus is and what He did for you motivate your mission and ministry for the rest of your life. #FollowJesus

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” – Matthew 16:18

Just before this verse, Peter gave his great confession, that he knew that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. This confession, of course, is the foundation of our faith, the rock on which the church of Jesus Christ is built throughout the ages. Then Jesus gives this wonderful promise to the church, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

In an age of declining faith and church attendance in the western world, many take comfort in this promise but they miss its point. Jesus wasn’t talking about an embattled church holding out desperately against the forces of hell coming at it. Gates don’t attack anything. Gates are a defensive structure. The gates of hell don’t attack the church. Rather, Jesus is making a promise about the ADVANCE of His Kingdom! He is a making a promise about the forward progress of the church in the world.

When the church – the assembly of believers – holds firmly to the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and lives like it, it will move forward. We will share the Gospel with our neighbors, classmates, coworkers, friends, and strangers. We will go and make disciples of all nations. We will do what Jesus called us to do – be salt and light in a dark, decaying world. We will demonstrate the love of Christ and invite people into His Kingdom. As we do, He will move them out of Satan’s dark domain.

That advance is what the gates of hell can’t prevail against. All the forces of darkness in the world can’t stop the Gospel from moving forward if the followers of Jesus are faithful to our Lord. The gates of hell cannot prevent God from using our faithfulness to rescue people from bondage to sin and death. The gates of hell cannot prevent the Kingdom of God from breaking into countries and places that have never heard the Good News that God loves them and sent His Son to reconcile them to Him.

Be faithful! Move forward! Fear not! Be the Kingdom ambassador Jesus has raised you to be in Him. #FollowJesus

“And he said to them, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
– Mark 7:6-7

Unfortunately, this prophecy wasn’t only fulfilled at one point in the past. It’s an ongoing prophetic warning to those who love the Lord. In every generation, there will be people, often powerful and influential people, who choose and teach dead religion over living faith. Who prefer man-made rules of righteousness to genuinely abiding in Jesus Christ. Who like the appearances of faith without the heart-transforming reality of faith in the Lord.

Don’t let this be true of you! Abide in Christ and abide in the Bible. Read, study, meditate, and pray daily. Let the Word of God tear down any man-made teachings that aren’t consistent with the commands of Christ. Don’t add to the Gospel. Don’t try to help Jesus save you! What He did on the cross is sufficient. Don’t create, or comply with, checklists of mandatory good behaviors that are more about looking good to people than truly obeying God with a grateful heart.

There are many in the world today who continue to fulfill this prophecy. They use the language of Christianity without the heart of Jesus. They aren’t concerned about the poor and vulnerable for whom Jesus is concerned. They practice empty religion and vain worship without truly following the Good Shepherd Who is the Lamb of God. Do not fall for these, no matter how loud, popular, or successful they may be. Abide in Christ. Abide in Scripture. Let those guide you into ever-deepening obedience to Jesus. Don’t worship in vain. #FollowJesus

“And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.” – Matthew 10:14

If you’re a follower of Jesus, then you’ve been given a life-saving mission: share your hope in Christ with others so they, too, would become followers of Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20). It’s the responsibility of every believer to be ready to explain why they have joy and hope, when those things seem to be in short supply in the world (1 Peter 3:15). However, not everyone you share with will enthusiastically listen and believe the truth about Jesus.

That’s OK. They aren’t rejecting you, they’re rejecting the invitation to enter God’s Kingdom. Maybe because it’s too unfamiliar. Maybe because of fear. Maybe because it doesn’t yet make sense to them. Maybe because of ongoing attachment to the sins Jesus would forgive. Maybe because they haven’t yet hit rock bottom and cried out to the Lord. There are so many possible reasons for turning down Jesus. Pray they’ll accept the truth but expect that many won’t, at least not yet. That’s OK, it isn’t personal, so don’t take it personally.

What should you do when the words of life are turned out? Should you keep trying? Plan a different approach? Bring in a better evangelist? Perhaps, if that’s your sense of leading from the Lord. However, often you should accept that you simply should keep praying for the person but move on, at least for a while. Perhaps their salvation is something for a later time. Perhaps another follower of Jesus will experience the joy of seeing them raised to new spiritual life in Christ.

Love people. Share the Gospel with them. Be faithful to pray diligently for them. But recognize when it’s time to move on and focus on someone, or somewhere, else. Don’t give up. Don’t be discouraged. Just be faithful and #FollowJesus