Todays readings… Genesis 32&33, Psalm 36, Matthew 21

Today’s chapter in Matthew (21) is full of exciting incidents.  The opposition to Jesus caused by his popularity had reached fever pitch. The religious leaders were afraid to do anything because his popularity had become so intense.  We read of his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, “the crowds that went before him and that followed after were shouting ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!’” [v.9,10] Then we are told, he enters the temple (where the religious leaders normally reign supreme) “and drives out all who bought and sold in the temple … you make it a den of robbers.” He told them. [v.12-13] Jesus tells them.

Next, “the blind and the lame came to him in the temple and he healed them.”  Drama upon drama, “but when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did they were indignant”  [v.15]  Their spiritual blindness was absolute, they were so sure of themselves that they knew all the answers, their mindset had created total spiritual darkness.   

Two particular thoughts occurred to us from this incident.  One, there are mindsets today: there is the total conviction that there is no God, that everything that exists sort of created itself.  Ever more remarkable things have been uncovered in research by the men of science, making it impossible, it seems to us, for the rational thinking mind to even start to think there was no creative Master Mind – yet when we affirm there must be because of the vast array of evidence of most marvellous design – the atheist is indignant just as the High Priests were over Jesus.  

The second thought is, as we shall read in the next day or two; how fickle human attitudes are that have no depth to their understanding or belief. Think of today!  

Many of those who joined in the shouts of ‘Hosanna’ were soon to be persuaded to cry ‘Crucify Him’!!      So we must most earnestly ask ourselves, how deep is our own conviction?  Do we have, or are we earnest – in creating within ourselves the full assurance of hope and faith?  Read Hebrews 6 v.11 and 10 v.22