SEPTEMBER 24 JQ#27-1 “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” (Matthew 22:12) The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

SEPTEMBER 24   JQ#27-1 “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?”  (Matthew 22:12) 

365 Prayers to JESUS 

Jesus, You are worthy, You are the Holy One, You Lord and only You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. What is man that God the One True Creator with Infinite Wisdom and Knowledge would create a universe of this magnitude and then create man to be in dominion over the creation?! Why did God create only man in His image and  endow man with the greatest of all gifts — Freewill!! God then in His Infinite Wisdom allowed for our shortcomings and God provides for our Salvation through the sacrifice of Himself, the Creator giving Himself for the created!!! O Jesus, what a great sacrifice  You made for a world that has so horribly abused our gifts and brought such shame to ourselves, praise You O Lord, my God, my Savior. I pray for anointing daily from Your Holy Spirit that my sin against Thee will be no more!       AMEN

The Jesus Questions

SEPTEMBER 24   JQ#27-1 “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?”  (Matthew 22:12)  Jesus was confronted as to His “authority” by the chief priests, religious leaders and the elders and Jesus responded by teaching them that only God has “authority” then Jesus taught them in three consecutive parables about authority. The first parable was about a man asking two sons to go work in a vineyard, the second parable was about a landowner that built a vineyard and leased it to vinedressers who refused to give the landowner his rightful “fruits” and the vinedressers not only refused but they killed, beat, and stoned the landowners servants. When the landowner sent his son to the vinedressers they killed the son as well. The second parable was prophetic of the purpose of Jesus being in Jerusalem on this passover and it was also God’s judgement on the chief priests and religious rulers that refused to accept that Jesus was the Messiah as Jesus pronounced “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.” (Matthew 21:43) The chief priests and the Pharisees which Jesus had been in confrontation with throughout His earthly ministry “perceived that He was speaking of them” and instead of repenting they “sought to lay hands on Him”.  (Matthew 21:45-46) Jesus continued teaching them by parables as He gave them the 3rd parable “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son…” (Matthew 22:1-2) Jesus has now used parables that include a man who sent his sons into his vineyard to work and asked the question “Which of the two sons did the will of the father”, the next parable was a landowner that built a vineyard and leased it to vinedressers who did not meet the obligations of the “lease” and actually killed the landowners son, and now Jesus presents the third parable that ties all three together and adds additional impact to the authority question of where does authority come from, heaven or men? In the third parable Jesus starts out “the kingdom of heaven” which clearly is where True Authority comes from and then Jesus says that heaven is like a “certain king” and then presents the king “arranged a marriage for his son” which brings in the traditions of Abraham and Isaac and then the start of the nation of Israel through the twelve sons of Jacob. Surely all the chief priests and religious leaders that spent all their time studying the Holy Scriptures had to see that Jesus is painting a picture of God arranging the marriage of His Only Begotten Son, the Messiah!!! The parable continued as the “certain king” [God] went out his servants [God’s prophets] to call those that were invited to the wedding [Israel], and they were not willing to come.”  It seems hard to believe that the religious rulers could not see that the work Jesus was doing could only be done as Nicodemus had said upon observing the miracles Jesus was doing among the people, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with Him.” (John 3:2) Even with seeing the works of Jesus and knowing that He was sent from God they were blinded to the Truth of God that Jesus is God’s only begotten son and the “Chosen One” , the Messiah. Our generation has all the Holy Scripture and a “cloud of witnesses” that Jesus is the Son of God but we are blinded by our selfish desires and we too are “not willing to come [to the wedding feast” — when will we ever learn?

SEPTEMBER 23 JQ#26-1 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those called to labor for him?” (Matthew 21:40) The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

SEPTEMBER 23   JQ#26-1 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those called to labor for him?”  (Matthew 21:40) 

365 Prayers to JESUS 

Jesus, Giver of Life, You alone are Worthy — Lord, it would be more than enough for You to provide Salvation for us but when we consider “How” and “Why” You provided that most precious Gift, it is truly more than we can begin to understand. Lord Jesus, for You to come down from Your Glory in Heaven to this sin-filled earth is one thing, but to descend from Your Deity to take on flesh is beyond comprehension — add to that mix that You chose to be born of a woman and then to live a perfect example which You did not as a king or ruler but as a “servant” and then to take that Perfection and use it as the Perfect Sacrifice for the sins of the world — O Lord, we shall never in this mortal body and limited intellect know, but when You give us our glorified bodies and we take on the True Mind of Christ, then we will finally understand and then we will throughout all eternity give to You all praise and Glory due to the ONE THAT DIED TO REDEEM OUR LOST SOULS!!!!!      AMEN

The Jesus Questions

SEPTEMBER 23   JQ#26-1 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those called to labor for him?”  (Matthew 21:40)  Jesus is living and teaching His last week on earth in Jerusalem where He has made His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as the Son of David and His first order of business was to clean out the temple of God which had become a “den of thieves” and Jesus re-established the temple as a “house of prayer”. Jesus immediately was confronted by the religious rulers who questioned not His “works” but they were indignant that Jesus had not come to them to get permission from them so they questioned His “authority” — obviously these “rulers” were blinded by their self-assumed authority and missed that only God had the power to do the miracles and healing that under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and the Chosen One was being accomplished in the temple right before their eyes, authority or not!!! Jesus went right to the point of correcting their mistakes and He started with returning their question of “authority” by pointing out that ALL AUTHORITY AND POWER COMES FROM GOD — If there were no God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob there would be no Israel, no City of David and no Temple of God and all the “rulers” would have NO authority whatsoever outside the existence of God! When the “rulers” continued their confrontation Jesus then began to Teach as only the Master Teacher could do with parables. Just as Jesus had taught the Truth of God that sin is against the True Authority and that God will “Judge” all that do not “Repent” with the question of “the-baptism-of-John” using the parable of the two sons. (Matthew 21:28-32) Jesus continues the lesson as He uses two more parables, as a continuation of His lessons to the “rulers” Jesus goes immediately into the next parable as He said to them, “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.” (Matthew 21:33) Keep in mind who Jesus is “Teaching” and what “Lesson” He will accomplish with these 3 parables taught in succession and all address the issue of how we respond to the True Authority!  Oswald Chambers in his commentary on SEPTEMBER 22 (from the journal “My Utmost for His Highest”) really nails what the whole problem really is with not only “rulers” but with everyone who denies the reality of God and His Perfect Plan of Salvation as Oswald writes: “To have a master and teacher is not the same thing as being mastered and taught. Having a master and teacher means that there is someone who knows me better that I know myself, who is closer than a friend, and who understands the remotest depths of my heart and is able to satisfy them fully. It means having someone who has made me secure in the knowledge that he has met and solved all the doubts, uncertainties, and problems in my mind. To have a master and teacher is this and nothing less—for One is your Teacher, the Christ…” (Matthew 23:8) Jesus is “Teaching” in Matthew 21 -22 through parables about “True Authority and Lordship” and then in Matthew 23 He sums up the “why and how” for all who will listen and allow themselves to be “Taught” by the “Master”. The question each of us must ask ourselves is “Are we willing to be taught by the Master who is the One True Lord of Life?”  Jesus immediately started the second parable but where the first parable established the penalty for not obeying the father, the second parable is prophetic as He summed up the history of Israel and the hope of the Messiah as Jesus said that the landowner planted a vineyard and equipped it with everything they needed to have a good crop and a good living and then he “leased” the vineyard and then the landowner “went in a far country”. Jesus has been telling His disciples that He was going to be betrayed into the hands of men and He would be crucified, dead, and buried but on the third day He would be “resurrected” and Jesus repeats that prophecy of His death as He teaches in this prophetic parable that when the “vintage time drew near” that the landowner sent servants (prophets) and vinedressers (religious rulers) “beat one, killed one, and stoned the other…” (Matthew 21:35) then the landowner finally sent his son saying “they will respect my son…” (Matthew 21:37) Jesus then predicts His death as he said the vinedressers “said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’” (Matthew 21:38) Jesus then asked JQ#25 “Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” (Matthew 21:40). Once again the religious rulers gave the obvious answer that the landowner would “destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” (Matthew 21:41) Jesus then let the scriptures pronounce the religious rulers fate as He quoted from the Psalms: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes…” (Psalm 118:22-23) (Matthew 21:42). Then Jesus let the ax fall on the Sanhedrin and all the “religious rulers of Israel that had rejected Him as the Son of God as Jesus gives His final judgement: “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.” (Matthew 21:43) This parable about the landowner really hit home because “Now when the chief priest and Pharisees heard His parable, they perceived that He was speaking of them.” (Matthew 21:45) But even though they could answer the obvious question they could not see the prophetic picture of God coming back to His Creation and will require an accounting of all that He has called into His labors — The question we must ask ourselves is have we been doing everything we should have been doing to render to God the “fruits in their season?”

SEPTEMBER 22 JQ#25-1 “Which of the two did the will of the father?” (Matthew 21:31) The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

SEPTEMBER 22   JQ#25-1 “Which of the two did the will of the father?”  (Matthew 21:31) 

365 Prayers to JESUS 

Jesus, my Redeemer, my Savior, the Only Begotten of the Most High God. There is no name like the Holy Matchless Name of Jesus. Lord, Savior, Friend, all praise is Yours. Your Kingdom will know no end, You will forever be the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus, I give my life to lift up Your Holy Name in Praise and Honor. I know that if I could completely abandon my  selfish and sinful ways that the Holy Spirit would fill me and Your Love and Grace would spill over to the world so grant it Lord that I can be strong enough to let go, wise enough to let You fill me with Your knowledge, and Lord, weak enough to yield completely to the indwelling of Your Holy Spirit.     AMEN

The Jesus Questions

SEPTEMBER 22   JQ#25-1 “Which of the two did the will of the father?”  (Matthew 21:31)  Jesus began teaching further about “authority” with three consecutive parables the first of which is the parable of the two sons. Jesus had the chief priests and elders thinking about the “baptism of John” so Jesus confronts them with: “But what do you think?” (Matthew 21:28) and then Jesus told the parable  where the man asked his two sons to go work in his vineyard, one son said he would go but never went and the second son said he would not go but “afterward he regretted it and went…” (Matthew 21:29) — the parable ends with the question “Which of the two did the will of his father?” (Matthew 21:31) The chief priests and elders that were confronting Jesus with His “authority” gave the obvious answer that the one that went and worked in the vineyard was the one that did the father’s will. Jesus immediately tied this parable to John the Baptist who came in the Name of the Father preaching “Repentance” and all who believed John and repented will inherit the kingdom of God, but those that did not do the will of the Father simply would not enter the kingdom of God.   Jesus has been saying in His ministry that He is doing the works that His Father had sent Him to do. When Jesus told this parable it should have been obvious that Jesus was talking about God’s chosen people Israel and that God had “brought them out of Egypt” and had led them to a land of “milk and honey” but as the children of Israel they had a responsibility to “work in [God’s] vineyard”. (Matthew 21:28) The point that Jesus is making to the religious rulers was that God had invited them to work in His vineyard and it really doesn’t matter what they said, the important thing was that they did the “will of the father.” Jesus could not have made it any clearer to the religious leaders that God had given them a job and those that did the will of the father would be rewarded. By tying this parable to the baptism of John, Jesus is stating that God sent John to prepare the way for Jesus who was the Messiah  and if they refused to listen to the father and do his will that they will not “enter the kingdom of God”. Jesus then makes a direct connection to the rulers to John as He said, “for John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him, and when you saw it you did not afterward relent and believe him.” So Jesus is describing the will of the Father as “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He hath sent.” (John 6:29) God has called all to enter into His labors and it is our responsibility to get busy doing “the will of the father.”

SEPTEMBER 21 JQ#24-17 (Conclusion) “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?” (Matthew 21:25) The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

SEPTEMBER 21   JQ#24-17 “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”  (Matthew 21:25) 

365 Prayers to JESUS 

Jesus O the joy of starting each day knowing that You are always there, my Lord and my Redeemer, my Shepherd that will lead me beside still waters, Thank You Jesus for  the Mercy and Your Grace that You bestow so faithfully on all that call upon the Name of the Only Begotten of the Father and believe that You came in the flesh, was tempted in all ways that we are tempted, yet You were without sin — what a glorious thought that You suffered the trials of this world but remained perfect so that You could trade Your Perfect sinless Life for the lives of sinners unable to save ourself — I cannot fathom why but I believe and therefore I rest in the assurance that Your Grace is sufficient for my daily needs and for my eternal future. Praise God from whom ALL blessing flow, Praise to the Son who gave Himself for the atonement of sin, and Praise to the Holy Spirit that lives within believers and guides and teaches us the “Way”.        AMEN

The Jesus Questions

SEPTEMBER 21    JQ#24-17  “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”  (Matthew 21:25)    Jesus proved Himself to be the Messiah sent from God each time He confronted the problem of mankind moving away from the “command of God”, for Jesus always exposed the lie spawned by the “doctrines of men” in their selfish desires “to be like God” for the “lie” is always exposed by the True Light that always illuminates the Truth of God. Jesus was in the temple doing the work of the Messiah in the sight of all Israel and yet the rulers, the chief priests and the elders dared to question His “authority” —they did not deny the “works” that Jesus was doing, their blindness to the Truth of God however made them revert to the only thing they knew, and that was that up until Jesus took over control of the temple they had been in “control” of the multitudes because they had assumed that they were the only “authority” in Israel and their spiritual blindness prevented them from seeing the Truth that the kingdom of heaven was at hand and they did not repent but continued in their sin against God by questioning the authority by which Jesus was doing God’s Holy Work! Jesus asked the “baptism-of-John” question  because the ONLY ANSWER that could be given was “all authority comes from God”. Matthew records the response to Jesus by the chief priests and elders: “And they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘If we say, from heaven, He will say to us, Why then did you not believe [John]? But if we say, From men, we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.’” (Matthew 21:25-26) It was at this point that the chief priests and elders made the universal mistake of all generations that face the question of “God” when they reasoned the “Truth” but mistakenly thought that they would get out of the problem by not giving an answer — “So [the chief priests and elders] answered Jesus and said, ‘We do not know.’” (Matthew 21:27) It was at that point that all authority was clearly and undeniably with Jesus as He then used the “power and authority of God” to Teach this Truth of God as Jesus taught the parable of the two sons ——— He started the lesson in the classic way, Jesus has the undivided attention of the chief priests and the elders and so Jesus begins  the lesson by making us put on our thinking caps: “But what do you think? A man had two sons…” (Matthew 21:28) and stated that the man went to his two sons and asked them to go work in his vineyard, one son said ‘yes’ but then did not go work in the vineyard and the other son replied ‘no’ but then later “repented” and decided to go work in the vineyard as the father had requested. Jesus ended the lesson with another question, “Which of the two sons did the will of his father?” (Matthew 21:28-31) Of course, when put in such simple terms, the chief priests and elders gave Jesus the right answer as “They said to [Jesus], [the son that did the will of the father] and Jesus then pronounced judgement on them for not answering the “baptism-of-John” question which the answer was just as obvious — “Jesus said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it you did not afterward relent and believe him.”  The Lesson everyone should walk away from this “refusal to answer” mistake is most important: (1) Baptism is real because sin against God is real. (2) Denying that either “baptism” or “God” is real has no bearing on the Truth of God that God EXISTS. (3) God will present us the opportunity to “believe” but we must use our God-given Freewill to choose to “Trust God” or “trust the doctrines of men”. (4) ALL POWER AND AUTHORITY IS FROM GOD (5) Ignorance or refusal to answer in not an acceptable answer before the Supreme Authority and refusal to answer God is the same as “denying God”!  God will Judge according to Truth that God has already established and will be fairly administered to all, we will get our “Just Rewards” as already determined by God Himself. Jesus asks this question of all generations and we must give Him an honest answer, remember that God knows your thoughts and nothing is hidden from God — so how do you answer this question God has placed before you — “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?” (JQ#24 — Matthew 21:25)

SEPTEMBER 20 JQ#24-16 “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?” (Matthew 21:25) The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

SEPTEMBER 20   JQ#24-16 “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”  (Matthew 21:25) 

365 Prayers to JESUS 

Jesus, You Lord are the Only Begotten of the Great I AM, yet You came to earth in the form of a baby to live a life as we must live, in the flesh and dependent on God’s Spirit! Lord, we cannot comprehend God, the Truly Divine, the Creator and Sustainer of all life and all that exists in the universe and it is truly impossible for us to imagine a God that does not need anything or anyone to sustain Himself, why would so Powerful and Supreme a Divine Being conceive and execute a Plan of Salvation for a world of sinners and send His Only Begotten Son into a sinful world with the single purpose to “SAVE” the world from ourselves!?!?!? O Lord, I beg Your Forgiveness for all the times that I fail to see Your Plan for the world and Your Plan for me — You do not need us for anything but yet You present us the opportunity to “enter into Your labors” with You and by our belief in Your efforts that our sins will be forgiven and we become heirs to eternal life!!!! Lord Jesus, forgive me, for I am a sinner with no HOPE but Grace!!   AMEN

The Jesus Questions

SEPTEMBER 20    JQ#24-16  “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”  (Matthew 21:25)  Jesus really makes it easy for us when He asks this “power and authority” question in terms of “baptism” being from “heaven” or “men” — there is no way to answer the question without addressing our beliefs on their most basic level. We must first admit that somewhere the doctrine of “baptism” began and we can read historians write about this era in Jewish history when a man named John lived in the wilderness off locusts and wild honey with a single purpose in life, not to gain possessions of any kind, nor to rise to any position of “power and authority”, but this single purpose which was recorded in the Holy Scriptures as “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.” (John 1:6-7) The mission of John is recorded in the Scriptures as “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’” (Matthew 3:1-2) The Scriptures which were well known by the Jews of John’s generation were aware that the prophet Isaiah had written about the Messiah and a forerunner of the Messiah, saying of this forerunner, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord…” (Isaiah 11:1) John was recognized as being from God and doing the work of God for the “Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask [John], ‘Who are you?’” (John 1:19) and John knowing that they were referring to the Messiah because of the success John had with the multitudes preaching “Repentance” and that the “kingdom of heaven was at hand”, John told them “I am not the Christ” so the priests and Levites asked “why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ?” John then told the authorities that he baptized with water but that “After me comes a Man who is preferred before me … I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” (John 1:15-34) So when Jesus asks the question built around “the baptism of John”, all Israel was aware that John was a prophet of God fulfilling a prophecy of Isaiah  about the Messiah, all Israel knew that John the Baptist was sent by God to preach “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”, and all Israel, especially the religious rulers knew that the multitudes had gone to John the Baptist in the wilderness “around the Jordan…and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.” (Matthew 3:4-6) This question Jesus is now asking them about the “baptism of John” could only be answered for the Truth that it was, John was not the Christ but he was “baptizing” in the wilderness of Jordan all who confessed their sins against God and preaching “Repent” and clearly stated this was all about God and the “kingdom of heaven”. So now when the religious leaders attack Jesus and demand to know “by what authority” is Jesus doing His miraculous works, Jesus makes them face the Truth of God that “baptism” and the “confession of sins” has only one True Authority, God! So when Jesus ties the “Baptism of John” together with “power and authority” and gives the rulers the choice “from heaven or from men”, the only answer that can be given is to admit that men have NO AUTHORITY OR POWER EXCEPT THAT WHICH GOD PERMITS — that is TRUE POWER AND AUTHORITY and it comes only from GOD IN HEAVEN!!!!! The rulers knew that they had to give Jesus an answer or lose all authority but they also realized, that if they admitted the Truth that they were going to lose all authority, the Master Teacher has presented the “Question” and now He is going to use a parable to give us the “Answer” and sum up the baptism of John TRUTH. Do you need additional lessons or are you ready to give Jesus an honest answer: “The baptism of John — is it from heaven or from men?”  Jesus is saying, God and heaven is real, I am from God and the Truth of God is “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”  

SEPTEMBER 19 JQ#24-15 “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?” (Matthew 21:25) The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

SEPTEMBER 19   JQ#24-15 “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”  (Matthew 21:25) 

365 Prayers to JESUS 

Jesus, Your grace is sufficient for all our needs, Your Love covers all our sins and iniquities — Your Resurrection has forever sealed the promise of God to His Creation therefore our Eternity is secure through our belief in the shed Blood of the Lamb of God! God has gone through such great efforts to supply our needs, both physical and spiritual  as we read about God’s efforts and promises in the Holy Scriptures, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) and from Genesis to Revelation the Scriptures document all the faithful promises of God and His great work in His Creation so that the Scriptures close with “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (Revelation 22:21) Indeed You Lord are the Alpha and the Omega and Your Mercy and Grace is all we need from the beginning to the end. So this believer also looks forward to the last promise “Surely, I am coming quickly.” and I pray “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20)    AMEN

The Jesus Questions

SEPTEMBER 19    JQ#24-15  “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”  (Matthew 21:25)   Jesus is addressing the greatest problem of every generation that ever lived, from Adam and the forbidden fruit to our modern day worldly desires to “do our own thing” — we are self-serving and are constantly declaring that it is our “right” to control our own destiny but make the universal mistake of failing to honestly ask ourselves, “Who and where does the Supreme Authority to declare “right and wrong” really come from? Then when we are confronted with the Truth of God that He and He alone has already established and maintains “righteousness” and has already given mankind a set of commands by which we can know “right from wrong”, mankind rebels and reverts to making up our own rules and doctrines. We are all guilty, every generation looks with lust at God’s Power and Authority and each of us fall to the temptation of listening to the Original Great Lie of the serpent as we hear, “For God knows that in the day you eat [of the forbidden fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God…” (Genesis 3:5) so each of us in our desire to have “authority and power” look to be like the True Power and Authority which is God and fail to see that with great power and authority comes great responsibility and that is where we fail miserably, for all gladly like to wield the “power” and look grand in our self assumed “authority” but we abuse both “power and authority” and end up short of meeting our responsibility to the world and others as we blindly serve our selfish desires and lusts. Jesus asks the “from heaven or from men” question to each of us in order to make us  stop and consider what we see in the world, there is sin and death all around us and we recognize that there is “evil” that consumes all that do not recognize the Truth of God that He alone is Sovereign in His Creation and that ALL POWER AND AUTHORITY is from GOD! Simple things that we encounter like “Forgiveness”, “Love”, “Repentance”, and “Grace” are not from the “doctrines of men” but we know they exist! Therefore Jesus is pointing out the “simple” Truth that mankind ALWAYS falls to the temptation to assume personal “power and authority” for our selfish needs and each fallen generation tries to justify our weakness by proclaiming the Great Lie — “If there is no God, then there is no “right” but what we declare!” However, by deciding to partake of the forbidden fruit we fail to recognize the Truth that it is God Himself that declares that the fruit is “forbidden” and that God Himself has declared the consequence of our actions, the penalty for sin is death — forever will we have the “right to choose” our actions because God Himself has granted us “Free Will”, but the Truth of God is that as the Supreme Power and Authority that it is He that has given us the “right to choose” but has reserved His Divine Right to determine the Consequence of our actions and choices — the only way we can ever truly “be like God” is to choose to live our lives and make our choices based upon the “choices and standards” God has declared already as the acceptable way to live, and has provided for us the Perfect Example in His Only Begotten Son, Jesus, who is reminding us with this question on “power and authority” that we must decide for ourselves if we are going to usurp God’s position or are we going to let God be God and provide for our daily physical needs and our eternal spiritual needs — if we stop and think we will have to admit, we cannot create “the heavens and the earth” nor do we have any control over “eternity” so what makes us think we should have “power and authority” over them?!?!?!?  

SEPTEMBER 18 JQ#24-14 “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?” (Matthew 21:25) The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

SEPTEMBER 18   JQ#24-14 “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”  (Matthew 21:25) 

365 Prayers to JESUS 

Jesus, You are Worthy of ALL our adoration and praise! You Lord are the One True Shepherd that feeds His lambs and leads us to green pastures. Lord, we may read or hear a disturbing report from the “authorities” of our generation that declare that You are “outdated” and worse, You are “dangerous”  and the “multitudes” keeps believing the “Lie” and misses Your “Truth” — O Lord, You are the Prince of Peace and only through belief in You and Your death, burial, and Resurrection is there any Hope for mankind! These ARE the END TIMES and all Christians will have to be given another boost in Faith in God or many will be lost because of this modern day persecution on Your Church and on You, the Messiah, the Chosen One, our Savior and Redeemer — Forgive us Lord for listening to the deceiver, strengthen our Faith, and let us proclaim Your Truth and be bold in our witness that You Lord are our Hope for You Lord are the Way, the Truth and the Life!!!!    AMEN

The Jesus Questions

SEPTEMBER 18    JQ#24-14  “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”  (Matthew 21:25)  Jesus is now Teaching the ultimate Truth of God, and He is directing His teaching at all who would demand of the Messiah, “By what authority” does the Son of God do the works of God? Jesus knows that God the Father has sent Him down from heaven to bring the same message that John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand” and Jesus has brought the message to Israel and has been teaching by miracles and parables what the kingdom of heaven is like, but in His last week on earth Jesus is giving the final answer by asking the ultimate question that covers all the Truth contained in the scriptures about God the Father, His only begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit — “For God so loved the world that He {{will give}} His only begotten Son {{Jesus, the Messiah}} that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Looking at the question that Jesus asked the “chief priests and the elders of the people” in sections will reveal the fulfilling of all that God has desired for His chosen people — simply that those that follow God will Trust in His provisions for our daily needs and for our eternity. God desires that no man should perish but all would come to a saving knowledge of His only begotten Son Jesus who was sent to die a substitutionary death on the cross as the Lamb of God, becoming the propitiation of our sins against God. God has declared the penalty for sin is death and in providing for our salvation God has provided an acceptable Sacrifice to pay that penalty. The question Jesus is asking must be considered as a type of formal exam of the Truth of God for contained in the question is the summation of what we truly believe and can accept about God. First, let us look at the “Question” in the context that the “rulers and authorities” of the temple were asking Jesus who had demonstrated that by His actions He was the Messiah as the prophecy of the Holy Scriptures was fulfilled before their very eyes, were questioning Jesus about His authority???? Jesus answered their question by asking this truly “loaded” question “The baptism of John —where was it from? (and to make sure there was no confusion, Jesus makes the answer multiple choice) From (a) heaven or (b) from men?” (Matthew 21:25) There are several elements that we normally don’t think of that Jesus makes surface with this all important question and here is a short list for your personal consideration before you give your best and final answer to Jesus, who is about to go to the cross and be crucified, suffering a cruel death to pay the penalty for your sins, giving Him an honest answer is the least you can do, don’t you think? Here is the list: (1) baptism: just what is “baptism” and what does it accomplish? (2) who is John and why was he “baptizing”? (3) why was Jesus using “John” and “baptism” to illustrate “authority”? (4) is there any “earthly” reason to be “baptized” ?  (5) is there any validity in “the authority” of “heaven”? (6) how can one prove “heaven” and the “Ruler of heaven” exists? (7) is having “Faith” in “things unseen” a reasonable explanation for “John”, “Baptism”, “Jesus”, and “heaven”? These are elements of the question you must consider or you can’t answer this question — but keep in mind, this could well be your “final answer” before the “Teacher” grades your test!!!!!