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            Jesus begins by reminding His disciples that after two days it’ll be Passover; He then tells them that the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified. Jesus prophecied what was to come. Meanwhile, the chief priests, scribes and elders of the people went to the palace of the high priest and plotted to take Jesus by trickery to kill Him. They decided that they couldn’t do it during the feast out of fear of the numbers in the crowd that would turn against them. They feared the amount of people who followed Jesus and didn’t want to risk being overthrown. They decided that doing it at night in private would eliminate the crowds and prevent them from being overthrown. It was customary to arrest people during the day unless it was a robber or something drastic and dangerous that required it being done at night. Which is why later in the chapter Jesus told them that they were arresting Him at night like a robber when they had multiple opportunities to arrest Him in the day. Jesus knew they were being sneaky and afraid of His followers which is why they came in the dark of night to sneak Him into their hands without His followers knowing.

            Just before passover Jesus was at the house of Simon the leper, a women came to Him with her alabaster flask of very costly perfume and she poured it all of Jesus’ head as He sat at the table. This woman was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus (the man who had been dead that Jesus then rose back to life). This is an important story in the gospel for many reasons.

            This shows just how loving and devoting this woman was to Jesus; she poured possibly all that she had onto Him to bless and serve Him when she didn’t have too. No one was telling her to do this, and this type of fragrance was very expensive. In fact, it was so expensive that many of the disciples judged this woman for “wasting” the oil when it could have been sold and use for something more important (in their eyes). Jesus knew the disciples were judging her and He called them out for it. Jesus told them that they would always have the poor (the ones the money could have gone too had they sold the perfume) but Jesus was not there always and this oil was done for His burial. Jesus declared that whenever the gospel is preached, this story will be preached as well, but why? Jesus wouldn’t have said it if it didn’t matter or wasn’t important. There is depth and meaning to this that needs to be understood.

            We gather the obvious, this was expensive oil that the disciples felt was wasted but she wanted to use it to serve Jesus. That oil could have been her most valuable possession given its worth and price, yet she chose to give it to Jesus. We too need to be like this, all that we have should be for Jesus. We should be willing to give all that we have to serve Him. There was nothing that was holding her back financially to give it all to God. We should all tithe and give to Him what is already is. To unbelievers this probably appears to be a waste as the disciples viewed the perfume being poured unto Jesus as a waste. But Jesus corrected them, and we need to honor and respect and learn from that. Nothing is wasted when it is being given back to the one who created it in the first place. Whether it’s through tithing or serving our time we should give so much to Jesus that to outsiders it appears reckless. We should desire to give to Him.

            We need to pay attention to her love and devotion. She didn’t have to do this, no one mentioned anything about it. It was out of her love and appreciation for Jesus that she wanted to do something drastic to serve and honor Him. She was willing to go to such extremes to show her love for Him. We should have this same desire in us, we should all want to serve and honor and love Jesus this much. It might appear reckless to others, but this type of love is what we should all strive for.

            Jesus mentioned this oil was to prepare Him for His burial, at this point, even though He had prophecied His death and resurrection, the disciples didn’t really understand it. They didn’t really believe He would be taken and be brought to His death to overcome it. Yet again though, Jesus prophecied it and declared the oil was used for His burial. When we give things to God we might not understand the need for it or what He intends to use it for. The beautiful thing is we don’t need to know, we need to just give with loving and giving hearts; with a deep desire and passion to serve Christ. We can’t serve God half heartedly. We are either in or out. When we are fully in, the actions that we have to the lost may seem crazy or wasteful. It might even appear that way to ones who aren’t lost, who know Jesus like the disciples, they just lack the understanding in that moment. However, it shouldn’t matter to us what others think, when we choose to surrender ALL to serve God that should be all that matters. How can we possibly show our love and affection to God the way this woman did? By surrendering, giving all of yourself to Christ. By dying yourself so you can rise as a new creation IN HIM, as HIS. When we have fully surrendered, we are no longer our own, we are HIS.

            Judas witnessed this and grew disdained at the wastefulness. He couldn’t appreciate the waste of money that could have been made from selling the perfume. Judas was already struggling with financial greed and this was the last straw for him, this led him to betray Jesus for money. Judas went to the pharisees and made a deal, to show them Jesus and in turn they will pay him 30 pieces of silver.

            On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples, under Jesus’ command, went into the city to a certain mans home and set up their Passover meal there. When evening arrived Jesus sat down with His twelve disciples, He tells them, ‘Assuredly I say to you, one of you will betray Me.’

            They were all remorseful and shocked and all began to ask who would do that? They asked if it was them, however when Judas said, ‘Rabbi, is it I’ Jesus replied with a simple, ‘You said it.”

            Jesus knew that Judas was to betray Him, He always knew. Yet Jesus treated Him with love and gave Him opportunity after opportunity to confess and declare that Jesus is Lord. Of all the disciples there isn’t any record of Judas ever confessing that Jesus is Lord. Jesus chose those twelve to follow Him knowing that one would betray Him, 11 would believe and one would reject Him. Some say that Jesus rejected Judas, but He didn’t. You see, Judas was never a true believer of Jesus, which is why he never confessed. Jesus knew this, He also knew Judas being the treasury, stole from the money bag and was a thief. Yet Jesus treated Judas with love and kindness and countless opportunity for Judas to truly choose Jesus. After Judas betrayed Jesus, which Jesus knew, He still allowed Judas to join them for the first night of passover.

            There is debate if Judas ate communion with them, some say scripture supports it some say scripture Denys it. In John Jesus dips bread and gives the bread to the one (judas) who had betrayed Him. Judas takes the bread and then it says that satan enters into Judas at this instance. None of the disciples notice or know whats going on but Jesus does and at this point Jesus tells satan to go and do whatever it is he is planning and to do it quickly. At this point Judas immediately went out into the night. Being this was Passover, it was custom that wherever you went for passover on night one you stayed there for the night, you didn’t go back outside passover night. Yet Judas who was possessed by satan ran out into the night. Jesus didn’t reject Judas, Judas chose not to believe or truly follow Jesus and because of that he was unknowingly working for satan. This is why scripture shows us that we can’t be Luke worm. You either choose Jesus, confess and follow Him, truly follow Him or you have chosen the devil by default. To the outside it looked like Judas chose Jesus, He was one of his twelve disciples after all. But internally, He hadn’t chosen Jesus and He never confessed. He still had a desire to serve money instead and because of that he was being used by satan without even realizing it. This is why NOTHING can come before Jesus in our hearts. We can’t serve money and Jesus at the same time. We can’t serve anything and Jesus at the same time. We either surrender all to Him or we can’t serve and know Him.

            This is a big lesson for us, just because one may call themself a christian doesn’t mean they are. The question is, do you know Jesus? Does Jesus know you? Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God? Have you denied yourself to truly follow God? Don’t be like Judas, someone who says they follow Jesus and externally he did, but internally they couldn’t be further away from Him. Learn from this!

            Know that Jesus knew where Judas stood yet He still loved him. The night Judas’ betrayal played out (vs 50) Jesus still called him Friend. He never stops loving us, no matter if we choose to really follow Him or not, He is just that kind and loving. Could you imagine if someone betrayed you, and that betrayal would lead to your supposed death sentence, yet still calling that person friend and showing them kindness? His love truly shows no bounds.

            We are going to stop here and mediate on this, we will finish this chapter next week. There is so much to have understanding of in this chapter, rushing through would be a disservice. This is some deep stuff, we see how we need to truly have a passion and desire to love and serve Jesus like the woman with the alabaster jar. We also learn that Judas was a disciple yet still didn’t follow Jesus. This is something important that we all need to meditate on. We need to reflect and make sure that we are not like Judas. Just because we have a bible and go to church and outwardly appear to be a follower of Jesus doesn’t mean we are. It’s whats on the inside that makes the difference. Do you love Jesus? Do you want to know Him more and have a deeper relationship with Him and fully surrender to what He wants? Is He first in your heart or are you serving other things instead (money, material items, power, greed). Lets re-examine our lives and make sure that we are where we need to be. I pray that we will allow the Holy Spirit to convict us and show us where we falter so that we may change. Our works don’t save us, Judas is our lesson on that. I know this message can be deep if its taken seriously, but with the new year afoot lets make sure we start it on track!

            Have a very merry and blessed Christmas.

            (Fun Christmas things to celebrate with kids: the Christmas tree can be a great way to share about the tree of life, the red that is used in Christmas decor is a great way to share about the blood of Jesus and wreaths go in endless circles like His love for us)

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            The chapter begins with Jesus teaching on the Mount of Olives. His disciples showed Jesus the building of the temple and Jesus responded to them by saying, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” The disciples came to Him privately, and asked when will these things be? They asked what will be the sign of His coming, and of the end of age. I love how the disciples asked Him what was on their mind, they weren’t afraid to ask Him questions. Often times, some may feel like they can’t go to God with questions. It is when we have questions though, that we can be led to seek God harder for the answer. Questions aren’t a bad thing so long as they lead you to seeking God for the answer. Jesus wants us to talk with Him freely and ask whatever is on our mind, He doesn’t want us to hold our thoughts back from Him.

            First, Jesus told them to take heed (in Greek translated to caution/regard/care) that no one deceives them. Many will come in His name and say that they are the Christ and it will deceive many. We need to always be on guard with this, that is why it is so important that we KNOW our bibles. Our bibles are how we can fact check things in life, God doesn’t contradict Himself, if it goes against His word then it is not from Him.

            Jesus then informs them that there will be many wars and rumors of wars, but not to be troubled for all these things must come to pass but is not yet the end. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places; which are all the begining of the sorrows ie birthing pangs.

            Jesus tells the disciples that then, ones will be delivered up to tribulation and killed, christians will be hated by all nations for His names’ sake. Many will be offended, many will betray one another and will hate one another. Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many with false messages. (When we hear messages from prophets we need to still match it up to scripture, fact check the message. Many will twist Gods words to deceive many. Always go to the word of God to fact check anything you are told by man. If you feel like the Holy Spirit is showing or telling you something, look it up to scripture as well. God won’t go against His word, we are so thankful that we have His word to refer to in life. This is one reason why we are to read His word day and night. It is imperative we know it.) Because lawlessness will be abound, the love of many will grow cold. Lawlessness is sin, living in sin separates us from God. Lawlessness can cause innocent bystanders who don’t fully understand the word to become lukewarm or cold as well. Lawlessness can have a trickle effect, but if we stay strong in our word and strong in Christ and who we are in Christ, our Godfidance (confidence in God) will carry us through and bring us closer to God. He who endures to the end shall be saved and this gospel will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, then the end will come.

            Verse 15 says, ‘therefore, when you see the ‘abomination of desolation’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place then let those in Judea flea.’ Turn to Daniel 9:27, 11:31 and 12:11, read it all thoroughly. My notes in my study bible show me that in chapter 9 of Daniel there are three views to this verse 11, specifically. View one is that the prophecy was fulfilled din the past at the desecration of the temp by Antiochus IV Epiphanes from 168 to 167 B.C. View two is that it was fulfilled I the past at the destruction of the temple by the Roman general Titus in A.D. 70 when one million Jews were killed. View three is that it is still to be fulfilled in the future under the antichrist. If we move to verse 11:31 in Daniel my study notes indicate that this again could have been fulfilled when Antiochus IV would again invade “the south” but enemy ships caused him to retreat.On his way back he desecrated the temple and stopped the Jews’ daily sacrifices. The temple was desecrated when he sacrificed pigs (which were unclean) on an altar erected in honor of zeus ( a false God). In Daniel 12:11 my side notes indicate that some still believe this prophecy will be fulfilled under the antichrist. There is much debate over the numbers and the possibilities with the views. The temple was desecrated by Antiochus IV Epiphanes and it could very well happen again in the end times by the antichrist. Only God knows the answer on this, what we need to focus on is knowing God more and our relationship with Him. The closer we are to Him the better we will be able to have ears to hear Him guide us in times that only He knows the depths and details of.

            Jesus warns that in those days let those who are in Judea flee to the. Mountains. Let him leave and not go back to his house to grab his items, let him go; and sadness to the mothers who are pregnant and nursing babies in that time. Pray that your flight be not in winter or on the Sabbath. There will be great tribulation, there hasn’t been tribulation like this before. Unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. God is in control. He then warns again on false prophets (the fact that He is warning again means we REALLY need to pay attention to this) and how many will claim to be the Christ. Yet, just as lighting comes form the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming if the Son of Man be. In times of persecution even strong believes will be temped and find it hard to become loyal. Staying in Christ is essential, spending time with Him in your secret place and reading His word to know Him more to build that sturdiness of a foundation that your relationship needs.

            Immediately after the tribulations of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; the starts will fall from heaven and the powers of heaven will be shaken. Jesus’ return won’t be unmistakable, we have scriptures to assure us of that. If someone has to say to others that the Messiah has come because they can’t recognize; its because it isn’t Him. Jesus return will be unmistakable and obvious to everyone.

            Then the Son of Man will appear in heaven and all of the tribes on earth will mourn. They will mourn because unbelievers will suddenly realize they have chosen the wrong side; everything they ignored and denied would be happening and it will be too late for them. 

            He will then send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they will go and gather His elect (believers) from the four winds; from one end of heaven to the other. To be a believer we need to be a follower of Jesus. (The definition of believer in Greek is follower). Jesus said that in order to follow Him we must first deny ourselves to pick up our crosses, to follow Him. If you haven’t surrendered all to God yet and you don’t know Him on a personal level, if you act now it isn’t too late. We don’t know when all of this will take place, we just know that it will happen. Don’t wait for it to be too late, don’t let time pass you by then you realized when you are out of time that you are on the wrong side. Act now.

            Of that day and hour no man knows, nor does any angles in heaven know. Only God Himself knows the day and hour. In the days of Noah, before the flood everyone was eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage til the day Noah stepped inside the ark. They didn’t know that a flood was coming till it came. Noah and his family knew that God told them to make the ark with exact measurements and materials, Genesis also states that Noah walked with God. Noah was close to God which plays a huge factor into why God chose Noah to build this ark. (We are supposed to be close with God, we need to walk with God too.) Hollywood has done many movies on this bible story showing that others made fun of Noah and called him crazy for making this ark. In Genesis it doesn’t state this, however. It doesn’t state that anyone knew about a flood till it came. The point of this is, no one knew the hour or the minute till it happened. No one will know the day or hour of the end time either. Jesus has given us information on what has to happen before the carrying away of the church happens. Sense no one will know the day or hour, what we need to focus on is how close are we with God? Because on that day, what will matter is who knows God and is known by God, and who has rejected Him. Make sure you are on the right side.

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            The chapter begins right where chapter 24 left off. We move into a parable about the bride being ready for the bridegroom. In the parable there are ten virgins; five who are wise (the ones on fire for God who have a relationship with Him and have the Holy Spirit for guidance) and five who are unwise (lukewarm believers who don’t know God and who God doesn’t know due to their lack of interest in Him).

            These ten virgins go with their lamps to wait to meet their bridegroom. The five foolish virgins, however didn’t bring enough oil where as the wise ones brought oil and back up oil in flasks to add to their lamps when their lamps got low. When the unwise ran out of oil they asked the wise for some of theirs to which the wise replied no. They didn’t have enough to give to the others and still keep theirs lit. So the unwise left to go try to buy more oil and while they were gone the bridegroom came for His bride and took with Him the five who were wise. The unwise cried out for Him to come back and get them and He replied to them that He does not know them. He tells them to watch therefor, for they don’t know the day or hour on which He will return and they need to be ready this time.

            This parable references the active and inactive believers. The followers of Christ and the non-followers. From this parable we know that we need the Holy Spirit, we need the guidance from the Holy Spirit to keep us lit in His guidance. We need to know Jesus and He needs to know us. We need to be on fire for God! You can’t be on fire for Him and be lukewarm, the two doesn’t mix. Fire burns and ignites more in fire, it can’t be lukewarm or mild. We also learn that we need to be ready for Him, we get ready by constantly seeking Him and knowing Him more.

            When people want coffee, they either want hot coffee or cold coffee. Very rarely does someone ask for room temperature coffee that is lukewarm. God wants us to be like hot coffee, not room temperature. It is simple, we either choose to serve God and seek Him and burn on fire in Him; or we are cold and spit out because the coldness reflects all the ways one serves the devil instead. You can only be hot or cold, there is no lukewarm. Be mindful of what you are, because the bridegroom (Jesus) returns for His bride (the ones of fire full of His light by oil aka the Holy Spirit) and the ones who are lukewarm are left behind.

            We are then moved into another parable, the parable of talents. A master gives three servants different amounts of talents (money) each according to their ability. Notice it was decided upon their abilities. We are all loved by God, yet we all have different abilities in Him based off of our faithfulness in Him. The one servant received five talents because he had the ability to do more with more. The next was given two talents and the last was given one. The one that received five went and took his five and traded with them and made a profit receiving an additional five talents. The one who received two took them and traded them and received an additional two in their talents. The one who had received only one talent went and buried his in a whole, afraid to let it go and instead chose to harbor it; not only did he not make anything with it but he also didn’t use it for anything of use either.

            When the master returned he said to the servants who had made more with what they received, “well done, you good and faithful servants.” However, to the one who hid his money he said, “you wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap the harvest where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter seed, then you ought to have put my money with the bankers and at my return I would have received my money back with interest. Take the talent away from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.” The ones who don’t use what they are given will have it stripped away and it will be given to the ones who serve him.

            From this we see that God give us gifts, He provides our needs and does all this so we can then step out in faith and use them to serve Him by blessing others. He gives us the resources needed to serve Him. God gives His people gifts to operate in His power through the Holy Spirit to prophecy, heal, cast out demons and so forth. He gives us these to help bring people to Him. He doesn’t give us this ability in Him to sit on the couch and do nothing with it. He wants us to take what He has given us and go out and double it, bring in more for the harvest not harbor it and be stingy with it. We are to be giving, not just in financials but with our time and we need to be a serving vessel to the lord; not a wasteful vessel.

            We are told to go out, pray for the sick and cast out demons. To do this we need to have the Holy Spirit, know God and allow Him to use us, to work through us.To me, this chapter is a HUGE reality check for us all. If we haven’t laid hands on anyone for healing, preached His word, ministered to anyone about Him or done anything remotely close to that, that brings anyone closer to Him this week/month/year…. well then we haven’t been the servant with 5 or 2 talents. If we haven’t done anything to serve God recently then it could be very possible that we are currently the servant with one talent, the foolish bride without any oil. The good news is, it’s not too late to change. Repent and ask God to help, to show the right path and begin seeking Him more today and know Him more so we can serve Him, so we can be a vessel He can use to draw the lost near.

            If you feel you have unknowingly been the lost, you have accidentally fallen into the place of the servant with 1 talent or the bride without oil; repent of selfish ways and go to Him. If you feel like you have been seeking Him but you don’t know what to do to serve Him, the next time you go to the grocery store find someone and pray for them. It might feel weird and uncomfortable and that is ok. Jesus spoke to strangers and prayed for strangers all the time, we are to follow His footsteps. If our life doesn’t look anything like Jesus’, then we need to make some drastic changes before it is too late and we are out of time. We don’t want to be the bride that is left behind because we weren’t ready for our bridegroom. Church, the bridegroom is coming and His bride (us) needs to be ready or some will be left behind. Unfit brides will not be taken with Him.

            In the book of Mathew we see many many times, how Jesus preached the word of God, He taught the word of God, He laid hands on the sick and they were healed, He prophecied to bring glory to God and the lost to God, He remained sinless and selfless, He only spoke what God told Him, He spent much time in prayer with God daily, He went where God told Him too and did what God told Him to do. This is what our days should look like. God may have placed you in a nine to five job somewhere, but that doesn’t mean you can’t serve Him. Minister to people you see at work, when you see someone in pain or sick lay hands on them and command with authority in Christ for them to be healed in Jesus name, draw near to God and seek Him in your secret place daily. You might not find someone to lay hands on daily but there should never be a reason we get too busy to be alone with God each day in our secret place to draw near to Him.

            This is a lot to take in with this chapter as well as the last chapter. There is a sense of urgency to get the church (us, the believers and body of Christ) ready for Him. The body of Christ as a whole has work to do, we are no where near ready (I don’t specifically mean our church although we are apart of that list, but I mean the entire body, the church of Christ filled with all believers from all over the world). We all have work to do.

            I thank God for this opportunity to remind us that we need to be ready for Him. We need to be full of oil when He comes for His bride. Don’t be the foolish bride without any oil, when that day comes you can’t borrow or buy it from someone else. Don’t be so afraid to step out and serve God that you stash away your gifts that God has given you. Be active in Him, seek Him, know Him so that you can follow Him and actively serve Him. He is a good, good Father; trust Him.

            If there is someone reading this who thinks they don’t have gifts and that is why they haven’t stepped out much, well, think of it like this; you don’t need a hammer and all of the tools needed to build a house if you are going to sit on the couch and not build a house. You need the tools the moment you step on the job site to work. You might not think you have gifts because you simply haven’t stepped out enough times to see anything manifest from God. God gives His gifts/tools the moment they are ready to be used. He won’t give you a tool if there isn’t anything in the moment to use it on. You don’t need a hammer if you are sitting on your couch and not working. This means we need to step out. Take a leap of faith. Lay hands on someone for healing and just believe they will be healed because it is Gods will for us all to be healed. Be willing to step out and talk to strangers so a word of knowledge will be in need. If you aren’t going to use the word of knowledge it has no reason to come to you. You have to be willing to be used. Step out, rely on Him and have faith in Him and give Him the opportunity to use His gifts/tools in you. You will be amazed at just how great and powerful He is in you when you allow Him to work in You.

            God is waiting to use you, He loves you and has big plans for you to serve Him in His kingdom. Don’t wait too long, don’t run out of time and be standing there as a foolish bride without oil who missed her bridegroom. God bless