The Heaton File

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. (Matthew 2:16)

The Killing Of The Innocent

Herod the Great was King of Judah at the time of Jesus’ birth and wielded an invincible lust for power and pleasure. It was not beyond the course of Herod’s desire to exact terrible bloodshed upon any who opposed him, especially those of his own family. Some stories tell of moments before his death, Herod ordered all the nobles who came to witness his passing to be executed immediately upon his death. He wanted his death to be attended by universal mourning. Remarkably, Herod was Jewish in his faith, knowing the Law of Moses and God’s people.

The story that sets Herod apart in the revelation of God’s word is his furious reprisal against Bethlehem. A few years after Jesus’ birth, Magi from the East came seeking the young child. They had seen the star of the young child in the East, and they desired to worship Him. When Herod the King heard of the Magi, he was troubled when they referred to the Christ child as the King of the Jews. Herod gathered the chief priests and scribes to inquire where the Christ was to be born. The Jewish scholars told Herod the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea.

Herod secretly called the Magi to him, asking them when the star appeared to them. He sent them to Bethlehem, telling them to send news when they found the young child so he could also worship the King of the Jews. The Magi made the journey to Bethlehem, following the star they had seen in the East until it came and stood over the house where Jesus was. Joseph and Mary invited the men into their home, and they received gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. As the Magi prepared to return home, they were divinely warned in a dream not to return to Herod, but to go home another way. An angel of the Lord also warned Joseph to take his family to Egypt, for God knew that Herod wanted to kill the young child, Jesus.

When Herod realized the Magi were not returning to tell him about the Christ child, he sent his soldiers to the city of Bethlehem and put to death all the male children from two years old and under. The people of Bethlehem had no warning. Life was normal as they plodded through their daily activities as they had done for centuries. Seeing the soldiers coming did not alarm them, as it was not uncommon for soldiers to ride through the area. What became a horrifying reality was the soldiers dismounting, going into homes, and killing children. None were spared if they were two years old or younger. Every male child in Bethlehem was massacred by the hand of Herod. No one had legal recourse, military revenge, or national outrage. Parents picked up their murdered children, hearts filled with grief, and bore them to their graves.

Herod’s atrocity against Bethlehem was not new. Cain killed his innocent brother over nothing. The world of Noah was filled with wickedness, including murder, rape, cruelty, and the killing of innocents. Nations ravaged other nations, slaughtering thousands upon thousands. Religious zealots carried out the Crusades in the name of God. In turn, the Moslems killed the Christians in the name of their God. One hundred and twenty people were massacred in Southern Utah Territory in 1857 by settlers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). Twenty-five years ago, a radical group of religious zealots succeeded in killing thousands in the name of their false god. The inhumanity of man will continue.

Jesus did not come to take away men like Herod. Before Jesus died, Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, summoned the Son of God. Jesus said nothing. Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate. There will always be Herods in the world who will do horrible things. The Bin Ladens of this world are legion. Jesus came to bring peace to a world filled with violence. Judgment will be imposed upon those who deny God and use religion as a tool for murder. There may not be justice in this life, but death is the great equalizer and judgment. Pray for the innocent and pray for the enemies. Jesus died for everyone – without exception.

So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-Berith their God. Thus the children of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; nor did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) in accordance with the good he had done for Israel. (Judges 8:33-35)

They Were Unfaithful And Ungracious

The period of the judges for Israel was a time of upheaval, chaos, and rebellion. God’s people had settled the promised land but failed to keep the promises they made to the Lord. When Joshua was dying, they promised their great leader they would serve the Lord. Israel promised to obey the voice of the Lord. Joshua set up a great stone as a memorial of the covenant the people made with God. After Joshua’s death, a generation arose that did not know the Lord or the work He had done for Israel. They broke all their promises and did evil in the sight of the Lord. Idolatry filled the land as the hearts of the people turned to Baal and the Ashtoreths.

God punished the people for their rebellion until they cried for relief. The Lord raised up judges to deliver them, and peace returned to the land. After a time, they played the harlot with other gods and bowed down to them. A cycle of judges repeated year after year as the people rebelled, suffered the wrath of God, and were delivered by the mercy of the Lord. Gideon was the fifth judge who would deliver the people from the Midianites. He would judge the people for forty years.

The problem with Israel becomes clear when Gideon dies. After forty years of leadership under the son of Joash, the people took little time to return to Baal and the Ashtoreths. As soon as Gideon died, the people immediately returned to the evil that angered the Lord. Gideon seems to be the only reason the people were held in check, but all the while, they longed for the ways of Baal. Their hearts were never fully devoted to the Lord. When Gideon died, the people forgot the Lord God who delivered them from all their enemies. They were ungrateful, unthankful, and unfaithful to the covenant they made with God. Their wickedness was so great that they refused to give honor to Gideon, the great warrior who delivered them by the power of God from their enemies and brought peace to the land for forty years.

A Japanese proverb says, “Once on shore, pray no more.” So often, when a crisis comes, people turn to God and expect deliverance. Then, once the crisis is over, they no longer need God. They cast Him aside as a useless toy with no value. As a nation, Israel begged for God’s deliverance, and He granted it. As soon as the judge dies, the people return to Baal and the Ashtoreths because there is no need for God. This sinful cycle is found in the lives of many people who seek to be saved from a crisis but have no intention of serving the Lord with a grateful heart.

Israel’s unfaithfulness and ungracious heart should be a warning to all who falsely believe that God is like a vending machine where prayers are answered for deliverance, but the heart has no intention of serving the Lord. Unfaithfulness and ungraciousness lead to the arrogant belief that God serves man rather than man serving God. Faithfulness belongs in the heart of the faithful regardless of who the judge is. Salvation cannot be measured by how faithful the elders or preachers are, but by how the individual serves the Lord. This may be despite the leadership. Each one will give an account of themselves before God. Pray that the hearts of the people are not like those when Gideon died. Stay true to the Lord God alone.

Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He spoke this parable to them, saying. (Luke 15:1-3)

Cherry-Picking The Teachings Of Jesus

The final canon of the Bible became a book of sixty-six books arranged in the Old Testament with the writings of Moses, the Psalms, and the prophets; and the New Testament telling the story of the life of Jesus, the establishment of the church, and the early writers of the Law of Christ. God gave the world His final revelation to understand the nature of humanity, the blight of sin, and the redemption of man through the blood of Jesus. No book has changed the world more than the Bible. Reading its pages unveils the glory of God, the promise of forgiveness of sins, and the hope of eternal life.

Originally, the Bible was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. Through the centuries, it has been translated into every language known to man. Various translations were made as the printing press spread God’s word throughout the world. John Wycliffe began the first translation of the Bible into English, and John Purvey completed it in 1388. In 1228, Stephen Langton divided the Bible into chapters. R. Nathan divided the Old Testament into verses in 1448, and Robert Stephanus divided the New Testament in 1551. It was not until 1560 that the Geneva Bible first published the entire Bible in chapters and verses.

For most students of Scripture, reading the Bible without chapters and verses would be unimaginable. Dividing the Bible has advantages, but it also comes with serious disadvantages. It is easy to find passages and remember teachings by chapter and verse. Bible study has become easier when examining Scripture. While there are many advantages, dividing the Bible into sections has created a “cherry-picking theology” that often overlooks and misapplies scriptures from their context. An old saying says, “A text without a context is a pretext.” This suggests the danger of taking passages out of their context to teach something not found in the text.

Everyone is familiar with the three parables of Luke 15: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Few realize Jesus told one parable with three stories, and the teaching of Jesus does not end at Luke 15:32. Scripture should be read using a camera. The scene opens up in Luke 15:1-2 when tax collectors and sinners draw near to Jesus to eat with Him. The Pharisees and scribes complain of Jesus associating with these despised people. Jesus begins at Luke 15:3, rebuking the Jewish leaders, and does not stop talking until Luke 17:10. Everything between those two verses is what Jesus has to say about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the Scribes.

First, Jesus turns the camera to the Jewish leaders (15:32 – “them”). In Luke 16:1, he turns the camera to His disciples (the Pharisees and Scribes are listening). The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard what Jesus said and began to deride the Lord. Jesus turns the camera back to “them” (16:15). Finally, in Luke 17:1, the Lord turns the camera back to the disciples and finishes His teaching. In this series of teachings, Jesus is focused on one thing: exposing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Scribes. The stories of the lost sheep, lost coin, and the prodigal son show how much God cares for everyone. This is one parable with three stories. But the real message comes in the third story, where the elder son’s heart is exposed. The elder son is the heart of the Pharisees and Scribes. They refuse to eat with the “prodigals” of Israel. Their hypocrisy and hatred for others are clearly exposed, and the Pharisees know Jesus is talking about them (16:14)

Jesus warns the disciples (16:1) to be shrewd in dealing with their leaders (16:1-13) because they loved money so much (16:14). This love of money filled their hearts with hatred and prejudice against the unfortunates of the world. The Lord reminds the disciples that no man can serve two masters because no one can serve God and mammon. When the Pharisees deride Jesus, He shows how they abuse the law (16:15-18) and uses (as an example) how they abused the law of marriage (16:18). Jesus then tells them the story of a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. The Pharisees and Scribes are the rich man in the story, and Lazarus represents the tax collectors and sinners.

Finally, Jesus turns the camera back to His disciples (17:1), warning them not to offend those God cares for. In response, the disciples ask Jesus to give them more faith (17:5), which Jesus does by showing them the heart of humility (17:6-10). Then the story ends.

Luke 15-17 contains many great stories, and we should apply them. Never lose sight of the larger picture and the context of what Jesus is teaching. Connect the dots as the Holy Spirit gives them. These same lessons are needed today in their full context, as the spirit of the Pharisees and Scribes remains in the Lord’s body. And there are plenty of ‘tax collectors and sinners’ struggling in their faith. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, “We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.”

Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. (Acts 20:28)

Elders Must Take Heed

The church Jesus promised to build was organized in a simple pattern of oversight where individuals from a singular congregation took oversight of the work as they examined their own lives before God. Jesus Christ is the only head of the church. No man can serve as the spokesperson of the church, whether globally or locally. In the simplest form of local church government, elders (plural) oversee the flock of God. Their authority reaches no further than their own flock. The only authority they have comes from the word of God, the headship of Jesus Christ, and the will of the Father.

Elders are bound by the law of Christ. Jesus purchased the church with His blood, making it His and His alone. An elder cannot claim the local church as “his church.” The New Testament pattern is a plurality of men who serve as overseers of the local congregation. Paul called for the elders of the church in Ephesus. The instructions from Paul to the Ephesian elders showed them to be “overseers” of the church in Ephesus. Writing to Timothy, Paul called the elders “bishops” and gave specific qualifications for a man to serve in leadership in the local church. Elders are also called pastors who care for God’s flock. A pastor must have the qualifications of an elder because they are one and the same.

Paul knew the church would face persecution from without and danger from within. The apostle had spent three years laboring with the church in Ephesus, and he loved the elders dearly. He begged them to pay careful attention to themselves as individuals, as Satan sought to destroy them. Paul warned the elders that false teachers would arise from their own flock, speaking perverse things, teaching things not found in the word of God. Not only must the elders look after themselves, but their work also centered upon guarding the flock. Jesus bought the church with His blood, demanding that the elders take every care of every member of the church. Elders must take heed and be careful about each life that is part of their flock.

Guarding the flock also demands feeding it what it needs. Shepherding God’s flock requires diligence, planning, purposeful forethought, and watchfulness. Jesus did not want managers in the church, but shepherds. Taking heed of the flock was an active work: knowing each sheep, their needs and wants. Jesus illustrated the relationship of the shepherd to his flock when the sheep know the voice of the shepherd and will not follow any other voice. As shepherds, elders take heed of the flock to keep them from the wiles of the devil. Each member of the church is important, and when one wanders away from the truth, the good shepherd seeks after that sheep to restore it to the fold.

Elders must take heed to themselves first. Their work requires them to take heed to all the flock. A local congregation can grow only under the leadership of elders who look after the flock. As elders, they shepherd the local church to meet its needs, feed it with the word of truth, stand against the world’s carnal influences, and promote the kingdom of God to a lost and dying world. Elders who take heed to themselves and work diligently to take heed to all the flock will see the blessings of God build the church up in a most holy faith, strong in the strength of Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit. Elders – take heed!

A Song of Ascents. Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways. When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants all around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. The Lord bless you out of Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life. Yes, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel! (Psalm 128)

Eating The Labor Of Your Hands

God is the God of labor. There is reward in working with the hands to produce crops, care for the family, and glorify God. God created man to be a creature who honors Him through labor. This was complicated by sin, when Adam was told he would work by the sweat of his brow. Still, God expects men to work, be diligent, and through the example of honest labor, show His glory to the world. Man is not a helpless creature, but he must work with his hands. The weather demands shelter to protect from the elements, predators, and the cold. This demands labor to build the structure.

Food comes from the ground, foraging through the forest, or capturing or killing game. Foods grown wild must be harvested. Many foods must be planted in prepared ground, cared for, and harvested. Wheat will only become bread through many avenues of labor. Warm bread from the oven is a result of hours of labor, and how sweet the reward. There is something sweet about eating food grown by one’s own effort. The sweetness of a job well done refreshes the heart.

God gave the world labor to show His glory and satisfaction of the rewards of doing well. He expects and demands hard work and honest labor. The Lord promises the blessings of daily bread, but it must be made through industry, diligence, and honesty. One consequence of turning away from God is becoming slothful and lazy. Lazy people demand that others care for them. Being slothful creates an entitled life. When the government provides everything for the individual requiring no labor, the world implodes into a lazy, unproductive, and wasted society. It also becomes a godless world.

True happiness is found in fearing the Lord and walking in His ways. Honest labor creates a happy home because it fulfills the design God intended for it. Working with the hands of industry blesses the home for those who fear the Lord. The psalmist shows the beauty of the family as fruitful vines and olive plants, nurturing the home with the glory of God. Labor is honorable. It proclaims the eternal pattern of the Lord for the home. Happy Labor Day.

Now it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, that he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel along with him. (2 Chronicles 12:1)

Why Many Forsake The Lord

After Solomon died, his son Rehoboam inherited a nation rich in splendor, wealth, and prosperity unmeasured by any kingdom of the world. Rehoboam mistakenly listened to younger counselors who set the nation on a course of civil war that would divide the people of God north and south. During the early years of his reign, Rehoboam walked in the way of David and Solomon. But after the king was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the Law of the Lord. This led the remaining two tribes of Judah and Benjamin to turn away from the word of God. In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, Shishak, king of Egypt, came against Jerusalem. This invasion came by the hand of the Lord to punish Rehoboam.

God sent Shemaiah the prophet to tell Rehoboam why the Egyptians were conquering the fortified cities of Judah and why the innumerable hosts of Egyptian warriors stood outside the gates of Jerusalem. This invasion was God’s punishment of Rehoboam and the people for turning away from the Lord. The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves, and God lessened His wrath but allowed Shishak to sack Jerusalem. Judah would become a vassal state of Egypt for the rest of Rehoboam’s reign. Rehoboam humbled himself, but he did evil because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.

The root of Rehoboam’s problem was that when he established the kingdom and strengthened himself, he no longer needed God. He inherited a kingdom bathed in riches brought about by his father, Solomon. Rehoboam did not learn his father’s lessons about wives and concubines. The king took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, bearing him eighty-eight children. His heart was lifted up to believe his power resided within himself. Everything he had came from God, and when he turned away from the Lord, he refused to acknowledge where his blessings came from.

Rehoboam, son of Solomon and grandson of David, forsook the law of the Lord. Pride is the terrible malady of sin that destroys more souls than anything else. Rehoboam did not need God. He looked at his kingdom and, like Nebuchadnezzar, exalted himself as the ruler of the world and the architect of his great power and domain. As he filled himself with his own self-worth, he turned away from the Lord. The word of the Lord no longer guided his life because he no longer needed God’s word. His heart was lifted up, unlike his grandfather’s, whose heart trusted in the Lord.

Rehoboam’s failure is why children of God leave the faith. When life is secure and jobs are established, who needs God? As financial blessings begin to flow, the word of the Lord is neglected. So often, Christians become inactive and apathetic regarding worship and the work of the church because they are too busy making a good living, hoarding up their goods to put in bigger barns, and preparing for a fruitful retirement. Jobs become the gods of the people. Like Rehoboam, when life is established and the heart is strengthened with the mammon of prosperity, the heart forsakes the law of the Lord. What is most tragic in the story is that when parents follow Rehoboam’s path, they influence their children to do the same.

What the church needs is a few invasions from the Egyptians to rekindle the soul and remind it what is truly important in life. Rehoboam found out the hard way that life does not consist in the abundance of things gained in this life. The church could use a few Shishak’s knocking on the door to wake some up from the spiritual stupor they find themselves in. Forsaking the law of the Lord has eternal consequences. Do not follow in the footsteps of Rehoboam.

I went by the field of the lazy man, and by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; and there it was, all overgrown with thorns; its surface was covered with nettles; its stone wall was broken down. When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction: a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest; so shall your poverty come like a prowler, and your need like an armed man. (Proverbs 24:30-34)

The Hobo, The Tramp, And The Bum

Following the American Civil War, many men were displaced, with few jobs and no prospects for a steady workplace. At the same time, the surge of railroads filled the landscape of America with 35,000 miles of new track. With the ease of travel through hopping trains, many men set out to do migrant work. When the Great Depression hit in the 1930s, the number of men traveling swelled. The men became known as “hobos,” traveling across the country and catching trains, seeking a livelihood anywhere they could find it. Hundreds of thousands of people, families, and young people were riding freight trains, hoping not to get caught by railroad security – the “bulls.”

There is a distinction between a hobo, a tramp, and a bum. A hobo is considered a migrant worker in modern idioms. He (or she) travels and is willing to work. The mode of transportation is optional, depending on what is available. A tramp is someone who travels but avoids work if possible. The bum neither travels nor works. Common to the tramp is the refusal to work, with the bum being so lazy he will not make the effort to travel for any reason.

The first thing God gave Adam and Eve was a job. He expected them to tend the garden. After the fall of man, the Lord told Adam that by the sweat of his brow he would labor to bring forth the herb of the field. It would not be easy to bring bread home to the table. Work has always been how man glorifies God and fulfills his role to care for the family. Lazy and slothful people have been around since the beginning of time. Solomon wrote much about the honor of labor and exposed the character of the tramp and the bum.

As Solomon was walking by a field, he noticed it was overgrown with thorns and its surface covered with nettles. The stone wall was broken down. Thorns and weeds were everywhere. No work had been done to keep the field, and no activity to maintain what was needed. It was the field belonging to a lazy man. The wise man noted this field was in such disarray because a lazy fool lived there. Solomon perceived the field was a story about the danger of indolence. A man will think what harm there is in a little more sleep. Why do today what can be put off until tomorrow? Take the easy path, relax, and fiddle the thumbs. Working the ground takes so much energy, and why bother?

Poverty comes upon those who are lazy and unwilling to work. Solomon likens the suddenness of poverty to a thief in the night or an armed robber. The lazy man will never see it coming until it is too late. Because he refuses to work, he finds himself in poverty. The apostle Paul would chide the saints at Thessalonica for those who refused to work but were busybodies. God says this is a disorderly and sinful life. Loafing around and refusing to work disgraces Christ’s name. Everyone has a responsibility to show the glory of God through their industry.

One thing can be said about the hobo: he was willing to work. God refuses to bless the tramp and the bum. There are spiritual tramps and bums who refuse to do anything for the Lord. Whether physical or spiritual, God expects His people to be industrious. Work is honorable and expected by the Lord. Did I hear a train whistle?

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)

Implications Of One Body

Paul’s letter to the saints who were in Ephesus is a powerful thesis on the nature and character of the church. The Ephesian church was an early example of congregational strength and love. They enjoyed Paul’s preaching for three years as he labored among them. Receiving a letter from Paul was especially important because the apostle was in prison in Rome, waiting for his appeal to Caesar. The letter to the saints in Ephesus strongly argues that the church is the body, and Christ is its head.

When the Ephesian brethren received the letter, they were encouraged by the apostles’ positive notes sprinkled throughout the letter. As part of the early church, the saints helped to establish the character of the church Jesus promised to build. Jesus is the head and savior of the church. All spiritual blessings are to be found in Christ Jesus. Jesus’ authority is firmly established as the Son of God sits at the right hand of the Father. Jesus was the chief cornerstone the church was built upon. Everything about the church is built on the authority of Jesus Christ. The church was in God’s eternal plan before time began, showing the manifold wisdom of God. Paul described the church as a family, knitted together in the bond of love.

One key element of the church known by the saints in Ephesus is that there was only one church. In the First Century, there were no other churches. Jesus promised to build His church, and He accomplished that. Paul affirms the church is the body of Christ. Jesus is the head of one church, as the one head does not have many bodies, nor does the one body have many heads. When God created man, he formed him with one head and one body. In that imagery, the church possesses one body with one head. Anything different is abnormal and unnatural. No other bodies can represent the church.

If there is one God, there must be one church. Paul said there was one faith. There must be one body. The only baptism (one baptism) is water baptism. There is one church. The Holy Spirit is not a multiple being but one, like the body of Christ. There can be only one hope as promised by God, meaning there is only one church. One Lordship demands one head for one body, and the one body is the one church. When men say it does not matter which church one belongs to, they deny the teachings of the Holy Spirit. There is only one body, the church.

One church implies that Jesus did not promise all other churches. If there is one church as Paul said two thousand years ago, why are there so many churches today? Christ is not the head of many bodies, as that would be a disfigurement. Jesus cannot be the head of this church, that church, and other churches, when He can be the head of only one body. One head goes with one body. The Bible teaches the one church that was built by Jesus Christ. In the First Century, there was only one body of Christ, the church. Jesus is the savior of only one body. On the day of Pentecost, God added to the (one) church daily those who were being saved. Saul persecuted the (one) church. The implications of one church are evident when one accepts the teaching of the New Testament church. One body. One church.

Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31)

Small Things Matter To God

The world can seem a small place when faced with how insignificant a person can be compared to the eight billion souls that inhabit the planet. One person, one life, is limited in time and sphere by the small footprints left in the sands of time. The wind comes and blows the prints away in a short time. When a man dies, his life is represented by a small dash between two dates. Fame is fleeting. A man makes a name for himself and is remembered for a few generations. In time, his name is worn away from the marble monuments, and dusty history books mention his great achievement as a passing note.

Everyone seeks some measure of recognition. Each child born into the world needs the security of knowing someone cares for them. God created man, realizing he could not be alone. There is an emptiness if someone has no one to care for them. The world can be a cruel place where lost souls wander without a friend. There is a need for recognition, identification, and someone to care. For many, that communion never comes. They live lonely, unfilled, and sad lives. In a world of so many people, who would care about the one?

Jesus teaches that man’s fundamental need is met in a relationship with His Father. Untold billions of people have lived and died since the beginning of time. Everyone has been spread throughout the world in different languages, cultures, races, and personalities, with a common need: to be recognized. Jesus comforts the hearts of the heavy-laden by reminding them that, in a world filled with billions of souls, God knows and cares for each one individually. 

A sparrow is a small bird suitable for eating. Sold in the markets, ready to eat, plucked and trussed in rows of about a dozen on slender wooden skewers, and cooked and eaten like kabobs. The lesson Jesus is teaching is that as small and insignificant as the small birds were, nothing happens to them that God is unaware of. If a small bird falls to the ground, God knows it. God has His eyes upon all the small birds in the whole world. The omniscience of God declares His glory to know if a sparrow falls on one side of the earth or the other side. Jesus drives the point home, suggesting His Father knows the exact number of hairs on the head of all eight billion souls on earth.

Life can be hard, and living can be a struggle. The world can be a cold and cruel place where the comfort of others is lost or denied. One singular promise made by Jesus is that every soul is known and seen by His Father. A small child in the mountains of Tibet is known by God, and a proud man living in New York City has the eye of the Lord God. No one escapes the gaze of the Lord God – whether for good or evil. God knows all. The darkness does not hide the acts of man. Small birds fall when it turns dark, and God knows that.

Jesus reminds us that God knows when a small bird falls to the ground to encourage the downtrodden, but it should also warn the wicked: God knows what they do and what they think. God knows the small things of life. He sees the heart filled with grief. God knows the tears of the brokenhearted. Jesus shows the care of God for every person on the face of the earth – without exception. God cares about the sparrow, but He cares more about you. Jesus did not die for the sparrow, but He did die for you. The sacrifice of Jesus shows how much God cares for the ‘sparrows’ of the world. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” (Mark 13:33-37)

The Most Expensive Watch

Warnings of danger tell the traveler to take care because unseen and sudden hazards may present themselves without warning. Signs will warn of fallen rocks, flash floods, avalanches, rip currents, sinkholes, etc. Anything can happen, and usually there is no warning. These warnings provide information that, if heeded, could save a life. The warning is given, but when an event may happen is unknown. Care and watchfulness are needed to ensure that, if danger presents itself, the proper actions have been taken to keep one safe from harm.

Jesus taught His disciples one of the basic elements of the human story. Many things come suddenly in life, without warning, and with great consequences. Death is the silent killer of millions who are not prepared for the end of life. The reality of death is ignored more than anything in life because few people live in such a manner as to consider the possibilities that would happen to them. Life is filled with gusto, recreation, pleasure, and years of busy work that satisfy the soul. And then, without warning, death comes.

Unexpected events in life change lives forever because they come suddenly and so often without warning. Jesus warned the Jews of the coming desolation that would culminate in the complete destruction of Jerusalem. He reminds them that when the day comes, they should remember that He told them what was coming beforehand. In 70 AD, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. They were unprepared for destruction because few believed it would happen. It came. Jesus’ words came true. Few heeded the warnings.

Another day is coming that very few take notice of. As in all generations, life continues on the hectic pace of seeking after the trappings of a material world. Pleasure is the main goal. Wealth and riches are hoarded vainly. Everyone is busy being busy with life and the pursuit of happiness, unaware of the lurking danger that will reveal itself one day to everyone’s surprise. No one knows when this day will come. Jesus does not know, but He talked about it. It will be the final and complete day of destruction and judgment. Its coming will be cataclysmic in its size, speed, and destructive power. The day God sends His Son to destroy the world.

A day of judgment is coming. There can be no doubt because it is a promise of God. Jesus warned His disciples of the coming judgment, which has not come in two thousand years. For the faithful, knowing such a day is coming helps prepare the heart for the inevitable but unknown day. Three things reside in the heart of those prepared. They have heeded the word of God, watch with diligent faith in their lives, and pray to the Lord God for courage to face the day when Jesus returns.

The people of God will not be caught unaware because they know there will be no warnings, but they will be ready. Like servants whose master has gone away to a far country promising to return, they are watchful and ready. When the master returns is unknown. It could be in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning. Faithful servants will not be found sleeping but awake and ready and watching. Why is this the most expensive watch? Because if a man fails to be awake at the watch when the Lord returns, he will forfeit his soul to eternal darkness and punishment. It will cost him eternal life. Jesus said: Watch!