Friday, May 10: Matthew 22– You are being watched…

I find it interesting that most of the vignettes of this chapter involve people who have been watching Jesus, testing Him, to see if they could trick Him or fool Him into an answer that might get Him in trouble.

First come the Pharisees and the Herodians –strange bedfellows to be plotting together since they were typically pitted against one another. Nonetheless, they come and try to trick Jesus with a question that spans the religious/political divide. Jesus sees the trap and counter attacks with a parry that they never saw coming. Round one to Jesus.

Second, come the Sadducees, another Jewish leadership group, who were generally at theological odds with Pharisees. They test Jesus with a theological question, which He handles with ease due to His knowledge of Scripture. Jesus takes round two.

Next comes a lone religious leader whose affiliation is unknown. His question may be legit, an honest faith question. Jesus again handles it with ease, through His knowledge of God’s Word. Round 3 goes to Jesus.

Finally Jesus goes on the offensive with a scriptural question of His own, a stumper, which none of the religious leaders could answer. Over and done, Jesus scores a knockout.

What caught my attention was how closely Jesus was being watched and measured.

It hit me!  We are being watched by others in our life, too. I don’t presume to be of the stature of Jesus in popularity, but God seemed to be whispering to me that I (and you) are being watched by people in our lives, too. People are watching for inconsistencies, for places where our faith and life break down. Sometimes they question us. The questions may be ploys to trap us, a la the religious leaders who question Jesus. Sometimes the questions can be from non-believers who want to test and see if our faith is real. Sometimes the questions are legit, people searching and want to know more about what we believe so they might believe.

What I heard God saying is that my life and witness matters, as does my knowledge of the faith and particularly the scriptures!

‘Live well’ God seemed to be saying. Live faithfully. Your life is a witness because people are watching.

Think about this…

Lord, may I live faithfully and wisely so that how I live might be a witness to others that You reign, that You are real and that You are worth living for. Through Jesus, I pray. Amen.