3/06                 Matthew 26:17-18 

On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?”  18“As you go into the city,” he told them, “you will see a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.’” 

KNEW

Jesus knew what he wanted to do as he neared his date with the cross and he knew how it was to be done.  He followed the Father in all things and willingly walked to the cross.  Jesus is Lord.  

3/05                 Matthew 26:14-16 

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests 15 and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver.  16 From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus. 

VALUE

So often we value what others can do for us.  Christ calls us to do for others.  Judas made an agreement with the Devil and of course he was the loser.  Christ is Lord.  

3/04                 Matthew 26:10-13 

But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me?  11 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.  12 She has poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial.  13 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.” 

ACT

This woman who was of poor value to the people around her valued Jesus most of all.  She gave all she had to show her value for Him.  People count with God.  

3/03                 Matthew 26:6-9 

Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. 7 While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head. 8 The disciples were indignant when they saw this. “What a waste!” they said. 9 “It could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”  

GREED

People count.  People are very valuable to the Father.  What we have, what we value generally are the wrong things.  Value people.  They count with God.  

3/02                 Matthew 26:3-4 

At that same time the leading priests and elders were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest, 4 plotting how to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. 5 “But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.” 

EVIL
The Religious were led by evil when they crucified Jesus.  They were self-righteous and thought they were in charge of God.  Please, do not think you can get over on God.  Listen to what He says and do what His laws call us to do.  Follow Jesus not self.  

3/01                 Matthew 26:1-2 

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

WHO?

At the time that Jesus spoke these words no one understood what He was saying.  Don’t miss what Jesus is saying.  He says He loves you.   

02/29               Matthew 13:44-58

44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. 45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!  47“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind. 48 When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away. 

49 That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous, 50 throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 Do you understand all these things?” “Yes,” they said, “we do.” 52Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.” 53 When Jesus had finished telling these stories and illustrations, he left that part of the country. 

54 He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?” 55 Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. 56 All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?” 57 And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.” 58 And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.

WORK

Jesus did the work of His Father-God.  He was faithful unto death.  He died so that we might have forgiveness for our sin.  Hear the story?  The story is Jesus.  He is Lord and Savior. 

02/28               Matthew 13:37-43

37 Jesus replied, “The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed.  38 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. 39 The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.  40“Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. 41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand! 

WAR

The children of the world are at war with the children of God.  All around us are negative influences and hard lessons.  We need to seek to be constantly in the presence of Jesus.  Let Him school us, train us, teach us so that we can overcome the world.  Chaos abounds but with Jesus we have peace and joy. 

02/27               Matthew 13:33-36

33 Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.” 34 Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. 35 This fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet: “I will speak to you in parables. I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world. ” 36Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.”

HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit will indwell us and fill us with all that we need to know.  When we ask Jesus to come into our life He is faithful and righteous to make sure that we know all about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  We will never be alone when we have Jesus. 

02/26               Matthew 13:24-32

24 Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field.25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. 26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.  27 “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’ 28 “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. 29 “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’” 31 Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” 

DEPEND

We depend on Jesus to save us, to keep us and to deliver us to the Father in His kingdom.  We will never outgrow our need for Jesus.