28 February 2024 Matthew 20:17-28
The enemy is sin and death. Everything else is distraction.
Jesus pulled the twelve aside to tell them what he was going to do about sin and death in Jerusalem: “They will condemn the Son of Man to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, and flogged, and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life” (Matthew 20:18-19). James, John and their mother thought this the perfect occasion to ask for fancy titles and corner offices when Jesus came into his Kingdom: “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right hand, and the other at your left in your kingdom” (20:21). They thought Jesus was going to Jerusalem to execute a coup, and take over the palace. They completely misunderstood what Jesus meant to do. They didn’t know who the real enemy was. They didn’t know who they themselves were, or what they were being called to do.
The enemy is sin and death. They are stalking us. We must pursue them. Everything else is distraction.
Discipleship is not having fancy clothes or an exalted title. Discipleship is being an enemy of sin and death. The devil’s strategy is to make us friendly with sin and death, or unaware of their presence. It is to make us think we don’t really have enemies, except we do.
The enemy is sin and death. They are focused and completely serious. Their objective is to destroy us. We don’t have to guess at that. They have said so.
Carlos Hathcock was a legendary Marine sniper. On one mission he crawled with agonizing slowness over 1500 yards in a span of four days to approach his target – no sleep, no water, biting insects, snakes, lying still in his own waste for days, waiting for the right shot. The NVA general never knew what hit him. Hathcock backed out over another extended period. No one ever knew he was there – except that his target was dead.
That’s the kind of enemy we have – smart, determined, patient, invisible, lethal. We don’t have time for corner offices, exalted titles, and fancy clothes. We are not here to be honored and admired. Those are distractions.
Sin and death are the enemy. Our job is to find them like Jesus did – among the people, close to them, listening to them and understanding them, alert to the places where sin and death like to hide among them. Our job is to destroy sin and death with the only weapons they fear, the ones they never see coming until it is too late, viz., the whole armor of God – Truth, Righteousness, Readiness, Faith, Salvation and Scripture (cf. Ephesians 6:11-13). Truth and Righteousness expose the enemy’s position. Readiness keeps us from being surprised. Faith and Salvation give us superior strength, and Scripture provides superior intelligence.
The enemy is sin and death, and they are ready to play the very long game. They can’t be fought from corner offices or in designer clothes. They can only be fought by faithful warriors who will crawl 1500 yards over four days, or 1500 miles over four years, who eat little and sleep less, who will endure stinging insults, venomous media, mobs with banners, and the madness of crowds. Sin and death can be fought, and defeated, when faithful warriors remember that we are not called to be honored and admired.
We are not called to comfort or leisure.
We are called to rescue. We are called to hunt.
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