5. The Road Less Traveled

When Jesus taught His disciples to be ready in Matthew 25:1-13, He taught that there were two roads one can travel on, the one of the wise and the one of the fools.  The one of the wise is the road less traveled and the one commended by Jesus.  It ought to be explored.  Better still, it ought to be traveled.

The wise made themselves ready in light of the possibility that His return might be delayed.  They avoided the sin of presumption.  Jesus helped His disciples do this through His repetitive teaching.  He sought to sober them, not lull them to sleep.

Mark 13:33-37   “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.  34 “It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert.  35 “Therefore, be on the alert — for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning —   36 in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep.  37 “What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!'” NASU

Jesus understood the propensity of man, how they could easily become distracted, become careless, and pull away from the added responsibilities He was giving them.  There was work to be done and much was at stake.  Knowing when the end would come is no blessing under these conditions.  Maybe this is why the Father chose not to disclose such information even to His own Son.

So, I want to talk about the road of the wise.  What does it look like?  First, it is a road less traveled.

Matt 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.  14 “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. NASU

Consider when Jesus said this.  The fall of Jerusalem was just 40 years away.  He already predicted its fall in John 2.  No doubt, He and everyone else could see the end coming soon for the nation Israel.  A national collapse is not an easy thing to hide.  We get a sense of what that must have been like as we see our own nation totter.

So with so much trouble filling the air did Jesus start connecting the dots between current events and the signs the people were expecting to see?  (See Comment – Prophetic Expectations In Judaism.  Quite the contrary, Jesus laid down a code of conduct for them to follow. He believed His instruction would bring life to a decadent and decaying society.  He spoke to their need.  Jesus did not sit by idle waiting for God to do something, but He acted as if God had commanded Him to do something.  He became part of the solution to the problems in the world.  He was light in the darkness.  He considered that to be the work of God.

This mindset He sought to pass on to His followers.  Listen to His speech.

Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;  15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. NASU

We seemed to have lost this in our day.  We seemed to have concluded that darkness conquers light.  Until God appears there is nothing more we can do but expect things to get worse, and worse, and worse.  Things can’t change.  Things won’t change.

THANK GOD THE EARLY CHURCH DID NOT BELIEVE THESE THINGS!

They had more reasons than we to despair, but they chose to listen to Jesus instead.  More, they chose to follow Jesus and walk as He walked.

Jesus understood the miraculous and amazing transformative power of the Gospel.  He could see beyond its individual impact to the impact it would have upon the whole world.  Do we?

Matt 13:31-32 He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES.” NASU

Matt 16:18  “I also say to you that you are Peter…I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. NASU

I have more to say on this next time.

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