Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Matthew 17 and Psalm 17

On the mountaintop, Jesus spent a mysterious moment in such deeply intimate communion with the Father that heaven’s glory shone out of Him. He received clarity and encouragement for the road ahead, first from Moses and Elijah (representing the Old Covenant Law and Prophets) and then from the loving voice of the Father Himself. What a display of heaven’s glory and love!

Coming down from the mountain, Jesus set a boy free from a lifetime of suffering. He spoke a single word of command and drove a tormenting demon out of him. What a display of heaven’s life-giving power!

And then, like a bad joke, the collectors of the temple tax snidely question Peter: ‘Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?’ They’re implying that Jesus is guilty of some breach of religious administrative law, and they’re trying to sow doubt and mistrust by asking Peter and not coming directly to Jesus. Oh, what a display of human pettiness.

The glory cloud, the heavenly voice, the display of Jesus’ liberating power, these all stand in absolute contrast to the petty demand for a coin. Matthew wants us to see clearly how utterly ridiculous and petty the opposition to Jesus was. The religious people had their heads down, so deeply intent on administering their worship-system (the temple) that they missed the presence of the ONE who should have been the object of their worship – the True King of God’s Kingdom who was standing right in front of them. Heaven forbid that we should ever fall into that trap.

Life application: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you anything in your life that has become so important to you that it has come in the way of you encountering the reality of Jesus’ presence. Ask for His wisdom to reorganise your priorities in such a way as to put Jesus back at the centre.