Category: Devotion of the Day

The Crowd Or The Christ?

And every man went unto his own house. (But) Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
John 7:53; 8:1

Our lonely Lord, beset by the Pharisees, despised and rejected of men, took to the solitude of the Mount of Olives, while men returned to the comfort of their homes. He had nowhere to lay His head, having come to His own, who received Him not. Many a night He spent in prayer, while even His disciples slumbered.

This world still goes “every man to his own house.” Alas, even we Christians do, for “all week their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.” We pursue our own interests, we live our own lives, we know nothing of the Mount of Olives= concern for the plight of our hearts, the condition of the church, the state of the world. We pay God our respects on Sunday, but we return to putter around our own premises. We sing, “I=ll Go With Him Through The Garden,” when the olive trees would never recognize us, for we never accompany our Lord there.

Our Lord was a solitary figure in His day, and to this hour the deeper Christian life is a lonely life. You will never “follow the crowd“ to the Mount of Olives, for few go that way.

You can follow the crowd or the Christ, but not both, for they go in opposite directions.

Angels Ahead

And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
Mark 16:3,4

Others, like Dr. Jowett, have caught the precious lesson of these verses. How often have we set out expecting trouble and dreading difficulty ahead, to find upon arrival that God had ‘rolled away the stone’! Like the lepers in Samaria’s gate, we venture forward, to find that God has scattered the enemy.

What ‘stone’ lies ahead of you? You are wondering how you will get it rolled away, you lie awake all night making plans to remove tomorrow’s obstacle. And how often have you reached the place appointed, to find that God had anticipated your dilemma.

Some stones we can roll away. ‘Take ye away the stone,’ commanded Jesus at Lazarus’ grave. Some hindrances we can remove, and we must if the miracle is to follow. But the stone that is too big for us God’s angel can handle.

Some saints in weakened condition wonder how it will be when they come to death. Fear not. The grave could not hold Jesus nor will it hold you. For Him the stone which enemies thought they had made sure would hold Him in the grave was turned into a throne of triumph with an angel sitting on it.

Do not walk in dread. God’s angel will arrive at the dilemma first. Are you looking for stones ahead or angels ahead?