John Clayton

Behold Your King

Imagine this: Jerusalem is crowded with pilgrims who have come to celebrate the Passover. The city is alive with anticipation. Thousands of Jewish families have traveled long distances to gather for the great feast that commemorates God’s historic deliverance of Israel from Egyptian slavery. The streets are busy, the markets are full, and the religious atmosphere is expectant. Into this already charged environment comes the news that Jesus of Nazareth is approaching the city.

Made for More than Mammon

You and I were made for more than mammon? Let us then use wealth wisely in light of eternity, stewarding resources faithfully as those accountable to God, resting ultimately in Christ, our true and lasting treasure. Trusting in Christ alone, examine your heart and ask yourself: Am I investing my resources in what will last forever? Am I faithful with what God has entrusted to me today? Is Christ truly my treasure—or merely an addition to it? The call of Christ Jesus is clear and uncompromising: “You cannot serve God and mammon.” And let us thank God this is true! For He offers us something far greater than wealth—Himself. And in Him, we find riches that cannot fade, cannot fail, and cannot be taken away.

The Lavish Love of God

Let us then examine ourselves in light of this parable. Perhaps you recognize yourself in the younger brother. You have wandered far from God. You have squandered his gifts. The message of this parable is simple: Return. As the prophet Joel says, “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful” (Joel 2:12).

Was Lost, but Now Am Found

We find factual statements of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the Bible. We may think, for example, of the protoevangelium in the third chapter of Genesis, where God promises the offspring of a woman victory over Satan.[2] We may think of the ram in the thicket substituted for Issac in Abraham’s sacrifice on Mount Moriah.[3] We may think of the statement of redemption in the introduction to the Ten Commandments.[4]

Crucified with Christ

Such renouncing is not turning from something to nothing, as if we are to empty ourselves of all desire, but to everything that Christ is for us. Let us not look back to what we have said goodbye, like Lot’s wife, but look to Jesus, “the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). The shame, suffering, and death of the cross were not joy for Christ but looking through it, he focused on the joy to come, his resurrection, the salvation of his people, his eternal glory. And his joy is ours, as we have been crucified with Christ, we love him supremely, die to self daily, and live for him truly, serving as salt in a world that needs to “taste and see that the LORD is good!” (Ps. 34:8).

To the Highways and the Hedges

When you are invited to a dinner party, what things might you say to your host? “Thank you,” is always appropriate. Perhaps, “What a lovely home you have,” or “The meal was excellent,” “The conversation was engaging,” “You are a gracious host,” or even “May I have that recipe?” What you are likely not to say is, “You invited the wrong folks.” But Jesus, in a sense, said it.

The Wisdom of Humility

He was shamed, slandered, and tortured for nothing he did but what we did, even to the point of death, even death on a cross. He deserved none of it and took all of it, humbling himself that he might bring “many sons to glory” (Heb. 2:10). And as God’s sons and daughters, we glory in God’s son. For he who died for our sin and resurrected for our life has ascended, and “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11). Amen.

Christ’s Course Victorious

When Christ returns, the words of the psalmist will be heard loud and clear throughout the world, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” (Luke 13:35). It will be sung as a worldwide anthem, blessing the One who was faithful to complete his course and live and reign victorious. And Jew and Gentile, reconciled to God in one body through the cross, will rejoice in Christ’s course victorious, confessing, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! . . . For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:33, 36).

The Inclusive Exclusive Christian Faith

In summary, it is the belief that Christianity is merely one or many ways to heaven, eternal life, the next life, call it what you will. What is required to go heaven, per se, is good intentions, sincerity, and a sprinkling of good works (on a sliding scale). Heaven, it is thought, will be filled with a variety of faiths and people, except Adolf Hitler and that guy you don’t like at work.

Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns Grow

Through God’s outward and ordinary means of grace Christ’s church will grow, both near and far. The world won’t take notice. Why should they? But in the eyes of God we are a mustard seed growing heavenward, leaven spreading across the globe. For, Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.