The more I read the gospels, the more amazed I am at the controversy Jesus created at the end of His ministry. Up until that time, He had been content to travel the country and address the local religious leaders in small debates, but now, He enters Jerusalem almost demanding that the Pharisees step aside.

His entry into the city is met with crowds who create a spectacle. He then proceeds to attack the money changers in the temple and clear them out. Blind and crippled people enter the temple area to be healed by Him–those the religious leaders considered sinful and unclean.

Finally, Jesus tells stories of judgement specifically aimed at them. Not one example: three.

By the time He is done, I believe people understood that they were going to have to choose sides.

No wonder they killed Him.

That’s the level of commitment Jesus eventually asks of us. Follow Him, choose His side no matter the cost. Every week I read of men and women killed for their faith. I have not had to be one of them, but I respect them and try to mirror their commitment to Jesus.

Jesus uses a question to lecture his followers on humility and servanthood. Still today, greatness is rarely pictured in the terms He described it in: service.

Then Jesus shows us an example of humility, choosing to ride through the crowds around Jerusalem on a simple donkey. He didn’t ask for or encourage the praises of the people, He had earned them with His teaching and healing ministry.

Just like His approach to us now, through the accounts of His life written by other people, Jesus allows His actions to speak for themselves, rather than demanding the status He deserved.

My reputation should not be something I need to manage or build through social media or public speeches, but rather something others defend because they know me and have seen me at work.

God gives great rewards. He promises that the future will be one thing for certain: worth far more than anything you suffer here.

But He also promises that no matter how lazy or wasteful a person is in their life, if they change and turn to Him, even at the last moment, they get to share the reward too. They get paradise just the same.

That makes a lot of people mad. That makes a lot of people dislike God. It makes more unwilling to share God with others. They only want people to know Jesus who are going to make the most of it…who are certain to be hard workers and top performers too.

I remind myself often, that I am blessed with the opportunity to share God’s gift with everyone I meet. I am not allowed to judge or withhold that news to anyone, no matter how I view them or what their motivation is. I put myself in the place of a person who is turning to Jesus at the end of their life, and I am reminded: that could be me! I could have been that blind and lazy person…and I would want someone to love me enough, even in my worthlessness to share Jesus authentically with me.

Don’t be jealous or angry. Don’t hesitate to share Jesus with people, no matter how strange they are or different from you they seem.

Do we stick to the letter of the law, or use the law to see and follow God’s heart?

Do we approach God like little children, without agendas or fake actions, or do we think He will be happy with half-hearted, distracted us?

Will we follow God to extremes if He asks, or are we just trying to do just enough to get to heaven, but not so much to pull us out of our comfort zone?

This morning’s reading challenges me to make sure I am not simply going through the motions, but to use my time with God to connect relationally with Him and make sure I am both willing and attentive to our conversation. That’s what changes my life from dull religion to fast-paced, challenging life with God.

Jesus doesn’t issue many threats, but He does issue one important one, twice.

“This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart!”

Forgiveness is at the core of Christian faith–it is what separates us from every other religious movement: we don’t earn our salvation in any way. It is a free gift of forgiveness for all the selfish, God ignoring things we have done. And Jesus points out that although forgiveness is hard, if you can’t look at the billions of things God has forgiven and then act in the same way toward those who have hurt you, you don’t truly understand forgiveness.

Forgiveness is hard. I need to be threatened, because it NEVER comes naturally. But it is a necessary part of living out our faith, and I must do it, no matter how hard, or how deep the hurt.