Matthew 7:21 Not every one that says to me, “Lord, Lord”, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
This is one of the scariest verses in all of scripture – especially when it is interpreted with no special regard for the whole of scripture. These words were spoken to the multitudes (including the disciples) by Jesus in His “Sermon on the Mount.” Warnings about false prophets precede this verse and of course, Christ frequently had biting words for the scribes and Pharisees, (the religious leaders of the day). So these sorts of people tend to be the ones we think of when we read this verse. But look at how those closest to Jesus interpreted these chilling words.
In Luke 22:21 Jesus and the disciples are gathered at the last supper and He says, “…the hand of him that will betray me is with me on the table.” In other words, “One of you who has been calling me Lord, Lord for the last three years is going to betray Me tonight.” Their reaction deserves some reflection, “…they began to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing.” Now that’s not so hard to believe in itself, though we might expect that they would more readily tend to suspect someone outside their group. But Mark records that they even began to look to themselves as suspects. “And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? And another said, Is it I?” ( Mark14:19). This is remarkable in at least two respects:
First, it’s remarkable that the disciples apparently recognized within themselves the capacity for betrayal. Though they still had over-inflated opinions of there own importance, (Luke 22:24…, which of us will be greatest in your kingdom?), there was sufficient awareness of their own hearts’ condition that they would look within and see the capacity for such appalling self-deceit. While we may loathe Judas and any who take up his mantle, how honest are we in our self-assessment? We believe we have studied to show ourselves approved and done all these good works in His Name, yet when Jesus quietly, piercingly tells us that there are betrayers in our midst, do we honestly look WITHIN and tremble as we acknowledge that potential? Is our first response to flee to Jesus and plead His blood or, like the Pharisees, do we broaden our phylacteries (i.e. trot out our “religious” acts or piety) and widen our hems and thank God that we are not like the publicans and sinners, who obviously are the betrayers?
Or are we like some “Cosmic Hall Monitor” who list off in our head that it must be this one or that one rather than hear the prophet Nathan’s words ringing in our ears in 2 Samuel 12 ”thou are the man…” When we rest on our “religious” laurels and fail to remember that at any given moment we have the capability and capacity to betray God in our actions or inaction we have forgotten that scores of saints like David, Moses and Peter who far more righteous than any of us will ever be, yet in moments of weakness buckled. We can all be thankful for their examples that even though they failed God they were still vessels for His use.
Note: This post is based on a devotional originally prepared and presented on 12/08/05 by my friend Rudy Estelle who graciously allowed me to reprint it. His original post can be found on euchatastrophe.com
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