Are you serious?

by Reid Matthias

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‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked. ‘Come and see,’ said Philip (John 1:46).

Read John 1:43–51

Let’s face it. We all know that one place, or that one town, where everyone said, ‘Uh, that’s the place to avoid.’ I won’t name any names here (other than Las Vegas, ugh), but picture that town or city in your mind. Then, understand why Nathanael questioned Jesus’ hometown.

For Nathanael, Nazareth would have carried the same significance as Woop Woop, Australia. Considered by many locals to be the middle of nowhere, Nazareth had no special meaning to anyone or anything. Additionally, the Old Testament Scriptures don’t seem to point to Nazareth much when it comes to Messianic prophecy, although Matthew says that the Messiah would be a Nazarene. Bethlehem, yes. Jerusalem, yes. Nazareth, not so much.

Therefore, Nathanael’s question is about being flabbergasted.

God doesn’t use the normal, everyday kind of place or person for his needs. God uses the famous and the entertaining. God uses bright lights and neon signs, right?

It’s interesting that Philip’s response to Nathanael’s question is so short and simple. ‘Come and see.’ Philip doesn’t have to convince Nathanael of Jesus’ power or his references. Jesus can do that on his own.

Just come and see. Jesus is the King, born in a manger. He’s the Lord of Creation walking down the road with sandy feet. He’s the Prince of Peace who will carry the cross for you and me.

So much more than we ever expected from someone from Woop Woop, Nazareth.

If I can offer any one piece of advice for this, on 21 January, it would be this: Don’t be surprised when the world’s limitations of Jesus fall short. Those who would call him a fairy tale, a myth, a liar and a fraud will someday come to the realisation that Jesus is the Son of God come for you and me to bring us to the Father for eternal life.

Come and see.

Thank you, Jesus, for coming to this world, a humble servant, a king with a cross. Thank you for superseding all my expectations and overwhelming me with joy for your future. Amen.

Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland. Reid is married to Christine, and together with their three incredible daughters, Elsa, Josephine and Greta, they have created a Spotify channel (A 13) where they have recorded music. Reid has recently published his seventh novel, A Miserable Antagonist. You can find all of his novels and music links at www.reidmatthias.com

The very least

by Reid Matthias

Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.

I tell you, among those born of women there is no-one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he (Luke 7:28).

Read Luke 7:24–30

Is this hyperbole? Should we interpret Jesus’ words as a literal statement?

Because it feels as though these words are too over-the-top to believe. John the Baptist – the one who made straight the way in the desert, the one who baptised Jesus! – is not as great as the least in the kingdom.

Come on, really?

I guess I’d better see who’s on the list of ‘least of these’.

Jesus is pretty detailed about who these ‘greater-than-Johns’ are, and it comes from the Book of Matthew, chapter 25. This list includes the hungry, the naked, the sick and the imprisoned! The contemporary world is evidently quite content to treat Jesus’ words as hyperbole. There is no way that all the needy and the imprisoned can be greater than John the Baptist.

They haven’t done anything … They have no value … They clog up the system for those who produce …

These are the words of the Pharisees.

But Jesus literally says, ‘For I was hungry … I was thirsty … I was a stranger … I was naked, and I was imprisoned.’ And if we believe that Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, then Jesus is the one who is greater than John.

This means that when we seek to improve the lives of the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the naked and the imprisoned, even if we do the very least, we are taking part in God’s work in his kingdom.

Much like the ancient Pharisees, modern-day humans expect Jesus to be on the side of the rich, the powerful and the important, but that’s not the case at all. Jesus (and John, for that matter) has never been what we expected. Thankfully, he ends up being more.

You may be hungry, thirsty, or sick while you read this. You may be exposed to the elements and suffering from the coldness of rejection. You may feel imprisoned by your thoughts and your past. Jesus is with you, child of God. Jesus draws you to himself, and instead of being the least, you are one of the most important people in the kingdom.

You are his beloved.

Thank you, Jesus, for your presence in my times of need. Help me see that in others also. Amen.

Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland. Reid is married to Christine, and together with their three incredible daughters, Elsa, Josephine and Greta, they have created a Spotify channel (A 13) where they have recorded music. Reid has recently published his seventh novel, A Miserable Antagonist. You can find all of his novels and music links at www.reidmatthias.com

That nobody is somebody

by Reid Matthias

Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.

The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah!’ (that is, the Christ). And Andrew brought his brother to Jesus (John 1:41,42a).

Read John 1:29–42

At first, Jesus wasn’t famous. Not like who the internet tells me are the five most famous people in the world: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi (soccer players), followed by Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift.

No, Jesus was not a ‘nepo baby’ (someone made famous by their parents). His parents were not famous (not at that point, anyway), and he didn’t receive any extra assistance upon growing up, save some frankincense, myrrh and gold. And Jesus wouldn’t have been identified by anyone in Galilee. Except on those two days when Jesus walked by his cousin, John, who yelled out, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’

Strange, isn’t it? Of all the things John could have said as he pointed. You know – ‘Hey, everybody, that’s the Son of God right there!’ or ‘Everybody drop what you’re doing. That man is going to save the entirety of human existence from their sins!’ And instead, he chose, ‘the Lamb of God!’

Maybe that was part of the intrigue for Andrew, one of John’s disciples. After John had been questioned about his own Messiah-ness, he pointed out his cousin, Jesus, as the one who was and is to come.

But he wasn’t famous.

Yet after one afternoon, Andrew saw enough in Jesus to run to the most important person in his life, his brother Peter (Simon). He told him that this no-name, nobody, wandering, totally unexpected rabbi was the Messiah. The one they’d been waiting for.

What would you do if Jesus showed up at your local grocery store? How would you react? If his identity was verified, who would you tell first, and how would you tell the story?

Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, come into my life today. Be with me where I’m staying. Be with me where I’m going. Be with me every second of my life. Amen.

Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland. Reid is married to Christine, and together with their three incredible daughters, Elsa, Josephine and Greta, they have created a Spotify channel (A 13) where they have recorded music. Reid has recently published his seventh novel, A Miserable Antagonist. You can find all of his novels and music links at www.reidmatthias.com