Matthew 23:33-39
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” [1]
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How long do you seek reconciliation with someone until you give up? How long do you strive to witness to someone before you quit? Those are hard questions. Do we ever give up? Or is there a point when it is right to walk away?
Jesus seems to be at that point with Jerusalem and its people. So many times they have rejected the prophets and messengers sent to them. Sounding like an Old Testament prophet, Jesus denounces their stubborn refusal to repent and come to Him, and gives a stern warning that “your house is left to you desolate.”
The warning will be realized a generation later when the Romans come and destroy the city and the temple. God had tried and tried, and apparently decided that it was time to walk away. Jesus spoke to his disciples about coming to a point with some people where you have to brush the dust off your feet and move on (Matthew 10:14). Paul instructs Titus, “Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them” (Titus 3:10).
Apparently there does come a time to move on, but how can we know? I don’t have an answer for that. So it is certainly something to pray about and seek the Lord’s guidance. There may come a time when we have to recognize that if there is going to be an effective witness is someone’s life, it will have to come from someone else, or if there is going to be reconciliation, someone else needs to intervene. At that point, all we can do is pray, and watch for God’s leading.
Lord Jesus, I pray for your wisdom and insight to follow Your lead in witnessing to those who refuse you, and in offering reconciliation to those whose hearts are hard. Lead me to know when to persist, and when to commend them to You.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Mt 23:33–39). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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