Matins Devotion: June 7, 2024

John 12:1-19

In a way, it’s strange that we ever sin because sin is much harder work than righteousness, in particular when sin requires action and all righteousness requires is inaction. When Adam and Eve were in the garden, taking fruit was more work than not taking it. And yet they took it. For David, sending your men to find Bathsheba and bring her to you was much more work than not doing that. And, as we heard just a moment again, it’s far more work for the chief priests and pharisees to keep telling themselves “Jesus is the enemy” when Jesus keeps amassing more and more proof that He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah who is pouring out mercy and healing on His people, crushing their demons, and conquering death. When they see that the world is going after Jesus, it’s much more work to pretend this is a wretched thing than a good one.

And yet, that’s what they do because, more than they want rest, they want Jesus out of their lives. They’d much rather have to earn their glory by the sweat of their brows than rest in the unmerited salvation handed to them by the Lord who rescued them from the curse.

And so often, we follow their example. God answers our prayers all the time. Often immediately and obviously. And yet, we doubt. We explain away what we’ve plainly seen. We drench ourselves in sweat trying to devour sins that we know will immediately rot on our tongues. And we do this all because we would rather labor to keep the sins that give us momentary pleasure than rest and gain the unmerited love of Christ.

So repent of your labor, your hard work, your insistence on doing something when God already gave you everything when you were doing nothing. Look to Christ and find your eternal sabbath rest in Him, the one who has destroyed your sins, called you His brother, and sworn to lift you from the grave just like Lazarus.