Introduction: Beginning a Two-Week Pilgrimage Into the Heart of the Gospel
Welcome, my friends. Today we begin something more than a Bible study… this is a pilgrimage. A journey into what may be the most spiritually urgent chapter in all of Scripture. We are about to embark on a two-week journey into one of the most challenging and beautiful chapters in all of Scripture. Six reflections, each one meant to be prayed with, wrestled with, carried with you into your day.
This Deep Dive series is part of your paid subscription because, quite honestly, this work is not meant to be skimmed. It takes time. It asks for spiritual courage. Matthew 25 is a passage that refuses to leave us unchanged.
Matthew 25 is the cornerstone of this ministry:
Message from the Margins.
Not just because it’s poetic. Not just because it’s beautiful.
But because it’s true. And it tells us exactly who Jesus is, how He judges, and what He values.
Too often, people think Christianity is about believing the right things. But in Matthew 25, Jesus suggests something far more demanding:
Christianity is about becoming the right kind of person.
And as the classic hymn says “They’ll know that we are Christians by our Love… by our Love.”
So let’s begin where every good pilgrimage begins. By learning who it is that’s guiding us.
Matthew: A Man Nobody Wanted
We say “Saint Matthew” now, with stained glass reverence, but that was not his name on the street. The man was a tax collector. Which, in first-century Judea, meant:
– He worked for the occupying enemy.
– He unscrupulously took money from his own people.
– He made a profit by overcharging the poor.
– He was barred from synagogue.
– His family had to live with the shame.
– Nobody trusted him.
– Nobody invited him to dinner.
To the average 1st century Jewish family, Matthew was as corrupt as a human being could get without physically harming someone. He was a collaborator. A sellout.
Yet Jesus walks right up to him, looks him in the eye, and says:
Follow Me.