Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Luke 20-22
Key Verse
Luke 21:32 — “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.”
Devotional Thought
The temple courts are crowded with controversy in these chapters. The chief priests and scribes confront Jesus as He teaches, demanding to know by what authority He acts. He answers their question with a question about John’s baptism, and they retreat in silence, unwilling to admit the truth before the people. Then He tells the parable of the vineyard: the owner sends servant after servant, and finally his beloved son, and the husbandmen kill him, thinking the inheritance will be theirs. The stone the builders rejected becomes the head of the corner. Luke records that the scribes perceived He had spoken this parable against them, and from that hour they watched Him, sending spies who feigned themselves just men.
Notice how Jesus handles every trap with perfect wisdom. Asked about tribute to Caesar, He takes a penny and asks whose image it bears. “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.” The Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, spin a hypothetical about seven brothers and one wife; He answers that the children of the resurrection neither marry nor die, for God “is not a God of the dead, but of the living.” Then He watches the rich cast their gifts into the treasury, and a poor widow cast in two mites, and He says she gave more than them all, for she gave all the living that she had.
And then the shadow falls. Satan enters Judas. The Passover draws near, and Jesus sends Peter and John to prepare the upper room, where He institutes the supper: “This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.” At that same table He speaks of His betrayer, and the disciples immediately begin to strive about which of them should be accounted the greatest. He tells Peter that Satan has desired to sift him as wheat, but that He has prayed for him. In the very hour of His greatest suffering, He is still serving, still teaching, still interceding.
It is December 23. In two days we will sing of a baby in a manger, and here in Luke 20–22 we see why He came. The One who was born in Bethlehem is the beloved Son sent to the vineyard, the stone rejected by the builders, the servant among His own. The incarnation is not a gentle story detached from the cross; it is the Father sending His Son into a world of husbandmen who will cast Him out and kill Him. And even now, as the year closes, He bids us watch and pray, to look up when the signs begin, for our redemption draws nigh.
Reflection
- The widow gave “all the living that she had,” while the rich gave from their abundance. What would it look like for you to give God everything this week, not merely what is left over?
- Jesus told Peter, “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” Where do you need to rest in the knowledge that Christ Himself intercedes for you, even when your own resolve is weak?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we bow before You as the beloved Son, the stone the builders rejected, the servant who came among us. Thank You for entering the vineyard of this world, for enduring betrayal, mockery, and the cross, and for giving Your body and blood for us. As we prepare to remember Your birth, keep us from empty religion and self-seeking. Give us the widow’s wholehearted devotion, and teach us to serve as You served. Watch over our faltering faith, we pray, and strengthen us to stand before You with joy when You come again. Amen.