Archives

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 283

Oct10

THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 283 – Reading – Matthew 5-7

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 5- 7, (Luke 6:20-49) – Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

  1. You’ve probably read this section of the Bible many times, and perhaps you’ve memorized some of it, like the “Beatitudes” and other well-known verses. 
  2. Let’s look at them again, keeping in mind the things that Jesus has been experiencing (accusations, death threats, evil name-calling, and misunderstanding).
  3. He has officially “called” His 12 disciples, and He now wants to show how HIS Kingdom is different from the World’s (broad) and the Pharisees’ (imprisoning) ways.

“Blessed.” (Happy, fortunate, joyful) That glorious peace and feeling of well-being experienced by those who belong to Him.  

  1. Notice how this list is progressive, beginning with the required heart attitude: ‘poor in spirit.’  When a person comes to Jesus, he must realize his own neediness and inability to help (save) himself.  Only when he sees himself as a hopeless sinner can change begin. (“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,’ and “There is none righteous, no, not one.”)
  2. “Mourning” over our sin is “repentance.”  “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret.”
  3. Being “meek” does not mean “weak,” though they rhyme and are easily mistaken for going hand in hand.  It actually means “self-controlled strength.”  Jesus was meek. Moses was meek.  Do you consider either of these as weaklings?  Jesus said these believers who willing put others before themselves, will “inherit the earth,” and “delight themselves in an abundance of peace.”
  4. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are the opposite of the self-satisfied Pharisees who boast about keeping the minutiae of the Law. True believers see their need for the righteousness of God and realize they are unable to get it on their own. But, if they humbly ask for it, they will be satisfied.
  5. Realizing that our righteousness comes from God alone, through Jesus’ work on the cross and our belief, we can be merciful to others, especially for those still seeking.  It’s reciprocal.  If we are merciful and forgiving like our Savior, we will receive mercy and forgiveness in return.
  6. Is it even possible to have a pure heart?  Is it really possible to see God?  “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in His Holy Place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false, and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. SUCH is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek the face of God.”  
  7. Peacemakers, not Pacemakers!! These are those who have received God’s righteousness and whose hearts are merciful and pure. They are not self-seeking or self-centered. “Seek peace and pursue it.” And “as much as it depends on you, live peaceably with one another.” 
  8. Have you been persecuted for righteousness’ sake?  Persecuted because you claim Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Reviled and have all kinds of evil uttered against you falsely because of Jesus.  “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (But let none of you suffer as an evil doer or a meddler.) Yet, if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God.”    Why are we blessed to experience this?  BECAUSE, the Kingdom of Heaven is yours!  Your home!  Your reward is great in heaven, so REJOICE  and be GLAD!

.

When we have been born from above, and have received the righteousness of God, and our hearts now reflect His own… 

  • THEN we are salt in the earth – prompting people to thirst for Jesus.
  • THEN we are lights to the world and to our families – showing the way to Jesus, and glorifying the Father in heaven. 

Jesus cautions that our righteousness must EXCEED that of the scribes and Pharisees.  It must come from God by grace, and not by working and striving on your own to keep the law.

Then Jesus corrects the people’s view of some of the Commandments (remembering that OUR righteousness must exceed that of the nit-picking Pharisees).

  1. Don’t Murder. (of course!)  But Jesus says anger against our brother or calling him a bad name in public makes us just as guilty as killing him.
  2. Don’t commit Adultery. (of course!)  But Jesus says that those lustful second and third looks, and the pornographic imaginations of our hearts, make us just as guilty of adultery.
  3. What God has joined together (in marriage), let no one separate. (agreed!)  Jesus says that anyone divorcing his wife (or she her husband), except for sexual immorality, makes her (or him) commit adultery. (The same with anyone who marries the divorced party.)
  4. Don’t bear false witness. (true!) But Jesus says Do not even resort to taking an oath in the first place. Let the truth of your WORD of “yes” and “no” be sufficient. 
  5. Exact from others “an eye for an eye” and “a tooth for a tooth.” God gave this law as a RESTRICTION.  A person or judge could only require equal to the offence.  BOTH eyes could not be required for one, neither could a mouthful of teeth be taken for a single one lost. But, Jesus goes WAY beyond that, saying, even in innocence, be willing to give more or even your all.  It’s a witness to the unsaved. And God will take care of it later.
  6. Love your neighbor. (yes!)  But hate your enemy?  Jesus says no.  Love them too! And even pray for them.  Why?  Because then you will be like your Father, who loves all and sends blessings on all, whether they are just or unjust.  Jesus says to be “perfect” in this. Perfect as your Father.

.

Giving to the needy. 

Don’t be boastful about it, just to get the praise of others. Give in secret, and your Heavenly Father will reward you in secret.  This is the way to “lay up treasure in Heaven.”  That kind of treasure is safe.  It can’t be stolen or devalued.  If your “treasure” is in heaven, so will your heart be.  AND REMEMBER – you can’t serve God and money.

Praying like Jesus.

Don’t pray to be seen and thought of as “righteous.”  Pray in secret where only God hears you.  God is who you WANT to hear your prayers, right?   He will reward you. Besides, He knows what you need before you ask Him.  

Here’s a blueprint of prayer. Don’t pray the words. Use it as a pattern of how to pray.

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come, Your will be done (not mine) as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For YOURS is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.*** Amen”

*** Some manuscripts omit that last line.  It would have been a very inflammatory statement for people living at that time under the rule of the Romans – that the kingdom, power, and glory ALL belonged to God.  That claim was punishable by death. To the Romans, the kingdom, power, and glory all belonged to Caesar.

Worry and Anxiety 

Jesus told the people NOT to be anxious about their lives, food & drink, clothes, or housing. All those things are secondary to your LIFE, and God knows you need them. HE will provide.  And besides, what has anxiety ever gotten you besides ulcers and stress?  Go outside and look at the BIRDS and the FLOWERS.  Beautiful, aren’t they?  Guess who gave them their lovely colors and plumage?  And God also “feeds” them.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these ‘things’ will be added to you.  DON’T worry about tomorrow.”

.

Then to sum up the whole sermon, Jesus said,

“So, whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them,

for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

 

“Yes, the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life.

And those who find it are few.”

 

“Some will say on the last day, ‘Lord, Lord, let us in!’

But only the ones who do the will of my Father will be able to go in.

Those others will cry out that they prophesied in my name,

cast out demons in my name,

and did many mighty works in my name.

But I will say, “I never knew you;

depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

WHOA!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 282

Oct9

THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 282 – Reading – Matthew 12, Mark 3, and Luke 6

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 12, Mark 3, Luke 6

SABBATH ARGUMENTS AND TRICKS

As in John 5 (yesterday’s study), the Sabbath Laws and healing on the Sabbath are addressed again in these chapters. Jesus never broke the commands God gave Israel about the Sabbath.  He did, however, seem to flaunt disobedience to the “traditions of man,” those extra laws that the Pharisees added to “protect” God’s Word. (As if He needed help!)

Jesus’ disciples were caught eating grain from a field they were passing.

(Did the Religious Leaders follow them everywhere??  Were they always looking for opportunities to “catch” Jesus in some “sin?”  Yes, they were!) 

But, this practice of picking a few heads of grain, rolling it in your hands to remove the husks, then crunching on the grain inside, WAS LEGAL.  In fact, it was a law that helped provide for the poor. Farmers were instructed not to harvest the edges and corners of their fields, leaving those for the needy to glean. 

THAT wasn’t the problem. The day of the week was.  Sabbath. The simple act of plucking and eating a few kernels was considered WORK.  Say what?  Well, plucking was “harvesting.”  Rolling the grain in your hands and blowing the chaff away was “winnowing.”

“YOU ARE WORKING ON THE SABBATH!” They accused.

Jesus, who knew the Scriptures FAR BETTER than the teachers of the Law, reminded them of a time when David and a few of his men were desperately hungry. They asked the priest to give them the previous day’s bread that had been in the Tabernacle on the Table of Showbread.  The priest gave it to them as an act of mercy and kindness. (This bread was usually eaten by the priests.)

Then Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 for them. “If you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.” Then Jesus added, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” HE had the right to rule over, not only THEIR rules, but also the Sabbath itself, for it was designed to worship God.  (This was another claim to deity by Jesus.)

Right after that, Jesus went to the nearby synagogue.  OF COURSE, there was a man who desperately needed healing.  (Did those rulers put the man there on purpose???)

Jesus immediately SAW the man and KNEW what they were thinking. They asked Him, “the” question, “Is it lawful TO HEAL on the Sabbath?”  They needed something to accuse him.

And again Jesus speaks of MERCY above sacrifice.  “Would you save one of your sheep who’d fallen into a pit on the Sabbath? (yes, of course)  How much more valuable is a man than a sheep?”

Then Jesus re-asks their question, slightly different, “Is it lawful to DO GOOD on the Sabbath?”

And just like that, Jesus healed the man.

And the Pharisees fumed. They went outside and conspired on how to DESTROY Jesus.

And Jesus, aware of this, went out from them. Many followed, and HE HEALED THEM ALL!”  Ha!

  • (Matthew then quotes from Isaiah about Jesus. “A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not quench…”  Mercy, kindness, and justice for the needy, Jesus was an example to all.)

 

.THE TWELVE APPOINTED

Jesus slipped away for some quiet time with his followers.  He called twelve of them to be His appointed apostles (messengers). He would later send them out to preach on their own (as practice for later).

He called Simon Peter; James, and John (the sons of Zebedee, which Jesus named “Sons of Thunder”);  He called Peter’s brother, Andrew; and Philip; Bartholomew (Nathaniel); and Matthew (Levi); and Thomas (the melancholy one; another James who was the son of Alphaeus; and Thaddaeus (another Judas, the son of James); Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

A motley crew, indeed. I wonder how the Zealot and the ex-tax collector got along. How did Judas “Iscariot” (meaning “a man of the city”) get along with all those fishermen? Was his “city” background why they appointed him group treasurer?  Jesus knew all their hearts and their potential.

.

DEMONS AND DEVILS VS THE HOLY SPIRIT

Some in the crowds of people Jesus healed were filled with unclean spirits (demons).  When Jesus forced them out by His command, those devils often cried out, “You are the Son of God!”  Jesus silenced them. He did NOT want the testimony of the agents of Satan.

But some of the people who saw and heard picked up on this and asked, “CAN this be the Son of David (Messiah)?

When the Scribes and Pharisees heard what they were saying, they rushed to refute it. 

“It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this Man casts out demons.” 

(Gasp!  Clutch your heart!!)

Jesus responded. “Now that is downright foolish.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against HIMSELF. How will his kingdom stand?  But I cast out demons by THE SPIRIT OF GOD, so the Kingdom of God has come upon you. WHOEVER is not with Me and does not gather with Me… scatters. 

And then Jesus defends the precious Spirit of God, the third person of the Holy Trinity.

  • “Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but not the blasphemy against the Spirit. Whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will NOT be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

“Either make the tree good so the fruit is good, or make the tree bad, so it produces bad fruit. THE TREE IS KNOWN BY ITS FRUIT.   You brood of vipers!  How can you speak good, when you are evil???

And then the portion that we often recite.

  • Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
  • The good person, out of his good treasure, brings forth good.
  • The evil person, out of his evil treasure, speaks forth evil.
  • On Judgment Day, people will give account for EVERY CARELESS WORD they speak.
  • By your WORDS you will be justified, and by your WORDS you will be condemned.

.

A SIGN FROM JONAH

Not afraid of Jesus’ fiery answer, the Scribes and Pharisees come back at Jesus, asking Him to do some “wondrous” sign.”  They want to see a sign, a miracle, a wonder.

“No sign will be given to YOU, but the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

  • Three days and nights Jonah was in the belly of the great fish.
  • So the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.

“Those men of Nineveh (who repented at Jonah’s words) will rise up on Judgment Day and CONDEMN this generation ….. for someone greater than Jonah is here.”

“The queen of Sheba will ALSO rise up in judgment with this generation and CONDEMN it.  She came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon ….. and something greater than Solomon is here.”

.

A MOM IS WORRIED

When Jesus’ family saw and heard Jesus speaking, and saw the crowds pressing in on Him, and watched the angry religious leaders threatening Him, they tried to rescue Jesus.  They may have tried to excuse His exuberance by saying, “He’s out of his mind.”

The crowds around Him noticed the distraught mom with her other sons, and, while He was still speaking, said to Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are outside seeking You.”

Looking around Him at the crowd who was sitting around him, Jesus said with outspread arms, “HERE are my mother and my brothers! For whosoever does the will of God, he is my brother, sister, and mother.”

Jesus was not “dissing” his earthly family. He was emphasizing the importance of SPIRITUAL relationships.  After all, his own family needed Him as Savior. (See John 7:5)  And besides that, even in His intense physical pain on the cross a few years later, Jesus carefully put His mother into the hands of His beloved disciple, John. (See John 19:26-27)

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 281

Oct8

THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 281 – Reading – John 5

Read and believe in Jesus!

John 5,

Jesus heals the invalid by the Pool of Bethesda, which is just north of the Temple.

Around this pool lay “a multitude of invalids – blind, lame, and paralyzed” – waiting for the the water to “stir” so they could go in and be healed. (Just south of it, between the Antonia Fort and Pool of Israel is where the small Sheep Gate is located. Jesus went out this gate from the Temple to find the paralyzed man.)

A MIRACLE PERFORMED:

Among the crowds of ailing men lay one who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  Had he no friends or family to help or care for him? Had he been injured, or was he born a cripple?

He waited with many others for the water in the pool to “stir.” Some believed that it was an angel that stirred up the water, and that the first one in was healed of their ailment.  Today, it’s believed that a surge from an underground spring caused the water to ripple. Was there a healing?  When you have been sick for so long ANY belief is welcome.

But that day, Jesus approached this man, knowing he’d been there a long time. 

“Do you want to be healed?”  

That seems like an odd question. OF COURSE the man wanted healing, right?  Or… had he gotten so used to being there, collecting alms, perhaps commiserating with other “friends” who’d been there a while, napping, watching for the elusive stir in the pool…   

Jesus knew his mind and heart, and asked him the question.  He may ask it to us today, not for physical healing, but for deep heart issues.  Do we want to be “healed” from a life of sin?  Do we want to be saved?

The man started in on a long explanation about him having no help, the water stirring, someone else getting there first….

“Get up, take up your bed, an walk.” 

Not an instant lapsed. The man was healed instantly. He took up his mat and walked away. Jesus faded into the crowd.  And the day was the Sabbath.

THE MASTER PERSECUTED

The walking man, no longer “unclean” by disease, headed for the Temple.  He hadn’t been inside the sacred courts for almost 40 years. He wanted to thank the Almighty God! He hardly remembered the mat under his arm.

“Hey! It’s the Sabbath. It’s not lawful for you to take up your mat,” accused the ever eagle-eyed religious leaders.

The ex-cripple stopped. “The man who healed me said, ‘Take up your bed and walk.'”

“Who was THAT MAN?”

The healed man looked around and shrugged. 

Later, Jesus found him in the Temple. “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”  (Hmmm, had his ailment been caused by some specific sin?)

The man went away and found those Jews who had quizzed him earlier. “It was Jesus who healed me.” 

Was he simply being a good citizen?  Or was he scared he’d get into trouble and maybe excommunicated?  Or was he a bit miffed at Jesus’s command and warning?

MURDER PLANNED.

And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.

“IT’S NOT LAWFUL TO HEAL ON THE SABBATH!  YOU BROKE THE LAW”  They shouted at Him.

But healing was NOT against the Sabbath Law that God gave to Israel for their benefit.  Often, Jesus explained that helping even an animal on the Sabbath, who was injured, was not breaking the law. Kindness and mercy are traits from God.  That day, however, Jesus answered differently. He spoke clearly and with authority.

  • “MY FATHER is working until now, and I am working.” 
  • The Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing.
  • Whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
  • For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all that He himself is doing.
  • And greater works that THESE will He show Him, so that you may marvel.
  • As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He will.
  • The Father judges no one, but has give all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son as they honor the Father,
  • Whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and does NOT come into judgment bust has passed from death to life.
  • An hour is coming and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
  • The works that the Father has give me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me, that the Father has sent me.
  • YOU search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
  • How can you believe, when YOU receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

 

  • If YOU believed Moses … you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me.”

And so the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because he was even calling God his own Father, making Himself equal with God.

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 280

Oct7

THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 280 – Reading – Matthew 8 and Mark 2

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew and Mark

In these two chapters, we see a flurry of miracles by Jesus – healings and deliverances – and some thorny questions answered. 

Matthew 8.

Again, Jesus meets a leper, a man filled with faith. He responds by touching and healing him. Our sinless Savior does NOT become unclean, but instead extends His own “cleanness” to the man. He then tells him to go to the Priest, as the law requires, to prove healing.

.

Before it was a city official, but now it is a Roman Centurion who comes to Jesus asking for healing for someone at home.  He tells Jesus that there is no need for Jesus to come in person, because he, a centurion, is a man of command. He recognizes that Jesus is, too.  “Say the word and my servant will be healed.”

Jesus is amazed at this Gentile’s faith, and says, “Go, let it be done for you according to your faith.”

.

Crowds begin to press against Jesus and his disciples, so He calls for a boat to go to the other side of Galilee. Before it’s ready, a scribe comes up to Him and vows, “I will follow you wherever you go!” (Did he mean to the other side of the lake??)

Another man tells Jesus he will follow Him anywhere, but first let him go bury his father. (This doesn’t mean his father is dead!  He simply wanted to remain at home and collect his inheritance before following Jesus.)

Jesus answered them curiously. “Foxes have holes and birds have nests. I have nowhere (permanently) to lay my head.” And, “Follow me and let the dead bury their dead.”

What in the world did Jesus mean?  He was saying to count the cost.  They must be willing to leave EVERYTHING to follow Him.

.

The boat comes and they climb aboard.  The disciples (at least the fishermen) begin rowing towards the other side.  Jesus goes to the bench at the back of the boat – and without a pillow – lies down and immediately falls asleep.

A great storm arises.

The boat is flooding.

The disciples panic.

“Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”  (Whoa, how appropriate! For in reality, this is what Jesus came to the world to do. But alas, they meant from the storm.)

Jesus speaks and there is now a great calm. They whisper and ask each other, “What sort of man is this, that even wind and sea obey him?”

.

On the east side of the lake, a demoniac or two greet them with wild screams and threats. THE DEMONS inside him recognized Jesus, even if the crowds did not.  “What have You to do with us, O Son of God?  Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

Jesus sends the devilish horde into the nearby herd of swine, which promptly runs to a cliff, and like lemmings, leap off to their death.  The man was FREE!  But the city wasn’t grateful.  “Please go away,” they tell Jesus.

.

Mark 2.

In this story, Jesus has returned to Capernaum.  He was in the home where he stayed and hordes of people now pressed against him inside and out.  A paralytic is carried to the edge of the crowd, but there is NO WAY that stretcher will go through the crowd.  The friends look up and get an idea.  Around back they carry the man up to the roof and begin dismantling the roof.  Everyone inside watched (and ducked the dust) as the sick man is lowered down by Jesus.

He is pleased with their ingenuity and faith.  “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

“What???” think some scribes who were inside checking up on Jesus. “He is blaspheming! No man can forgive sins. Only God.“

(Well, duh!)

Jesus then asks a curious question. Think about it before answering. “Which is easier to SAY to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk?'”

Actually, it’s easier to SAY ‘your sins are forgiven,’ because you don’t have to prove it outwardly.  It’s much harder to SAY ‘get up and walk’ because either the man can or cannot do it.

Either way, Jesus tells the man to get up, take his stretcher-bed, and walk. (He’s already forgiven his sins.}  Jesus, our all-powerful God in the flesh, can and does both forgive and heal.  PRAISE HIM!

The crowds were amazed and glorified God.  The scribes were silent.

.

Next, the people ask a question. “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but YOUR disciples don’t?

Simple.  Can you fast while the Bridegroom is here?  No. It’s time to rejoice.  When He is taken away, then there will be fasting.  Huh? Not sure if the people understood that. Or the disciples.  Jesus further causes their brains to work. “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Or the patch tears away in the first wash. No one puts NEW WINE into old wineskins. Or the expanding, fermenting wine will split the old stiff wineskin.” 

 What in the world is Jesus saying? He is telling them that a NEW DAY has come. The Messiah is here. Rejoice for His coming and accept the prophesied Good News!

Not sure they totally understood.  But the disciples will.  Later.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 278 & 279

Oct6

THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 278 – Reading – Matthew 4 and Luke 4 – 5

Day 279 – Reading – John 2 – 4

Read and believe in Jesus!

Day 278 – Sunday’s Matthew 4 and Luke 4.

After Jesus was baptized by John, the Holy Spirit (just recently coming down on him like a dove) led Him into the desert “to be tempted by the devil.” (A specific reason)  The testing would last for 40 days. (Like Israel was “baptized in the Red Sea, then was tested in the wilderness for 40 years.  THEY failed. Jesus did not.)

  • FIRST TEMPTATION: I’m sure Jesus spent the beginning of those days communing with His Father.  Then, towards the end, when He was pretty hungry, Satan came to Him slyly (as the serpent in Eden ) with the suggestion, “IF You are the Son of God … command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

Jesus was hungry. Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus, who created those stones in the beginning, could very easily have turned them into bread. OR, created bread from nothing!  But, He would not sin and INDULGE Himself.  He answered Satan with the only thing that could make him run away: the Word of God. “IT IS WRITTEN, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Deut. 8:3)

  • SECOND TEMPTATION: Then the devil took Jesus (in body, or in His mind) to a very tall mountain, and let him see all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, down through time. “All these I will give to you (for they have been given to me) IF You would fall down and worship me.”  

But Jesus knew that  He would one day rule all the Kingdoms of the earth for eternity. He would not sin and ACQUIRE them now by worshiping that Serpent.  Jesus again quoted scripture (Deut. 6:13), “It is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only shall you serve.'”

  • THIRD TEMPTATION: As a last resort, Satan took Jesus (in body or mind) to the top of the Temple in Jerusalem, a portion of the portico roof that extended beyond the wall over the Kidron Valley, a drop of perhaps 450 feet.  “IF you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ….for it is written;…. ‘He will command the angels concerning you to guard you. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot on a stone…'”  (And people will KNOW you are the Messiah!)

(Whoa, is Satan tricky, using the very Word of God to tempt. BEWARE!)

Jesus resisted this temptation to IMPRESS others, and in a strong, forceful voice, said, “It is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'” (Deut. 6:16)  And the devil left him – for a time – and angels came and ministered to Jesus. 

.

LOOK AT those three temptations in the light of 1 John 2:15-17, because Satan tempts all believers in Christ the SAME way!  “LOVE NOT the world nor the things in it.” Then John gives the three areas of temptation, as Jesus experienced, that reveal loving the world.

  1. the lust of the flesh (a desire to INDULGE our bodily cravings of all kinds)
  2. the lust of the eyes  (a desire to ACQUIRE for ourselves the things our eyes see)
  3. the pride of life/possessions (a desire to IMPRESS others with our own glory)

And how are believers to fight these loves of the world?  Same as Jesus. 1 John 2:14b, ‘because the WORD of God abides in you and you are strong.’  Read, meditate on, and memorize God’s word.  IT’S A SWORD in the hand and heart of the believer.

Satan always tempts us in these three areas. 

Look at the very first time he appeared with Eve and tempted her to disobey God’s WORD.  Genesis 3:6 says, “So when the woman saw the tree WAS GOOD FOR FOOD, and that it was a DELIGHT TO THE EYES, and that it was to be desired TO MAKE ONCE WISE (like God) ... she TOOK its fruit and ate it.”  

Unlike Jesus, she YIELDED. She did not simply repeat God’s Word to Satan, “God said, “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat.”  Period.

  • (Oh, LORD, please help me to learn from this. Help me to be aware of the ways Satan would get me to sin. And Help me to use Your Word as a Sword, to defeat his wiles.  LORD, please help me to see HOW IMPORTANT reading and memorizing your word is, and do it!)

.

Read the other parts of today’s scripture (the rest of Matthew 4 and Luke 5.

After his baptism and temptations, Jesus began His ministry. 

  1. He began choosing His disciples (Luke includes Levi)
  2. traveling throughout all Galilee, teaching in synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
  3. healing every disease and affliction.

In Jesus’ own synagogue in Nazareth, He read from Isaiah 61:1-2, and announced that this scripture was speaking about HIM.  He got mixed reactions:  first, they marveled at his gracious words, then they were so full of jealousy and wrath that they drove him out of town.

But demons listened to and obeyed Him, and fled from their victims “post haste.”

 .

###

.

Monday’s reading – Day 279 – John 2.

Jesus’ first “sign” miracle was turning large jugs of water into wine at a family wedding feast.  The host ran out of wine!!! (a huge, embarrassing no-no) Jesus’ mother came to Him with the problem and left the results entirely in His hands. 

(By the way, this is a good example of how to pray for our needs. Tell the Lord about your needs, worries, and emergencies … then leave the results up to Him, trusting He will answer in a way that is good for you and will bring glory to Him.)

Jesus acted quickly and quietly, behind the scenes.

What were the results of this first sign-miracle?  The host was vastly relieved.  The guests and newlyweds were happy. The servants who SAW the miracle firsthand were amazed. 

And Jesus’ disciples believed in Him.  (The exact reason John wrote this Gospel. See John 20:31)

.

John 3.

Another very familiar chapter, with the MOST WELL-KNOWN VERSE in the Bible.

Jesus met up with one of the Pharisees, Nicodemus, late one night. 

I always picture it in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus and His disciples often went to “chill out” while in Judea.  But the Bible does not say where they met. It might have been in the house where Jesus was staying.  “Probably,” John was quietly in the background, for he recorded their conversation word for word. 

Nicodemus was trying to ascertain for sure if Jesus was sent from God.  Was He the Messiah?

But Jesus, who came to die for the sins of Nicodemus and others, pointed the Pharisee to the more important issue.  He needed to be born again, born from above, born of the Spirit.  There was no way he could get into the Messiah’s Kingdom without a heart change.

Nicodemus should have known this; he WAS a teacher of the Law, after all.  For the very prophets he studied spoke over and over, that when the Messiah came, He would “take out their stony hearts and give them a heart of flesh.”

 But Nicodemus got hung up on the “born again” part.  Huh?  Go back into his mom’s womb…..??

“These are not physical things, but SPIRITUAL things that they were talking about. Faith, trust, belief.

Jesus compares himself to the serpent form that Moses held up in the wilderness. Those who looked on it in faith were healed.  HE would be lifted up, too. (on a cross)  “Whoever believes in Him will live eternally.”

*

“Because God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son (Jesus gesturing to himself), that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”

“Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only Son of God.

“This is the judgment: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light because their works were evil.

“Whoever does what is true comes to the Light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

*

“Think about this, Nicodemus!” Jesus might have said, while shaking his hand. “You are not so very far from the Messiah’s Kingdom.”

.

John 4.

This is that glorious story where Jesus, a Jewish man and teacher, sits down at a well and has a conversation with 1) a woman, 2) alone, 3) who is a “hated” Samaritan, and reveals that He is the Christ she’s been looking for, and offers her the water of Life.  

(Samaritans were hated because of long ago. when the Assyrians conquered Israel and deported most of the Jews to other lands, they brought back foreigners to run the business and agriculture of the land.  These pagan, idol-worshipers intermarried with the Jews that were left, mixing the pure religion of Jehovah with idolatry. They are called Samaritans because they settled around the old Northern Kingdom’s capital of Samaria.)

But Jesus sees hearts, and this woman’s heart was crying out for help, and love, and life.

Jesus offered it to her, and after confessing her sins, she believed and received it.  She also became an ardent missionary, running immediately to tell the whole town that she was saved, and that the Savior – the Man who revealed to her about her whole life – was there, in Samaria.  “Come and see!!”

MANY Samaritans believed that day.

Jesus said to the astonished disciples, “Look and see the fields! They are white for harvest! Pray for more workers!”

Back north in Galilee, past Cana (Yes, where the water to wine happened) to Capernaum, an official came running to Jesus, panicked about his son who was deathly ill. 

Man: “Sir, please come down before my son dies!”

Jesus: “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. (Was Jesus thinking about the faith of the Samaritan woman?) “Go, your son will live.”

The man BELIEVED the word Jesus spoke!

And Lo, and Behold, when he arrived home, his son was completely well – ever since the time when Jesus spoke!

And THEN, he truly believed, and all his household.  

John calls this the SECOND sign that Jesus was the Son of God.  He healed a person who was at the brink of death.

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 277

Oct4

A NEW MONTH – THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 277 – Reading – Matthew 3, Mark 1, and Luke 3

Read and believe in Jesus!

MATTHEW

Matthew’s other name was Levi.  Before following Jesus, he was a hated, but wealthy, Tax Collector (or Publican). The Jews did not like him, but he had a lot going for him. He had to collect a certain amount for the Romans, but anything else was his. Tax Collectors often added exorbitant amounts to the required fees, making themselves very rich (think of Zacchaeus). 

When Jesus called Matthew, he immediately got up and left it all behind. (Including his Tax booth, from which looters probably made a good haul.)

Matthew’s Gospel was the first written, about 20 years before Jerusalem was destroyed. He presents Jesus as the “Messiah, King of the Jews,” so many scriptures tie Jesus to the Old Testament. The phrase, “the Kingdom of Heaven,” occurs 32 times.  The main body of his Gospel is divided into five sections, each with an important teaching.  Some have paralleled these with the 5 books of Moses.

The rejection of Israel’s Messiah is a constant theme, more than in the other Gospels.  He shows the most attacks on Jesus himself, from Herod’s murder of the babies in Bethlehem, to the vivid scene at the cross.

.

MARK

Mark is the shortest Gospel. It moves quickly. (Notice how often he uses the word “immediately.”) It’s like that old Dragnet show, “Just the facts, ma’am. Just the facts.”  Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Mark pictures Jesus as “the Servant.” His audience seems to be Roman (or Gentile) believers.

Mark (or John Mark) was a young cousin of Barnabas.  He started out with Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey.  But when they got to Perga, Mark found the work too hard, gave up, and sailed back home “to Mama.”

When P & B were planning their second missionary journey, to check on the churches they’d established, Barnabas (the encourager) wanted Mark to try again, but Paul said an emphatic “No!”  They quarreled a bit, and Barnabas ended up taking Mark and going on their own. Paul, meanwhile, enlisted Silas.  TWO missionary teams were now on the scene.

However, later, Paul had to change his mind about the young man.  Paul told Timothy in 2 Tim. 4:11 to “get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.” 

(Don’t give up, you who are struggling and making mistakes each day!! God is not done with you yet.)

Simon Peter also had a good influence on young Mark. In 1 Peter 5:13, he called him, “Mark, my son.” Peter was always the quickest to act among Jesus’ disciples, and the one who made the lion’s share of mistakes, so it is likely he identified with Mark and was the source of information for Mark’s Gospel. Several personal accounts of Peter’s life can be found in it.

 

Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3 – John the Baptist.

All three of these Gospels present John as the “forerunner” to Jesus. All three of them quote either Isaiah 40 or Malachi 5 about John being “a voice crying in the wilderness; ‘prepare the way of the Lord.’” and “God’s messenger, who will prepare the way,”

Instead of becoming a priest like his father, Zechariah, John spent his years “in the wilderness,” dressed in clothes that would endure the elements, camel’s hair and leather.  He existed on bugs (or maybe pods from the Locust tree) and honey.  Truly, the picture of a prophet. Then, at age 30, the call came and he began preparing the way for the Messiah.

How?  By calling Israel to repentance.  By condemning their sin and telling them how to change. And by baptizing them to show outwardly the cleansing they sought.  Hearts remorseful about their sin and eager for change were the kind of people the Messiah sought. John addressed the crowds, the religious leaders, the tax collectors, and the soldiers about their sin and how to bear the fruits of righteousness.

And always John pointed to the soon coming One, who was greater, mightier, more worthy, and who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. The Lamb of God.

And then, there He was, asking to be baptized.  At first, John refused, but when Jesus said, “Let it be so now, for this it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness,” he agreed.  Jesus wanted to thoroughly be identified with the people He had come to save, though He personally had NO SIN to repent of.

Then John witnessed “the sign” that proved to him who this man, Jesus, was.  As Jesus came up from the water, “the heavens werre opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  

It was the sign that God had previously given to John, that indeed Jesus was the One.  It was a sign to Jesus that His time of ministry, for which He had come to earth, had begun.  And God was very pleased with Him.

.

LUKE takes a moment here to review Jesus’ genealogy for his friend, Theophilus.  Since he’s presenting Jesus as “Man,” he traces the line all the way back to Adam and to God.  

NOTE: Luke begins with Joseph, the supposed father of Jesus, saying he was the “son” of Heli. But this was Mary’s father, so in fact, Joseph was his “son-in-law.”  Mary (through her father) could trace her line back to King David, too, except it was through his son, Nathan, and not Solomon.

.

All three of these Gospel accounts show the Holy Spirit “driving” Jesus into the wilderness to be “tempted by Satan for forty days.” Matthew and Luke do it in the next chapters.  Mark does it quickly here, in verses 12-13, then rushes on to tell about Jesus’ ministry:

  • Jesus proclaims the Gospel of God, saying, “The Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the Gospel.”
  • Jesus calls Peter and Andrew, who were fishermen, saying, “Follow me.”
  • Jesus also calls James and John, who also left their nets and followed Jesus.
  • Jesus teaches “with authority” in the synagogue at Capernaum.
  • Jesus casts out a demon, amazing the congregation.
  • Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law, and then heals ALL in the crowds of sick people or those oppressed by demons.
  • Jesus touches and heals a leper, who then went everywhere telling about his miraculous cleansing.

.

(LORD, thank you for John the Baptist and his brave proclamation about Jesus. Please help me to be bold in telling others about sin, and Jesus’ so great a salvation.)

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 276

Oct3

A NEW MONTH – THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 276 – Reading – Matthew 2

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 2.

You wondered where the Kings were at the birthplace of Jesus, right?  After all, our Nativity Scenes have three of them displayed prominently, sometimes even with their camels. Well, the truth is, they weren’t at the stable. They didn’t join the shepherds to look at the newborn baby lying in the stone manger.  They didn’t lay down their gifts (along with the Little Drummer Boy’s drum) in front of the hours-old infant. 

The Kings, or perhaps we should say the Magi, were still months away.  After all, they saw the STAR way off in Chaldea when Jesus was born. They knew someone extraordinary had been born, a king. However, they had to consult all their charts, and finally the Jewish writings to see who and where he was born.  They came across a passage in a Hebrew Book of the Law and had an “aha!” moment. Numbers 24:17 prophesied where the Star would appear and where the King would rule.

“A star shall come out of Jacob, and a (king’s) scepter shall rise out of Israel.”

The minute the Magi saw that reference, they began packing their camels to follow the Star. But it takes a while to travel almost 1,000 miles.  The baby Jesus was now a toddler, and the family was living in a house in Bethlehem, not in a stable.

Arriving in Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel, these Magi, with their long caravan, began asking one and all, “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the East when it rose, and we have come to worship him.“

When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  (Hey, when this very evil and murderous king was troubled, the people of Jerusalem knew something awful was about to happen.)

Herod to the chief priests and scribes: “Where is the Messiah to be born?“

The scribes, after searching the scriptures, “Bethlehem, for the prophet Micah says, ‘But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah (“fruitful”), who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me one who is to be Ruler/Shepherd  in Israel.'”

Herod, “Call in those Magi fellows!”

Herod to the Magi, “When, your highnesses, did you first see that “Star” appear?”

Magi, “Oh, about two years ago now.  It’s been a long and dusty road…”

Herod, “Yes, yes, I know. Okay, go towards Bethlehem, and when you find this… this new king, come back and tell me where he is so I can come and KI—, er, I mean, so I can come and worship him too.”

The Magi left, and were exceedingly glad when they found the HOUSE where they saw the child with his mother, Mary.  “They fell down and worshiped Him. Then, they opened their treasures and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

THEN… after God warned them in a dream NOT to go back to Jerusalem and the mad Herod, they left Jesus and his family to return to their own country … by another route.

God also warned Joseph in a dream that it was NO LONGER SAFE in Bethlehem, and to flee with his family to Egypt.  Whew!  It was a good thing that those Magi had brought gifts.  That would help to support the family on the run and to settle them in Egypt for a few years.  They left that night as well.

.

King Herod waited.  And waited.  After a week, or maybe a month, he realized the Magi were NOT coming back to tell him where this new “king” was living.  In a rage, he ordered that all the boy babies two years old and under in Bethlehem were to be destroyed. 

And so, in Bethlehem, homes were torn open and soldiers carrying swords and daggers burst in, grabbing any baby boy or toddler, and slashing him to death, splashing blood everywhere.  Mothers, fathers, grandparents, and other children wailed, screamed, and wept for the murdered children.  

“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted,

because they are no more.” Jeremiah 31:15.

And King Herod, the madman, reclined on his bed, confident he’d taken care of the Jewish king problem.

.

A few years later, Herod was dead too, his rule divided among his three wicked sons.

God then “called His Son out of Egypt,” through a dream He gave to Joseph.  The family returned to Israel, but didn’t stop in Bethlehem, for a new king was now in Jerusalem, Archelaus, as wicked as his father.  As in Luke’s gospel, they returned home to Nazareth. And so, Jesus would be known as “the Nazarene.”

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 275

Oct2

A NEW MONTH – THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 275 – Reading – Matthew 1 and Luke 2

Read and believe in Jesus!

MATTHEW.

Yes! Read the genealogy!  (Don’t worry about pronunciation.) 

If you’ve been with me in the Old Testament study, you will recognize some names. (Most recently, Jechoniah/Jehoiachin [the king who surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar and was later honored] and Zerubbabel.)  Also, there are FOUR women mentioned, three by name. (Can you find them?)  THIS genealogy is the history of Joseph, Mary’s husband, and the stepfather of Jesus.  It traces the ROYAL line and places Jesus firmly in the kingly heritage of King David, as God promised this “man after His heart.”

(Luke’s genealogy traces Jesus’ lineage through another son of King David, Nathan (not the prophet), down to Mary, which avoids the curse on the later kings of Judah). 

.

Matthew 1.

The genealogy of Jesus Christ from Abraham down, through King Solomon to Jesus’ stepfather, Joseph.  

Matthew also gives us a glimpse of the man, Joseph, who is called a “just man.”  When he learned/SAW that his fiancée, Mary, was pregnant and knew the baby was NOT his, Joseph had the right by Jewish Law to either have her “stoned to death” or divorce her.  He loved Mary, so he decided to divorce her quietly. 

Had Mary told him the story of Gabriel’s announcement? Did he not believe her? Was it too outlandish?

But before he could start proceedings, the angel of the Lord (Gabriel?) appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph! son of David! Do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus (Savior), for He will save His people from their sins.

This fulfilled what the LORD had spoken to the prophet Isaiah, that “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (Isaiah 7:14), and “they will call Him Immanuel, or ‘God with us.'” (Isaiah 8:8, 10)

So, the “just, but obedient” man, Joseph, did as the angel commanded and married the pregnant Mary.  But they stayed apart, intimately, until after she gave birth. 

Oh, and they did call the baby JESUS, as the angel told Joseph.

.

Luke 2.

This is the most familiar account of the birth of Jesus, with portions of it printed on many Christmas cards each year.  So often is it read in December that many of us could recite the 20 verses by heart. (Our son, a 6th grader at the time, did just that for Bible reading at our church one Christmas Sunday.).

Old Caesar Augustus thought it a good idea to “register” everyone in the Roman Empire. He commanded “all the world” to go to their ancestral town and be counted. It was primarily to register young Roman men for the draft.  Formerly, Israel had been exempt from a census because Jewish men did not serve in the Roman army. But this census (to be repeated every 14 years) would also enable Augustus to levy poll taxes on everyone.

So, as we’ve seen in the genealogies, Joseph was in the line of David, so he had to travel the 70 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, David’s ancestral home. The same with Mary.

But … Mary’s due date was only days away!  Nevertheless, they traveled with a large family group to Bethlehem.  (Of course, we KNOW this was to fulfill prophecy about where the Messiah would be born. (Micah 5:2).  

They walked (or rode) and arrived in a completely packed town. Mary started having contractions.  The only private place was where they kept the animals, so Joseph booked it. Mary started labor as the animals looked on.

In hours, Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior of the World, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, was pushed out into a hostile world which would, in a mere 33 years, horrifically kill Him. But for now, He was held safely in warm swaddling cloths, close to Mary’s breast. Later, he was placed in a straw-filled, stone feed trough while Mary slept.

So many prophecies fulfilled.  So many more to be fulfilled. God’s plan of salvation had begun.

.

Meanwhile, those shepherds outside Bethlehem got a FIVE-STAR show in the midnight sky.  First,  an angel appeared in lightning brightness with a heavenly birth announcement.

“FEAR NOT! For behold, I bring you Good News of great joy for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ (Messiah), the Lord.” 

The angel went on to tell the shepherds HOW they would recognize this Savior-Messiah. “You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger …. YES, a manger.”

Then that glorious, brilliant, light and song of a million angels began. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased.”

Then a silence and blackness.  It took the shepherds a few minutes for their hearts to slow, their vision and hearing to return.  They looked at each other. “Did you…?” “Yes!” “The Messiah…?”  “I KNOW!”  And then, the agreed, “Let’s go!”   And forsaking their sheep (sleeping through it all, no doubt), and ran as one towards Bethlehem.  The star – Yes, THAT star – pointed to the stable.  AND THEY FOUND HIM just as they’d been told. 

When the excitement ended, and the now-awake Jesus was shown around, the shepherds told the young family about the angels, the announcement, and the glorious singing.  Mary, eyes large as saucers, “treasured up all these things in her heart.”

Eventually, the shepherds left, but they weren’t finished.  They went back glorifying and praising God, and sharing all they had heard and seen with everyone they met.

.

Eight days later, as per the Law of Moses, baby Jesus was circumcised as a sign he was a Son of the Covenant (a Jew). At that time, He also officially got his name, Jesus. 

Forty days after his birthday, Mary and Joseph, again according to the Law of Moses, went to the temple to present (and redeem) Jesus, and to offer the sacrifice of 2 doves to show that the purification of Mary had been completed.  (Only then could her marriage to Joseph be consummated.)

While they were there, they met two elderly senior citizens: the righteous and devout Simeon, and the godly, widowed praying prophetess, Anna.  Both had been waiting a lifetime for that day….. the day they would see the Messiah of Israel. 

Simeon took the baby in his arms and prophesied over him.

“My eyes, Lord, have seen Your salvation that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

Simeon handed back Jesus and said with a sweet sigh, “Now I can depart in peace.”

After seeing Jesus, Anna began to give thanks to God and to speak of Him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. 

.

(Luke here omits the visit from the Eastern Kings, and the family’s hurried trip to and stay in Egypt.) 

.

He tells of them going back to Nazareth, and Jesus growing strong and filled with wisdom. His parents also saw God’s favor on Him.

Luke then fast-forwards to when Jesus was twelve and the family made the annual trip to Jerusalem for Passover.  After the feast days, they returned, but later discovered that Jesus was nowhere to be found.  His parents hurried back to Jerusalem and searched high and low for the boy. 

Yes, they found him and were both relieved and angry. 

He was at the Temple conversing with the Teachers of the Law (scribes and Pharisees). He was asking and answering questions about the Law, and these learned men were amazed at His wisdom.

Mary scolded Him (hopefully not in front of the Teachers, for at 12, He was considered a man).

Jesus answered that He was in His Father’s House.  Whoa, a slight that Joseph, whom He obeyed and respected, was NOT His true Father.

“What….?” they answered. (More stuff for Mary to ponder in her heart.)

But Jesus obediently returned to Nazareth with them.  And He continued to grow in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man  (….for 18 more years).

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 274

Oct1

A NEW MONTH – THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 274 – Reading – Luke 1 and John 1

Read and believe in Jesus!

LUKE

This “orderly account” of Jesus, and the continuing story in Acts of the early church, was written by Dr. Luke, who was a believing Gentile, to an educated Greek colleague, Theophilus.

Luke carefully interviewed many “eye-witnesses and ministers of the word” before writing his account of Jesus.  He seems to follow Mark’s order of events, who, in turn, gathered events and stories from the disciple Peter while they served together.  And of course, this Gospel is “inspired by the Holy Spirit of God.”

.

Luke 1

Dr Luke begins where Malachi left off, announcing the one who would “prepare the way” for the coming Messiah.  That promise of God continues here – 400 years later – with a righteous old priest named Zechariah and his equally aged and godly wife, Elizabeth, who were about to be fantastically surprised.

As the annual priestly order came around, Zechariah got his turn to serve at the Temple. Then, by lot, he was chosen to actually enter the Holy Place to light new incense at the Altar of Incense, which stood just before the veil separating him from the Most Holy Place and the Ark of the Covenant.

Was he nervous about this once-in-a-lifetime privilege?  You can be sure!  So when the archangel, Gabriel, appeared, he probably nearly had a heart attack.

“Don’t be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayers have been heard. You and Elizabeth will have a son, and you will call him John.  You’ll have a lot of joy at his birth, for he will be great before the LORD.”  Then Gabriel went on to basically quote Malachi’s prophecy.

Did Zechariah fall to his knees and praise God?  Nope.  A bit of unbelief oozed out. 

“How will this happen? I’m old and so is my wife.”  (In his mind, he was saying, ‘It ain’t gonna happen, angel.’)

Gabriel straightens himself to great angel height and proclaims to the doubting priest, “I AM GABRIEL. I STAND IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD!  (Whoa!)  I was sent to you with this good news.”

And as a reprimand for his unbelief, Gabriel tells Zechariah he will be mute until the day John is born.

Meanwhile, outside, the people are wondering about the priest.  It shouldn’t take THAT long to change the incense.  Then. when Zechariah comes out, they realize he has seen a vision. (A vision from God!! Could it really be happening after so long???)  But, well darn, the priest can’t say a word about his experience!

Somehow, he informs his wife, and she soon conceives.  She keeps silent about it (like Zechariah) for five entire months (and then she is definitely “showing.”)

.

Flash to Nazareth.

Gabriel is once again sent to earth by God with good news.  This time, he does not appear in the Holy Place of the Temple in Jerusalem, but to a young woman in a small town with a bad reputation. To Mary, the girl God has chosen to bear His Son, to bring the second member of the Holy Trinity into the world as a human.  Wow!  What a privilege!  What a responsibility!

“Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” said Gabriel to Mary. “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name, Jesus.”  

Gabriel tells her how Jesus will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. How He will receive the throne of David and reign forever over Israel.  And how His kingdom will last forever.

Did Mary know all the scriptures he quoted?  Did she even know she was in the royal line of King David?  The young girl had seen and did know how lambs and goats were conceived, so she asked  “How will this happen, since I am a virgin?”

Then that mind-blowing news!  “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy. He will be the SON OF GOD.

And as Mary was trying to comprehend this in her young mind, Gabriel gave her news that she COULD understand.  Her cousin Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy with a son. 

Wow, Mary thought. Elizabeth is as old as my grandmother. If God can make THAT happen to her, then He can make THIS happen to me.  

 Gabriel smiled at her and agreed. “Nothing is impossible with God.”

“Okay, I’m in!” said Mary.  (Actually…”Behold, I’m the servant of the Lord. Let it be as you said.”)

.

Flash to another hillside town in Judah near Jerusalem.

(Mary had travelled miles south to spend the first three months of her own pregnancy with her aged cousin.  Both could support the other in this very new and extraordinary happening.)

“Greetings, Elizabeth!” Mary called as she entered the old priest’s home.  

“Oh!” Elizabeth said as she felt baby John leap for joy in her womb. 

“Oh, Mary!  Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Blessed am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me!”  Then, the two women – young and old – embraced each other.

And Mary burst out in a song of praise to the Lord. She praised His might, holiness, strength, and mercy.

.

Mary remained with Elizabeth until it was time for her cousin to give birth. Then she returned to Nazareth, now that her tiny infant “Son of God” was firmly nestled in her womb.  (She would make that long trip again in a mere six months, heavily pregnant, to another hillside town, Bethlehem.)

.

JOHN IS BORN!! Hallelujah! Praise God!

“You’ll call him Zechariah, right?” they asked Elizabeth.

“No, he shall be called John.”

Turning to Zechariah, they poo-pooed his wife’s announcement, “The baby is Zechariah Junior, right?”

The old and very proud priest called for a writing tablet and wrote (in huge Hebrew), His name is JOHN.” 

And immediately his voice returned, and he raised his praises to God in a magnificent prophecy about his son, about the Messiah, salvation, mercy, forgiveness of sin, and a Light to all who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.

And John grew and became strong in spirit.  He lived in the wilderness until the day of his public announcement to Israel.  (No, John did not become a priest, as he could have, but a Herald of Israel’s Messiah King!)

‘

JOHN

This last Gospel is written by the disciple John (“whom Jesus loved”).  He wrote his Gospel in his old age, while he was serving in Ephesus (and after the destruction of Jerusalem).

He was aware of the other three Gospels and wanted his to be more about the “spiritual” and “theological” aspects of Jesus’ life and ministry. He presents Jesus as the Son of God and proves that claim with eight “signs” or proofs.  His very purpose in writing his Gospel is so we would BELIEVE in Him as the Son of God and have ETERNAL LIFE 

John was inspired by the Holy Spirit as he gave his unique eyewitness accounts.

.

John 1.

John begins his story of Jesus in chapter one, WAY before the announcement of His coming birth to Mary and then the Shepherds, even before Genesis 3:15, which was the first announcement of a coming Savior after Adam and Eve’s fall. 

John begins in “Eternity Past” and reveals Jesus as God, the creator of everything that exists. “He was WITH God and He WAS God.”

He also mentions John’s appearance as a witness to Jesus’ earthly human ministry. 

(BY THE WAY, every time John is mentioned in this Gospel, it is speaking of John the Baptist.)

John further calls Jesus “The Light,” as opposed to the Darkness of Satan, sin, and death.

Jesus came to his own – the Jewish nation – but they did NOT receive him. (Jews always first, even in Paul’s ministry.)  But after that, to ALL WHO BELIEVED IN HIS NAME, He gave the right (even Gentiles) to be His own “Children of God” who were born of the Spirit.

Then another mention of John the Baptist, who said of Jesus, “He who comes after me ranks before me because He WAS before me.”

Then he gives John’s testimony. Men sent from the elders of Jerusalem asked him who he was, Christ? Elijah? the Prophet? No, no, and no, answered the Baptist. He was just the one sent, “crying in the wilderness.”  He was making the path straight for the Lord.

They asked the Baptist why he was baptizing. John said he was preparing hearts to meet the Messiah, washing with water.  But when HE, the “worthy One,” came, He would baptize with fire.  And then John saw him and proclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

Then he told how God told him he would KNOW the Anointed One. John would see the Spirit descend from heaven on Him.  And he saw that with Jesus.  “I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

John even started directing his own disciples to follow Jesus, the Lamb of God.  One of those was Andrew.  After meeting Jesus, he went and told his brother Peter about him, and Peter came to see him too.

The next day Philip followed Him. Philip then found Nathaniel and told him they’d found the Messiah.  Soon, Nathaniel followed Jesus wholeheartedly as well.  “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 273

Sep30

Day 273 – Reading –  Malachi  1 – 4

Malachi is the last prophetic word from God until John the Baptist comes to announce the “Lamb of God/Messiah”; a long 400 years. (Although in the earlier Jewish Bible, Nehemiah was the last book, as it finishes Israel’s history.) 

Malachi’s prophecy was most likely written during the time Nehemiah temporarily returned to Persia after completing and dedicating the wall of Jerusalem.  Remember how angry the cupbearer was when he heard all the ways the Jews had slipped back into their old ways? (Nehemiah 13).

He hurried back to Jerusalem to try and correct the corrupt priests, the failure to support the Temple work by tithing, their working and selling on the Sabbath, and their intermarriage with pagans, even among the priests. Also, their earlier injustice towards the poor.

Malachi also addresses these sins.

.

Malachi 1.

“The word of the LORD  to Israel.” And n insightful conversation with them.

The LORD: “I have loved you.”

People: “How have you loved us?”

The LORD: “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother, and I hated Esau.”  See all the ways I have judged and destroyed Esau’s people. I will be angry with THEM forever. But you, O Jacob, I have loved, even in judgment.

.

Then God zooms down on the corrupt PRIESTS.

The LORD: “Where is My honor, My fear, O priests who despise My name?”

Priests: “How have we despised Your name?”

The LORD: “By offering polluted food on My altar.”

Priests: “How have we polluted you?”

The LORD: “When you offer blind animals as sacrifice. You offer the lame and sick. I have no pleasure in you, and I will not accept the offering from your hand.  My Name will be great among the NATIONS, and in every place incense and a pure offering will be offered in My Name.”

Priests: “Snort! What a weariness this is.”

The LORD: “Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished.”

.

Malachi 2.

MORE judgment comes onto the corrupt priests. God gives these men (who are supposed to represent God to the people) a choice – Listen and obey, OR “I will send the curse upon you and will curse your blessings.  I will rebuke your offspring. I will spread dung on your faces and on your offerings. (WHOA!) “And you will be taken away as the waste of the sacrifices is carried outside the camp and burned.”

Originally, God’s covenant with the Levite priests was “one of life and peace.”  As they feared God and stood in awe of His Name, “true instruction was in their mouths.”  They “walked with God in peace and uprightness, and they turned many from iniquities.“

(This is what our church leaders should do today as well.)

Then the LORD blasts those corrupt priests again.  “But YOU have turned aside from the way. YOU have caused many to stumble by your instruction. YOU have corrupted the covenant of Levi.  And so, I will make YOU despised and abased before the people.”

.

Then the people of Judah get into the conversation again. It’s about the foreign women again.

People: “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us all? Then why do You say we are faithless and profane the covenant of our fathers?

The LORD: “You have been faithless, and abomination has been committed. You have profaned the sanctuary of the LORD, which I love, and have married the daughter of a foreign god.  May any descendant of Jacob who does this be cut off from my people.”

People: “Why don’t you regard our offerings or accept them? Don’t you see our weeping and groaning?

The LORD: “Because I see the wives of your youth, to whom you have been faithless.  Did I not make you ONE, with a portion of the Spirit in your union?  I desired godly offspring.  The man who does not love his wife but divorces her (and marries a pagan woman), covers his garment with violence. GUARD YOURSELVES IN YOUR SPIRIT AND DO NOT BE FAITHLESS.”

.

And then it seems God has had enough.

The LORD: “You have wearied the LORD with your words.”

People and priests: “How have we wearied Him?

Answer:  “By saying that, everyone who does evil (inferior offerings, pagan wives), is ‘good’ in the sight of the LORD because He ‘delights’ in them.”

.

Malachi 3.

Then, one of the familiar passages in the book, “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.  And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple;  and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, Behold, He is coming, says the LORD of Hosts.

He is like a refiner’s FIRE and like fullers’ SOAP. He will refine and purify the sons of Levi as silver and gold, so they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD.”

Notice the TWO MESSENGERS that God promises to send. 

  1. The messenger who will prepare the way…. (John the Baptist).
  2.  The Messenger of the Covenant will suddenly come to his temple. He will refine and purify… (Jesus, in both his first and second comings, refining the remnant).

.

Then comes more of their rebellious conversation with God.

The LORD: “I, the LORD, do not change, therefore YOU, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.  As of old, you have not kept my statutes.  RETURN TO ME, AND I WILL RETURN TO YOU.  But you will ask how to return.  Will a man rob God?  YOU are robbing me!

The people:  “How have we robbed you? 

The LORD: “In your tithes and contributions. The whole nation of you are ROBBING ME!

Again, another very familiar passage of God telling them (and us) that we can “test Him” on this. 

The LORD: “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. PUT ME TO THE TEST, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”

(I have done this – I have tested the Lord by giving a regular, full tithe.  And He proved more than faithful and delightful in His blessings to me. You won’t believe how he can stretch the amount that is left from the tithe!  We couldn’t see how it happened, but it did.  God was faithful.  He delighted in proving Himself in this test.  PRAISE HIM!)

Next, the whining people of the God of Israel bring up another point.  They say that “God is not fair. We serve Him by walking in His laws, and we are chastised, whereas evildoers do what they want and prosper.  They defy God and escape. It’s not fair!”

Malachi now mentions the “book of remembrance,” to counter the people’s complaint that the evildoers always prosper.  In that book are all the names of those who fear the LORD and esteem His Name. 

“THEY are mine!” says the LORD. “In the day of judgment, I will spare them. And you will see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does NOT serve Him.”

.

Malachi 4.

Malachi continues the thought of the differences between the evildoer and the faithful.

  1. “The day of the LORD is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble, set ablaze till nothing is left. 
  2. “But for those who fear God’s name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.  They will walk all over the wicked for they will be ashes under their feet.

So, God’s final word to the arguing, complaining people of His Name?  “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and the rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.”

(Israel was still obligated to keep the Law……. until their Messiah came as the Lamb of God, sacrificed for their sin (fulfilling the Law).   

  • That time was coming! 
  • The saving Messiah was coming. 
  • Watch out for the herald who will announce Him! 
  • Watch and be ready!

 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.  And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers …………. lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

.

John the Baptist was a “type” of Elijah, “preparing the way” of Jesus, in His first coming.

Elijah and Moses both appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Maybe it is Elijah and Moses as the two witnesses in the Great Tribulation.

.

Okay, now.  It will be 400 years before they again hear the voice of God.  It comes in the form of Gabriel the angel, speaking to the priest Zacharias. 

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear a son, and you shall call his name John.  And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord.  And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, AND GO BEFORE HIM IN THE SPIRIT AND POWER OF ELIJAH … to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

WOW.  Tomorrow’s study will be 400 years later than todays!