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2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 309

Nov5

     Day 309—We are in the ELEVENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

Day 309 – Matthew 23, Luke 20 – 21 (seven woes to religious leaders, destruction of the Temple, end times)

Several things are repeated in these chapters, but Matthew begins with seven “woes” (or pronouncements) against the religious leaders who do not practice what they preach. Jesus tells the crowd to obey Moses’ Law, which they teach, but do not copy what they do, for they act righteously only to be seen, adored, and respected by others, not God. 

Jesus tells the people that their religious leaders (Scribes and Pharisees) scrub clean the “outsides” of their lives, but their hearts are full of greed and self-indulgence. God views them as white-washed tombs with rotting remains inside. (Whoa!)  Outwardly, they seem righteous, but inside, they are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 

Jesus calls them hypocrites, blind guides, fools, serpents, a brood of vipers, and murderers. And even as they challenge His authority, Jesus turns back their words on them in obvious and condemning parables.  They burn inside and desire to seize Him and kill Him, but… they fear what the people would do to them.  And so, they watch and wait and send spies who pretend to be sincere that they might catch Him in SOMETHING to deliver Him to Pontius Pilate. But it all fails because it is not yet “His hour.”

Later, Jesus tells his disciples (in the people’s hearing) to “Beware the scribes!”

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Jesus uses their admiration of the Temple’s beauty to teach about the coming destruction.  “The days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Perhaps thinking of Jerusalem’s fall at the time of the Babylonians, they ask, “Teacher, WHEN will these things be? What will be the sign?”

Jesus gives them a list of horrors that will come first but are NOT the sign of the end. (Jesus’s prophecies combine the coming destruction of Jerusalem with the end times of all flesh.)  

Many will come saying they are the Christ. (Don’t go after them.)

Wars and tumults will come. (Do not be terrified.)

Nations and kingdoms will war. Earthquakes, famines, and pestilences will happen in various places. There will be terrors and great signs in heaven.  

But, before that happens, they will lay hands on YOU, deliver YOU up to persecute and imprison you. But use it as an opportunity to bear witness.  Settle in your minds not to meditate beforehand how you will answer, for the Spirit will give your mouth wisdom.

When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies…KNOW that desolation is near. Leave the city and flee to the mountains. For there will be great distress and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and be led into captivity.  And Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.  (This last could be describing 70 AD when the Roman general, Titus, destroyed the city and led many Jews away as slaves who had not escaped.)

Then Jesus looks more to the future.  “There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then, they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When you see these things begin to happen… straighten up and raise your heads… because your redemption is drawing near.”

Jesus then warns them to watch themselves, and not let sin or cares distract them. “Stay awake at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Did they even understand what He was saying?

Do we?

 

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 307 and 308

Nov4

     Days 307 and 308—We are in the ELEVENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

NOTE:  Both Sunday and Monday studies are posted on MONDAY.

Day 307 – Mark 11, John 12. (triumphal entry cleanses the temple, about His death and the reason foretold)

Six days before Passover, when Jesus will be crucified, he visits His friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (whom He had raised). As usual, Martha was serving, Lazarus was reclining at the table with Jesus, and Mary – quite unusually – took a jar of expensive ointment and anointed Jesus’ feet, wiping the excess with her hair (a sublime gesture of love, and as Jesus says, a sign of his upcoming burial).  The fragrance from the perfume and her act of love “filled the house.”

All the disciples objected, but Judas spoke aloud. “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to…. the poor? (He didn’t care about the poor. He had charge of the moneybag and was a thief. He wanted to help himself to some of the hard cash the ointment would have brought.)

Jesus rebuked his words (and the other disciples’ thoughts). “Leave her alone so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.  You always have the poor (Judas!), but you do not always have me.”  (Later, we will see that Judas used this rebuke as a final excuse to go to the Jewish leaders and “sell” Jesus to them in betrayal.  He WOULD get some money one way or another!!)

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The next day, a large crowd heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. They took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him.  Meanwhile, Jesus sent two of His disciples into the village, where they found a donkey colt tied up (Matthew says the colt’s mother was there, too) They were to bring it to Jesus. If anyone questioned their actions, they were to simply say that the Lord needed it (and that it would be returned).

They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it. Jesus mounted it and started into the city, where the waiting crowds cheered. They waved palm branches and threw them on the street so He could ride over them.

(NOTE: Remember, this young donkey had never been ridden before, and from one who has owned horses, I can tell you cloaks thrown over his back, wild cheering, and palm leaves waved and strewn in front of it would – typically – have caused him to “spook” and buck and try to run away out of fear.  But just as Jesus had calmed the wild, bucking waves and wind with a word, this young cold remained calm in its master and creator’s hands.)

Jesus’s actions were later recognized by His disciples as fulfillments of scripture, although at the time, they were probably caught up in the excitement and thought Jesus’ crowning day had come.

“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father, David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel! Hosanna in the highest!” (Psalm 118:25-26)

(From Zechariah 9:9) “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.”

Meanwhile, the Pharisees simmered in their hatred and jealousy and said to one another. “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him.”  They went after Jesus, indignant, and asked Him if he HEARD what the people were saying.  “Yep, have you never read (a jab at the very ones who knew the law), ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies, You have prepared praise?'”

Jesus then, in righteous anger, cleans out the Temple of cheating moneychangers and animal merchants.  “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”  Seeing their profit disintegrate, the chief priests and scribes sought all the more to DESTROY Jesus, but they didn’t act for fear of the people.

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Jesus then gives some heavy-duty teaching about His upcoming death and its reason. “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” 

And then an astonishing incident. “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this purpose, I have come to this hour. Father, glorify Your name!”  And a voice from heaven came, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”  The crowd heard thunder but not the words of the Father to the Son.

Jesus continued, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.  (This indicated that He would be lifted up on a cross to die.)

“We heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever,” the crowds say. “How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who IS this Son of Man?”  And Jesus answers that He, as the light, will be among them only a little while longer. It’s time to WALK in that Light and BELIEVE in that Light that they too, might become sons of Light.

But the people did not believe in Him, although He had done so many signs before them. This also fulfilled the prophecy in Isaiah 53:1 and 6:1.   Interestingly, MANY of the authorities did believe in Him, but for fear of the Pharisees, they did not confess it.  (This puts in mind silent believer Nicodemus, who later openly sided with the Lord Jesus.)

Jesus then retires back to Bethany for the night.

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 Day 308 – Matthew 22, Mark 12. (Parables, paying taxes, questions answered)

Jesus returns to Jerusalem the next day and is continually confronted by religious leaders who try to trap him. He continues to teach in parables.  He compares the kingdom of heaven to a king who gives a wedding feast for his son. He sent out servants to call those who’d received invitations to come now, for the feast was ready. But, one after another, those invited guests came up with an excuse, sometimes even abusing the king’s servants. This angered the king, and he sent more servants to go to the main roads and invite as many as they could find to come to the prepared wedding feast. And so they did, bringing good and bad people alike and filling the wedding hall.  (First likely meaning – God’s chosen people were “invited” to come to their Messiah, but when they refused, God opened the doors to sinners and Gentiles.)

The second part of the wedding parable involved a man who had snuck into the feast without the proper wedding garment, which was given to everyone asked to come. This man was tossed out of the wedding feast “into outer darkness, where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Second likely meaning – only those whom God gives the robe of righteousness through faith in His Son – 2 Corinthians 5:21 – will be allowed into the kingdom of heaven. All others who try to sneak in by any other means will end up in hell.)

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Okay, that didn’t end well for the Pharisees, so they plotted to test Jesus in another way. They tried to schmooze him with 1. “we know you are true and teach the way of God truthfully,” and 2. “you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances…..”  Then, the clincher — “Tell us what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”  (They had tested Jesus before about paying the Temple Tax, and Jesus had sent Peter to get the coin from a fish’s mouth to pay it.)

Jesus now asked to see a Denarius coin.  “Whose image is on this?” He asked.  “Caesar’s,” they replied.  “Well, give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”   I think the Pharisees must have stomped their foot at that.  “Darn! Foiled again!” (As Christians, we are obligated to live lawful lives under the government over us, so far as it doesn’t defy God’s law.)

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Next, a group of Sadducees (who do NOT believe in the resurrection of a person after death) came to test Jesus. They tell him a “hypothetical” story of a woman married to one man. He dies without her giving him offspring.  According to Jewish tradition and Moses’ ok (so that a tribe’s or person’s inheritance in the land of Israel didn’t go out of existence), a brother would then marry the woman and the first son would carry on the first husband’s legacy. In this story, the Sadducees said the woman was married over and over without producing a child.  So…. they grinned slyly, “In the “resurrection,” whose husband would she be?”  (Ha-ha, we got Him now!)

Jesus looks straight at them and says, “You are wrong because you know neither 1. the Scriptures nor 2. the power of God. In the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven. (So the woman would be wife to NONE of them.)

Then Jesus confronted their unbelief about the resurrection (the power of God) by saying that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  “Is,” not was. He is the God of the living.  Even the crowds understood that one and were amazed at his teaching. The Sadducees slunk away, disgruntled.

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One more test loomed, but this challenge seemed to be asked by a sincere Pharisee, who inquired of Jesus which of God’s laws was the “greatest.”  Jesus, of course, recited Deuteronomy 6:4.  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  THIS is the great and first commandment.” Then Jesus added a two-for-one answer that was not asked. “And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these TWO commandments depend ALL the law and Prophets.”

“You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that He is the one, and there is no other besides Him. And to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. (Note, that the religious leaders would not say the Holy Name of God from Deuteronomy.)

Jesus saw this Scribe’s heart and said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Hopefully, this man took the final step and believed in Jesus.)

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Later, Jesus told his followers, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces, and have the best seats in the synagogues, and places of honor in the feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  They will receive the greater condemnation.”

Then, Jesus looked across at the treasury, where people were putting money in the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums with a great show, but a poor widow came and slipped in two small copper coins, which together made up one penny.  “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.  THEY all contributed out of their abundance, but SHE, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

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In all this teaching in parables and testing, the chief priests and Pharisees “perceived that He was speaking about THEM.  And although they were seeking to arrest Jesus, they feared the crowds because the people held Him to be a prophet.”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 306

Nov2

     Day 306—We are in the ELEVENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

Day 306 – Luke 19 (Zacchaeus, ten minas, [Jerusalem])

Luke 19 backs up a little on the timeline and tells about another happening in Jericho besides the healing of blind Bartimaeus. (From a poor blind beggar to a hated, wealthy tax collector.)

Zacchaeus was not a regular tax collector but the chief tax collector in Jericho. He had cheated and stolen so much that Luke says he was RICH. He heard about Jesus coming to town (maybe news about Bartimaeus reached him), and he was curious to see this healer.  BUT this hated. Roman-collaborator was a shortie.  He couldn’t see Jesus because of the crowd surrounding Him. So Z climbed a nearby sycamore tree to get a better look. But the one who sought to see was seen instead. 

Jesus came to the place, looked up, and said his name. “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”  Wow, and Whoa!

Z hurried down from the tree and received Jesus joyfully into his home. (The crowd grumbled about Jesus dining in the house of a sinner!)

Jesus’ visit (and no doubt conversation) changed the heart of this diminutive Publican. He repented of his cheating and scheming, greediness and pride.  “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”  Willingly, Z gave to the poor far beyond what was required in the law for charitable giving.  Only one-fifth of restitution (20%) was required by law to pay back someone defrauded.  Z pledged more, saying he was no better than a common robber.

Unlike the “rich, young ruler” whose money meant more to him than eternal life, Z showed he had found incalculable spiritual riches in knowing Jesus, the Messiah.  “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus said, “since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  (How this must have cheered Jesus as his death drew closer.)

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Amazed by what happened in Zacchaeus’ house, Jesus’ disciples and the crowd needed some clarification. (Wicked sinners coming to salvation, while self-righteous Jews being turned away.) 

So, Jesus told the parable of the Ten Minas (Greek form of money, about a 60th of a talent). It symbolized the work that He would entrust to His servants while He went away and the hatred of the citizens who told Him they did NOT want Him to reign over them.

A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then to return. (This pictures Jesus going to Heaven to receive His Kingdom and then returning.) The nobleman left his servants in charge of his business. He gave them each one mina to manage for their master (equal gifts). When the nobleman returned, he rewarded each servant for what they had gained. The one who did nothing with what his master gave him was rewarded nothing. Indeed, the one mina was taken from him. 

And for those citizens who did NOT want the nobleman to reign over them…they were all slaughtered.  This was directed towards the Jews who actively opposed Jesus, and it “could” depict the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD…or the final wrath of God in the end times.

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Then Jesus arrives at Jerusalem, rides into the city on a donkey, weeps for it, and cleanses the Temple. We’ll look at that more tomorrow. 

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 305

Nov1

     Day 305—We are in the ELEVENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

Day 305 – Matthew 20-21 (Parables, healings, triumphal entry, the temple, the fig tree, angered leaders)

Matthew 20 continues to recount the parables of Jesus as His time grows near. It seems the people cannot “hear” the plain truth. 

At first, the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard seems unfair, especially to our commercial minds. Five sets of workers are hired to work in a man’s vineyard. The first comes early in the morning, then more workers are hired at 9:00 am, noon, 3:00 pm, and finally at 5:00 pm, only an hour before quitting time. When it comes time to hand out paychecks, the vineyard owner pays ALL the workers the same day’s wages.

“Wow!!” think the last of the crew.

“Unfair!!” proclaim the ones who worked all day in the heat.  

We would think it unfair, too, right?  But remember, this is a parable; it is meant to teach truth. Jesus had just been telling His disciples who can be saved (after His encounter with the rich young ruler). The criteria is that only those who forsake all and follow Him will inherit the Kingdom. Jesus said then that “many who are first (to follow) will be last (least in the kingdom), while some later followers will be first.”

Now to the parable of the equally paid and unequally worked laborers.  Jesus is still teaching about eternal life and the Kingdom of Heaven. It doesn’t matter when in life a person begins to follow Jesus or how long he serves Him before he dies; the same salvation is given.  Take the two brothers, James and John.  James was the first martyr in the early church, while his brother John lived to be over ninety and wrote the Book of Revelation.  Then think of the thief on the cross (Luke 23:29-43) who, just before death, becomes a true follower of Jesus, compared to a saint who has spent his entire life serving his King.  NO MATTER the length or hardness of labor, the “inheritance” is the same.

Jesus then brackets this parable by again saying, “The last will be first, and the first last.” to make sure we understand. 

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Matthew 21 shows Jesus, at the beginning of “Holy Week,” triumphally entering Jerusalem on a donkey’s foal. But we’ll look at it more closely in a day or two in the other Gospels.

In the temple, Jesus continues to heal the blind and lame and teach the people. The religious leaders were indignant when they saw this and heard the children calling, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” 

“Do you hear what they are saying???” they asked Jesus.

“Yep. Haven’t you ever read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and infants You have ordained praise?” (Psalm 8:2).  Saying that, Jesus turned His back to them and left the city. He lodged in Bethany (maybe in the home of Martha and Mary.)

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In the morning, heading back into Jerusalem, Jesus did another “weird” and controversial thing.  He curses a fig tree for not bearing fruit, and instantly, the tree withers. Huh?  Was this Jesus in a fit of early morning “hanger?”  No, of course not.  From Hosea 9:10 and Joel 1:7, we learn that the fig tree is often a “picture” of Israel. The curse on the barren fig tree symbolizes judgment on them for spiritual fruitlessness despite all their privilege and the prophecies about their Messiah.  (Jesus also uses this as a teaching point to His disciples about having faith when you pray.)

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In the temple, the religious leaders are still after Jesus. They want to arrest him at any cost, so they try to catch him by asking about His authority to teach and act as He did.  Jesus throws the question back at them, asking about John the Baptist, and they cannot answer.

Then, He tells a parable that surely the disciples recognize as pointing to another failure of Israel to obey God despite their privilege.  Two sons.  One command. (Work in the vineyard today.) The first son says, “No way!” but changes his mind and obeys.  The second son says, “Sure, Dad.” but it’s a lie, and he does his own thing. 

“Which son did the will of the father?”  Jesus asks them.  When they answer correctly, Jesus basically tells them that sinners (tax collectors, etc.) are like the first son, but they turn and follow Jesus, while THEY, the religious leaders who had access to the very Word of God, refuse to obey.  (How clear can Jesus get??)

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To heap more coals of condemnation on their heads, Jesus tells another parable about a King with a vineyard, some worthless tenants, several servants, and finally, the King’s Son, who go to receive the harvest. All are killed by the greedy, black-hearted tenants.

When Jesus asks what they think, the religious leaders proclaim their own condemnation and punishment, “The king will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”  (Talk about your own words coming back on your head!!)

Jesus agrees with them and says to their chagrined, angered faces, “Therefore I tell YOU, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.”

“GRRRRR…..” they think, but are afraid to arrest Jesus because the crowd reveres Him as a prophet. 

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 303

Oct30

 Day 303—We are in the TENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

    Day 303 – Luke 18  (Parables, children, eternal life, His coming death, healings)

Jesus encourages His disciples not to lose heart in their praying by telling them the parable of the Persistent Widow. She had a desperate need that she brought before a judge, but he refused to see her.  She kept coming and coming until finally he listened to her and granted her petition, saying: “…so she will not beat me down by her continual coming.”

Of course, God is not an unrighteous judge but a loving heavenly Father. Jesus said, “Will not God give justice to His elect who cry to him day and night?  Will He delay long over them? I tell you, He will give justice to them speedily.”

Next, Jesus tells them the very familiar parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Tax Collector). The (self) righteous Pharisee stood tall and proclaimed how righteous he was (unlike all other law-breakers) because he fasted twice a week (not required by the Law – Leviticus 16:29-31) and gave tithes of all he got.  Meanwhile, the Publican, bowed low with his eyes to the ground, simply cried to God for mercy to the sinner he knew he was. 

“THIS man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Carrying on the same theme of humility, Jesus encouraged infants to be brought to him for blessing, telling His men, “…for such belongs the kingdom of God.”

Next, a rich, young ruler comes to Jesus. (NOTE: He possessed the three things that “wow” people today: wealth, youth, and power. And yet, he sensed something missing.)  “Good teacher, what must I DO to inherit eternal life.”

“You know the commandments,” Jesus said, naming the last FIVE of Moses’ ten commandments, which deal with our relationship with others.  “All these I have kept from my youth,” the man vowed. 

Great! “You still lack one thing. Go sell all you have and give the money to the poor. Then, come, follow me.”  But the man could not, for he was extremely rich (and loved his wealth more).  Seeing him go, Jesus was sad. “It’s difficult for wealthy people to enter the kingdom of God.” (But not impossible – consider Joseph of Arimathea.)

WHO THEN CAN CAN BE SAVED?? His disciples asked. Jesus answered, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” 

Then – for the third time and in more detail – Jesus foretells His coming death. “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.” 

1. “He will be delivered over to the Gentiles.

2. He will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon.

3. After flogging Him, they will kill him.

4. On the third day, He will rise.”

But the disciples did not understand any of these things.

Still pressing toward Jerusalem, Jesus encounters a blind man (Bartimaeus) who cries out, “Thou Son of David, have mercy on me!”  Jesus heals the man, and he glorifies God and follows Jesus.  All who saw the miracle praise God. 

 

 

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 302

Oct29

  Day 302—We are in the TENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

    Day 302 – John 11 (The death of Lazarus, resurrection & life, plot to kill Jesus)

John 11.  Jesus and His disciples are staying over by the Jordan River because of the hostility of the religious leaders in Jerusalem.

Bethany, a village near Jerusalem, is where the sisters Martha and Mary, along with their younger brother Lazarus, lived.  Jesus has stayed with them many times. He knows them and loves them

Lazarus gets very sick, and the sisters send a message to Jesus with the facts, hoping He will come and heal their brother. Mysteriously, Jesus does not go to Bethany, saying, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

He stays at the Jordan for two more days and then announces they are going to Judea. His disciples object, knowing the Jews want to stone him. Jesus basically tells them not to worry because it is not “his Hour” yet.  He tells them Lazarus has fallen asleep (died), but He will “awaken” him. Thomas says they should go “with,” so if Jesus dies, they can die too. What a melancholy group.

When they get to Bethany near Jerusalem, the disciples learn Lazarus is dead and buried for four days.  Both sisters, in their own ways, say to Jesus, “If You had been here, our brother would not have died.”

Jesus asks Martha (the brainy one) if she believes Lazarus will live again.  She says, sure, on the last day. Jesus encourages her to believe in a miracle by saying, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live….. Do you believe that?”   And she answers that she believes He is the Christ, the Son of God.”

When Jesus saw Mary (the emotional one) weeping and heard her accusation, He was deeply moved in His spirit. “Where have you buried him?” He asks, and she shows Him. At the tomb, Jesus weeps silently. The onlookers say, “Wow, see how He loved Lazarus!”  A few others say derisively, “He healed a blind man; couldn’t He have kept Lazarus from dying?”  But Jesus was not crying for Lazarus’ death because He knew He would raise him, but because of the sin in the world that CAUSED death. Truly He was a “man of sorrows.”

Jesus tells them to roll the stone away from the tomb’s entrance. (Lord, he stinks by now!!) Jesus reminds Martha that her faith would allow her to see the “glory of God” that day. She orders the stone removed.

Jesus lifts His eyes to heaven and thanks His Father, so those around Him will believe that God sent Him.

Then…..  “LAZARUS, COME OUT!”

And the formerly dead man, still wrapped in grave cloths, which have begun to fall off….. COMES OUT of the grave!

Gasps!

Screams!

Praises!

Fainting??

Anger!!

“Unbind him, and let him go,”  Jesus instructs Martha.  (And what a reunion that must have been!)

Many Jews believed in Jesus that day, but some rushed into the city to tell the Pharisees what had happened.  The priests and Pharisees gathered a special meeting of the Council (Sanhedrin).

“What are we to do? This man performs many signs.  If we let him go on, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away “our place” and “our nation.”

Caiaphas says, “You know nothing at all.  Don’t you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people and not that the whole nation should perish?”  Whoa!  He didn’t realize that he was prophesizing about the redemptive death of the Messiah.

And from THAT DAY, they made plans to KILL Him.  Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews or the city but went back out into the wilderness.  The chief priest ordered that if anyone saw Jesus, they should let them know so they could arrest Him.

As Passover approached, crowds of people flocked into the city. They looked for Jesus as they stood in the temple.  “Do you think he will come to the feast at all?”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 299

Oct26

  Day 299—We are in the TENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

    Day 299 – Luke 12 – 13 (Rich fool parable, no anxiety, Be ready and faithful, fig tree parable, mustard seed, teaching)

Luke 12. In these chapters, it seems that, as Jesus approaches “his Hour,” his teaching is more intense. Woes, warnings, cautions, and exhortations are spoken to the leaders, crowds, and disciples.

After a series of “Woes” hurled at the religious leaders in Luke 11 the crowds increased. Luke 12 says there were so many thousands (myriads) of people, that they were trampling one another.  He tells his disciples again to BEWARE of the leaven (sin) of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  Though it is hidden now, it will all be evident eventually.

Someone in the crowd called out, “Teacher! Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!”  Jesus answered with a warning. “Take care, be on your guard against covetousness. One’s life does not consist of the abundance of his possessions.”

Then Jesus tells the parable of the Rich FOOL.  As a farmer, he had so much wealth that when he got a bumper crop, he decided to tear down his old barns and build new, bigger, and better ones. (He had no thought of the poor surrounding him.)  Then, he said, I will have enough to retire for many years. Relax. Eat. Drink. Make merry. (Play Golf. Cruise the world.) 

“Thou fool! said God. “Tonight, your soul is required of you.  Then, who will get all your possessions?”

Jesus reminded them that so it is for those who LAY UP TREASURE FOR THEMSELVES AND ARE NOT RICH TOWARD GOD.  Turning to his disciples who had left everything to follow Him, he said, “And you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or wear.  LIFE is more important than food and clothing.”

Then Jesus asks them to think of the ravens who don’t have barns but eat every day from the Father’s hand. “You are worth much more than birds.”  He told them they couldn’t even add one hour to their lifespan, so why be concerned with the rest.  “Flowers don’t work or spit, but oh, how glorious one is.  Won’t God clothe YOU?”

“Your Father knows that you need these things. Seek His kingdom, and all these things will be added to you.  It’s the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom, so sell your possessions and give to the needy.  For where your TREASURE is, there will be your HEART also. 

Jesus then reminds his disciples to be ready for action, to get their lives ready and their things in order. Be prepared to serve at any hour. He warns them of distresses, divisions, and prison that will be coming. “Blessed is the servant his master will finds ready when he comes.”

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Luke 13.  Continuing with His warnings, Jesus tells them that natural things will happen to them and not to think of them as unusual. Just repent and be ready to die at any time. 

Then, he tells them the parable of the barren fig tree.  The tree did not have figs year after year and the owner wanted to cut it down. But the gardener begged for one more year when he would care for it tenderly.  Then, if it had no fruit, cut it down. 

He told them the parable of the mustard seed that a man sowed in his garden. It grew and became a tree where birds nested. This was the kingdom – spreading large from a tiny beginning.

The parable of the leaven was along the same lines. A woman was making bread. She mixed a bit of yeast into the flour which spread and caused the whole dough to rise.

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One time, Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath when he saw a woman hunched over almost double by a “disabling spirit.”

“Woman, you are freed from your disability,” said Jesus, laying his hands on her. Immediately, she stood straight and glorified God.  

The synagogue ruler accused Jesus. “There are six days in the week when work ought to be done! Come then and be healed, not on the Sabbath.” 

“YOU hypocrites!  You would save your ox or donkey by giving it a drink on a hot day.  Ought not this woman – A DAUGHTER OF ABRAHAM WHOM SATAN HAS BOUND FOR 18 YEARS – be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath!???”

 

Later on the road, a disciple asked, “Lord, will only a few be saved?”

“Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 

Once the master of the house has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying ‘Lord, open to us,’ He will answer you, ‘I do not know you.’  

And you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know you. Depart from me, all you workers of evil.’

And there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see the patriarchs in the Kingdom, and you cast out. “

YIKES!

 

 

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 298

Oct25

  Day 298—We are in the TENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

    Day 298 – Luke 10 (the 72 sent out, unrepentant cities, good Samaritan, Mary & Martha)

Jesus now sends 72 of his followers, two-by-two, to “every town where He was soon to go.”  He tells them to enter a town and establish one house to stay in. They then are to give the message, “The kingdom of God has come near to you,” to the whole village and confirm it by healing the sick. 

“The harvest is plentiful, but the labors are few. Therefore, PRAY earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His harvest.” 

Jesus also tells them to take no extra provisions but “live by faith.” And any town that does not receive them they are to shake off its dust from their feet and go to the next.  “It will be more bearable on “that day” for Sodom than for that town.”  Indeed, Jesus says that it will be more bearable in the judgment for Sodom and Tyre than for Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum because it was in THESE towns that the Son of Man had ministered and taught in person. 

Sometime later, the 72 return with joy.  “Wow, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!”  Jesus tells them He saw their leader, Satan, fall from heaven.  This was either to encourage them that the devil and his demons have already been defeated OR to warn them against pride in their efforts against them…the very thing that made Satan fall. 

Jesus then rejoices in the Holy Spirit and thanks His Father for revealing the truth to His disciples.  “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!” He tells them. “For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it!”

A scribe/lawyer approaches Jesus with the thought of testing Him: “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life.”

“What is written in the law?” Jesus asks, right back at him.

The scribe responds by summarizing the law in Leviticus 19:18:  “Love God supremely, and your neighbor as yourself.”

“Do that and live, says Jesus.

“Yeah, but WHO IS my neighbor?” the man says, seeking to justify himself.

Jesus tells him the story of the “Good Samaritan.”   It’s about a man traveling through a very rough wilderness territory from Jerusalem to Jericho. A gang of robbers attack, strip him, and beat him up, leaving him naked and half dead.  First, a priest chances along, sees the injured man, and passes by on the other side of the road. (It’s too much trouble to help, and he might get “unclean” touching him.)  The same thing happens when a Levite (a temple worker) comes by.

Finally, a Samaritan… (Surely the lawyer objects to hearing this!!) …sees the man and has compassion for him. He binds up his wounds, pouring on his own oil and wine to cleanse them. He sets the fellow on his own donkey and takes him to an inn.  He pays for several night’s and promises to pay more if needed when he returns. 

“Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the injured man?”  Jesus askes the lawyer.

“The one who showed him mercy,” he answers grudgingly.

Yep. “You go, and do likewise.”

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Later, they entered Bethany and the house where Mary and Martha (and their brother Lazarus) lived. Martha welcomed them and set about preparing lodging and a meal.  Mary, meanwhile, sat down at Jesus’ feet and listened to Him teaching. Out in the kitchen, Martha fumed.  ‘Why is she just sitting there?  I need some help!’  Finally, she went to Jesus.

“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Tell her to help me!”

Jesus looked up at the hard-working woman and said with tenderness, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen that, and I won’t take it from her.”

(NOTE: When I read this, I always wonder if Martha then pulled up a stool to sit by Mary, looking to Jesus for the “spiritual food” her sister was feasting upon. )

 

 

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 297

Oct24

  Day 297—We are in the TENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

    Day 297 – John 9 – 10 (Jesus heals a blind man, the Good Shepherd, the Son of God)

John 9.  Jesus, still in the temple crowds, passes by a blind man begging. His disciples ask if the man or his parents sinned, which resulted in his blindness. (Seeing he’d been blind from birth, it’s hard to think how his own sin might have caused blindness.)

But Jesus, confronted with their two choices, promptly tells them that the man’s life-long blindness was for another reason, that God’s glory might be seen.  Then he spit on the ground, made some mud, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go and wash in the pool of Siloam.”

The man must have been startled, but he obeyed Jesus’ voice. He went and washed off the mud. Lo and behold, he could see perfectly.  As he was looking around wide-eyed, the people started exclaiming.

“Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?

“No, but he is like him.”

“I am the man!” he finally said.

“How were your eyes opened?”

“The man called Jesus made mud, anointed my eyes, and told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight.”

“Where is he?” they asked.

“I don’t know.” 

They brought him to the Pharisees to show them the miracle. (Ah-oh. It was the Sabbath)  “How did you receive your sight?”

“He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”

“This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath,” they said with disdain.

“How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” some argued.

“What do YOU say about Him since He has opened your eyes?” The Pharisees asked the man.

“He is a prophet.”

“Is this your son, who you say was born blind?” They asked his parents. “How then does he now see?”

“We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees, we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him. He’s of age. He will speak for himself.”  The parents were gutsy!

“Give glory to God. We know this Man is a sinner,” the Pharisees said to the formerly blind man. 

“Whether he is is or not. One thing I know — that though I was blind, now I see.”

When the Pharisees started quizzing him again, he asked brashly, “Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become His disciples?” Then, the man preaches a little sermon to these exalted leaders about what they know and don’t know.

“You were born in utter sin, and you would teach us???”  Then, they promptly kick him out of the temple.

But Jesus finds him, and the man believes in Jesus and worships Him.  (And the Pharisees go away blind as ever.)

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John 10. Teaching again, Jesus says he is The Good Shepherd.  His sheep hear his voice as he leads them, and they follow Him. (It’s just as the Father knows him, and He knows the Father.)

He also says he is The Door of the Sheepfold.  He will not let thieves or robbers or wolves harm His sheep.  In fact, as Good Shepherd, He will lay down His own life for His sheep. He also claims that He has “other sheep, not of this fold, that He must bring, speaking of the non-Jews who will join saved Israel.

Jesus stresses that NO ONE TAKES MY LIFE FROM ME, BUT I LAY IT DOWN OF MY OWN ACCORD. I HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO LAY IT DOWN, AND I HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO TAKE IT UP AGAIN. (Speaking of his death and resurrection.)

Arguments abound about Jesus.  He’s insane. He has a demon. No, how can a demon open the eyes of the blind?

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At the Feast of the Dedication (Chanukkah), while Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon’s Colonnade, the religious leaders approached Him with a Question: “Tell us plainly. Are you the Christ (Messiah)?”

“I told you, and you don’t believe. But that’s because you are not a part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them. They follow me.  I have eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand…or the Father’s hand.  I AND THE FATHER ARE ONE.”

Again, with the stones to kill Him!  “I’ve shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”

Not for good works, they claim, but for blasphemy, because you – a man – make yourself to be God!

But, once again, Jesus escaped from their hands. He went across the Jordan River to where John had been baptizing and stayed there.  Many came to Him, remembering what the Baptist had said about Jesus.  And many believed in Him there.

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 296

Oct23

  Day 296—We are in the TENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

    Day 296 – John 7 – 8 (teaching in Jerusalem, different opinions about Him, Living water, the condemned woman, Light & truth taught, accusations)

His “hour” that Jesus spoke about is getting nearer. As He teaches strong truth in Jerusalem, there is more push-back, accusations, and persecution.

John 7.  The Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) is near, and Jesus delays leaving because there is “murder” in the air. His unbelieving siblings taunt him, “Why don’t you go show yourself to the world!”  “My time has not yet fully come,” Jesus answers, but later, when the traffic has thinned out, He goes.  The religious leaders look for Him in the crowds. This made the people afraid to speak up for Him.

But suddenly, He appears in the temple, teaching the words and will of God, with authority. Of course, He stirs up a hornet’s nest among the teachers of the law. But the people are confused.  “Isn’t this the man they want to kill? But here He is speaking openly, and they do nothing.”  Indeed, they WERE seeking to arrest Him but weren’t able.  And many of the people believed in Him.

On the last day of the feast, the tradition was that the priests carried a golden container of water from the Pool of Siloam to the temple, where it was offered in sacrifice to God, symbolizing the blessing of adequate rainfall.  Jesus used this as an object lesson by standing and speaking.

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of Living Water. (Zechariah 13:1)

When the people heard these words, some said he was “the Prophet” while others said, “This is the Christ.” But there was discord because they thought Jesus had come from Galilee. Didn’t the Christ come from Bethlehem?

Officers sent by the chief priests and Pharisees to arrest Jesus returned empty-handed. “No one spoke like this man!” they exclaimed. The religious leaders asked them if they’d been deceived, too.

“Have any Pharisees believed in Him???  This crowd that does not know the law is accursed!”

Nicodemus – yes, that guy – stands and says, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”

“What!” they shouted. “Are you from Galilee too?  Search and see, no prophet arises from Galilee.”  (So much for their fact-checking!)

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John 7.  Jesus went to the Mount of Olives overnight, then back to the temple in the early morning.  He sat down and taught the people as a rabbi would do.  But the scribes and Pharisees disrupted this teaching by bringing a bedraggled woman into the crowd and throwing her down before Jesus.

“Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.  Now, in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such a woman.  What do YOU say?  (Of course, they were trying to catch Him in a trap.)

A pause while Jesus doodles in the dirt.  “Let him who is without sin among YOU be the first to throw a stone at her.”   One by one, from the older ones first, they all went away.  Of course, Jesus, who was without sin and the only “legit” one to stone her, remained.

“Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned You.”   At her negative response, Jesus added, “Neither do I condemn you; go and from now on sin no more.”

Again, regarding the Feast of Booths, Jesus used another tradition – the lighting of four large lamps in the Court of the Women in a celebration of joy, with the singing of Levitical praises.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.

This brings another debate contest with the Pharisees about WHO Jesus claims to be, where he comes from, and whom He said was His Father.  They get it all wrong. Jesus, the Son of God, gets it all correct.  Many who listened to this great debate believed in Jesus.

Jesus tells these new believers, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “If the Son sets you free, you will be free, indeed.”

Jesus and the leaders argue more about being children of Abraham (boasting with thumbs in suspenders).  Nope, Jesus says, your father is the Devil, a murderer, deceiver, and liar.

No, YOU have a demon, they argue back. And maybe you are a Samaritan as well. Then, they ask him a question that they are NOT PREPARED to have answered.  “Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?  WHO do you make yourself out to be???”

“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”   JESUS WAS CLAIMING THAT HE WAS GOD (YHVH). “I AM” was God’s covenant name with Israel.

So, they picked up stones to throw at him (for blasphemy), but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.  (another of his invisibility cloaks at work)