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Reading the Gospels in 2026 (11/6): Matthew 15:21-39.

Nov6

Read and Believe in Jesus.

“O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” Matthew 15:28

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REVIEW – Once again, the Jewish religious leaders from Jerusalem came to wrangle with Jesus about points in their “traditions.” They followed these more closely and faithfully than they did the very Mosaic Law. (And Jesus pointed that out plainly and firmly, calling them hypocrites.)

After that, Jesus plainly told them that it was what came OUT of their mouths (sins originating in their hearts) that defiled them, not any possibly “dirty” food that went INTO their mouths from improperly (to them) washed hands. Heart attitudes matter to God. HE can see them. People can only see the outside actions and pious words…but that’s what the Pharisees cared about most.

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(NOTE: This reminded me of David’s prayer in Psalm 19:14. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”)

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Matthew 15:21-28.

Jesus was probably so disgusted with the Jewish leaders’ “man-pleasing” ways, and their growing animosity towards Him, that He decided to “leave the country” for a while. He and the disciples traveled northwest from the Sea of Galilee to the coast and north into Syro-Phoenicia.

Verse 21 says that He “withdrew” to that area, which usually meant Jesus wanted “alone time” with His Father, or with His disciples. (In this case, it also meant that Jesus was withdrawing from His ministry in Galilee.)

But quiet time was not to be so, for “Behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and followed Him, crying, ‘O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon!'”

This gentile woman knew who Jesus was. Calling Him “the Son of David” meant she was calling Him “Messiah.” Okay, now, lest you think Jesus was rude, or worse, cruel, understand that He was teaching his disciples something while also drawing out this woman’s faith.

(Often our prayers seem rebuked or to fall on deaf ears, but take heart from this woman, and persist.)

Jesus did not answer her a word. He seemed to ignore her, even turning His back on her.

“Send her away,” begged the disciples, “for she is crying out after us.”

Jesus replied as if to them, but so that the woman could hear, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

The disciples were about to take that as a “Yes” and send her away when the woman came, knelt before Jesus, and spoke to Him directly. “Lord, help me.”

Jesus answered, perhaps still speaking over her head to the men standing around, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” Wow! That seems harsh, but watch how this determined woman persists.

“Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table…” (Was there a light in her eyes? Did a small smile play on her lips as, with her head bowed, she waited for His answer?)

Then Jesus turns fully to her, “O woman, GREAT is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.”

And as the woman would discover minutes later, her daughter was healed instantly.

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How is it that the two people whom Jesus exclaimed over for their “great faith” were a Roman Centurion and a Canaanite woman? Both Gentiles. And both of them accepted the authority of Jesus’ WORD to heal from a distance.

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Matthew 15:29-31.

Later, Jesus and the disciples traveled north from Tyre to Sidon, and then cut a wide path around the eastern shore of Galilee to the southern area of the Greek Decapolis (Mark 7:31). (This is where the demoniac was freed and pigs went off cliffs into the sea.)

That southeastern side of the Sea rose into mountains, and Jesus went up into one of them and “sat down.” (A sign of a teacher ready to teach.) Great crowds came to Him from this area. And He also healed the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others who were brought to Him. The crowd was filled with wonder, and they glorified “the God of Israel.”

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Matthew 15:32-39.

Then comes a story so familiar we might think that Matthew is repeating himself. But no, this miraculous feeding of a great crowd is a different occasion. (See Mark 8:1-10)

These folks sat on “the ground,” whereas the people sat on “green grass” in the feeding of the 5000. (This was later in the year.)

Here the disciples collected SEVEN (not five) loaves, and A FEW (not two) small fish for Jesus to bless, break, and pass to the people.

And finally, the disciples collected seven LARGE baskets of leftovers after everyone ate their fill. In the feeding of the 5,000, the disciples collected twelve LUNCHBOX-SIZED baskets.

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(Later, in tomorrow’s reading, we’ll see that Jesus quizzes the disciples on the TWO feedings of crowds, getting the details exactly right, and admonishing them for having “little faith.”)

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For now, after sending the full and physically healed crowd away, both HE and the disciples got into the boat and crossed the Sea of Galilee. This time, they came ashore even further south than Gennesaret, at Magadan (or Magdala), the town where Mary Magdaline was from, although we don’t learn any of her details.

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Jesus ended His ministry in Galilee with that feeding of the 5,000. Now he’s ended his ministry in the Gentile regions with the feeding of the 4,000. After this (Peter’s confession and the transfiguration), Jesus will set His face “like a flint” toward what awaited Him … in Jerusalem.

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Reading the Gospels in 2026 (11/3): Matthew 14:13-21.

Nov3

Read and Believe in Jesus.

“We have only five loaves here and two fish.” Matthew 14:17

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REVIEW – Sin and guilt will drive a person crazy. That’s what happened to Herod Antipas. Involved in great sin, he arrested the outspoken John the Baptist to please his adulterous wife. But that wasn’t enough; she wanted the baptizer dead, so Herod had John executed – a “holy” man, in Herod’s own estimation, a “prophet” to the people – for speaking the truth. And how Herod regretted it. Now he was haunted by stories of another “prophet,” a “messiah” who performed miracles too. Surely this was the Baptizer come back to life to haunt him!!

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Matthew 14:13-14.

After burying John’s body, his disciples came to Jesus and told Him what happened. When Jesus heard this, He “withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by Himself.”

John was Jesus’ cousin, but more than that, he was the prophesied “forerunner” of the Messiah. He prepared the way for Jesus by warning the people, preaching repentance and baptizing them as they confessed sin and repented, and then finally by identifying Jesus as “the Lamb of God” who would take away the sins of the world.

John had served God well. He had been faithful. He had graciously and without jealousy pointed his followers to “One greater.” And he had been martyred. Jesus couldn’t help but be reminded of His own death in the not-too-distant future. And so, He went alone to a quiet place to mourn John and pray.

But, as always, the crowds eventually found Jesus. They poured from nearby towns, bringing their sick and needy. Jesus “had compassion on them” and healed their sick.

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Matthew 14:16-20.

Towards evening, Jesus’s disciples came to him and (as if Jesus did not know) told Him, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

Jesus answered calmly, “They don’t need to go away; YOU give them something to eat.”

Silence.

Finally, one of them said, “We have only five loaves (rolls) and two fish.”

“Bring them here to me.”

Jesus had the disciples sit the crowd down on the grass. (in groups of 50 and 100, Luke 6:40)

When all were seated and quiet, Jesus looked to heaven and blessed the food.

Then He broke it and gave it to the disciples to distribute. He kept breaking and handing it out. They kept going through the crowd and feeding the people.

They all ate UNTIL THEY WERE FULL.

Then the disciples collected up the leftovers and found they had twelve baskets full. (These were small baskets, holding just the amount for the disciples’ own dinner.)

Five small loaves and two tiny fish (a boy’s lunch, John 6:9) fed 5,000 men plus women and children until they were FULL, and were enough for the disciples’ meal as well.

A miracle, indeed.

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(John 6:14-15 tells us the crowd was so amazed by this miracle that they decided to make Jesus king so he could feed them always for free. Jesus, perceiving this, immediately sent the disciples away in a boat, firmly dismissed the crowd, and went up the mountain (finally alone) to pray and possibly to grieve John’s passing.)

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Reading the Gospels in 2026 (10/26): Matthew 12:38-50.

Oct26

Read and Believe in Jesus.

“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” Matthew 12:38

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REVIEW – Last time, the Pharisees, who were already trying to find a reason to “destroy” Jesus because He showed them up for the pious frauds they were, now claimed that Jesus used the power of Satan (Beelzebul) to free a man who was tormented by demons. Jesus fired back that anyone who attributed the power of the precious Holy Spirit to Satan would not be forgiven here or in the world to come. That sin was the “unforgivable sin.”

“Out of the abundance of the HEART the mouth speaks,” Jesus told them. Good people speak good from the good treasure of their hearts, but evil people can’t help but speak evil from the dark depths of their evil hearts.

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Matthew 12: 38-39.

Brushing off that serious rebuke and warning from Jesus, the Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law, demanded that Jesus “show them a sign” to “prove” His authority to speak that way to them.

“An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign.” Jesus fires back, and then continues. ‘NO SIGN will be given except the sign of Jonah.”

Jesus meant two things by “the sign of Jonah.”

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Matthew 12:40-42.

First, and obvious, Jesus compared Jonah’s 3 days inside the “great fish” to the 3 days He would be in the tomb before His resurrection. This was future, however, and meant nothing to the religious leaders at the time. (After Jesus arose, they spent a lot of time bribing and lying to cover it up.)

The teachers of the law would have known the second “sign” of Jonah very well.

Jonah was one of their prophets. His story is in four chapters in the book named after him. Yes, he disobeyed God and ran from the mission to preach to Nineveh (the capital city of their dreaded enemies), got tossed out of a boat, and was swallowed by that fish.

THEN, after being coughed up, he did what God called him to do in the first place: he went to Nineveh, preached to them, and… lo, and behold, the whole city repented in sackcloth and ashes!

Jesus said that the repenting people of Nineveh would rise up to judge these current “religious” leaders of the people on the day of judgment for their rejecting one greater than the prophet – their own Messiah.

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To drive the point home, so these teachers of Old Testament law would understand, Jesus said they would be judged against the Queen of Sheba too. She traveled long and hard on a sincere quest into the truth of Solomon’s wisdom. THESE Pharisees had Jesus right there, so much greater than Solomon, and yet they rejected, scorned, and even plotted to kill Him.

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Matthew 12:43-45.

Then Jesus tells a parable that is difficult to understand at first glance. But He was still talking to the religious leaders who had demanded a sign so they would believe.

In this story, there is a “person,” an “unclean spirit,” a “house,” an “unnamed housecleaner,” and “seven other more evil spirits.”

The story tells of Israel’s past and the many false idols they came to worship and even set up in the temple. God punished them with an exile to Babylon and the destruction of their magnificent temple.

This was the sweeping out of the “unclean spirit” among God’s people. In His mercy, the people returned and rebuilt the Temple, having learned their lesson about idols. And yet, a greater evil now inhabited the Temple: sacrifices, religious services, and teaching; the proud, self-sufficient Teachers of the Law, who bound the people with their minute rules more than the idols had.

The “last state” with the religious leaders sinning and binding the people in more and more rules, and keeping them away from their Messiah, was worse than the first condition.

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The religious leaders probably “got” what Jesus was saying, if the crowds did not. They simmered and plotted His destruction … instead of recognizing their error and turning to Him.

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Matthew 12:46-50.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the crowd, Jesus’ earthly family stood asking to speak to Him. His mother, Mary, and his brothers (two or more of James, Joseph, Simon & Jude). Someone called out to Jesus to alert Him.

Now you might think He would turn and signal a path for His mom and brothers, and hug Mary when she came near. But no. He announced what seems to us like rudeness.

“Who is my mothers, and who are my brothers?”

And gesturing towards His disciples, added, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whosoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus did not put down His earthly family; after all, THEY needed Him as their Savior as well. In His mission and destination on the cross, those who believed in Him as the saving Messiah were “doing the will of His Father in heaven.”

(Mary would do just that, and at least two of His 1/2 brothers did as well: James and Jude).


Reading the Gospels in 2026 (10/20): Matthew 11:1-19.

Oct20

Read and Believe in Jesus.

“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Matthew 11:3.

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REVIEW – Jesus had sent off His twelve disciples/apostles to learn how to bring the gospel to the Jews in cities and towns. Jesus also empowered them with “signs and wonders” to prove the truth of their message.

He ALSO gave them many things to expect. Just as He Himself was sometimes rejected, or even after a healing, ignored, THEY would experience the same. And more. Eventually, they would follow their master into harsher persecution, arrest, trials, and even martyrdom. They were to be prepared and steady in their commitment. The END would make it all good.

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Matthew 11:1-3.

As His disciples went out, Jesus continued teaching and preaching in the towns of Galilee.

(Imagine this ministry spreading everywhere! People heard of healings, cleansings, and other miracles from all directions. The dead were even being raised. It was a miraculous time. Glory be! Surely the Messiah had come! The news spread far and wide.)

Deep in the dungeon of Herod Antipas’ fortress in Perea (across the Jordan), even John the Baptist heard. He wasn’t sure he was hearing it right. All this compassion and helping people… John hadn’t pictured Jesus that way!

(“I baptize you with water for repentance, but HE will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and FIRE.“ John had preached. “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire!”) Matthew 3:11-12.

So John sent some of his faithful disciples (who brought him food and news in prison) to ask Jesus what was going on.

They said, “Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?” How frustrating it must have been for John, confined, hearing second- and third-hand news without seeing for himself.

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Matthew 11:4-6.

Jesus did not say, “Sure, Cuz, it’s me. That fire-and-brimstone stuff comes later. Stay cool!”

No, Jesus showed and told the messengers from John JUST WHAT the Messiah was prophesied to do at His first coming. Jesus healed the blind, made the lame walk, cleansed lepers, made the deaf hear, raised the dead, and preached the “good news” to the poor.

And John recognized the passages in Isaiah as soon as his own disciples brought back the news.

Isaiah 29:18-19, “In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exalt the Holy One of Israel.”

Isaiah 35:4-6, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.”

This describes the Messiah’s first coming. Each of those passages goes on to describe the second coming as well, when evil will be defeated, and the King will rule in justice and holiness.

John had missed that, but when he heard Jesus’ answer, he remembered and realized, YES!! Jesus WAS the Messiah of Israel, the one He’d prepared the way for.

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Matthew 11:7-17.

As John’s messengers left, Jesus turned to the crowd.

“What did you expect to see out in the wilderness?” Jesus asked. “A reed shaken by the wind? A man dressed in soft clothes? NO. But a prophet. MORE than a prophet. John was God’s messenger sent before Me to prepare the way before Me.”

“Truly, I say to you, among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.”

John was greater than the Old Testament prophets because he actually SAW with his eyes and personally participated in the fulfillment of what the others only prophesied.

“Yet… the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

All believers after the cross are greater still, because they participate in the full understanding and experience of Christ’s actual atoning work (which John only foresaw).

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Matthew 11:12-19.

This next part is a little confusing, but Jesus is probably confirming what He said earlier: entering the kingdom is difficult. “The violent take it by force.” He says, “Everyone forces his way into it.” Meaning the way is truly narrow and hard to travel.

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Then Jesus says a strange thing. “If you are willing to accept it, John IS Elijah who is to come.” WHOA!

Of course the people KNEW that the prophet of old HAD NOT DIED. Elijah was taken up alive in a chariot of fire. But hadn’t John the Baptist, himself, denied that he was Elijah? What did Jesus mean?

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Yes, John ‘had come’ “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17), but if they had believed, John would have been ‘the fulfillment of the Elijah prophecies’….

Interested? Check out Mark 9:11-13 and Revelation 11:3-6, in light of your knowledge of the Old Testament.

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Then Jesus compares Himself with John and says people like neither example!

John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said: “He has a demon.”

On the other hand, Jesus came eating and drinking, and they called Him “A glutton and drunkard, and friend of tax collectors and sinners.”

Sheesh!

Thank goodness, Jesus came to please only His Father and do His will… not what fickle people thought He should be and do! Where would we be then??

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Reading the Gospels in 2026 (10/16): Matthew 10:1-20.

Oct16

Read and Believe in Jesus.

“Do not be anxious about how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.” Matthew 10:19

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REVIEW – As Jesus ministered in Capernaum, the crowd followed; people with illnesses were brought to Him, and seeing their faith… He healed them all. A few days before, Jesus had healed those demon-filled men in Gadara. In response to questions, He taught about His kingdom. It was almost as if He was giving His disciples an “example.”

At the end of yesterday’s reading, we saw a brief summary of His work. 1) He went throughout all the cities and villages, 2) teaching and proclaiming the Gospel of His kingdom, and 3) healing every disease and affliction. He saw the people as sheep without a shepherd and had compassion on them.

Then, He spoke specifically to His disciples. 1) The harvest is great, 2) the laborers are few. 3. Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest. And in today’s reading, Jesus does just THAT.

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Matthew 10:1-5a.

Jesus now specifically calls twelve men from the many who are still faithfully following Him to be His Apostles (sent-out ones). He gives them divine authority to do the very things He has been doing, because this will be their work after He is gone – to spread the Gospel, followed by signs and wonders as proof of their apostleship.

They will have authority over DEMONS, and power to HEAL every disease and affliction. (If you read through Acts, you will see this happening too.) At the end of today’s passage, you will see that they will have the Holy Spirit’s help in WHAT to say and HOW to say it.

See how Matthew lists the disciples in pairs. Did Jesus send them out this way? (If so, it’s very interesting to consider who went with whom.) Or was this simply an easier way to memorize their names?

  • Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother,
  • James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother,
  • Philip and Bartholomew,
  • Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector,
  • James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus,
  • Simon the Zealot. and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

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Matthew 10:5-15

Jesus sent these men out FIRST to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Even later, Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, went to Jews first, then the rest of the world.

They were FIRST to preach that the kingdom had come (in Jesus). They were to HEAL the sick, RAISE the dead, CLEANSE lepers, and CAST OUT demons to verify their message. And they were to go only where the message was accepted. They were not to receive pay, only ‘room and board.’ If the people rejected their message, they were to abandon that work and go on to another.

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Matthew 10:16-20.

This warning and challenge from Jesus will stretch far beyond the days in which He spoke them, into the time after the Church’s birth at Pentecost, and even into our day.

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves … so, be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.”

And then comes the encouragement and promise.

“WHEN they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”

That was probably more than what they wanted to hear as they set out in pairs for the towns in Galilee. But certainly, as these men later scattered throughout the then-known world (and were martyred for their Lord), they would remember Jesus’ words and stand with faith and courage.

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Reading the Gospels in 2026 (9/4): John 21:15-23.

Sep4

Read and Believe in Jesus.

“What is that to you? YOU follow me.” John 21:23.

REVIEW – Back in Galilee, seven of the disciples decide to go fishing – their OLD occupation – while they wait for Jesus. This effort yields zero fish. Then Jesus appears and basically tells them how to do their job. They obey, and this time the reward is a humongous catch of fish. (Lesson one: without Jesus, we can do nothing. But submit to Him, and our efforts will be fruitful, 30x, 60x, or even 100x.)

Jesus had prepared some bread and grilled fish for breakfast. He could have multiplied His small amount to feed them all, but He asked the disciples to bring some of the fish THEY had caught to the meal. He finished cooking them, broke the bread, and passed around this “familiar” meal. (Lesson two: Jesus can use whatever we willingly give Him to further His Kingdom and bless others.)

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John 31:15-17.

After breakfast, no one left the circle; instead, they turned toward Jesus, perhaps expecting Him to give them more instruction. They all learned something that morning; it’s true, but it was to Peter that Jesus directed His words.

“Simon, son of John (bar Jonah), do you love me MORE THAN THESE?” (Notice that Jesus uses Peter’s “old” name, meaning he was “walking in the flesh, not the spirit.” Peter remembered how he had at one time boasted that, “Though THEY ALL fall away because of you, I WILL NEVER fall away!” Matt.26:33)

“Yes, Lord, You know that I love you.” Did he feel the hot stares of the other disciples on him? Did he glance around at the other disciples for confirmation? All were silent. But they HAD heard.

Jesus didn’t contradict Peter; He instructed him, “Feed My lambs.” Peter’s mission was to care more for OTHERS than for himself.

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Then Jesus continued. “Simon, bar Jonah, do you love ME?”

“Yes, Lord, you know that I love you,” Peter said, perhaps more quietly. Was he remembering how he’d once, twice… three times denied Jesus? Swearing that he did not even KNOW his Lord? I can imagine Peter squeezing his eyes closed as tears began.

“Tend My sheep,” Jesus instructed, challenging Peter to be a good shepherd over those he would lead, as his Master was.

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And then, for the third time, came that stinging, probing question, “Simon bar Jonah, do you love me?”

Peter, grieved perhaps as much as when he’d heard the rooster crow and remembered Jesus’ dark prediction, may have fallen to his knees at this point. “Lord … You know everything! You KNOW that I love You!”

Peter’s true humility and sorrow for his denials are revealed. Jesus knew it, but now the other disciples had witnessed it. He grew tall again in their estimation, although he was bowed low at Jesus’ feet. The others could now trust him to lead them again.

I imagine Jesus gently smiling as he reached out and pulled Peter to his feet. “Feed my sheep.” And I imagine Peter nodded.

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John had now shown the THIRD thing he wanted to make clear in this “epilogue chapter” – Peter’s reinstatement into leadership. That done, he was ready for that pesky rumor. The FOURTH thing he needed to do was reveal how the rumor started, then refute it.

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John 31:18-23.

After Jesus finished calling out the veracity of Peter’s love, and seeing Peter humble himself for ready service, He led him apart for a different revelation. Best friend John followed quietly along.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, Peter, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.”

Jesus said this to show the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. (imprisonment and crucifixion – stretching out his hands)

Perhaps Peter was thinking about Jesus’ words to them in Matthew 16:24-28. Read them now as Peter might have been recalling them….

  • Matthew 16:24 – “Then Jesus told His disciples, ‘If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me.
  • 16:25 – “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
  • 16:26 – “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
  • 16:27 – “For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what he has done,
  • AND THEN…..
  • 16:28 – “Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

Wait, what? What did Peter just remember???

Walking with Jesus on the beach of Galilee, after breakfast and a difficult but sweet time of restoration, Peter remembered THOSE WORDS?

He looks at John and says to Jesus, “Lord, what about THIS man?”

Oh, no, that not-so-friendly competition raises its head. If Peter is destined to die, crucified, what about John? Will he suffer that death too? Or will he be one of those who…?

Then Jesus speaks the words that someone heard and spread as a rumor. “If it is My will that he remain until I come…what is it to you? YOU follow me.”

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Of course, Jesus was not promising that His beloved disciple would live until He returned. Jesus’ point was for Peter to ‘mind his own business.’ Peter was to accomplish Jesus’ will for HIS life, and not look at others’. Keep your eyes on Jesus, Peter! Follow in His steps.

By telling how it started, John hoped to quell this rumor.

By the way, Peter lived 30 more years and was martyred in Rome by crucifixion, hanging upside down. John lived 60+ more years and suffered torture and exile. God preserved him to write the book of Revelation; then he died a natural death of old age.

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John 21:24-25.

John then attests to the fact that it is HE, JOHN, who has written this. He is a WITNESS of these things. That should settle it. And then, before he lays his quill down for the final time, John’s mind is filled with many, many other things he could write about Jesus. Then he “waxed poetic.”

“Were every one of the things that Jesus did to be written… I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”

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“Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.“

The famous last stanza of the classic Christian hymn The Love of God, written by Frederick M. Lehman in 1917.

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Next up, The Gospel of Matthew.

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (8/19): John 18:1-14

Aug19

Read and believe in Jesus

“I have told you that I am He, so if you seek Me, let these men go.” John 18:8

REVIEW – Jesus finished His “high-priestly” prayer for His disciples, including all of us who would also believe on His name through their testimony. Jesus’ earnest words for love and unity among them, as it was within the Trinity and including the disciples, were to prove to the world that God had indeed sent Him into the world to save all who would believe. Jesus WAS the promised Messiah, come out of immense love to save them.

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John 18:1-3.

It was then that Jesus led these men out of the upper room, through the darkened streets of Jerusalem, across the Kidron Brook, and up into a garden area where an “olive press” (Gethsemane) was located.

Jesus and the Twelve had probably met there often for private rest or teaching or maybe even overnight. It was here that Nicodemus came one night to talk with Jesus.

Perhaps it was a garden owned by a friend, such as Mark’s parents, who also had lent the upper room to Jesus for the Passover meal.

Regardless, all the disciples knew it.

Including Judas.

It was to this place that the betrayer led a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, carrying lanterns, torches … and weapons.

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John 18:4-9.

Jesus stepped in front of His disciples, who I’m sure stood, shocked, with mouths agape, especially when they saw Judas. What was happening? They wondered.

“Whom do you seek?” Jesus demanded.

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered.

“I AM HE,” Jesus said, and at once the whole bunch stepped backward and fell to the ground, including Judas!

After getting up, brushing themselves off, and picking up their lanterns and weapons, Jesus asked them again, “Whom do you seek?”

Did it come hesitantly? “Er.. Jesus of Nazareth.”

“I told you that I am He, so… if you seek ME, let these men go.” This was to fulfill the word that He had spoken, “Of those whom you gave Me I have lost not one.”

(NOTE: If you like, you can review all the times where Jesus DID promise this. See John 6:39, 40, 44; 10:28; and 17:12)

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John 18:10-11.

Have you noticed that the disciples seem paralyzed and speechless through it all, in shock and fear? Even Peter says nothing.

But he does DO something.

Having a sword, Peter draws it, steps forward, and swings it at the High Priest’s neck.

Malchus, Caiaphas’s servant, steps in front and takes the blow, which severs his right ear. He grabs the side of his head and howls. Peter stands aghast, staring at the bleeding servant.

“Peter,” Jesus says softly. “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

(NOTE: Dr. Luke, in 22:51 of his Gospel, states that Jesus touched Malchus’s ear and healed him.)

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John 18:12-14.

And so, “the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and tied Him up.” They led Him first to the house of Annas, the former High Priest, and father-in-law to Caiaphas, the man currently in that office. (He was the one who said it would be expedient that One Man should die for the people.)

But what of the disciples? Matthew 26:56 and Mark 14:51 both record, “And all the disciples left Him and fled.”

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NOTE: In the next reading, we’ll see that Peter turned back and followed Jesus at a distance and so did John. John had a little leverage at the Court, and arranged for Peter to come into the courtyard to warm himself by the fire. John himself then went into the place where Jesus was being interrogated and recorded for us what happened.

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Reading the Gospels in 2026 (8/6) John 14:1-14

Aug6

Read and believe in Jesus

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me.” John 14:1

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – Jesus and His disciples are closed off from the world in the upper room for the Passover meal. Judas is gone, and now Jesus turns to His “little children” to begin a very intimate time of personal teaching. He gives them a new, specific commandment for believers in Christ: ‘Love one another AS I have loved you.’ Jesus loved them to the end (death), and that’s what He is asking them to do for each other. This sacrificial love is what will “wow” the world and show them that Jesus IS real.

Peter is dismayed when Jesus tells them He’s going away and they can’t come with Him. Peter vows to die with Jesus, but Jesus is speaking not only of His physical death, but His death on the cross, as their substitute, the sinless “sinner,” lifted up on a cross, upon whom the wrath of God for sin will be poured out…once for all time. (Hebrews 9:26-29, 1 Peter 3:18 – yes, Peter finally gets it!)

And… Jesus gives Peter a “wake-up call” that keeps him silent for the rest of the evening – “YOU will deny me 3X tonight!!”

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John 14:1-7.

Jesus turns to the eleven and says gently,

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you? I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that … where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I’m going.”

Thomas, the loving but melancholy disciple (who had vowed to go into danger in Judea even if it meant he would die), says anxiously, “Lord! We do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? ”

Jesus reminded Thomas that it was not a “road” but a “person” that would lead them to that heavenly mansion and His Father. “I am the WAY, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Did Thomas nod thoughtfully at this?

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John 14:8-11.

Jesus continues, looking around at his men. “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you DO know Him and have SEEN Him.”

It’s Philip’s turn now, and he asks, perhaps scratching his head, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”


Did Jesus sigh and look toward the ceiling? “Have I been with you so long, and you STILL do not know me, Philip?” Jesus asks His confused disciple.

“Whoever has seen ME has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does His works.”

Then perhaps Jesus turns to the rest of the men and says, “Believe ME that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe on account of the works themselves.”

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John 14:12-14

Jesus now challenges them. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works (miracles) that I do, and greater works than these will he do.” (How?) “Because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

“If you ask anything in My Name, I will do it.”

Wow!!

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(Were the disciples as glassy-eyed as I am now, with more to come? This was a lot to take in for the Eleven. I mean, A LOT! )

Thomas and Philip have been speaking up for us, asking those hard questions, but Peter sits with his chin cupped in his hand, staring at his plate, with a very anxious and scared look on his face. He mumbles, ‘Betray Him three times?’

John‘s mind is busy, his eyes and ears wide open, wishing he had a scroll and quill, and thinking how he will remember all this to write down later for his gospel. (He will soon hear Jesus tell of the Holy Spirit’s super help!)

Nathaniel is scouring his brain for Old Testament prophecies that agree with what Jesus is saying, and nodding when some come to his memory. “Yes… and yes…” he murmurs.

James, the other ‘son of thunder,’ is perhaps thinking of that stunning event on Mt. Tabor when Jesus was transfigured before their eyes, and the voice of the Father thundered. Yes… he could see how Jesus and the Father are one together; in glorious light and majesty! “I can’t wait to share in that heavenly glory!” he thought.

Matthew gasps quietly as Jesus talks, seeing how all the things He’s saying relate to His parables of “the kingdom,” and how, when Jesus’ followers will pray and ask Him, and instantly get help… the kingdom of Heaven will surely come quickly!

Simon’s zealot heart pounds in his chest. We will do greater works than the Master?! We can ask whatever we will for “the cause of Christ” and for “His glory,” and the Master will hear and answer? “Glory Hallelujah!” Nothing can stop us!

Andrew‘s thoughts go back to the grassy hillside when the hunger of thousands of people touched Jesus’ compassionate heart. He remembers the little boy with a cloth sack over his shoulder pulling at his sleeve and offering the meager lunch to the Master. Andrew remembers bringing the lad to Jesus, and… that miracle that followed. YES! Andrew believes Jesus is the Messiah both because of His words and also because of His works… His miracles. ‘And WE are to do greater ones?’ OH!

Alphaeus’ son, James, keeps his thoughts to himself, but watches his ‘possible brother’ (compare Mark 2:14 with Acts 1:13), Levi’s (Matthew’s) ink-stained fingers as he lifts his hands in silent praise.

The “other Judas,” the son of James, is also listening silently, but he will speak a question later in the chapter. (14:22).

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (7/21) John 10:22-42

Jul21

Read and believe in Jesus

“” John

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – Jesus clearly stated that HE was the good Shepherd of Israel. He kept His sheep safe, fed them, and in fact, would lay down His life for them. He also compared Himself to the gate or door into the sheepfold – the ONLY door. There is only one way to safety, to God, to salvation, to heaven, and it is Jesus. Jesus knows that the very authorities who are harassing Him are the ones who will demand His death at the hands of the Roman government, but with power He reminds them that HE is the one with the authority, the power to give up His life. AND, He alone has the power and authority to “take it up again,” or be resurrected to life. A division among the leaders about Jesus is beginning to be apparent. But the evil core will press till they kill Him.

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John 10:22-30.

It’s now about a month or so later, in December. The Feast of Dedication, also called the Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah, is being celebrated.

(NOTE: This is not one of the Feasts that God required Israel to celebrate. In fact, it didn’t even start until 164 BC. In 170 BC, Israel fought against the then Syrian leader, Antiochus Epiphanes, who had captured Jerusalem and defiled the Temple. This Hasmonian family successfully freed the temple and the land from Syrian dominance until 63 BC, when Rome, under Pompey, took control.

This bit of guerrilla warfare was called the “Maccabean Revolt.” However, the Temple needed cleansing and their was but ONE day’s worth of sacred oil to anoint all the holy articles. It would take 8 days to make a new supply and they prayed. God allowed that ONE day’s worth of oil to light the Candlestick in the Temple for the EIGHT days. (This is why the eight candles on a Menorah are lit each night on Hanukkah today, in remembrance of that Miracle.)

Anyway, Jesus was in Jerusalem again. Since it was winter and cold, He was on the eastern side of the Temple under the sheltering “porch,” or colonnade, of Solomon (presumably with His disciples).

Some of the religious authorities approached Jesus, gathered in a circle around Him, and demanded, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you ARE the Christ (Messiah), tell us plainly.”

Jesus answered them plainly. “I told you, and you do not believe.” Yes, He had. And several times they picked up stones to kill Him for blasphemy. But they wanted to hear His words again, encircling Him as they did, so He couldn’t escape this time.

Jesus tells them that the “works” (miracles) He does in His Father’s name should be enough proof of Who He is. But they can’t “see” that, because they are not “His sheep.” They can’t “hear” His voice calling them to follow Him either. If they DID see and hear… and believe, Jesus said He would give them eternal life, and they would never perish.

Then Jesus said that “His sheep” are safe. “No one can snatch them out of My hand.” And, “No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand either.” Why? And here is the clincher they were waiting for: “The Father and I are One.”

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John 10:31-39

And the Jews picked up stones to stone Him.

Jesus holds them back with His words. “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”

“It’s not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for BLASPHEMY, because YOU, being a man, make Yourself GOD,” they answer.

Then Jesus holds them back with what WE think is a very confusing argument. He talks about God calling some unjust judges “gods” (Psalm 82:6), and they know that the scripture can’t be broken; and so what’s the problem with Him calling Himself “the Son of God?”

They are perplexed for a minute, thinking that over.

Jesus continues, “If I am NOT doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; BUT if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that … the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.”

Again they sought to arrest him, but Jesus escaped from their hands.

Hey, when it is NOT the time for arresting Him, NOTHING can stop Jesus’ escape.

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John 10:41-42.

Because of the increasing hostility, Jesus left Jerusalem and retreated across the Jordan River to where John had been baptizing. (This is where Jesus’ ministry had begun, with His own baptism, the Holy Spirit descending on Him, and the voice of His Father.) Many followed Him there, people who had heard John’s declarations about Him, and they believed in Him.

Jesus remained there until it was time for that “last” journey to Jerusalem near Passover, which would end in His death (and Resurrection).

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (7/20) John 10:1-27

Jul20

Read and believe in Jesus

“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved…“ John 10:9a

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – In three parts, Jesus has healed a man born blind, watched as the man’s faith grew under persecution by the Jewish leaders, and then blossomed into true discipleship and worship when he met Jesus face to face.

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John 10:1-6

Jesus continues speaking to the same people from chapter 9: religious leaders (false shepherds) who were blind so they could not lead God’s people; the people listening, whom Jesus refers to as the sheep (all Israel); and the few believers in the crowd (My sheep).

(Israel is often compared to sheep in the Old Testament, with the Lord as their shepherd (Psalm 23:1). “He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in his arms (Isaiah 40:11), and promises that one day, “I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.” Jeremiah 3:15.)

Jesus tells them, “in a metaphor,” that HE is the Shepherd of the sheep. When He speaks to “His sheep,” they hear him and follow Him. They know His voice and trust Him.

And although the religious leaders knew the O. T. scriptures, revealing that they were NOT the kind of shepherds that pleased the Lord. “They did not understand what Jesus was saying to them.”

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john 10:7-9

Jesus elaborates on the metaphor of sheep and shepherds from a different angle.

“I am the door of the sheep(fold). All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.”

“I am the door. If anyone enters BY ME, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” Jesus is saying that belief in HIM is the only way to be saved. (John 14:5 says it even more clearly, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” )

The door, the gate, the way. There is NO OTHER possible means to be saved except by Jesus and faith in His atoning work on the cross.

Jesus continues to state this even more clearly. “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”

He compares Himself and His way of shepherding to that of the current and past shepherds of Israel. They were as ‘hired hands,’ not really caring for the sheep, only what they could get from the job. In their case, prestige, admiration, money. BUT, when real difficulty came, they were nowhere to be found, protecting themselves from the “wolves” who attacked the sheep. They were … BAD shepherds!

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

There is personal knowledge between the Good Shepherd and His own. He knows them personally, cares for them (read Psalm 23 again), and will sacrifice Himself for them.

“And I have ‘other sheep’ that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and THEY will listen to my voice.”

Jesus is speaking of most of us, Gentiles, non-Jews. Yes, He has opened His “sheepfold” to include us as well, to any who come to Him by faith.

“So there will be ONE FLOCK, one Shepherd.”

Paul reinforces this truth. In Christ “there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on ALL who call on Him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:12.

And also, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all ONE in Christ Jesus. And, if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” Galatians 3:28-29

Wow, what a promise!

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Then, probably looking straight at those religious authorities who will (in a few months) take Jesus to trial and demand His life from the Roman governor, looking at THEM, Jesus says…

“I lay down my life that I may take it up again. NO ONE takes it from me, but I lay it down of my OWN accord. I HAVE AUTHORITY to lay it down, and I have AUTHORITY to take it up again. I received this from My Father.”

WHEW! I wonder if they stepped back a pace or two at the power of Jesus’ words?

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John 10:19-21.

It’s interesting that “there was again division among the Jews because of these words.“

Many said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to Him?

But others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

This is not the first time that there was division among the authorities.

In John 7:40-52, some were “wowed” by Jesus’ words, and Nicodemus even questions their ire against Him. (We know that both Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, members of the Sanhedrin, later believed in Jesus and were responsible for burying His body after the crucifixion.)

John 9:16 tells us that at the testimony of the formerly blind man, “Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.’ But others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner do such signs/’ And there was a division among them”

Acts 6:7 also says that “a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith” under the apostles’ preaching. (That must have stirred up a hornet’s nest!)

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Anyway, it was much like today. Some will believe in Jesus and receive everlasting life and resurrection on the last day… and some will refuse to believe and forfeit eternal life in heaven for agony in hell… for eternity. Oh, be one of the former ones!!