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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 312

Nov8

A NEW MONTH!

Day 312 – Reading – Matthew 25

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 25.

Jesus continues His warnings about the end times, this time using parables and illustrations.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins warns about being prepared. Ten young women, bridesmaids, waited at the Bride’s house for the Bridegroom to come, so they could form a procession to the festivities.  These gals waited a long time, all of them napping as it got later and later.  Their oil lamps burned lower and lower. 

Finally, the joyful call that the Bridegroom was coming!  Quickly, they trimmed the wicks of their lamps, and five of them refilled them with oil.  But the other five could not.

They thought they had an adequate supply in their lamps.  They did not bring extra oil.  They did not plan on waiting a long time or persevering through the long night.  When they asked to borrow some from the others, they were denied. Perseverance and faithfulness (the oil) are a personal thing: each must have their own supply in their heart.

“Watch therefore,” Jesus said, “for you know neither the day nor the hour (of the Lord’s coming).”

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The Parable of the Talents is a similar story about wasting opportunities or being faithful in the Lord’s work until He returns.  A businessman was going on a journey and called His three top servants together to assign work while he was gone. 

To his best worker, he gave a very sizable amount of money to be responsible for – FIVE talents of silver. (One silver talent was equivalent to 20 years’ wages for a common laborer).  To the man’s next best servant, the man gave the responsibility of TWO talents of silver. And to the third man, he gave the oversight of ONE silver talent.  Then the businessman went away, confident his men would do well by him.

The best worker traded on the stock market and doubled his master’s money.

The second-best worker did the same, doubling the two talents he had.

But the third man, fearful of any risk, hid the silver talent safely in a vault in the ground.  He was sure not to lose any of it that way.

When the businessman finally returned, he called all three to account.  He was very pleased with the first two servants’ wisdom and the increase in his money. He praised them and rewarded them handsomely.

But he was very disappointed and angry at the third man.  If indeed the servant knew he was a “hard man” who gathered where he did not sow, should he not have AT LEAST put the talent in the bank where it would have earned interest?  The servant was wicked and slothful, and he was kicked out into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The wait for the Lord’s second coming may seem long (2,000 years?).  But Jesus’ true followers must be faithful, prepared, and working for the Kingdom, as God has enabled them..

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The illustration of Judgment Day tells us about those who obey or disobey His Commands to love one another (even our enemies). This love reflects God’s great, undeserved love for us and the root of His salvation, planned from before the world began.

At the end, on judgment day, the King will divide the people of all the nations into “the sheep” and “the goats.”  Sheep on the right (the side of blessing) and goats on the left (the side of judgment).  He will bless the sheep and give them the Kingdom that the Father had prepared for them.

Why are we rewarded? they ask.  The King answered, “For when I was hungry, you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”

“When did we do all this?” the sheep asked.

“When you did it to one of the least of these my brothers… you did it to me.”

THEN…

The King turned to the “goats” on His left and said, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!”

‘Na-a-a-a, why?” they asked, and were told that when confronted with the hungry and thirsty, strangers, naked ones, the sick and imprisoned … they – from their hard, selfish hearts – did not assist, supply, or help at all.  And because they did not do kindness to these, they had not done it for the King. 

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Again, the Lord is interested in our hearts. Do we look for His coming with longing, serving Him no matter how long it takes?  Do we shun laziness, and honor Him always with what little or abundance that we have?  And are we forsaking self desires and from out hearts serving others with love and kindness?

He knows.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 308

Nov4

A NEW MONTH!

Day 308 – Reading – Matthew 22 and Mark 12

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 22 and Mark 12.

These two chapters have similar accounts of Jesus, so we’ll take them together. The events take place in Jerusalem (sometimes in the Temple) after Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and before Passover Thursday.

Both of these chapters begin with parables (The Wedding Feast and The Tenants).  Both speak of people who were asked by someone to DO something. (attend the wedding and take care of the property).  Both decided NOT to comply, so a second group of people was then considered. (common people from the byways and a new set of tenants).   

The Jewish religious leaders knew that both of these parables were directed at THEM, and resented Jesus even more.  Jesus was saying that the very people who knew “the law and prophets” thoroughly did not see their Messiah when he came, but the common people did, and accepted Him. So THEY were chosen to enter the Kingdom.

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Now we’re going to see several different Jewish Religious groups coming to test Jesus. 

The Pharisees and Herodians.  (This was a weird combo. An uber-pious Jewish religious group and a secular political group with leanings toward Rome.)

First, the “butter up.” “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God.”

Then the test question. “Tell us what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them or should we not?”

(Heh, heh, heh.  They thought they had Him between “a rock and a hard place:” his Jewish heritage and the Roman rule they lived under.  WHICH would he say?)

Jesus asked for a coin commonly used at that time (think of a Quarter in the United States).   “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 

They admitted, “Caesar’s.”

“So, then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”  When they heard Jesus give this answer, they marveled and went away.

(Score one for Jesus.)

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Next, The Sadducees came to Jesus with a test question. (Now the Sadducees did not believe in the bodily resurrection. That was why they were “sad, you see.” Haha.)

First, understand the law (Deuteronomy 25:5-10) that gave a provision to ensure family ties were kept intact and that widows were cared for. It stated that if a woman became a widow without children (who cared for widows then), her dead husband’s brother should marry her and raise a child to carry on the deceased’s name and property rights in the Land, and to care for the widow.  It was a kindness.

And so, the Sadducees came with this facetious question.  If a woman’s husband died without giving her a child, and each of his seven brothers also tried but died without giving her a child … and then the woman died.  In the “resurrection,” WHOSE WIFE WOULD SHE BE?

Ha, ha, ha.  They thought they had Jesus trapped now. 

But Jesus landed on their one mistake. Although Jewish scholars, they obviously did not understand the Word.  “You are wrong because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.”  Then Jesus went on to tell them that in Heaven, there would not be marriage.  That was a provision on earth to procreate.  And as far as people living on after death, Jesus asked them to consider the scripture where God said, “I Am” the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” He is not God of the DEAD but of the LIVING.    

The crowd heard this and were astonished at His teaching.

(Score 2 for Jesus)

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When one of the Pharisees heard how Jesus had silenced their rivals, the Sadducees, they gathered together and appointed one as their spokesperson.

The Pharisee: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the Law?

Jesus: “‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’  And the second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments depend all the Law and Prophets.”

The Pharisee:  “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that He is 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.”

Jesus:  “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

And after that, no one dared to ask Him any more questions.

(Score 3 for Jesus)

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Jesus then ASKED THEM a question. “What do you think about ‘the Christ’?  Whose son is he?

Pharisees:  “He is the son of David.”

Jesus: “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls Him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet?’  If then David calls Him Lord, how is He his son?”  (Psalm 110:1)

And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask a question.

(Score 4 for Jesus)

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Mark adds this vignette. 

Jesus and his disciples were sitting in the Temple court opposite the Treasury, watching people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.  And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make one penny.

Jesus: “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.”   And to the disciples’ questioning looks, He added, “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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“Beware of the scribes/Pharisees, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ homes and for a pretense make long prayers.  THEY will receive the greater condemnation”

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 306 & 307

Nov3

A NEW MONTH!

SUNDAY and MONDAY studies are posted together on Mondays

Day 306 – Reading – Luke 19

Day 307 – Reading – Mark 11 and John 12

Read and believe in Jesus!

SUNDAY – Day 306 – Luke 19.

Today’s chapter in Luke will revisit some of the events from yesterday’s reading in Matthew.  We will go back to Jericho and meet another Tax Collector named Zacchaeus.  He was a chief tax collector, and as such, he was very wealthy and very disliked. Not only did he collect taxes, but he also oversaw others and probably got a “cut” of their money. 

But Zacchaeus was different from that rich young ruler in the previous chapter.  We will see that his money meant little to him, and he was very eager to see Jesus. 

He was a “wee little man,” or so the children’s song goes, and he could not see Him over the heads of the crowd that followed Jesus as he walked through the city.  Quickly, the enterprising tax collector climbed up in a nearby sycamore tree and spotted Jesus.  Jesus saw him in the tree, knew the thoughts and intents of his heart, and stopped.  

“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”

As he scrambled down from the tree, did Zacchaeus wonder how Jesus knew his name? The crowd parted, and the short tax collector pushed through, joyfully leading the way to his house. 

Of course, the crowd grumbled when they saw Jesus go into “that sinner” Zacchaeus’ house.

Before Zacchaeus even called for lunch, he confessed to Jesus, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything (of course, he had!), I will restore it fourfold.”

How different from that rich young ruler, who went away from Jesus sorrowfully, because he didn’t want to give away even a penny. Zacchaeus offered much more.  The law required only 20% restitution (not half), and replacement of twice the value, not four times.  His heart was truly repentant. 

“Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

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Then Jesus told a parable, perhaps even as they all reclined around Zacchaeus’ meal.  It was to remind His followers that Jesus was NOT (right then) going to establish His Kingdom on earth. (He had to suffer and die first, but they seemed deaf to that message.)  So … Perhaps a parable would get them thinking.

He told a story about a nobleman who planned to claim his kingdom and then return.   While he was gone, his servants were to conduct business and make a profit for him. He gave them each 10 minas to work with. He went, received his kingdom, and returned home.  He asked each of his servants what they had gained for him.

One made a tenfold profit. “Good job. You shall have authority over ten cities in my kingdom.”

One made a fivefold profit. “Good job as well. You will be over five cities.”

One made zero profit. He said, “I put the ten mina in my handkerchief, for I was afraid of you. Here is your minas.”  “You wicked servant. Why did you not put my money in the bank so I might have at least collected the interest? Take that mina from him and give it to the one who earned a 10X profit.”

Perhaps the disciples scratched their heads at this, but probably Zacchaeus understood well about profit and loss and nodded his head in understanding.

 But did they all understand that He, the nobleman in the parable, was going away to claim his Kingdom, not seizing it in Jerusalem?

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Then, as we read yesterday, Jesus proceeded to Bethphage, where the disciples procured a donkey-colt for him to ride on. And as he rode down toward the gate of Jerusalem, the crowd began waving palm branches and strewing them and their cloaks on the ground for Jesus to ride over. 

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” they shouted.

Some Pharisees were in the crowd and shouted at Jesus. “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

“I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out,” He answered.

Then at one point, Jesus wept over the Holy City, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.” And He predicted the time when Jerusalem would fall with not one stone left on another … because they didn’t recognize the “day of their visitation.”  (His time with them.)

Inside the city, the chief priests and scribe sought to destroy Him, but they did not find anything they could do … because all the people were hanging on  His Words.

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MONDAY – Day 307 – Mark 11.

Mark repeats the account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the brief time in the Temple court.

He tells of Jesus cleansing the temple from those who sold and bought there.  He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.  He ferociously quoted the passage in Isaiah about them making his Father’s house into a den of robbers, when it was supposed to be a place of prayer. 

Jesus left the city and spent the night in Bethany.  The next day, Mark also tells of Jesus cursing the barren fig tree because it had no fruit, perhaps indicating how, when He came to “His own,” He found Israel barren of “good” fruit, and not looking for their Messiah.

Inside, the Jewish leaders again challenge Jesus’ authority to do the things He did (cleansing the temple, etc.).  Of course, Jesus met their challenge with one of His own and they left.

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John 12.

John’s account backs up a little too, to the night they spent in Bethany before getting the donkey & colt at Bethphage the next day. 

It was at the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, Jesus’s beloved home, about 2 miles from Jerusalem. They gave a dinner from Him, Martha served, and Lazarus reclined at the table near Jesus.  Mary, whose heart was wound up in her Lord, came with an expensive jar of ointment and anointed Jesus’s feet, wiping them with her hair.  The whole house was filled with the amazing aroma of the perfume.

“WHY was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”  

Judas Iscariot just could not keep it in.  He saw Mary’s act of extreme love and worship as a big waste.  (Of course, he was the treasurer of the group and kept the money bag, pilfering some from time to time for himself.  If that 300 denarii had been in his pouch, he could have stolen quite a bit.)

“Leave her alone,” Jesus said. “She has kept it for the day of my burial.  YOU always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

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When the large crowd discovered that Jesus was staying there, they crowded around to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.  So the chief priests and scribes made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because the miracle turned many Jews to believe in Jesus.

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Jesus then rode into Jerusalem the next day to the praises and blessings from the crowd. “Hosannah…the King of Israel,”  The Pharisees grumbled to each other, “You see that we are gaining nothing.  Look!  The world has gone after Him.”

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“The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified,” Jesus says. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

At one point, Jesus stops and prays to His father in growing anguish. “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.”

A voice thundered from Heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again!”

“This voice has come for your sake, not mine,” Jesus told the people. “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (He said this, indicating how he would die.)

But the people responded that they read in the Law that the Messiah would live forever.  What was this about Him dying? Who is this Son of Man, anyway?

‘Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. While you have the Light, believe in the light.”   “Whoever believes in me believes in Him who sent me.   I have come into the world as Light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness,” said Jesus, the Holy One of God, among many other things. 

Many of the authorities believed in Him, but for fear of the Pharisees, they did not confess it.  They loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 305

Nov1

A NEW MONTH!

Day 305 – Reading – Matthew 20 – 21

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 20.

The Parable of the Vineyard. (Read verses 1-16. What do you think is Jesus’ message?)

At sun-up (6:00 a.m.), a vineyard owner went to the marketplace to hire day workers. (You’ve all see them: men waiting abound Home Depot or other places for day work.)  The owner picked some and took them to his vineyard. On the way, they settled on the usual day’s pay for a day’s work – a denarius.   

The owner saw that he would need more laborers. Perhaps the heat was damaging the grapes, or a storm threatened.  At 9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m. he went back and hired more men. Each of these later hires agreed on “what was fair” as pay.

At 6:00 p.m. (12 hours after the first hire), the owner told the foreman to pay the men and send them home. All had done a great job.  Oh, and he was to begin with the last hired, and go on until the first hired with his “paychecks”. (coins) 

The foreman did just that.  As the earliest hires who had worked a full 12 hours watched the others being paid the same wage they had agreed on, the thought “Wow, WE must be getting much more, having been here ALL DAY.  But when the foreman came to them, he doled out a denarius to each.  These workers looked at the coin in their hand and were disappointed, even a bit outraged. THEY had worked for 12 hours, the last men had worked only ONE!  It wasn’t fair!

Was it?

The owner of the vineyard came to see the problem and asked them, “Friends, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take your pay and go. I choose to give these last workers as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?  Do you begrudge my generosity?”  

Jesus added to the listeners of this parable to help their understanding, “So the last will be first, and the first last.”

OH PLEASE! Let us not begrudge the Lord’s generosity!  For this is a picture-story of all those who are saved by faith in the work of Jesus on the cross.  Some are saved early and work their entire lives for God, perhaps even giving their lives as martyrs.  Then some believe and are saved late in their lives, such as an old gentleman, or and elderly house cleaner.  Or … the thief on the cross.  They have no, or very little time to work in some ministry.  The thief, had only time to BELIEVE.  But still, we all can be confident that a beautiful, forever “Eternal Life” is waiting for us when they die.  Praise God! Thank You for Your so great salvation!

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Matthew 21.

The time of Jesus “hour” that he predicted three times to His disciples … is beginning.  Having set His face like a flint to do as His Father asks, Jesus now approaches Jerusalem. They stop in Bethphage.  Jesus is not tired, but He knows there is scripture to be fulfilled. (Zechariah 9:9) He sends two of His disciples into town to get a donkey for Him to ride on. (Matthew tells us that the donkey had a foal, which had never be ridden.)  

“But what if…” they questioned Jesus.

“If anyone asks, say, ‘The Lord has need of it.”

They get the animals and throw their cloaks on the back of the colt, and Jesus sat on it.  (Now…in normal life, that unbroke colt would have shied away from the flapping cloaks, and surely bucked at the weight of a human on its back.  But this Man, was his Creator. He instantly obeyed.)

As Jesus began riding down the Mount of Olives toward the City gate, the crowd “saw” what was happening.  They began to throw their cloaks and cut palm branches on the road before Jesus.  Excitement grew, and they began shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosannah in the highest!” (Psalm 118:25)

As Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up.  “Who is this?” some cried.  “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee!”

(If you want to see how all this (and Jesus’ death) fulfills Daniel’s “weeks” prophecy, read Daniel 9:24-26.)

(At some point, Jesus dismounts the colt and either a disciple, or the owner who followed along, takes the two animals away.) 

Jesus enters the Temple area and sees again the “marketplace atmosphere” of buying and selling sacrificial animals, and changing money.  Jesus is furious for His Father’s sake.  He drives them all out, quoting Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.  “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but YOU make it a den of robbers!”

Cleansed, the temple court now becomes a place of healing for all who come to Him. 

BUT, when the chief priests and scribes SAW the wonderful things that He did, and the children calling “Hosanna to the Son of David!” THEY WERE INDIGNANT.

Leaders: “Do you hear what they are saying!!??”

Jesus: “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise?”  (Psalm 8;2)

Then Jesus left the Holy City and went to Bethany and lodged there. (Perhaps with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.)

The next day, four incidents happen that all point to the failure of Israel and her leaders to obey and please the LORD God.

  • 1.)  The fig tree.  On the way back to the city the next day, Jesus sees a fig tree and reaches for some fruit.  However, the tree is void of all fruit.  Jesus curses it and immediately it withers and dies.  (Remember, that the fig tree often represents Israel. This picture shows Jesus disgust at Israel’s leaders, and is predicting the eventual destruction of the city and their pious rule.
  • 2.) The challenge of authority. Inside the temple court, these leaders come to Jesus demanding WHO gave Him authority to do these things (ride into Jerusalem as Israel’s king and cleansing away the “robbers” in the temple. Jesus asks them a question they fear to answer – from where did John get his authority to baptize” – so Jesus tells them HE won’t answer THEIR question. As Israel’s spiritual leaders, they should be praising God, not questioning the holy One He has sent.
  • 3.) The Parable of the Two Sons represent the leaders themselves, who pompously say they are sent by God, but who do not obey His law, and in fact. corrupt it for the people.  The father asked son #1 to go work in the vineyard.  The son said he didn’t want to go, but later went out to work.  Son #2 said he would go work in the vineyard as his father said, but later did not go out.
  • Jesus said the tax collectors and prostitutes were sinners, but finally obeyed God.  Whereas the religious leaders were represented by the second son who said the kept the entire law, and yet inside they were corrupt and obeyed none of it.
  • 4.) The Parable of the Tenants.  In this parable, the Vineyard owner was God, and the evil tenants were the currant religious leaders.  When God looked for the fruit of righteous in His vineyard, they murdered all God’s servants sent to get it (the prophets) and even HIS SON (Jesus) out of greed.  Jesus told them that the Vineyard owner – God – will come with justice and kill all of them, and give the “vineyard” to others.
  • Jesus was direct with them. “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and give to a people producing its fruits.”

Of course the chief priests and Pharisees KNEW Jesus was speaking about them.  Right then, they feared to arrest him because of the crowds who held Jesus to be a prophet. But just wait, they thought. 

Just you wait.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 303

Oct30

Day 303 – Reading – Luke 18

Read and believe in Jesus!

Luke 18.

In each of Jesus’ parables and teachings, notice WHO He is talking to. 

The Parable of the Persistent Widow is directed to His disciples (going back to 9:22 to verify).  It’s about prayer, persistence in prayer, and faith.

Jesus tells a story about a certain “unrighteous” judge who did not fear God or respect man.  He sounds very self-centered and arrogant.  Each day, this judge heard a request/complaint from a widow about some injustice. He refused to act, probably telling himself there was no benefit to him in doing so.

But she continued to come, day after day after day. He grew tired of seeing her face, of hearing her voice, of her taking up his time.  So finally, to stop her from coming to him, he gave her the justice she requested.  “Finally!” he thought, “I’ll get some peace and quiet!”

After the conclusion, Jesus asked His disciples a question.  “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.  But… when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”   This suggests that there will be FEW “elect” who have genuine faith in the end times. (such as in the days of Noah). 

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The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector was directed to “those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous.”  You can guess Jesus is talking to and about the Pharisees.

Two men went into the temple to pray: a Pharisee and a Tax collector. 

Here’s how the Pharisee prayed. Standing apart from the others, he said,

“God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like… this tax collector.  “I” fast twice a week. “I” give tithes of ALL that I get.”

Here’s how the Tax Collector prayed. Standing far off, his eyes cast to the ground, and beating his chest in sorrow, he said,

“God, be merciful to me a sinner!”

Looking at those “who trusted in themselves for righteousness,” Jesus said, “I tell you, this (second) man went back to his house justified, rather than the other.”  Can you imagine the objections in the group of listeners?  No way!  That’s impossible!  You’re crazy!  And Jesus reminds them, “Everyone who exalts HIMSELF will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

There is no one truly righteous in themselves. (Psalm 14:1-3) Everyone has sinned. The only hope of justification comes from God to the repentant.

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This conversation was directed to those around Jesus (bystanders and disciples) as well as directly to a “rich, young ruler” who asked a question – hoping perhaps to outdo the “stuck-up” Pharisees. “Good Teacher, what must “I” do to inherit eternal life?  This man wasn’t a pious teacher of the law, and he certainly wasn’t a hated tax collector. He was just a regular guy (who just happened to have everything – wealth, youth, and power).

Jesus: “Why do you call me good? No one is good by God alone?”  “Was this guy acknowledging Jesus as God? Or was he saying he recognized Jesus as “good” because he, himself, was also “good.”  If so, he was about to be corrected.

Jesus:  “You know the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, and honor your father and mother.” Notice that Jesus only quoted those commandments that related man to man.

Ruler: “All these have I kept from my youth.”

Jesus: “One thing you lack. Sell all you have and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have ‘treasure’ in heaven. Then, come, follow Me.”

Hearing this, the rich, young ruler became very sad, for he was “extremely rich.”  Slowly, he walked away.

Jesus then turned and said to those around Him: “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 

His listeners: “Then who CAN be saved?”

Jesus: “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

Peter: “See, WE have left our homes and followed you.

Jesus: “There is no one who has left house or wife or brothers, or parents, or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come … eternal life.”

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And lastly, Jesus directly tells His TWELVE special disciples (for the third time) what the future holds for Him.

“See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.  He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. He will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. After flogging Him, they will kill Him. Then ON THE THIRD DAY, He will rise.”

But they understood NONE of these things.  It was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what He said.

(Were their minds and hopes too wrapped up in the “glory” of the Kingdom to come?  Did they still imagine Jesus as King and them as His “right-hand men ruling beside Him?”)  

 

(Lord, help me to listen and really hear the things You tell us in Your Word. Please give me wisdom and understanding, a soft heart, and a willing spirit.)

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 301

Oct28

Day 301 – Reading – Luke 16 – 17

Read and believe in Jesus!

Luke 16.

Jesus teaches TWO more in parables, which seem to be about wealth and what one does with it, leading off from the Prodigal Son who wasted half a fortune.

Do the religious leaders who stalk Jesus understand?

Do the crowds hear what He is saying and apply it?

Are the disciples confused?

The first parable seems to be taught to the disciples. 

  • The Dishonest Manager. (Actually, all the characters in this parable are dishonest and corrupt.)  A wealthy man (Rich) had a manager (Manny) who oversaw everything in his master’s estate, including buying, selling, distributing, and collecting debts in his master’s name.   (Think of the righteous Joseph in Potiphar’s house.) Rich had nothing to worry about as long as Manny was on the job. He went out golfing almost every day.
  • But, unknown to Rich, Manny was wasting his wealth by pilfering, embezzling, or just not paying attention. The news reached Rich, and he brought charges against Manny.  He told his worker he had to “turn in the books.”  He was fired.
  • “What shall I do?” Manny asked himself. “I can’t do physical labor” (too fat, with soft hands and flabby muscles), “and I’m ashamed to beg.” (a big shudder)   “I know!” he said at last. “When I’m kicked out here, I’ll find a place among my ex-master’s debtors.”
  • Manny went around with the books and marked their debts as partly paid. No longer did they owe 200 Denarii, but 150, or even 100.  The greedy debtors (Dexter, Daniel, and Debby) gleefully signed the books. “Sure… We’ve got a spare room.  Any time,” they offered. Now both parties were guilty of fraud.
  • Of course, Rick discovered this when he went to collect what was owed. All the bills were signed and stamped, so he could do nothing.  And being a deceptive man himself, Rich recognized and applauded Manny’s shrewdness. (Hear that slow clap?)

Jesus turned to his disciples, who all had puzzled expressions.  “The sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.”

What did THAT mean?

“I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings,”  Jesus continued.

Huh?

Believers are to use their Master’s “money” to gain friends for eternity, by investing in the Gospel that brings sinners to salvation. When believers arrive in Heaven, those sinners will be there to welcome them.

And then, Jesus’ well know declaration: “No servant can serve two masters. He will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.  YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MONEY.”

The Pharisees ridiculed Jesus, of course, because they were lovers of money.

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The second parable is also about wealth, but how it will fail you in a crucial time.

  • The Rich Man and Lazarus. This parable contrasts two very different men. 
  • One is a rich man (Richie), clothed in purple and fine linen. The other, Lazarus (not Martha’s brother), lay at his gate in rags, covered with sores, which dogs came and licked.
  • Richie ate sumptuously every day. Lazarus desired only to be fed the crumbs that fell from Richie’s table.
  • Eventually, the poor man died. He was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. Eventually, Richie died and was buried. He found himself in Hades, being in torment. 
  • Dimly, Richie could see far off Lazarus with Abraham.
  • “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.”
  •          (Whoa!  Richie still wants to order Lazarus around like a slave!)
  • “Sorry, Charlie (or Richie).  Remember that you, in your lifetime, received GOOD things, and Lazarus in like banner BAD things. But now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish,” stated Abraham.”
  • “And besides all this,” Abe continued, “between us and you, a great chasm has been fixed. Neither we, nor you, can pass from here to there.”
  • Richie wailed. “Then I beg you, Father Abraham, to send him to my father’s house – for I have five brothers – so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment!”
  • (Again with the ordering Lazarus to serve!!)
  • Abraham:  “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear THEM.”
  • Richie: “No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them FROM THE DEAD, they will repent.”
  • Abraham: “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced … if Someone should rise from the dead…..”

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Luke 17.

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

Jesus: “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would say to the mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

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Still traveling with his face set for Jerusalem, Jesus entered a village and met TEN LEPERS there.  They stood at a distance (as they should) and cried, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”

When Jesus saw them, he said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”  (This is what one who is cleansed from leprosy would do to prove his cleansing.)

As they went, they were cleansed.   One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks. (He was a Samaritan.)

Jesus: “Were not ten lepers cleansed?  Where are the nine?  Was no one found to return and give thanks to God except this foreigner?  Then looking at him, Jesus said, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

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Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come.  Jesus answered, “Behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

Then to His disciples he said, “As the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in His day.  But FIRST, He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”

“Just like it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark.  And then the flood came and destroyed them all.”

“Likewise, just like it was in the days of Lot.  They were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. Then, when Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all.   

“So it will be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”

Whoa!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 299 and 300

Oct27

SUNDAY and MONDAY, posted on MONDAY

Day 299 – Reading – Luke 12 – 13

Day 300 – Reading – Luke 14 – 15

Read and believe in Jesus!

SUNDAY – Luke 12.

As the “day” of Jesus’ death drew closer, the crowds around Him increased.

  • Luke 11:29, “When the crowds were increasing…” 
  • Luke 12:1, “When so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were trampling one another….” 

And these were not all friendly crowds to Jesus. 

  • Luke 11:53-54, “the scribes and the Pharisees began to press Him hard and to provoke Him to speak about many things, lying in wait for Him, to snare Him in something He might say.”

Jesus warns the ordinary people to “Beware of the leaven (hypocrisy) of the Pharisees.”  He tells them not to fear those who kill today and afterward have nothing more they can do.  “Fear Him (God) who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell.”

Jesus warns them too, about denying Him out of fear of man. Those who do will be denied before God.  Jesus tells them, “Do not fear or be anxious.”  If and when they are brought before authorities about their commitment to Him, “the Holy Spirit will teach them in that hour what to say.”

Randomly, someone in the crowd steps close and asks Jesus to mediate between him and his brother on how to divide their inheritance. 

“What??” (Talk about a non-sequitur!) 

Jesus probably felt the same.  “Man, who made ME judge or arbitrator over you?’

Then, Jesus segued into the Parable of the Rich Fool, a man so covetous for every last grain (like this man questioning Jesus?), that he lost the abundance he had, plus his own life.  This man was rich. God blessed him with super harvests.  His barn overflowed.  Instead of sharing his wealth with the needy, he decided to build bigger barns to store his wealth. Then he could “Eat, drink, and be merry.”

God called him “a fool” and judged him for his selfishness and lack of compassion.  God took his life that very night.  Then the question.  “All the things you have prepared, whose will they be now?”  (You come into the world naked, and that’s how you go out.”

Then Jesus, perhaps again looking at the man who’d asked Him to arbitrate, encouraged His listeners not to worry about their lives, their food, clothing, or homes.  “Your Father knows that you need them.  Instead, seek His kingdom, and all these will be added to you.” 

And then this advice to them, and maybe also to the man who disputed with his brother. “Sell your possessions and give to the needy.  Provide for yourself a “treasure” in Heaven.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

And Jesus ties this freedom from encumbering wealth to a warning.  “Stay dressed for action. Be like the servants waiting for their master to come home, so they can open the door to Him, no matter what hour. “Blessed is that servant whom his Master will find doing so when he comes.”

And then, we get a glimpse into Jesus’ own heart when He confesses to His disciples His own fearful thoughts. “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!”

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Luke 13.

Someone then brought up a recent “news item.”  “What do you think about those Galileans, whose blood Pilate mingled with the sacrifices at the Temple?”  These men were probably Zealots, plotting something against the Romans. They were caught and killed in the temple by Roman authorities during the time of sacrifice. To the Jew, this would have been the grossest blasphemy.

Jesus answered them, “Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they died this way?  No, they weren’t.  But unless YOU repent, you will all perish likewise.”

Wow, what was Jesus saying?  (Incidents like this inflamed the Jews’ hatred of Rome and finally led to rebellion … and the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.)

Jesus told them that no one is guaranteed time to prepare for death. Right NOW is the time of repentance for all.

Jesus then reminded them also of the 18 people who died at the Pool of Siloam when a tower collapsed on them.  Were they any worse sinners?  No. It is a warning, a reminder to ALL that they (we) would perish unless they (we) repented.

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He told a parable to further warn them.  A fig tree planted in a man’s vineyard did not bear fruit for three years.  The owner told the gardener to “cut it down,” for it was wasting space. But the gardener asked for a year’s mercy.  He would cultivate around it and fertilize it.  Then, if it didn’t produce the next year … he would cut it down.

The nation of Israel is often symbolized by a fig tree, so here, Jesus was pointing out their fruitlessness. Jesus had interceded for them, and His Father had so far shown mercy.  But the “ax” was coming.

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After this, Jesus was teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath.  Without her asking, Jesus healed a woman with a spine that bent her double. She’d been that way for 18 years.  But it seems she had been faithful to come to worship. Jesus laid His hands on her and freed her from her disability.  Immediately, she was straight, and glorified God.

The ruler of the Synagogue was furious.  “You can come six days a week to be healed. Come on those days and not the Sabbath.” 

“Hypocrites!”  Jesus called them all, for none would hesitate to untie his ox or donkey and lead it to water on a Sabbath.  “Ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, be loosed from this bond on a Sabbath Day?”

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And Jesus went on His way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem.  Someone asked Him, “Lord, will there be FEW saved?”  Jesus answered, “The door is narrow. Many will seek to enter and will not be able.”

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Jesus was ministering near Herod’s residence when some Pharisees came to Him with the warning, “Get away from there, for Herod wants to kill you.”

What?  Weren’t THEY trying to do the same thing?  Perhaps they wanted Jesus to stop preaching, or maybe the warning would drive Him closer to Judea, where THEY had jurisdiction.

Jesus answered, “You can go tell that fox, I’m casting out demons and doing healing today and tomorrow and the day after.  I’ll finish my course as planned.”  Then Jesus reneged a little and said, “I must go on my way today for it cannot be that a prophet should PERISH away from Jerusalem.”

His face was always set for Jerusalem … and the cross.

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###

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MONDAY – Luke 14.

Again, the Pharisees carefully watched Jesus on the Sabbaths to see if they could trap Him in some way. A man with dropsy came by. Jesus asked the ruler of the Pharisees if it was lawful for him to heal on the Sabbath.

They remained silent, so Jesus healed the man. “Which of YOU would not immediately rescue a son or ox that had fallen into a well on the Sabbath?”  Again, they kept their lips sealed.

As Jesus was dining at the house of that ruler of the Pharisees, He told THREE PARABLES about banquets. 

  1. At a Wedding Feast, the topic of NOT “taking the best seats” was covered. “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
  2. Then Jesus told of a Great Banquet, where the master invited the poor, crippled, lame, and blind to attend, instead of his friends, brothers, and family, who could then repay him by inviting him to another feast.  “You should do this and you will be blessed, and repaid at the resurrection.”
  3. Another master prepared a banquet and told His servant to go to those invited and tell them it was ready.  They all made excuses for not attending. So the master sent out his servant twice more to the streets and lanes of the city, and to the byways, to bring in the poor, crippled, blind, and lame …. and whomever wanted to come, “That my house may be filled.  And I tell you, NONE of those men who were invited shall taste my Banquet.”

Did these parables sting their consciences and prick their minds?  THEY were the “Pride of Israel” after all, the most important Jews in the society….

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Jesus reminded the crowds who accompanied him about the “cost” of being His disciple.  In comparison, they needed to hate their own families.  They had to bear their own cross and walk in His way.  They needed to count the cost of renouncing everything.  An uncommitted disciple, just like unsalted salt, was of no use to the Kingdom.

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Luke 15.

All kinds of tax collectors and sinners were attracted to Jesus. The Pharisees and scribes complained that Jesus “received and ate with them.” 

Jesus responded by telling them three parables about lost things. 

  1. The lost sheep.  The shepherd left the 99 to rescue the one lost one. When he finds it, he calls his neighbors to rejoice with him over the one found.  Jesus explains, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine ‘righteous’ persons who (say they) need no repentance.”
  2. The Lost Coin. The woman who loses one of her ten coins does everything to find it, even cleaning the whole house.  When she finds it, she calls neighbors to rejoice with her.  “There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
  3. The Lost Son.  When the younger son of a wealthy man leaves to “do his own thing,” the father watches the road every day, hoping he will return. Time passes, the boy gets in a lot of trouble, and loses everything. The father is still watching when the worn, beaten-down, ragged boy stumbles home.  The father runs to him and hugs him with joy. “My son who was dead is alive!”  He holds a banquet to celebrate the homecoming. Yes, the older son is bitter, having ‘righteously‘ stayed home and done all the work.  But the loving father says, “Son, YOU are always with me, and all I have is yours. But come, celebrate your lost brother who has been found. It is fitting.“

Jesus was telling the Pharisees, who were complaining about the “sinners” Jesus welcomed, that they were the other 99, the other 9, the other, ‘righteous’ son, the chosen.  The lost sheep, coin, and son represented the needy and hated Tax Collectors and sinners they despised.  But God loved them, searched them out, and welcomed them lavishly into the kingdom, because they repented and sought Him. It was fitting that those Jewish leaders celebrated the low and lost also coming into the Kingdom.”

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 288

Oct15

Day 288 – Reading – Mark 4 – 5

Read and believe in Jesus!

Mark 4 and 5.

There are some repeated passages here from the other Gospels. I’ll just emphasize a couple of them.

“This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.

This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.

Let it shine, let it shine, all the time.

Hide it under a bushel, No! I’m going to let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel, No! I’m going to let it shine.

Let it shine, let it shine, all the time.”

This kids’ song is from Mark 4:21-25, and the “light” it refers to is a believer’s witness or testimony of the Lord dwelling in him. Don’t hide it under “a basket” or a bed, but put it on a lampstand. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Testify of the Lord Jesus Christ at home, and out in the world. Let your light shine!

Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven.”

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(Mark 4:35-41)  Then, after Jesus was sitting in a boat and teaching the crowds at the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He turned to the disciples and said, “Let us go across to the other side.”  It was toward evening, so they might have hesitated, yet, at His word, they pushed off and began rowing.  Jesus made his way to the rear of the boat and lay down across the bench. Instantly, He was asleep.

Then one of those massive storms erupted on the Sea. “A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was filling!”

One of them staggered to the stern and shook Jesus, “Master, don’t you care that we are perishing?!”

Jesus awoke, and maybe (who knows) before even sitting up, called out to the wind and sea, “Peace!  Be still!”  Instantly, the wind ceased, and there was a great calm on the Sea.

Jesus perhaps sat up then and looked around at His disciples. “Why are you so afraid?  Have you no faith?”

The disciples were maybe lacking in faith, but they sure weren’t in fear.  “They were filled with GREAT fear and asked each other, “WHO THEN IS THIS??? That even the wind and the sea obey Him??”

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This incident reminds me of Philippians 4:6-7.

“Do not be anxious about anything.

But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,

Let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

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Then, after that awesome incident, they arrived on the other (Gentile) side of the Sea. (Mark 5:1-20)

Peter and Andrew jumped out of the boat to secure it with ropes.

Jesus barely had a sandaled foot on the sand when a wild, crazy man RUSHED AT HIM, screaming.  He’d been living in the tombs, and with his bleeding, scratched skin, ragged clothes, and wild, unkempt beard and hair, he looked terrifying!   

The fishermen were about to climb back into the boat and push off when the wild man fell down at Jesus’ feet.

“What have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God. I beg you by God, do not torment me!” screamed the man.

While the man screamed this, Jesus commanded, “Come out of this man, you unclean spirit!”  (Whose voice do you think prevailed?)

When the screaming stopped, Jesus asked, “What is your name?”

The demon in the man answered, “My name is ‘Legion,’ for we are many. Oh, don’t send us out of the country!! Send us into those pigs!!“

Jesus looked at the massive herd of unclean swine and nodded.  Immediately, the herd – like a swarm of lemmings – plunged down the hill and off the cliff, falling into the Sea.

The herdsmen saw this and fled back to town, and people came out to see what had happened.  What they SAW was MORE amazing, although they didn’t acknowledge it.  No pigs were in sight, but the crazy man, the wild and dangerous demon-possessed man, who terrified them, was —

  • Sitting there calmly
  • Clothed
  • In his right mind.

“Go away, you Jesus!” they cried.

The disciples held the boat ready, and Jesus began to climb in.

“O Jesus,” the healed man begged. “Please let me go with You!“

Smiling, Jesus shook his head. He had a more important job than ‘disciple’ for this Gentile man.  “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.” 

The ex-demoniac was to be a witness for Jesus and an evangelist.  And I can’t help but think that, like the town in Samaria that all came to the Lord at one shunned woman’s testimony, that THIS area (perhaps minus the pig owners) would do the same.  

He went away and began to proclaim in the cities of Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him.  And everyone marveled.

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(O LORD, thank you for your mercy and gentleness. Truly, like You told the disciples, You are “gentle and lowly at heart.” But Lord, I also saw your great power in these verses too!  You calmed a raging wind and sea instantly.  Creation recognized its Master and instantly obeyed!  How I wish I would do the same!  I also saw Your extreme power when thousands of demons instantly fell at your feet and immediately obeyed your word.  What a strong God I have!) 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 287

Oct14

THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 287 – Reading – Matthew 13 and Luke 8

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 13 and Luke 8. (There are similar passages in both.)

From Luke’s gospel:  “Jesus went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the GOOD NEWS of the kingdom of God. And the TWELVE were with Him. And also, SOME WOMEN.” 

These were women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities:  Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susan.  And many others, who provided for them out of their own means.

(Paul also mentions faithful women who helped to support his ministry. Thank God that there are ways that we (women) can be a part of spreading the GOOD NEWS, too, if only by our finances.

Then both Matthew and Luke give accounts of some of the miracles that Jesus spoke. The most well-known one was the Parable of the Sower (or Seeds).  That day, Jesus sat down by the sea. This was a sign that He would be teaching. Rabbis sat, and their disciples gathered around them to listen.

In this instance, the crowds of learners (or those seeking healing) were too great, and Jesus got into a boat and sat down, facing the people.  This time, the crown STOOD on the beach.

A Sower went out to sow. (a very typical sight in Galilee).

  1. He sowed some seed that fell along the packed pathway, and the birds came and devoured them.
  2. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, but when the sun rose, they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.
  3. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
  4. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some, thirty.  He who HAS EARS, let him HEAR.

People – including the disciples – went away scratching their heads. 

“Why do you speak to them in parables?” they finally asked him.

“To YOU it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who HAS, more will be given, and he will have an abundance.  But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. THAT’S why I speak to them in parables, because, seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”

Then Jesus quoted from Isaiah 6:9-10, which basically says that people hear and see, but they don’t get the message, because their hearts are not open to understanding and repenting. They simply like “cute or funny stories.”

Jesus said of His disciples that they were blessed.  Their eyes and ears DID see and hear. Then He explained the Parable of the Sower to them, so they would see how to interpret all the parables Jesus spoke.

  1. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom of heaven, the evil one comes and snatches it from his heart. (That is what was sown along the path.)
  2. The next is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet… he has no root in himself. He endures for a while, but when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, he immediately falls away. (This is the one sown on rocky ground.)
  3. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful
  4. Lastly, as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields in one case 100fold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.

Jesus followed this with more parables, so they could practice understanding this new way that Jesus was teaching.

He told them the Parable of the WEEDS.  A man sowed good seed, but while he slept, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat.  When the plants came up and bore grain, the weeds could be identified. The farmer’s servants asked if they should PULL UP the weeds, but he said not too, for it would disturb and possibly kill the good seed.  He told them to let them grow together until the harvest.  Then they could gather the weeds first and throw them into the fire. And THEN gather the wheat into the barn.

The disciples sort of understood, but later in private, they asked Jesus to explain it. 

  1. The One who sows in the Son of Man, the field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. 
  2. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil.
  3. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels.
  4. And as the weeds were gathered and thrown into the fire, so it will be then. The Son of Man and His angels will gather out of His kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
  5. Then the wheat – the righteous – will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

Jesus told them the Parable of the tiny Mustard Seed and the Parable of Leaven. Both will grow into much larger things.  This could represent evil, which must be stopped at the beginning, OR the Gospel truth that will spread and permeate hearts.

Jesus told them the Parables of The Hidden Treasure and The Pearl of Great Price. Both illustrate the great joy at finding Jesus, the Messiah, as one’s Savior and Lord.

The Parable of the Net is a bit like the one about good grain seeds and weeds.  Jesus tells about drawing in a net of fish, and picking out the good fish to save, and the bad fish to throw away. This will happen at the end of the age when angels separate the righteous and the evil, and throw these into the fiery furnace.

“Take heed HOW you hear” Jesus concludes, “for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks he has will be taken away.”

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(O LORD, please help me to keep my heart and mind OPEN to all you say. Let me know be proud and think I know it all. Let me not become speak with contempt about others who don’t understand.  O, let me be as a child, seeking honestly, and loving YOU.”

 

 

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?