Tag Archive | Bible

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (7/23) John 11:17-37

Jul23

Read and believe in Jesus

“I AM the resurrection and the life.” John 11:25a

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – Jesus and His disciples are away from Judea and Jerusalem and those who wish to arrest or kill Him. They’ve been there for a couple of months. His disciples are feeling safe. Now a message comes from Mary & Martha, who live less than 2 miles from Jerusalem, telling Jesus about their brother’s serious illness. It’s obvious they want Him to come ASAP to heal him. But Jesus waits two days, until Lazarus dies. (Whoa!) His disciples are shocked when He tells them He’s heading back to Bethany now that Lazarus is dead. What happens there will be for “the glory of God,” “so that the Son of God will be glorified,” and “so His disciples may ‘believe‘.” “Okay,” says Thomas with a sigh. “Let’s go die with Him.”

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John 11:17-20

The setting:

As Jesus nears Bethany, He finds that Lazarus had already been in the tomb FOUR DAYS.

He learns that MANY of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to “console” them concerning their brother (but also to spy on them…would Jesus come?). Jesus pauses outside the town. Martha hears He is near, and goes out to meet Him.

(Remember Martha is the older, practical sister; she takes care of the statistics of running the house, she’s planned the funeral, including all the food for the visitors, hired the official wailers, and saw to it that Lazarus was properly buried.)

She is brave and seems in control, and yet she is grieving inside.

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John 11:21-27

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” It seems like she might have been thinking that, whispering that under her breath, since the moment of Lazarus’s last breath.

(If only. If only. If only. How many times have you and I said that in regret?)

But… something comes to mind. Jesus HAD healed at least two people – from a distance – while in Galilee. (John 4:49-53, the official’s son, and Luke 7:7-10, the centurion’s servant) He “could have” healed Lazarus from across the Jordan. But… Jesus always obeyed the Father, and THIS ultimate healing would bring glory to both Jesus and the Father.

Martha continued her anguish in a more hopeful, respectful way. “BUT even now, I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give you.”

“Your brother will rise again.” (Jesus told her right then He would raise her brother. She didn’t dare to hope for that to happen NOW, but asked about that “future” Day.)

“I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on that day.“ (Yes, Martha had been listening to Jesus’ preaching. He had said many times that He would give eternal life to all who believed, AND would raise them ‘on the last day.’)

“I AM the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me … though he were dead … yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me, shall never die.”

(WOW, the DEAD shall live, and the LIVING shall never die!! What an amazing promise!)

“Do you believe this?” (Do WE believe this?)

“Yes, Lord. I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into this world.”

(You know, her bold statement was every bit as magnificent as Peter’s “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Matthew 16:16)

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John 11:28-33.

Meanwhile, Martha’s younger, more sensitive sister, Mary, remained in the house, overcome by her grief. Martha ran to her and whispered, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”

Jesus remained cautious and outside the town, knowing the hearts of some of the Jews at their home. When Mary heard her sister’s message, she immediately got up and went outside to the place where Jesus was waiting.

(The Jews, sitting with Mary, supposed she was going to the tomb and went out with her, following her. So they observed this next scene.)

Mary fell at Jesus’ feet.

(A comforting place for her – remember she had sat at His feet listening to His teaching while Martha worked and complained, in Luke 10:38-42), and when (later) she would anoint Jesus’ feet and wipe them with her hair, in John12:1-8)

At His feet, Mary cried out the very same thing as Martha. (Had they been repeating this to each other since Lazarus’ death?) “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Jesus saw her anguish. He couldn’t reason with her as with Martha. Mary cried, clinging to His feet in abject sorrow. (He also saw the group of Jews standing off, weeping too.)

And Jesus was DEEPLY MOVED (angry, outraged, indignant) in His Spirit and GREATLY TROUBLED. He saw the unbelief that “said” death was final, that “disbelieved” in the resurrection that He promised to those who believed. He saw the awful evidence, the pain and sorrow of death that SIN had brought to humans at the fall. And it angered Him.

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John 11:34-37.

“Where have you laid him?” Jesus asked.

“Lord, come and see.”

And seeing the stone cold tomb afar off, JESUS WEPT, a silent weeping. He cried, not from Lazarus’s death for He knew He was about to raise him, but out of grief for a fallen world in which sin had caused such sorrow and grief. (His own creation, so mangled by Satan and sin.)

The group of Jews nearby said, “See how He loved him.”

But SOME of them said, “Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying? (These were remembering that unheard-of-before miracle of Jesus healing a man BORN blind, back in September at the Feast of Tabernacles. (Had that former blind man, saved by grace, become a fiery testimony for Jesus?)

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And YES, Jesus could have kept Lazarus from dying. But, again, He always did the Father’s will, and THAT was, at this time, that Jesus would be glorified by raising a dead and buried man back to life.

This would “picture” sinners even today who were “dead in their trespasses and sin” being “made alive together with Christ (by God’s grace) and raised up with Him to sit us with Him in heavenly places.” This would show “to the coming ages, the immeasurable riches of God’s grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:1-9)

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (7/2) John 6:41-71

Jul2

Read and believe in Jesus

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life…” John

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – Jesus tells the crowd seeking a miracle sign from Him before they “believe” in Him … that He is the true “bread from heaven,” who gives life to the world. “I AM the bread of life,” Jesus said. “Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst,” But it all seems to go over their heads (or rather their stomachs). (This was the first of seven “I AM” statements that John presents about Jesus in his gospel.)

John 6:41-51.

At some point, this conversation/teaching moved into the synagogue at Capernaum. Jesus continued as teacher, but these Jews, who moments before were wanting to make Jesus their king so He could give them free bread every day, now grumble about His claims to be “spiritual bread” sent down from heaven. “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He say now that He has come down from heaven?”

Jesus clarifies one thing. It’s not their wisdom and understanding that will draw them to faith in Him. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” Jesus then paraphrases Isaiah 54:13 and tells them that they must be “taught the truth by God” and, with that learning, they can be drawn by God. By themselves (and ourselves), they could never come to and believe in Jesus on their own. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever BELIEVES (the word that God has given about Jesus) has eternal life.

“I AM the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. THIS is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and NOT die. I am the LIVING bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of THIS bread, he will LIVE FOREVER.”

And then that statement that began their distancing from Him. “The bread that I will give for the life of the world is … my flesh.”

(Of course we know the rest of the story. Jesus DID give His life, His “flesh,” for the world, so that “whosoever believed in Him might not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) His life for theirs.

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John 6:52-59.

But the selfish, glory-seeking Jews in the audience took the wrong meaning. “How can this man give us his FLESH to eat?” (Among other obvious reasons, this would have been super UN-kosher.)

Jesus doesn’t coddle them. He trusts His Father to give understanding and belief to those He wants to draw toward faith. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man … and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” (Imagine their faces, aghast and cringing, as He continues.) “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood HAS eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ABIDES in me, and I in him.”

The crowd, as one, has leaned or retreated back from Jesus, imagining the gruesome “physical” picture He was painting. (Yes, there were a few who were getting the Spiritual” meaning, as we’ll see in a minute.)

Jesus concludes his Sabbath sermon with this summary. “THIS is the bread that came down from heaven, NOT like the ‘bread’ the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

To us, this is a message of hope, but to these Jews, understanding evaded them, and they did not receive His teaching.

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John 6:60-65.

Many of the crowds of Jesus’ followers now had second thoughts. This was not the great and grand Messiah who would lead Israel to victory against the Romans. This man spoke almost like a crazy man. His teaching was “hard,” and they took offense. MANY turned back and no longer followed Him.

“Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?

And then this truth for all who are ever drawn to Jesus and saved: “It is the SPIRIT who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and LIFE.”

And again, “This is why I told you that NO ONE can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

John 6:66-71.

Jesus looked deeply at His twelve chosen disciples and said, “Do YOU want to go away as well?”

“LORD, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to KNOW that You are the Holy One of God,” said Simon Peter.

And yes, there was even one of the twelve who did not KNOW Jesus as the “Bread of LIFE.”

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (7/1) John 6:25-40

Jul1

Read and believe in Jesus

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” John 6:37.

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – Jesus miraculously feeds 5000+ people with only 5 loaves and 2 fish from a boy’s lunch. All are filled, and there was enough leftover for the disciples to have their fill. The people wanted to make Jesus KING, so He would feed them for free every day. But He hides, sends the disciples back across the Sea, and after it’s dark, He walks to them (on the water). Another pair of miracles.

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John 6:25-29.

Jesus and the disciples had arrived back in Capernaum during the night via a miracle of Jesus. The crowds had waited around and, when they found Him gone, had boarded boats (or traipsed around) and arrived much later.

“Rabbi, when did you come here?‘” they asked Jesus in wonder. I think their real question might have been HOW did you come here? Jesus had walked on the water half way, got into the disciples’ boat, which was then miracously at the opposite shore. Wouldn’t that have shocked them!!

Jesus knew the reason for their anxious seeking Him. They still wanted to make Him king after that miraculous sign of multiplying the loaves and fish. But Jesus wanted them to “hunger” for Spiritual things, for Him.

“Don’t labor for the food that perishes, but rather for the food that endures to eternal life … which the Son of Man will give to you.” (What a promise!)

“What must we DO to be doing the works of God?” The people thought they were required to do some works to “earn” eternal life.

(OH, isn’t that what so many people think today. They HAVE to be good, not lie, cheat, steal, kill, and all the other commands, to be “good enough” to deserve eternal life. NOT SO! We can never be good enough. It is a gift of God that Jesus gives by His own sacrifice.)

“THIS is the work of God,” Jesus tells them. “that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

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John 6:30-34.

Believe in Jesus, the Son that God sent into the world to save the sinners whom He loved so much. Believe in that mercy and grace, and receive life everlasting. (John 3:16)

But the people are way off on another planet in their understanding. Jesus’ words of salvation go right over their heads. “Um…then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness (for 40 years!) Moses gave them ‘bread from heaven to eat.”

Had they completely forgotten how Jesus had just miraculously fed a crowd of 20,000 with one boy’s lunch???

(I would have given up on them and just walked away. But Jesus shows His love for His own people.)

“It wasn’t Moses who gave you Manna, but my Father in Heaven. My Father (now) gives you the TRUE bread from Heaven … the “Bread of God” is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Jesus is speaking of Himself.

Then, much like the Samaritan woman who sought the water that would quench her thirst forever, these people misunderstood Jesus’ words. “Sir, give us THIS bread always.”

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John 6:35-36.

“I AM the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.“

Jesus could not make that much plainer. HE was the answer to their heart’s hunger and thirst. HE was sent down by the Father to fill them and satisfy them. And yet they do not believe.

(Earlier in John 1:10, the apostle says, “He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.” Paul later explains that Israel was blinded or hardened temporarily concerning Jesus, as a mercy for the Gentiles to be included in salvation. Then the nation of Israel would believe. See Romans 11:25-31)

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John 6:37-40.

This section is full of wonderful promises. Read and meditate on them!

“All that the Father gives me WILL come to me…

“And whoever comes to me I will NEVER cast out.”

“I have come from heaven NOT to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

“This is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose NOTHING of all that He has given me.”

“For this is the will of my Father, that EVERYONE who looks on the Son and believes in Him, should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

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Amen! Thank You, Jesus!

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Reading the Gospels in 2026: (5/22) Luke 21:1-19.

May22

A 5-day per week study.

Read and believe in Jesus.

“…you will be brought before kings and governors for My name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness.”  Luke 21:12b-13

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The Gospel according to Luke 

Review – While Jesus taught at the Temple, the Sadducees, Pharisees, and others tried to trick Him with their questions. But His answers stumped them, and when He asked THEM a question, they silently went away,

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Vss. 21:1-4.

At the end of chapter 20, Jesus warned the people to beware of the ways of the scribes (Pharisees), because, among other ridiculous things, they “..devour widows’ houses..” This was a practice in which pious religious leaders would visit newly widowed and vulnerable women and persuade them to give all their inherited possessions to the “religious community.” It would be a “donation to God,” and “what their husbands would have wanted.” This usually left the new widows bankrupt, and the temple coffers bulging. Jesus hated the practice of “devouring widows’ houses.”

Now, it seems that when Jesus lifted His eyes, there, in front of them, was just such a desperately poor widow. (Righteous anger for her must have burned in Him for what those scribes had done. But for the woman, herself, noting but love and tenderness and admiration.

As this widow dropped two tiny copper coins into the temple offering box (ALL that she had, says Mark 12:42), Jesus commended her. “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them (the rich). For they all contributed out of their ABUNDANCE, but she out of her POVERTY, put in all she had to live on.”

(This makes me feel convicted. When I drop 10% or even 20% into the offering box, I often feel so “righteous.” But I would be giving out of “my abundance.” LORD, help me to be generous (even till it hurts) with all You’ve given me!”)

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Vss. 21:5-6.

While Jesus continued to sit in the temple courtyard, watching the people with His disciples, He heard a comment about how beautiful the temple was and how it was adorned with noble stones and decorations (donations from the wealthy). And although this temple was not as grand as Solomon’s, Herod had done a pretty amazing job at renovating the old one. It was almost gaudy-beautiful.

Still, Jesus knew its future was less than 40 years….

“As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will ot be thrown down.”

Shocking words. It would be like someone saying this about the U.S. Capitol Building or the White House. Unimaginable. Still, the God of the universe knew everything from eternity past to eternity future, and Jesus spoke the truth.

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Vss. 21:7-19.

Horrified, the disciples and people around Jesus wanted to know WHEN this would happen and WHAT the warning signs of imminent destruction would be.

Jesus listed a few “signs of the times,” mingling the horrors of 40 A.D. and Titus’ destruction of Jerusalem, with the signs of the Great Tribulation, still future to us.

  1. Many would come, claiming to be the Messiah.
  2. They would hear of wars and tumults.
  3. Nations fighting nations would be common.
  4. Earthquakes would be everywhere.
  5. Famines and plagues (viruses) would come.
  6. Terrible signs in the sky would appear.
  7. Severe persecution would come.
  8. Family betrayals unto death would be common.
  9. Martyrdom.

Then Jesus says some amazing words that speak to a believer’s ETERNAL SECURITY even in the face of martyrdom.

“But not a hair of your head will PERISH. By your endurance, you will GAIN your lives.

John 10:28-29 makes this even clearer. “I (Jesus) give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

True believers are double-protected, in the hands of Christ underneath, and the hands of God Almighty above. Completely covered and protected FOR ETERNITY, though we may suffer loss and death in the horrific times to come (as many Jews did in 40 A.D.).

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(I use the 2010 MacArthur Study Bible, English Standard Version, for my studies.)

Reading the Gospels in 2026: (5/15) Luke 19:1-10

May15

A 5-day per week study.

May 15 – Reading Luke 19:1-10

Read and believe in Jesus.

“Today, salvation has come to this house.”  Luke 19:9

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The Gospel according to Luke 

Review – On the road outside Jericho, Jesus healed a blind beggar, who already believed He was Israel’s Messiah. Now that faith blossomed, and he was able to see again. His first sight? The Messiah of Israel. After that, the seeing beggar followed Jesus, glorifying God. He would probably not be a beggar much longer.

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Vss. 19:1-4

Jesus and the rejoicing crowd now entered through Jericho’s gates. Inside, there lived a wealthy, shrewd chief tax collector named Zacchaeus. Zach was a short guy. Maybe his small stature was what led him to become an important and very rich tax collector. Instead of being mocked for his size, he would get “some respect” (or fear) from the people.

But Zach was curious about the uproar in his city. Why the crowd? What for the noise? He just HAD to see.

Of course, being barely over 4 feet tall among much taller people, he’d probably been used to climbing trees to see better. There, he could get a good look at the crowd and who was at the center. Yes, it was a bit embarrassing. He had to make sure his gorgeous robes covered his “nether parts” and that he did not lose a sandal when astride a fat limb. Perhaps there was a certain tree that he knew well that he could scurry right up and be among the leaves before anyone noticed.

But someone noticed.

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Vss. 19:5-7.

“And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.'”

WHAT? WOW!

“So Zachhaeus hurried and came down and received Him joyfully.”

Wow, Someone actually wanted to fellowship and dine with this tax collector … someone who obviously was not wealthy himself. This man looked plain and even, poor. But oh, that face! Love seemed to shine out continuously.

OF COURSE, there were those – probably most of the crowd that followed – who did NOT APPROVE of Jesus eating/staying with a “sinner,” a hated Tax Collector (even IF one of his own disciples was a former collector for Rome).

But Jesus came for sinners. He saw the emptiness in Zach’s soul, the dissatisfaction of all that money (which could not buy love or even friendship), and He LOVED him.

Zachhaeus became a believer in Jesus, the Messiah, the Son and Lamb of God. As proof, well, take a look at what he did that proved his changed heart.

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Vss. 19:8-10.

“Behold, Lord (Yes, Jesus must be your Savior AND Lord), the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold!”

You might think, well, what is so amazing about this?

  1. First, his WILLINGNESS to admit his crimes and make amends for his greed and fraud.

2. The Law required 20% extra when restoring money that a Jew defrauded from others. Zach offered 400%!

3. AND, on top of that, he pledged – not 10% – but HALF his wealth to go to the poor. (And he was very rich.)

Zachhaeus’ heart had been changed. The Bible doesn’t say that he left all to follow Jesus as Matthew had done. But his salvation had greatly improved his standing in the eyes of the people. His money gladly flowed to them, the cheated and the poor. Perhaps he remained as a Roman Tax Collector, but I believe his fees were now true and fair. And… he “maybe” even regularly hosted meals for the poor (just conjecture on my part.)

We DO know that this short-statured man must have become “taller” in the eyes of the people. He had a new attitude and a new life within him… Jesus.

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(Did our lives change so much when we became believers? The gentle, loving Savior living in us surely must have made us love and share with one another more. “Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” “God IS love.” 1 John 4:7-8)

Reading the Gospels in 2026: (5/6) Luke 16:1-15

May6

A 5-day per week study.

May 6 – Reading Luke 16:1-15

Read and believe in Jesus.

“No servant can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and money.” Luke

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The Gospel according to Luke 

Review – Jesus told the parable of the Prodigal (wasteful) Son and the hardworking son, and a loving father who welcomes wanderers and disgruntled children alike, but who seeks repentance.

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Vss.  16:1-2

Jesus told this parable to the disciples (not the religious leaders), though it links to the one before. The prodigal son wasted his father’s inheritance, and the manager wasted his master’s possessions.

THIS story is about dishonesty, deception, retaliation, bribery, greed, and shrewdness.  And Jesus seems to condone them all, right?  Yeah, NO! This is the perfect, sinless Son of God.  So let’s try to dig out what He meant with this unusual parable.

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‘There was a rich man who had a crooked manager, and charges were brought against him…”

The rich man called the manager and told him to turn in the books, for he was fired.

So far, so good.

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Vss. 16:3-7.

At first, the manager was in panic mode.  Yikes! “I’m not strong enough to dig!  And I’m ashamed to beg!

Being a day-laborer was out – he’d spend his days with his feet up on a desk, scrolling on his phone, drinking iced sweet tea, and not paying attention to his boss’s assets.

And sitting in the local market, with an alms cup held out to strangers, also did not appeal to him.  Now what?

(He basically didn’t WANT to work.  He liked the ease. Then he got an idea!)

“I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into the houses.”

(Notice his reason, beginning with “so that…”  This was bribery. ‘I do this for you; you will reciprocate this to me.’  No thought for his employer.)

So, that’s what he did.  He went around to all his employer’s debtors and lowered the amounts they owed.  Notice that BOTH parties are complicit. None of the debtors said, ‘Well, that wouldn’t be fair to your employer.’  Nope, they all agreed.

And we presume, if this were a TRUE story, these debtors would have made life easy for that manager.  BUT this is a parable, a story with a lesson to be learned.  And this is the hard part.

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Vss. 16:8a.

Notice the master’s reaction. Totally shocking,

“The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.”

This shows, first, that the master was also a crook.  One crook to another, he admired his manager’s criminal genius. Perhaps he would have considered re-hiring him if this were a true story.  

It’s clear now that ALL the characters in this story are corrupt/dishonest: the master, the manager, and the debtors.   

Huh!

What does Jesus want His disciples to ‘see’ in this crazy parable?

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Vss. 16:8b-9

First, Jesus says, “The sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.”

Sons of this world – unbelievers.

Sons of light – believers.

(Most unbelievers are wiser in the ways of the [financial] world than some believers are toward the things of God.

Even the most wicked are shrewd enough to provide for themselves against coming evil.  Believers ought to be more ‘shrewd’, because they are concerned with matters of eternity.)

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Jesus continues with true advice to His disciples about what to do NOW to ensure a more fruitful, glorious eternity.  

He says, “Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.”

“Unrighteous wealth” = money in this world.

“Make friends” = share the gospel, pray for unbelievers, support missions and ministries for evangelism.

“The failing world and its economy” = At the (or your) end, when Jesus comes, or you die.

“THEY may receive you” = all those you had a part in bringing to Jesus will welcome you into glory.

“The eternal dwellings.” = Heaven, for all eternity.

Invest yourself in promoting the kingdom of God, with what earthly money and work you can. You will have a living “treasure” in Heaven to meet you when you die or when Jesus comes.

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Vss. 16:10-13.

Jesus sums it up, looking at the negative side. 

“If then you have NOT been faithful in unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you true riches.  And if you have NOT been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?

“No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other … OR he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

“You CANNOT serve God and money.”

Serve the Lord! Use the world’s money to further the Kingdom. Put the Lord first in your life, love Him, serve Him.

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Vss. 16:14-15.

Oh, it seems that the richly clad Pharisees WERE still there, around the peripheral, probably.  These “lovers of money” ridiculed Jesus when they heard these things.

Jesus answered them harshly, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”

Whoa!

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 Oh, Lord, please let my heart be towards You and not the things of the world. Help me to be wise in how I handle the money You give me.

 

Reading the Gospels in 2026: (4/20) Luke 11:14-32

Apr20

A 5-day per week study.

April 20 – Reading Luke 11:14-32

Read and believe in Jesus.

“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it.”  Luke

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The Gospel according to Luke

REVIEW – Last time, Jesus taught on prayer. How to do it, and how to be humbly persistent. We can be confident of answers when we ask, seek, and knock because God, our Heavenly Father, wants to give good gifts to His children.

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Vss. 11:14-23.

What a curious thing that someone would accuse Jesus of doing a merciful act by conspiring with the devil!  It’s so wrong in many ways!

  1. First, Jesus is exercising power AGAINST the bondage of Satan.
  2. He is freeing a helpless man whom Satan maliciously bound.
  3. The righteous Son of God cannot be in league with the blasphemous son of perdition.
  4. Jesus is sinless, merciful, kind, good, self-sacrificing, and loving. Satan is greedy, a murderer, a deceiver, a liar, and an accuser of Christians.
  5. Good vs evil. White vs black. Beauty vs the stench of decay.

Seriously, people!

Knowing their thoughts, Jesus stated it plainly.

  • “A kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided house falls.”
  • “If Beelzebul (the devil) is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?”
  • “But, if it is by the ‘finger of God’ that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

The King was in their midst, showing His sovereign power. He demonstrated that by binding Satan and his demons.

Jesus then illustrates this with a little story.

A strong man will fully arm himself to guard his palace and his “stuff.”  BUT, if a STRONGER one attacks and overcomes him, that one will not only take away the spoil, but … his armor as well.

Jesus not only freed the mute man from his suffering, but He also bound the demon. He took away his “armor.”   Jesus is all-powerful; He does NOT need Beelzebul’s help.

(These people – and perhaps many today – were spiritually blind.)

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Vss. 11:24-26.

Jesus then warns these “blind” spectators about their own false exorcists, who DO pair up with the devil for power. Jesus uses this story.

An unclean spirit is “cast out” by one of these so-called exorcists. The person cleans up his life, but there is no lasting power involved, so the demon gathers more of his evil fellows to dwell in the now “swept and orderly” person’s being, making the second state worse than the first.

THIS is not how JESUS works.  “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”  (John 8:36)

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Vss. 11:27-28.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a woman yells out, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed!”

Umm…

Jesus doesn’t deny His mother’s blessings, but assures the woman and the crowd that it is WAY more blessed to HEAR the Word of God and to OBEY it.

Awkward moment averted.

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Vss. 11:29-32.

Earlier, some in the crowd, in order to test Jesus, asked Him to show them a sign from heaven, to prove Himself.

Now Jesus tells them that it’s an evil generation that seeks a sign for proof. (Jesus wants them to have faith.)  He says that they won’t get any sign except for the sign of Jonah.

Huh?

Disobedient Jonah? Swallowed by a fish, Jonah?  Disgruntled but obeying anyway, Jonah? Whining at the bad guys repenting, Jonah?

No.

Jonah was three days in the belly of the fish, as good as dead. Jesus was three days in the grave, truly dead.  Both emerge: Jonah to preach judgment to Nineveh, and Jesus as a judgment to come. Nineveh and the people of today both experience(d) mercy and grace. But judgment did (and will) come.

“Someone ‘greater than Jonah’ is here,” Jesus warned.

Jesus’ resurrection would be the “sign.” Would they then believe?

Reading the Gospels in 2026: (4/17) Luke 11:1-13

Apr17

A 5-day per week study.

April 17 – Reading Luke 11:1-13

Read and believe in Jesus.

“Lord, teach us to pray…”  Luke 11:1

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The Gospel according to Luke

Review – Last time, Jesus visited two sisters in Bethany. Martha is anxious because there is “so much to do.” She commands Jesus to tell Mary to help her! Jesus, kindly but firmly, says no. Mary’s choice to sit and listen to his teaching was a good one. Rebuked … what did Martha do?

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Vss. 11:1-4.

We don’t know where this happened, but somewhere, the disciples quietly watched Jesus as He prayed. After He finished, they asked Him to teach them to pray.  And Jesus did.

This is a shorter version of the “Lord’s Prayer” that Jesus taught the crowds in the Sermon on the Mount. At that time, He’d instructed them…

  1. NOT to stand up to pray in the synagogues or on street corners to be seen by others, but to go into their room, shut the door, and pray to God in secret. God will hear that prayer.
  2. NOT to “heap up empty words” when they prayed as the pagans did. God knew what they needed even before they asked.

Here, Jesus gave them a simplified version.

  • Whom to pray to: the Father,
  • Worship/adoration: hallowed (holy) is Your name.
  • Humble submission to His will: (may) Your kingdom come.
  • Looking to Him for our needs: give us each day our daily bread,
  • Confession: forgive us our sins
  • Repentance: as we forgive everyone indebted to us.
  • Dependence on Him for holy living: lead us not into temptation.

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Vss. 11:5-7.

Jesus encourages His disciples not just to recite a prayer, but to be serious and urgent in their praying. We aren’t to kneel for a 5-minute morning prayer and a few “table graces” and think that is all we need.

Jesus then tells the disciples a parable to illustrate the persistence they should have in prayer.

The scenario Jesus paints is that of a man surprised by a friend who arrives very late at night from a long journey. The man wants to feed this tired and hungry traveler, but there is nothing in the “fridge.”

Even though it is late, he goes to his neighbor, who is also a friend. And, although this neighbor and his entire family have long since blown out the lamps and gone to bed, our guy pounds on the door.

“Please lend me three small loaves for a surprise visitor!”

“What? Are you serious? We are all in bed! I can’t get up to give you any bread!”

Knock, knock, knock. “Please! Just a few loaves!”

“Go away!”

Knock, knock, knock. “Please, I have nothing to give him at all!”

Silence.

Knock, knock, knock. “Please, neighbor! I am desperate. I have nothing!”

Silence.

Then a click and a creak as the door is opened.  A basket of bread is shoved out. Our man takes it and begins to thank his neighbor profusely, but the door closes.

Nevertheless, he joyfully returns home. He has something to feed his exhausted and hungry long-distance visitor.

(No, this is not teaching us to simply “bother God” with constantly repeating requests. Or that God is begrudging with His answers.  But with another’s need in mind, and with a selfless, dependent attitude, we are to be persistent before the throne of grace.)

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Vss. 11:8-10.

So, Jesus encourages His disciples in TWO WAYS to –

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 

“For everyone who asks, receives, and the one who seeks, finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened.”

That almost seems like ‘carte blanche’. But note the examples of requests that Jesus gives in the next section.

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Vss. 11:11-13.

“If a son asks for a FISH (to eat), will the father give him a snake instead?

If a son asks for an EGG, will the father give him a scorpion?

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give THE HOLY SPIRIT to those who ask Him?”

 

 

Reading the Gospels in 2026: (4/8) Luke 8:40-56

Apr8

A 5-day per week study.

April 8 – Reading Luke 8:40-56

Read and believe in Jesus.

“Do not fear, only believe.”  Luke 8:50

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The Gospel according to Luke 8:40-56

Review –

Jesus reacted to family (natural & spiritual). Jesus slept during a storm but awoke and calmed the wind and sea. Across the Lake, Jesus calms a different kind of whirlwind and raging sea, that of the demon-possessed man. Pigs are involved, and a former demoniac becomes an evangelist in his hometown.

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We’ve already studied these next two side-by-side incidents in Mark.  Let’s see how Dr. Luke tells them.

It’s interesting how he writes the stories in pairs.  First, the Centurion’s servant and the widow’s only son were cured/resurrected. Then the raging wind and sea calmed, mirroring the raging madness and deliverance of the demon-possessed man.  Now two “daughters” are cured and restored to “life” at twelve years.

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Vss. 40-42.

Jairus’ VERY sick daughter.

As soon as Jesus crosses back over the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, a prominent, important leader of the synagogue falls at His feet, begging him to come heal his daughter of 12 years, who is at the brink of death.

“I will,” says Jesus, and goes with Jairus.

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Vss. 43-48.

A VERY unclean “daughter” of Israel.

But He is stopped by an unnamed woman who has been ceremonially unclean with an “issue of blood” for as long as Jairus’ daughter has been alive.  She cannot worship in the synagogue, be among “clean” women, or be touched by anyone without infecting them with her “uncleanness.”  And she is now destitute because she’s spent ALL her money on doctors to cure her, but NONE were able to help her.

(I bet that made Dr. Luke feel bad!)

In the crowd following Jesus, this “outcast” woman sneaks up and touches the fringe of Jesus’ prayer garment – one of the four corner tassels with blue threads woven through it. IMMEDIATELY, healing power flows into her, and she is HEALED!

Healed, yes.  But NOT RESTORED (cleansed) in the eyes of Israel.

“Who touched me?” Jesus asks.

“Are you serious, Jesus. All these people are crowding around you. EVERYONE is touching you!” says Peter.

“Someone touched me for healing, for I perceive that POWER has gone out from  me.”

Then Jesus SAW the woman.

She saw she could not hide and came trembling to Jesus. And IN THE PRESENCE OF ALL THAT CROWD, she declared WHY she had touched Jesus, AND that she’d been cured.

(Even today, those who are redeemed by the grace of God should not remain silent, but testify to all how Jesus saved them!)

Not in a rush, not stressed by the anxious Jairus pacing nearby, Jesus looked at the woman and said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

Daughter. No longer an outcast. She now has the same standing as Jairus’s own innocent little girl.

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Vss. 49-56.

A VERY dead little girl.

Jairus is torn apart with anxiety and dread while Jesus ministers to the woman.

After all, HIS DAUGHTER is more worthy of Jesus’ attention; she’s an innocent little girl.  And HE, the leader of the synagogue, is surely more important than that woman. His daughter deserves Jesus’ attention more than she does.  HIS situation is more dire. That woman has waited twelve years; let her wait a few more minutes!!!

“I’m sorry, Sir,” whispers one of his servants. “Your daughter has died.  Bother the Master no longer.”

And like that, this important man’s world has ended. He falls to his knees with a deep wail of sorrow and “if only…”

Did he now feel the hopelessness and loss of all joy that the woman had felt for twelve years?

“Do not fear, only believe, and she will be well,” came Jesus’s words through his bitter anguish. He looks up through tears.

Numb, he stumbles along beside Jesus and approaches his house – so very close! (if only…)

Already, the paid mourners are weeping and wailing out front.

“Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping,” Jesus said.

And taking Peter, John, and James along with the girl’s parents, Jesus goes into the house, where the body of the little girl lies. He takes her by the hand.

“Child, arise,”  Jesus says, and the little girl’s spirit RETUNS to her. (Yes, she WAS dead.)  She sits up at once, and Jesus directs that some food be brought to her.

(If she’s been sick a while, she NEEDS food.  But also, at least with Jesus and the disciples after HIS resurrection, eating food is proof positive that indeed the dead one has been brought back to life.)

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And so, there was joy in two households that day. Two daughters had been restored to life. One goes back to a normal way of living, loving, enjoying fellowship, and the other goes back to literal breathing and eating.

JESUS IS the Resurrection and the LIFE.  PRAISE HIM!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reading the Gospels in 2026: (4/3) Luke 7:36-50

Apr3

A 5-day per week study.

April 3 – Reading Luke 7:26-50

Read and believe in Jesus.

“…her sins, which were many, are forgiven, for she loved much.”  Luke 7:47

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The Gospel according to Luke 7:36-50

Review – John the Baptist is in prison, discouraged by what he hears is happening. Where is the fiery Messiah who was coming to judge evil? Jesus didn’t seem to be doing that. He sent his disciples to ask if He was “the One.” Jesus replied with a flurry of miracles and a reminder of Isaiah 29:18-19, which John KNEW by heart. Yes. Jesus WAS the One.

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Vss. 30, 36.
Remember yesterday that Jesus was very harsh in his rebuke of the Pharisees, having “rejected the purpose of God for themselves.” He compared them to bratty little children.Nevertheless, when one of them invited Jesus to eat at his house, Jesus went with him. His name was Simon, and he doesn’t appear to be sympathetic to Jesus.  Could this Pharisee’s “ulterior motive” have been to entrap Jesus in some way?Jesus took His place reclining at the table, and the food and drink were served. Simon watched Jesus.  Jesus watched Simon. Then a very unusual thing happened.

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Vss. 37-38.

A “woman of the city,” (a nice way to say a prostitute), came into Simon’s house.  (Had she been there before under “other “circumstances?)  It’s weird that the servants would just let her into this prominent man’s home.

But in she came and headed right for Jesus – his feet, to be exact. She’d brought an alabaster flask of ointment.

(NOTE: This is not the same woman as in Mark 14:3-9.  In THAT case, the woman was Mary, sister of Martha; it was in Bethany, and during Passion Week. THAT Simon was an ex-leper, not a Pharisee.)

Standing, then kneeling behind Jesus, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair. She kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.  (We will see that Jesus’ feet were still dusty from the road because Simon had not even had a servant wash them when he came in.)

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Vss. 39-43.

Simon’s thoughts about this woman and Jesus might have been evident by the look of disdain and disgust on his face.

“If this man were a prophet,

He would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching Him,

for she is a sinner.”

Jesus KNEW his thoughts and said to Simon, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

Simon: “Say it, Teacher.”

Jesus tells him a little story: “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed 500 denarii and the other owed 50. When they could not pay, he canceled both debts.  Now, which of them will love him more?”

Simon: “The one, I suppose, for whom he canceled the larger debt.”

Jesus: “You judged rightly.”

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Vss. 44-50.

Jesus turned to look at the woman while continuing to speak to Simon: “Do you see this woman?

  • I entered your house; YOU gave me no water for my feet, but SHE has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
  • YOU gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in, SHE has not ceased to kiss my feet.
  • YOU did not anoint my head with oil, but SHE has anointed my feet with ointment.
  • Therefore, I tell you, HER sins, which are many, are forgiven for she loved much. But HE who was forgiven little (YOU, Simon) loves little.”

Then Jesus turned to the woman and told her quietly, “YOUR sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

“Who is this that says He can forgive sins?” grumbled the other guests at Simon’s table.

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WHO indeed?  And HOW?

Because Jesus is God. 

Because, although His death on the cross had not yet happened in “time,” it had been ordained from eternity past. Jesus carried this woman’s many sins on Him at the cross, just as he’s carried yours and mine, if our hearts have repented of sin and we trust in Him for redemption.

**** Think on this today, on “Good Friday” and “Passover,” and look to Jesus, the Lamb of God, with his blood given for us. Remember also His glorious resurrection, which shows for all time that God accepted HIS death in payment in full for OUR sin debt.