Tag Archive | Jesus

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 297

Oct24

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

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

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

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

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

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

“No, but he is like him.”

“I am the man!” he finally said.

“How were your eyes opened?”

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

“Where is he?” they asked.

“I don’t know.” 

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

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

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

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

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

“He is a prophet.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 295

Oct22

  Day 295—We are in the TENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

    Day 295 – Matthew 18 (parables, temptations to sin, forgiveness, when a brother sins)

Jesus’ disciples are at it again after Jesus tells Peter to fish for a coin out of a fish for the Temple Tax for Peter and Himself.  The rest want to know, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom?’

Maybe they were thinking that Peter was most favored; maybe they were thinking of the late, great Baptist…. or someone else.  Jesus surprised them by picking up a little child and perhaps settling it on His lap. 

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn (repent) and become like children, you will never ENTER (let alone be greatest) in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the “greatest” in the kingdom of heaven.”

(NOTE: I need to be repentant and humble; childlike, not childish.)

Verse 6. “One of these little ones who believe in Me,”  Jesus warns them never to cause one to sin. 

Verse 10. “One of these little ones,”  Jesus says, “See that you do not despise one.”

Verse 14. “One of these little ones.” Jesus states firmly, “It is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one should perish. Their angels always see the face of my Father.” He illustrates this by telling a story where a man leaves 99 sheep to find a lost little one.

Verses 15-35.  Jesus teaches about sin and forgiveness; 1) what to do if a brother sins against you, 2) how many times are we to forgive a brother who sins against us, 3) the parable about being forgiven much and forgiving others, and 4) HOW to forgive one who sins against you. 

  1.  The steps of reconciliation with a Christian brother who sins against you are: First, go to him privately and talk about it. Second, take a couple believers with you and talk about it. Next, if it’s not resolved, tell the congregation of believers. Finally, if he still refuses to listen, separate him from the group of believers — until he repents — so the discord won’t spread.
  2. When Peter asks Jesus, ‘How many times do I have to forgive a brother who sins against me, seven times?’  You can almost hear Jesus sigh. Oh, Peter, how many times have I forgiven you just this week??  But He doesn’t say that. Instead, Jesus says a number – 490 times – which would be impossible to keep track of.  The point is, don’t keep track. Just forgive! Always.
  3. Jesus then tells them a parable about a servant who is forgiven a vast amount of money by a king ($4-6 million today), who then goes to a fellow servant who owes him a mere pocketful of cash.  The forgiven servant has no pity on the man and has him thrown into debtor’s prison till he can pay.  The king eventually hears what he did and rescinds his forgiveness, calling him “a wicked servant.” Then, this formerly debt-free but unforgiving man is jailed for about 150,000 years until he can pay HIS debt.  
  4. Jesus then looks around at his shocked disciples. “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 293 and 294

Oct21

    Days 293 and 294—We are in the TENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

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

    Day 293 – Matthew 16, Mark 8 (4,000 fed, beware Pharisees, death/resurrection, Peter’s confession and rebuke)

After three days of solid crowds, Jesus felt sorry for them because they had nothing to eat. Again, someone volunteered seven rolls and a few fish, and after arranging the people in groups on the ground, Jesus thanked God for the food, cut up those “tuna sandwiches,” and had his disciples pass the food out.   ALL 4,000+ people ate and were satisfied.   AND seven large baskets of leftovers were gathered. As evening approached, Jesus sent the now-satisfied people home, and He, with the disciples, got into a boat for another shore.

But, those weary disciples forgot to bring the seven baskets of leftover bread and had only one roll between them! 

Jesus, thinking of an encounter with the Pharisees who had wanted Him to give them “a sign” to prove who He was, said to the disciples, “Beware the leaven (or sin) of the Pharisees and of Herod.”    The disciples immediately thought Jesus was scolding them for forgetting those big baskets full of bread. 

“Why are you talking about bread??  Don’t you remember me feeding 5,000+ people a while ago and now feeding 4,000+ people, both times with lots of leftovers???  Bread is not the problem.  It’s the constant attack and false teaching by the religious leaders who question who I am that you need to think about.  Beware of THEM!”

Again, on the land near Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked them, “Who do YOU say that I am?”   

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” says his leading disciple, Peter.

“Bless you, Simon Bar-Jonah! Flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.  And I tell you, you are “Peter, the stone,” and on this “rock” (of your testimony) I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

You know this, guys, but don’t be spreading around this truth just yet, he warns them.  There will be a time to do that, and I will empower you.”

From that moment on, Jesus begins to tell his men that 1) He must go to Jerusalem, 2) suffer many things from the religious leaders, 3) be killed, and 4) on the third day be raised.

Peter, grabbing his arm, says, “Far be it from you Lord!! This shall never happen to you!”

Jesus, shocking them all, growls, “GET BEHIND ME, SATAN! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man!”   

WHOA!  (This was sure an “opportune time,” and Satan used Peter to once again tempt Jesus from the cross and his own prophesied head-crushing.)

NOTE: A lesson for us after a “mountain-top experience.” Beware, that’s when your guard is down, and the devil can get in some sucker punches.

Jesus then takes all his disciples aside and tells them the seriousness of His mission and their following Him.  They also must be willing to give their lives up for His sake.  They must bear a cross (symbol of the ultimate persecution), and follow Him all the way to the death.  Your SOUL is more important and long-lasting than your BODY.

“Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory with the holy angels.“

Surely, Jesus was speaking to US as well.

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    Day 294. – Matthew 17, Mark 9 (transfiguration, boy with a demon, Jesus’ future, temple tax)

Again, we see the story of Jesus transfigured on the mountain before His three core disciples, showing them a glimpse of His magnificent glory. We also hear their stupid words. (Oh, let’s make a memorial of the spot.)

At the bottom of the mountain, they encounter the desperate father with a son tormented by a demon who was trying to kill him by throwing him into the fire. (Yes, that is precisely what Satan would like to do to us, too: join him in the fires of hell.)  The other nine disciples (although they had done miracles before) could not cast these demons out. 

“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic, and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. Your disciples could not heal him.” (Luke’s passage definitely calls it a demon.)

Jesus sighs at their lack of faith and turns to the father. He says, “All things are possible for the one who believes.”

“I do believe; help my unbelief,” cries the father.

With force, Jesus says, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”  And, of course, the spirit HAD TO.  But it resisted and convulsed the boy terribly, so he cried out and then lay as a corpse. 

Was he dead?  What does it matter? Jesus lifted him up and gave him to his father. 

Later, the disciples asked why they couldn’t cast out the demon. 

You didn’t pray, and you had but little faith.  “I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could move this mountain.”

As they go their way, Jesus again tells them that He will suffer and be killed, but He will be raised on the third day.  However, this does nothing but distress them.

When they got to Capernaum, the Temple tax collectors came to them, hands held out for the half-shekel tax every Jew, 20 years and up, had to pay annually.  When Peter went to Jesus about it, Jesus sent him, not to Judas, who carried the money, but to the lake.  Peter was to throw in a hook, and the first fish he drew out would have a shekel coin in its mouth.  He was to take and give it to the collectors for Himself and for Peter. 

(Bread and taxes. Indeed, the LORD supplies all our needs.)

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 292

Oct19

  Day 292—We are in the TENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

    Day 292 – Matthew 15, Mark 7 (traditions VS commands, defilement, woman’s daughter, healings, 4K fed)

In both Matthew 15 and Mark 7, the religious leaders object to Jesus’ disciples breaking “the traditions of the elders” by not washing their hands (in a ceremonial way) before eating and so defiling themselves.

Jesus comes right back with the question, “Why do YOU break GOD’s commandment for the sake of “your traditions?”  He explained that they broke the 5th Commandment about Honoring Parents by stealing the financial support they should be giving them and instead “dedicating it to God.” (And probably getting a tax break?)  HYPOCRITES! Jesus called them.  And Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13.

          “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”

Then Jesus calls the larger crowd around him and explains what it is that does defile a person.  It’s what comes out of their mouths. 

He further explains to His disciples that what is in a person’s heart — (evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, coveting, wickedness, deceit, envy, pride, foolishness, false witness, and slander) — when it comes out of the mouth in words, well, THAT is what defiles a person.   “Eating with ceremonially unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

 

Jesus and his disciples then withdrew to the districts of Tyre and Sidon (north of Israel) because He wanted some time alone with them.  But a gentile woman came to him and cried out desperately.

“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon!”

Testing her, Jesus said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.“  

“Lord, help me!” she said, kneeling before Him.

“It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” Jesus said, again testing her.

She boldly answered, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

“O woman, great is your faith!”  Jesus said,  “Be it done for you as you desire.”  And the daughter was healed instantly.

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After that, Jesus was totally cheered by the woman’s faith (a gentile at that), and went back to Galilee. There, He healed the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others.  One man in particular (Luke) was deaf and mute.  Jesus took him aside privately, put his fingers in his ears, and touched his tongue. He looked to heaven, sighed, and said to the man, BE OPENED. The man’s ears were opened, and his tongue was released. 

The people, astonished beyond measure, said, “Glory be to the God of Israel. He has done all things well.”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 291

Oct18

  Day 291—We are in the TENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

    Day 291 – John 6 (Another recount of 5,000 fed and walking on water, the Bread of Life discourse, believing in Him, Peter’s proclamation.)

John 6. This chapter covers a lot. The first part is about and adds some details to the feeding of the 5,000 (it was near Passover; they sat on grass; the crowd wanted to make him king) and Jesus walking on water (immediately the boat was at land).

THE NEXT DAY, Jesus teaches one of His most difficult discourses on the BREAD OF LIFE. The crowds He’d fed so handily now rush around the lake to confront Him again.

“Rabbi, how did you get here?”  (Um, I walked on water, then got into a boat that came instantly to shore.)

“You all are seeking me for the miracles and the loaves,” Jesus says. “Don’t work for the food that perishes, but the food that endures to eternal life, which I will give you.”

“What must we DO to be doing the WORKS of God?”

“The WORK OF GOD is to believe in Him whom He has sent.”

“What sign do you do that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?”  (Duh, what about the free bread/fish they got yesterday and all the miracle healings?)  “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness. He gave them bread from heaven.”

“It was NOT MOSES who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father. And He gives you the TRUE Bread from Heaven that gives life to the world.”

YAY!!!  “Sir, give us this bread always!!”

“I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.  You’ve seen me, but you won’t believe it.”

And Jesus tells them that EVERYONE the Father gives Him will come to Him.  He has come down from heaven to do His Father’s will, and He will lose no one that the Father gives him. And “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. 

Grumble, grumble, grumble. “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose mom and dad we know?  How can you say you come down from heaven???”

Jesus tells them not to grumble but to face the facts. No one can come to Him unless the Father draws them.  He is the bread of life. Their fathers ate manna, but they died.  Those who eat the LIVING BREAD will live forever.  “And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

What????

“Yes, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. For my flesh is TRUE FOOD, and my blood is TRUE DRINK.  If you eat and drink this, you will ABIDE IN ME AND I IN YOU.

This was WAY TOO MUCH for those Kosher Jews, and they left Him. Many of his followers also turned back and no longer walked with Him. 

“Do YOU twelve want to go away as well?” Jesus asked them.

“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 Peter.  (YES! Amen, Peter.)

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NOTE:  Jesus was teaching in an analogy that had SPIRITUAL rather than LITERAL meaning.  Just as eating and drinking are necessary for physical life, so is belief in His sacrificial death on the cross necessary for eternal life.  The eating of His flesh and drinking of His blood metaphorically symbolize the need for accepting Jesus’ work on the cross.  To the Jews, a crucified Messiah was UNTHINKABLE. And they could not see the absolute spiritual truth behind Jesus’ statements.

PS: Jesus is not speaking here of communion. That ordinance does NOT teach that communicants would receive eternal life.

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 290

Oct17

  Day 290—We are in the TENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

    Day 290 – Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9 (John the Baptist killed, 5000 fed, walks on water, transfiguration)

Matthew 14.  Herod Antipas, one of Herod the Great’s sons, is ruling in Galilee. He stole his brother Phillip’s wife, Herodias, for himself, and John the Baptist condemned him.  Now, he’s having nightmares because he hears about Jesus preaching and doing miracles. He wonders if He could be the Baptist reincarnated!!

GUILTY CONSCIENCE!  For, at Herodias’s request, the king had beheaded John. It was at a big birthday party when his scantily-clothed stepdaughter danced, and he foolishly offered her a wish. Herodias told her to ask for the prophet’s head on a platter, and it was done. Herod was very sorry afterward, but “his word” and all that.  Now, this deed haunted Herod.

John’s disciples buried his body and told Jesus.  When Jesus heard, he withdrew in a boat to a desolate place (to grieve and pray?). John had been the one to introduce Him, who’d prepared His way, said He was the Lamb of God, pointed his own disciples to Jesus, and baptized Him.

But when Jesus came ashore, a vast crowd met him with their own needs. With compassion, Jesus healed and taught them, and when evening approached, He told his disciples to feed them.

“Say what? There’s…. fifteen thousand people here with the women and kids!”

“Tell them to sit in groups and bring that young boy to me. The one with the lunch bag.”

Jesus took the five rolls and two dried fish the boy offered, thanked God, and fed the multitude. Afterward, the disciples each got a take-home basket. Jesus dismissed the satisfied crowd and sent His men into the boat to go home. He remained to grieve for His cousin and pray to His Father.

Around midnight, Jesus “saw” His disciples struggling in a storm on the lake.  He went to them, walking on the water. (Was it fun?)  They thought they were seeing a ghost!

“Don’t fear, it’s just Me.”

“If it IS you, Lord, command me to come to you on the water.

“Come.”

And Peter walked on the water with Jesus until he looked down at the waves and started to sink.  Jesus quickly grabbed his hand.  “Why did you doubt?”  When they both were back into the boat, the wind ceased.  “You are truly the Son of God.” they cried in awe.

Back on the other side, another crowd recognized and rushed to Him, bringing their sick and begging to touch the fringe of His garment.  And as many as did so were healed.

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Mark 6.  Mark tells again about the beheading of the Baptist, Jesus feeding the great multitude with the boy’s lunch, His coming to them in the storm by walking atop the water, and the incredible healing of a crowd that only touched the tassels of his garment.

He also retells the incident when Jesus first went into the synagogue, read the scroll, and claimed to be the One Isaiah was writing about. Of course, they took offense. “He marveled because of their unbelief.”

He also adds a note to Matthew’s account (Matt. 10) that the Twelve who went out proclaimed that people should repent, cast out many demons, and anointed many with oil so they were healed.

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Luke 9.  Luke also recounts Jesus sending out the Twelve, giving them POWER and AUTHORITY over demons and diseases.

He also recounts Herod’s confusion over John and the feeding of the 5,000.  Then he tells of another time when they were with Jesus, but Jesus had been praying alone.

Jesus suddenly asks them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

“John the Baptist.”

“Elijah.”

“One of the other prophets that has risen.”

“But who do YOU say I am,” Jesus asked.

Peter answered boldly, “The Christ of God.”

“Tell this to no one,” Jesus warned. “The Son of Man must first suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

EIGHT DAYS LATER, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on another mountain to pray.  And there He was TRANSFIGURED.  The appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And with Him, Moses and Elijah appeared, talking about the very same “departure” in Jerusalem that He’d just told the disciples about.

Peter, James, and John found themselves flat on their faces on the ground, unconscious.  Peter awoke, saw Moses and Elijah leaving, and said, “Master, it’s great that we are here. Let’s make three tents, one for you, Moses, and Elijah—-“.

Then came a voice from heaven. (Shut up, Peter.)  “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to HIM!”  No one said anything as they made their way back down the mountain.

Down at the bottom, his other disciples struggled to heal a boy with convulsions.  Jesus stepped up and healed him. And, all were astonished at the majesty of God.

While they were still marveling at everything, Jesus said, “Let these words sink into your ears. The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” 

Huh?

LATER, they argued who was the greatest among them (Did the Transfiguration Three start that??), and Jesus had to scold them

LATER AGAIN, they tried to stop someone who was casting out demons, saying that he wasn’t ALLOWED TO because he wasn’t in their group.  Again, Jesus scolded them.

STILL LATER, they wanted to call down fire from heaven on a village of Samaritans because they didn’t welcome Jesus.  This time, Jesus REBUKED them.

(I wonder if this is how Jesus feels about ME sometimes.)

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 289

Oct16

yu  Day 289—We are in the TENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

    Day 289 – Matthew 10 (twelve sent out, persecution warnings, swords & rewards)

Matthew 10. Jesus’ disciples have been with Him for a while, watching and learning from Him. It’s now time for them to practice what they’ve learned. After all, Jesus will be with them for only a little more than three years.

So, Jesus calls them to himself and gives them AUTHORITY over unclean spirits and diseases.  He tells them to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast out demons….just as He has been showing them by example.  (These miracles will authenticate their message.)

Matthew names the disciples (learners) and then calls them apostles (messengers or representatives). (Here, he even identifies himself as Matthew the tax collector.) Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew (Nathaniel), Thomas, James #2, Thaddaeus, Simon #2, and Judas Iscariot.

He tells the Twelve to go only to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Time will come later when they are sent to the uttermost parts of the world.)  They are to proclaim, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  They are to preach freely without pay, for THEY have been given the message free of charge. They should not take money for the journey or extra clothes, shoes, or staff.  These will be provided for them by the “worthy” people who receive them (as some have received Jesus) and offer hospitality.

Jesus also warns them of persecution. He has already experienced some at the hands of the religious leaders. As He has, so will they. He says they are like sheep among wolves and to be WISE as serpents but INNOCENT as doves.

He tells the twelve that (and this is probably directed to a later time) they will be flogged and brought before courts, governors, and kings for preaching Him to Jews AND Gentiles.  But they aren’t to worry, for the Holy Spirit will give them the words to say (such as in Acts) and the strength to persevere.

They are to love Him supremely, even ahead of family, for, later, children and parents will turn against each other and have the other put to death for their testimony. Jesus tells them their worst enemies will rise from their own households. “They called me Beelzebub. How much more will they malign you.”  

But they are NOT TO FEAR persecution or even death. The persecutors can kill only the body. But fear God, who can put body and soul to everlasting death in hell.   He tells them their Father is aware of a sparrow dying, and that they are so much more loved than birds.  Their very hairs are numbered.

They are to be confident that if they acknowledge Him among the world, He will acknowledge them before the Father in heaven.  If they find their “life” at the expense of loving Him, they will lose it. But losing it for His sake guarantees they will have (eternal) life.

There are REWARDS for those who receive them as His representatives. Even if one gives a water bottle to a Gospel preacher on a corner in the midday heat – because they are a disciple of Jesus – they will receive a reward.

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 288

Oct15

  Day 288—We are in the TENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

    Day 288 – Mark 4 – 5 (Parables, storm calmed, healings)

These chapters in Mark review what we have already read but with his own slant. The first is the parable of the Sower and Seeds. Then, when Jesus was alone with His disciples, He explained the meaning. “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything is in parables.”

(When someone persists in unbelief, giving them more “light” only increases their guilt.) Nothing is hidden or secret to the one who genuinely desires to understand. “Pay attention to what you hear;  with the measure you use (to hear/understand), it will be measured to you, and still more will be added. 

When the Word is scattered around, like seeds on the ground, it sprouts and grows.  We don’t know how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, the ear, and then the full grain.  1 Peter 1:23 calls the Word of God that enters a person’s heart “the imperishable seed.” God gives life to seeds and the Word in a person, bringing them to full fruit. It’s a mystery, but Praise God.

After teaching the crowds and His disciples about the “imperishable” seed all day, evening came. Jesus decided to leave the crowd, get into a boat, and cross to the other side of Galilee.  While out on the water, a great windstorm arose, and the waves broke INTO the boat, and it began to fill with water.

Jesus was sleeping in the back of the boat. Panicked, they shook him awake, saying, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are perishing?” Jesus awoke, rebuked the wind, and told the sea to “be still.”  And, of course, the creation immediately obeyed its Creator.  Jesus then looked at His amazed disciples and smiled at them. As if to little children, he asked them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”  The disciples stared at him, mouths agape with fear.  WHO IS THIS, that even the wind and sea obey Him?

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On the other side, Jesus delivers the man with 2,000 demons, sending the evil creatures into pigs. The man who formerly roamed the graveyard and broke any chain that bound him is now sane and asks to follow Jesus.  Jesus, instead, tells him to go back into his town and become a witness of his salvation.

Back on the west side of the sea, Jesus heals the woman with the issue of blood and raises Jairus’s daughter from the dead. 

 

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 286 and 287

Oct14

    Day 286 and 287—We are in the TENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

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

    Day 286 – Luke 11 (Prayer, short teachings, woes)

Luke gives a shorter version of the “Lord’s Prayer.” He had been praying, and His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray.

Worship God! Align yourself with His kingdom. Ask for your needs. Confess and ask for forgiveness as you practice forgiveness to others. Ask for His protection from temptation.

Jesus illustrates persistence in prayer with a story. A friend asked a neighbor for food for a surprise visitor in the middle of the night. The neighbor was in bed, but because the friend kept asking and didn’t go away, the neighbor got up and got it for him.  “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you. If you give your kids good gifts, how much more will YOUR heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask.”

Again, they accuse Him of delivering a man from demons by the power of the devil. He reminds them of the uselessness of that.  He briefly illustrates this with a story of a strong man guarding his house, but a stronger man overcomes him.  He warns them that when a false exorcist drives out unclean spirits, more will return to the person. It takes the Holy Spirit’s power to truly free the person.

“Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts which nursed you!” cries a woman. “No, rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it,” Jesus replies.

Jesus reminds them of Jonah and Nineveh again, condemning them for always seeing a sign. They had been given enough information to believe and repent, but they would not. Nineveh will judge and condemn them, for THEY repented with much less truth preached to them.

Then Jesus lashes out at the religious leaders with a series of “woes” or curses.  He says they are fools to keep themselves outwardly clean when their hearts are full of greed and wickedness.

WOE to Pharisees tithing herbs but neglecting justice and love for God.

WOE because they LOVE the best positions and the admiration of others.  They are like graves that people walk over and don’t realize.

WOE to the Lawyers (Scribes) for loading the people with burdens they don’t carry. They build memorial tombs for the prophets and in doing so, agree with their ancestors in KILLING these men.  The blood of all the prophets (from righteous Abel to Zechariah), shed until this day, is charged against this generation.

WOE to the Lawyers (Scribes) who have taken away the key to knowledge, hindering others from entering, and not entering themselves.

“And as He went away, the Scribes and Pharisees began to press Him hard and provoke Him to speak about many things, lying in wait for Him, to catch Him in something He might say.”

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    Day 287. – Matthew 13, Luke 8 (parables, their purposes & explanations, healings)

In these chapters, Jesus tells several parables and says “why” He is not talking plainly to the people now. He explains two parables to His disciples so they can get an idea of how they work so they will understand the rest.

Luke tells us that there were also women who followed Jesus besides the twelve disciples. These are mentioned: Mary Magdalene, from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons; Joanna, the wife of Herod’s household manager (I wonder how she heard Jesus and first believed in Him.); Susanna, and many others. These women provided for Jesus and the disciples (who had left their jobs to follow Him) out of their own means.  

Great crowds were gathering around Jesus, and he taught them.  At first, He sat down by the sea to teach them, but they pressed closer, so He had to get into a boat and push out a little way into the water, the whole crowd standing on the beach to hear Him.

He told them many parables, such as the one about a farmer sowing seeds. The seeds fell in four places; along the path where the birds came and ate them, on rocky ground where they had no root and quickly withered, among thorns which grew up and choked them out, and finally on good soil where they grew and produced lots of grain.

Later, the disciples asked Jesus why He was now teaching the people in parables, whereas before (as in the Sermon on the Mount), He had taught them plainly. Jesus responded with a hard-to-understand answer. 

“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 one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what little he has will be taken away. THIS is why I speak to them in parables. It’s because seeing they do not SEE, and hearing they do not HEAR, nor do they understand.”  

Jesus said this fulfilled the Isaiah 6:9-10 prophecy where Isaiah volunteered to go and tell the Message God had for His people but was reminded that they would not listen.  “Blessed are YOUR eyes,” Jesus said to the disciples, “for they see, and YOUR ears, for they hear,” Then he told them the meaning of the Four Soils parable.

The SEED is the word of the kingdom sown among the people. The birds represent the devil who comes and immediately takes away the message.  The people (seed) on rocky ground develop no roots in the Gospel. When tribulation or persecution comes, they fall away.  Seeds that fall among thorns are people who gladly hear the message, but the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the pleasures of the world choke that joy and the message, and they prove unfruitful.  BUT THE SEED THAT LANDS ON GOOD SOIL is the one who hears the word, understands it, and is fruitful. 

Jesus then tells the parable of the Weeds sowed among Good Seed by an enemy of the Kingdom.  The master says to let the weeds grow because, if they are pulled up too soon, it will damage the good plants.  So, at harvest, both are gathered.  The good seed goes into the barn. The weeds are burned. 

Again, the disciples ask Jesus to explain this parable.  “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the children of the Kingdom; and the weeds are the children of the evil one.  The enemy is the devil.  Both are left to grow until harvest when the angels reap. They will pull out all causes of sin and law-breaking and throw them into the fire.  Then the righteous will shine like the sun.”

Jesus tells parables about finding precious things like treasure and a giant pearl. The one who finds them gives up all they have to possess them.  

The Parable of the Net tells the story of a fishing net that represents the Kingdom. It is thrown into the sea and gathers all kinds of fish. On shore, the fishermen sort the fish, throwing away the rotten fish and keeping the good.  “So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace.”

Jesus asked His disciples if they understood all those things. They said, “Yes.” Jesus then tells them His new teaching was to be understood in light of the old truths, and vice versa.

He also tells them, “No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, no is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.  Take care then HOW you hear.”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 285

Oct12

    Day 285—We are in the TENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

    Day 285 – Matthew 11 (Jesus’ message to the Baptist, unrepentant cities, Jesus’ yoke)

John the Baptist has been put in prison by Herod for his constant rebuke of him for stealing his brother’s wife. (Herod enjoys the occasional talk with the Baptist, but John will soon be beheaded at the instigation of Herod’s wife.)

Meanwhile, he wonders if Jesus is the Messiah he had announced to the world. Where was the overthrow of the Roman government and the restoration of Israel? John sends his disciples with the question. And Jesus answers him with both words and actions.

John’s disciples witness a flurry of healings of all kinds by Jesus.  Then Jesus says, “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.”  Jesus knows John will recognize the passage about the coming Messiah from Isaiah 35:5-6.

After John’s disciples leave, Jesus tells the crowds, “Among those born of women, no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist. (John had seen with his own eyes what the OT prophets prophesied about and longed to see.) Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (Any believer after the cross has seen the fulfillment of the atoning work of Christ.)

Jesus then proclaims WOES on the cities He mainly ministered in and to because they did not repent. It would be better for Sodom and Tyre (completely destroyed) on the Day of Judgment than for Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. 

Jesus then thanks His Father for the “little ones” who have believed, knowing that God had given them the understanding and revelation through His gracious will.  “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

Then Jesus offers the gracious invitation to those around Him. “Come unto me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”