Exploring the Scriptures Together
Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:29-34;Luke 3:23-38;Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13 John the Baptist preaches baptism for the forgiveness of sins, yet Jesus — Who has no sin and needs no forgiveness — insists on being baptized by John, even when John says it ought to be the other way round, that …
Continue reading “October 12 / Matthew 3:13-4:11; Mark 1:9-13; Luke 3:21-4:13; John 1:29-34”
Matthew 2:22-23; Luke 2:39-52; Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-18; John 1:19-28 All four Gospel writers speak of John the Baptist. All four identify him as fulfilling Isaiah 40:3: The voice of one crying in the wilderness… John does not come to be the star of the show. He comes to prepare the way for …
Continue reading “October 11 / Matthew 2:22-3:12; Luke 2:39-3:18; Mark 1:1-8; John 1:19-28”
Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 2:1-38; Matthew 2:1-21 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son, …
Continue reading “October 10 / Matthew 1:18-2:21; Luke 2:1-38”
John 1:1-18; Luke 1; Matthew 1:1-17 The Gospel of John opens with words that remind us of the opening line of Genesis, the first book of the Bible: In the beginning… So here we are, back at the beginning, with nothing at all in existence but God alone. In the beginning was the Word, and …
Continue reading “October 9 / John 1:1-18; Luke 1; Matthew 1:1-17”
For those who are just now joining us here at RTB, welcome! For those who have been with us since the beginning of the year, congratulations on getting through the entire Old Testament! Take a moment and catch your breath, because now we start a new leg of our journey, racing through the New Testament …
Daniel 10-12 As we watch history play out in this world, with political intrigues, wars and treaties, the rise and fall of leaders and nations, we are usually unaware of what might be going on “backstage” in the spiritual realm. In Daniel 10, the curtain is pulled back a bit, and we catch a glimpse …
Daniel 7-9 Rewind back to the life of Daniel, back to the time of Babylonian rule before the Persians, before the lions’ den and even before the handwriting on the wall. That’s the setting for Daniel’s receiving of the visions of Daniel 7-8. (Daniel 9 is after the handwriting on the wall.) So why are …
Zechariah 9-14 Today we return to Zechariah, who prophesied alongside Haggai in the days of Zerubbabel, encouraging the rebuilding of the Temple. (See September 11 and 12.) Here, Zechariah’s prophecies are far ranging, reaching well beyond Zechariah’s own lifetime to both the first and second comings of Christ. Some of what Zechariah has to say …
Isaiah 65-66 In his final two chapters, Isaiah again presents a future joyous world where justice prevails and oppression is absent, where carnivores become herbivores, where there is long life and peace, and no weeping. But this time the LORD makes it explicitly clear that this is not merely some incremental improvement of conditions. This …
Isaiah 60-64 Isaiah repeatedly portrays a future world that is utterly transformed, a world in which Zion (Jerusalem) is central and exalted, enjoying complete peace and security, with all things set right under the leadership of One upon Whom the Spirit of the LORD rests. We see this in the following passages (among others): And …