Exploring the Scriptures Together
Matthew 25:31-46, Mark 13:32-37, and Luke 21:34-38 Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. … Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (Mt. 25:34b, 41b) What a dramatic contrast in destinations Jesus has …
Continue reading “May 24 / Matt. 25:31-46, Mark 13:32-37, Luke 21:34-38”
Matthew 25:1-30 Matthew’s parable of servants receiving 5, 2, and 1 talent in today’s reading can be compared to Luke’s parable of ten servants receiving ten minas each (Luke 19:12-26). In Matthew the three servants are given talents of various levels; in Luke all ten are given the same level. In Matthew the 5-talent servant …
Matthew 24:36-51 The rapture: Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. (vv. 40-41) So here’s another argument for evangelism. If all your friends and all the people you hang out with are …
Luke 21:5-33 It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will provide you eloquence and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to oppose or refute. (vv. 13-15) The previous verse refers to Jesus’ disciples being brought before …
Mark 13:1-31 My Study Bible noted some very direct warnings by Jesus to His disciples: See to it…; But be on your guard…; But take heed…; Watch out, stay alert…; Therefore, stay alert…; …be on the alert!” (NASB, vv. 5, 9, 23, 33, 35, 37, all respectively) The ESV has “Stay awake…” instead of “Stay …
Matthew 24:15-35 Today’s reading is divided into two parts. For each part we can see Jesus answering the questions the disciples asked in verse 3 from yesterday. For verses 15-28 Jesus is answering the question, “…when will these things be?”, where “these things” are likely referring to Jesus’ comment in verse one about the Temple, …
I expressed frustration yesterday about the inequality of vaccination distributions worldwide. Then a number of news agencies reported yesterday that President Biden is committing another 20 million doses above the 60 million that had already been committed – that the USA would become an “arsenal of vaccines” for the world. So that’s good, but still …
Mark 12:38-44 and Luke 20:45-21:4 It keeps coming back to me – am I doing enough? Are we doing enough? The latest is COVID vaccinations. We are moving quite well in the USA to getting everyone 16 and over vaccinated who wants the vaccine and now we’re moving on to the 12-15 year old group. …
Matthew 23:25-39 Hidden in plain sight… So many times I have read Jesus’ chastisements, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites…, and His continuing comments on their behaviors, but for some reason I always imagined that He was speaking to the crowd. But not true! He was speaking directly to the scribes and Pharisees! In …
Matthew 23:1-24 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! (vv. 13, 14, 15, 23) So many times I have likened myself to the Pharisees, especially in the area where they were distrusting this would-be Messiah as a faker or a scam artist. So if I often identify with the Pharisees, I need to read these …