John 14:15-24

Dear RTB’ers,

We have the first of Jesus’ Last Supper mentions of the Holy Spirit in today’s reading. He lists five items regarding the Holy Spirit: another Helper, to be with you forever; the Spirit of truth; You know Him; He dwells with you; and [He] will be in you. (vv. 16, 17) Jesus was speaking to His disciples, but I believe that each of these items is something that we can claim for ourselves. We will see more Holy Spirit mentions in John 15:26 and John 16:7-15.

Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” (v. 22) Here Judas is reflecting back to Jesus words in verse 19a: Yet a little while and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. I’ve probably thought of this before, but my recollection is that Jesus appeared only to His followers following His Resurrection. He did not appear to people who did not believe in Him – in particular, He did not appear to any of the scribes, Pharisees or Sadducees who were challenging Him. I have no further comment on that, only that observation. Intriguing…!

Blessings!

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See also:

• June 2 (2021) / John 14:12-31
• November 1 (2019) / John 14:12-24

John 13:33-14:14

Dear RTB’ers,

Jesus speaking: Where I am going you cannot come. …you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow afterward. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also. (vv. 13:33b, 36b, 14:2b-3) Jesus confuses His disciples as to His departure, just as He had confused the Jews. He would not tell them where He was going, but He did give them the consolation that He would come back for them. Should that have been enough assurance to satisfy them? Evidently not. I feel like if I had been there I would have continued asking questions: “When will that be? Where will You meet us? What should we do in the meantime?” What would have been my level of trust, such that I could just wait for events to play out? And, what is my level of trust today that events will play out, according to His time? Jesus leaves me confused, especially His words in John’s gospel, but that confusion is probably a good thing, in that it builds a stronger faith in me if I let Him take charge. There’s the rub, letting Him take charge!

See you in a few hours, I hope…!!

Blessings!

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See also:

• November 13 (2023) / Matthew 26:17-35; Mark 14:12-31; Luke 22:7-38; John 13
• May 30 (2021) / John 13:18-38
• October 26 (2019) / John 13:31-35
• October 30 (2019) / John 13:36-38
• June 1 (2021) / John 14:1-11
• October 31 (2019) / John 14:1-11

John 13:21-32

Dear RTB’ers,

Two items regarding the question of whether this meal in yesterday’s and today’s reading was the Last Supper or just another meal. I was wrong yesterday when I quoted verse 30, suggesting that “he immediately went out” referred to Jesus. Not true – that phrase relates to Judas, as does verse 31a, “When he had gone out…” However, verse 29a supports the “other meal” argument: Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast…” This phrase, “for the feast” could be John’s way of suggesting a later Passover meal, lending support for the “other feast” argument.

Judas’ betrayal… Troubling. For money? Or did Judas somehow imagine that he was doing a good thing, possibly “forcing” Jesus to reveal Himself as the Messiah, “forcing” Him to begin that reign that would overthrow the Romans? Judas’ later suicide suggests some miscalculation on his part. I don’t think it was just money.

Blessings!

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See also:

• May 30 (2021) / John 13:18-38
• October 24 (2019) / John 13:18-30

John 13:1-20

Dear RTB’ers,

Back to John’s gospel for the next few weeks. By way of reminder, John 11 was Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead, then John 12 was Palm Sunday. Now we are in chapter 13, clearly in the last few days before Jesus’ Crucifixion.

Now before the Feast of the Passover… (v. 13:1a). Scholars argue whether today’s reading was the beginning of the Last Supper or just another meal with Jesus and His disciples. It’s a good question. A few verses further we have Jesus leaving: So after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. (v. 30) Then the next verse has Jesus speaking again with His disciples, and His speaking continues through chapter 17. These chapters could be the Last Supper. I’m going to go with today’s reading being the “other meal” argument, but it’s not an important issue. John does not have Jesus explicitly instituting the Eucharist at the Last Supper as do the Synoptics. See Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, and Luke 22:19-20. That’s the issue for us!

Jesus does His foot-washing in today’s reading. Two verses stand out for me. The first, Jesus speaking, If I do not wash you, you have no share with Me (v. 8b) We read this verse today and internalize it as Jesus washing away our sins – a good take-away from a simple conversation between Jesus and Peter. The second verse, Jesus again speaking, If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. (v. 14) Although Jesus was likely speaking of our Christian duty to serve wherever and whenever we are called, it’s also a common practice in liturgical churches to follow Jesus’ example and have a foot-washing at Holy Thursday services. Those are often moving, emotional times for many people. I can recall a few that have been more personal for me. My feeling is that it’s nice to have that service once in a while, but not every year. And you? Let’s chat about that on Sunday.

Blessings!

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See also:

• May 29 (2021) / John 13:1-17
• October 25 (2019) / John 13:1-17

II Kings 24-25

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we close the Kings books – and what a dramatic close it is! Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon has overwhelmed Assyria and set his sights on Jerusalem and Judah. We see a first deportation in 597 BC (II Kings 24:10-16, esp. vv. 15-16), then a second deportation in 586 BC (II Kings 25:6-7,11,18-21), together with the total destruction of the temple and houses in the city of Jerusalem. Total destruction – the Lord’s judgment on Judah’s failure to follow Him: Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the LORD, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood that he had shed. (v. 24:3-4a)

We read these verses, one after another – destruction, savagery, evil – and we don’t even get the full story. Early next year we will read the book of the prophet Jeremiah, who was inside Jerusalem while all this was going on, was speaking the word of the Lord to various kings and leaders who consistently failed to listen to him. It’s a fascinating book – my favorite of all the prophets. We will also see more of the Israelite captivity in the books of Daniel and Esther, plus the return of the Jews to Jerusalem in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. So, as bad as our readings end today, all is not lost. The Lord has not forgotten His people.

As when we left I Kings and moved to John’s gospel, it will be a relief as we leave II Kings and return to John’s gospel and Jesus’ final week with His disciples. Come join us on Sunday for our discussions of these books! It is Holy Spirit time for all of us gathered!

Blessings!

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See also:

• July 15 (2023) / II Kings 24:5-17; Jeremiah 22:18-30; 13:15-27; II Chronicles 36:5-10; Jeremiah 24:1-10
• August 4 (2023) / II Kings 25:4-21; Jeremiah 52:7-27; 39:1-10

II Kings 22-23

Dear RTB’ers,

Of the 57 verses that we read today, all but eight are the author’s account of Josiah’s reign, with most of those verses relating to his purge of evil from both Judah and Samaria.

King Josiah and his sons… The contrast between father and sons is dramatic. Here’s the author’s description of the father, Josiah: He did what was right in the sight of the LORD and walked entirely in the way of his father David, and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him. (vv. 22:2, 23:25). Josiah is much like his grandfather, Hezekiah, whom the author of II Kings held in highest esteem, as described three days ago: He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. (v. 18:5) The author’s praise of Hezekiah seems to be watered down a bit by his praise for Josiah, since the “none after him” greatness could not be applied to both. Perhaps it was Hezekiah’s hospitality to the envoys from Babylon in his later years that troubled the author? (See II Kings 20:12-18.)

Now, here is the author’s take on Josiah’s sons, the same verse regarding each of his sons: And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. (vv. 23:32, 37) Father Josiah and great-great-grandfather Hezekiah, GREAT! Manasseh and Amon, bad. How could the bad activities of Manasseh and Amon outweigh the great histories of Hezekiah and Josiah? How does bad so easily overwhelm good? A good discussion question for our RTB gathering this coming Sunday, November 2…

Blessings!

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See also:

• June 29 (2023) / II Kings 22; Zephaniah
• June 30 (2023) / II Kings 23:1-27; II Chronicles 34:1-35:19

II Kings 20-21

Dear RTB’ers,

Today, three kings – Hezekiah, Manasseh, and Amon. As STS notes, the events in today’s first chapter (on Hezekiah’s illness and recovery and his hospitality to the envoys from Babylon) actually occurred before the invasion by the Assyrians that we read in yesterday’s readings. We might ask ourselves why Hezekiah was so hospitable to the Babylonians. After all, Solomon had shown the Queen of Sheba all the wealth that he had. For whatever his motive, the Lord was not happy with Hezekiah’s actions: Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD: ‘Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD.” (vv. 20:16-17) We will see this prophecy played out two days from now as we finish II Kings – more than a century after the event was prophesied!

Manasseh succeeds Hezekiah. How could a son so quickly undo all the reforms that his father had instituted? And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done… (vv. 21:2-3a). And more! Sadly, the people of Judah were more than willing to follow Manasseh’s lead: But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel. (v. 21:9) The responsibility of leadership…! Jesus had something to say about this: … but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. (Matthew 18:6, Mark 9:42)

One of the advantages of reading a chronological Bible (where books, chapters, and verses are rearranged to present Biblical incidents in chronological order) is that we would be reading the Chronicles books alongside the Samuel and Kings books. There we would have learned that Manasseh had a change of heart and turned back to the Lord God before he died. To read that information at the end of Manasseh’s reign go to II Chronicles 33:12-20. (Note also that a chronological Bible would have placed today’s chapter 20 somewhere inside chapter 18.) Only two more days in II Kings…

Blessings!

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See also:

• June 22 (2023) / II Kings 20:1-11; Isaiah 38; II Kings 20:12-19; Isaiah 39; Isaiah 36:1; II Kings 18:13-16
• June 28 (2023) / II Chronicles 32-33, II Kings 21

II Kings 19:8-37

Dear RTB’ers,

My Study Bible pointed out something interesting. We see Hezekiah praying to the Lord in verses 15 to 19; then in verse 20 he receives a note from Isaiah, a reply from the Lord, even though Scripture does not record any conversation between Hezekiah and Isaiah on this occasion. Note that earlier in II Kings 19:2 Hezekiah had sent word to Isaiah, presumably seeking his input (his advice, his prayers?) and had received his reply. Continuing today, we have to believe that the Lord hears our prayers and that He acts in myriad ways, answering every one of our prayers with a “yes” or a “no” or a “later”, but never with a “maybe”! I daresay, “maybe” is not in God’s vocabulary!

The Lord speaking: Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! (v. 22) I need to take this verse personally, because I am no less guilty than Sennacherib in my “ridicule”, my pride, my doing things my own way. There is only one God, one Holy One of Israel, and I have a personal relationship with Him! Why do I so often take it so lightly??!! Yet He watches over me as He watched over Hezekiah and Jerusalem: I will defend this city and save it, for My sake and for the sake of David My servant. (v. 34) I have only to believe and let Him do His work. Why is that so hard??!!

Blessings!

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See also: June 24 (2023) / II Kings 19:8-37; Isaiah 37:8-38; II Kings 20:20-21.

II Kings 18:1-19:7

Dear RTB’ers, 

We have four verses today repeating the downfall of the Northern Kingdom (vv. 18:9-12); after that the rest of II Kings covers only Judah, the Southern Kingdom, beginning with three chapters covering the reign of Hezekiah. [NOTE: II Chronicles 29-32 and Isaiah 36-39 cover Hezekiah’s reign in even greater detail.] The author of II Kings holds Hezekiah in high esteem: Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LORD and did not stop following Him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. (vv. 18:5-7a) Quite a dramatic contrast with his father, King Ahaz from two days ago!!

The rest of today’s reading is the account of a new king of Assyria (Sennacherib) attempting to expand Assyria’s territory and take over Judah and Jerusalem. It’s intriguing to read the exchange between the Assyrian field commander (Rabshakeh) and Hezekiah’s agents, especially the attempt at psychological warfare being waged by the field commander. And today we read for the first time a mention of Isaiah, the number one prophet in the Old Testament. We will have 42 days covering him in November and December. Stay tuned!

Blessings!

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See also: June 23 (2023) / II Kings 18:17-19:7; Isaiah 36:2-37:7.