Blog – Page 155 – Read Through the Bible

February 12 / Matt. 8:5-13; John 4:46-54

Matthew 8:5-13 and John 4:46-54

Today and tomorrow we have three accounts of Jesus healing a young man “from afar”. Matthew (today) and Luke (tomorrow) have very similar accounts; most scholars believe them to be recounting the same incident. John’s account (also today) is quite different from the other two; to my mind these are two separate healings, one recorded in Matthew and Luke, the other in John. I see only three similarities – in both incidents a (1) young boy/man (2) living in Capernaum is healed (3) “from afar”. The differences are many; I note a number of them in the second link below. But in addition, the incident begins with Jesus in Capernaum in Matthew and Luke, while He is in Cana in John’s gospel. The most profound difference, as I mention below, is the centurion’s speech, “Lord, I am not worthy…”. We easily embrace his words.

…many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven… (Mt. 8:11) Can you imagine dinner with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Or pick another set of names: Peter, James, and John; Martha, Mary, and Lazarus; Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea; Paul, Silas, and Barnabas; Matthew, Mark, and Luke. I would personally like to break bread with the two disciples whom Jesus met while they were walking along the road to Emmaus – to listen to them as they tell me of Jesus opening the Old Testament scriptures to them (Luke 24:13-35). But also, to dine again with Mary Ann Duddy, Millie Rodes, and Mim Stambaugh… GLORY!! And it’s ours to grasp, folks. Write your own dream; Jesus is waiting for you with outstretched arms. GLORY!!

February 11 / Luke 6:43-49; Matt. 12:33-37; Matt. 7:21-29

Luke 6:43-49 and Matthew 12:33-37; 7:21-29

It’s been a challenge to organize these readings and keep similar material from the Synoptics together, especially when it’s only three or four verses that overlap. The Sermon on the Mount creates the most difficulty, in terms of small common sections. So today we have three reading sections and five sets of comments in the links below from 2019.

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad… (Mt. 12:33a) How does one make a tree one way or the other? And why would we want to make a tree bad? Or what can we do for a bad tree to make it good? I don’t know that we can make bad trees good. We can possibly make less productive trees more productive, but to turn a tree completely around – not likely. Earlier in His Sermon on the Mount Jesus says to cut down any tree “that does not bear good fruit” and throw it into the fire. (Mt. 7:19) However, Jesus is not talking about trees here. He is talking about us! And with us it is possible to make the bad, good, and the less productive, more productive. It is, in fact, our Lord’s wish. He desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (I Timothy 2:4)

Finally, after saying all that, it is possible to make a “bad” tree good. The apostle Paul shows us: For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. (Romans 11:24) God is in the grafting business and He wants us to join Him!

February 10 / Matt. 7:13-20; Luke 6:37-42

Matthew 7:13-20 and Luke 6:37-42

Judge not, and you will not be judged… (Luke 6:37a) Many Christians today are seen as judgmental, simply because they see issues differently than society’s currently accepted norms. Same-sex marriage and unmarried couples living together are two items that come to mind so often in terms of our “judgment” of others’ lifestyles. Basically, to many on the more liberal side of these issues, if we disagree we are being judgmental. I have (or have been with Carol when we have) had a number of conversations on these two topics. We lost some very dear friends when we turned down their invitation to attend their lesbian daughter’s wedding. And we got into a very heated discussion with another couple over them living together unmarried. In both cases we stood by Biblical principles, but were shut down as being judgmental. Jesus told us not to judge, but He also told us (through Paul’s and John’s writings) to discern between right and wrong (I Corinthians 12:10; I John 4:1). Judgment vs. discernment – we have to be careful. We may know what’s in our hearts, but others may view us quite differently! …which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed… (II Timothy 1:12a)

February 9 / Matt. 7:1-12; Luke 11:5-13

Matthew 7:1-12 and Luke 11:5-13

Today’s reading schedule takes us through the first 12 verses in Matthew’s 7^th chapter, but my comments in the second link below include Mt. 7:13-14, FYI, so you might want to read a couple more verses.

Ask, seek, knock. Three levels of request, going from the lesser to the greater. Asking suggests merely making a request. Seeking means really going after something. And knocking is the most imperative – here I am with my request. Please answer me! So when we pray, are we asking, seeking, or knocking? Maybe it depends on what we’re praying for. But far too often I’m guessing that I am merely asking when I should be knocking!!

February 8 / Luke 12:22-34

Luke 12:22-34

Instead, seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. (v. 22a) I kept thinking yesterday about our reading from Matthew and our “needs” – food, drink, clothing, shelter. In both yesterday’s and today’s readings Jesus is telling us, “…do not be anxious…”. That one word, “anxious” appeared six times in yesterday’s reading and three times today. I think “anxious” is the first half of Jesus’ teaching, but God’s kingdom is the main focus! A couple of days ago Bruce commented on the “woes” passage: “I’m taking these verses to mean the condition of our hearts… centered on Jesus, His teaching, His love.” That’s also wisdom for today’s reading about anxiety and our needs. Check the “condition of our hearts” – focus on the kingdom of God and not our needs. Work to satisfy those needs, but “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you…”! [Brief musical interlude…!] Especially in today’s world, as Archbishop Beach reminds us over and over, “Do not worry!”

February 7 / Matt. 6:16-34

Matthew 6:16-34

We’re not to worry about food, drink, clothing? In today’s world? What about the hundreds of thousands of homeless people in our cities? (Jesus mentions “housing” elsewhere: Foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.) (Mt. 8:20) We have poor in our own country who have to decide between paying rent or buying food or filling prescriptions. What is Jesus’ answer for them today? I know His answer – His answer is “us”. We take care of them. But how? We have homeless shelters, food banks, soup kitchens, government programs. But look at what COVID has done to millions of families!! We’ve already spent $4 trillion on a number of federal programs to meet these needs and President Biden is asking for $2 trillion more. We’ve let the government supplant the churches in taking care of society’s needs. How did that happen? Did the church abdicate its responsibility? What to do? What is Jesus’ answer for today?

February 6 / Matt. 6:1-15; Luke 11:1-4

Matthew 6:1-15 and Luke 11:1-4

Two years ago I did a small contrast between Matthew’s and Luke’s “Our Father” prayer (see the second link below). One item that I didn’t mention – maybe that I didn’t notice – was that Matthew includes an additional “request” sentence that Luke completely leaves out: …Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Mt. 6:10b) And it’s a prayer that we pray so often – “Lord, your will be done.” And it was Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, …not My will but Yours be done. (Mt. 26:39, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42). Thinking further about that “request” prayer. We tend to pray that prayer for both “yes” and “no” outcomes to our own prayers. That is, both Democratic and Republican Christians were praying that prayer in the last presidential election: “Lord we pray that Biden will win, but Your will be done”, “Lord we pray that Trump holds on, but Your will be done.” And we mean it, no matter the outcome. After the 2016 election result Democrats were praying, “Ah well, God is in control.” Then in 2020 Republicans were praying the same prayer. Maybe we should just forget our own wishes and begin our “need” prayers with “Your will be done…”.

Reward. That word is mentioned five times in Matthew’s first six verses today. Three of those passages refer to rewards from the Father: “…no reward…” in verse 1 and “…your Father Who sees in secret will reward you.” in verses 4 and 6. The other two references are to earthly rewards, reflected as praise and recognition by others. The NASB translation adds a strong emphasis that the ESV lacks: …they will be praised by people … < and > they have their reward in full. (vv. 2b, 5b) My Study Bible notes, “The honor they receive from people is all the reward they get.” That’s a strong statement – that’s all we get…!!

February 5 / Luke 6:20-36

Luke 6:20-36

But woe to you who are rich, … But woe to you who are full now, … But woe to you who laugh now, … But woe to you when all people speak well of you… (vv. 24-26) I always cringe a bit when I read these verses; Carol and I are (relatively) rich, well-fed, happy, with hundreds of friends. Is Jesus speaking directly to us? What is His message to us? He told the “rich, young ruler” to Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me. (Mark 10:21) Neither of us feels that “calling”. So what is Jesus saying to us?

February 4 / Matt. 5:27-48

Matthew 5:27-48

Today’s 22 verses were covered in three sections two years ago. Comments linked below for all three…

Words for today: But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you… (v. 44) Not since the Civil War has our nation seen such a split in our citizenry. We see it in our politicians, where the Senate is split 50-50 and the House majority party has a minimal edge. Lawmakers on both sides espouse bipartisanship, until it comes down to modifying “my” demand and compromising or conceding to the other side. But the problem is not only at the top – our population is also split between conservatives and liberals/progressives. We had some harsh words in a few Men’s Group discussions before we decided to silence our political leanings.

But frankly there is something different about our congregation. I could not tell you of the political leanings of 90% of the members of our congregation. Only a few make themselves known – and often this the result of bumper stickers on their vehicles. Yet even when there is known disagreement among us, I feel that we love each other and that we can “agree to disagree”. Jesus tells us to pray for our enemies. If only we would…!

February 3 / Matt. 5:1-26

Matthew 5:1-26

Today’s 26 verses were covered in three sections two years ago. Comments linked below for all three…

We often refer to Jesus contrasting the “letter of the law” with the “spirit of the law”: You have heard that it was said…, but I say to you…” (vv. 21a, 22a). And we do it ourselves, trying to see if we are interpreting a “law” correctly. The speed limit is 70 and I typically set my cruise-control somewhere between 75 and 79. I’m not interpreting the law differently here – I’m purely breaking the law! But I live with myself. But this “letter vs. spirit” rings loud today when current and former members of our Supreme Court want to hold fast to the exact words that our forefathers wrote in our Constitution. They are looking at the “letter of the law” as put forth in the late 18^th century and amended numerous times thereafter. I tend to disagree with those justices quite regularly, wondering if that “letter” passed more than two centuries ago applies in the same form today. I’m in over my head, but it is intriguing to me that the letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law is an issue unchanged from two millennia ago.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. (v. 14) This verse, especially the second half always strikes Carol and me, as we recall travels around Europe where castles are always perched at the top of a hill, making for a more sound defense against attack. But in central Italy we saw this verse even more striking, where entire (small) cities were high on a mound above the flat countryside below. The most prominent landmarks were the church steeple and the protective wall built around the city. These cities could not be hidden; they could be seen from miles away!!

I was struck by Jesus’ three-fold comments regarding “You shall not murder”: But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother…; whoever insults his brother…; and whoever says, ‘You fool’… (v. 22) Jesus does not leave a lot of room for me to deny breaking that commandment!