Matthew 9:14-17, Mark 2:18-22, and Luke 5:33-39

Another day with three short readings, parallel accounts of the “fasting” issue from each of the three Synoptic gospels. And again, as with yesterday, in our readings two years ago each of these Synoptic gospels covered three events together in one or two readings. We did not make the parallel “compare and contrast” readings like we are doing this year. In my own comments on these readings two years ago, I did not comment on this “fastings” issue that we discuss today, so no link below.

Each of the gospels has a different group asking Jesus the “fasting” question. In Matthew John’s disciples pose the question; in Mark it’s “the people” (who had observed John’s and the Pharisees’ disciples fasting); and Luke reports that “they” asked the question, with the Pharisees and scribes as the antecedent before the pronoun. But no matter who asked the question, I wonder if the real issue was some measure of jealousy over Jesus’ disciples “living the good life” while John’s and the Pharisees’ disciples were depriving themselves and living with a greater measure of self-denial. If so, their “jealousy” would defeat the whole purpose of fasting which should be focused on repentance, self-denial, prayer – activities in which one engages as he/she wants to grow closer to God. Ironic…!

And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.‘ (Luke 5:39) (Only Luke makes this statement.) Jesus is making a true statement here, that people prefer old wine to new. However, my sense is that Jesus is extending that statement to reflect His new teaching compared to the old teachings of the Pharisees and scribes. There is naturally resistance by both the Jewish leaders and their followers to the change that Jesus is demanding. But aren’t we the same? We choose a church that suits our preferences, our needs. Then as our church grows, people come, people go, the church changes. For the most part we change with it, but occasionally those changes are more dramatic and we move on to where we believe we’ll find “greener pastures”. We saw this happen at St. Andrew’s when we went to the one unified service and saw a number of departures. Now we’re moving forward with David’s resignation and searching for a new rector. How will St. Andrew’s people handle this change? We need to pray for what lies ahead for us.

See also:

• February 24 (2019) / Mark 2:18-22
• February 25 (2019) / Luke 5:33-39

Matthew 9:9-13, Mark 2:13-17, and Luke 5:27-32

Another day with three short readings, parallel accounts of three events from each of the three Synoptic gospels. And again, as with yesterday, in our readings two years ago each of these Synoptic gospels covered those three events together in one or two readings. We did not make the parallel “compare and contrast” readings like we are doing this year. In my own comments two years ago, the only gospel where I discussed Matthew’s call was Matthew’s gospel. See the link below.

Matthew is called “Matthew” in Matthew’s gospel and “Levi” in Mark’s and Luke’s. Since the name “Matthew” stuck, it’s possible that Jesus changed Levi’s name to Matthew just as He had changed Simon’s name to Peter.

And leaving everything, he rose and followed Him. (Luke 5:28) I’ve always wondered at Luke’s account of Levi “leaving everything”. What about the money that he had collected? Surely he didn’t just leave the money on the table for the crowd to fight over? What about the tax books? Wouldn’t he have passed those on to other tax collectors? Simple questions. My guess is that Luke’s report of Levi “leaving everything” is more an indication that he immediately quit his job and followed Jesus, but that he did what was right in leaving his position.

Luke is more specific than the others in his account that Levi made Him a great feast in his house… (v. 29a) So Levi must have been quite wealthy, possibly from the corruption associated with tax collectors. There is no indication that the Pharisees were invited to the feast – all three gospels only mention (many) tax collectors and sinners / others. If invited, they likely would have turned down the invitation, not wanting to become unclean by association with these sinners. They knew that they were “the righteous” that Jesus mentioned: I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. (Luke 5:32) But even as Jesus said that, they must have suspected that He was talking about them. I wonder at their reaction to that statement. I’ve always identified with the Pharisees (mostly the “good” Pharisees). I wonder how I would have reacted. Even today, how much, how often do I see myself as more “righteous” than sinful?

See also:

• February 19 (2019) / Matthew 9:1-17
• February 22-23 (2019) / Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32

Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, and Luke 5:17-26

Two years ago we covered three events in Matthew 9:1-17, but only focused on the second, the call of Levi, the tax collector; I made no comments on Matthew’s healing of the paralytic, so only Mark’s and Luke’s accounts are covered in the links below.

I mention in the first link below that …Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem (Mark 2:17), and I noted that Jesus’ fame was spreading. However, there’s more to it than just fame. I hope Carol will post – she has enlightened me that the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem were always on the lookout for anyone claiming to be the Messiah or someone who was healing or teaching or recruiting followers. So the Pharisees and Scribes may have been there to check Jesus out – and probably with an eye to discredit Him. Unfortunately for them, Jesus was up to the task and the Pharisees got more than they bargained for!

My Study Bible had an interesting note on Jesus’ question, Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? (Mt. 9:5, Mk. 2:9, Lk. 5:23) Clearly Jesus is asking a question for which the Pharisees have no answer. Neither forgiveness nor healing are “easy” – only God can forgive sins and only God can perform miraculous healings. Having put these two actions on the same level, by instantly healing the paralytic Jesus was claiming to be able to do both, thereby claiming that He was God. Very interesting…!!

See also:

• February 20 (2019) / Mark 2:1-12
• February 21 (2019) / Luke 5:17-26

 Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-45, and Luke 5:12-16

And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” (Mt. 8:4) Yes, the Synoptic writers agree on a lot of material, but it’s rare that they all say the same thing. However, here in Jesus words they all agree on all five things that Jesus said:

1. tell no one
2. show yourself to the priest
3. offer the gift
4. as Moses commanded
5. for a proof to them.

All five phrases in each of these gospels… Intriguing.

The “proof” item struck me. It seems like the proof was intended for the priest, except that “priest” is singular and “them” is plural (in all three gospels). Or maybe the proof was intended for the crowd, a plural “them”, to establish Jesus’ commitment to fulfilling the Law of Moses? I don’t recall Jesus often seeking “proof” for what He is doing. So “proof” here is strange.

See also:

• February 16 (2019) / Matthew 8:1-4
• February 17 (2019) / Mark 1:40-45
• February 18 (2019) / Luke 5:12-16

Matthew 4:23-25, Mark 1:35-39, and Luke 4:42-5:11

RTNT 2021. And the people sought Him and came to Him, and would have kept Him from leaving them, but He said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well… (vv. Luke 4:42b-43a) Mark also reports one of the disciples saying to Jesus “Everyone is looking for you.” (Mark 1:37b) I’m wondering how much we keep Jesus to ourselves or how much we try to trap Jesus into our lifestyle or our way of worship. Here the Galileans are being selfish in their wanting to keep Jesus with them. I’m not sure that we’re selfish – we’re probably more nervous about sharing Jesus with others, but the outcome is the same. If we have Truth this good in our lives, how can we hold it in? Jesus wants out! I’m regularly reminded of Peter and John before the Sanhedrin, when they were ordered not to speak of Jesus anymore: “We can’t help but speak of the things we’ve seen and heard!” (Acts 4:20, slightly edited) Jesus wants out!

See also:

• February 13 (2019) / Matthew 4:23-25
• February 14 (2019) / Mark 1:35-39
• February 15 (2019) / Luke 4:42-5:11

Matthew 8:14-17, Mark 1:29-34, and Luke 4:38-41

RTNT 2021. Today we do something different – we read small sections from each of the three Synoptic gospels. Each of these gospels reports on Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law, in four, six, and four verses, respectively. This will happen quite often in our chronological read since two or three of these Synoptics often report on the same incident. Bible scholars believe that Mark was the first gospel written and that Matthew and Luke possibly had a copy of Mark’s gospel when they wrote their own. So where we see two or three of the writers reporting on the same incident, Mark will regularly be one of the gospels. We’ll seldom see Matthew and Luke writing about an incident with Mark’s account absent. There are also theories that another source was available to all three writers, but that source has never been unearthed or identified. I had suggested a few weeks back that you might want to have four bookmarks in your Bible(s) to help you find your place. But even so we see in our readings today that in Matthew we have jumped ahead almost four chapters, completely skipping the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7). We’ll get back on track with him tomorrow.

I have a number of comments in the links below since we read these three sections on three days in 2019. Still, I noticed one thing that I hadn’t seen before. Yes, the people followed Sabbath laws and waited until after the sun had set before bringing the sick to Jesus. But Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law almost immediately as He entered the house, performing this healing on the Sabbath. There were no Jewish authorities present so He was not charged with breaking the Sabbath as we see later. There is also an interesting progression about this healing in our three readings. In Matthew Jesus sees the woman sick and He goes to her right away. In Mark the disciples inform Jesus of Peter’s mother-in-law’s illness and he goes to her. And in Luke, the disciples clearly ask Jesus to heal her. Each writer describes the incident a bit differently.

See also:

• February 10 (2019) / Matthew 8:14-17
• February 11 (2019) / Mark 1:29-34
• February 12 (2019) / Luke 4:38-41

Luke 4:14-37

RTNT 2021. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about Him went out through all the surrounding country. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. (vv. 14-15) I like reading two or three translations – they often are quite different. Today’s NASB is different in these two verses from the ESV quoted above. First, the NASB says “…news about Him spread…, which sounds more “global” to me than “…a report about Him…”. Second, the NASB has “…was praised by all” whereas the ESV has “glorified”. To me Jesus being glorified would be something more connected to His deity, whereas being praised points to His humanity. (Nod to John S.) With either translation, however, these two verses sound to me like “transition verses”. I have led groups through Acts of the Apostles a number of times and have noted transition verses at the end of chapters 2, 4, and 5 (and probably elsewhere, but less prominent). These transition verses point to a longer period of time and imply a lot of unreported activity therein. I believe that’s what Luke is saying here about Jesus’ Galilean ministry – He has moved around to a number of cities and villages and visited and taught in a number of synagogues. We cannot expect Luke to be writing chronologically any longer.

See also:

• February 7 (2019) / Luke 4:14-30
• February 9 (2019) / Luke 4:31-37

Mark 1:14-28

RTNT 2021. Yesterday I tried to put together a chronology of Jesus’ early ministry, intermixing John’s gospel with the Synoptic gospels. Evidently I did the same thing two years ago – see the first 2019 item below. The two chronologies differ and I don’t know which I prefer. But I’m sure that neither has the full, correct picture!

And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, “What business do you have with us, Jesus of Nazareth…” (vv. 23-24a) Verse 24a is translated differently in my NASB, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth…”, and that caught my eye. In the ESV translation the demon is suggesting a one-way interaction, Jesus “doing business with” – acting upon, if you will – the demon. But the NASB translation implies more of a two-way interaction: “…business…with each other…”. I have heard that we use the ESV at St. Andrew’s because Father Mark Royster (a solid Biblical scholar) claims that it is the more correct translation. However, in this case (with my supposition) I prefer the NASB. Although I have no Biblical evidence, I have no doubt that Satan and his demons did what they could to tempt Jesus His entire life – that they were a constant source of trouble for Him. I’m thinking particularly of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, but I’m sure there were others. I’ll leave it at that…

See also:

• February 6 (2019) / Mark 1:14-20
• February 8 (2019) / Mark 1:21-28

Matthew 4:12-22

RTNT 2021. Anyone who is reading the Bible or the New Testament or only the gospels for the first time will naturally begin the gospels with Matthew. And beyond His early life all they have of Jesus is His baptism and His temptation in the wilderness. Then He heads to Galilee and calls His first four disciples – Peter, Andrew, James, and John. What they miss is Jesus’ earlier interaction with these three or four disciples that we read about in John’s gospel. So in beginning with Matthew it seems like Jesus is calling these four fishermen “out of the blue”, causing them to leave their boats, their nets, and even one father and follow Him. It had always seemed strange to me when I regularly began the gospels with Matthew that these men would just walk away from what they were doing. However, if they had had earlier encounters with Jesus down in Judea as John reports, then their “abrupt” departure makes more sense. (John’s comment from two years ago emphasizes this interaction more fully.)

And leaving Nazareth He went and lived in Capernaum… (v. 13a) In a couple of days we will see in Luke’s gospel that Jesus had spent some time in Nazareth between his time in Judea and His moving on to Capernaum. So a more complete blending of Luke’s item and John’s gospel gives us the following chronology (after Jesus’ childhood): Jesus is baptized, meets His early disciples, is tempted, and goes to the Cana wedding; returns to Judea for the Passover, cleanses the temple, and meets Nicodemus; heads back to Galilee through Samaria and meets the woman at the well; goes to His home in Nazareth (Luke in two days), then finally heads to Capernaum and calls His first four disciples (today’s reading). I’m thankful for having discovered a chronological Bible!

See also: February 5 (2019) / Matthew 4:12-22

John 4:27-45

RTNT 2021. I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor. (v. 38) My first thought here was that Jesus was referring to John the Baptist and his followers. But my Study Bible also suggested the many prophets in the Old Testament whose futuristic prophecies were just now coming true in Jesus’ Incarnation.

I’m intrigued by the “evangelism trail” in today’s reading. First the woman believes – or at least she is intrigued. Then she tells the men from the town and they believe because of the woman’s testimony… (v. 39b) Then they come to Him and ask Him to stay and …many more believed because of His word. (v. 41) The woman, the men, and many more. Personal testimonies about our faith in Jesus have a multiplicative effect – sometimes linear, sometimes exponential. We may never know the results from our sharing our faith: …so shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11) A middle-aged mother/grandmother in Maryland started her own “Read through the Bible” group this year – here is her own (Facebook) testimony: “…our community of women has decided to kick off 2021 with a read through the Bible in a year. Back in 1995 Mark and I were gifted our first Bible by our dear friends Fred and Carol Ruppel. Fred also invited me to my first ‘read through the Bible in a year’ many years ago. It’s where I came to know who God is and what He is like. I’ve been chasing Him ever since.” Friends, hold fast to your faith – but also share it! GLORY!!

See also:

• February 3 (2019) / John 4:27-38
• February 4 (2019) / John 4:39-45