John 7:1-24

But after His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He also went up, not publicly but in private. (v. 10) I’m trying to understand Jesus’ actions, not just His words. He did not want to go up to the feast publicly – that is, He did not want to join one of the caravans of pilgrims traveling from Galilee to Jerusalem. Yet when the crowds at the temple were the most packed, He appeared teaching. So why His behavior?

I’m sure He would have been besieged by His fellow travelers if He had joined a larger group. In fact, His presence in any caravan would likely have multiplied the size of the group to unmanageable proportions for the three-day caravan and the overnight resting spots. Maybe He was aware of this and did not want to trouble His fellow travelers? Maybe He wanted a more restful journey, possibly through Samaria where He was less well known? Lately He has been teaching more to His disciples and less to the larger crowd, so maybe He wanted to go it alone with them? I’m opting for this last thought, that He just needed some “alone-time” on His journey, knowing that He would be facing the larger crowds and the Jewish leaders at the Feast.

I’m also imagining Jesus’ courage at showing up in Jerusalem at these large feasts. He knew that His time had not yet come, but still – the crowds, the questions, the demands, the Jewish leaders…!! It would not be a restful, spiritual retreat for Him! We’ll be following Jesus’ time in Jerusalem for the next week – three+ chapters in John’s gospel. I’m sure we’ll have more questions than answers!

See also:

• June 17 (2019) / John 7:1-9
• June 18 (2019) / John 7:10-24

Matthew 17:24-18:9, Mark 9:33-50, and Luke 9:46-50

…where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:48) Jesus is citing this verse to “describe” hell (or some aspect of hell). In so doing he is quoting Isaiah (also in verses 44 and 46, left out in some manuscripts), but what’s intriguing to me is that this quote is the very end, the very last verse of Isaiah’s 66 chapters! Here is the entire verse: And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against Me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh. (Isaiah 66:24) That entire section, Isaiah66:15-24, is speaking of the end times and the final judgment. It is often the case in Scripture that a speaker or writer cites one or two verses, but is reflecting to his audience an entire larger portion of Scripture that provides the larger context. So it is with Jesus’ quote here.

There are four vignettes covered in these three readings today, one of which is covered by only one author, two of which are covered by two authors, but only one which is covered by all three Gospel writers – the question of “Who is the greatest?” I note in the second link below that each of the writers has a different introduction to this discussion. But Jesus has the same answer, no matter how the question is raised: Humility! If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all. (Mark 9:35b) Just that…

See also:

• June 14 (2019) / Matt. 17:24-18:9
• June 15 (2019) / Mark 9:33-50
• June 16 (2019) / Luke 9:46-50

Matthew 17:14-23, Mark 9:14-32, and Luke 9:37-45

And when they came to the disciples, they saw … scribes arguing with them. (Mark 9:14) As I note in the second link below, Jesus had taken Peter, James, and John with Him for His Transfiguration, leaving the other disciples behind, presumably nearby. And the scribes were there also, presumably still in the region of Caesarea Philippi. [NOTE: A few verses later they came to Capernaum. (v. 33a)] That is to say, the scribes who had followed Jesus to the other side of the Sea of Galilee and who consistently hounded Him when he was in and around Capernaum, these same scribes had also traveled some 20-30 miles north to the region of Caesarea Philippi. There was no let-up for them in attacking Jesus. But with no Jesus around, the scribes took to attacking Jesus’ disciples.

I’m imagining myself as one of these disciples who had been left behind when Jesus took the three up the mountain. And these disciples (myself included!) were not yet filled with the Holy Spirit. They (we) must have been overwhelmed by these learned scribes – they (we) must have been really longing for Jesus to return! How happy they (we) would have been when they (we) finally saw Him! Frankly, nothing has changed in 2000 years. We are still thrilled when we “see” Jesus, when we encounter Him with our brothers and sisters at church, or when He joins us in our most difficult places. Scribes may argue with us, but we know “…Him in Whom we have believed.” (II Timothy 1:12)

See also:

• June 11 (2019) / Matt. 17:14-23
• June 12 (2019) / Mark 9:14-32
• June 13 (2019) / Luke 9:37-45

Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9:2-13, and Luke 9:28-36

And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light. (Matthew 17:2) And He was transfigured before them, and His clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. (Mark 9:2b-3) And as He was praying, the appearance of His face was altered, and His clothing became dazzling white. (Luke 9:29) All three writers make some effort to describe what Jesus’ Transfiguration looked like, but I daresay that we do not have the words in our language to truly describe His appearance! Mark focuses on His clothes; Matthew and Luke also describe His face. Luke is clearly lost for words: the appearance of His face was altered… None of these three Gospel writers were there at the Transfiguration; they had only the reports from Peter, James, and John, who tried to describe what they had seen. I am awestruck every time I read these accounts. Some day we will all see Jesus in all His glory. Now that will be a glory sighting!!

See also:

• June 8 (2019) / Matthew 17:1-13
• June 9 (2019) / Mark 9:2-13
• June 10 (2019) / Luke 9:28-36

Mark 8:27-9:1 and Luke 9:18-27

And calling the crowd to Him with his disciples, He said to them, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Mark 8:34) Both Matthew and Luke have Jesus speaking these words (and those that follow) to His disciples. Only Mark has Jesus calling the crowd to Himself. Mark has them in Gentile territory, in the villages around Caesarea Philippi, so Jesus is speaking these words to a Gentile crowd. I posted two years ago that we should read Jesus’ words to His disciples as if He were speaking directly to us today. So Matthew and Luke would have Him speaking directly to us, while Mark would include the “outside” world also. What to make of that? No doubt Jesus is offering comfort to all humankind – if they simply follow Him. But in today’s world, if you watch or read the news you’ll see that our “salvation” rests with which political party we are following or the latest COVID vaccine information or another stimulus check or whatever. Following Jesus is seldom seen as the answer to our problems. However, I do recall David citing a survey source where committed Christians were the lowest percentage “fearful” among all survey groups. Following Jesus…

See also:

• June 6 (2019) / Mark 8:27-9:1
• June 7 (2019) / Luke 9:18-27

Matthew 16:13-28

For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what he has done. (v. 27) I’m always intrigued by these “rewards” verses. See also Mt. 5:12, 19:27-30; Luke 6:23, and others. I’m going to quote John S. here, something he posted a couple of weeks ago that really hit me:

“One additional thing to note here: actions/deeds/works matter. While it is quite evident that one cannot earn one’s way into heaven by works of the law (Rom 3:20; Gal 2:16), it is also true that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26), and Jesus is quite clear here that what we do will serve as the basic evidence for what kind of resurrection we will see on that Day. This is one place where (some of?) the reformers went too far with “sola fide” (faith alone).”

I believe John was referring especially to John 5:28-29. “…actions/deeds/works matter…”. So our actions, our deeds, our works – are they earthly or heavenly activities? Verses like these quoted or cited above make me want to do more, personally, but really what I prefer for myself is to do what I can to motivate others to want to do more. To get others to be more involved…! For others to feel Holy Spirit power in their lives as I have felt a number of times in my life…! There’s not much that thrills me more than to see the rest of you plugging away at these daily Scripture readings – reading, digesting, posting, sharing. God is honoring your efforts to get to know Him better! …and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice… (Philippians 1:18b)

See also: June 5 (2019) / Matt. 16:13-28

Matthew 16:1-12 and Mark 8:11-26

In discussing the feeding of the 4,000 in the area of the Decapolis I had wondered yesterday who might those people be who came from “far away”. We learn this morning that some in this “far away” crowd were Pharisees and Sadducees: And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Him they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. (Matthew 16:1) Here they are, on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, far from both Jerusalem and any cities in Galilee, and they continue to follow Jesus. But their interest is only in testing Him, not listening to what He says.

The last item in today’s Mark reading has Jesus using His spit to cure a man’s blindness (Mark 8:23). It’s easy to gloss over the fact that this is the second time in two chapters where Jesus used His spit as a curative (see Mark 7:33). There is one other occurrence of Jesus using His spit, again curing a blind man in John 9. I don’t know what to make of it, but if you are interested in this topic online commentators have a lot to say.

See also:

• June 3 (2019) / Matthew 16:1-12
• June 4 (2019) / Mark 8:11-26

Matthew 15:32-39 and Mark 8:1-10

Jesus speaking: …and some of them have come from far away. (Mark 8:3b) According to both Matthew and Mark (if they were writing chronologically) Jesus and His disciples are on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. So I wonder about those who … have come from far away. I first thought of Galilean Jews who would have had to walk the perimeter of the Sea or sailed across the Sea to get to Jesus. They would have “come from far away”. But I also imagine Gentiles from other cities and villages in the region of the Decapolis. They might have lived closer than the Galilean Jews, but still would have “come from far away”. But I wondered at their coming at all. The Galilean Jews had a reason to follow Jesus, having seen all that He had done and possibly seeking more healing or more teaching.

But Gentiles…? What’s the point? Another “magician”…? Another “sorcerer”…? Another “scheister”…? Or none of these…? Gentiles genuinely seeking this Man who was accomplishing great things…? I would like to believe this last item, especially today, that people would come to Jesus from “far away”. And “far” not necessarily in miles, but possibly in heart. Far from God because they had wandered so far away. People who grew up with the truth, then sought after other gods? Our friends? Our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, nephews and nieces…??!! Jesus knows that some of these could “come from far away”. He would like our help in bringing them closer.

See also:

• June 1 (2019) / Matt. 15:32-39
• June 2 (2019) / Mark 8:1-10

Matthew 15:21-31 and Mark 7:24-37

Holy Week this year is Spring Break week for our Avanza kids. Normally we try to tie our Avanza Bible lessons to our church calendar, but we will be a week early in covering Jesus’ crucifixion since we won’t meet the kids during Holy Week. To set the stage for Jesus Passion, we’ve been focusing on Jesus’ humanity – His love of people, His sympathy with their distresses, His willingness to be interrupted while on a particular mission. It’s a shame that today’s reading about the Syro-Phoenician woman is not one of the stories covered in our Jesus Storybook Bible. It shows Jesus’ most human side (in my mind, tied with Jesus and the woman with the 12-year hemorrhage). This Gentile woman first begs something from Jesus, then argues with Him when He refuses her request, then receives her request when He gives in and relents – the woman’s daughter is healed. This story comes to mind regularly for me just before Communion at Sunday services when we pray the following prayer: We do not presume to come to this Your table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in Your abundant and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under Your table… We gather up the crumbs under His table as we live our lives this day and every day, knowing that great riches, great glory await us when we see Jesus face-to-face. But today’s crumbs are a veritable gold mine for those of us who know Him!

See also:

• May 30 (2019) / Matt. 15:21-31
• May 31 (2019) / Mark 7:24-37

Mark 7:1-23

Jesus speaking: You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men. (v. 8) Yesterday the pope signed off on a Vatican decree stating that priests could not bless same-sex unions. One article that I read on this topic had this response from someone opposed to the pope’s position, that it is “hard for a lot of people to understand just how far removed the church is from human rights advances that are being made in the rest of society.” This statement seems to say exactly the same thing that Jesus was saying 2000 years ago! It’s the same argument, that “human rights advances that are being made in the rest of society” are supposed to overrule “traditional, historical Christian teaching”? Are we surprised? Maybe not: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

See also:

• May 28 (2019) / Mark 7:1-13
• May 29 (2019) / Mark 7:14-23