Luke 6:1-11

“Notice what you notice.” Right away in today’s first verse, my NKJV reads Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grain fields, citing “some manuscripts” as their source for this particular translation. The other two translations that I looked at said simply “On a Sabbath…”. Still, (in the NKJV wording) it is unusual for Luke to be so chronologically specific, essentially placing Jesus still in the nearby area. Small matter, but intriguing.

Of more interest is today’s final verse, But they were filled with rage and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus (NKJV). Other translations use fury or folly instead of rage. Here we have Luke reflecting more emotion on the part of the Pharisees than either of the other two writers. All three have the Pharisees, scribes, Herodians plotting about destroying Jesus, or what they might do with Him. But the thought of rage when a withered man’s hand had been restored… That’s “over the top”. I suspect that their reaction was more intense, in part, because this event happened in a Synagogue on the Sabbath.

Still, why this enormous fixation on the Sabbath? Especially with a small item like plucking grain… Unfortunately, it won’t be the last time that we see Jesus confronted about His Sabbath behavior.

Slava Bohu!

Mark 2:23-3:6

“Notice what you notice.” And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart… (Mark 3:5). I remember commenting back on January 17 how Mark was the only writer who noted that Jesus was “moved with compassion…” over the plight of the leper (Mark 1:41). Now we see the opposite extreme of His emotion, anger at the Pharisees’ hardness of heart. Again, Mark is the only writer to note Jesus’ emotional reaction. I find I’ll be watching for that more often in Mark.

A second item, in the next verse and associated with this same event… The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against Him, how to destroy Him (verse 6). Actually, two items hit me here. The first is something known as the “Passover Plot” (John 11:45-53). It comes after Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead, when Caiaphas, the High Priest suggests that it would be better for one man to die than for the whole nation to perish. Then John’s very next chapter is Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the beginning of His march to the Cross. But John records this item at the very end of Jesus’ earthly life. Mark records this “counsel with the Herodians” during Jesus’ first year of ministry. We really do not know the chronology of Jesus’ life, especially whether He was ministering for one, two, or three years. But if we go with the 2-3 years that is commonly accepted (i.e., three trips to Jerusalem), then this plotting has taken quite some time. I will have to wonder when John covers Jesus’ second trip to Jerusalem whether or not there is continuing talk of Jesus’ destruction during that second visit.

One other item that never jumped out at me in the previous paragraph was the Pharisees plotting with the Herodians. That’s not surprising, in that the Herodians’ hostility toward Jesus is mentioned only on one other occasion, in Jerusalem during Holy Week, when the Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus so as to trap Him on something he might say (https://www.biblestudytools.com/encyclopedias/isbe/herodians.html) (Mark 12:13; Matthew 22:16). So I won’t have to keep watching for this event to repeat! Again, Mark’s precision is to be lauded here – he is the only writer to mention the Herodians’ activity against Jesus while in Galilee.

This stuff has been there all these years, folks. I just haven’t seen it!!

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 12:1-14

“Notice what you notice.” ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice…’ (Matthew: 12:7). As soon as I read Jesus quoting Hosea 6:6 it struck me that we had read this verse not long ago. And sure enough, just one week ago today we saw this quote in Matthew 9:13, when Jesus was eating in Levi’s house with tax collectors and sinners. And those are the only two citations in the Old or New Testament where Hosea 6:6 is quoted – although Isaiah, Amos, and other writers certainly speak the Lord’s thoughts on this phrase, but in slightly different language.

It’s easy for us on the other side of the Cross to nod in agreement, for we know that … it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). But as I pointed out yesterday, Jesus is someone drastically new to these Pharisees and scribes – even something of a revolutionary! He is referencing Hosea while eating in a tax collector’s house with “sinners”, then essentially equating Himself with David in eating the consecrated bread, which only the priests were allowed to eat. He certainly made Himself an easy target for the Jewish leaders. Yet when challenged, He rebuts their charges with completely reasonable responses comparing the “spirit of the Law” with the “letter of the Law”. I find that his responses would still have me suspicious of Him; I would want to see more. Then He heals the man with the withered hand. I think that turns the corner for me!

Slava Bohu!

Luke 5:33-39

“Notice what you notice.” Even in my pain-med fog…! And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’ (Luke 5:39, ESV) Other translations say “The old is good enough” (NASB) and even “The old is better” (NKJV). Which translation we use is not so crucial. Even the weakest, “The old is good enough”, makes Jesus’ point. The Pharisees and scribes were not looking for some new teaching or some new doctrine – and certainly they were not looking for a new leader! What they had in Jerusalem was “good enough”.

I have often identified with the Pharisees on this item. I am typically suspicious when some new teaching comes along, or even when we change something up at our church. Wasn’t the old “good enough”? I can imagine many Episcopalians are suspicious of these new Anglicans and are unwilling to look into it, to move forward. From my perspective, it’s their loss. But I am sympathetic to their situation, especially those we left behind at our old church. They don’t know what we’ve got.

Enough for today…

Blessings!

Mark 2:18-22

“Notice what you notice.” Back home from the hospital and a 5-verse reading from Mark. It turns out that I have something to say about “new wine in old wineskins”.

As many of you know I am a beer homebrewer – over 12,000 bottles capped in 20+ years. So here’s a bit of the process. First I cook a barley malt and water mixture, adding hops during and after the cooking. Then I transfer this mixture to a 5-gallon bucket and cool it by adding ice and cold water to get it to 70-75 degrees. Then I add yeast and “put it to sleep”.

The mixture “wakes up” when alcohol is being generated in a chemical reaction. In that same reaction carbon dioxide is released. The CO2 goes out of the container through an airlock that keeps the beer from being contaminated. If that airlock gets clogged by any internal matter (hops or malt chunks), the mixture continues to ferment and continues to generate CO2. Eventually enough CO2 is generated inside the bucket that the whole airlock blows out, not unlike a pressure cooker. And yes, this happened to a friend of mine, but never to me. But that’s another story…

So, making wine is a similar process, except that the grapes mixture is poured into wineskins. When wineskins are new they expand to accommodate the CO2 gas. But there is a limit to that expansion – the wineskins can only hold so much CO2. So putting new wine into old wineskins will explode the whole mixture.

So Jesus is putting forth an analogy between Himself and the Pharisees and scribes. Jesus is the new wine and the teachings and ritual behaviors of the Pharisees and scribes are the old wineskins. The two do not mix – new wineskins are needed, a seeking of the Kingdom of God through repentance and renewal. Thankfully Jesus has prepared the way and done all we need to seek that Kingdom. Just do it!

Blessings, y’all!

Mark 2:13-17 and Luke 5:27-32

“Notice what you notice.” OK, so I missed my first day of posting this year. But hopefully you can forgive me. Up at 4:30 am, UK Hospital at 6:00, hip replacement surgery, then grogginess, nausea and sleep all day. Just didn’t happen…! So today will be another light day, looking at Mark’s and Luke’s accounts of Jesus calling Levi.

I talked a few days ago about the geographic location of Capernaum. What I forgot to mention was that Capernaum was also a Damascus and Caesarea Philippi route to the Mediterranean Sea, so even more traffic would have been going through that city.

There’s not a whole lot different in the three Synoptics’ accounts of Matthew/Levi’s calling or of the feast/dinner that he threw. I was a bit surprised that Matthew’s account of his own calling was so understated – …He saw a man named Matthew… (Matthew 9:9).

Two other really simple things that I noticed… Mark’s account mentions that Jesus …went out again beside the sea (Mark 2:13) the only writer to mention “the sea” in the calling of Matthew. I’ll be watching more for this “sea” connection in Mark. The other item was in Luke: I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). Luke is the only one of these writers who mentions “to repentance”. A small item, but worthy of note, in that Jesus is echoing John the Baptist’s message – although Jesus adds “Kingdom of God” and “Kingdom of Heaven” references to his preaching, in addition to healings and other miracles.

Blessings, y’all!

Luke 5:17-26

“Notice what you notice.” Today we have Luke’s coverage of the healing of the paralytic. Why is it so often the case with me that something jumps out at me in the first verse of the reading for the day??!! Obviously, again today: …Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem (verse 17). Mark had told us that “many” were there; Luke is much more specific. We saw in the past few weeks that Jesus’ fame was spreading throughout Galilee. Now we have Pharisees and scribes coming all the way from Jerusalem (~80 miles) and even further from locations throughout Judea. Clearly Jesus’ fame is spreading.

Pronouns!! I try to stay away from pronouns, especially when two or more people of the same gender are part of the text. Today’s final verse (26) reads And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.” In that one verse there are three unclear pronouns (them, they, we), plus a stand-alone “all”. There are three possible antecedents here – the crowd, the Pharisees and scribes, and the men who brought the paralytic. The pronouns probably refer to the crowd, but might it also include that teachers of the Law? It’s not clear from the text. Matthew offers some clarification – Now when the multitudes saw it… (Matthew 9:8). I’m guessing here that “the multitudes” includes the crowd and rules out the Pharisees and scribes. But then again, it’s not totally clear. And surely, in spite of their rage at Jesus “blasphemy”, inside they also must have been “filled with awe”!! We also should be, at every glory sighting we see!

Glory!!

Mark 2:1-12

“Notice what you notice.” Today we have Mark’s coverage of the healing of the paralytic. On a first-time reading of this event, the item that is most shocking/surprising to most people is the lowering of the paralytic through a hole in the roof. I can clearly recall my early (and continuing) thoughts on this event, in particular the dust and chunks of material that would have been falling on those gathered in the room below. (Yeah, small tidbit.) And we often think (or are told) of the faith, not of the paralytic, but of those who carried him and let him down. And that’s worth pondering, but not for me today.

There were a couple of things that I noticed. First, right away in verse 1, And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. He was “at home”. I’ve never imagined Jesus “at home”. I always see Him on the road or in a crowd. In fact, we read in Matthew 8:20, And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” However, there is a lot of support for Jesus “taking up residence” at Peter’s house, so it’s nice to know that occasionally He was “at home”.

A second item was more striking, …Jesus perceived in His Spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves (NKJV, verse 8). This is powerful, super important for us today. We have noted Jesus’ humanity on a number of occasions, the He was fully human, just like us. And we’ve often wondered how He knew certain things (e.g., go catch a fish and find a coin – Matthew 17:27). In Mark 2:8 it’s clear that Jesus had the same Spirit available to Him that we have to ourselves. Personally, on a number of occasions I have “known” something from out of nowhere. Or how do Carol and I come up with the exact same thoughts at the exact same time?? For me, I have no doubt that we have access to the same Spirit Who spoke to Jesus!! That’s powerful, folks!!

Glory!!

Matthew 9:1-17

“Notice what you notice.” Today we have three events taking place at Capernaum – the healing of the paralytic, the calling of Matthew/Levi, and the issue of fasting. Today’s reading covers all three of those events in Matthew’s Gospel. The next six days will break down each of these events into Mark’s and Luke’s coverage of each. With those accounts covered separately we can see differences and similarities in all three events.

I had a number of “notices”, but wanted to focus most on Matthew’s calling. Here again we have Matthew’s seemingly immediate response to Jesus’ call: As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed Him (v. 9). We dealt with these immediate “Follow me” responses earlier in the calling of the Peter, Andrew, James, and John and saw that there was probably more history behind those calls than what was reported in John, Matthew, and Mark. The same is probably true of Matthew’s call.

First, a bit of geography. I’ve always wondered at Capernaum becoming Jesus’ home base, since He was raised in Nazareth, some 25-30 miles away. It’s true that Peter lived there and may have had a fairly large house in which Jesus may have resided. But also, look at the map below. Capernaum is located on a major road from Damascus, Caesarea Philippi, or Tyre to Jerusalem (although there were other routes that travelers could have taken). Coming from Galilee and not yet ready to deal with Jerusalem, Capernaum was an ideal location for ministry. It was probably one of the largest cities in Galilee and would have given Him ready access to other locations. It would also have been a good location for a tax collector to maintain an office or to travel to other locations!

We have already seen that Jesus’ activities in Capernaum had generated a large following (Mark 1, Luke 4). Matthew would surely have known of Jesus and likely may have been one of those who witnessed Jesus’ healing powers. Just a few days ago we saw in Mark 1:33 …that the whole city was gathered together at <Peter’s> door for that Sabbath healing event. Matthew could well have been one of those gathered. That is, when Jesus called Matthew, it was probably more than a “seemingly immediate response to Jesus’ call”.

Slava Bohu!!

Luke 5:12-16

“Notice what you notice.” Luke has two items that are not included in Matthew or Mark, and both jumped out at me. In verse 12 the man who approached Jesus was full of leprosy (NKJV, ESV). And verse 16 says that Jesus …would withdraw to desolate places and pray. What to make of these distinctions?

As to the first, I’m not surprised that Luke the physician would be more complete in his description of the ailment. But how would he know that? For me, I often wonder if Luke was an early disciple (but not an apostle) who followed Jesus, maybe even from very early in Jesus’ ministry? We know Luke was an excellent historian, but if he knows even the small details like covered with leprosy (NASB), how would he have gotten that information? In the introduction to his Gospel, Luke writes, Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us… (Luke 1:1-2). Although Luke does not include himself among those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses, a strong indication that he was not an early follower, still I wonder.

As to the second, Mark also mentions crowds pushing in on Jesus such that He could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places (Mark 1:45). Mark doesn’t mention Jesus praying in that particular verse, but earlier we saw that Jesus, …rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark … went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed (Mark 1:35). We have no doubts about Jesus’ prayer life!

Slava Bohu!!