Matthew 15:32-39 “Notice what you notice.” Much is made of the similarities and differences between today’s “Feeding of the 4,000” and our earlier “Feeding of the 5,000”. Some scholars say there was only one feeding; others hold true to what we have in Scripture. Let me offer four major differences: Finally, later (Matthew 16:9-10) Jesus …
Category Archives: RTB 2019 – Gospels – Notice What You Notice
May 31 / Mark 7:24-37
Mark 7:24-37 “Notice what you notice.” And He entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet He could not be hidden. (v. 24b) Yesterday both Debbie and I asked why Jesus would stray so far away from Galilee, to Tyre and Sidon – Gentile territory. My sense was that He was just …
May 30 / Matt. 15:21-31
Matthew 15:21-31 “Notice what you notice.” Our byline, “notice what you notice” has tripped me up sometimes. I find myself looking for items in these passages that I had not seen before, which is a good thing as we read these passages more intensely, but that byline should not rule out commenting on the old …
May 29 / Mark 7:14-23
Mark 7:14-23 “Notice what you notice.” Sometimes passages are so familiar to us that it’s hard to find anything new, especially when we are reading two or three or four writers’ accounts of the same event. That was the case today – but I did pick up on a small item. Going back to yesterday’s …
May 28 / Mark 7:1-13
Mark 7:1-13 “Notice what you notice.” Once again, Mark with his details…, spending two verses (3 and 4) highlighting the marketplace as a source of uncleanness – much more vivid, especially if you’ve visited Middle Eastern marketplaces!! Jesus’ focus on tradition in this passage calls to mind our Anglican history of “Scripture, tradition, and reason”, …
May 27 / Matt. 15:1-20
Matthew 15:1-50 “Notice what you notice.” This schedule of readings has really opened my eyes to Jesus’ Galilean ministry compared to His time in Jerusalem. For example, today’s reading begins with Pharisees and Scribes coming to Galilee from Jerusalem specifically to monitor and test Jesus. That’s about a 70-80 mile trip. Yet these emissaries are …
May 26 / John 6:60-71
John 6:60-71 “Notice what you notice.” Today we finish the exchange between Jesus and “the crowd” that follows John’s account of Jesus walking on the water. I have always loved Peter’s response to Jesus’ teaching and His challenge to them that some might leave Him. Peter responded, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have …
May 25 / John 6:41-59
John 6:41-59 “Notice what you notice.” Today we continue the exchange between Jesus and “the crowd” that follows John’s account of Jesus walking on the water. As is often true for me in John’s accounts of Jesus’ conversations with Jewish leaders and others, I find it hard to see how Jesus is answering the questions …
May 24 / John 6:22-40
John 6:22-40 “Notice what you notice.” Today’s reading is one that is always special to me. After the initial conversation between Jesus and the townspeople, we get to Jesus speaking in John 6:37-40, repeated here in full: All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I …
May 23 / Mark 6:53-56
Mark 6:53-56 “Notice what you notice.” Mark on Jesus landing at Gennesaret… Whenever we have passages in double or triple tradition, I try not to read ahead in the readings schedule, except to read notes from my Study Bible from all the writers. Following that pattern yesterday, I had not read Mark’s account when I …