Luke 4:1-13 “Notice what you notice.” A number of items today… First, when we read according to the schedule that we are following we see quite a bit of repetition in the synoptic gospels and we naturally make comparisons between these accounts. In this temptation account many writers point to the difference between Matthew and …
Category Archives: RTB 2019 – Gospels – Notice What You Notice
January 24 / Mark 1:12-13
Mark 1:12-13 “Notice what you notice.” Sorry for a late post today, folks. Things happen! So today only two verses – Mark’s account of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Unlike Matthew and Luke, Mark is not at all detailed in his account of the content of the temptations. He has nothing to say about the …
January 23 / Matthew 4:1-11
Matthew 4:1-11 Moses and Elijah… When we see those two names together we are inclined to think of the Transfiguration or of Jesus’ references to “the Law and the Prophets” (Mt. 5:17, 22:40). Another connection with those two to Jesus is their unique “departures”. Jesus died, rose, and ascended; Moses died and the Lord buried …
January 22 / Luke 3:23-38
Luke 3:23-38 “Notice what you notice.” Not much today, Luke’s genealogy… I had already commented back on January 8 about some comparisons between the two accounts, Matthew’s and Luke’s. But I did notice three more small items. First, Luke has no women mentioned, while Matthew mentions four (Tamar, Ruth, Bathsheba, Mary). Why? No idea…! Second, …
January 21 / Luke 3:21-22; John 1:29-34
Luke 3:21-22 and John 1:29-34 “Notice what you notice.” Again today we have Jesus’ baptism, Luke’s and John’s accounts. Luke is quite short; he only adds in verse 21 that Jesus was praying at the time of His baptism. John, however, is (again) quite different from the Synoptics. First, he has his verse 29 greeting, …
January 20 / Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11
Matthew 3:13-17 and Mark 1:9-11 “Notice what you notice.” Today we have Jesus’ baptism. As I recall, until we get to the Last Supper, Jesus’ baptism is the only event in his life that is covered in all four Gospels. Our reading schedule splits the four Gospels into two sets of two, first Matthew and …
January 19 / John 1:19-28
John 1:19-28 “Notice what you notice.” So today we have John’s account of John the Baptist appearing in the wilderness. And it’s always intriguing to compare John’s account of events with the Synoptics. The other three largely agreed with one another and even shared the same words. John shares the same OT verse (Is. 40:3) …
January 18 / Luke 3:1-18
Luke 3:1-18 “Notice what you notice.” Two items… First, I love Luke, the historian. In his first two verses today he is specific about the timing of John’s appearance in the wilderness, referring to a time frame that included five political figures and two religious leaders. Presumably intersecting those peoples’ reigns we would be able …
January 17 / Mark 1:1-8
Mark 1:1-8 “Notice what you notice.” Another first verse item – …Jesus Christ, the Son of God… We’ve often heard that Mark moves fast and gets right at the heart of the matter. And now in his introduction he leaves no doubt as to where he is headed. This Jesus (of Nazareth) is our Christ …
January 16 / Matthew 3:1-12
Matthew 3:1-12 “Notice what you notice.” Maybe I’m caught up on geography a bit. Again, “notice” came to me in today’s first verse: …the wilderness of Judea. I noticed it in part because we had Zacharias and Elizabeth living in the hill country of Judea and I had done some research to understand that region. …