Daily Bible Reading: April 21st-27th
Date Added: 4/22/2008 10:51:50 AM Thank you for your patience in waiting for this week's Daily Bible Reading. Even when our lives are busy and changing, God's Word remains the same - consistent and true.
Enjoy the continuation of our reading through the Gospel of Matthew.
April 21st
Reading: Matthew 12:25-50
The section that you read today begins with the answer that Jesus gives the Pharisees about the power He uses to cast out demons. This is the second time the Pharisees have attributed the act of Jesus casting a demon out of a person to the power of the devil (see Matthew 9:34). They are having a hard time accepting who Jesus is and the power that He has. Jesus talks to them in a straight forward fashion and challenges the logic of their thinking.
If a kingdom is divided against itself, or if a city or house is divided against itself, can it stand? This was the question Jesus put to the Pharisees. Obviously, if Satan’s kingdom is at war with itself, then it will eventually destroy itself. This was Jesus point with the Pharisees. To bolster His position, Jesus even mentioned the children of the Pharisees who apparently had cast out demons as well. Did their children do it by the power of Satan? Obviously the Pharisees did not want to take that position with their own children.
Jesus then put it plainly, “but if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come upon you” (vs. 28). And, that was the fact. John the Baptist taught that the kingdom of God was near. Jesus began his ministry with the same declaration. And now, Jesus simply declares, the Kingdom of God has come upon you. A better rendering of this statement is this, “The Kingdom of God is in your midst or among you.” Jesus could say this because He was the embodiment of the kingdom, the power, the rule of heaven on earth. By casting out demons, healing the sick, cleansing lepers, and doing all kinds of miracles, Jesus was giving testimony to who He really was, the Son of the Most High God.
April 22nd
Reading: Matthew 13:1-30
A parable is a story that is used to represent something in real life and to teach a moral or lesson. The chapter you have started reading to day is filled with parables. In today’s reading you read the “Parable of the Sower” and the “Parable of the Wheat and Tares.” Each of these parables, and the ones you will read tomorrow, are told by Jesus to teach about the “Kingdom of Heaven.” No one parable tells us all we need to know, or can know, about the Kingdom of Heaven. Even taken all together they only instruct us in a portion of what God wants us to know.
The first parable in this chapter is the “Parable of the Sower.” We are fortunate concerning this parable because the Holy Spirit had Matthew record both the parable and its explanation. In the “Parable of the Sower” a man goes out and sows seed. To sow seed means to cast or throw it out on the ground. Another word used for the action of sowing seed is to “broadcast.” The picture that the Matthew is wanting you to develop in your mind is of a man walking along and scattering seed along the ground.
This is a different kind of planting than what we are used to. When we plant seed into our garden ground, we usually make a careful hole, press our seed into the hole, cover it up, and carefully water it. A sower does not approach his planting like that. He simply walks along and scatters out his seed. You can imagine that the seed goes everywhere and lands in all kinds of soil. The parable speaks of four kinds of soil: wayside, stony, thorny, and good.
The “wayside” is the well used path that is packed down very hard. The seed just sits on top and is snatched away by birds. The stony soil has some ground, but not enough good ground. So, the seed sprouts but cannot form deep enough roots to survive. The thorny soil is exactly what it sounds like. It is soil with a lot of weeds. These weeds “choke out” the new plants and the plants die. Finally, the fourth soil, is good soil. Here, the seed takes root and produces an abundant harvest.
Each of these soils represent the different heart conditions of those who hear the preaching of the Word of God. All, except those represented by the good ground, do not continue in what they are taught. One of the main things Jesus is wanting us to know is that our heart condition determines if we are able to not only hear what is said, but understand it and apply it to our lives. Pray that God will continue to prepare your heart like good soil to receive the Word of God.
April 23rd
Reading: Matthew 13:31-58
Jesus continues to teach parables throughout the remainder of this chapter. These are all interesting stories that help us gain new insights into the “Kingdom of heaven.” As we get more and more of the Bible into our mind, then these parables will become even more meaningful to us. So, it will be even more exciting to read these parables a second time when we go through the Bible in our second 3-year reading plan.
For now, lets look at the portion we read where Jesus explains one of the parables. By concentrating on what Jesus says about the “Parable of the Tares” verses 37 – 43, we can have good confidence that we are understanding that parable properly. We read the “Parable of the tares’ yesterday when we read verses 24-30. You might want to review those verses before re-reading the explanation in verses 37-43.
Jesus very clearly lays out who all the major players are in the story and what each item stands for. The sower of the good seed is the Son of man. You may have noticed the phrase “Son of man” being used by Jesus. That phrase is something Jesus uses to refer to himself. So, Jesus is the one sowing the good seed in the world. The wheat that comes up are the children of the kingdom, or we could say those that follow Jesus. The tares, or the bad seed, are the children of the wicked one. That is, they are the ones that follow the devil. The devil is the one who has sown the bad seed into the field. Finally, the angels, or messengers, are sent by Jesus (the “Son of man”) to gather the harvest. They start by gathering the tares and burning them. With the tares removed, the wheat can be clearly seen. The gathering, or harvest, is to be done at the end of the world.
The word “world” in the Bible is a very interesting word, because it does not always mean what we think of when we read it. We usually think of the globe or whole earth when we read the word “world.” However, to properly understand what is being taught here and elsewhere in Scripture, we need to realize that there are three different Greek words that are translated “world” in the King James Bible. One of the Greek words actually means “land or territory” and is usually referring to the territory of the Roman empire that existed at that time. A second Greek word translated “world” is the word we get the English word “cosmos” from and it does refer to the physical earth. The third word that is translated “world” is the Greek word that literally means age or time period. This word is not talking about the physical earth at all, but the time period in which someone is living.
The last two Greek words just mentioned each occur in the explanation of the parable we just reviewed. In verse 38, when Jesus says, “the field is the world,” He is saying the physical earth. However, when Jesus says that the gathering and burning of the tares will be “in the end of this world,” he is NOT saying, “at the end of this physical earth.” What Jesus is actually saying here is “at the end of this AGE or time period.” Now, He may have been referring to the end of all history when Jesus will come and judge all men. But, more likely He was referring to a great event that occurred shortly after Jesus died, rose again, and went to heaven. That event was the destruction of Jerusalem. We will want to keep that in mind as we continue to read through the New Testament.
In either case, we see that Jesus will bring judgment upon all those who do not follow Him. Pray that God will continue to give you the grace to be a follower of Christ.
April 24th
Reading: Matthew 14:1-36
Had you wondered what might have happened to John the Baptist? We had read clear back in chapter 4 verse 12 that John had been cast into prison. This seemed to be the signal to Jesus that John’s ministry was now done and it was time for Him to begin His ministry. But John was such a special person used by God. So, what could have happened to him after he fulfilled his purpose of being the forerunner to Jesus.
All we have known for the past 8 chapters is that John the Baptist is in prison. Now, we discover that he was arrested and cast into prison by Herod. Herod is the local ruler over a section of Judea. This chapter begins by informing us that Herod has heard about Jesus and is fearful that Jesus is really John the Baptist risen from the dead. And that is how we come to know that John is now dead. But how did he die?
The next several verses let us in on what happened. John was arrested by Herod at the urging of his wife Herodias. Herodias was angry with John because he had exposed the sin in her life and the life of Herod. Herod had taken Herodias away from his brother Philip and married her. This is against God’s Law and John the Baptist had made that known to Herod.
Even though Herod had arrested John, he was fearful of putting him to death because John was so popular among the people. However, on his birthday, Herod made a foolish promise to the daughter of Herodias that he would give her anything she wished for. Herodias seized the opportunity and convinced her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist. Herod must have feared his unlawful wife more than the crowd, because he complied with the request and had John the Baptist’s head cut off.
What a sad ending for John the Baptist. And, from our perspective, it seems unnecessary. But, God is in control of even these events and He has His purposes for why He allowed such a thing to happen to John. Remember the beatitudes that Jesus taught? He said in reference to persecution, “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” The ultimate persecution is being put to death for believing in Jesus and the truth of God’s Word. That is what John the Baptist was put to death for. According to Jesus Himself, John has a great reward waiting for him in heaven.
April 25th
Reading: Matthew 15:1-39
Matthew chapter 15 has three very distinct stories. In the first story, the scribes and Pharisees question Jesus as to why His disciples do not follow the ceremonial washing before meals that is taught and practiced by them. The second story is of a woman of Canaan, obviously not an Israelite, who seeks Jesus’ compassion for the healing of her daughter. And, the third story, is of Jesus miraculously healing a multitude of sick and hurting people and, then, feeding over 4000 people. Each story has a wonderful message of God’s truth, His love, and His providence.
All of this is too much and too wonderful to speak about in length here. Fortunately, we will have future opportunities to add our thoughts to those areas we are unable to address in this first time reading through the Bible. Let’s look at the first story this time.
Sometimes young people are confused by what is going on in this story. It seems that the Pharisees and Scribes are simply asking why the disciples of Jesus don’t wash their hands before they eat. And, Jesus, then jumps into a discourse on how the Pharisees are teaching children to not honor their parents. How does all this get connected? And, why aren’t Jesus’ disciples washing their hands before eating? I’m sure your mother requires it of you. Let me try to make sense of this for you.
First, notice the words used by the Pharisees when they asked the question. They were not just asking about washing your hands before eating. They were bringing up “the tradition of the elders.” The washing that these religious leaders were bringing up, was a ceremonial washing to not only clean the body, but it was supposed to clean the person spiritually as well. The scribes and Pharisees had developed ceremonial activities, like washings, that had become traditions that they believed people were to practice. To not practice them, would be to “transgress the traditions of the elders.”
Jesus, however, points out very directly that the Pharisees were transgressing the commandments of God by their traditions. How was this happening? Well, what Jesus explains in verses 4-6 of this chapter is that the Pharisees had developed a tradition that allowed adult children to rid themselves of the responsibility they had to take care of their aging parents. The Pharisees had made up a tradition where the adult children of aging parents could make a large donation to the temple and that gift would then excuse them from the responsibility to care for their parents. If their parent had a need that required money, the children could simply say, “Oh, I made a gift to the temple and do not have the funds that could have helped you.”
Jesus is saying that this tradition of the Pharisees allowed children to break God’s commandment to honor their fathers and mothers. Under the traditions of the elders, people were being taught ways to “act religious” but really disobey God. We must remember that God’s Word is our guide for every area of life. It is our guide for worship; it is our guide for work, for education, for daily living. The Bible is our guide for honoring our parents. The Bible is our guide for living.
April 26th
Reading: Matthew 16:1-28
Each of these chapters of Jesus’ life are packed with a great amount of information. In this chapter, Jesus runs into the Pharisees again. However, this time they are accompanied by the Sadducees, another religious group of the Jews of Jesus’ time. the Pharisees and the Sadducees had many things in common. They were both groups of religious scholars that specialized in the Law of Moses, or the Pentatuch. Remember, that the Pentatuch is the first five books of the Bible. However, their understanding of God’s Law was wrong. They misunderstood it in that they saw it as a way of attaining righteousness before God. They misapplied it and made it say something else than what was actually intended. Jesus was correcting these errors in the Sermon on the Mount which we read in Matthew chapters 5-7. And, they added to God’s Law by creating their own traditions that they tried to force everyone to follow. We read about some of that in the previous chapter.
The Pharisees and the Sadducees had differences as well. The biggest difference was in their belief in what would happen in the end. The Pharisees believed in a physical resurrection. That is, they believed on the final Day of Judgment, God would raise the dead for that judgment. The Sadducees rejected the idea of a resurrection of the dead. This significant difference between these two groups will play an important role in future stories that you will read in the New Testament.
Here, in Matthew 16, these religious leaders ask Jesus for a sign to “prove” who He was, that He was from heaven. Of course, as we have been reading in chapter after chapter, Jesus has been healing the sick, casting out demons, bringing sight to the blind, opening the ears of the deaf, feeding thousands with only a little food. And, some of these religious leaders have been right there when some of these miracles have occurred. Jesus in response, then, tells them, they have the ability to discern the weather by looking at the signs of the sky, but they cannot “discern the signs of the times.”
Jesus then makes a very interesting statement. He said, “there shall no sign be given…but the sign of the prophet Jonas.” What Jesus is referring to is the Old Testament prophet Jonah. The story of Jonah is told in the Old Testament “Book of Jonah.” It is not a big book and you could probably read it rather quickly on your own to find what the “sign of the prophet Jonah” is. In case you don’t have time to read about it today, let me tell you that Jonah was a man who disobeyed God and got on a ship going away from where God had told him to go. He ends up getting thrown off the ship and into the water. Once in the water, he gets swallowed by a great fish and spends 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of this giant fish. Then, after he repents of his wrong doing, the fish spewed him out onto the beach of thesea.
So, what was the sign Jesus was saying would be given? It was this, Jesus was saying that just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for 3 days and nights, so He would be in the grave for that long after He is killed. And, just as Jonah “came back to life”, so to speak, when he was spit out onto the beach, the son of man, Jesus Christ, would come back to life from the grave.
You will notice in your reading that Jesus’ disciples did not like hearing that their Lord and Master would have to suffer and die, even though He said He would be raised up the third day. I am sure that you and I would not like hearing that kind of talk from someone we loved either. But Jesus would not tolerate their refusal to hear and even rebuked Peter for saying that this would never happen to Him. The purpose of Jesus coming to earth included the time of suffering and death that we will be reading about later in the Book of Matthew. He will have to pass through those horrible things in order to reach the glorious purpose of His resurrection from the dead. All this has to occur for the purposes of God in Christ Jesus to be accomplished. Praise God for His plan of salvation found only in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
April 27th
Reading: Matthew 17:1-27
Wow! What an awesome thing that happens here in Matthew chapter 17. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John (three of His disciples) up onto a mountain and while they are standing there, three extraordinary things take place. First, Jesus begins to glow. His face became really bright. The Bible says it began to shine like the sun. And, even His clothes began to glow. The Bible says Jesus was transfigured before the disciples. The word transfigured means, “changed.” And, what a change it was. This mountain has since been referred to by theologians and others as the “Mount of transfiguration.”
The second awesome thing that happened was that Moses and Elias appeared right there with them. Now you have read about Moses when we went through the “Book of Exodus.” We will hear more about him when we return to the Old Testament. The person referred to by the name Elias is an Old Testament prophet by the name of Elijah. The New Testament sometimes does this funny thing of spelling Old Testament names slightly different than they are spelled in the Old Testament. Besides Elias being used for Elijah, we have seen Jonas for Jonah and Esias for Isaiah. I’ll do my best to help you keep all this straight.
So, anyway, the awesome thing about Moses and Elijah showing up with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration is that they had lived on this earth hundreds of years before this event. Both of them have somewhat mysterious “deaths.” Again, you will read about them at some point when you read more in the Old Testament. The short of the story is this, Moses was buried by God, and no one knows where that is. Elijah is taken up into heaven by a firy chariot and so he never died on earth. What there appearing with Jesus on the ‘Mount of Transfiguration” means is at least these two things. One, they demonstrate that God is the God of the living and any who believe on Him and are saved with live, though they die. You will learn much more about that concept as you continue in the New Testament. Second, there appearance with Jesus affirmed that Jesus was the fulfillment of the law and the prophets of the Old Testament. Moses represented the law and Elijah represented the prophets.
The third awesome thing that happened on that mountain was that God spoke directly from heaven. God said, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” Now, that would have been an awe inspiring moment. In fact, it was so overwhelming for the three disciples that they fell on their faces and did not get up until Jesus came over and touched them and told them “Arise, and be not afraid.”
This great momentous event, that was witnessed by what will become the inner circle of the disciples, provides a clear picture of who Jesus is. He is the only son of God, in fact, He is God the Son. He is the one that all the Old Testament is referring to and pointing to. Praise God for His Son Jesus Christ.
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