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Section Introduction
Matthew 3, 4, 12:1-32; Mark 1-3; Luke 3-6; John 1:19-51, 2, 3, 4, 5

The first section of this integrated Study of the Gospels covered Luke 1 & 2, John 1:1-18, and Matthew 1 & 2.

The pre-arrival, arrival, and pre-public ministry of Jesus are recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John, such was not a purpose of the Book of Mark, which is why we first read in Mark in this the Second of the Twelve weekly studies.

Section Two walks through the ministry of John “the Baptist”; the baptism, temptation, and early ministry of Jesus; the calling of the disciples; the first public miracle; cleansing of the temple; conflict with religious leaders; and the sermon on the plain.

Sunday

Mark 1, Luke 3, Matthew 3

Mark

The Ministry of John the Baptist

1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 1:2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,

“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way,

1:3 the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight.’”

1:4 In the wilderness John the baptizer began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 1:5 People from the whole Judean countryside and all of Jerusalem were going out to him, and he was baptizing them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. 1:6 John wore a garment made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 1:7 He proclaimed, “One more powerful than I am is coming after me; I am not worthy to bend down and untie the strap of his sandals. 1:8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus

1:9 Now in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. 1:10 And just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 1:11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my one dear Son; in you I take great delight.” 1:12 The Spirit immediately drove him into the wilderness. 1:13 He was in the wilderness forty days, enduring temptations from Satan. He was with wild animals, and angels were ministering to his needs.

Preaching in Galilee and the Call of the Disciples

1:14 Now after John was imprisoned, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. 1:15 He said, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel!” 1:16 As he went along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen). 1:17 Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people.” 1:18 They left their nets immediately and followed him. 1:19 Going on a little farther, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother in their boat mending nets. 1:20 Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Jesus’ Authority

1:21 Then they went to Capernaum. When the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 1:22 The people there were amazed by his teaching, because he taught them like one who had authority, not like the experts in the law. 1:23 Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, 1:24 “Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!” 1:25 But Jesus rebuked him: “Silence! Come out of him!” 1:26 After throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. 1:27 They were all amazed so that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He even commands the unclean spirits and they obey him.” 1:28 So the news about him spread quickly throughout all the region around Galilee.

Healings at Simon’s House

1:29 Now as soon as they left the synagogue, they entered Simon and Andrew’s house, with James and John. 1:30 Simon’s mother-in-law was lying down, sick with a fever, so they spoke to Jesus at once about her. 1:31 He came and raised her up by gently taking her hand. Then the fever left her and she began to serve them. 1:32 When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and demon-possessed. 1:33 The whole town gathered by the door. 1:34 So he healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. But he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Praying and Preaching

1:35 Then Jesus got up early in the morning when it was still very dark, departed, and went out to a deserted place, and there he spent time in prayer. 1:36 Simon and his companions searched for him. 1:37 When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” 1:38 He replied, “Let us go elsewhere, into the surrounding villages, so that I can preach there too. For that is what I came out here to do.” 1:39 So he went into all of Galilee preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Cleansing a Leper

1:40 Now a leper came to him and fell to his knees, asking for help. “If you are willing, you can make me clean,” he said. 1:41 Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” 1:42 The leprosy left him at once, and he was clean. 1:43 Immediately Jesus sent the man away with a very strong warning. 1:44 He told him, “See that you do not say anything to anyone, but go, show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 1:45 But as the man went out he began to announce it publicly and spread the story widely, so that Jesus was no longer able to enter any town openly but stayed outside in remote places. Still they kept coming to him from everywhere.

Luke

The Ministry of John the Baptist

3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, 3:2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3:3 He went into all the region around the Jordan River, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one shouting in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight. 3:5 Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be brought low, and the crooked will be made straight, and the rough ways will be made smooth, 3:6 and all humanity will see the salvation of God.’”

3:7 So John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 3:8 Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance, and don’t begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 3:9 Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

3:10 So the crowds were asking him, “What then should we do?” 3:11 John answered them, “The person who has two tunics must share with the person who has none, and the person who has food must do likewise.” 3:12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 3:13 He told them, “Collect no more than you are required to.” 3:14 Then some soldiers also asked him, “And as for us – what should we do?” He told them, “Take money from no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your pay.”

3:15 While the people were filled with anticipation and they all wondered whether perhaps John could be the Christ, 3:16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but one more powerful than I am is coming – I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 3:17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire.”

3:18 And in this way, with many other exhortations, John proclaimed good news to the people. 3:19 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil deeds that he had done, 3:20 Herod added this to them all: He locked up John in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus

3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. And while he was praying, the heavens opened, 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my one dear Son; in you I take great delight.”

The Genealogy of Jesus

3:23 So Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years old. He was the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 3:24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 3:25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 3:26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 3:27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 3:28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 3:29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 3:30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 3:31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 3:32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, 3:33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 3:34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 3:35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 3:36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 3:37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Kenan, 3:38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Matthew

The Ministry of John the Baptist

3:1 In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness of Judea proclaiming, 3:2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3:3 For he is the one about whom Isaiah the prophet had spoken:

“The voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight.’”

3:4 Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. 3:5 Then people from Jerusalem, as well as all Judea and all the region around the Jordan, were going out to him, 3:6 and he was baptizing them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 3:8 Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance, 3:9 and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 3:10 Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

3:11 “I baptize you with water, for repentance, but the one coming after me is more powerful than I am – I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 3:12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John to be baptized by him in the Jordan River. 3:14 But John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?” 3:15 So Jesus replied to him, “Let it happen now, for it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John yielded to him. 3:16 After Jesus was baptized, just as he was coming up out of the water, the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming on him. 3:17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my one dear Son; in him I take great delight.”

Prayer

Lord, as I read Your Word transitioning from the Old Testament to the New Testament, may I be mindful that the practices and traditions of the Old Testament based on Law began in the Gospels to collide with Your new covenant based on Grace through Christ.

Commentary

Mark notes that critical to, and the essence of, the ministry of John was to call people to repentance and baptism in anticipation of the coming of the Savior. He then briefly records the baptism of Jesus the son of Joseph (Jesus the Son of God needed no baptism), the announcement by the Holy Spirit that Jesus is both unique and uniquely loved of God, and then the fasting and temptation/testing of Jesus by Satan in the desert.

Jesus, sinless up to this point in time, remains sinless after being tempted and tested by Satan. In His weak physical condition following 40 days of fasting in the desert, He proves He is worthy to stand as the sinless sacrificial lamb for all the sins of all mankind.

Mark reports the preaching of Jesus in Galilee, the calling of several disciples, His power over the demon-possessed man, and the miracles of healing at the house of Simon and of "cleansing" (1:44) the leper along the road. [Note: Both singular and plural terms are used when the demon cries out, "Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are" (1:24); it appears that the demon speaks in fear for both itself and for all demons.]

Luke adds details to the ministry of John, fixing "the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar" (3:1) as the historic time and "in all the region around the Jordan River" (vs. 3) as the place; and recording John's chastising words, his fearless evangelical challenge, and his imprisonment at the hands of Herod.

Luke presents the Holy Spirit in the assumed physical form of “like a dove” (3:22).

Luke also provides the genealogy of Jesus, from "He was the son (as was supposed) of Joseph" (3:23) all the way back to "the son of Adam, the son of God" (3:38), to affirm that He was the One of prophesy. [Note: In the Word, only Adam and Jesus are ever spoken of as the "son of God" and the "Son of God" — in recorded Biblical genealogies, all others are the sons of men. Jesus was also referred to as the “Son of Man”.]

Matthew also describes the ministry of John; but whereas Luke emphasized John's challenge to the people, Matthew emphasizes his challenge to the religious leaders.

Matthew also records the context of John's ministry versus the ministry of Jesus: “I baptize you with water …. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (3:11). Some struggle to understand “Holy Spirit” and “fire” as separate images, word-pictures which are incorrectly used in the justification of one denominational view over another. Yet the meaning of these terms is made clear: The baptismal "fire" of the Holy Spirit convicts the unsaved of their sin and invites them to repent and accept the gift of Salvation offered by the Christ. He who rejects the gift faces a condemning, consuming, and "inextinguishable fire" (3:12); he who accepts faces a cleansing and purifying fire.

Interaction

Consider

Jesus contained both the essence of God the Son and Jesus the son of Mary, the human. Later text describes the glory of the God-half of Jesus being slowly revealed; one may reasonably postulate that this revelation of glory was to equip Him for a more powerful ministry rather than to reward Him for good behavior! Jesus received back His full glory only after His ascension to Heaven.

Discuss

Jesus the man needed to qualify as the sinless lamb of sacrifice: The Jewish sacrifice for Him at eight days, His education in the Law and the Prophets, His baptism as hosted by John “for all righteousness”, and His fasting and testing in the desert were all done in keeping to the letter the prophesy of the Christ. He was also being prepared in His human body for His ministry as a Heavenly Body.

Reflect

The call to repentance is God's message to both follower and leader: Turn away from rebellion against God, whatever the form, and turn to the only One who can forgive and save. Everyone faces fire – either a destructive or a purifying fire – no one escapes. We each make a choice: no action is rebellion, rebellion is rebellion, submission is freedom.

Share

Some practical ways that you might illustrate to someone (who has expressed an interest in Christ or to a new believer) the meaning of "no action is rebellion, rebellion is rebellion, submission is freedom."

Faith in Action

Prayer

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you are in rebellion against God.

Action

Today I will identify one place in my life where I harbor rebellion against God (something I know to be against His perfect will for me). I will repent and turn from it. (Rebellion may be a common sin such as cheating, lying, or stealing; but Jesus taught that sin begins in a rebellious heart, so I will look for evidence of anger, covetousness, greed, laziness, pride, selfishness, and unforgiveness.) I will pray, allowing God through the indwelling Holy Spirit, to be Lord of that part of my life and surrender it to Him.

Be Specific _______________________________________________________

Monday

John 1:19-51, Matthew 4, Luke 4:1-13

John

The Testimony of John the Baptist

1:19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 1:20 He confessed – he did not deny but confessed – “I am not the Christ!” 1:21 So they asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not!” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No!” 1:22 Then they said to him, “Who are you? Tell us so that we can give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

1:23 John said, “I am the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” 1:24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 1:25 So they asked John, “Why then are you baptizing if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

1:26 John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not recognize, 1:27 who is coming after me. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandal!” 1:28 These things happened in Bethany across the Jordan River where John was baptizing.

1:29 On the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 1:30 This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is greater than I am, because he existed before me.’ 1:31 I did not recognize him, but I came baptizing with water so that he could be revealed to Israel.”

1:32 Then John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending like a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. 1:33 And I did not recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining – this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 1:34 I have both seen and testified that this man is the Chosen One of God.”

1:35 Again the next day John was standing there with two of his disciples. 1:36 Gazing at Jesus as he walked by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 1:37 When John’s two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 1:38 Jesus turned around and saw them following and said to them, “What do you want?” So they said to him, “Rabbi” (which is translated Teacher), “where are you staying?” 1:39 Jesus answered, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. Now it was about four o’clock in the afternoon.

Andrew’s Declaration

1:40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two disciples who heard what John said and followed Jesus. 1:41 He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is translated Christ). 1:42 Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

The Calling of More Disciples

1:43 On the next day Jesus wanted to set out for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 1:44 (Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.) 1:45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also wrote about – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 1:46 Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.”

1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed, “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 1:48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 1:49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel!” 1:50 Jesus said to him, “Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 1:51 He continued, “I tell all of you the solemn truth – you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Matthew

The Temptation of Jesus

4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 4:2 After he fasted forty days and forty nights he was famished. 4:3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” 4:4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the highest point of the temple, 4:6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 4:7 Jesus said to him, “Once again it is written: ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’” 4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur. 4:9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you throw yourself to the ground and worship me.” 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” 4:11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and began ministering to his needs.

Preaching in Galilee

4:12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been imprisoned, he went into Galilee. 4:13 While in Galilee, he moved from Nazareth to make his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 4:14 so that what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:

4:15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way by the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles – 4:16 the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, and on those who sit in the region and shadow of death a light has dawned.”

4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach this message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

The Call of the Disciples

4:18 As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen). 4:19 He said to them, “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people.” 4:20 They left their nets immediately and followed him. 4:21 Going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. Then he called them. 4:22 They immediately left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus’ Healing Ministry

4:23 Jesus went throughout all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of disease and sickness among the people. 4:24 So a report about him spread throughout Syria. People brought to him all who suffered with various illnesses and afflictions, those who had seizures, paralytics, and those possessed by demons, and he healed them. 4:25 And large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan River.

Luke

The Temptation [Testing] of Jesus

4:1 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 4:2 where for forty days he endured temptations from the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, he was famished. 4:3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4:4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone.’”

4:5 Then the devil led him up to a high place and showed him in a flash all the kingdoms of the world. 4:6 And he said to him, “To you I will grant this whole realm – and the glory that goes along with it, for it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. 4:7 So then, if you will worship me, all this will be yours.” 4:8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

4:9 Then the devil brought him to Jerusalem, had him stand on the highest point of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 4:10 for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ 4:11 and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 4:12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’” 4:13 So when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a more opportune time.

Prayer

Lord, may You find me as excited to know Jesus as was John the Baptist, as willing to drop everything to serve Jesus as were the early disciples, and as faithful to You in resisting the deception of Satan to convert the tests of God into the temptations of Satan as was Jesus.

Commentary

John revisits the ministry of John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus, and John's proclamation that Jesus is the One. He also describes the two disciples of John who left him to follow Jesus, and finally, the calling of more disciples.

Matthew reports in detail the temptation/testing of Jesus by the devil in the desert: Jesus does what Adam and Eve failed to do when they were tested/tempted in the Garden, He quotes God and uses "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17) to defeat the subtle lies of the Enemy. Jesus is the "Second Adam," because He represents a new beginning for mankind to get it right this time (see 1 Cor. 15:20-28).

Matthew also reports the fulfillment of the prophesy of Isaiah regarding the region in which Jesus would first preach and of His moving on to the rest of His ministry. God affirms the perfect consistency of His Word. Matthew echoes the reports of the others with his telling of the call of the disciples.

Luke directs his readers to note the unique joining of the Holy Spirit and Jesus: “Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit” (4:1). We become aware that two of the three members of the “Godhead” are physically/spiritually together in the human body of Jesus, albeit the Son in a minimalist state for the moment. As post-Pentecost believers we are also indwelt by the Holy Spirit, our human form is neither the result of an immaculate-conception nor is our adoption into the family of Christ the same as His eternal deity – but this moment in the walk of Jesus does represent a symbolic illustration of what He would make possible for us. The Father is also shown to be present, in a more detached form, thus reinforcing the concept of the Trinity.

Luke takes his turn reporting of the temptation/testing of Jesus in the desert and His victory using the sword of the Word.

Interaction

Consider

God instructs us, from early on in the New Testament, that His Word is powerful and needs to be written upon our hearts and minds.

Discuss

The ways in which God shows Himself as consistent and trustworthy.

Reflect

The humility of John for whom nothing about his ministry glorifies him.

Share

Practical ways to use the sword of the Word to defeat the subtle lies of the Enemy.

Faith in Action

Prayer

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where and when you tend to forget the Word and instead compromise with the Enemy.

Action

Today I choose to identify in my life where the Holy Spirit has led me to enjoy a healthy humility and to thank Him for that. I will ask Him to show me a place where fear has caused me to live a false humility, one that is people-pleasing, and to set me free from that. I will ask God to help create in me an even more teachable heart and mind, so that He may write His Word on my heart.

Be Specific ______________________________________________________

Tuesday

Luke 4:14-5:11, John 2-4

Luke

The Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee

4:14 Then Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and news about him spread throughout the surrounding countryside. 4:15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by all.

Rejection at Nazareth

4:16 Now Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 4:17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and the regaining of sight to the blind,

to set free those who are oppressed,

4:19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

4:20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. 4:21 Then he began to tell them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.” 4:22 All were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. They said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” 4:23 Jesus said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ and say, ‘What we have heard that you did in Capernaum, do here in your hometown too.’” 4:24 And he added, “I tell you the truth, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 4:25 But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, when the sky was shut up three and a half years, and there was a great famine over all the land. 4:26 Yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to a woman who was a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 4:27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, yet none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” 4:28 When they heard this, all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage. 4:29 They got up, forced him out of the town, and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 4:30 But he passed through the crowd and went on his way.

Ministry in Capernaum

4:31 So he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he began to teach the people. 4:32 They were amazed at his teaching, because he spoke with authority.

4:33 Now in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 4:34 “Ha! Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God.” 4:35 But Jesus rebuked him: “Silence! Come out of him!” Then, after the demon threw the man down in their midst, he came out of him without hurting him. 4:36 They were all amazed and began to say to one another, “What’s happening here? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 4:37 So the news about him spread into all areas of the region.

4:38 After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 4:39 So he stood over her, commanded the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them.

4:40 As the sun was setting, all those who had any relatives sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus. He placed his hands on every one of them and healed them. 4:41 Demons also came out of many, crying out, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them, and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

4:42 The next morning Jesus departed and went to a deserted place. Yet the crowds were seeking him, and they came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them. 4:43 But Jesus said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, for that is what I was sent to do.” 4:44 So he continued to preach in the synagogues of Judea.

The Call of the Disciples

5:1 Now Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing around him to hear the word of God. 5:2 He saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 5:3 He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 5:4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” 5:5 Simon answered, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word I will lower the nets.” 5:6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear. 5:7 So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they were about to sink. 5:8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 5:9 For Peter and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 5:10 and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 5:11 So when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

John

Turning Water into Wine

2:1 Now on the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2:2 and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. 2:3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine left.” 2:4 Jesus replied, “Woman, why are you saying this to me? My time has not yet come.” 2:5 His mother told the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.”

2:6 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 2:7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the water jars with water.” So they filled them up to the very top. 2:8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the head steward,” and they did. 2:9 When the head steward tasted the water that had been turned to wine, not knowing where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he called the bridegroom 2:10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper wine when the guests are drunk. You have kept the good wine until now!” 2:11 Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs, in Cana of Galilee. In this way he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

Cleansing the Temple

2:12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there a few days. 2:13 Now the Jewish feast of Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

2:14 He found in the temple courts those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting at tables. 2:15 So he made a whip of cords and drove them all out of the temple courts, with the sheep and the oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 2:16 To those who sold the doves he said, “Take these things away from here! Do not make my Father’s house a marketplace!” 2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will devour me.”

2:18 So then the Jewish leaders responded, “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?” 2:19 Jesus replied, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.” 2:20 Then the Jewish leaders said to him, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and are you going to raise it up in three days?” 2:21 But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. 2:22 So after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the saying that Jesus had spoken.

Jesus at the Passover Feast

2:23 Now while Jesus was in Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover, many people believed in his name because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing. 2:24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people. 2:25 He did not need anyone to testify about man, for he knew what was in man.

Conversation with Nicodemus

3:1 Now a certain man, a Pharisee named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council, 3:2 came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3:3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 3:4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time, can he?”

3:5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 3:6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 3:7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’ 3:8 The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

3:9 Nicodemus replied, “How can these things be?” 3:10 Jesus answered, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things? 3:11 I tell you the solemn truth, we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. 3:12 If I have told you people about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 3:13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven – the Son of Man. 3:14 Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 3:15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

3:16 For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. 3:18 The one who believes in him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. 3:19 Now this is the basis for judging: that the light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. 3:20 For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed. 3:21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God.

Further Testimony About Jesus by John the Baptist

3:22 After this, Jesus and his disciples came into Judean territory, and there he spent time with them and was baptizing. 3:23 John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming to him and being baptized. 3:24 (For John had not yet been thrown into prison.)

3:25 Now a dispute came about between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew concerning ceremonial washing. 3:26 So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, about whom you testified – see, he is baptizing, and everyone is flocking to him!”

3:27 John replied, “No one can receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven. 3:28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but rather, ‘I have been sent before him.’ 3:29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my joy, and it is complete. 3:30 He must become more important while I become less important.”

3:31 The one who comes from above is superior to all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is superior to all. 3:32 He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 3:33 The one who has accepted his testimony has confirmed clearly that God is truthful. 3:34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he does not give the Spirit sparingly. 3:35 The Father loves the Son and has placed all things under his authority. 3:36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath remains on him.

Departure From Judea

4:1 Now when Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard that he was winning and baptizing more disciples than John 4:2 (although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were), 4:3 he left Judea and set out once more for Galilee.

Conversation With a Samaritan Woman

4:4 But he had to pass through Samaria. 4:5 Now he came to a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 4:6 Jacob’s well was there, so Jesus, since he was tired from the journey, sat right down beside the well. It was about noon.

4:7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water to drink.” 4:8 (For his disciples had gone off into the town to buy supplies.) 4:9 So the Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you – a Jew – ask me, a Samaritan woman, for water to drink?” (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.)

4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you had known the gift of God and who it is who said to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 4:11 “Sir,” the woman said to him, “you have no bucket and the well is deep; where then do you get this living water? 4:12 Surely you’re not greater than our ancestor Jacob, are you? For he gave us this well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock.”

4:13 Jesus replied, “Everyone who drinks some of this water will be thirsty again. 4:14 But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.” 4:15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” 4:16 He said to her, “Go call your husband and come back here.” 4:17 The woman replied, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “Right you are when you said, ‘I have no husband,’ 4:18 for you have had five husbands, and the man you are living with now is not your husband. This you said truthfully!”

4:19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you people say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 4:21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 4:22 You people worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. 4:23 But a time is coming – and now is here – when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers. 4:24 God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 4:25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ); “whenever he comes, he will tell us everything.” 4:26 Jesus said to her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”

The Disciples Return

4:27 Now at that very moment his disciples came back. They were shocked because he was speaking with a woman. However, no one said, “What do you want?” or “Why are you speaking with her?” 4:28 Then the woman left her water jar, went off into the town and said to the people, 4:29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Surely he can’t be the Messiah, can he?” 4:30 So they left the town and began coming to him.

Workers for the Harvest

4:31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 4:32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 4:33 So the disciples began to say to one another, “No one brought him anything to eat, did they?” 4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to complete his work. 4:35 Don’t you say, ‘There are four more months and then comes the harvest?’ I tell you, look up and see that the fields are already white for harvest! 4:36 The one who reaps receives pay and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps can rejoice together. 4:37 For in this instance the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 4:38 I sent you to reap what you did not work for; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”

The Samaritans Respond

4:39 Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the report of the woman who testified, “He told me everything I ever did.” 4:40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they began asking him to stay with them. He stayed there two days, 4:41 and because of his word many more believed. 4:42 They said to the woman, “No longer do we believe because of your words, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this one really is the Savior of the world.”

Onward to Galilee

4:43 After the two days he departed from there to Galilee. 4:44 (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 4:45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him because they had seen all the things he had done in Jerusalem at the feast (for they themselves had gone to the feast).

Healing the Royal Official’s Son

4:46 Now he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had made the water wine. In Capernaum there was a certain royal official whose son was sick. 4:47 When he heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and begged him to come down and heal his son, who was about to die. 4:48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders you will never believe!” 4:49 “Sir,” the official said to him, “come down before my child dies.” 4:50 Jesus told him, “Go home; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and set off for home.

4:51 While he was on his way down, his slaves met him and told him that his son was going to live. 4:52 So he asked them the time when his condition began to improve, and they told him, “Yesterday at one o’clock in the afternoon the fever left him.” 4:53 Then the father realized that it was the very time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he himself believed along with his entire household. 4:54 Jesus did this as his second miraculous sign when he returned from Judea to Galilee.

Prayer

Lord, may I be willing to share Your truth despite any resistance encountered, stand against sin in Your church despite those who would compromise for comfort, and be Your vessel of healing to the suffering.

Commentary

Luke reports the return of Jesus to Nazareth and His welcome there, a welcome shown until He reminds them of the story of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. He reminded them that the prophets had brought God's blessing to the teachable non-Israelites rather than to the equally-needy, but rebellious, Israelites. Instead of a repentant reaction, the people of Israel tried to kill Jesus.

Luke relates the stories of the power of Jesus over the demon, of healings, and of the miracle of the boatloads of fish from a previously nonproductive sea.

John 2 tells the stories of the first public miracle, of turning water into wine, and of the cleansing of the temple courts. John 3 reports the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus of being “born from above [born again]” (vs. 3) and includes the well-known John 3:16 summation and the grounds upon which God judges (vss. 19-21).

John tells of John the Baptist's parallel ministry to that of Jesus: John's ministry is leading people to the first step of repentance, yet reminding them that their salvation would not be complete until they accepted Jesus the Christ. John was reaching those who could not make the complete leap from rebellion to submission, and he then baptised them in water – a pre-Pentecost baptism, sealing them for the next step that Jesus the Christ had not fulfilled in the flesh. Jesus was reaching those who could make the complete leap from rebellion to submission; once submitted, the disciples of Jesus were performing the baptisms.

John 4 reports the interaction of Jesus with the Samaritan woman, followed by His explanation to confused disciples as to why He is doing what He is doing: His object was to announce that He is the “living water” (vs. 10) and the “food” or the “fruit” of eternal life (see vss. 31-38).

John concludes with the story of another healing (of a royal official's son); this healing was done without any physical contact, or even being in the presence of, the boy.

Interaction

Consider

God is telling us to never be arrogant about denomination, genealogy, membership, or nationality. As soon as Jesus leaves a resistant Nazareth for Samaria He blesses a non-Israelite, as had Elijah and Elisha. Jesus desires the teachable over the proud. Do we notice in John 4, as Jesus explains Who He is, that He uses an image from the Garden of Eden? Jesus emphasizes the value of the tree with the fruit of Eternal Life, one which Adam and Eve scorned in favor of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Discuss

John raises an interesting question as to the possible continuation of the dual/parallel ministry models of Jesus and John; one is clearly defined as partial and incomplete and the other as a single final step. Do some ministries today mimic John and fail to recognize and teach the completed-work necessary through a relationship with Jesus?

Reflect

Jesus chose to turn mere water into wine, causing the best wine to be served last, when tradition was to do the opposite. Do we understand that He was creating a contrasting image of the 'first and the last,' where what the world sees as mere water turns into the finest wine? What will He do for us if we humble ourselves before Him?

Share

Practical examples of churches which skip the 'turning away from sin' step in the ministry models of John and Jesus and jump straight to a “cheap grace” absent true repentance.

Faith in Action

Prayer

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where there may be clutter or confusion in your worship life.

Action

Today I choose to identify something about my worship life to which I cling because of the comfort of social familiarity, of tradition, or the fear of change; something I know is either not genuinely Biblical or is so cluttered that it distracts from my worship. I will repent of this, not wanting to be like the stubborn religious leaders during the time of Jesus, and I will humbly accept the strength of the Holy Spirit to break free of it. I will also carefully review the Biblical elements of true Salvation.

Be Specific ______________________________________________________

Wednesday

Mark 2, Luke 5:12-39

Mark

Healing and Forgiving a Paralytic

2:1 Now after some days, when he returned to Capernaum, the news spread that he was at home. 2:2 So many gathered that there was no longer any room, not even by the door, and he preached the word to them. 2:3 Some people came bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 2:4 When they were not able to bring him in because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Jesus. Then, after tearing it out, they lowered the stretcher the paralytic was lying on. 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 2:6 Now some of the experts in the law were sitting there, turning these things over in their minds: 2:7 “Why does this man speak this way? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 2:8 Now immediately, when Jesus realized in his spirit that they were contemplating such thoughts, he said to them, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? 2:9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up, take your stretcher, and walk’? 2:10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” – he said to the paralytic – 2:11 “I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher, and go home.” 2:12 And immediately the man stood up, took his stretcher, and went out in front of them all. They were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

The Call of Levi; Eating with Sinners

2:13 Jesus went out again by the sea. The whole crowd came to him, and he taught them. 2:14 As he went along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth. “Follow me,” he said to him. And he got up and followed him. 2:15 As Jesus was having a meal in Levi’s home, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 2:16 When the experts in the law and the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 2:17 When Jesus heard this he said to them, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The Superiority of the New

2:18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. So they came to Jesus and said, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?” 2:19 Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they do not fast. 2:20 But the days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and at that time they will fast. 2:21 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear becomes worse. 2:22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins will be destroyed. Instead new wine is poured into new wineskins.”

Lord of the Sabbath

2:23 Jesus was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath, and his disciples began to pick some heads of wheat as they made their way. 2:24 So the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is against the law on the Sabbath?” 2:25 He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry – 2:26 how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the sacred bread, which is against the law for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to his companions?” 2:27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath. 2:28 For this reason the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Luke

Healing a Leper

5:12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came to him who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he bowed down with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 5:13 So he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. 5:14 Then he ordered the man to tell no one, but commanded him, “Go and show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 5:15 But the news about him spread even more, and large crowds were gathering together to hear him and to be healed of their illnesses. 5:16 Yet Jesus himself frequently withdrew to the wilderness and prayed.

Healing and Forgiving a Paralytic

5:17 Now on one of those days, while he was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting nearby (who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem), and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. 5:18 Just then some men showed up, carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They were trying to bring him in and place him before Jesus. 5:19 But since they found no way to carry him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down on the stretcher through the roof tiles right in front of Jesus. 5:20 When Jesus saw their faith he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” 5:21 Then the experts in the law and the Pharisees began to think to themselves, “Who is this man who is uttering blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 5:22 When Jesus perceived their hostile thoughts, he said to them, “Why are you raising objections within yourselves? 5:23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? 5:24 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” – he said to the paralyzed man – “I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher and go home.” 5:25 Immediately he stood up before them, picked up the stretcher he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. 5:26 Then astonishment seized them all, and they glorified God. They were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen incredible things today.”

The Call of Levi; Eating with Sinners

5:27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. “Follow me,” he said to him. 5:28 And he got up and followed him, leaving everything behind.

5:29 Then Levi gave a great banquet in his house for Jesus, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. 5:30 But the Pharisees and their experts in the law complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 5:31 Jesus answered them, “Those who are well don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. 5:32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

The Superiority of the New

5:33 Then they said to him, “John’s disciples frequently fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours continue to eat and drink.” 5:34 So Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? 5:35 But those days are coming, and when the bridegroom is taken from them, at that time they will fast.” 5:36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old garment. If he does, he will have torn the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 5:37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 5:38 Instead new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 5:39 No one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’”

Prayer

Lord, may I prioritize evangelism of the unsaved over arguments with religious nitpickers, felicity to Your Word over the traditions of stuck and maturity-challenged Believers, and the freedom and grace of Your New Testament gift of eternal renewal over the hopeless boxes of the Law-bound Old Testament.

Commentary

Mark reports the lowering of the paralytic through the thatched roof of a rural home into the presence of Jesus, and Jesus challenging those who doubted His authority to not only heal the man's paralysis so that he could walk, but to also forgive his sin. Jesus visits Levi the tax collector's home, where He reminds the arrogant busybody Pharisees that He came for the humble and the teachable. Jesus cautions that the "healthy", in the world's view (2:17), who were truly arrogant and proud (what He saw in their rebellious hearts), had no need of Him.

Mark continues with Jesus contrasting the legalistic Old Testament practices of the Pharisees with the transitioning-to-the-New Testament ministry of John. John's disciples fasted while Jesus and His disciples did not, as they were in the midst of the birth of a new covenant. Using a common cultural tradition, Jesus evokes the imagery of a bridegroom (Himself) and wedding guests (His disciples), noting that fasting is inappropriate for them while they have "the bridegroom with them" (2:19).

Mark tells of Jesus neutralizing the legalistic understanding of the Jewish Sabbath: He reminds them that He is Lord of the Sabbath, that the Sabbath rest from work is now for the people who are free to rest in Him, and that those free in Christ are no longer in bondage to the sacrificial rituals of the Sabbath.

Luke duplicates Mark's accounts of the healing of the leper and the paralytic, the challenge at Levi's house, and the preference for the new covenant over the old.

Interaction

Consider

God is telling us that the rituals of the past do not apply to those set free in Christ today; we need to be intentional about avoiding the 'new wine in old wineskins' error of pouring the new covenant of freedom in Christ in to the old discarded Judaistic system (rituals, sacrifices, and traditions) which Jesus has set aside.

Discuss

Our awareness of guilt before God when we make the error of dragging bits and pieces of the pagan world into our lives — such as seeking after signs buried in the Word, demanding to be shown signs of God's will or presence, honoring superstitions, or entertaining worldly views which we know to contradict the Word of God.

Reflect

The way the faith of the paralytic and his devoted friends was rewarded with the forgiveness of sin and of healing – Jesus still wants to forgive sin and to heal today – if we will let Him.

Share

Some practical examples of gathering for worship and study out of obligation, ritual, superstition, or tradition rather than in excitement for and celebration of God's amazing grace and a heartfelt desire to draw nearer to Him.

Faith in Action

Prayer

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you have dragged stinking thinking (smelling of smoke from the pit of hell) and non-Biblical practices into your fellowship of Believers and into your walk with Him.

Action

Today I choose to accept God's healing of my mind, heart, and body. I will identify a place where my worship of God is intentional everyday and celebrate that. I will also look for a place where I 'practice religion' for some less-than-righteous reason. I will surrender to the leading and strength of the Holy Spirit for the healing of any and every broken place in my life so that I might fully acknowledge and accept His love.

Be Specific ______________________________________________________

Thursday

John 5

Healing a Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda

5:1 After this there was a Jewish feast, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 5:2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool called Bethzatha in Aramaic, which has five covered walkways. 5:3 A great number of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people were lying in these walkways. 5:4 [EMPTY] 5:5 Now a man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years. 5:6 When Jesus saw him lying there and when he realized that the man had been disabled a long time already, he said to him, “Do you want to become well?” 5:7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get into the water, someone else goes down there before me.” 5:8 Jesus said to him, “Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 5:9 Immediately the man was healed, and he picked up his mat and started walking. (Now that day was a Sabbath.)

5:10 So the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and you are not permitted to carry your mat.” 5:11 But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” 5:12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’?” 5:13 But the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped out, since there was a crowd in that place.

5:14 After this Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “Look, you have become well. Don’t sin any more, lest anything worse happen to you.” 5:15 The man went away and informed the Jewish leaders that Jesus was the one who had made him well.

Responding to Jewish Leaders

5:16 Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began persecuting him. 5:17 So he told them, “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.” 5:18 For this reason the Jewish leaders were trying even harder to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God.

5:19 So Jesus answered them, “I tell you the solemn truth, the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. 5:20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does, and will show him greater deeds than these, so that you will be amazed. 5:21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. 5:22 Furthermore, the Father does not judge anyone, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, 5:23 so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

5:24 “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, but has crossed over from death to life. 5:25 I tell you the solemn truth, a time is coming – and is now here – when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 5:26 For just as the Father has life in himself, thus he has granted the Son to have life in himself, 5:27 and he has granted the Son authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

5:28 “Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 5:29 and will come out – the ones who have done what is good to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation. 5:30 I can do nothing on my own initiative. Just as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the one who sent me.

More Testimony About Jesus

5:31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 5:32 There is another who testifies about me, and I know the testimony he testifies about me is true. 5:33 You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. 5:34 (I do not accept human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved.) 5:35 He was a lamp that was burning and shining, and you wanted to rejoice greatly for a short time in his light.

5:36 “But I have a testimony greater than that from John. For the deeds that the Father has assigned me to complete – the deeds I am now doing – testify about me that the Father has sent me. 5:37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified about me. You people have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time, 5:38 nor do you have his word residing in you, because you do not believe the one whom he sent. 5:39 You study the scriptures thoroughly because you think in them you possess eternal life, and it is these same scriptures that testify about me, 5:40 but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life.

5:41 “I do not accept praise from people, 5:42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God within you. 5:43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 5:44 How can you believe, if you accept praise from one another and don’t seek the praise that comes from the only God?

5:45 “Do not suppose that I will accuse you before the Father. The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. 5:46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. 5:47 But if you do not believe what Moses wrote, how will you believe my words?”

Prayer

Lord, may I let nothing stand between me and Your call to freedom and service, and may I be found ready to testify to Your truth whenever the opportunity presents.

Commentary

John describes the paralytic at the pool at Bethesda, whom Jesus heals and then urges to cease from sinning. The paralytic appears to be as paralyzed by his excuses to not “be well” as by his actual physical limitations – he had been stuck in the cycle of opportunity and failure for 38 years!

John also notes that the Jewish leaders were disinterested that a man 38 years a paralytic had been healed; they were instead incensed and obsessed that Jesus had instructed him to violate their ritualized regulations for conduct on a Sabbath.

Jesus explains to the Jewish leaders how their religion and tradition distorted truth and how He was acting in accordance with God. Some of them argued that God was continually active in the birth and death of people since Creation, and Jesus points out how that parallels with His ministry: "My Father is working until now, and I too am working," triggering their fury that He would make Himself "equal with God" (vss. 17,18).

Jesus notes that the religious leaders were all right with John's teachings, as long as they ignored his clear testimony as to Who Jesus was and pretended that John was the reincarnated Elijah. Jesus reminds them that He relies only upon the testimony of God as found in His Word and that His ministry would be the proof, seen as He lived out everything that God the Father had prophesied.

Jesus warns them of the folly of functionally-worshiping Moses as their intercessor - despite the clear teaching of the Old Testament about the coming of Jesus - because Moses would later become their accuser for their failure to honor Jesus.

Interaction

Consider

May we in some ways be like the paralytic, stuck in our excuses yet blaming our circumstances, causing ourselves to be unable or unwilling to get unstuck?

Discuss

How do we become more aware of how easily our habits, rituals, and traditions insidiously become more important than truth?

Reflect

We need to unpack the 'day of rest' from the Creation narrative package. God never said that He, or any of His created beings, were required to cease from all activity on the day observed in the Old Testament as the Saturday Sabbath. He only said in Genesis 2:2 that He Himself had "finished the work that He had been doing" and had "ceased on the seventh day."

Share

Some practical examples of habits, rituals, or traditions which have become more important than Truth in your individual life or in a fellowship with which you have been/are now affiliated. What was the result and has anything been done to resolve this?

Faith in Action

Prayer

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you any places where you compromise with the world in which you live, places that weaken both your witness and your walk.

Action

Today I choose to identify a place where I have been making excuses for a less-than- righteous lifestyle and as a result I am distorting the image of a Biblical Christian before a watching world. I will accept the power and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to overcome so that I may permanently repent (turn away from) my rebellion.

Be Specific ______________________________________________________

Friday

Mark 3, Luke 6:1-16, Matthew 12:1-32

Mark

Healing a Withered Hand

3:1 Then Jesus entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 3:2 They watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they could accuse him. 3:3 So he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Stand up among all these people.” 3:4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or evil, to save a life or destroy it?” But they were silent. 3:5 After looking around at them in anger, grieved by the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 3:6 So the Pharisees went out immediately and began plotting with the Herodians, as to how they could assassinate him.

Crowds by the Sea

3:7 Then Jesus went away with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him. And from Judea, 3:8 Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan River, and around Tyre and Sidon a great multitude came to him when they heard about the things he had done. 3:9 Because of the crowd, he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him so the crowd would not press toward him. 3:10 For he had healed many, so that all who were afflicted with diseases pressed toward him in order to touch him. 3:11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 3:12 But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.

Appointing the Twelve Apostles

3:13 Now Jesus went up the mountain and called for those he wanted, and they came to him. 3:14 He appointed twelve (whom he named apostles), so that they would be with him and he could send them to preach 3:15 and to have authority to cast out demons. 3:16 He appointed twelve: To Simon he gave the name Peter; 3:17 to James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee, he gave the name Boanerges (that is, “sons of thunder”); 3:18 and Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, 3:19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus and Beelzebul

3:20 Now Jesus went home, and a crowd gathered so that they were not able to eat. 3:21 When his family heard this they went out to restrain him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” 3:22 The experts in the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “By the ruler of demons he casts out demons.” 3:23 So he called them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? 3:24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom will not be able to stand. 3:25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 3:26 And if Satan rises against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand and his end has come. 3:27 But no one is able to enter a strong man’s house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house. 3:28 I tell you the truth, people will be forgiven for all sins, even all the blasphemies they utter. 3:29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin” 3:30 (because they said, “He has an unclean spirit”).

Jesus’ True Family

3:31 Then Jesus’ mother and his brothers came. Standing outside, they sent word to him, to summon him. 3:32 A crowd was sitting around him and they said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.” 3:33 He answered them and said, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 3:34 And looking at those who were sitting around him in a circle, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 3:35 For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

Luke

Lord of the Sabbath

6:1 Jesus was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath, and his disciples picked some heads of wheat, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. 6:2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is against the law on the Sabbath?” 6:3 Jesus answered them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry – 6:4 how he entered the house of God, took and ate the sacred bread, which is not lawful for any to eat but the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?” 6:5 Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

Healing a Withered Hand

6:6 On another Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and was teaching. Now a man was there whose right hand was withered. 6:7 The experts in the law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they could find a reason to accuse him. 6:8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Get up and stand here.” So he rose and stood there. 6:9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?” 6:10 After looking around at them all, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” The man did so, and his hand was restored. 6:11 But they were filled with mindless rage and began debating with one another what they would do to Jesus.

Choosing the Twelve Apostles

6:12 Now it was during this time that Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and he spent all night in prayer to God. 6:13 When morning came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: 6:14 Simon (whom he named Peter), and his brother Andrew; and James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 6:15 Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 6:16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Matthew

Lord of the Sabbath

12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pick heads of wheat and eat them. 12:2 But when the Pharisees saw this they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is against the law to do on the Sabbath.” 12:3 He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry – 12:4 how he entered the house of God and they ate the sacred bread, which was against the law for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests? 12:5 Or have you not read in the law that the priests in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are not guilty? 12:6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 12:7 If you had known what this means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 12:8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

12:9 Then Jesus left that place and entered their synagogue. 12:10 A man was there who had a withered hand. And they asked Jesus, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” so that they could accuse him. 12:11 He said to them, “Would not any one of you, if he had one sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, take hold of it and lift it out? 12:12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 12:13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and it was restored, as healthy as the other. 12:14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, as to how they could assassinate him.

God’s Special Servant

12:15 Now when Jesus learned of this, he went away from there. Great crowds followed him, and he healed them all. 12:16 But he sternly warned them not to make him known. 12:17 This fulfilled what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet:

12:18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I take great delight.

I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

12:19 He will not quarrel or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.

12:20 He will not break a bruised reed or extinguish a smoldering wick,

until he brings justice to victory. 12:21 And in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

Jesus and Beelzebul

12:22 Then they brought to him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. Jesus healed him so that he could speak and see. 12:23 All the crowds were amazed and said, “Could this one be the Son of David?” 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard this they said, “He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons!” 12:25 Now when Jesus realized what they were thinking, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and no town or house divided against itself will stand. 12:26 So if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 12:27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 12:28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you. 12:29 How else can someone enter a strong man’s house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can thoroughly plunder the house. 12:30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 12:31 For this reason I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 12:32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Prayer

Lord, may I stand strong in Your Word against spiritual attack, may I recognize that my “family” is first those who are fellow Believers, and may I never forget the many prophesies over thousands of years which have pointed toward You.

Commentary

In Mark, Jesus issues a direct challenge to the Pharisees, purposefully revealing their obsession with tradition over truth and hierarchy over heart. He asks them if a healing from God is acceptable on the Sabbath, but they keep silent (clearly unwilling to say that anything 'from God' is unacceptable, yet their man-made rules and traditions made it seem as so). So, Jesus heals in front of them and their reaction to this evidence of God in their midst is to plot His murder.

Mark further records Jesus commanding the demons that He has cast out "not to make Him known" (3:12) by revealing His full identity to onlookers. The people knew Him to be a healer, a prophet, and a teacher, but they did not yet know Him as the Son of God and their prophesized Messiah – He knew that they would try to make of Him a political leader and miss His much more important message. Embedded here is the harsh reality that the demons knew Him to be a member of the Trinity — "You are the Son of God!" (vs. 11) — something even the most sophisticated religious leaders of His day were incapable of accepting. Many today remain resistant to that same Biblical truth.

Mark describes the appointment/anointing of those He called His apostles, those set apart to preach and to cast out demons. Judas of Iscariot was among their number, the only non-Galilean; Mark notes that Judas would be the one that, despite his special calling, would sell-out and betray Jesus.

Jesus went to His home, where a crowd immediately gathered because He was apparently casting out demons — in response, they challenged Him. Mark relates how the crowd, the Scribes, and perhaps some members of His family (the text is unclear) suggested that He was able to cast out demons because He was “the ruler of demons” (3:24). Jesus uses a series of parables to illustrate the absurdity of the accusation.

The Mark 3:31-35 passage contains a very important message from Jesus: “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” Our first, and most important, family are those who belong to God.

Luke 6 reiterates the stories of the healing of the man with the withered hand - on the Sabbath – and in the Temple, as well as the anointing of the Apostles. Luke adds the story of Jesus and His disciples picking and eating grain as they pass through the fields on the Sabbath, followed by Jesus reminding the Pharisees that King David had taken and given sacred Temple bread to his men. Jesus reminds them that as the “Son of Man" He is "Lord of the Sabbath" (vs. 5).

Matthew retells the stories of the grain, the withered hand, the sacred bread, and the false charge that Jesus is “ruler over the demons.” Matthew adds Jesus' challenge that He is greater than the Sabbath and the declaration, “I want mercy and not sacrifice” (12:7) in contrast with the heartless legalism of the Pharisees.

Jesus further challenges, “Whoever is not with me is against me,” and teaches that blaspheming the Holy Spirit (the One whose presence in us will be the confirmation of our salvation, and Whose absence will be evidence of our lack of salvation) is the unforgivable sin.

Interaction

Consider

When and how do we sometimes place fitting-in, habit, partisanship, and/or tradition ahead of sacrificial loving-care towards others and/or Biblical truth?

Discuss

Do we find ourselves “betraying” Jesus despite the incredible gift of salvation and the power and privilege we have received to represent Him in this world?

Reflect

“Blaspheming the Holy Spirit” means that one blames God for sin, denies the Lordship of Christ, or gives credit to Satan for the work of the Holy Spirit (casting out demons, etc.)

Share

Some practical examples of allowing fitting-in socially, bad habits, political partisanship, and/or man-made tradition to displace Christ-like caring and/or Biblical truth.

Faith in Action

Prayer

Ask the Holy Spirit to encourage you with a reminder of your faithfulness and to strengthen you with a caution to stand-strong against spiritual attack.

Action

Today I choose to identify one way in which I rightfully honor the incredible gift of God, and I will celebrate that by sharing my story with another. I will also identify a place where I have allowed a worldly characteristic or habit to slip into my life and will cooperate with the Holy Spirit in purging that from my life.

Be Specific ______________________________________________________

Saturday

Luke 6:17-49

The Sermon on the Plain

6:17 Then he came down with them and stood on a level place. And a large number of his disciples had gathered along with a vast multitude from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. They came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases, 6:18 and those who suffered from unclean spirits were cured. 6:19 The whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power was coming out from him and healing them all.

6:20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God belongs to you.

6:21 “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

6:22 “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject you as evil on account of the Son of Man! 6:23 Rejoice in that day, and jump for joy, because your reward is great in heaven. For their ancestors did the same things to the prophets.

6:24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort already.

6:25 “Woe to you who are well satisfied with food now, for you will be hungry.

“Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

6:26 “Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for their ancestors did the same things to the false prophets.

6:27 “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 6:29 To the person who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other as well, and from the person who takes away your coat, do not withhold your tunic either. 6:30 Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your possessions back from the person who takes them away. 6:31 Treat others in the same way that you would want them to treat you.

6:32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 6:33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. 6:34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may be repaid in full. 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people. 6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Do Not Judge Others

6:37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven. 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you: A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive.”

6:39 He also told them a parable: “Someone who is blind cannot lead another who is blind, can he? Won’t they both fall into a pit? 6:40 A disciple is not greater than his teacher, but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher. 6:41 Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own? 6:42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while you yourself don’t see the beam in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

6:43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 6:44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from brambles. 6:45 The good person out of the good treasury of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasury produces evil, for his mouth speaks from what fills his heart.

6:46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do what I tell you?

6:47 “Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them into practice – I will show you what he is like: 6:48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep, and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. 6:49 But the person who hears and does not put my words into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against that house, it collapsed immediately, and was utterly destroyed!”

Prayer

Lord, may I never forget that all blessings come from You and that I am most-blessed when You choose to pour Your blessings through me into the lives of others.

Commentary

Luke relates what is known as the Sermon on the Plain, where Jesus presents a series of blessings and woes based on the circumstances and choices of people before a loving and righteous God.  Jesus included some parables to help illustrate His challenge to seek integrity in our Christian walk.

Jesus often speaks rhetorically and in parables, rather than literally, to make a point in such a way as to make His hearers (of that day and today) best understand His intended meaning. We need to trust Bible translators and commentaries to rightly explain how we may best understand His intent when speaking to a different culture 2,000 years earlier.

6:20 "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God belongs to you."

Jesus is addressing the poor in spirit in the world, those who recognize the inability of anything in the world to meet their most important eternal need and are willing to humble themselves before God.

6:21a "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied."

Jesus is speaking to those who hunger after Truth, because they will have that hunger satisfied by Him; whereas those who remain unteachable will long for the Truth unseen, but it is right in front of them.

6:21b "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh."

Jesus weeps for the world, for the hard hearts of man, and for all the things that are the way they are but were never intended to be that way at Creation. Those who weep with Him in righteous sadness will one day, in Heaven, be blessed with righteous joy in the perfection and the presence of the perfect Father.

6:22 "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject you as evil on account of the Son of Man! 6:23 Rejoice in that day, and jump for joy, because your reward is great in heaven. For their ancestors did the same things to the prophets."

Those who resist and reject God are partners with the Enemy, whether they are aware or unaware of this alliance. They attack those who belong to Jesus because their prince, Satan, hates Jesus. Therefore, when we are attacked it is affirmation that we have the Holy Spirit of God and that we are actively partnering with Him in a way that threatens the evil one.

6:24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort already."

Those who are arrogant in their wealth and power, their religious rituals, and their self-importance (wise in their own eyes and puffed-up with knowledge) are already seemingly comforted by these worldly vanities and are making no effort to “store up treasures in Heaven” through humble service to God.

6:25a "Woe to you who are well satisfied with food now, for you will be hungry."

Those who only look for physical comfort and food and look no deeper for the spiritual comfort and food Jesus offers will find themselves frightened and hungry at judgment.

6:25b "Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep."

Those who settle for circumstance-driven happiness now would lack true joy later.

6:26 "Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for their ancestors did the same things to the false prophets."

Being satisfied with the praises of shallow unsaved humans is dangerous as they can easily turn on you. The only praise we should seek and value is that of God.

6:27 "But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."

The best way to love an enemy is to pray earnestly for their salvation, and one way to make that prayer more effective is to earn credibility as a Christian by actively showing integrity and love. Bless those who curse or mistreat you by praying for them, while remembering that they are not really attacking you but God in you.

6:29 "To the person who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other as well, and from the person who takes away your coat, do not withhold your tunic either."

Do not escalate violence by returning insult-for-insult or attack-for-attack (physical or otherwise). This is not a teaching of pacifism, as Christianity is not a pacifist religion —only the pagan Bahai religion teaches genuine pacifism, and their adherents have been needless abused as a result. Jesus is generally speaking rhetorically here. When lowering the level of conflict, by also handing the bully your tunic when he takes your coat and not waiting for him to forcefully remove it, there is not only less escalation but you will earn testimony of the freedom you have in Christ.

6:30 "Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your possessions back from the person who takes them away."

Be generous, not violating your prior obligations to family or others, but giving from that which you have not already promised to others. Once you gave given something it is no longer yours; not asking or wanting it to be returned is evidence of maturity and integrity.

6:31 "Treat others in the same way that you would want them to treat you."

We teach the value of boundaries and respect, or the lack thereof, through our actions.

6:32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 6:33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same."

We are not the same as the shallow and self-important unbelievers; our worlds are not to revolve around only that which directly benefits us.

6:34 "And if you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may be repaid in full."

Investing is okay, but when it comes to pouring Christ into others and perhaps first earning the right to be heard through sacrificial giving, we do so with no expectation of personal benefit – we do so out of love and obedience to Christ. The goal is not that we will see a direct benefit (a repayment of sorts), but that they will be blessed and will then pass on the blessing to someone else.

6:35 "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people."

We love and serve those who are our enemies because we are Christians, not because our goal is personal benefit or reward — we are kind to them because He is kind to us. In doing so, we function here and now as we will more purely function with Him in Heaven.

6:36 "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

Since we are saved, and daily forgiven, only due to God's mercy, we are expected to share that mercy with others – the Holy Spirit pours out blessings through us into the lives of others.

Do Not Judge Others

6:37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven."

There is a difference between the two uses of the term “judge” in the Bible: One refers to displacing God and wrongfully declaring the eternal status of another or the intentions of their heart (only God truly knows the heart); the second refers to discerning sin and confronting a brother or sister in love, walking with them (through confession and repentance) to freedom from that sin. Condemning others is to wish evil upon them, either by creating a barrier between them and others or by otherwise demeaning them. We have been forgiven much and ever more so daily; being unforgiving toward others is in direct rebellion against the instructions of God, arrogant, and selfish. Unforgiveness also creates a toxic bitterness in us and poisons the well of our fellowship with others.

6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you: A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive."

Jesus uses a marketplace image. He builds a word-picture of a vendor filling a container with grain, shaking it to displace pockets of air, pressing it down to get more in, then adding more until the container is not only full but overflowing. Jesus is promoting a heart of generosity in all things because it creates a fellowship with others in which everyone is motivated to be generous. He also appeals to our sense of what we would value; a brother or a sister who is blessed with our generosity will also be gracious in return. In a spiritual sense, when our hearts are generous toward others God will fill us to overflowing with His generous love.

6:39 "He also told them a parable: 'Someone who is blind cannot lead another who is blind, can he? Won’t they both fall into a pit? 6:40 A disciple is not greater than his teacher, but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher. 6:41 Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own? 6:42 How can you say to your brother, "Brother, let me remove the speck from your eye," while you yourself don’t see the beam in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.'"

We must be the most watchful of that over which we have the most control, our personal righteousness, rather than challenging others to live as we do not.

6:43 "For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 6:44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from brambles."

The fruit of our lives will flow from either hearts of love-motivated selflessness or from hearts of fear-driven selfishness.

6:45 "The good person out of the good treasury of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasury produces evil, for his mouth speaks from what fills his heart."

Our words and actions tell the world the story of their health of our hearts.

In verses 46-49 Jesus challenges, “Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and don't do what I tell you?” and follows with the parable of a house built on a firm foundation, or no foundation, to illustrate His point. When we do more than gather knowledge from Jesus but also seek to understand it, we have the wisdom with which to use that knowledge — but if we only have the information and don't really understand it, then it does not equip us as it can. The influence of the world, whose prince is Satan, is like a flood — we can only stand against it if we understand and practice all that Jesus has taught.

Interaction

Consider

When we read the Sermon on the Plain are we both convicted and encouraged?

Discuss

Do we find ourselves listening to/reading His parables and discerning the challenging truths therein, truths which should be applied in our lives today?

Reflect

Do we sing 'Lord, Lord”, 'Father', 'Master', “I worship You', et cetera on Sunday morning, yet live in constant rebellion against what He has told us to do all week?

Share

A practical example of something from the Sermon on the Plain which convicted you and something that encouraged you.

Faith in Action

Prayer

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you specifics in today's text He wants to use to teach you.

Action

Today I choose to read through the Sermon on the Plain and the associated parables and find one encouraging word and one challenging word. I will share both with others, celebrating the encouragement, and ask others to pray in agreement with me for victory over that in me which needs God's chastisement.

Be Specific ______________________________________________________

All Bible text is from the NET unless otherwise indicated – http://bible.org

Note 1: These Studies often rely upon the guidance of the NET translators from their associated notes. Careful attention has been given to cite that source where it has been quoted directly or closely paraphrased. Feedback is encouraged where credit has not been sufficiently assigned.

Note 2: When NET text is quoted in commentary and discussion all pronouns referring to God are capitalized, though they are lowercase in the original NET text.

Commentary text is from David M. Colburn, D.Min. unless otherwise noted.

Grateful thanks to Merrilee Clark for sharing her gifts as an editor.

Copyright © 2010 by David M. Colburn. This is a BibleSeven Study – Section 2 of 12 of the series, “The Gospel Texts in Chronological Order” – prepared by David M. Colburn and edited for bible.org August 2010. Text may be used for nonprofit educational purposes only, with credit; all other usage requires prior written consent of the author.