Daily Bible reading and prayer, Friday, October 20, 2023
Matthew 16, Mark 8, Luke 9:18-27 (chronological); Jeremiah 3-4, 2 Thessalonians 3 (OT/NT)
We are on our chronological journey through the New Testament.
Our daily plan usually assigns whole chapters, so we end up reading different gospel writers’ versions of the same account on different days. If you want to explore all the gospel writers’ accounts of a single event on the same day, I have compiled a Chronological Study of the Gospels, that is available by subscription. You should be able to preview it, here. As we follow various clues in the Gospel writers’ accounts and look at smaller segments consisting of particular verses from all the accounts about the events of Jesus’ life and ministry, sometimes in that study we find ourselves either behind or ahead of the daily chronological assigned reading plan. We have yet to cover in our study the events we’ll read about today.
Obviously, our daily Old Testament and New Testament plan will have us in the Old Testament through the rest of the year, but this will be the second time this year we have read each Old Testament reading.
A overview of our yearly Bible reading plan, with all edited summaries so far, can be found here.
Friday, October 20, 2023 chronological reading: Matthew 16, Mark 8, Luke 9:18-27
Matthew 16
v1-4 “The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. But He replied to them, ‘When it is evening, you say, “It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.” And in the morning, “There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.” Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.’ And He left them and went away.
v5-12 “And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. And Jesus said to them, ‘Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, ‘He said that because we did not bring any bread.’ But Jesus, aware of this, said, ‘You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up? Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up? How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
v13-20 “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.’ Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.
v21-23 “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.’
v24-27 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.
v28 ‘Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.’”
Mark 8
v1-10 “In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them, ‘I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.’ And His disciples answered Him, ‘Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?’ And He was asking them, ‘How many loaves do you have?’ And they said, ‘Seven.’ And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to serve to them, and they served them to the people. They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well. And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. About four thousand were there; and He sent them away. And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha.
v11-13 “The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, ‘Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.’ Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.
v14-21 “And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. And He was giving orders to them, saying, ‘Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.’ They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, ‘Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? HAVING EYES, DO YOU NOT SEE? AND HAVING EARS, DO YOU NOT HEAR? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?’ They said to Him, ‘Twelve.’ ‘When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?’ And they said to Him, ‘Seven.’ And He was saying to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’
v22-26 “And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him. Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, ‘Do you see anything?’ And he looked up and said, ‘I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.’ Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. And He sent him to his home, saying, ‘Do not even enter the village.’
v27-30 “Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ They told Him, saying, ‘John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.’ And He continued by questioning them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered and said to Him, ‘You are the Christ.’ And He warned them to tell no one about Him.
v31-33 “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.’
v34-38 “And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.’”
Luke 9
v18-22 “And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, ‘Who do the people say that I am?’ They answered and said, ‘John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.’ And He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ And Peter answered and said, ‘The Christ of God.’ But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, saying, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.’
v23-27 “And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.’”
Friday, October 20, 2023 OT/NT readings: Jeremiah 3-4, 2 Thessalonians 3
We are reading Jeremiah for the second time this year. We finish 2 Thessalonians today.
Paul went to Thessalonica on his second missionary journey. Barnabas had left with John Mark, so Paul had taken Silas (or Silvanus) along with him. They met Timothy in Galatia and had brought him along also. They had traveled through Asia, the Spirit not allowing Paul to speak the word there. He finally received the vision to go to Macedonia and went first to Phillipi, where he was imprisoned but led the jailer and his family to Christ when he did not escape after an earthquake freed him. He went from Phillipi to Thessalonica. He was only there 3 weeks, before he had to be sent away to Berea to escape from a mob of Jews. He escaped from these same Jews when they came from Thessalonica, went to Athens, and finally ended up for an extended period of time in Corinth, where he likely wrote his letters to the Thessalonians.
We are not reading Paul’s letters chronologically (we’ll do that later in the year). We’ve finished, in chronological order of their writing, Galatians, 1 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, and Romans, all written before his imprisonment and Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, written after his imprisonment. A summary of the events in the book of Acts, which is helpful in the timeline of the apostle Paul’s letters, can be found here.
Paul always has a purpose in his letters, but through them he always teaches theological truths his readers, including us, may not be aware of and how those truths impact how they (and we) should live in fellowship with one another and as followers of Christ.
Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians was a letter of affection, and longing, as Paul was so quickly taken away from them, and encouragement, and challenge, for how they were walking: “we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more” (1 Thessalonians 4:1). In that letter, he also explained what will happen to believers in Christ, whether they have already died or are still alive, on the day of the Lord.
In this second letter, Paul encourages the Thessalonians again for their faith and love and perseverance under persecution and affliction. He also has to correct false teaching they have obviously heard that the day of the Lord, which he wrote them about in his first letter, has already occurred. In doing so, he teaches more about what will happen before the day of the Lord comes. He ends with admonishment for those who live an undisciplined life.
CHAPTER SUMMARIES:
Chapter 1: The Thessalonians are enduring under persecution and affliction. Paul reassures them of their reward: “This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering.” He also reassures them of God’s justice: “it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed.”
Chapter 2: Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about the day of the Lord in his first letter, but has to follow up to correct false teaching that the day of the Lord has already occurred. “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God….the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness….God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So…stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught.”
2 Thessalonians 3
v1-5 “Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.
v6-13 “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example. For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.
v14-15 “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
v16 “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!
v17 “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”
Dear Lord,
“For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”
Thank You for how we see Your lessons repeat. Thank You for the teaching of Paul and how we see he was taught by You. We hear Your voice in his teaching.
We pray “that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified…and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith. But [You are] faithful, and [You} will strengthen and protect [us] from the evil one….May [You] direct [our] hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.
In His name, Amen.