Daily Bible reading and prayer, Sunday, October 22, 2023
Matthew 18 (chronological); Jeremiah 7-8, 1 Timothy 2 (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.
Sunday, October 22, 2023 chronological reading: Matthew 18
Matthew 18
v1-6 “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
v7 ‘Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!
v8-9 ‘If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.
v10-11 ‘See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. [For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]
v12-14 ‘What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
v15-18 ‘If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
v19-20 ‘Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.’
v21-22 “Then Peter came and said to Him, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
v23-35 ‘For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, “Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.” And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, “Pay back what you owe.” So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, “Have patience with me and I will repay you.” But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. Then summoning him, his lord said to him, “You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?” And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.’”
Sunday, October 22, 2023 OT/NT readings: Jeremiah 7-8, 1 Timothy 2
We are reading Jeremiah for the second time this year. We started 1 Timothy yesterday.
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, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, and Romans, all written before Paul’s 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 met Timothy early in his second missionary journey: “Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek” (Acts 16:1-3). He plays prominently in the rest of Paul’s life, being mentioned in ten out of his thirteen letters. He is not mentioned in Galatians, because Paul had not met Timothy when he wrote this letter, and he is not mentioned in Ephesians, during Paul’s early imprisonment. In 1 Timothy 1:3 Paul tells Timothy, “I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus.” It appears Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians while Timothy was not yet with him, because he is mentioned as being with him in his subsequent letter to the Philippians.
1 Timothy is a letter of instruction from Paul to his “true child in the faith.”
Summary of Chapter 1: The apostle Paul writes to Timothy, his true child in the faith, who he had told to stay in Ephesus when he departed for Macedonia during his third missionary journey, so that he could instruct men not to teach strange doctrines or to pay attention to things which give rise to mere speculation, reminding him, “the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” He warns that some men want to be teachers of the Law, “even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.” He teaches that, “the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murders and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God.” He thanks Jesus who showed him mercy because he had acted “ignorantly in unbelief” when he had been a persecutor of the church. He realizes he is an example, since he was the “foremost” of sinners, that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” In Paul, Jesus demonstrated “His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.” He commands Timothy, in keeping with prophecies made concerning him, to “fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience.” He gives an example of men who rejected this and “suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith,” saying he has handed them “over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.”
1 Timothy 2
v1-8 “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.
v9-15 “Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.”
Dear Lord,
My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.
You care about our hearts. You desire us to be merciful as You are merciful. The consequences for our lack of mercy are grave. Transform our hearts.
I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity….God our Savior…desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth…in every place… pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.
Help us to remember that You desire all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. All our actions are motivated toward that goal. Help us to pray, lead a quiet life in godliness and dignity, and adorn ourselves with good works, submitting to You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.