Daily Bible reading and prayer, Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9:1-17 (chronological); Isaiah 62-64, 1 Thessalonians 5 (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.
Tuesday, October 17, 2023 chronological reading: Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9:1-17
Matthew 14
v1-5 “At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, and said to his servants, ‘This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’ For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For John had been saying to him, ‘It is not lawful for you to have her.’ Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet.
v6-12 “But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Having been prompted by her mother, she said, ‘Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.’ Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests. He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. His disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus.
v13-14 “Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.
v15-21 “When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, ‘This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!’ They said to Him, ‘We have here only five loaves and two fish.’ And He said, ‘Bring them here to Me.’ Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.
v22-27 “Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’
v28-33 “Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ And He said, ‘Come!’ And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’
v34-36 “When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick; and they implored Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were cured.”
Mark 6
v1-6 “Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, ‘Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?’ And they took offense at Him. Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in [his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.’ And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching.
v7-13 “And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belt— but to wear sandals; and He added, ‘Do not put on two tunics.’ And He said to them, ‘Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.’ They went out and preached that men should repent. And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.
v14-16 “And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, ‘John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.’ But others were saying, ‘He is Elijah.’ And others were saying, ‘He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.’ But when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has risen!’
v17-20 “For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so; for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him.
v21-29 “A strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his lords and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee; and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.’ And he swore to her, ‘Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.’ And she went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’ And she said, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’ Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.’ And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and had him beheaded in the prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.
v30-32 “The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.’ (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.
v33-44 “The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, ‘This place is desolate and it is already quite late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.’ But He answered them, ‘You give them something to eat!’ And they said to Him, ‘Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?’ And He said to them, ‘How many loaves do you have? Go look!’ And when they found out, they said, ‘Five, and two fish.’ And He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish. There were five thousand men who ate the loaves.
v45-46 “Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray.
v47-52 “When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. Seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, ‘Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.’ Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened.
v53-56 “When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. When they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, and ran about that whole country and began to carry here and there on their pallets those who were sick, to the place they heard He was. Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured.”
Luke 9:1-17
v1-6 “And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. And He said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics apiece. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city. And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.’ Departing, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
v7-9 “Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again. Herod said, ‘I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?’ And he kept trying to see Him.
v10-11 “When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. Taking them with Him, He withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida. But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.
v12-17 “Now the day was ending, and the twelve came and said to Him, ‘Send the crowd away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get something to eat; for here we are in a desolate place.’ But He said to them, ‘You give them something to eat!’ And they said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.’ (For there were about five thousand men.) And He said to His disciples, ‘Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.’ They did so, and had them all sit down. Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people. And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full.”
Tuesday, October 17, 2023 OT/NT readings: Isaiah 62-64, 1 Thessalonians 5
We are reading Isaiah for the second time. We finish Paul’s 1 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 this letter.
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 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.
This letter is a letter of affection, and longing, as Paul was so quickly taken away from them, and encouragement, and challenge, for how they are 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). He explains what will happen on the day of the Lord, reassuring those of us in Christ that we will always live together with Him. Encouraging one another with this, “having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation,” he teaches us how we should live.
1 Thessalonians so far:
Chapter 1: Paul, Silas, and Timothy only spent 3 weeks in Thessalonica, but obviously with great impact. Paul comments that the gospel did not come to them in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full conviction, so that the Thessalonians became imitators of them, receiving the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit. They are an example to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia and beyond, as people hear about their turning from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, and the word of the Lord spreads from them.
Chapter 2: Paul reflects on their boldness to speak the gospel to the Thessalonians amid opposition, given the mistreatment they received in Philippi before they came to Thessalonica. They speak, however, not as pleasing men, but God, who examines hearts. He shares how very dear the Thessalonians became to them and how they exhorted and encouraged and implored them, as a father would his children, to walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls us into His own kingdom and glory. He is thankful for their acceptance of the word of God, which performs its work in all who believe. The Thessalonians became imitators of the churches of God in Judea, suffering at the hands of their own countrymen. The Jews killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove Paul out. Such men are not pleasing to God, hindering the sharing of the gospel so that people might be saved. Wrath has come upon them. Paul wanted to see them again, but Satan hindered them. He wants them to know they are his hope, joy, and crown of exultation in the presences of the Lord Jesus at His coming.
Chapter 3: Paul, Silas, and Timothy went from Thessalonica to Berea, and then they sent Paul on to Athens alone [Acts 17:15]. Out of concern for the Thessalonians, he sent Timothy to strengthen and encourage them in their faith, so they would not be disturbed by the afflictions they were enduring. Paul had warned them they were destined for this and that they were going to suffer affliction. Paul was concerned that the tempter might have tempted them to lose faith. But Timothy brought him good news of their faith and love, which comforted them in their own affliction, saying, “now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord.” Paul thanks God for all the joy their faith brings them, and prays they can see them and that their love for one another and all people would grow, so that He might establish their hearts without blame in holiness before God at the coming of the Lord Jesus with all His saints.
Chapter 4: Twice in this chapter, Paul exhorts the Thessalonians to “excel still more,” even though they have received instruction, by the authority of the Lord Jesus, in how they ought to walk and please God, and they actually do walk in that way. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality.” He even likens sexual immorality to transgressing and defrauding others, saying “the Lord is the avenger in all these things….For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification” and “he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you. He also admonishes to “excel still more” by making it “your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands…so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.” He transitions to good news about our eternal security: “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Chrsit will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
1 Thessalonians 5
v1-11 “Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.
v12-22 “But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.
v23-24 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
v25 “Brethren, pray for us.
v26-27 “Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brethren.
v28 “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
Dear Lord,
although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her.
We can recognize the wrong action of Herod, but do we justify our wrong actions? Please give us the courage to act righteously.
you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief
since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.
Thank You, Lord, for teaching us how to live as we await Your return. Thank You for this visual of the hope of salvation as our helmet. We are invincible in You. Thank You that we are “of the day.” There is no fear for us in the “day of the Lord.” It will not overtake us like a thief. Whether we live or die, we will always be with you. Help us to encourage each other with this truth, and help us to act and live as if we believe it.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.