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March 26, Sunday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Diseases and Demons — Sundown marked the end of walking-limits for the Sabbath, so people were free to go to Jesus with their needs. The news about the exorcism at the synagogue had spread throughout the city, and families brought their hurting loved ones to Jesus. Although He had the power to wave His hand over the whole crowd in front of Peter’s house to heal them all, He chose to individually attend to them, “laying His hands on each one of them” (Luke 4:40). He didn’t seem to be doing this to authenticate His teaching, however. He was doing it because He cared for them personally. Jesus cares about us individually, too. The people also brought demoniacs that reacted like the one in the synagogue who said, “I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” (Mark 1:24). Now, some of these demons were saying, “You are the Son of God!” (Luke 4:41). It is a bit puzzling why they would publicly identify Jesus, but the Master wasn’t having it, and He shut them up. He could do that because He had power over them; they were only fallen angels and Jesus was God. What a way to begin one’s ministry—the Master over diseases and demons!
Here is a newer hymn based on this Scripture passage:
O Christ the Healer, We Have Come – YouTube
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March 27, Monday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Praying and Preaching — Jesus set His priorities and stuck with them. After a day of preaching in the Capernaum synagogue, casting out many demons and healing many people, He awoke very early to pray while everyone else was still sleeping. That showed not only His dedication, but also His desire for fellowship with the Father and His need to draw upon divine strength and direction. When do you set aside time to read God’s Word and pray? Does it avoid the distractions of other people? Jesus made prayer a priority. Although Jesus preached in the synagogue the previous day, it seems like He spent more time later healing and casting out demons. However, both Mark and Luke record Jesus’ statements that His primary ministry was to focus on preaching: “…that is what I came out for” (Mark 1:38); “…I was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:43). He began by preaching in synagogues on the Sabbath (Mark 1:39; Luke 4:44) but would later preach to large crowds that followed Him. This would be a good time to evaluate our own priorities regarding prayer and proclaiming the Good News. How are we doing?
You Servants of God, Your Master Proclaim – YouTube
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March 28, Tuesday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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The Healing Magnet — The news about the miracles people had seen Jesus perform in Capernaum traveled quickly and widely to surrounding areas. They heard about it in the Gentile area of Syria to the north and in the Gentile area of the Decapolis on the southeastern side of the Sea of Galilee. Those people, probably mostly Jews, brought their sick people to Jesus. They also came from Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. The miraculous healings seemed to be what motivated the crowds to come to Jesus. Some of the news-spreaders were probably the people Jesus had healed. They were living proof. There were two stated reasons people came to Jesus. Some came for help: “…they brought to Him all who were ill” (v. 24). Others came just to be with this amazing man: “…large crowds followed Him” (v. 25). The miracles attracted people to the Miracle Worker. What attracts people to Jesus today? Some of them see in us the changes that Jesus’ presence in our lives have made, and they want to know why. Others are attracted by hearing the wisdom and power of the Word of God. We need to expose people to the Good News. People are also attracted to Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit as we pray for them. Do you have a prayer list of unsaved friends and family members that you regularly pray for? God uses many means to bring people to Himself.
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March 29, Wednesday————————-ACCOUNTABILITY TIME!
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Moved with Compassion — In six different encounters with people, Jesus is said to have helped them because of His compassion for them. This is the first example. Many other people had already come to Him for healing, so why is it said that He felt compassion for this man? One reason was that he was obviously needy. Leprosy not only slowly destroyed the body, but it also segregated the lepers from society. They were both leprous and lonely. It seems to me that another reason for Jesus’ compassion for this man was because of his faith. Even though isolated, the news about Jesus’ healing power had come to him. His faith in Jesus’ ability showed clearly in his statement, “If You are willing, You can make me clean” (v. 40). Jesus was moved by need and by faith, which is also true in our times. He knows our needs and responds to our faith in His ability and willingness to help. The leper was unclean, both physically and ceremonially. He was one of the untouchables, yet Jesus, when “moved with compassion … touched him” (v. 41). That touch didn’t make Jesus unclean, but it made the man clean.
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling – YouTube
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March 30, Thursday———————-ACCOUNTABILITY REMINDER
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Supernatural Teacher — Mark recorded that Jesus “was speaking the word” (v. 2) to the people who were packed into His house, but he didn’t mention the subject. Perhaps it was a word about their need for repentance, which was definitely a major theme of His teaching. People needed to acknowledge their sins and turn from them. If He had been teaching about sin, when the paralytic was lowered through the roof, Jesus added something very important, that He had the “authority … to forgive sins” (v. 10). The scribes had not yet recognized Jesus as the divine Messiah, so they were internally objecting that “this man … is blaspheming” (v. 7) because only “God alone” (v. 7) could forgive sins. Then, Jesus revealed another evidence of His supernatural character—He could read their thoughts, being “aware in His spirit” (v. 8). Up to this point, He had only given words, but then Jesus demonstrated the truth of His claim. He healed the man whose sins He had already forgiven, saying, “so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (v. 10). That apparently convinced the scribes that “this man” was actually the Son of God, the Messiah, because “they were all amazed and were glorifying God” (v. 12). Jesus was a supernatural teacher, illustrating and proving His teaching with supernatural miracles.
Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord – YouTube
ACCOUNTABILITY REMINDER! If you are up to date in your reading as
of today, but did not report yesterday, please click here to leave your
email address or let me know at accbibleread@gmail.com.
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March 31, Friday————————ACCOUNTABILITY FINAL DAY
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Many Followed — What a difference we see in this passage between the judgmental attitude of the scribes versus the accepting attitude of Jesus! The Pharisees wanted to distance themselves from the traitorous and corrupt tax collectors, while Jesus wanted to evangelize them. How do our non-Christian friends view our attitudes? Are they repelled by our critical air toward them or are they drawn by our love for them? I am afraid that many of us come across more as Pharisees than Saviors. It is important to note that Jesus accepted the sinners, but not their sin. His purpose was evangelism, and He was very successful: “For there were many of them, and they were following Him” (v. 15). He didn’t invite them to dinner so He could be like them, but because He wanted them to be like Him. Jesus didn’t try to identify with them as much as He tried to influence them. The tax collectors knew they were sinners, and what they saw in Jesus gave them hope for a better kind of life. When the Apostle Paul later warned, from OT quotes, about being separate from sinners, He was referring to our getting involved in sinful things they were doing: “’COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,’ says the Lord. ‘AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN, And I will welcome you’” (2 Cor. 6:17). Instead of letting them influence us, we should influence them with the loving call of Jesus.
ACCOUNTABILITY FINAL DAY! If you have not yet reported for this month,
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April 1, Saturday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Entirely New — John the Baptist may have been imprisoned by this time. If so, his disciples could have been fasting as a part of humbling themselves, while asking for God to help John. In answering their question, Jesus used three illustrations to show that the Kingdom of God, which He was introducing, was vastly different from their current ritualistic focus of Judaism. The first illustration was that it would not be fitting for the bridegroom’s friends to be practicing fasts of mourning in the joyful atmosphere of the wedding celebration. Instead, Jesus, as the Bridegroom of the Church, brought an atmosphere of joyous praise. The statement, “when the bridegroom is taken away from them” (v. 20), is Jesus’ prediction of His coming death. The proper time for mourning and seeking God’s presence would come after that event. The second illustration suggests that the new gospel message is not just a patch added to correct the limitations of the OT Law; it is a new garment that is based on, but essentially replaces, the old. The third illustration of the wineskins is similar. It is not proper to just try to add the new to the old like some of the new Jewish Christians attempted to do. Rather, it must be recognized and treated as being very new and different. It was a fulfilment of what was promised from the Old Testament.
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