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May 14, Sunday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Permeating Error — We have noticed before that Jesus’ disciples often got stuck in a literal understanding of what Jesus was teaching about in a figurative way. In our reading for today, the disciples were not only thinking on a literal level, but they weren’t even listening carefully to what Jesus said. Although leaven is associated with bread, Jesus only spoke of leaven and the disciples only thought of bread. Leaven slowly permeates the dough, eventually affecting it all. That is what the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees would do to the community of believers if they allowed themselves to be exposed to it. The problem was that their teaching was false, going beyond what God’s Word had told them, and drawing them away from a personal relationship with God. They were false shepherds, leading their people away from God. Jesus warned that they should beware, recognizing its danger and avoiding its influence. We have dangerous leaven in our modern society, too. The world around us has its own philosophies about spiritual things, and we need to be cautious about our exposure to it. It can come through lectures, television, cinema, books, etc. Beware of those influences and recognize its falseness by comparing it to the truth of what God has laid out in His Word! Jesus warns us because He loves us and wants us to avoid what might draw us away from Him.
Blest Are the Pure in Heart – YouTube
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May 15, Monday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Gradual Guesses — Only Mark tells this story of the healing of the blind man, and it is the only recorded example of Jesus healing someone in a gradual way. Why did He heal this man in two steps? It certainly was not because of some inability on Jesus’ part. Was it done because of the weak, but growing, faith of the man? Certainly, the people who brought the man to Jesus showed faith that He could and would heal him. Was it to teach His disciples a lesson in the process? Was it to show that spiritual growth is a gradual thing for most people? It is interesting to see this event in the context of what follows. Tomorrow, we will read Peter’s dramatic statement that recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, but in the following reading, we will see Peter being called “Satan” because he could not accept that Jesus must die as the Suffering Messiah. So, perhaps the gradual healing of the blind man was an illustration of the limited vision that the disciples had of who Jesus was. Unfortunately, Scripture doesn’t tell us the answers to these questions, so it is left to our guesses. It is also a good reminder to us that God often works in unexpected ways. Rather than telling God in prayer what we want Him to do, it might be better just to present the need to Him and ask Him to handle it in His own perfect way.
God Moves in a Mysterious Way – YouTube
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May 16, Tuesday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Confusion — I see three areas of confusion in this important passage. First is the public’s confusion about Jesus. They were variously identifying Him as “John the Baptist … Elijah … Jeremiah, or one of the prophets” (v. 14). They knew He was significant, but they were confused about His real identity. The second element of confusion has to do with the meaning of “this rock” (Greek petra in v. 18). It is certainly connected to Peter (Greek petros), but Protestants have generally tried to disconnect it because of the Roman Catholics’ use of this statement as the establishment of the first pope. The third confusion seems to be involved in the concluding warning of Jesus to His disciples “that they should tell no one that He was the Christ” (v. 20). Why not? It seems to have to do with the expectations about what the Messiah was supposed to do when He came. The majority opinion, including even the Twelve, was that the Messiah would be a political leader who, in their first-century context, would free the Jewish people from their domination by the Roman Empire. Jesus didn’t want to fan those premature hopes. Christ wasn’t confused; He knew who He was and how He would guide, lead, and develop the Church that would follow. We Christians also have a lot of confusion today about what is going to happen in the future. When will Jesus return? What must happen first? Will He come before, during, or following the Great Tribulation? We can be at peace with those elements of confusion if we remember that Jesus knows, and that He is always present to comfort and guide us.
It Is Well With My Soul – YouTube
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May 17, Wednesday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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He Must Go — Jesus was on a mission to provide salvation for mankind. He knew that He was the Lamb of God, the final physical sacrifice that would satisfy the Father’s justice. He knew that it would happen in Jerusalem under the hands of the Jewish leaders, and that He would “be killed, and raised up on the third day” (v. 21). He must go. This was the first time He laid it out clearly for His disciples, and Peter, representing the group, was boldly resisting the idea. They were remembering the Old Testament predictions of the reigning Messiah but forgetting the Suffering Servant in Isaiah’s predictions. They were still anticipating the coming kingdom in which they would have positions of honor, but Jesus said that thinking belonged in the realm of man’s interests, not God’s (v. 23). God’s way often involves suffering and denying oneself to follow Jesus, but we try to avoid it. When we hesitate to talk about Jesus in the presence of unbelievers because we fear that we might offend them or have them criticize us, we are wishing to save our life (v. 25). Let’s take up our cross and boldly and obediently follow Jesus!
It’s Not an Easy Road – YouTube
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May 18, Thursday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Will It Be Soon? — Jesus mixed literary pictures here, which makes it difficult to interpret. The first statement certainly refers to Christ’s Second Coming, when He will come with angels to repay in judgment and in reward (Matt. 16:27). The promise about “His kingdom” that “some of those who are standing here” (v. 28) will see before they die, has to refer to something else, since all of His disciples died, and we are still waiting for Christ’s return. The fact that the following sentence in all three Synoptic Gospels begins to relate the events on the Mount of Transfiguration, makes it almost certain that Jesus’ kingdom-promise referred to His transfiguration, which we will read about tomorrow. We can see all of that in hindsight, but can you imagine how the disciples reacted to Jesus’ promise? They must have thought that they might still be alive when Jesus’ final kingdom would come with power. We are probably thinking the same thing: Will Jesus return during our lifetime? We hope so.
There’s a Great Day Coming – YouTube
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May 19, Friday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Listen to Him! — Just about a week after rebuking Peter for wanting to hinder His coming death, Jesus chose him, along with John and James, to witness a new level of His glory. This shows Jesus’ willingness to forgive. Here is another example of Jesus separating Himself from others for prayer. Later, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus would choose the same three disciples to accompany Him as He went aside to pray. On both occasions, the disciples went to sleep. During His prayer, “the appearance of His face became different” (v. 29). Both Matthew and Mark say that “He was transfigured.” His clothing became dazzling white, literally “bright as lightning.” (There is a big difference between “lightning” and “lightening”!) That brilliance gives us a glimpse of His appearance at the Second Coming. There was no doubt about who He was, but the voice from the cloud confirmed that “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” (v. 35). He is immensely greater than Moses and Elijah. He is the Coming One to whom Moses referred and concluded, “…you shall listen to him” (Deut. 18:15)—the same message that came from the Father on the Mount of Transfiguration. It is also the same message for us today as we will read the words of Jesus during this year’s study. He is more than a guide; He is God.
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May 20, Saturday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Getting the Message — Often, the disciples were missing Jesus’ point because they were stuck in a literal mode while Jesus was speaking to them figuratively. Here, it is just the opposite; Jesus was speaking literally about His rising from the dead and the disciples were arguing about what it meant, refusing to take it literally. We read three days ago that Jesus told them that He would be killed and raised on the third day. At that time, Peter took it literally and brought Jesus aside to rebuke Him, but now they were arguing about its meaning. Perhaps Peter had been the only one taking the literal side in this argument. We are sometimes like these three apostles when we read things in Scripture that we don’t understand. Christians have been doing that since the first century. Side notes in study Bibles can be helpful, but it must be remembered that they are not inspired comments, only someone’s own interpretation. The Holy Spirit will help us to gain insight as we meditate about these questions, but the answers to some of these uncertainties will just have to wait until heaven; then, “I will know fully just as I also have been fully known” (1 Cor. 13:12). We need to be careful not to refuse God’s intended meaning just because we don’t want to believe it.
Holy Bible, Book Divine – YouTube
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