[NOTE: For those who are continuing the 1-year Bible reading plan we started on April 1, 2018, just go to the end of this entry and you will find the Day 292-Matthew 14-17; John 17 summary!]
Exodus 8-11 shows us eight more plagues on the people of Egypt and the prediction of the final plague: the death of the firstborn. As we read Exodus 8-11, we see over and over again Pharaoh tells Moses if he relieves Egypt of the current plague, he will let the people of Israel go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD. Each time once the plague ends, Pharaoh goes back on his word. The interesting thing is sometimes we read that Pharaoh’s heart was heard or remained hard, and at other times we read God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. So, which was it? Was Pharaoh’s heart hard, or did God hardened Pharaoh’s heart? We have to read out of the text what is there. The text tells us both, which means Pharaoh’s heart was hard and God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Which came first? God had told Moses he would harden Pharaoh’s heart in order to show His power to both the Israelites and the Egyptians. Some have concluded that makes God unfair. After all, if God hardened Pharaoh’s heart then how could Pharaoh be held accountable for having a hard heart? It’s a great question. I’m not going to defend God, because He doesn’t need me to defend Him. I will say Pharaoh started out with a hard heart as every person does. We are all sinners. None of us are righteous. Are hearts are hard. Does God further harden some hearts, so they can never become soft? It appears that way as we read the Bible from cover to cover, but never more so than with Pharaoh. Yet, repeatedly we see both that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. The ultimate answer to this question remains for us to learn when we see Jesus face-to-face one day. For now, the application I take from the situation is when God offers His grace to us, we do well to receive it. When we harden our hearts over and over again, God shows us in His word that He eventually gives us what we want. That is our hearts become hardened to His grace. Does that mean the longer we wait to respond to God’s grace, the less likely it is we will respond? In practice, that’s exactly what it means. God’s grace is available in each of our lives, until we die. But the clear message of the Bible is the sooner we respond to it, the better!
Today we turn to Mark 1 again. As we continue through the 1-year plan, we will repeat gospel readings at times. My purpose in having us do this is I want us to become familiar with the “outline” of each of the gospels over time. As we become more and more familiar with Jesus’ life story, it will become more and more part of our minds (heads) and our souls (hearts). Mark 1 offers us a great deal of action that covered a relatively short period of time. We read first of John the Baptist preparing the way. That likely took place over a matter of months, and certainly not more than a year or two. Jesus’ baptism and temptation took place over a period of forty days. (We know that from Matthew and Luke’s gospel, which is why we need to learn the outline of each of the gospels.) The calling of the first four disciples, seems to have taken only a matter of minutes. Jesus teaching in a synagogue and driving out an evil spirit took a few hours at most. Jesus’ healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and the healing of many of the townspeople took an evening. Jesus praying in a solitary place took a few hours. When His followers came to find Him to take Him back to serve the people He served the day before, it took Jesus only minutes to tell them they were going somewhere else. Finally, Jesus’ healing of a man with leprosy took only moments.
This brief chunk of Jesus’ life reminds us that important, even vital events can take place in moments, although sometimes they take longer. Jesus’ entire ministry on earth was only about three years, so we don’t have any examples of Jesus waiting for years for something He prayed about to take place. That makes sense, though, doesn’t it? Jesus didn’t come to invest a lifetime on earth, and to show us every possible scenario for our lives as His followers. Jesus came to live a perfect life, die a sacrificial death, rise from the dead, and return to heaven, from where He would send the Holy Spirit to His Church. As we read Mark once again, let’s remember Jesus’ purpose was to seek and save the lost. The examples of teaching, preaching, healing and delivering we read about, show us the power of God in Jesus’ life and the power He offers us as His followers. What one thing you read about in Mark 1 will you apply in your life today?
Day 292-Matthew 14-17; John 17
As we return to Matthew 14, we read of John the Baptist’s death, of Jesus feeding the 5,000, walking on water, and healing many people in Gennesaret. John’s death shows us how callous King Herod was. Jesus miracle of feeding the 5,000 is the only one of His miracles recorded in all four gospels.
In Matthew 15, Jesus and the religious leaders have a debate over the Jewish ceremonial hand washing. The religious leaders condemn the disciples for not always making certain they did it, and Jesus condemns the leaders for not following the actual Law of Moses. Jesus made it clear it isn’t what we eat that defiles us, but what’s in our hearts. Next, we read of the faith of a Canaanite woman. At first, Jesus wasn’t going to heal her child, because she wasn’t a Jew, but then she offers Jesus a great response to His unwillingness to heal the child, so He does. Jesus heals many people after this, and feeds four thousand men and their families miraculously.
Matthew 16 offers us another example of the Pharisees demanding Jesus for a “sign” of His authority, which is odd considering He just fed 4,000 people. Jesus tells them they won’t receive a sign. Then as Jesus and the disciples travel, He warns them of the “leaven” of the Pharisees. He was not talking about bread, but about their teaching and lives. In one of the most important actions of his life to this point, Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus blesses Peter for this announcement, but shortly after, Peter tells Jesus he ought never die. Jesus calls Peter “Satan” for such a statement, and then tells the crowd to follow Him, they must deny themselves, take up their crosses and follow Him.
Matthew 17 records Jesus’ transfiguration with Moses and Elijah, which was witnessed by Peter, James, and John. After this amazing time, they return to the rest of the group to find the other nine disciples unable to cast a demon out of a boy. Jesus casts out the demon after noting His frustration with them. Jesus again predicts His death, and the chapter closes with the account of Jesus sending Peter to catch a fish that will have coins in its mouth, with which Peter can pay the Temple tax for Him and Peter.
As we return to John 17, Jesus offers His “High Priestly Prayer” on behalf of the disciples. This closes out the long section of prayer Jesus offers to His Heavenly Father on their behalf. This also is the last thing that happens before Jesus is betrayed by Judas, arrested and starts the process of moving toward His crucifixion.