[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 334 – 1 Corinthians 15-16; Matthew 21 summary!]
In Joshua 4 and into the beginning of Joshua 5, we read of God’s command for the people of Israel to take twelve stones, one for each of the twelve tribes, from the middle of the Jordan River and establish a memorial on the Promised Land side of the Jordan. It would remind the Israelites of God’s faithfulness and power in their coming to the land via a flooded river, which God stopped from flowing. They were also to put twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, which no one would see again, as an additional reminder. This great crossing of the Jordan put Joshua in the category of being revered as much as the people had revered Moses. We’re told at the beginning of chapter 5, the Kings of the Amorites and all the Canaanite kings heard of the Israelites crossing of the Jordan with the LORD’s help and they “lost heart and were paralyzed with fear.” Through the remainder of chapter 5, Joshua had the Israelites reestablish Covenant ceremonies, including circumcision, because they hadn’t followed these commands while they were in the wilderness.
As chapter 5 closes, the angel of the Lord confronted Joshua. When Joshua asked, “Are you friend or foe?” The angel responded, “Neither one.” When he told Joshua who he was, Joshua fell on his face in reverence and promised to do whatever he commanded. The angel told Joshua to remove his sandals, because the ground where he stood was holy. This reminds us of God’s call to Moses in Exodus 3-4, when God told Moses to remove his sandals as he stood in the presence of the burning bush.
Chapter 6 records the Israelites’ defeat of Jericho. To say the “battle” was unorthodox is an understatement. Rather than send the Israelite troops into battle immediately, the LORD told him to gather the people and march around the city daily for seven days. Most of us have read about this unusual plan, or if we were ever in children’s ministry when we were small have acted it out. The result of the Israelites marching around the city and blowing trumpets was on the seventh day the walls fell, and God delivered the people of Jericho into the Israelites hands. The Israelites honored their commitment to save Rahab and her family, and then they burned the town and everything in it. The only thing they kept were items made of silver, gold, bronze, and iron. They were kept to place in the Lord’s treasury. All looked to be well, but as we’ll see tomorrow when we read chapters 7-9 the Israelites never remained wholly faithful to God for long.
As we return to John 6, the account of Jesus feeding the 5,000, I’m reminded of how difficult it was for the people to accept Jesus’ claim to be the “Bread of Life,” and to follow Him fully. I wasn’t there, and I imagine if someone told me I needed to “eat his flesh and drink his blood” (John 6:53) to have eternal life, I would have struggled with the idea. But the evidence of Jesus’ power was clear. He had fed 5,000 men, plus the women and children with a few loaves of bread and fish. Who but God could do that? The majority of the crowd left Jesus at that point. The majority of Jesus “disciples” left Him at that point. Only the twelve remained with Him. We have the benefit of being able to look back over 2,000 years, of knowing Jesus died and rose again, of knowing Jesus wasn’t speaking literally about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. What would we have done were we there? Thankfully, we will never have to find out, because we live on the resurrection side of Easter. We have the assurance Jesus is the Son of God, the Bread of Life, and the source of salvation for all who believe in Him!
Day 334 – 1 Corinthians 15-16; Matthew 21
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul offers one of the longest and most helpful accounts of Jesus’ resurrection and its implications for us as His followers. Paul reminds us that it is the resurrection on which our faith stands. If Jesus has been raised then He is the Son of God, and our true Savior and Lord. If He has not risen, as Paul puts it, “We are of all people the most to be pitied. As the chapter continues, Paul talks about how important it is for us to understand the power of the resurrection, and to live our lives in purity before the Lord. He also tells us about the new bodies we will receive when we rise from the dead. 1 Corinthians 15 is a chapter worth reading again and again, because of the rich information, and the rich promises it provides.
1 Corinthians 16 closes Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian believers, and it Paul commends certain leaders to the Corinthians for their acceptance and for them to follow. Paul was never a “one-man-band.” He constantly and consistently equipped other leaders and gave the both the authority and responsibility to carry out their ministries in ways that would best advance the Kingdom of Heaven. It is vital for us as Jesus’ followers to follow this model of equipping leaders who will share the good news of Jesus and continue to equip leaders for the following generations. In this way the church will grow stronger, and the Kingdom will advance.
As we return to Matthew 21, we find Jesus’ ministry is coming to a climax. He enters triumphantly into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday, and the crowds praise Him. He drives the money changers out of the Temple for making it a “den of thieves.” Then, the religious leaders press Him wanting to know where He derives the authority to do the kinds of things He does. Jesus turns the tables on them and asks them where John the Baptist derived His authority? They realized if they said it was from heaven, Jesus would ask why they didn’t believe him, but if they said it was human authority the crowds would turn on them, because they thought John was a prophet. As a result they said, “We don’t know.” Jesus then responded, “Neither will I tell you where I derive my authority.”
The chapter closes with Jesus telling two parables, each of which points out flaws in the religious leaders. The first was the Parable of the Two Sons. In the parable a man had two sons, each of whom he asked to go work in the fields. The first said he would, but then he didn’t, while the second said he wouldn’t be then he did. Jesus asked which of the sons did their father’s will? The reasonable answer was the second, the one who said, “No,” but then went and worked in the field. Jesus compared the first son to the religious leaders and the second son to the tax collectors and other sinners. In the second parable, the Parable of the Tenants, Jesus told of a landowner who rented his vineyard out to tenants. When it came time for the harvest, the landowner sent servants to get his share of the revenues, but the tenants mistreated them, and even killed some of them. Finally, the landowner sent his only son, thinking they would treat him well. Instead, they killed him, thinking they would keep the proceeds for themselves with the son out of the way. The religious leaders realized this parable was about them, they were the tenants, and Jesus was the son. This caused them to be more eager to be rid of Him.