Tag Archives: Jesus

Day 29: Mount Sinai

Exodus 19-21; Matthew 20:1-16

Seven weeks have passed since the people left Egypt, and in today’s passage, they arrive at Mt. Sinai. The rest of Exodus takes place here.

***This section of Exodus records what will later be referred to as the Book of the Covenant (24:7) and includes:

  1. the Ten Commandments (20:1–21);
  2. instructions on worship (20:22–26; 23:10–19);
  3. rules and principles for community life (21:1–23:9); and
  4. instructions for entering the land of Canaan (23:20–33).

“Covenant” is an important word in the Old Testament. It’s an old word that might have lost its impact over the years, but essentially, it means a sacred contract. God’s part of the covenant is His promise of His presence with His people. In the Old Testament, the covenant is based on “law.”

Even though the laws found in today’s reading seem reasonable, we know that they are impossible to obey perfectly. The purpose of God’s law is to set the standard for holiness. Because of sin, this standard can never be reached. But that’s where Jesus fits into the picture. He bridges the gap between God’s holy standard and our imperfection.

We see Jesus telling a parable in Matthew 20 to describe His Kingdom. This parable emphasizes God’s generosity as each worker receives more than he deserves… but it also reveals that entrance into the Kingdom is not earned, but rather, it is a gift.

Just think about the generosity of God from what we have read so far…

When Adam and Eve broke covenant with God, God’s rescue plan was set into motion…. A Savior would come through a people that He would set apart as His own. God preserved Noah, called Abraham and restated His covenant promise to Isaac and to Jacob. He used Joseph to bring His people to Egypt and after 400 years, God did not forget his promises – but rescued His people from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh. And now they stand before Mt. Sinai where they see lightning and smoke and they tremble with fear (19:16-19) at this AWESOME God that for some reason has chosen them.

And as God gave the covenant law, He knew that… just like Adam and Eve, they will break covenant. But his rescue plan will not fail. The promised Savior will come. And Jesus will usher in a New Covenant. A covenant based on grace instead of law. Jesus keeps covenant for us – so that we no longer have to tremble before Mt. Sinai but we worship before Mt. Zion!

For you have not come to …a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. …Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, …and to God, the judge of all, …and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant (Hebrews 12:18-24).

Does this make the law meaningless to us?? By no means! The law reveals God’s holy character, and God’s Spirit writes the law on our hearts. Jesus fulfills all of the requirements of the Old Covenant so that we might be heirs of the new covenant of GRACE! That’s good news. That’s the gospel :-)

***Outline taken from ESV Study Bible notes

Day 28: Life in the Desert

Exodus 16-18; Matthew 19:16-30

Exodus 16 & 17 give us great insight into the way the Lord deals with us, his grumbling children :-)

The Israelites are in the desert. The desert is a hard place to be. It is an empty place – dry and lifeless. If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you are familiar with the desert. God seems distant. It is a place of testing.

As we read these chapters in Exodus, we see a pattern develop… The people travel in the desert. The people grumble. God graciously provides either food or water. The people are satisfied and worship. And then the pattern repeats… They travel; they grumble; God provides; they worship.

God is increasing their faith as He tests them with difficult circumstances. We see this in the instructions regarding the manna…

“Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not” (Exodus 16:4).

It’s as if God is a patient parent training his young child to trust Him.

If you are in “the desert” in your spiritual life, it might be that God wants to stretch your faith. We know from His Word that He never leaves or forsakes you… but He loves you so much that He is willing to seem distant – so that as you persevere – your faith is strengthened.

Paul Miller expresses this concept much better than I can in his book, A Praying Life…

When God seems silent and our prayers go unanswered, the overwhelming temptation is to leave the story – to walk out of the desert and attempt to create a normal life. But when we persist in a spiritual vacuum, when we hang in there during the ambiguity, we get to know God. In fact, that is how intimacy grows in all close relationships (Miller, A Praying Life, pg. 192).

In Matthew 19, we see Jesus inviting the rich young man into a relationship with Him, but the man is unwilling to follow Jesus into the desert of ambiguity. You see… the desert is a scary place. Self-sufficiency is scarce in the desert. And as we face impossibilities, our eyes are forced heavenward, and the gospel becomes like manna and water to our souls… The gospel. The good news that even though we are unable to save ourselves, God is not just able to save us; He’s also willing.

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:24-26).

That’s the gospel. That’s good news :-)

Day 26: The Passover Lamb

Exodus 11-12; Matthew 18:7-35

Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions (Genesis 15:13-14).

Today, we see God’s word to Abraham come true. After nine horrible plagues, God gives Moses instructions to prepare the people for the final plague. This is it. The people are to prepare a lamb, mark their doorposts with its blood and eat the lamb “girded with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste” (Exodus 11:11). It’s time to move. The blood of the lamb protected the people from God’s destroyer who came and killed the firstborn of each house without the blood. Many Egyptians died that night.

The Passover is riddled with symbolism. The symbols serve to remind the people and the coming generations of the Lord’s power and faithfulness in rescuing them from Egypt’s oppression. But the symbols serve a deeper purpose… They point forward to the Lamb of God, Jesus, who was sacrificed to rescue us from our sins.

Consider the detail found in the passage:

  • The Lamb
    Lamb will be without blemish (12:5)
    When to kill and eat the lamb (12:6;8)
    How to cook and eat the lamb (12:8-10)
    The lamb’s bones should remain unbroken (12:46).
  • The Blood
    Where and how to put the blood (12:7; 22)
    Protective work of the blood (12:13; 23)
  • The Bread
    Unleavened bread (12:8; 34)
  • The Feast
    A memorial of the Exodus (12:14-20)
    It is to be remembered from generation to generation (12:24-28).
  • Provision for the Foreigner
    Some Egyptians left with the Israelites (12:38).
    The foreigner must be circumcised to eat the Passover (12:43-44; 48-49).

God instituted the Feast of Unleavened Bread so that on the 14th day of the first month of every year, the Israelites would gather and commemorate the night that God’s destroyer “passed over” their families so that they could escape from Egypt in the darkness.

Instead of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we look forward to a later day when people from every tribe, people and language will worship together at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19). At that feast, the bread will have risen to its fullest and instead of haste, there will be an eternity to linger… in the presence of our Passover Lamb!

Day 25: The miracle that only Peter saw

Exodus 9-10; Matthew 17:24-18:6

Yesterday, we set the stage for my favorite of Jesus’ miracles. Today, we come to the miracle itself! Let’s look at it verse by verse…

When they came to Capernaum, (17:24)

Remember what the disciples had been arguing about on the way to Capernaum? Who was the greatest. They still expected Jesus to throw off his worn rags and overthrow Roman rule in strong military fashion, and then they would be the King’s right-hand men…

the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, (17:24-25)

Jesus spoke first. He knew what Peter was thinking before he even spoke….

saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? (17:25)

Jesus knew Peter’s heart – he knew of Peter’s dreams of glory and crowns that come with being a king…

From their sons or from others?” And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. (17:25-26)

I can imagine Peter thinking (and fist pumping in his head…) “YEAH! The sons are free. We don’t have to pay the tax. You OWN that temple, Jesus! You are the King – and we are free from the tax! No go in and show them your GLORY!” And Jesus did show His glory – but not in the way Peter expected.

However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself” (17:27).

To paraphrase what Jesus said to Peter… “for the sake of the gospel, I will not offend that man in the temple – but you, Peter, know that I am Lord of Creation. To you, Peter, I will show that I have the power to control all of nature. To you, Peter, I will show that I am Lord of the rulers of the earth as I put their coin in the mouth of a fish. And you, Peter, need to know that I will lay it all down for the sake of the gospel and for the very man who works in the temple.”

If that weren’t clear enough to Peter… Jesus made his point crystal clear in the next verses. Only those with the humility of a child will be considered great in the Kingdom of God. The way of Jesus is service, humility and sacrifice. Are you willing to walk in the way of the Savior? Or will you be swept up in the strong current of the world – the way of power, wealth, fame and self-satisfaction?

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves… [Jesus] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:3; 6-8).

Day 24: Setting the stage

Exodus 7-8; Matthew 17

Today’s and tomorrow’s readings in Exodus are the detailed accounts of the first 9 plagues sent to the Egyptians by God. It is an amazing portrait of Pharaoh’s stubbornness and hardness of heart!

I’m devoting the next two days to Matthew, mainly because my absolute favorite of Jesus’ miracles occurs at the end of Matthew 17. Let’s set the stage for this amazing miracle :-)

Yesterday, we read Jesus’ first prediction of his death. If you remember, Peter would not accept it, and Jesus rebuked him sharply.

Matthew 17:1 says: “And after six days…” Just a few days later, Jesus asked three of his disciples to go up on a mountainside to pray. I imagine that Jesus was feeling pretty lonely. I’m sure he foreknew, but now he has experienced the reality that his closest companions – not only don’t understand the fact He has to die – but they will try to talk him out of doing it. It had to be such a lonely time… knowing that the rest of His time on earth would be surrounded by these men that just don’t understand. And it is this moment that God gave Jesus the gift of the Transfiguration.

Up on the mountain, Jesus was changed and the glory filled the night and Elijah and Moses were there. I wonder what they talked about… Matthew’s gospel doesn’t say, but Luke’s does :-)

And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9:30-31).

His departure. They talked about His death. What a sweet gift of fellowship for Jesus! He needed the fellowship of heaven to encourage Him on this final leg of His time on earth.

So Jesus and His disciples made their way down the mountain, and what was Jesus confronted with? …The ineptitude of his disciples who couldn’t heal the epileptic boy. Even though he was weary, he healed the boy (Matthew 17:14-21). And then he turned to his disciples and predicted His death again (17:22-23)! Luke tells us that the disciples did not understand:

Jesus said to his disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying (Luke 9:4-45).

Matthew 17:24 tells us that Jesus and his disciples made their way to their homebase of Capernaum. Mark’s gospel tells us details that none of the other gospels contain:

And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest (Mark 9:34).

They were arguing over who was going to be the greatest in the Kingdom. Jesus had predicted his death, not once – but twice and they just didn’t understand that… before Jesus rises up to be the Lion of Judah, he has to be the sacrificial Lamb.

So this is the backdrop for my favorite miracle – but we’ll talk about that… tomorrow :-)

Day 23: Power in sacrifice

Exodus 4-6; Matthew 16

In Exodus 5, we see Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh. The meeting doesn’t go so well. This is our first glimpse of Pharaoh’s pride and contempt for Israelite’s God. Pharaoh shows the strength of his power by increasing the Israelites’ work load. And this causes the people to doubt God’s word.

Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’” (Genesis 6:6-8).

Here we see God’s promise… that “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God.” God will reiterate this promise to his people throughout the Old Testament. They expected a savior, a Messiah, to come and set up his kingdom on earth. Fast forward to today’s reading in Matthew. The disciples, believed Jesus to be the promised savior, the Messiah. Jesus asks them, who do you say that I am.

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).

They expected Jesus to overthrow the oppressive Roman government and be ruler of the Earth. They had visions of royalty and earthly glory. The last thing they expected was for Jesus to die. But now that Jesus knows that his disciples understand his identity, he tries to help them understand his mission…

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised (Matthew 16:31).

Peter wants nothing to do with this talk from Jesus. He rebukes him, saying, “This shall never happen to you!”

Jesus quickly puts Peter in his place and uses the opportunity to teach the disciples one critical law of His Kingdom…

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25).

Both of today’s readings contrast the ways of this world and the ways of God. Pharaoh’s might is nothing compared to the Lord’s power – and man’s desire for power and earthly acclaim is nothing compared to the sacrificial ways of the Savior!

Day 21: The Lion of Judah

Genesis 48-50

These chapters mark the end of Jacob’s life and the end of Genesis. We see Jacob blessing each of his 12 sons including Joseph’s children, Ephraim and Manasseh. Each blessing draws from the son’s life and projects their past choices on their future descendants. Judah and Joseph both have the longest and most positive of all the blessings. It’s almost as if the writer of Genesis is wanting the reader to ask… “Will the promised Savior come from Judah or Joseph’s family?”

It’s interesting… this tug of war between Judah and Joseph continues through Israel’s history… When Jacob blessed Joseph’s two sons in Chapter 48, he claimed them as his own sons. After the Israelites conquered the Canaanites to reclaim the land, each son or tribe was given an allotment of land (with the exception of Levi. The Levites were given the honor of the priesthood). Both Epraim and Manasseh received land, which ensured that Joseph’s descendants received a double portion of the inheritance. Since Jacob gave the blessing of the firstborn to the younger brother, Ephraim, it is from Ephraim’s family that we see many great leaders of Israel.

Could the promised King come from Joseph’s family? But Israel’s greatest king, David, was from the tribe of Judah. In the end, we know it was from Judah’s family that the promised Savior would come. Read Jacob’s blessing to Judah:

Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons shall bow down before you.
Judah is a lion’s cub;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He stooped down; he crouched as a lion
and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
Binding his foal to the vine
and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine
and his vesture in the blood of grapes.
His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk (Genesis 49:8-12).

In the end, Jacob died and was buried with his fathers in Canaan. Genesis was written by Moses for the people of Israel (who had been in Egypt for over 400 years)… so that they would know their history. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have been grafted into the family of Abraham, so Genesis is your family history too! We have the privilege of having seen the promise of the Savior fulfilled – but the promise to Abraham- of a land and a people – will not be completely fulfilled until the end of the age in the new heaven and new earth…

John, the writer of Revelation, writes:

And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” …And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:5; 9-10).

And the people said… “Amen!”

Day 20: My help

Genesis 46-47; Matthew 15:1-20

Just a few points from the reading in Genesis before we concentrate on Matthew…

  • Jacob is old… and apprehensive about moving his entire family to Egypt. So before he leaves his homeland, he makes the whole caravan stop at Beersheeba in the southern tip of Canaan. God is kind to Jacob and reassures the old man that He will not leave him, and that Jacob will, at long last, see Joseph (Gen. 46:1-3).
  • The narrator lists all of Jacob’s descendants that traveled to Egypt (Gen. 46:8-27). The Hebrew people will not go back to Canaan for 400 years. When they return, they will have increased in number from 70 to approximately 2 million (Exodus 12:37)!
  • Pharaoh allows Jacob’s family to settle in Goshen, and they flourish there (Gen. 47:27). This is in contrast to the Egyptians who continue to suffer from the effects of the famine (Gen. 47:13).

Today’s reading in Matthew speaks to the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and remains relevant for us, the people of the modern-day church.

If you observe how Jesus interacts with people throughout the gospels, you will find that he is deeply compassionate to those who ask for help. Is it easy for you to ask others for help? This has always been difficult for me. In 2010, my three children and I were in a horrific automobile accident. I was knocked unconscious on impact. When I regained consciousness, our van was surrounded by dozens of emergency personnel. Never have I been more helpless than in that moment. One child was screaming, another was in shock, and the third lay lifeless, slumped, unmoving in the back seat. I could do nothing to help. I remember grabbing through the window of the van for a police officer’s hand and begging him to pray for my children. And as my eyes turned to God for help, He assured me – somehow in my Spirit – that I could rest, that He would help me.

Jesus longs to help. But  he can only help when we know we need help. In my situation, my helplessness was obvious to me because it was physical. Spiritual helplessness,on the other hand, is harder to see – because pride blinds us.

The religious rulers of Jesus’ day relied on their ability to keep the law to make them right before God. There was no humility, no brokenness, no room for failure, no need to ask for help. They didn’t understand how Jesus could associate with tax collectors and “sinners,” so they judged him and eventually came to hate him. In today’s passage, they were nitpicking and judging Jesus for not washing his hands before he ate. In other words, he was not observing the ceremonial washing tradition. Pettiness. It infuriates the savior.

Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites…

“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’” (Matthew 15:8-9).

Jesus’ quote from Isaiah points out two ways in which the Pharisees were hypocritical:

  1. Their actions were merely external and didn’t reflect what was truly in their hearts and
  2. They cared more about the traditions of men than the Law of God.

In our churches today, do our external actions match the brokenness in our hearts? In appropriate situations, do we choose to be transparent and authentic in regards to our needs and failures? Or do we choose to mask our heart-ache and act like we don’t need help?

Jesus’ interactions with the Pharisees make me uncomfortable because they hit too close to home. Jesus words make me examine my heart and ask for help in rooting out the hypocrisy I find there. I am helpless to change my heart!

But.

Jesus longs to help!

Day 19: Peace at last!

Genesis 44-45; Matthew 14:22-36

Finally. We reach the climax of the story in Genesis 45! But let’s look back at chapter 44, specifically at Judah.

Judah, being very much in the background of Joseph’s narrative, has quietly undergone a dramatic transformation. Remember… it was Judah’s idea to sell Joseph to the slave traders (37:26-27). And don’t forget Judah’s gross negligence of Tamar back in Chapter 38. But, he repents of his wrongdoing in vs. 38:26. And from this moment, the writer of Genesis portrays Judah in a positive light… In chapters 42 & 43, we see a contrast between Reuben and Judah. Reuben tries to persuade his father to let Benjamin come back to Egypt with them to buy grain, but Jacob does not listen. It is Judah that is able to convince Jacob to entrust Benjamin to him. And now we see in vs. 44:18-34, Judah’s impassioned speech before Joseph to spare Benjamin. Judah finally looks like the one through which the legacy of the Savior will pass!

After Judah’s speech, Joseph could no longer control himself. Imagine the scene as Joseph sends all Egyptians from the room and announces to the stunned men that he was Joseph, their brother. In the ESV bible translation, it reads that the men were “dismayed.” More like terrified. Remember – Judah had just finished begging for Benjamin’s life – and now the brother that he betrayed reveals himself – and He. Is. Powerful…. VERY POWERFUL. They had to be terrified.

Isn’t this a beautiful picture of the gospel??? Our sin betrays us in the presence of God. We should be terrified, but instead we find GRACE! …So did Joseph’s brothers…

So Joseph said to his brothers, …and now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life…God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. …So it was not you who sent me here, but God.

Who sent Joseph to Egypt? :-) Yes, God. Joseph recognizes the terror of his brothers, and he comforts them.

Jesus does the same with his disciples in Matthew 14. It is the familiar passage of Jesus walking on the water. But just think of the emotions of the disciples. They had been in a boat, battling a severe storm for 9 hours (according to the ESV Study Bible). They were exhausted, and they thought they saw an evil spirit. They were TERRIFIED. But just the sound of Jesus’ voice brought them complete comfort. The storm didn’t go away, but his presence brought them peace.

Where there is much grace, there is peace. There is peace in the presence of Jesus. The disciples found peace that night.

And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Day 18: Grain and Grief

Genesis 42-43; Matthew 14:1-21

The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread (Genesis 41:53-54).

Genesis 42 begins with an abrupt change of scene. After four chapters devoted to Joseph’s life in Egypt, we suddenly are back in Canaan, and guess what? There is no food. Jacob sends all of his sons to Egypt to buy grain, but he keeps Benjamin at home – for fear that he should lose him just as he lost Joseph. Joseph and Benjamin were Rachel’s only sons. Jacob’s love for Rachel extends beyond her grave to her sons…

The dreams that Joseph had as a young boy in Canaan (Genesis 37:5-11) begin to come to pass. As his brothers come to Joseph, the governor of Egypt, to buy grain, they bow before him with their faces to the ground. The text says, “And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them” (Genesis 42:8).

These two chapters begin the dramatic story of reconciliation. Joseph cautiously conceals his identity from his brothers, and he chooses to speak with them through an interpreter.  He understands them when they talk of remorse over what they had done to him years earlier, and he has to turn away so they do not see him weeping. Moved with compassion he sends  his brothers away with grain but devises a plan for them to return with his younger brother, Benjamin. And much to Jacob’s distress, the brothers return to Egypt a 2nd time with Benjamin in tow.

This story is tense with emotion as it builds to Joseph revealing himself to his brothers in Chapter 45. Today’s reading in Matthew is also wrought with emotion. Jesus, having just learned that John the Baptist was beheaded, seeks to grieve and pray alone… But the crowds won’t let him, and continue to follow him. The familiar story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 takes on a new light when you read it in the context of Jesus’ grief over John the Baptist. The time that Jesus spends with the crowds in the midst of his difficult circumstances only serves to magnify His compassion.

Both readings end in the middle of a story… So, until tomorrow… :-)