Dear Friends,

There are some people in South Carolina who are interested in participating in the Chronological Bible e-study.  If you have an extra Chronological Bible or know of someone who does, would you be willing to sell it to us so that these folks here could join us?

Thanks a bunch!
Phil and Patti

When Jesus fed the 5,000 men (not counting women and children, the number was much higher) He was moved with compassion. This means he was full of tenderness and concern at their plight. Notice Philip immediately told Jesus how much food it would take to feed this many people. Andrew on the other hand immediately brought Jesus the loaves and fishes, knowing that He could somehow make it work.

The people thought the Prophet had come. They wanted to make Jesus king. They wanted their physical needs met.

Jesus sent His disciples ahead of Him with the promise that He would join them later. It was between the hours of 3 and 6 am when they saw Jesus walking on the water. Peter wanted to come to Him, so Jesus commanded him to come. Peter did just fine until he took his eyes off Jesus. Does that happen to us? When we take our eyes off Jesus we begin to sink. When the winds of life thrash around us, do they beat us down and make us afraid?  If so, time to look to Jesus!  Remember, He can calm the wind and the waves of our lives.

Jesus rebukes the people who are looking for miraculous signs. Even though they had witnessed the miracle of the feeding of the multitude and they knew the crossing to the other side of the lake was a miracle, they still seemed to pay little attention to it and only wanted the miracles of God in ways to satisfy the physical needs, namely the demands of their appetite. Few were looking for the spiritual blessings. 

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.”
If we bury ourselves in the Word, we will eat and drink the Word, something we must do every day! Just as we must eat every day or we will get weak. If we don’t internalize the Word every day we will get weak in our faith.

“From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”
Did they turn back to their sinful ways? To remember the parable of the soils, did the birds come and eat the seeds? Did they turn back because of hard teaching or because they didn’t believe? Check out the address of this scripture. Its John 6:66.

Jesus asked the Twelve if they wanted to leave too. Peter answers, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words to eternal life.”
Indeed! Only Jesus! 

Jesus condemned many of the traditions, such as the ceremonial washing of dishes.
“You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”

Can you think of some ways that we hold on to the traditions of men and ignore the commands of God? How about the way we celebrate Jesus’ birth? Do we celebrate according to the traditions of men? Or do we honor His birth as fulfillment of prophecy?

Jesus preaches throughout the country. He went into large wealthy cities and into the poor, obscure villages. He preached and healed both rich and poor. He taught in the synagogues. He had compassion on them, but in a spiritual way. His concern was that they were ignorant with a lack of spiritual vision.

Sheep without a shepherd…can you imagine a field of sheep with no direction and no shepherd?
This would be a sad condition of those who are without Christ. Sheep when they have gone astray are helpless and exposed to danger. They are not capable of finding their own way. They need shepherds to bring them into the fold and give them direction and protection. When Jesus spoke of false shepherds, they not only led the sheep away from the fold but they also fleeced the flock. They didn’t feed them. They didn’t nourish them with the word of truth.

“Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
People obviously wanted the teaching that Jesus was giving them. They needed it, they desired it, and they went out of their way to get it. There were few teachers who were teaching the truth. Jesus sent out his disciples.

Work is to be done now. Are there enough laborers to do the work?

“Shake the dust” is mentioned. When we are unwelcome, at times we need to just walk away.

To just be left alone as sheep where they may be in danger from wolves was one thing, but to send them out among known wolves was something else. They could expect from this warning that they would be like a helpless sheep among a herd of ravenous wolves to be devoured and destroyed. But because He sends them forth, He will protect them. Be aware of the dangers but be meek and mild.

Who can kill the soul? Rejecting Jesus and salvation through Him...that will kill our souls.

Jesus calls His disciples “little ones”. Is that because they were “babes in the faith”?

John the Baptist is beheaded. He had completed his mission on earth. Herod thought Jesus was John the Baptist who had risen from the dead - Herod was a Sadducee: and the Sadducees denied the resurrection of the dead. They also denied the existence of angels. So Herod was shaken by Jesus. This says he didn’t know much about Jesus.

As we reflect on the Scripture readings for today, let's take to heart the words of the Lord of the Harvest, let's go out as workers into His harvest field!

Some amazing miracles are included in today's reading.  And some amazing lessons to be learned.

When Jesus said He had no place to lay His head, was He thinking of His heavenly home as His real home and He had no place in this earthly kingdom?  Is He telling us that we shouldn't get too comfortable in this temporary home called earth?

There were some hard lessons that Jesus gave to His followers.  Some of them said they would follow Him but they had other commitments  that took top priority.  Do we do that too?  One man said he had to go bury his father.  Another said he wanted to say good-by to his family.  These seem like pretty important things.  But Jesus wanted these followers to proclaim and serve the kingdom of God and not be distracted by anything.

Wonderful lessons to be learned from the calming of the sea.  Jesus had complete control over the wind and the waves. He has complete control over all the winds and waves of our lives as well. He tells us the same thing that He told the wind and the waves, "Peace!  Be still!"

When Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead, He gave orders not to tell anyone about it. He told the blind men the same thing. Why? Earlier He told the demon possessed man to tell. What was the difference? 

Whenever Jesus heals the physical, He asks people not to tell. When He performs a spiritual miracle, such as driving out demons, He wants people to tell. This gives us a clue as to the importance Jesus places on the spiritual. He wants the spiritual healings to be broadcast to everyone. 

Jesus’ family is listed in today’s reading, his mother, Mary, his brothers James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon, and sisters who are not named. But we know He has at least 2.

Jesus didn’t do miracles in his hometown, except to heal a few sick people. It was their lack of faith that prevented them from being healed.

Is our lack of faith preventing us from receiving or witnessing miracles? Are we putting limits on Jesus because of our lack of faith?  Heaven forbid!

Today’s reading is filled with parables. A parable is a short, simple story designed to communicate a spiritual truth, religious principle, or moral lesson; a figure of speech in which truth is illustrated by a comparison or example drawn from everyday experiences. The Greek word for parable literally means “a laying by the side of, or a casting along side of”, thus a comparison or likeness. In a parable something is placed alongside something else, in order that one may throw light on the other. A familiar custom or incident is used to illustrate some less familiar truth.

We can look at the surface meaning of a parable or we can dig deeper and discover a much deeper meaning. In finding the central meaning of a parable, the reader needs to discover the meaning the parable had in the time of Jesus. As an illustration, let’s look at the parable of the pencil. (Thanks to a friend who sent this to us several years ago.)

PARABLE OF THE PENCIL

In the beginning the pencil maker created the pencil. “You must remember these five things,” the maker told the pencil.

1. You will do great things but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone’s hand.
2. You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time but it is required if you are to become a better pencil.
3. You have the ability to correct any mistakes you might make.
4. The most important part of you will always be what’s inside.
5. No matter what the conditions, continue to write as you submit to the master’s hand, leave a clear, legible mark no matter how difficult.

If we compare ourselves to the pencil, we can do great things if we allow ourselves to be held in God’s hands and allow other people access to our many gifts. We may undergo a painful “sharpening” by various problems to make us stronger and sharper. We will be able to correct our mistakes or we might grow through them. The most important part of us is what’s inside. On every surface we walk we should leave our mark serving God in everything, following His leading, and never taking credit for authorship of the work.

If this parable had been told in Jesus’ time, would they have understood it? But if we could explain our culture and the importance of pencils and how they are used, then they might have understood the practical application of this parable of the pencil.  In understanding Jesus' parables we must keep in mind four things:
1. content
2. context
3. culture
4. customs
We must read the content within the entire context of Scripture, not only the verses before and after but the whole Bible.  We must place ourselves in Jesus' day and learn as much as we can about the culture and customs of the day.

For some thoughts on the parables, go to this link and the writing Parables to Ponder.
http://www.philandpatti.com/biblestudies

Jesus gives us the secrets to the kingdom of heaven. Are we getting just the surface meanings or are we going after the hidden treasures? How are we doing digging into his word for those secrets? Are we really working to dig out the nuggets by reading and studying the entire Bible?

Jesus condemns hypocrisy. One of the most scathing condemnations is this one.
Luke 11:52
"Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."
Those experts were not teaching the truth and were quenching the spirit of those who were seeking the truth. Not much has changed today.

For those of you out there who are “worry warts”…this verse is for you!
Matt 6:27
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Jesus said to seek first His kingdom. What does it mean to seek His kingdom?

Jesus also said to be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. What does it mean to be ready?

To repeat a previous blog entry, Jesus made it very clear in this verse that baptism has nothing to do with water. It has everything to do with spiritual matters.
Luke 12:50
But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!

Luke 3:16
John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

So often during the Christmas season we hear the words, “Peace on earth.” Did Jesus come to bring peace on earth?
Luke 12:51
Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.

This verse should bring us comfort as believers in Jesus Christ. If we are His followers and doing His will, there will be division, not only in the world, but in our churches and even within our families. We must stand firm with the Monument of Truth (God's Word) no matter what happens around us.

John the Baptist inquires for confirmation of Jesus’ divinity.
Luke 7:20
When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?'"

Jesus didn’t answer with a yes or no. He answered with:
Luke 7:22
So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

It is only after the disciples of John leave that Jesus tells the crowd that “there is no one greater than John…”

Why didn’t Jesus tell that to the messengers from John? Wouldn’t that have given great comfort to John? Or was Jesus preventing even a hint of pride to creep into John? 

Some interesting reading on the anointing by the sinful woman can be found on the website. Click here:
http://www.philandpatti.com/abiblicalviewofholyweek

What is the unforgivable sin as identified by Jesus in today’s reading?

Luke 11:27-28
As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you." He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."
Jesus didn't seem to bless His mother above anyone. He was more concerned with those of us who hear and obey the word of God.  There is no greater blessing than to hear and obey His Word.