Mark 2:18-28 (AD 28) “although regular weekly fasting was not part of the law of Moses, by the first century such fasting had become an important part of the practice of Judaism…To the orthodox Jew this one minor point of fasting raised the whole question of the attitude of Jesus to the whole ceremonial law.” … More Day 28: Mandatory fasting?
John 5:1-47 (AD 28) Note the difference between how Jesus presented himself to different groups. On the one hand, gentle and kind with the physically and spiritually needy who admitted they were needy. On the other hand, sometimes highly confrontational with the religious hypocrites. This incident was very early in his ministry but he was … More Day 27: Ditch the dumb rules
Mark 2:1-17 (AD 27) Jesus didn’t waste any time, once he started his public ministry, in forcing people to have an opinion about him. Here we have a pair of stories in which Jesus first acted in a way that could only have been justified if he was God himself. And then flouted and contradicted … More Day 26: Jesus – man of the (bad) people
John 4:43-54 (AD 27) The Galileans LOVED it when Jesus busted up the religious elites in Jerusalem and trashed the temple courts. That was COOL. Awesome. And now this rebellious local boy was back home, having travelled back at the same time as a lot of the others who’d gone down south for the Passover, … More Day 22: Show me the miracle
John 4:1-42 (AD 27) Samaritans were loathed, shunned, apostate turncoats. Adulterers, by law, were to be stoned to death. Women, by custom, were perceived to be less significant, valuable and reliable as men. Jesus, therefore, went to speak with an adulterous Samaritan lady. His ministry to her was one of compassion. His example to his … More Day 21: Jesus, saviour to all
John 3:22-36 (AD 27) The earlier part of this chapter helped us understand that ‘belief’ in a Biblical context is wrapped up in the idea of actively following, and being in a relationship with Jesus based on faith and repentance. Hot on the heels of that understanding, John the Baptist underscored the glorious promise and … More Day 20: An urgent matter
John 3:1-21 (AD 27) – Part 2 When I direct people to our house, the last part of my instructions vary. To one person I might say, “Turn right towards the supermarket”; to another, “Turn left when you get to the supermarket roundabout”. I will then tell them to get on to a specific road, … More Day 19: Bible vs. the Bible?
John 2:13-25 (AD 27) There’s belief, and there’s belief, and they’re not the same thing. We have them here, one after the other, for contrast. Verse twenty-two tells us that whilst the disciples didn’t understand the reference at the time, they “believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken” (v.22) after the resurrection. … More Day 17: When belief is not belief
John 2:1-12 (AD 27) Not a healing, not a massive spectacle, not a resurrection. The first miracle of Jesus’ public ministry was making alcohol at a badly-catered wedding. Wedding celebrations could go on for many days and everyone would be steadily drinking wine, with the good stuff coming out first and then a few days … More Day 16: Do whatever he tells you
John 1:35-51 (AD 27) It started so well, didn’t it? The disciples’ walk of faith began with quotes such as: Andrew heard John the Baptist say, “Look, the Lamb of God!” (v.36) Andrew told Peter, “We have found the Messiah” (v.41) Phillip told Nathanael, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, … More Day 15: The Truth was staring them in the face
Paul T Reynolds 