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
Matthew 4:13-22 (AD 27) In the last reading Jesus walked through a crowd of people who were trying to throw him off a cliff…with them failing miserably to throw him off the cliff. That scene has always blown my mind. What did it look like? What did it sound like? Did God paralyse the would-be … More Day 24: Jesus flexes his authority
Luke 4:16-30 (AD 27) 1. Jesus read a prophecy from the Old Testament and told the congregation in the synagogue that all the blessings God spoke about were being fulfilled in their day. RESULT: “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips” (v.22). 2. Jesus then … More Day 23: Primum nil nocere?
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 1 Christians tell people that in order to be saved they need to repent of their sins, which is exactly what Jesus preached (Matthew 4:17). However there are often objections – even offended ones – at the exclusivist notion of repentance being necessary. Becoming a Christian is only a … More Day 18: Picking your 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
Luke 2:40-52 (AD 7-8) Those of you with the attention span of an accountant and the breadth of perspective of a hungry eagle will no doubt have noticed that we skipped about ten years. Actually, God did, when he inspired the writing of the Bible. Why? Because he didn’t need us to know anything about … More Day 12: Be like teenage Jesus
Paul T Reynolds 