Matthew 7:1-6 (AD 28) There are a lot of Biblical verses that get badly mangled, and verse one is a classic example. “Do not judge” is commonly used to mean that we should never claim that someone else is wrong in any objective way; that we can have opinions but should never tell someone to … More Day 37: Of sawdust and planks
Matthew 6:19-34 (AD 28) “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…” (v.25) File that one next to, “Do not be anxious about anything…” (Philippians 4:13) Note first the “Therefore” in Jesus words. The reality of our treasures in heaven and the priority we should place on those over anything here, drive the … More Day 36: Do not worry
Matthew 6:1-18 (AD 28) Here are five things Jesus was NOT saying in these verses: Jesus was NOT saying, when he recommended praying in private, that praying together as a local church is unnecessary. Jesus was addressing his disciples – a selection of believers, not a local church. In fact pretty much the first thing … More Day 35: What Jesus did and didn’t say about prayer
Matthew 5:21-48 (AD 28) Those who give in to anger and hate are lost, Jesus said. He was not referring to that moment that anger comes into your mind – that’s the temptation part. It’s what happens after that which matters – do you allow those thoughts and feelings to sit there, or even feed … More Day 34: Don’t be a h8er
Matthew 5:13-16 (AD 28) Salt is not limited to a single function, so there is no singular meaning. Rather, there are about ten uses, so if we are to be like salt, there should be many ways we make a positive impact Given the context, the are probably three uses of salt that are most … More Day 32: Be more like sodium chloride
Matthew 5:1-12 (AD 28) The Beatitudes are not a list of what you need to do to be saved. Jesus was teachings his disciples, not non-believers. They are commands, but they exist first as pronouncements of blessings upon Christians already exhibiting these traits, with an encouragement and challenge to exhibit those traits even more. They … More Day 31: Supremely blessed
Mark 3:1-6 (AD 28) You probably need to read these verses a couple of times to even begin to comprehend the level of wickedness of those who hated Jesus. Some Pharisees were watching him to see if he would heal someone on the Sabbath, which they thought would justify accusing him of being anti-God for … More Day 29: When good is called evil
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
Paul T Reynolds 