NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN (WITH OLD TESTAMENT REFERENCES) ------Week 5 Summary
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NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN (WITH OLD TESTAMENT REFERENCES) ------------------------------------------------------------ Week 5 summary: More teaching from Jesus this week. Jesus continually teaches about being His disciples. Maybe another way to say that is that He teaches about being members of the Kingdom of God. (A kingdom implies there is a king. In this Kingdom, the King is Jesus. What do you do for a King? Obey him!) Jesus is to the point in His teachings. Even though He teaches in parables, there is no doubt what His expectations are for His disciples. Day 1: Luke 10-11; John 10:22-42 Luke 11:28 says that we should hear God's word and put it into practice (or in other words, obey it). Starting in Luke 11:37, there are several verses where Jesus is confronting the beliefs of the Jewish leaders. The section heading in the Bibles I looked at described this section of scripture these ways: 1) Jesus condemns Pharisees and the Legal Experts; 2) Woes on the Pharisees and Experts in the Law; 3) Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders. Depending on the translation of the Bible you are using, you may find Jesus saying, “What sorrow awaits you...,” or “How terrible for you...,” or “Woe to you...” Whichever translation you choose to use, Jesus' language is pretty clear. The people He was talking to were severely missing the boat related to how to obey God's law. Day 2: Luke 12-13 Luke 12:10 talks about an unpardonable sin, attributing the works of the Holy Spirit to the devil, which denies the work of God. A person who commits this sin does not recognize sin at all and is far from God. (If you are worried you have committed this sin, your very concern shows you have not.) Because of Jesus' teachings about discipleship, He knows that following Him will cause conflict between people, even within families. (See Luke 12:51-53.) Jesus again talks about the need to change our hearts and lives – repent! (Repent means to turn around 180 degrees and go in the other direction.) (See Luke 13:1- 9. All of Jesus' teachings point to disciples needing to go through the “narrow gate” (Luke 13:24). Disciples will take the narrow road/narrow gate and will follow by obeying Him. Day 3: Luke 14-15 There is a cost to discipleship – following Jesus. Disciples of Jesus sometimes will need to make decisions that will cost them the friendship of family and friends (Luke 14:26-27). As we make that decision to follow Jesus, we need to count the cost (knowing there is a cost and being willing to accept the cost – Luke 14:28-33). But the rewards are great! When a disciple chooses to following Jesus (knowing the cost and accepting the cost), there is great rejoicing in heaven because a person that was lost is now found. (See the parables in Luke 15:3-24.) Day 4: Luke 16-17:10 9 NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN (WITH OLD TESTAMENT REFERENCES) ------------------------------------------------------------ In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus the poor man (Luke 16:19-31), there are two points to make. 1) First, the rich man was not taken up to be with Abraham when he died because he was rich. He ended up elsewhere because he did not use his resources to take care of and love others. 2) The rich man was basically asking for a “sign” for his 5 brothers, Lazarus visiting them after he was dead. This is similar to other passages in the gospels where the religious leaders in particular are always asking for another “sign” to show that Jesus is the Son of God. The parable basically says what Jesus says elsewhere – you have had signs and what’s more, Moses and the Prophets (what we would call the Old Testament consisting of the Law (the 1st 5 books of the Bible) and the Prophets) have already provided all of the information that is needed. Day 5: John 11 The entire chapter 11 of John details the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the grave. You may be familiar with the story. Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus (this is a different Lazarus from the parable of the rich man and the poor man Lazarus read yesterday) are good friends of Jesus. Lazarus dies. Mary and Martha send for Jesus because they know that Jesus can heal Lazarus. Before Jesus gets there, Lazarus dies and has been in the grave 4 days. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. But if we read this story too fast, we miss some interesting parts of the story. 1) After hearing that Lazarus is ill, Jesus stays where He and His disciples are for 2 more days before heading to his friends. We learn that the illness Lazarus has won't lead to his death but will lead to glorifying God and the Son of God. Later, we find out that Jesus will raise Lazarus from the dead so that others will believe that God sent Jesus. 2) Lazarus dies before Jesus gets there and Jesus seems to tell His disciples that He is glad that He was not there to heal Lazarus so that they would believe in Jesus. 3) Mary and Martha both believe that there is life after death (at the end of times) but they were not understanding that Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead now. 4) Jesus was disturbed and saddened at what was taking place. He wept. 5) As Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave, many Jews believed in Him. However, because many were believing in Jesus, the leaders from that day forward, plotted to kill Jesus. Day 6: Luke 17:11-18:14 People were interested and concerned about the coming of God's Kingdom. But in Luke 17:21, Jesus says that God's Kingdom is already among them. Jesus ushered in the Kingdom. Day 7: rest 10 .