Key thought of the week: As we start the New Testament (NT), it is a good idea to keep an eye toward what has come before. As you read along, watch for references to and connections with the Old Testament (OT) readings we have already done. I've noted a couple examples in the This Week's Highlights (below - one obvious, and one not so obvious), but better: you find some and tell me. I'll share them with the group.
Of course, as you have questions, send them to me. We'll track down answers ... hopefully, ones that provide a better understanding for us all.
Blessings,
Steve
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We’re reading The One Year Chronological Bible, New Living Translation (Tyndale). It’s best with your own copy. Or, paste in this link to the daily reading schedule:
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From last week - Just a reminder as we pivot into the New Testament: it was Nehemiah (8:9-12) who assured us ”the JOY of the Lord is your strength!"
This week's highlights:
What a packed week! We start Matthew, Mark, and Luke ... witness the Ave Maria ... we’re present for the birth and childhood of Jesus ... encounter John the Baptist executing his ministry of reconciliation ... experience the temptation of Jesus by the adversary. We hear the calling of the first disciples ... can almost taste the new wine at the Cana wedding reception ... cringe a bit when Jesus clears the "money changers" from the Temple ... watch as Nicodemus makes a visit to Jesus under the cloak of night ... are shocked that Jesus interacts with a Samaritan woman(!) ... hear the sermons ... we're astounded by the miracles.
And that's just the first week of New Testament reading!
September 24th - THE OBVIOUS OT CONNECTIONS - The genealogies of Jesus are packed full of people we’ve read about over the past 38 weeks. Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Tamar(!), Salmon (one of the two Jericho spies), Rahab the Harlot(!), Boaz & Ruth, Jesse, King David-Bathsheba-Uriah, King Solomon, King Uzziah ("In the year Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and lifted up...."), King Jehoiachin (start of the Babylonian exile), Zerubbabel (returned to start rebuilding the Temple). One of the values of reading genealogies is that you can more easily see that the entire Bible is actually one story.
September 28th - THE NOT SO OBVIOUS OT CONNECTION - When Jesus holds His conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well (and later when He tells the parable of the Good Samaritan), he does something incredibly shocking! Granted, it doesn't seem all that shocking to us. But we have to keep in mind that the Samaritans were not just a people despised by the Jews. They had earned the enmity they received! Remember the people (bullies) who (A) opposed the rebuilding of the Altar and the resumption of the sacrifices to God, (B) later opposed the rebuilding of the Temple, and then (C) even later opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem? Those were the ancestors of the Samaritans! Jesus knows just how shocking he is being when he interacts with —and dares to suggest one of them might actually be better than a Jew— Samaritans. He is setting the expectation that God has opened a way of reconciliation for all people. And no one needed to learn that lesson more than the Jews: God's chosen people.
So ... which ones did you find?
Next week:
Jesus claims to be the son of God. Keeping the Sabbath. Jesus continues to break the "rules." The first twelve Apostles called and sent. Sermon on the Mount. Non-Jews start to believe in and interact with Jesus. Like Elijah and Elisha before Him, Jesus resurrects a Widow's dead son. Jesus explains about John the Baptist and Elijah. Jesus anointed by an immoral woman. More women follow Jesus. The parable of the seeds. The first mustard seed illustration. Pearl of great price. Jesus calms the storm. Legion! The hem of His garment. Talitha Koum.
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