Reading for October 22nd

 Read Luke 9.37-50. In 9.37-50. In verses 37-43: He heals a possessed boy. On the only son, see 7.12. In 9.43b-50: He speaks firmly to his disciples. In verse 45: This verse emphasizes the disciples' inability to understand Jesus' predictions of suffering as due to God (its meaning was concealed from them, see Isa 6 cited in LK8.10). In verse 46: The argument about who was greatest is even more negatively recounted in Mark 9.33-37. In verse 50: Mk 9.38-41 has a fuller account of the strange exorcist. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 21st

 Read Luke 9.28-36. In 9.28-36: He is revealed as the chosen Son of God. The mountain, the dazzling white clothes, Moses and Elijah, his glory, the cloud, and the voice from heaven are all biblical dimensions of a divine appearance (epiphany). In verse 30 Moses and Elijah has miraculous endings of their lives. In verse 31: Jesus' departure in Greek is his "exodus," which is something he will accomplish at Jerusalem (see his "baptism" in 12.50). In verse 33: The dwellings are "tents" of the Jewish feast of booth (Deut 16.13). 

Reading for October 20th

 Read Luke 9.18-27. In 9.18-27: He is revealed as the messiah and predicts his death. In verse 20: The repeated question of who Jesus is (9.9, 18) receives the decisive answer of Messiah of God (see the demons in 4.41), and this royal title will be the charge for his execution (22.67; 23.35-37). In verses 21-22: This is the first of several predictions Jesus makes of his death (9.43-45; 12.50; 13.33; 18.31-34). In verse 26: The son of Man is the judge at the end time (Dan 7.13). Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 19th

 Read Luke 9.10-17. In 9.7-10: He feeds the 5,000. This section agrees closely with Mark's sequence (see Mk 6.32-44). The feeding story is filled with reminders of God feeding Israel in the wilderness and Elijah feeding 100 men (2 Kings 4.42-44). It also anticipates the Passover supper in Lk 22 (taking the loaves, he blessed, broke, and gave). Comments or Questions...

Reading for October 18th

 Read Luke 9.1-9. In 9.1-50: Jesus, the Christ and chosen of God. In verses 1-6: He authorizes the twelve. The power and authority of the twelve is directly tied to their commission as agents of the kingdom of God within Israel (see 6.13; 22.30). In verse 3: They are sent without staff and bag of provisions for wandering philosophers (see 10.4-5). In verse 5: To shake the dust off is an act to declare freedom from responsibility (10.11; Acts 13.51). In verses 7-9: He provokes Herod. Herod's appearance is ominous (3.1), anticipating his threatening return in 13.31. The link with Elijah again is strong (7.26-27; 9.19). Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 17th

 Read Luke 8.40--56. In 8.40-56: Jesus heals the afflicted and raises the dead. These two stories have already been woven together in Mark (Mk 5.21-43). The delay in healing Jairus' daughter means she is already dead when he arrived. In verses 43-45: Her chronic bleeding exceeded normal monthly flow and rendered her continually unclean to touch anyone (Lev 15.19-30). In verse 46: The power to heal was the presence of the Spirit (4.14; 5.15). In verse 48: To call her daughter is to mark her restoration in the family of Israel (see 13.16) and connects with the child (8.49). In verse 55: To say her spirit returned is to emphasize that she had died (23.46).  Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 16th

 Read Luke 8.22-39. In 8.22-56: The commanding word of Jesus. In verse 24: Master is the title of a person in authority (5.5; 8.45; 9.33, 49; 17.13). In verse 25: "who then is this?" recalls the power of God over the forces of the deep (Ps 107.28-29). In verses 26-39: The Gerasene demoniac. In verses 27-28: The lore about demons included anti-social behavior (he wore no clothes) and ritual impurity (in the tombs). His shouting is a power confrontation where the demoniac knows Jesus name (Son of the Most High God, (see 4.34, 41) and must reveal his, or at least the size of the horde (a Roman Legion was a troop of several thousand soldiers). In verses 31-33: The abyss is the bottomless pit reserved for God's enemies (Rev. 1-11). The swine are unclean and suitable for demons, but water was their destruction (see 11.24, "waterless regions"). In verse 37: The people, seized with great fear, have seen but not believed (8.10). Comments or questions..

Reading for October 15th

 Read Luke 8.1-21. In 8.1-21: Jesus, proclaimer of the word of God. In verses 1-3: These verses are Lukan summary, concluding the section that began in 6.20 without parallels in Mark's gospel. Mary Magdalene and Joanna are mentioned later among the first witnesses to the resurrection (24.10), see also 23.49, 55). In verses 4-8: see also Mk 4.1-9; Mt13.1-9. In verses 9-10: In accord with Isa 6, the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God is both revealed and hidden because of divine judgment (see 19.42; Acts 13.40-41; 28.26-28). In verses 11-15: Luke identifies the seed as the word of God, revealing the will of God and emphasizing growth as active obedience (8.21). Endurance is not merely waiting, but withstanding persecution and rejections (21.12-19). In verses 16-18: The secret things Jesus taught are quickly public, never mere private pieties. In verses 19-21: Jesus' true kindred, like Abraham's children (3.7-9), are identified by fidelity, not bloodlines. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 14th

 Read Luke 17.36-50. In 7.36-50: The prophet who forgives sins. In verse 36: The setting at Simon the Pharisee's table again raises the question of who is included with the righteous (see ch. 14). In verses 37-39: This woman in the city may have been one of the "people of the land" whom the Pharisees regarded as a sinner (see also v. 39) for not properly observing the law (5.30-32; compare 7.29-30). The true prophet knows who is in God's favor or disfavor. In verses 44-46: Footwashing, ointments and kissing are lavish displays of near eastern hospitality. In verses 48-50. Jesus' declarations display Jewish aversion to speaking directly of God, your sins are forgiven, your faith has saved you, but the scandal remains for the Pharisees. Only God can forgive sins (5.21-22). Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 13th

 Read Luke 7.24-35. In 7.24-35: The greatest prophet is surpassed.  In verses 26-28: John marks the end of the era of the great prophets, fulfilling Malachi's (3.1) prophecy (see Mt 11.14), and anticipating the kingdom of God inaugurated by Jesus (see also 16.16). In verse 31: The people of this generation (see 11.29-32, 50-51; 17.25) are under judgment, including those who thought they were protecting the law of God. In verse 35: God's wisdom is seen to prove who (her children, compare mat 11.19; "her deed") are truly faithful (see 11.49). Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 12th

 IDENTINGFYING THE MESSIAH OF GOD

In 7.1-9.50: Jesus mission moves beyond speaking to his disciples. His role is publicly tested.

Read Luke 7.1-23. In 7.1-50: Jesus the prophet of God. In verses 1-10: Jesus' encounter with a trusting foreigner has prophetic precedent in Elisha (2 Kings 5.1-14; Lk 4.27). In verses 2-5: The centurion is a "friend of Israel" (see also Acts 10.2). In verses 11-17: The great prophet and God's visitation. In verse 14: Touching the bier would have made Jesus ritually unclean. In verse 15; Like Elijah (see 4.26) Jesus raised the widow's son and gave him to his mother (1 Kings 17.17-24; see also 2 Kings 4.18-37). In verse 16: God has looked favorably on his people is literally "God has visited his people," picking up the promising and fearsome theme of divine "visitation" (1.68; 19.44). In verses 18-23: John's question. In verses 19-20: The one who is to come was announced by John (Isa 29.18; 35.5-6; 61.1). In verse 22 Jesus has done what he announced at Nazareth (4.18). Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 11th

 Read Luke 6.39-49. In verses 39-49: Jesus directs these traditional warnings against hypocrisy to his own disciples (6.17, 40), emphasizing the obedience of action (v. 47). Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 10th

Read Luke 6.20-38. In 6.20-49: The address on the plain. These verses begin a section (6.20-8.3) that is without parallels in Mark. This section contains many sayings of Jesus that are largely shared with Matthew. Many scholars suggest Matthew and Luke may have drawn from a "Sayings Source," which is commonly called "Q" for the German word "Quelle." No copy of such a source has ever been found apart from the verses shared and close agreements of Matthew and Luke, along with some parallels in the noncanonical Gospel of Thomas. Luke's account does not glorify poverty, but stresses the contrast between the present need of the poor and their future abundance, while the rich who have plenty now will be deprived in the future. In verse 20: Blessed means favored by God, in this case because of God's particular care for the poor (4.18; 7.22-23). The kingdom of God is God's heavenly rule come to earth as announced in the reign of the messiah, Jesus (see 4.18; 7.22; 17.20-21). In verse 24: Prophetic announcements of woe indicate divine judgment (10.13; 11.42-52; 17.1; 21.23; 22.22). In verse 26: False prophets are popular for telling people what they want t hear (Isa 30.10). In verses 27-31: This section ends with the "golden rule," but now radically applied to enemies, abusers, thieves, and beggars. These verses have often been misused to discourage oppressed people from seeking justice. In verses 32-38: The credit that sinners receive fits with usual standards of fair exchange with gentiles and nonbelievers practice. The children of the most high operate with the economy of mercy rather than fairness, relying on the reward system of God's reign. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 9th

 Read Luke 6.12-19. In 6.12-19: Preparing for Jesus' sayings. In verse 12: Jesus often prays at significant points in the story (3.21; 5.16; 6.12; 9.18, 28-29; 11.1; 22.41, 44-45; 23.46). In verses 13-16: The twelve are significant as apostles who are sent as ambassadors of the mission and judges of the twelve tribes of Israel, which is why Judas Iscariot had to be replaced later (22.3-6, 30, 47-53; Acts 1.15-26). In verse 17: Jesus standing to teach from a level place compares with Matthew's description that he "went up the mountain" and "sat down." The gathering crowds from many regions anticipate a momentous event (5.17). In verse 19: The power to heal is again a sign of the presence of God's spirit (4.1, 14; 5.17). Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 8th

 Read Luke 5.27--6.11. In 5.27-6.11: Conflicts about authority. In verses 27-32: Tax collectors and sinners were Jews who were not regarded as righteous because they did not observe the law but often collaborated with the Roman order. They were considered ineligible to be disciples at the fellowship table with a teacher, drawing near the law. Mk 2.13-17 and Mt 9.9-13 also emphasize Jesus' dramatic interpretation of who is invited to return to God (repentance). In verses 33-39: Jesus claims the freedom of the messiah, or ruler of the end time. The wedding feast was a symbol of heaven. In verse 35: This verse has encouraged Christians to fast to prepare for the return of Christ when feasting will again replace fasting. In 6.1-5: The royal privileges that David exercised (1 Sam 21.1-6) are claimed by the messiah, Jesus. The bread of the Presence was holy or set apart for God. Jesus again uses the title Son of Man to declare his role and authority concerning God's law (5.24; Dan 7.13). In verses 6-11: The conflict about sabbath law escalates as the other teachers seek an accusation. Jesus' question, is it lawful ... on the sabbath, is a classic question posed by Jewish teachers of the law: What kind of emergencies take precedence over sabbath practice? Comments or Questions..