Bible Reading Challenge Blog

We have to state the obvious even though the Scripture that we have today does not reflect what this day is for us. September 11 is a day that we will never forget. It has changed the course of history not only for our nation but for the entire world. As disciples of Jesus we are to live in this world and not of it as Paul tells us, but the events of this world impact us and affect us. I pray that today you will have an opportunity to think about how the evil actions of a very small group of people in this day and age are able to impact the broader world in general. It never used to be that way. But the converse should also be true. The action of a very small group of peole for good should also be able to impact and sway the world toward Jesus. That should be our goal.

Matthew 5 contain what is famously called either the sermon on the Mount or the Beatitudes. The sermon on the Mount because we read early in this chapter that he climbed a mountain and spoke to his disciples with a crowd of people being present. The Beatitudes because the first 11 verses begin with the word in blessed which in the Latin is beato and so the term beatitude. There is so much to touch bases on. Jesus calls blessed all those who act and live in a completely opposite manner than what current culture and society tell us how we ought to live.

We have teachings on anger, adultery, divorce, swearing, and vengeance. We also have one of the most poweful commandments, not options but commandments, to love our enemies even if they hate us and revile us. We are told in respect to our enemies that we are never to return evil for evil. That’s pretty powerful, and it is something we should follow.

This chapter is divided into two fairly consequential events in Jesus’ life. Right after he was announced to the world in his baptism he is taken away into the desert where he goes for 40 days and 40 nights. That sequence of 40 should ring familiar especially for the Old Testament where Moses and the Israelites wandered for 40 years. Noah and his family were on the boat as it rained for 40 days. Elijah, in a very similar fashion to Jesus, fasts for 40 days and then the angels come and give him food. This fasting and removing himself from people was all done in preparation for the beginning of his ministry. Going away and fasting and preparing yourself for what comes next is never a bad idea.

It is important to see that it is also in this chapter where we find out what Jesus’ home town was as an adult. It isn’t Nazareth, from where he grew up, it isn’t Bethlehem, where he was born, but rather you can see in verse 13 that he made Capernaum his home town. It is right along the Sea of Galilee.

Then Jesus calls some of his disciples, not all of them. We find this as the call of the fishermen where Peter and Andrew and James and John are called to follow Jesus so that they would one day become fishers of people. They dropped their nets and followed him. This is before we read about any miracles or anything that happens that would make one think that Jesus was a followable person. The miracles happen at the end of the chapter and he fills out his disciple cadre later on.

Jesus has not yet begun his ministry, and yet here we find ourselves already in the third chapter. We find that the first step before he begins his ministry is to be proclaimed to the world through his baptism by John the Baptist. John is quite an interesting character. Keep in mind John the Baptist is not the same person as the John who wrote the fourth Gospel. That John was the beloved disciple of Jesus. This John is Jesus’ cousin who was born to Elizabeth and Zechariah as we read in Luke 1. John the Baptist was probably one of the ascetics who lived in Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.

But John’s goal was clear, he came baptizing in water for the forgiveness of sins. Let’s be clear, the baptism that he provided was very different from our sacrament of baptism. His baptism was in order to prepare and cleanse people before they entered the temple. It had to happen frequently and often and that is why he had such a crowd around him at all times. Especially the religious leaders who had to be cleansed every time that they entered the temple. Our baptism, the sacrament of baptism, is that which has taken the place of circumcision. It is done once and for all and it is a sign and the seal of our acceptance into the kingdom of God through the grace and blood of Jesus. It is not an act that we chose to do, it is that which God provides for us in order to welcome us into his kingdom.

We remain in the infancy stage of Jesus in the second chapter of Matthew. We find the wise men who make their way to Herod. Notice two things about this story: 1) It never mentions how many there are and, 2) it says that the wise men go to the “house” in vs.11. Those are two things that the Christmas story normally assumes, and yet Scripture does not. I hope it isn’t a buzz kill. In the midst of this story we find Jesus and his mom and dad flee their country in the dead of night and make their way into Egypt, which wasn’t known to be much safer. But it was all they could do. I can’t help but think of those families that we helped as a church while we were in Moscow who were fleeing their countries, thinking they were landing in Europe, but ended up in Moscow, which is anything but Europe. We were able to get some of the refugee status and they settled in the US. Some others were able to return home and we helped them do that as well. Jesus fled to a foreign land and then came back, it is a part of his story that we often forget. We will see soon, next chapter, how we go from baby Jesus, or very young Jesus, to a 30 years old.

In Joshua 2:1 we read that the spies of Israel went to look over the land and began by staying the night in the house of a prostitute named Rahab. It is said matter of fact, but in our ears today it rings harshly and we wonder why did they choose that house? The first chapter of Matthew contains the geneaology of Jesus where we see the family history of the one who is called the Messiah. The fact that Jesus is the Messiah is mentioned by Matthew twice in this chapter. But it isn’t only Rahab. We read about Ruth who was a foreigner like Rahab and yet is within the line of Jesus.

Finally, the story of the birth of Jesus lays before the scandal of Mary being with child and not yet being married to Joseph. The history of the person Jesus is not a straight line and it is not clean at all. We often imagine that in order to get ahead in this world things have to line up for you perfectly. Not with God, God allows us all to embrace the vision and the future that he wants for us, a vision that we find in Jeremiah 29:11 that states very clearly for all of us: “I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future.” What a great beginning to our time togethe as we read through the Gospels.

90 Day Challenge 2026