Daily Reading Passages

Click below for access to the passages. Biblegateway.com is an excellent site with many versions of the Bible. The link below opens in NIV.  Youversion.com is a new site that allows you to annotate your own Bible, make notes, and comments once you create an account. That link opens in the TNIV version. Other versions are available at both sites.

Coaching Comments

Today's Old Testament reading, Exodus 12:14 - 13:16, focuses on details of the Passover, this special avenue God made available for those who were willing to avoid the Angel of Death. Yesterday we read the specific instructions the Hebrews were to follow on that day. Today's reading begins with God telling them that not only are they going to do this once, they are going to re-live this moment every year as a holy celebration and reminder of His deliverance. Following this are specific instructions about how they are going to celebrate this holiday - keeping them focused on remembering what they went through and what God did for them.

Everything happened as God said it would, and finally Pharaoh had enough and was willing to let the Hebrews go. The Egyptians were thrilled to see the Hebrews go and gave them great wealth to send them on their way. This part of the story ends with the statement that 430 years had passed to the day since the Hebrews had come into Egypt.

After this we get a few more instructions about how to keep the Passover in future years, and then in Chapter 13 God adds another symbol for the people. God claims the first born as His special property. Every first-born animal and son belongs to God, and in order for the family to keep it they have to offer a sacrifice of redemption. This, along with the Passover, are to be ongoing reminders to the people of what God had done. Every year the Passover reminded them of God's power and where they had come from. And then every first-born had the reminder that their life was theirs through grace alone. You can see how God is using these circumstances to weave into the lives of the Hebrews important truths about Himself. Even before they could really understand what was going on, God was teaching them about Himself and His plans for them.

The New Testament reading, Matthew 20:29 - 21:22, takes us through a quick series of events in Jesus' life.

At this point Jesus and the disciples are on the road to Jerusalem for the final time. Jesus knows that in Jerusalem things will not go well, and so everything that happens on the way is filled with significance. First he comes on to blind men who hail Him as the messiah. "Son of David" is a clear Jewish title of royalty. The crowd tries to shut them up, but Jesus finds them and heals them. Then the entourage arrives at Jerusalem and we see the triumphal entry.

This had to be the high point for the disciples. Here they were seeing their dreams come true - Jesus welcomed into Jerusalem like a king. Certainly, a new earthly kingdom was in the making! The crowds were high energy. This was the event of the year.

On the way into town, Jesus stopped at the Temple. Finding the temple full of merchants hawking their wares, Jesus became indignant and threw them out. They were standing between people and worship (especially poor people.) Jesus also healed some people. The leaders saw all of this and were incensed. Jesus was really a threat to their authority, and something had to be done.

We end our reading with the strange little episode of the withered fig tree. Jesus, having just come from the temple, with all its pomp and ritual, saw a fig tree and approached it hoping for a snack. It had leaves and looked healthy, but it had no fruit. Jesus then cursed the fig tree and it withered and died. The disciples were amazed at this and asked Jesus how he did it. This leads Jesus into a quick teaching on prayer. But as I read the passage I wonder if the disciples didn't miss Jesus' point.

Jesus had just left the temple, the center of Jewish religion. It looked for all the world like something was going on there. It was beautiful. It had crowds of people. There were sacrifices being offered hourly. It really looked from a distance like something was going on. But Jesus knew that at this point, it had become an empty shell. There was no real fruit. I wonder if Jesus didn't approach the fig tree to make just this point to his disciples. A tree in a garden was a frequently used symbol for Israel, and the scripture pointed out the necessity of fruit.

They were mostly concerned with how Jesus did this supernatural thing, and Jesus honored their interest with an answer, but I wonder if He wasn't really trying to teach them something different.

Today finish the 25th Psalm in our Psalms reading. Psalms 25:16-22. It ends with a prayer for deliverance, asking God for protection and healing.

Today's reading in Proverbs, Proverbs 6:12-15, is the condemnation of a person who tries to be crafty for personal gain or to stir up trouble. Very bad things will come to someone who lives this way.

2007 Cohort Comments