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DAILY READ – JOHN 3

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The Big Read – Daily Read

Read John 3

John 3

v1-8: To be born again is “to begin a new life” with a new nature, with fresh affections and fresh aims.  It is to be born from above because this new birth “has its origin from heaven and leads to heaven.”  It is to be born of the Spirit as this “change is not brought about by any wisdom or power of our own, but by the power and influence” of the Holy Spirit.  Unless we have been born again we cannot see the kingdom of God.

v9-15: Christ is the only one who can “reveal to us the will of God for our salvation.”  Why?  “Because he is the One who came down from heaven and is in heaven.”  This makes him able, fit and qualified in every way.

v16: “In order to accomplish human redemption and salvation, it pleased God to give his only begotten Son. He not only sent him into the world with full and ample power to negotiate peace between heaven and earth; he also gave him, that is, gave him up to suffer and die for us as the great atoning sacrifice.”  Our duty is to believe in Jesus whom God has given for us and to us.  This will bring the benefits of being saved from the miseries of hell and entitlement to the joys of heaven.

v17-18: The intention of God in sending His Son was that through Him the world might be saved.  “He came into the world with salvation in his mind, with salvation in his hand.”  Jesus has opened up the way of salvation, “so that whoever wanted to could enter through it.”

v19-21: “God sent One to save us who was dearest to himself, and will he not be dearest to us? Will we not believe on the name of the One who has a name above every name?”  The reason so many don’t is they love the darkness rather than the light because their deeds are evil.  Jesus the light shows up their sinfulness and destroys “the good opinion they had of themselves.”

v22-30: Even though Christ had taken up John’s work of preaching and baptising, he continued doing these things.  Christ’s labours did not render John’s unnecessary or useless. “We are mistaken if we think that the excelling gifts and graces and the works and usefulness of one person lessen and belittle those of another who has obtained mercy to be faithful, because the Spirit is a free agent, dispensing to every one severally as he will.”  We should not envy those who are more gifted or who have a larger sphere of usefulness, nor should we be discontented if our gifts and usefulness is inferior to others.

v31-36: “An unbeliever is one who does not believe the teaching of Christ and does not submit to the rule of Christ.”  They are guilty of both disbelief and disobedience.

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

DAILY READ – JOHN 2

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Read John 2

John 2

v1-11: When we discover that our friends have a particular need, the first thing we should do for them is appeal to Christ in prayer.  “When we speak to Christ, we must not tell him what to do, but humbly spread out our case before him and then leave the matter to him to do as he pleases.”

v12-17: The prophet Malachi prophesied that after the Lord has sent his messenger, the Lord will suddenly come to his temple.  Now that John the Baptist, the messenger, had come, it was now to be expected that “this was the time when, and the temple was the place where, the Messiah was to be expected.”  Yet here no one comes to the Lord except a small group of people.

v18-22: The sign that Jesus gave them to prove He was the Messiah, was His own death and resurrection, which He chose to express by the image of destroying and rebuilding the temple.  Why did He chose this image?  First, “to justify himself in cleansing the temple, which they had defiled; it was as if he had said, “You who defile one temple will destroy another, and I will prove my authority to cleanse what you have defiled by raising what you will destroy.” The defiling of the temple is its destruction, and its reformation its resurrection.”  But also “Because the death of Christ was truly the destruction of the Jewish temple—the main cause of that destruction—and his resurrection was the raising of another temple, the Gospel church.”

v23-25: Christ did not commit himself to those who believed in Him here in Jerusalem because He knew them.  He knew that some were false and wickedness, while others were weak.  This was because He knew all men, “not only their names and faces, as it is possible for us to know many people, but also their nature, characters, attitudes, and intentions, as we do not know any person, scarcely ourselves.” Not only that, He knew all men, “because his powerful hand made them all, and his piercing eye sees them all—looks into them. He knows his subtle enemies and all their secret plans, his false friends and their true characters, what they are really like, whatever they claim to be.”  Christ’s omniscience means that He knows who are truly His.

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

DAILY READ – JOHN 1

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The Big Read – Daily Read

Read John 1

Introduction

John was the last of the four Evangelist to write his Gospel, and he includes what the previous three passed by.  “He gives us more of the mystery of what the other Evangelists gave us only the history of.” 

John 1

v1-5: The two great things that are needed by fallen human beings are spiritual life and spiritual light because they lie under the power of death and darkness.  Jesus has both life and light so is fit to be our Saviour and bring salvation to us.

v6-14: “A Christian is someone who receives Christ and believes on his name.” To believe on His name is to acknowledge and personally accept that He is the Word of God, the King of kings, the Lord our righteousness, the Saviour.  To believe on His name is a gift from God which we receive.

v15-18: Only Jesus, God’s Son, is fit to make God known, because no-one knows the Father as He does.  He “has declared the revelation of God that no one had seen or known at any time, not only what was hidden of God but also what was hidden in God.”

v19-28: John as the voice, called out in the desert, “far away from the noise of the world and the rush of its business.” He called out “to put right the mistakes of human beings about the ways of God” and “to prepare people and make them ready to receive Christ and his Gospel.”  Withdrawing from the hustle and bustle of the world gives us the opportunity to better hear from God about how to get ready for His coming.

v29-36: Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God.  “He is the great sacrifice by which atonement is made for sin, reconciling human beings to God.” He takes away sin, that is, “what is most offensive to the holiness of God and destructive to our happiness.”  He does this for the world, purchasing “forgiveness for all those who repent and believe the Gospel.”  It is our duty to behold the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world, and to hold firmly to Him, not what He came to take away, “because Christ will take away either our sins or us.”

v37-42: “The strongest and most effective arguments that can be made to a sensitive, awakened soul to follow Christ is that he is the only One who takes away sin.”  But it is not enough to follow Christ now and then; we must stay with Him.

v43-51: God can use a variety of ways to bring those He has chosen to Himself.  But whatever means he uses, Christ sought us and found us before we sought him.  “Christ will find all those who are given to him, wherever they are, and none of them will be lost.”

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

DAILY READ – LUKE [COMPLETE]

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A resource for The Big Read are these devotional notes covering the whole of Luke’s Gospel adapted from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

Download Daily Read – Luke as a pdf

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

DAILY READ – LUKE 24

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Read Luke 24

Luke 24

v1-12: If the women had believed and taken notice of what Jesus had said, specifically, that He would be raised, the news of His resurrection “might not seem so surprising to them.” Notice that the angels did not tell the women anything new, but reminded them of what Christ had said. “Many things that are puzzling and perplexing to us would be both clear and useful if we only rightly understood the words of Christ and had them standing by us.”

v13-35: How does Christ by His Spirit make Himself known to His people? “He opens the Scriptures to them, because they testify about him to those who search them, and search for him in them.” He also meets His people at His table. “In the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper…often he makes further revelations of himself to them… he is known to them in the breaking of bread.” But there also needs to be an “opening of the eyes of their mind and the causing of the scales to fall from them.” If Jesus “who gives revelation does not also give understanding, we remain in the dark.”

v36-49: “By a direct and immediate work on their minds, which they themselves must have been aware of, he enabled them to grasp the true meaning and intention of the Old Testament prophecies of Christ and to see them all fulfilled in him.” We need to have our eyes opened, to be given understanding, to learn more, because even if we know much of Christ, there are still many things we are still in the dark about. “Christ’s students never learn beyond their Bibles in this world, but they need to learn more and more from their Bibles, and to grow more ready and mighty in the Scriptures. We need nothing more than to understand the Scriptures in order to have right thoughts of Christ and have our mistakes about him put right.”

v50-53: Like the high priest did when he blessed the people, Jesus lifted up his hands, and blessed the apostles, as Jacob blessed his sons. The apostles were “representatives of the twelve tribes, so that in blessing them he blessed all his spiritual Israel and put his Father’s name on them.” The blessing Jesus gave to them did not end when He ascended into heaven, because “the intercession that he went to heaven to make for all his people is a continuation of the blessing.” If we have receive Christ’s blessing, it is right that we adore Him and worship Him with grateful hearts.

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

DAILY READ – LUKE 22-23

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Read Luke 22-23

Luke 22

v1-6: Why did Christ choose someone who He knew was going to betray Him to be part of His group?  How could one, who knew Christ as those in his band of disciples did, be so evil to betray Him?  The answer to the first question is that “Christ had wise and holy purposes in taking Judas a disciple,” and as for the second, “it was the work of the Devil, who thought he would ruin Christ’s undertaking, that he would crush his head, but it proved only to be the bruising of his heel.”  If someone betrays Christ, or His truth or ways, “it is Satan who puts them up to it.”

v7-20: The bread we eat is given to us by Christ as food for our souls, “because nothing can be more nourishing and satisfying to our souls than the message of Christ’s atonement for sin and the assurance of our share in that atonement.” The blood shed, by which atonement was made, is represented by the cup and symbolises the new covenant made with us.  When we take the bread and the cup, we do so as those who needed Christ’s body to be broken and blood to be shed for us, and we trust that it has – that the Son of God love us and gave Himself for us.

v21-38: “Although there may be many weaknesses in the faith of true believers, their faith will not fail totally and finally” when drawn into sin.  This is because of the mediation and intercession of Jesus Christ.  “If they were left to themselves, they would fail, but they are kept by the power of God and the prayer of Christ.” Jesus’ prayers for both the individual believer and all who believe, shows that we should also pray for both ourselves and for others too.

v39-46: “When we find ourselves—either by our outward circumstances or by our inward inclinations—entering temptation, we should rise and pray , “Lord, help me in this time of need.”

v47-53: The hour had come.  This was the hour that “Satan, the ruler of the darkness of this world, is allowed to do his worst, to bruise the heel of the seed of the woman.” It was only an hour.  A short time.  A limited time which had been appointed for them.  It was an hour that Jesus accepted would happen to Him.

v54-62: The look that Christ gave Peter was “a convicting look… a rebuking look… a pleading look… a compassionate look… a significant look.”  The look of Christ, accompanied by the grace of God, brought about a godly sorrow for sin in Peter’s heart which led to repentance.  This convicting, rebuking, pleading, compassionate and significant look is how Christ looks on us when we have sinned.

v63-71: For those who are determined not to believe, it does not matter how many convincing proofs they are given.  The Jewish leaders were expecting the Messiah, and though Jesus gave many amazing proofs that He was He, they still would not believe in Him.

Luke 23

v1-12: Jesus was accused of disloyalty to the Roman government and stirring up this disloyalty in his followers.  Yet the truth is that those who are Christ’s faithful followers will be good subjects of the civil government.

v13-25: Pilate knew that Christ was innocent and had done nothing to deserve either chains or death.  But fear stopped him from releasing Him and doing the right thing.

v26-31: We should weep for everyone who do not believe in Jesus, for they are facing ruin and destruction.  We do not need to weep for those in Christ for they are safe, and in death will enter perfect rest and joy.

v32-43: In Christ’s prayer for His enemies, we see the reason for His death.  He was suffering and dying so that sinners could be forgiven and pardoned.  Christ is now interceding for all who repent and believe in Him, “Father, forgive… all who will repent and believe the gospel.”  Forgiveness of sins for ourselves and others is “the great thing we must beg from God,” and wonderfully, “the greatest sinners may, through Christ, upon their repentance, hope to find mercy.”

v44-49: By committing Himself into His Father’s hand, Christ was doing two things. First, He was offering Himself up as the sacrifice for sinners, to be accepted instead of them.  Second, He was showing “his dependence on his Father for raising him from the dead by reuniting his soul and body. He commended his spirit into his Father’s hand to be received into Paradise and returned the third day.”

v50-56: “There are many who are sincere in their support of Christ’s interests who, though they do not make a show of their outward profession of faith, will be more ready to do him an act of real service when need be than others who appear more significant and make a louder noise.”

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

DAILY READ – LUKE 21

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Read Luke 21

Luke 21

v1-4: Jesus Christ sees what we give to the work of the gospel and the relief of the poor.  “He notices whether we give much and generously, in proportion to what we have, or whether we are mean and give as little as possible. In fact, he looks even further: he watches to see whether we give charitably and with a willing mind, or grudgingly and with reluctance.”

v5-19: The disciples ask, ‘When?’ and Christ’s response is, ‘Watch out that you are not deceived.’  This reminds us that “those who are most inquisitive about the things of God—though it is very good to be so—are in most danger of being deceived and need most to stand on their guard.”  When we are convinced that Jesus is the Christ and that the gospel saves, “we must be deaf to all suggestions of another Christ and another gospel.”

v20-28: The destruction of Jerusalem was a kind of appearing of Christ and an act of His judgment.  It previews the terror and destruction that is coming to all unbelievers when Jesus returns.  On that day, those who refused in this life to see that He came first to save them, will be made to see Him coming to destroy them, as the unfaithful Jews did.

v29-38: We must watch and pray always.  Both to keep guard on ourselves and to maintain fellowship with God.  Knowing that the Lord is coming again, we need to “watch against sin, and watch [ourselves] to make sure you do every duty and make the most of every opportunity to do good” so that we will be counted worthy “to lead a life of praise in the next world.”

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

DAILY READ – LUKE 20

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Luke 20

v1-8: Christ “not only purchased salvation for us but also proclaimed it to us.”  But often when He was preaching the gospel to people, he was interrupted.  “This shows us that Satan and his agents do all they can to hinder the preaching of the gospel to the people, because nothing weakens the influence of Satan’s kingdom more.”  We should not be surprised when this happen as we try to speak the good news to others.

v9-19: When people are called to do their duty to God, those who have decided not to “cannot bear to be called on to do it.”  Even when recognise that the punishment for such a sin is “just, fair, and predictable,” they “proceed and persevere in their sinful ways even though at the same time they have a foresight and a dread of the destruction that those ways are leading to.”

v20-26: In civil matters we should submit to civil powers, but in spiritual or sacred things, only God is our King.  “We must worship and adore God in such ways as he appointed, and not according to Caesar’s inventions.”

v27-38: In the world to come, saints cannot die any more, and this is given as a reason why they do not marry.  In the present world where there is death, “there must be marriage in order to fill up the empty spaces left by death, but where there are no burials there is no need for weddings…[as death] is forever excluded from heaven.”

v39-47: We can know why the Christ can be both David’s Son and David’s Lord.  “Christ, as God, was David’s Lord, but Christ, as man, was David’s Son… By his human nature he was the offspring of David, a branch of his family; by his divine nature he was the root of David, from whom David had his being and life and all the supplies of grace.”

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

DAILY READ – LUKE 19

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Read Luke 19

Luke 19

v1-10: Christ came from heaven to earth to seek what was lost. He came into this lost world to seek and save it. “He seeks those who were not worth seeking; he seeks those who did not seek him, or ask for him.” Even though it is hard for rich people to enter the kingdom of God, if Christ is seeking after one who is rich, they will be found and saved, like Zacchaeus was.

v11-27: All Christians have been given a great work to do now. They have been given the power and the abilities to make disciples – to catch fish in the gospel net or persuade guests to come to the wedding feast – and Christ expects those he gives power to, to serve Him in this way. We must continue to do this work till our Master comes, “whatever difficulties or oppositions we may face in it.”

v28-40: When we are tempted to draw back from serving Christ in anyway, consider how eager and willing Jesus Christ was to suffer and die for us. “He went forward, bound in the spirit, to Jerusalem; he knew very well the things that would happen to him there, and yet he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. He led the way, as if he longed to be on the spot, longed to engage, to take to the field, and to see action.”

v41-48: Our Lord Jesus looks on the “sin and foolishness of those who persist in showing contempt for [the gospel]” with great grief. His eyes weep over lost souls heading for destruction and so should ours. Our desire, like His, should be that they turn and live, because we don’t want anyone to perish.

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

DAILY READ – LUKE 18

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Read Luke 18

Luke 18

v1-8: God’s people are praying people.  We are to “communicate with him both continually and on particular occasions… both according to discipline and in emergencies,” and we must never become tired of praying.  This parable teaches us to persevere in prayer for both ourselves and for the church.

v9-14: We can be sure that if we pray, like this tax collector, through Jesus Christ, “God, be merciful to me a sinner”;  if we acknowledge that we are sinners “by nature and by practice, and guilty before God” and depend “on nothing except the mercy of God,” God will forgive our sin and be reconciled to us.

v15-17: “Children are so welcome to Christ that those adults who have within them the clearest disposition and attitude of children are the most welcome to him.”

v18-30: If this rich young ruler really knew what it meant to keep the law and what he was truly like, he would have said the complete opposite to what he did, “All these have I broken from my youth up, in thought, word, and deed.” 

v31-34: Christ’s sufferings and death fulfil the Scriptures.  They are proof that the Scriptures are God’s Word, because what they foretold about the Messiah, were fulfilled in Him.

v35-43: Here we have a “picture of the human race that Christ came to heal and save… they are both poor and blind.” Those who turn to Christ and cry out for mercy, will find Him to be a merciful king who will have mercy on them.

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

DAILY READ – LUKE 16-17

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Read Luke 16-17

Luke 16

v1-18: We are to notice the shrewd way the man made the most of the present opportunity to provide for his future needs rather than his dishonesty toward his master. “The wisdom of worldly people in the concerns of this world is to be imitated by us in spiritual matters: they are motivated to make the most of every opportunity, to do first what is most necessary, to prepare for winter in summer and harvest, to grab hold of a good bargain when it is offered them, to trust the faithful and not the false. Oh that we were so wise in our spiritual lives!”

v19-31: Within the parable we have a warning about the torment of hell for those who will not accept the offers made of eternal life. “As soon as the soul leaves the body, it goes immediately to either heaven or hell, to comfort or torment… In heaven, there is eternal comfort. On the other hand, hell will truly be hell to those who go there from the midst of enjoying all worldly delights and pleasures.”

Luke 17

v1-10: Stumbling blocks will come to God’s people. Persecutors who “cause injury.” Deceivers who “corrupt Christ’s truths and ordinances and so trouble the minds of the disciples.” Professing Christians who “lead disgraceful lives and so weaken the hands and sadden the hearts of God’s people.” Jesus pronounces a woe on those who harm His followers in this way.

v11-19: The blood of Christ is powerful to cleanse everyone and anyone with spiritual leprosy who cry out for mercy. If we have received this cleansing, we “should make it known to others, so that they too may praise God and may be encouraged to trust in him.”

v20-37: The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom. It does not have “external show as other kingdoms have”. Christ says that when it comes we may not be aware of it, this is because rather than changing people’s outward condition, it changes their hearts and lives. “We must not think that Christ’s church and cause are lost because they are not always equally visible and effective.”

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

DAILY READ – LUKE 15

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Luke 15

v1-7: God’s concern for lost sheep, “for poor wandering sinners,” is such that He sent His own Son, the great and good Shepherd, who will find what He seeks. Even though He has a considerable flock, God will not lose one of His sheep and goes after the one who is lost to the rest of the flock and to themselves.

v8-10: God has a variety of bringing lost souls home to Himself, as seen by the woman who lights a candle to look behind the door, under the table, in every nook and cranny in the house, and who sweeps the house and seeks diligently till she finds the lost coin. God “has lighted the candle of the Gospel not to show himself the way to us but to show us the way to him, to reveal ourselves to us. He has swept the house by the convictions of the word. He seeks diligently; his heart is set on bringing lost souls back to himself.”

v11-32: “The conversion of sinners is greatly pleasing to the God of heaven, and all who belong to his family should rejoice in it; those in heaven do, and those on earth should. It was the father who began the joy and set all the others rejoicing. We should be glad at the repentance of sinners, because it fulfils God’s purpose; it is the bringing to Christ of those whom the Father had given him and in whom he will be forever glorified.”

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)