Galatians 4-6

Paul continues in admonishing the Galatians to stop thinking that they will somehow be judged more holy or righteous because they are embracing legalistic practices in the law of Moses.  He tells them that the people who are convincing them of such nonsense are hypocrites themselves, who do not fully obey the law of Moses, and who only seek to gain power and influence over the Galatians for selfish ends.

The works of the flesh are clearly called out among those people who will not gain the kingdom of heaven, but it is the fruits of the God’s Spirit that become evident in those who belong to Him - Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and self-control.  It is these things that are produced in the lives of believers, in whom lives the Spirit of God.  The works of the flesh lead only to destruction and judgement, but eternal life an righteousness await those who have embraced Jesus Christ by faith.

Galatians 1-3

It is not known for sure when Paul wrote this epistle to the churches in Asia Minor that were collectively located in the Galatian region, which today is in modern Turkey.  However, the nature of Paul’s letter is to bring correction to those churches, where Jewish Christians were convincing Gentile Christians of the need to obey the Jewish laws of Moses.  Paul explains to them the foolishness of such a thing, since there was nothing in the observation of Old Testament laws that had saved them in the first place, and nothing in the law that would commend them to God beyond what had already been accomplished in Jesus Christ.

Paul explains all of this in the context of his own Christian journey, where he had been the strictest of Pharisees in following the law, and in persecuting the church of Christ, but was eventually embraced by the apostles in Jerusalem.  He tells them that all of the apostles came to agree that there was no benefit in having new Gentile believers submit to circumcision.  He also points out to them the timeline of God’s dealings with Abraham and his descendants, where he was declared righteous because of his faith in what the Lord had said, and the promises of God were given more than 400 years before the law was ever laid out to Moses.

Acts 14-15

In the city of Lystra the Lord heals a man who was lame from birth, and the people think that Paul and Barnabas are some of the Greek gods, and they attempt to sacrifice to them.  However, Paul explains that they are just witnesses for the one true God, who created all things in heaven, and on the earth.  Some of the Jews from the surrounding area convinced the people to hate Paul, and then he was stoned and left for dead.  Paul revives, and they travel on the next day, establishing churches in many of the cities they preached in, and appointed elders in each of those churches for the teaching and care of the people.  Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch, from where they had been commissioned.

Around that time there were believing Jews (many of them had been Pharisees), who were arguing that these newly converted Gentiles needed to be circumcised, as commanded in the law of Moses.  Paul and Barnabas disputed against this notion, and they were sent from Antioch to the elders in Jerusalem, to get the matter straightened out.  In Jerusalem, Peter, and the other apostles agreed with Paul and Barnabas, and they issued a letter to the Gentile churches, telling them to keep themselves from idols and sexual immorality, but to not think it necessary to be physically circumcised in order to be a Christian.  Paul and Barnabas took this letter back to Antioch, where it was received with gladness by the people.

Paul eventually wants to go back and visit the churches that he and Barnabas had planted, however they get into a huge argument over whether to bring John Mark (who had left them in the middle of their first journey).  Ultimately, Paul takes Silas with him, and Barnabas takes John Mark and goes to Cypress.

Acts 12-13

In Acts 12 there are many who are arrested and persecuted by Herod, who found that this was pleasing to the Jewish rulers, and it was at this time that he had James the Apostle, the brother of John put to death.  Peter is also arrested, however an angel of the Lord frees him from his chains, and leads him out the prison, without any of the guards seeing them.  Following his escape, Peter leaves that region in Galilee, and it is a short time later that Herod is struck down by God, and he dies.

Chapter 13 marks a transition in the story of this book, when Paul and Barnabas are commissioned by the elders in Antioch to go out and preach the gospel.  This is the beginning of what we call Paul’s first missionary journey, and after he and Barnabas are rejected by the Jewish rulers of the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch (a different Antioch), Paul tells them that they are going to preach the gospel of Jesus to the Gentiles.  There will be many times that Paul first tries to preach to the Jews in various cities, but he ends up going to the Gentiles when his own people reject him, and thus he is known as the Apostle to the Gentiles, just as Jesus had predicted when He called Saul on the road to Damascus.

Acts 10-11

A godly Roman Centurion in the city of Caesarea is told by an angel to send for Peter, in Joppa, so that he might hear the gospel preached.  While this is going on, Peter has a vision of many unclean animals, where God tells him to kill and eat, indicating that nothing is unclean that He has declared as clean.  Peter doesn’t understand the vision until he goes to Caesarea, and enters the house of the Centurion, who is a Gentile.  Peter comes to realize that the message of the gospel is being equally made available to both Jews and Gentiles, and God confirms this by saving those Peter preached to in the Centurion’s house, and then baptizing the people there in the Holy Spirit, even before they were baptized in water.  When Peter returns to Jerusalem, he is confronted by Christian Jews, who had heard that he had been preaching among the Gentiles.  Peter explains to them all that God had shown him, and the disciples and apostles in Jerusalem came to the same realization, that salvation by faith in Jesus Christ was now available to both Jews and Gentiles alike.

Some disciples went out from Jerusalem because of the persecution towards Christians (following the stoning of Stephen), and started preaching to Gentiles in the city of Antioch.  When the apostles heard about this in Jerusalem, Barnabas was sent to help out, and there were many saved in that city, and it was there the believers were first called “Christians”.  Barnabas traveled to the nearby city of Tarsus, and found Saul, and brought him back to Antioch, where they preached Jesus for an entire year before traveling together back to Jerusalem.

Acts 8:2-9:43

Following the stoning of Stephen, Saul becomes a crazy man in persecuting Christians, with many being hauled from their homes and taken to prison.

Much of Acts 8 focuses on some of the things that Philip did.  This is Philip the Deacon, not one of the 12 apostles.  He first preached Christ in Samaria, where many were saved, but they did not receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit until Peter and John went there from Jerusalem, and laid hands on them in prayer.  Philip is then led by the Spirit to go to the far southwest corner of Israel, which is closest to Egypt, in Gaza.  He encounters an Ethiopian court officer, who is reading from Isaiah 53, but who doesn’t understand what he is reading.  Philip explains the scriptures, leads him to salvation, and then baptizes him in water alongside the road.  After this baptism, Philip is translated to a city 20-30 miles north, and then preaches in every city on his way to Galilee, where he will stop in Caesarea.  It is likely that he planted the churches in Joppa and Lydda, which we will see already in existence in Act 9, as he traveled from Azotus (Ashdod) to Caesarea.

In Acts 9 Saul had been given a commission by the Sanhedrin to go and arrest Christians, and he is heading north towards the city of Damascus (in Syria) when He meets up with Jesus, and is struck blind.  He is told to go to Damascus, and stay until he is given further instructions from God.  The Lord appears to another disciple named Ananias, and tells him to go and pray for Saul in Damascus, and his sight is restored, and he immediately begins preaching to all that will hear, that Jesus is the Son of God.  As will be the case for the rest of his life, he makes the Jews there angry, and they plot to kill him, but he escapes to Jerusalem, and Barnabas introduces him to the rest of the disciples.

Meanwhile, Peter goes down to Lydda and Joppa, where his prayer heals a paralyzed man, and Tabitha (Dorcus) is raised from the dead, and many more people believed in Jesus, and were saved.

Acts 6-8:1

The apostles were being pulled in many different directions, because of how large the church was growing, and they called upon the church to select some men to be servants in the church, which we typically refer to as deacons today (table servant is the meaning of this word, like a waiter).  Among the seven men chosen was Stephen, who ended up also being a great witness for Christ, and many miracles were performed through him.  The Jews were jealous of all that was happening, and men came forward and lied about the things Stephen was teaching, indicating that he was denying the law of Moses.

Stephen was called before the Counsel, and given the opportunity to testify in his own defense.  In that he proceeds to give a lengthy history of the nation of Israel, indicating how much he knew about the law and their history.  He tells them time after time how often the leaders in Israel had failed to obey God, and then at the end how they had conspired to crucify the Son of God, Who was sent to them from God.  This was the last straw for the Counsel, and they rose up and proceeded to have Stephan stoned to death, and he became the first martyr for the Name of Jesus.  Saul of Tarsus, who would later become the apostle Paul, was present at Stephen’s stoning.

Acts 3-5

After these things Peter and John are going to the temple to pray, and they encounter a man begging at the gate, who had been lame for 40 years.  Peter tells him to get up and walk in the Name of Jesus, and he is made whole in that moment.  This causes an uproar among the people, and the temple rulers have Peter and John arrested, but they later let them go because of the crowd.  Many believed, and the church swelled to around 5,000.  There was great unity among the believers, and many who had property and money gave to help those who were in need.

However, there was a man and his wife, Ananias and Sapphira, who saw that Barnabas had sold a piece of property, and gave the proceeds to the church, and they wanted to be recognized for doing the same thing.  Unfortunately, they lied about the proceeds, and they kept back some of what they had received in selling the property.  They ended up dying because they lied about what they had done before God.  They were under no obligation to give anything, and they had the freedom to keep whatever they wanted from the sale of the property, but they suffered the judgement of God because they lied about what they had given.

A revival was going on, with many people being saved and healed, and the temple rulers were jealous and angry over what was going on, and again arrested the apostles, but at the night they were released from prison by an angel, and they went back and continued preaching to the people.  When they were taken again before the Jewish Council, Rabbi Gamaliel gave wise counsel to let them go, and not (essentially) go to war with God.

Acts 1-2

Immediately before Jesus was taken up into heaven, He told His disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they were baptized of the Holy Spirit, which took place about 10 days later.  Jesus told them that the purpose of that baptism was to give them power, so that they might be effect witnesses for Him throughout the whole world.  The Apostles watched Jesus being taken up into the clouds, and the angel told them that it would be in a like manner that He will return, where people will see Him coming from the sky.  While they were waiting for the Holy Spirit’s baptism in Jerusalem, the apostles chose Matthias to be the 12th apostle, in place of Judas, who had given up his office in betraying Jesus.

On the day of Pentecost, which was a feast of the Jews which takes place 50 days following the Feast of First Fruits (when Jesus was raised from the dead), the Holy Spirit fell in power upon the disciples who were gathered together in Jerusalem, just as the Lord has promised.  Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they began to speak in languages they didn’t otherwise know, and foreigners in Jerusalem for Pentecost heard their own native languages being spoken, and many believed after Peter stood up and preached about Jesus, and all that they were witnessing.  On that day some 3,000 people were saved, and it really marked the birth date of Christ’s church.

Matthew 28:9-20 | Mark 16:9-20 | Luke 24:13-53 | John 20:11-21:25

In each of these final chapters of the gospels we see snippets of the Lord’s appearing to His disciples, which occurred over the course of some 40 days.  He appeared to two of them on the road to Emmaus, where He gave them an intense Bible study as they walked about 7 miles, explaining all that the scriptures said about Him, and why He came to die, and then be raised from the dead.  Jesus appeared to the apostles several times in Jerusalem, and also met with them in Galilee during this period of time.  At the Sea of Galilee the Lord re-confirms His commission upon Peter, and commanding that he lead like a shepherd of Christ’s sheep.

In these weeks following the Lord’s resurrection, we’re told later that He appeared to many believers (more than 500 - 1 Corinthians 15:6), so even though Jesus did not appear to the Jews, or to unbelievers, His resurrection was witnessed by hundreds of disciples before He was taken up into heaven.

Matthew 27:57-28:8, Mark 15:42-16:8, Luke 23:50-24:12, and John 19:31-20:10

The very creation God had made conspired to kill His only Son, and He was dead and buried for three days and nights, just as He had predicted.  However, just as He had promised, He did not stay dead, and God raised Him to life on that following Sunday morning.  The tomb where He was buried was empty when the women and disciples went to examine it that Sunday morning, and that tomb is still empty today, signifying the victory of Jesus Christ over death and the grave, which was the curse of sin that had been introduced into the world by Adam.  Jesus took upon Himself the punishment of God in order to atone for the sin of mankind, but then He demonstrated victory over death and the grave, so that all who come to God in Him might also live forever with Him.

It is His death, His burial, and His resurrection on the third day that signifies the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ, and the hope of eternal life that every person can have with God, who place their faith in Him!  No other religion can point to an empty grave, and a risen Lord!

Matthew 27:27-56, Mark 15:16-41, Luke 23:26-49, and John 19:17-30

Here is the account of our Lord’s crucifixion, to which He submitted willingly, and which had been planned in heaven from before the time of creation.  Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that He Who knew no sin became sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God.  Jesus was slain as the Passover Lamb, and took away the sin of the world, so that God might extend His grace and mercy towards all who will come to Him in repentance.

As Jesus was dying, the massively thick veil inside the temple was Divinely torn in half, opening the way for all to go into the presence of God inside the holy of holies.

Matthew 27:1-26 | Mark 15:1-15 | Luke 22:66-23:25 | John 18:28-19:16

After being questioned by the High Priest and the rulers of the temple, Jesus is taken by them to Pilate, where they petitioned him to crucify Jesus for blasphemy.  Pilate makes many attempts to avoid doing that, saying that he could find no fault in Jesus, and even trying to pass Him off to Herod, but that didn’t work either.  He also tried releasing Him outright, but the Jews would have none of that, and demanded that he release Barabbas instead, who was a convicted insurrectionist, robber, and murderer.

Jesus confirmed to Pilate that He was a king, but that His kingdom was not of this world, and therefore not a threat to him, or to Rome.  Jesus tells Pilate that all of this is happening because it has been approved by His Father in heaven, and that he would have no ability to kill Him if that wasn’t the case.

Pilate finally turns Jesus over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified after having Him scourged.

Matthew 26:47-75 | Mark 14:43-72 | Luke 22:47-65 | John 18:2-27

Immediately following the prayer of Jesus in the garden, Judas led hundreds of soldiers there to arrest Him.  It’s been noted that Judas had to identify Jesus with a kiss, and that he was probably very ordinary in the way he looked.  They first take Jesus to the house of Annas, the father-in-law of the High Priest, Caiaphas, and it is in the courtyard of his house that Peter denies Jesus three times before the rooster crows.

Jesus is questioned, with the intent that He would say something they could kill Him for, but He only says what He had been saying before.  None of the witnesses against Him were consistent in saying the same thing.  In all of these things the trail and conviction of Jesus was illegal in Israel, yet they were already determined to kill Him.  Finally, they ask Him plainly if He is the Christ, and Jesus confirms that He is, which they interpret to be blaspheme - of course, it’s not blaspheme if it’s true!

John 17:1-18:1 | Matthew 26:30-46 | Mark 14:26-42 | Luke 22:39-46

John chapter 17 is one of the few prayers of Jesus that have been recorded for us, and in it He is praying to the Father for His disciples, as well as for all of those who will believer in Him as a consequence of their testimony (which includes us!).  One of the key wishes of Jesus in this prayer is for His disciples to be “one”, or in unity, just like the Father and the Son are in perfect accord.  This is a charge for us to fulfill also, where we need to unite on all we hold in common, and refuse to let non-essential differences of opinion drive wedges between believers.  It’s unfortunate that the church of Jesus is better known for the things we disagree on, rather than what and Who we hold in common!

After these things the Lord and His disciples go to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prays.  He prays three times to the Father, asking that the trial He was about to face be removed, if there was any other way to accomplish His plan.  This episode demonstrates vividly that there was no other way for men to be saved, except that Jesus be sacrificed to pay for the sin of the world, and that is how His prayer ends, when He says “nevertheless, not my will, but Yours be done”.  Many people today say that there are many ways to get to God, but if that were true, then it would have never been necessary for Jesus to be crucified that night.

John 14-16

In these three chapters the Lord gives direct instruction to His disciples as He is preparing to be arrested that same night.  In them He said clearly that He was going to leave them, but He was not going to leave them alone, because He was going to ask the Father to send His Holy Spirit to abide with them forever.  It will be the Lord’s Holy Spirit in them that will enable them to do even more for the Father than Jesus did Himself, speaking about the work they will do as witnesses for Him for the rest of their lives.  He said that the Holy Spirit will be given to lead believers into all truth, and for unbelievers He will convict their hearts of sin, and of God’s judgement, so that some might repent and turn to Him.

As they were walking with Jesus from the place they had celebrated His last supper, Jesus instructs them about the critical importance of abiding only in Him.  This truth was demonstrated throughout the ministry of Jesus, Who never did anything, except what His Father told Him, and His disciples (including us) must also rely 100% on Him for direction and power to say and do those things He has prepared for us.  There is also an expectation for each of us to bear fruit that is pleasing to the Father, which is why we are here, and consistent with Ephesians 2:10, which says that He has prepared in advance many good works for us to do for Him.

Matthew 26:17-29 | Mark 14:12-25 | Luke 22:7-38 | John 13

On the day that Jesus will later be arrested, arrangements are made for them to celebrate the Passover meal, which is where the Lord initiates the new covenant, based on His blood that will be shed, and His body that will be broken.  He again tells them that He will be taken and crucified, and that the one who will betray Him is among them.  He identifies Judas as His betrayer, but no one seems to notice, just like they persist in ignoring that He is preparing to die the very next day.  He also tells Peter that he will deny Him three times that very night, which he does not believe.

There had been many times in Christ’s ministry when the disciples would argue about which of them would be the greatest in His kingdom, and this happens again, just hours before Jesus is going to be betrayed and arrested later that night.  Jesus again tells them that anyone who wants to be great in His kingdom must humble himself to be the least of all servants, and then He demonstrates that very thing by humbling Himself to wash each of their feet.  It was the duty of the lowest household slave to wash the feet of guests who came into the house, and Jesus does what none of His disciples had done when they first arrived, serving each of them in the role of the lowest slave.  We never see another time when any of these disciples will see each other as competition in the Lord’s kingdom.

Matthew 24:32-26:5 | Mark 13:28-14:2 | Luke 21:28-22:6

The Lord finishes His Olivet discourse, telling His disciples in many different ways about things that will happen in the last days, and about the importance of maintaining a very watchful eye out for His return.  He told the story of the 10 virgins, where only half of them were prepared to enter in to the celebration with the bride and Bridegroom.  He also told a story about the Master giving His servants money to use while He is away, but He returns to get an accounting of what each servant did with what He gave them.  The Lord has given each of His servants resources, and we will all be called to account for what we did for Him, with what He gave us, whether that be money, abilities, or responsibilities.

The days of this age are quickly drawing to a close, and it is important for each of us to also hear the words of Jesus, so that we are each watching for His return, and prepared to stand before Him at the Judgement Seat of Christ, where He will judge each person’s works for Him, as Christians.

Matthew 24:1-31 | Mark 13:1-27 | Luke 21:5-27

These passages mark a portion of (what has been called) the Lord’s Olivet discourse, when He tells His disciples of many things that will happen in the last days.  He first tells them the massive temple in front of them will cease to exist, with not even one stone left upon another, which was literally fulfilled almost 40 years from that time, when Titus Vespasian sacked Jerusalem and burned the temple to the ground, but then dismantled the temple stone by stone in order to recover all of the gold that melted in the fire (this gold ended up funding the construction of the Coliseum in Rome).

Jesus goes on to describe a time of the worst persecution in the history of the world, which will occur during the great tribulation at the end of the age.  Many will suffer and die during this time, but before all life is extinguished, Jesus will appear with great glory in the sky, and will execute judgement upon satan, and the enemies of God.

Matthew 23 | Mark 12:38-44 | Luke 20:45-21:4

Jesus had been examined and tested by the scribes and Pharisees in the temple, who could find no fault in Him.  He then turns and starts talking to the general people who have been listening to all that had been said.  Jesus speaks harsh judgements against the scribes and the Pharisees, telling the people the extent of their hypocrisy, warning the people not to follow their horrible examples.  He declares that they will suffer the judgement of God in their time because of the corruption of their hearts.

About this same time Jesus sits down and watches as people came to the temple to put money in the box.  Some of the scribes and Pharisees and rich people made a big production out of giving money to the temple, but Jesus was blown away by the gift of the poorest of widows.  All of the disciples around Him missed what had happened, but Jesus describes to them what a huge gift she had given, even though it was just 2 pennies, it was literally all that she had.  God doesn’t expect us to give everything we have, but He is watching, just like Jesus did, and He will not fail to bless every gift in proportion to the heart of the giver.