Daily Reading Week 16
Sunday
1 Corinthians 15 (Focus on verses 3-7, 17)
Discover:
In the first century, some members of the Corinthian church started doubting the future bodily resurrection of the dead. Paul stepped in to set things straight. He began by highlighting the core beliefs he and the Corinthians shared—the essential truths of the gospel. These truths are laid out in today's passage, which is one of the most important texts in Scripture for defining the gospel message.
Paul talks about these truths as something he "received" and then "delivered" to the Corinthians. This is a technical way of referring to the Apostolic tradition—the established teachings that Jesus gave to the Apostles, which they then shared with the world through their preaching before it was written down in the New Testament. The heart of this tradition, what is "of first importance," includes Christ's death for our sins, His burial, His resurrection, and His appearances to many witnesses after His resurrection. These events outline the gospel: Christ's atoning death, His vindication as Savior and Lord, and the confirmation of these events by eyewitnesses who trusted what they saw and heard and passed it on to others.
Paul emphasizes that Christ's death and resurrection happened "according to the Scriptures". These events don't stand alone; they were predicted and given meaning by the Old Testament, which is further explained by the New Testament. The entire Old Testament points to the necessity of Christ's life, atoning death, and resurrection. Key passages like Isaiah 52:13–53:12 and Psalm 16 specifically look forward to the Messiah's death and resurrection. Additionally, Christ's life and work are foreshadowed in the old covenant sacrificial system, monarchy, patriarchal history, songs of Israel, census lists, genealogies, and more. The Old Testament, in various ways, points us to the Messiah, and the New Testament helps us understand how.
Respond:
1. How does the resurrection of Jesus impact your understanding of life after death?
2. What doubts or questions do you have about the resurrection, and how can you seek
answers?
3. How does knowing that over 500 witnesses saw the risen Christ strengthen your faith?
Monday
Isaiah 53
Discover:
Jews and Muslims often reject Jesus as Savior because they find the idea of the cross scandalous. They wonder how God could let such a thing happen to the Messiah, who is supposed to triumph over His enemies.
This question assumes that God's enemies are only "out there" and don't include believers. However, everyone, even the holiest among us, is born into this world as an enemy of God because of our sin. In His death, the Messiah conquered God's enemies by taking on the Father's wrath meant for sinners. But that's not the end of the story—death gave way to resurrection, and now we are God's friends. The Messiah triumphed over the Lord's enemies through His death.
Today's passage emphasizes that even God's covenant people can be seen as His enemies, as the Suffering Servant was "pierced for our transgressions" and "crushed for our iniquities". We saw the Servant as "smitten by God," receiving His just wrath for our rebellion. The Lord laid our iniquity on the Servant. Isaiah 53:4–6 uses atonement language, with terms for carrying sorrows and bearing griefs similar to those used for bearing sin under the old covenant. Our Messiah doesn't carry a vague sadness but the grief and sorrow from our guilt before the Lord. In God's plan, the righteous Messiah provides a substitutionary sacrifice, dying in place of His people and receiving divine wrath for their sin.
Our Messiah wasn't taken against His will; He chose to endure the death His people deserved. The metaphor of a sheep shows this. Like sheep, He silently and willingly goes where the Master leads. He volunteers to serve God, needing no coercion. The Messiah's death is the supreme act of obedience to our Creator, paying the price for our transgression. John Calvin comments, "If his death had not been voluntary, he would not have been regarded as having satisfied for our disobedience."
Born in Adam, we are God's enemies as long as we remain in Adam and are unwilling to obey Him. This disobedience must be atoned for, but only willing obedience can cover disobedience. When the Messiah went to the cross, He did so willingly, capping a life of perfect righteousness, which now covers His people. If you trust in Christ alone, you are no longer God's enemy but reconciled to the Father in Christ Jesus.
Respond:
1. How does Isaiah’s prophecy enhance your understanding of Jesus’ sacrifice?
2. In what ways do you see Jesus as the fulfillment of this prophecy?
3. How does this chapter challenge you to live differently in light of Christ’s sacrifice?
Tuesday
Matthew 27:11-26
Discover:
A study of Matthew’s gospel quickly reveals how Israel’s leaders opposed Jesus. This opposition is most evident in Christ’s trial and execution. After Jesus was betrayed into their hands, the high priest Caiaphas and other religious authorities falsely convicted Him of blasphemy, a crime punishable by death according to the Mosaic law. Since the Romans didn't allow Jewish leaders to enforce the death penalty, Jesus was taken to Pontius Pilate, and that's where we find ourselves in today's passage.
To understand why Pilate ultimately condemned Jesus to death, we need to know a bit about Pilate’s character and his relationship with Israel. From the time he was appointed governor of Judea (around AD 26), Pontius Pilate showed little but contempt for his Jewish subjects. He raided the temple treasury to fund an aqueduct and even killed some Galileans while they were offering sacrifices. So, Pilate wasn't inclined to kill Jesus just because He offended the Sanhedrin’s religious sensibilities. In fact, Pilate’s disdain for the Sanhedrin was well-known.
Therefore, the Jewish leaders didn't accuse Jesus of blasphemy before Pilate. Instead, they charged Him with claiming to be “King of the Jews”. In the volatile region of Judea, this was the best way to convince Pilate that Jesus had to die, as the Roman authorities were keen to prevent any uprisings. However, Pilate wasn't convinced that Jesus was guilty. He didn't immediately order Jesus to be crucified but instead offered the crowd a chance to have Him released. Most commentators believe that Pilate was aware of Jesus' popularity and thought the crowd would call for His release. By offering Jesus to the crowd, Pilate was trying to turn the people against the Sanhedrin.
But Pilate, ever the politician, didn't do the right thing and acquit Jesus based on the weak case against Him. To maintain peace, he chose to put the innocent to death, securing his place as an infamous figure in history.
Respond:
1. What does Pilate’s response to Jesus teach you about the dangers of indecision?
2. How do you handle situations where you must make a stand for your beliefs?
3. What steps can you take to ensure your decisions align with your faith?
Wednesday
John 20
Discover:
Shortly after Jesus was raised from the dead, He appeared to the disciples who were hiding. This was a huge turning point for His followers, as they received the mission to go out into the world and proclaim the forgiveness of sins through belief in the gospel. However, not all the disciples were there the first time Jesus appeared to them after the resurrection; Thomas was absent.
The disciples told Thomas that Jesus had shown Himself alive to them, but Thomas didn't believe them. He said he wouldn't believe until he saw the nail marks in Jesus' hands and put his hand in Jesus' pierced side. Because of this, the church has often called him “doubting Thomas.”
Jesus soon gave Thomas the evidence he needed. Eight days after His first appearance, Jesus came again, and this time Thomas was there. We might be tempted to judge Thomas for his lack of faith, but remember, the other disciples were still hiding in a locked room, afraid of being arrested. They might have believed Jesus was alive, but their faith hadn't yet given them the courage that comes from truly trusting in the Lord. They weren't much more trusting than Thomas at that point.
When Jesus entered the room, He told Thomas to see His nail marks and place his finger in His pierced side. This shows Jesus' supernatural knowledge, as there's no indication that the other disciples had told Jesus what Thomas needed to believe. Thomas' confession of Jesus as his Lord and God confirms that he understood exactly who he was talking to. Thomas might not have known all the implications of the resurrection, but he knew that Jesus' resurrection and His knowledge of what Thomas needed to believe demonstrated Christ’s deity.
Jesus responded to Thomas with a blessing for those who would believe in His resurrection without seeing His physical, resurrected body. This wasn't necessarily a rebuke of Thomas for needing evidence to believe. More likely, Jesus was saying that those who believe in Him without seeing His physical, resurrected body are just as blessed as Thomas and the other disciples who did see it. We who believe in Jesus based on the Apostolic testimony are not lesser disciples than those who saw Him in the flesh.
Christian faith isn't against evidence. In fact, our faith is based on evidence. We believe because of the historical testimony of the Apostles to the ministry of Christ. It's not about taking a blind leap of faith; rather, we should understand the reasons behind our trust in Christ. We should all strive to have a basic knowledge of the historical evidence for the person and work of Christ.
Respond:
1. How do you relate to Thomas’s initial doubt and eventual belief?
2. What does it mean for you to encounter the risen Christ in your daily life?
3. How can you share the message of the resurrection with others?
Thursday
Romans 6
Discover:
Paul teaches that we can only obey God if we are under grace. Unlike the Judaism of his time, God's law—whether it's the Mosaic law or the law revealed in nature—doesn't solve the problem of sin. In fact, being under the law means being under the reign of sin. The law can't make us righteous. Instead, relying on our law-keeping for righteousness before God increases transgression and distracts us from the solution to sin that God has provided: His grace in Christ.
In Jesus, we are no longer under the law, but that doesn't mean we are lawless. Freedom from the law means liberty from sin's dominion and the law's condemnation. Not being under the law means we are not under the old covenant, which was an era of disobedience. Although there were exceptions—believers like Moses, Ruth, Samuel, Hannah, and others—the history of God's people before Christ was mostly defined by law-breaking and faithlessness in Israel and the nations to whom Israel was called to be a light. Even though new covenant believers sin, Paul sees our era as characterized by God's grace and empowering Spirit.
Practically, this means freedom from slavery to the law (and therefore sin) is slavery to obedience and righteousness. Paul explores this truth in today's passage, noting that those who are in Christ have Him as their master now, and their obedience to Him leads to righteousness and life. It's important to clarify that Paul isn't saying we earn our redemption. Nothing we can do, even with God's help, is good enough to secure our place in the kingdom. As in Romans 2, Paul is talking about the sequence of salvation. We are justified because of Christ's righteousness, and our eternal life is secure, but justification is not the whole of salvation. Sanctification—being conformed in practice to the holiness of Jesus—always follows justification. Our justification gives us kingdom citizenship that cannot be lost, and as we live in Christ, the Lord begins to make us godly now in preparation for the perfect godliness we will enjoy in the age to come. John Calvin comments, "We are not freed from the bondage of the law that we may sin; for the law does not lose its dominion, until the grace of God restores us to him, in order to renew us in righteousness: and it is hence impossible that we should be subject to sin, when the grace of God reigns in us."
In his commentary on Romans, Dr. R.C. Sproul discusses the relationship between justification and sanctification: “We are not going to make it on the basis of our righteousness, but only on the basis of faith. If the faith is genuine, the fruit of that faith will be real righteousness.” Declarative righteousness—God’s pronouncement that the merit of Christ is imputed to our accounts—is what gives us peace with God.
Respond:
1. How does understanding your union with Christ in His death and resurrection change your perspective on sin?
2. In what areas of your life do you need to experience the freedom that comes from being
alive in Christ?
3. How can you live out the reality of being a new creation in Christ?
Friday
Acts 2:22-41
Discover:
In Acts 2, we read about the miraculous sights and sounds witnessed on the day of Pentecost. We hear Peter’s amazing skill and boldness in preaching and marvel at the tremendous results. All these features of Luke’s account are truly glorious. But Pentecost also shows us that God’s promised times of repair and restoration have arrived.
Theologians have noted that the Old Testament promised the coming Holy Spirit would bring worldwide repair and restoration. Of course, the Holy Spirit was at work before Pentecost, always active in the world, in His Word, and in the hearts and minds of believers. But on Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit signaled the end of the age and the beginning of “the last days”.
In Acts 2, Peter explains the meaning and purpose of Pentecost. While we usually associate Pentecost with the Holy Spirit, Peter’s first Pentecost sermon in Acts 2 is all about Jesus Christ. Peter’s main point is that the events of Pentecost show the world that Jesus Christ is ruling and reigning at the right hand of His heavenly Father. Jesus our King has received the promised Holy Spirit from the Father and has poured the Spirit out on the church. For Peter, these events are all the proof we need that Jesus reigns now as the King of glory. The former days of promise have passed, fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The new order of the last days has been established in Him. God’s people are living in the era of Christ’s Spirit-wrought repair and restoration.
In these last days, the world is being repaired and restored in the same way it fell and was broken. Dennis Johnson points out the two stages of fall and redemption, brokenness and repair. In the fall, Adam first died spiritually because of his sin. Only after spiritual death did Adam die physically. And because of Adam’s spiritual fall, physical brokenness extended from mankind to the whole created order.
But in God’s redemptive plan, Jesus came into this world and by His death repaired our spiritual brokenness, bringing us from death to life and into the family of God. Christ will one day extend His repair and renewal from our spiritual lives to our physical lives in the resurrection of our bodies and eventually to the whole created order. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit signals that the last days have come, days of repair and restoration in Christ. And therefore, in light of the restoration to come, “we do not lose heart.”
Respond:
1. How does Peter’s message challenge you to share the gospel with others?
2. What steps can you take to ensure your life reflects the transformative power of the Holy
Spirit?
3. How does the call to repentance and baptism resonate with you personally?
Saturday
Revelation 21
Discover:
As believers in Christ, we look forward to a new heaven and earth that will come at the consummation of all things. Those who love Jesus will live in this perfect place, a creation renewed and glorified as the dwelling place of God and His people.
As we think about the new creation that will come when Jesus returns, it's important to note that anyone who dies in Christ goes immediately to be with the Lord in heaven. Theologians call this existence in heaven before Jesus' second coming the intermediate state because it comes between our life on earth and the new creation. Scripture doesn't say much explicitly about the intermediate state, but it's safe to say it approximates the bliss of the new heaven and earth. The most significant difference is that we don't get resurrected, physical bodies until Jesus returns, and our spirits alone live in God's presence until then.
When the new heaven and earth arrive, the world as we know it will end, along with the separation between the physical and the spiritual. God will dwell permanently with His people in the temple of His creation. Redemption will reach its consummation in the renewal of the physical order, and the effects of sin’s curse will be absent from our resurrected existence.
In the new heaven and earth, God Himself will wipe away all our tears. There will be no death and no reason to mourn, for all that causes sadness will have passed away. The New Jerusalem, a city of immense size and beauty, will be our dwelling place.
Finally, and most wonderfully, we will dwell in the brightest light imaginable—the light of God’s glory—in this renewed creation. The triune God will be our lamp, and we will rejoice in His radiance forever, never having to fear His purity, for we will be holy just as He is holy.
The ultimate Christian hope is not a disembodied spiritual existence but a resurrected body in which we perfectly bring glory to God and reflect His awesome holiness. We will be finally and fully complete at our resurrection, as our entire selves—body and soul—will function just as the Lord originally designed us. Sin will no longer be a problem, and we will never have to fear suffering again.
Respond:
1. How does the promise of a new heaven and new earth impact your current struggles?
2. In what ways can you cultivate an eternal perspective in your daily life?
3. How does this vision of eternity inspire you to live out your faith with hope and joy?