Tag Archives: Matthew 28:1-20

February 14, 2015 Bible Study — The Grave Is Empty

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. Happy Valentines Day to all of you reading this today, but especially to my lovely wife. If it was not for her encouragement and help I do not think that I would have been able to continue this Bible study for so long.

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Proverbs 9:9-10

    The wise and the righteous are always willing to learn more. This is because they are aware that fear of the Lord is the foundation of all wisdom and knowledge of God is the source of good judgment.

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Psalm 34:11-22

    Verse fourteen gives us a motto to live by:

Turn away from evil and do good.
Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

It is not enough to not do what is wrong, we must do what is good. If we want peace it will not just happen. We must search it out, and when we find it we must work, and work hard, to maintain it.

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Matthew 28:1-20

    Mohammed is buried in Medina in the Mosque of the Prophet. The bodies of the founders of religions are in shrines in other parts of the world. Their followers make pilgrimages to those sites to approach them. But when the women went to Jesus’ grave that Sunday morning, they were told, “He isn’t here.” They then went into the tomb and observed that it was indeed empty.
    When the guards told some of the leading priests what had happened they were instructed to claim that the disciples had stolen the body while they were sleeping. Through out history people have tried to explain away the empty tomb, but it is still empty.

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Exodus 37-38:31

    The people of Israel worked together under the direction of the two chief craftsmen to build what must have been a beautiful place of worship. All of the elements described sound like they would have been an overwhelming sight.

February 14, 2014 Bible Study — He Isn’t Here

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Proverbs 9:9-10

     I was going to write something about the wise always being willing to be corrected for their mistakes and the righteous always being grateful to those who show them their sins (and well, I guess I just did). However verse 10 in today’s Proverb’s passage needs to be quoted in full:

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.
Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.

We do not truly start to acquire wisdom until we learn to fear God. As we learn to know God we develop the tools necessary to exercise good judgment.

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Psalm 34:11-22

     The psalmist reminds us that the first step in serving the Lord (and thus having a healthy and happy life) is learning to control the words we say. He tells us to avoid speaking evil and telling lies. This is a necessary step to turning away from evil so as to do good. I love the way the psalmist couples those two things. It is not enough to turn away from evil, we must turn and do good. If we do what is right we will still face many troubles, but God will rescue us from those troubles. I will strive to avoid evil words and lies. Beyond that I will turn to doing what is good. God rest Your Holy Spirit upon me and show me how to serve You.

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Matthew 28:1-20

     When I first read the beginning of this passage today, it struck me as a statement of great joy, which indeed it is. I do not know how to express the thought that went through my head as I read, “Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning,…” In part it made me want to go out early in the morning and worship God as the sun is just rising over the horizon at dawn. There is something inexplicably exciting about a new day dawning. I don’t often greet the day by worshiping God as the sun rises, but perhaps I should do so more often.
     While my first reaction to this passage today was somewhat different than usual, my second thought was something I have often thought about when I read this passage. The women went to the tomb looking for Jesus, the angel told them, “He isn’t here.” How often do we go looking for Jesus in places where He no longer is? How often does God have to send us messengers to tell us, “He isn’t here.” The angel told the women to go to the disciples and tell them, “He is going ahead of you to Galilee.” That is God’s message to us. The place may not be Galilee (as a matter of fact, for most of us it isn’t), but Jesus is going ahead of us to the place where God wants us to go next. Let us always remember that, if we want to be with Jesus we need to go where God is sending us, because Jesus is already there waiting for us.
     The passage concludes with the Great Commission. Many have commented on it and I doubt I can add any new insight to it (and I will not try). Jesus told His disciples to go. That meant that they had to leave their comfort zone and do some things that made them uncomfortable. We too need to leave our comfort zone and do some things that make us uncomfortable (that’s a tough one for me…even though, or maybe because, there is not a lot that makes me uncomfortable). He told them to make disciples. Disciple is closely related to the word discipline. We cannot be disciples if we do not have discipline. We cannot make disciples if we do not teach others to be disciplined.

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Exodus 37-38:31

     I am not much for “ostentatious” decor, especially not in a place of worship. However, this passage is a reminder that there is a place for opulence. Under the right conditions such decor can inspire us to higher levels of awe towards God. This passage describes in some detail how beautiful and sumptuous the Tabernacle was. I have upon occasion entered places of worship which by their grandeur inspired worship of God. On the other hand, I have more often entered places that were supposed to be places of worship which, rather than inspire worship of God, inspired admiration for those who built them. Most of the time I find it easier to worship God some place that is built simply and humbly, but their are times and places for more grandeur and this passage reminds us of that.

February 14, 2013 Bible Study — Jesus Has Risen

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

And we danced
And we danced

Exodus 37-38:31

     Today’s passage describes the construction of the Ark of the Covenant and the various furnishings of the Tabernacle. At the end it describes how much gold, silver and bronze was used. The amount of gold used would be worth almost $53 million on today’s market. The silver would be worth almost $3.5 million. In addition a large amount of bronze was used (I was unable to find a price for a given weight of bronze, primarily because bronze is a mixture of copper and tin and the ratio varies). Overall, the Israelites dedicated a large amount of wealth to the Tabernacle and its furnishings. Do we dedicate a similar amount of our wealth to serving the Lord?

Fum and Simeon against Lillia
Fum and Simeon against Lillia

Matthew 28:1-20

     Early on Sunday morning the two Marys went to the tomb where Jesus was buried. As they approached the tomb there was an earthquake caused by an angel coming down from heaven. The angel rolled back the stone and sat on it. The angel’s appearance frightened the guards set by the Jewish religious leaders so much that they fell to the ground unconscious. The angel then spoke to the women, telling them that Jesus was not there because He had risen. Further the angel told them to tell the disciples to go to Galilee where Jesus would meet them. The women were frightened, yet joyful as they hurried to give the message to the disciples. Before they got far Jesus greeted them and told them not to be afraid. He repeated the angel’s instructions for His disciples.
     Meanwhile some of the guards went to report to the chief priests. Upon hearing the news, the chief priests met and devised a plan. They gave the guards a large sum of money to tell people that Jesus’ disciples had come while they slept and stole His body. The chief priests told the guards that they would intervene with the governor to keep them out of trouble. The guards took the money to spread the story.
     The eleven disciples went to Galilee as the angel and Jesus had instructed the women to tell them. Jesus met them there. When Jesus met them He gave them what we call the Great Commission: “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
     One of the things that is interesting in this passage is that when the angel descended, Jesus was already out of the tomb. The angel did not roll aside the stone to allow Jesus to leave the tomb. Rather the angel rolled aside the stone so that people could see that the tomb was empty. Another thing of note is that the first witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection were women. By first appearing to women, Jesus elevated women to a status of equality that was unusual for that day and age. Women were not considered reliable witnesses, their testimony was not even considered in a court of law.
     Here is what I see in the Great Commission. First, Jesus claims the authority of God, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.” This leads to what His disciples (and we as their successors) were to do. They were to go and make disciples of all the nations, of all peoples. They were to teach those new disciples to follow all of the commands that Jesus had taught them. It is not enough for us to believe in God’s grace, we are to become disciples of Jesus, doing our best to imitate Him in all aspects of our lives. We are then to teach others to do the same. The Great Commission ends with words of great comfort, Jesus will be with us always, not just some of the time, not just when times are good, or when times are bad, but always.

Beautiful amaryllis
Beautiful amaryllis

Psalm 34:11-22

     If you want to live a life that is long and prosperous, learn to fear the Lord. The psalmist tells us that the first step in doing right is controlling what we say. From there we should turn from all evil action and rather perform those actions which are good. Being good is active. It is not a matter of not doing evil but of actively doing that which brings benefit to others. God will watch out for and protect those who strive to do His will, while their own evil will strike down those who ignore His commands.

Magrat on the car
Magrat on the car

Proverbs 9:9-10

     Those who are wise are receptive to learning more and to advice. The righteous are always open to receiving instruction on how to live in better alignment with God’s will. The first step to acquiring wisdom is to fear God. Until we understand that God is frightening and scary, we will not learn to follow His will. It is only after we learn to follow His will that we truly learn that God is loving and caring. It is our knowledge of His love and care which relieves us of our fear of His might and power. We learn good judgment by learning to obey the will of God.