Day 84 Bible Readings – Luke 5: 36-38 (ESV)

Numbers 19 & 20, Luke 5: 33-39, Luke 6: 1-11, Psalm 50: 16-23

Luke 5: 36-38 (ESV)

“He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.”

In verses 36 through 38 from Luke 5, many Biblical scholars have interpreted these lines to mean that Jesus did not come to begin a reform movement within the Jewish faith. Jesus came to form a new church that brings the Jewish people and the Gentiles together. God will also sometimes use new vessels/people to contain his work. Some Biblical scholars took these verses to also mean that religious establishment at any time can become not pleasing to God, and sometimes resist his work and works in direct opposition to his new teachings. I think we can take metaphor of an old garment or old wineskins and apply it to ourselves as well. We have to look at our thoughts and actions and examine them if they are still pleasing to God, and anything new he is trying to teach us. If it is not, we need to remember what Paul said in Romans about giving up our old selves every morning so we can be born again in Jesus Christ. It might be hard because change is never easy, but if we ask for help from the Holy Spirit then we can be guided to what we need to do give up old selves and be born again anew in Jesus Christ.

Day 83 Bible Readings – Luke 5: 31-32 (ESV)

Numbers 17 & 18, Luke 5: 17-32, Psalm 50: 1-15

Luke 5: 31-32 (ESV)

“And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

In verses 31 and 32 from Luke 5, the Pharisees and scribes ask Jesus why he dines with tax collectors and sinners. Christ tells them he came to call the sinners to repent because they are sick with sin. One author of a Bible commentary called Christ a “physician of the soul”. The problem with the Pharisees and scribes is that they did not think they were sinners because they strictly followed the laws, even though Jesus has called them hypocrites. If your life is good and you don’t have any pressing material needs, it can be hard to realize that you need Christ in your life. People who have committed big sins like murder or stealing know they need repentance from God. But a sin is a sin whether you’ve done the deed or just thought of doing the deed. People who tend to be very successful in life don’t think they need God. Their life is great, and they do not need anything. But whether your life is successful or not, you need to ask yourself if you are happy and if you have peace in your life. If your life is not happy and full of miracles and peace, then you need Christ in your life. Only a relationship with God can lead a person to true happiness, miraculous days and nights, and unending peace.

Day 82 Bible Readings – Psalm 49: 10-12 (ESV)

Numbers 16, Luke 4: 38-44, Luke 5: 1-16, Psalm 49

Psalm 49: 10-12 (ESV)

“For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. Man in his pomp will not remain he is like the beasts that perish.”

In verses 10 through 12 from Psalm 49, the Psalmist tells us everyone dies including those with wealth. Even if the wealthy man owned much land and named the land after him, the final home of the wealthy man is grave. In other words, we cannot take our wealth with us when we die. Nor can our treasures be stores in the next world that we will inhabit when we Die. Despite all a person’s wealth, they will still die like any common animal. These verses applied to people during the time this Psalm was written and can still be applied to our time today. Many people pursue wealth, but in the end none of it matters when we die. If we trust in our wealth or boast of our riches, at the end of our life we will still die like an animal. We should instead trust in God and be proud of spiritual things, so we can live eternally and not go to the Pit.

Day 81 Bible Readings – Luke 4: 33-34 (ESV)

Numbers 14 & 15, Luke 4: 14-37, Psalm 48: 9-14

Luke 4: 33-34 (ESV)

“And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”

In verses 33 and 34 from Luke 4, the spirit of the unclean demon recognized Jesus Christ as a holy person and called out to him. I find it so interesting that the unclean demon knew who Christ was and recognized him as a Holy person, and the Pharisees would not believe that Christ was who he said he was. The Bible tells us that detailed reports were given to Pharisees about the miracles that Christ performed, so I am going to assume The Pharisees would have read what the demons said about Christ. The Pharisees had evidence that even the demons knew who Christ was, yet they still refused to recognize Christ as even a Holy person. I was in a class at my church today and we talked about why the Jewish people did not want to believe that Christ was the Messiah. One person suggested that people in Christ’s time thought the Messiah would be someone who would free them from the occupation of the Romans. When they found out Christ came to free them sin instead, they could not accept it. But if you think about it Christ may not have freed the people of Israel from the Romans during his lifetime, but the people who had faith in Jesus Christ would conquer the Romans and religion of Christ would become the official religion of Rome. I think Christ did conquer the Romans, but not till years later. So Christ did what the people of Israel wanted a Messiah to do, just not in the way they wanted.