Day 110 Bible Readings – Luke 20: 22-25 (ESV)

Deuteronomy 31: 30, Deuteronomy 32, Luke 19: 45-48, Luke 20: 1-26

Luke 20: 22-25 (ESV)

“Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar's.” He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”

In verses 22 through 25 from Luke 20, we have the famous verses about the Pharisees trying to entrap Jesus by having him denounce Caesar and Rome. The Pharisees knew that the Jewish people hating paying taxes to the Romans, so they asked Jesus about it. Jesus knew they were trying to entrap him, so he asked them whose likeness was on the coins that people use to pay taxes. They told him that Caesar’s likeness was on the coin, so Jesus told them to give the things to Caesar that belong to Caesar. Jesus knew that we all have the image of God impressed upon them like a coin, so we do not belong to Caesar but to God. The things of the world belong to the world like how money belongs to Caesar. But we belong to God, so we need to give ourselves to God.

I love this answer from Jesus. We are “imago dei”, which in Latin means we are made in the image of God. It has taken me many years to figure out what the phrase “imago dei” meant for my life. Was I really made in the image of God? I couldn’t see God inside of me. It has taken me many years to figure out that my sins have built a wall so I couldn’t see the God inside of me. But not only my sins, but the thousands of things that I had blamed God for in my long life. The Holy Spirit has been asking me for two years to ask God to forgive me for my sins and for the blame I attributed to him. When I was finally able to let go of all the things I blamed God for, I saw the wall between myself and God slowly crumbling and I was finally able to see the image of God inside of me. So I am “imago dei” and I can see and feel it every day. I belong only to God, not to the world and not even to myself.

Day 109 Bible Readings for April 20 (Easter – Resurrection Sunday) – Luke 19: 41-44 (ESV)

Deuteronomy 30: 11-20, Deuteronomy 31: 1-29, Luke 19: 11-44, Psalm 66: 7-14

Luke 19: 41-44 (ESV)

“And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Verses 41 through 44 from Luke 19 tells us that Jesus wept for Jerusalem after he entered the city on Palm Sunday. Jesus was prophesying about what would eventually happen to Jerusalem 30 years later in 70 AD. I saw The Chosen Series 5 Episode 1 in the theatre and they did a great job of showing Jesus reciting this prophecy and scenes from the destruction of Jerusalem.

In 70 AD, Titus the Roman General attacked Jerusalem. The Roman-Jewish historian named Flavius Josephus wrote that Titus built a wall around the city as described in the prophecy by Jesus. Titus destroyed the city. The Temple was destroyed in a fire and over a million people in Jerusalem died. The Temple to this day has not been rebuilt so the prophecy of Jesus was fulfilled and still remains fulfilled. Many Biblical scholars predict that the Temple of Jerusalem will not be rebuilt until we are in the end times as seen in the Book of Revelation, and many consider the rebuilding as a sign of the end times.

Happy Easter! Day 108 Bible Readings for April 19 – Luke 19: 8-10 (ESV)

Deuteronomy 29, Deuteronomy 30: 1-10, Luke 18: 31-43, Luke 19: 1-10, Psalm 68: 1-6

Luke 19: 8-10 (ESV)

“And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

In verses 8 through 10 from Luke 19, we read the story about Zacchaeus who was a rich chief tax collector. He knew about Jesus and wanted to see him, but he was small so he climbed up sycamore tree to see him. Jesus stopped where Zacchaeus was in the tree and told he wanted to stay at his house. The crowd who was there complained that Jesus was going to be the guest of a sinner. Zacchaeus told Jesus he had given half his wealth to the poor and he restored fourfold to anyone whom he had defrauded.

Zacchaeus wasn’t just someone who wanted to see Jesus. He knew about his teachings and had put them into action in his own life, so Zacchaeus was already transformed when Jesus spoke directly to him. Jesus told the crowd that Zacchaeus had received salvation by his actions, and he was exactly the type of person that Jesus had come to see and save. Jesus took incarnation on earth to save and seek sinners, and that salvation was open to all if they followed his teachings. I like this story because it shows that were people who had heard about the teachings of Jesus and had followed them without first having seen Jesus or his miracles. The faith of Zacchaeus was so strong that he needed to just hear about the teachings of Christ to believe them, without ever having seen him or experienced a miracle from Jesus in his life.

Day 107 Bible Readings – Luke 18: 14 (ESV)

Deuteronomy 28: 15-68, Luke 18: 1-30, Psalm 67

Luke 18: 14 (ESV)

“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

In verse 14 from Luke 18, Jesus tells us the difference between the Pharisee who was praying and the tax collected who was also praying. The Pharisee in his prayer told God he was not a sinner like other meh, and all the things he had done to follow God’s laws. The Pharisee was praising himself to God. The tax collector prayed to God in a different way. The tax collector was humble and would not even lift his yes to God. He told God he was a sinner and asked God to be merciful to him.

One Bible scholar noted that the Pharisee was looking at prayer and his life as a way to be exalted. The tax collector instead came to God in humility because he needed God’s mercy. Jesus tells us that tax collector will receive God’s mercy and will be justified, because he prayed humbly to God for mercy. God will not show mercy to the Pharisee because he prayed to God with pride. God doesn’t need to be reminded of all the things that we do. God wants to know if we acknowledge we are sinners, and if we want his mercy. The Pharisee did not admit to even having a sin, which was a lie. We are all sinners and need to pray to God for his mercy.