Commuter Bible

The path of Jesus leads toward Jerusalem, and while His people assume that He will ascend to the throne upon entering the city, Jesus tries to warn them that He must first suffer at the hands of the chief priests and scribes. James and John obviously have their eyes on the prize of a new kingdom, but Jesus tells them that don’t know what they’re in for.

The crowds continue to seek after Jesus as His miraculous healings and exorcisms gain notoriety across the land. The religious leaders grow increasingly angry with Jesus, as he continues to rebuke them openly. It’s worth noting that the disciples aren’t quite seeing things clearly, much like the man who doesn’t see clearly at first when he encounters Jesus.

The gospel of Mark is one of the three synoptic gospels, “Synoptic” basically means “seeing the same thing,” the other two of which are Matthew and Luke. Historical evidence from early church fathers affirms that the apostle Peter is the one who passed these reports on to his attendant and writer, John Mark. Mark’s gospel is the shortest, but the most action-packed, as he includes a number of accounts and moves quickly from one scene to the next. connecting his stories with phrases like “immediately,” “just then” and “as soon as.” We also get a sense for how hectic life must have been for Jesus, as crowds push in around him demanding more and more of His time.

The life of Jacob, who is now known as Israel, comes to close as he takes his last breath in Egypt. He blesses Joseph’s sons, and makes them a part of his family’s inheritance. After he takes his final breath, Joseph’s brothers fear that he will seek vengeance, but Joseph remembers God’s grace and provision.

On our last episode we saw how the Lord orchestrated Joseph’s life to save the lives of many in the face of a coming famine. When his brothers show up to ask for food, they don’t recognize Joseph, but Joseph recognizes them. He declares them to be spies, and after a series of questions, he send them away and demands they bring their younger brother back to Egypt to see if they are telling the truth.

When Joseph is sold into slavery it seems that he has lost it all, except that Joseph has not lost what is most important: he hasn’t lost God’s divine and unmerited favor. God orchestrates the salvation of His people and sustains the country of Egypt through Joseph. His circumstances seem devastating in the short term, and remarkable in hindsight. As we’re told in Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.”

When we last left Jacob and his sons, they had slaughtered an entire city of men after their sister, Dinah, had been defiled by the chief’s son. In today’s episode, God officially gives Jacob the name of Israel, and directs his family to relocate to Bethel. There we learn more about Rachel’s firstborn son Joseph, who Israel favors above all his other sons. If that wasn’t enough to draw the ire of his brothers, Joseph begins to have dreams where he is exalted above the rest of his family.

Today on Commuter Bible – Laban and Jacob have a shouting match, Jacob and God have a wrestling match, and Jacob realizes he is no match for his brother Esau. A note to parents of young ones, you may want to check out the beginning of chapter 34 before continuing.

After 20 years of working under Laban and trying to establish himself, Jacob deceives Laban by sneaking away with his family. Laban pursues him and, as families tend to do, they have a heated discussion about which one has wronged the other one more. After coming to terms, they part ways, and Jacob prepares to meet his brother Esau, who at last hearing, had murder on his mind.

Today on Commuter Bible – Jacob pulls the wool over his dad’s eyes by pulling goat skin over his own body. It also becomes apparent that Jacob has absolutely no idea how breeding works, and yet God allows his flocks to increase. When you step back and think about it, I think most of us have no idea what we’re doing, and yet God is gracious anyway.

Jacob the deceiver lives up to his name. He goes to great lengths to disguise himself from his blind and aging father, tricking him into thinking that he is Esau instead. Rachel and Jacob come up with a way to trick Isaac yet again, and Isaac sends him to another country, thereby avoiding the wrath of Esau. Even though Jacob meets the receiving end of deception at the hands of Laban, and tries his hand at manipulating Laban’s riches, God continues to grant favor to Jacob.

It’s time for us to say goodbye to Abraham and Sarah as the story of Abraham’s family continues on after Him. God provides for Isaac as he did for His father Abraham, multiplying his riches and blessing him with children. His sons Jacob and Esau have a contentious relationship with one another, and their lives are marked by anger, deception, impatience, fear, and selfishness.