You Can Read the Bible Guided Podcast

When Jesus had finished these sayings… after warning His disciples of what was to come in an eternal and universal sense, Jesus returns to the immediate: “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."  The chief priests and elders of the people are prepared to orchestrate this, “But not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.” 

Remember the influence of the crowd throughout this Gospel.  Because the crowd cried out “Hosanna, Son of David,” the Jerusalem elders were indignant.  Because they held that John was a prophet, the Pharisees could not answer Jesus’ question about John’s baptism.  Because they held that Jesus was a prophet Jesus could not be seized in the Temple.  And now, lest there be an uproar, Jesus would have to be disposed of quickly.  And there will be still other roles for the crowd to play.

This is not a mere literary curiosity.  Two of the great themes of Matthew’s Gospel – Jesus’ authority and position on David’s eternal throne – converge over the assembly of Israel.  Who has the right to interpret the law and the prophets?  Who has the capacity to lead, to judge, to teach: is it the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, or Jesus?  Jesus has compassion on the crowds; the elders fear them.  Jesus tries to escape the crowds, but they keep flocking to Him.  The elders fight to retain the crowds, to redirect them, but Jesus is winning.  Consider how historical and cultural upheavals unfold: because of the crowds… something must be done. 

The narrative is brisk and teaching comes through action rather than lecture.  Jesus retreats again to Bethany, where He receives a gift that will be spoken of wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world.  Meanwhile, Judas makes a deal with the chief priests, presumably for a handsome sum.  And Jesus shares the Passover meal with His disciples. 

Listen to how Matthew calls Judas “One of the twelve” each time he’s mentioned.  Listen to how Jesus’ “You have said so…” response serves to rebuke His questioners.  Sit at the table with Jesus at Passover and wait for Him as He prays at Gethsemane.  Listen for Jesus’ threefold prayer and Peter’s threefold denial.  And pay attention to the one accusation that Jesus doesn’t avoid. 

Our verse for this week is Micah 6:8: He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Matthew chapter 26.  Now let’s read it!

For the rest of the book of Kings the story not only moves rapidly, but also jumps frequently between the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.  I’ve found it helpful for myself to keep track of both the timeline and the geography, so I’ll be highlighting that as much as possible. 

Our first timestamp is Solomon’s death, which takes place (according to the best archaeology) in 930 B.C.  Even though this might be a few years off in either direction, what’s important is the sequence, so we’ll use that as a baseline. 

Most of today’s events occur in Israel, beginning early in Jeroboam’s reign.  In the opening moments the LORD sends a prophet to rail against the altars – and cult – that Jeroboam had devised from his own heart.  There’s a subtle shift in the dialogue that I want you to notice: when Jeroboam asks the prophet for help he calls the LORD your God – not our God.  Even Saul, in his worst moments, would not have denied the LORD’s jurisdiction over him.  But Jeroboam has clearly moved on. 

In chapter 14, we’ll learn that the LORD has moved on as well.  The presenting story concerns the illness of Jeroboam’s son, but the real plot concerns the LORD’s displeasure with Jeroboam.  A prophet is consulted, whose words of discomfort remind Jeroboam and all who would succeed him that, though the kingdom is divided, David’s faithfulness to the LORD is still the standard against which the kings of Israel will be measured.  And because Jeroboam has not followed in David’s ways, his family, and kingdom, will be cursed.  Listen intently to the prophet’s words for Jeroboam and hold onto them as you read the rest of Kings. 

By the beginning of chapter 15, Jeroboam and Rehoboam have exited the stage, and we’ll see that after 30 years Israel and Judah are still at war.  Asa in the South and Baasha in the North must make sacrifices and manage alliances to buttress these two weakened kingdoms.  The Temple and Palace are pillaged in order to make peace, and the high places remain.  

However, while Israel continues to follow in Jeroboam’s footsteps, Asa, Rehoboam’s grandson, was wholly true to the LORD all his days.  These fits of faithfulness, and the LORD’s fidelity to His promises to David and his throne, will create critical distance between these two kingdoms.  

Our verse for this week is 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

1 Kings 13 through 15.  Now let’s read it!

Yesterday’s action took place in the Temple, before the crowds.  It concluded with Jesus declaring judgment on the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees, and grieving over Jerusalem’s past and future.  As Jesus leaves the Temple today, He prophesies judgment against it as well.  Then, climbing the Mount of Olives, and overlooking the City of David, He launches His second extended sermon in this Gospel. 

Both of these sermons that Matthew records take place on a mountain.  The first Sermon on the Mount, in chapters 5 through 7, focuses on the Kingdom’s influence on daily life: pushing beyond nominal obedience of the law, and depositing one’s worries, judgments, and treasures in heaven.  This second sermon is private, toward Jesus’ disciples.  It’s about the Kingdom as well, but focuses on the judgment that will come through, and because of, the Son of Man. 

One of the values of reading Bible books in their entirety is that you get to pick up on big trends and themes.  If you had just picked up the Bible and read Matthew 24 and 25 on their own, you might be startled by the darkness and judgment in Jesus’ teaching.  But Matthew’s portrayal of Jesus has been building toward this crescendo, anchored in the appeal that launched Jesus’ ministry: Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.  And it’s preached with the same sense of authority that had caused the crowds to marvel. 

Save for the first verse, there is no dialogue, no action… just a sermon.  I invite you to listen carefully to the words of the Son of Man himself, as Matthew recorded them. 

Our verse for this week is Micah 6:8: He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Matthew 24 and 25.  Now let’s read it!

If you were to read today’s three chapters separately, you might have no idea that they occurred in sequence.  In the blink of an eye, the actors, the trajectory, and even the character of the nation will change.

Solomon’s ascent continues in chapter 10, for when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, his house, furnishings, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more breath in her…  And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore…

But when the vast wealth of Solomon himself is recounted at the end of the chapter, careful readers will note a misalignment with the expectations God laid down for Israel’s king in Deuteronomy 17.  This intuition is confirmed explicitly in the opening words of chapter 11: Now King Solomon loved many foreign women… and when Solomon was old…his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God.  This infidelity is demonstrated when he commits the abomination that his father, for all his failings, had never considered: he builds altars to foreign gods. 

Note that the LORD’s anger is not with Solomon’s wives but with Solomon himself, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.  Because of Solomon’s unfaithfulness, the LORD declares that He would surely tear the kingdom from Solomon and give it to his servant.  Only a single tribe would remain in the house of Solomon, for the sake of David My servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.  And the LORD sends a prophet to Jeroboam, a servant of Solomon, to prepare the way. 

After Solomon’s death this word is rapidly consummated.  The political stimulus is the forced labor – which we first heard about in chapter 4 – that Solomon had drafted to complete his capital projects.  This labor had exacted a heavy toll on the northern tribes, and when their leader, Jeroboam, returns from exile, Judah’s leadership over the tribes is again contested.

To Solomon’s son Rehoboam this might not have stirred much urgency; after all, Israel has weathered succession crises before.  But this is different.  When Israel declares, “We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse,” and Rehoboam prepares to rally Judah and Benjamin to fight to restore the kingdom, the LORD stands between: “You shall not go up or fight against your relatives… for this thing is from Me.” 

Our verse for this week is 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

1 Kings 10 through 12.  Now let’s read it!