Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2022
This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened." Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles. The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but I have divided it so that we will spend half the year in the OT, and half the year in the NT.
Bible Readings: John 2
Background:
"We need to take a fresh look at this, get a different set of eyes on the problem." Ever heard something like that? John is a fresh set of eyes on the life of Christ. The Synoptic Gospels, in spite of their many similarities, share much in common. But John comes at things from a very different perspective, a more theological perspective.
For the next four days, we will leave behind the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, Luke) and read the early chapters of John. Each day we will take one story. There are some significant problems here with chronology. In John 2, Jesus cleanses the Temple at the beginning of his ministry instead of at the end as he does in the Synoptics. He engages in a Judean ministry that seems to be early in his public ministry that is left out of the Synoptics.
The solution will be left to guesswork to a certain extent. John's book is thematic and theological, not attempting to give an exact chronology of Christ. Is it possible that Jesus cleansed the Temple twice? Of course. Is it possible that John told the cleansing story out of chronological order for thematic reasons? Also yes. I will tell you just after I see Jesus face to face. My guess is that the event happened twice, but it's not a huge thing.
The wedding at Cana is the first of the seven signs Jesus performed in John, telling who he was and revealing the Father's glory. Verses 23-25 also reveal a theme that is developed as the book of John progresses. While the crowds follow Jesus and "believe" in him, he realizes that their faith is shallow and temporal. He did not give himself over to the adulation of the crowds, but to the pleasure of the Father. This theme builds until chapter 6 when many begin to turn from him and eventually, Jesus dies alone on the cross, crying out to God who has also forsaken him!
For the next four days, we will leave behind the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, Luke) and read the early chapters of John. Each day we will take one story. There are some significant problems here with chronology. In John 2, Jesus cleanses the Temple at the beginning of his ministry instead of at the end as he does in the Synoptics. He engages in a Judean ministry that seems to be early in his public ministry that is left out of the Synoptics.
The solution will be left to guesswork to a certain extent. John's book is thematic and theological, not attempting to give an exact chronology of Christ. Is it possible that Jesus cleansed the Temple twice? Of course. Is it possible that John told the cleansing story out of chronological order for thematic reasons? Also yes. I will tell you just after I see Jesus face to face. My guess is that the event happened twice, but it's not a huge thing.
The wedding at Cana is the first of the seven signs Jesus performed in John, telling who he was and revealing the Father's glory. Verses 23-25 also reveal a theme that is developed as the book of John progresses. While the crowds follow Jesus and "believe" in him, he realizes that their faith is shallow and temporal. He did not give himself over to the adulation of the crowds, but to the pleasure of the Father. This theme builds until chapter 6 when many begin to turn from him and eventually, Jesus dies alone on the cross, crying out to God who has also forsaken him!
Daily Devotional: Applause that Matters
I was a communications and theater major in college. The first major role I had was as Arvide Abernathy in our production of "Guys and Dolls." It was not going well. At one point after a scene, the director said to me, "Dave, it sounds like you're reading a phone book." I don't really know what that means, but I know it's not good!
I worked with one of the other directors and developed a Scottish brogue. One day, I started using it in a rehearsal and everything went silent. When I exited, the cast applauded me. During our two weeks of performances, I got lots of laughs and encouragement from others about what I was doing. But at the cast party after closing night, we were passing around our playbills and signing them. I will never forget what the director said to me.
"Dave, you get the part every time."
That meant more to me than all the laughs, than the applause, than the people who told me I'd done a good job. The director said, "well done."
Jesus never lost sight of why he was here. These were heady times for him. I don't mean to be cavalier, but Jesus just provided wine for a wedding - that made him very popular. He was preaching, doing miracles. Jesus was the most popular man in Israel. And even when he confronted the money changers, that didn't necessarily make him unpopular with the common folk. The money changers weren't noted for honesty, were they? Jesus was destined to be Time Magazine's Man of the Year.
And he could not have cared less. He did not, according to John 2:24, "entrust himself to them." He was there to serve God and live out God's purposes. He was playing for the "well done" he would get from the Director and all the applause he might get from men along the way meant nothing. He loved these people - no one ever loved them more. But he did not live for their applause. He would give his life for them in the service of the Father, but he would not live for their approval.
What a powerful reminder that is to us. There is only One whose applause matters, One for whom we should live our lives.
I worked with one of the other directors and developed a Scottish brogue. One day, I started using it in a rehearsal and everything went silent. When I exited, the cast applauded me. During our two weeks of performances, I got lots of laughs and encouragement from others about what I was doing. But at the cast party after closing night, we were passing around our playbills and signing them. I will never forget what the director said to me.
"Dave, you get the part every time."
That meant more to me than all the laughs, than the applause, than the people who told me I'd done a good job. The director said, "well done."
Jesus never lost sight of why he was here. These were heady times for him. I don't mean to be cavalier, but Jesus just provided wine for a wedding - that made him very popular. He was preaching, doing miracles. Jesus was the most popular man in Israel. And even when he confronted the money changers, that didn't necessarily make him unpopular with the common folk. The money changers weren't noted for honesty, were they? Jesus was destined to be Time Magazine's Man of the Year.
And he could not have cared less. He did not, according to John 2:24, "entrust himself to them." He was there to serve God and live out God's purposes. He was playing for the "well done" he would get from the Director and all the applause he might get from men along the way meant nothing. He loved these people - no one ever loved them more. But he did not live for their applause. He would give his life for them in the service of the Father, but he would not live for their approval.
What a powerful reminder that is to us. There is only One whose applause matters, One for whom we should live our lives.
Father, you are the only one whose opinion of me matters. Help me to remember that and forgive me when I forget.
Consider God's Word:
Whose applause do you live for?
Do you live for the applause of men, the approval of others?
Does popularity and success drive you?
Or do you live only to hear the Director of all of life say, "Well done, good and faithful servant?"
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