Commuter Bible NT

In today’s reading, Paul begins a new topic of discussion that will carry us through the next few chapters, and that is the topic of spiritual gifts. In the early church, speaking in another language by the Spirit must have been an incredible and awe-inspiring sight, as indicated in the books of Acts at Pentecost. This gifting was so unique and thrilling that everyone wanted to have that gift. Pau...

The first half of today’s reading will cover Paul’s recommendation to the Corinthian church concerning head coverings for women. While different cultures and different interpreters come to varying conclusions as to whether or not this particular recommendation is prescriptive in all societies, it is clear that Paul intends to establish a distinction between male and female, as well as a structure...

In today’s reading, Paul offers a word on faithfulness in the midst of temptation. Referencing the book of Moses which we call Numbers, Paul reminds his hearers that Israel desired evil things rather than God, and thereby received just punishment from the God with whom they had covenanted as a people. When we are tempted, we may feel that we are the only ones who have ever experienced what we are...

Chances are that if you visit a friend’s house for dinner tomorrow night that you won’t be offered food offered to an idol, but in Paul’s day, that would have been more common. Paul says that there is only one God and all food is from him, so food sacrificed to idols, in reality, means nothing. Just because you can eat food sacrificed to idols, however, doesn’t mean you should, because it might ca...

Paul continues to write to the church in Corinth concerning sexual ethics, and in today’s reading, he writes specifically about situations concerning marriage. In general, men and women are to give themselves to each other, for in marriage one’s body is not one’s own. If someone is married to an unbeliever, Paul commends that such a person should stay married because he or she may be able to save...

The church in Corinth had some messed views about what was permissible, especially where it pertains to sex and morality. Our reading opens with Paul addressing the church on resolving a matter the could fit well on day time talk shows: a man is having sex with his stepmother, and the church isn’t doing anything about it. Paul directs the church to execute church discipline, telling them to “hand...

Paul continues his thoughts from our last reading into today’s chapter concerning the way leaders are revered among the Corinthian church. As you’ll recall they had been attaching themselves to particular leaders within the church, causing unnecessary division. One shouldn’t be concerned with how others judge, but on how God judges, and he sees the intentions of the heart. Paul doesn’t want any of...

Paul tells the church in Corinth that he was not able to speak to the Corinthian church as those who were mature in Christ, but as those who were immature and unable to process deeper truths, for envy, strife, and disunity are abundant among them. In humility, Paul tells the Corinthian church that he is nothing but servant, and that the glory for growth within believers goes to God alone. While a...

Today’s chapter is pretty short, but nonetheless intriguing. Though Paul is a man of great intelligence, he tells the Corinthian church that is resolved to know nothing among them except Christ and him crucified. This does not mean that he is emptying his mind, but that he orients all of his knowledge in such a way that Christ and his cross and central in his mind. The power of God’s wisdom was no...

We’re beginning Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church, a congregation that was comprised mostly of Greeks rather than mostly Jews. As we make our way through this letter, you’ll realize that in some ways, the Corinthian church was really messed up, but praise the Lord, this give us hope for Christ’s local church and our own congregations. Divisions had already begun among the church at Cori...

We’re beginning the second half of 2 Thessalonians, and so far Paul has spent a good amount of time talking about God’s judgment and God’s glory, particularly as it relates to the end times. He continues to encourage the church to stand firm in the faith and count their suffering and persecution for the Gospel as evidence that they belong to the Lord. Paul asks the church to pray for him and those...

We’re beginning Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonian church today, and in this letter Paul speaks a good deal about judgment and the afterlife. The church at Thessalonica was in the midst of suffering hardship and persecution, but Paul encourages them by reminding that persevering through such trials only brings further assurance that they have been counted worthy of God’s kingdom. Those who d...

The final chapter of Paul’s first letter the Thessalonians begins with discussion about the end times, and ends with exhortations and blessings upon the church. Paul says that the day of the Lord, a phrase referring to the end-time period of God’s judgment, will come unexpectedly. Like labor pains on a pregnant woman, they will strike without warning and continue until the culmination of God’s fin...

At the end of our last reading, Paul called the Thessalonian church his joy and his crown of boasting. As we pick up today’s reading, Paul is writing to the church at Thessalonica about the history and that he has with the believers in that church. His tone of brotherly affection and longing continues in today’s reading, as he recounts sending Timothy to strengthen and encourage the church while h...

Today we begin reading Paul’s letter to the church at Thessalonica. What do we know about this church? Well, we know that on his second missionary journey recorded in Acts, Paul stopped in the port city of Thessalonica, preached in the synagogue, and a church formed in the city thereafter. In just a few short weeks, a riot began, and Paul was forced to leave the fledgling church body. Here in toda...

On our last episode, we read Mark’s account of the crucifixion of Jesus the Christ. He died a gruesome death accompanied by miraculous signs, as Mark notes that the sky turned to darkness at midday and temple curtain was torn in two. While we know that this was not the end, we should also remember that the disciples assumed that it was. As you hear the account of the resurrection, imagine the joy...

On today’s episode, Jesus is crucified on the cross, fulfilling the Scriptures concerning the suffering servant. Though there isn’t enough time to cover every instance, we can quickly say that Jesus was the fulfillment of Isaiah 53, for he was “despised and rejected by men” and “a man of suffering.” He is the one who “bore our sicknesses and carried our pains.” He is the one who “was pierced becau...

Christ has just celebrated the Passover with his disciples and now they are in a garden named Gethsemane. Other gospels tell us that this had been their pattern over the last few days, so Judas knew where they would be. When Judas arrives he kisses Jesus to identify the man they are to arrest. The mob comes wielding an assortment of weapons, and a certain young man (probably Matthew himself) is so...

Jesus has a massive following, so much so that when he arrived in Jerusalem people shouted his praise as he entered. The chief priests and the scribes have been rebuked by this new teacher time and again, and are actively looking for a way to murder Jesus to put an end to this growing movement. Judas Iscariot, one of the 12 chosen from among the disciples to be an apostle, decides to betray Jesus...

Jesus is in Jerusalem and the Passover is drawing near, after which, we know that Jesus is falsely accused of blasphemy, mocked, beaten, sentenced death, and unjustly executed on the cross. Before that time arrives, Jesus has much to say to his disciples about the end of days and the endurance required to be a disciple. Persecutions will increase, as will false messiahs. Heaven and earth will pass...

Today's reading opens with a parable that addresses the Pharisees. In the parable of the vineyard owner, farmhands rebel against the owner of the land they are working on. They reject anyone sent by the owner and refuse to give the owner any of the produce of the field. Time and again they reject and even kill the messengers sent to them and when the son of the vineyard owner comes they plot to ki...

Jesus enters Jerusalem and is welcomed heartily with fanfare, cheers, and expectation. Many had concluded rightly that Jesus was the promised Messiah, but had concluded wrongly that Jesus would a conquering king in the traditional sense. They assumed that Jesus had come to take the throne of Israel in a limited, earthly sense, like kings that had come before him. Christ, however, came to vanquish...

The Pharisees continue to test Jesus to see what his conclusions will be concerning various topics of the law. Today that ask about divorce, and Jesus asserts that divorce was permitted under the Law only because of the hardness of man’s heart. Next, Jesus tells his disciples to let children come to him, for one can never enter the kingdom unless he does so like a child. Here in the 10th chapter o...

Out of the twelve apostles that Christ selected there are three with whom he had a closer relationship; those men are Peter, James, and John. Today, Jesus takes the three of them up a mountain to pray where he is transfigured before them. In other words, his glory is revealed through his humanity in a unique and tangible way, so that the disciples might bear witness to his divinity. When they desc...

In our reading today, Jesus miraculously feeds four thousand people with only seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. When the people are satisfactorily fed, they collect the uneaten pieces and gather seven large baskets full of leftovers. Jesus later warns his disciples to watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees, and they think he’s talking about literal leaven, and begin talking about how...