Matthew 9:1-17. Jesus continued his healing ministry, he healed a paralytic, but the real story is; Jesus forgave him his sins, a blasphemy unless Jesus is who he said he is. Then he called Matthew the tax collector and explained why his disciples did not fast while Jesus was with them.
Leviticus 14 continues to deal with leprosy and mildew and what to do with both. Things like that are complicated.
Leviticus 15 deals with bodily discharges. (Hang in there, next chapter deals with the Atonement!)
Matthew 6:1-18 continues the telling of the sermon on the mount. Jesus spoke of doing good, of fasting and prayer, do it without fanfare, in secret if possible and, above all, be sincere. He then instituted what is called “The Lord’s prayer” which really is a pattern prayer for us, short, direct, but covers the essentials. Fasting should go together with serious prayer, but make it simple.
Exodus 38 records of how the altar of burnt offerings and the basin for washing was made, continuing telling about the courtyard around the tabernacle and all the materials used.
Exodus 39 records how the priestly garments were to be made, the ephod, the breastplate, the bells and pomegranates, the mitre and undergarments and finally the words “Holy to the LORD” to be fastened to the priest’s turban.
And in Exodus 40 the tabernacle was finished, the Priests installed and finally God blessed the tabernacle with His presence when the Glory of the LORD filled it. That ends the book of Exodus.
Matthew 6:1-18 continues the telling of the sermon on the mount. Jesus spoke of doing good, of fasting and prayer, do it without fanfare, in secret if possible and, above all, be sincere. He then instituted what is called “The Lord’s prayer” which really is a pattern prayer for us, short, direct, but covers the essentials. Fasting should go together with serious prayer, but make it simple.
Exodus 38 retells of how the altar of burnt offerings and the basin for washing was made, continuing telling about the courtyard around the tabernacle and all the materials used.
Exodus 39 retells how the priestly garments were to be made, the ephod, the breastplate, the bells and pomegranates, the mitre and undergarments and finally the words “Holy to the LORD” to be fastened to the priest’s turban.
And in Exodus 40 the tabernacle was finished, the Priests installed and finally God blessed the tabernacle with His presence when the Glory of the LORD filled it. That ends the book of Exodus.
Luke 5, Jesus called his first Disciples, cleansed a leper, healed and forgave a Paralytic his sins and called Levi (Matthew). At the end of the chapter Jesus was questioned about fasting.
Proverbs 3 continues to tell of the benefits of wisdom. The verses most often quoted are ”Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will direct your paths.”
Matthew 6:1-18, do good, the Lord’s model prayer, fasting.
Pope Francis has called for a rewriting of the Lord’s Prayer, saying the current translation gives God a bad name and, essentially, does not give the devil his due.
Described in the Bible as a prayer taught by Jesus, the Lord’s Prayer is viewed in the catechism of the Roman Catholic Church as “the summary of the whole gospel.”
In a TV interview December 2017, Pope Francis said that the line asking God to “Lead us not into temptation,” or in Italian, “non indurci in tentazione,” should be changed.
Jesus spoke in Aramaic and this prayer in the gospel of Matthew is originally written in Greek, and it says:
και μη εισενεγκης ημας εις πειρασμον αλλα ρυσαι ημας απο του πονηρου and not bring us into temptation(or testing), but rescue us from – evil.
The Roman Catholic church of France has changed the translation of this verse to “and do not let us fall into temptation” and somehow Pope Francis thinks this would improve on what God has said.
Luke 5, the first Disciples called, Jesus cleans a leper, forgives a Paralytic, calls Levi (Matthew), Jesus is questioned about fasting
Levi is another name for the Apostle Matthew.
This passage is one that puzzled me for a long time: (Jesus speaking)
First, let ‘s dispense with the King James’ translation, the original Greek mentions wineskins, not bottles.
Wine is made from grapes, and the sugar content of grapes is about 16%. The wine making process is to convert the sugar into ethanol via fermentation, and grapes come replenished with their own yeast, so the fermentation starts whether you like it or not. If you leave the grapes out in the air they will ferment and the ethanol will oxidize into vinegar, so they must ferment in a vessel that locks out oxygen. The fermentation has two phases, the first phase is fairly fast, a little more than 10 days, where the sugar converts to ethanol. This process releases CO2; nearly half of the weight of the sugar goes up in the air in the form of CO2, the rest is ethanol. No wineskin can handle that, so fermentation was usually done in a clay vessel with a lid on to prevent air to enter. At the end of 10 to 15 days they had “new wine”.
Bur the fermentation was not over, the aging process began, and that lasted from a few weeks to a few months. During that time there is a slow release of CO2, but the vessel had to be air tight so no oxygen would spoil the wine and turn it into vinegar.
This is where newwineskins come in, they can handle this process by being ever so slightly permeable, if they are made from young goatskin, properly prepared.
Old wineskins on the other hand are hardened and can even be brittle, like an old leather glove that has been lost in the snow for the winter, and when it is found in the spring, it is ruined.
Jesus did not teach wine-making when he used that parable, in the parable the wine is the Holy Spirit and we are the wineskins.
Many people, me and my wife included have been praying for a great new, worldwide revival, and following that, a great worldwide awakening. Revivals usually start small and local, but with great intensity. The intensity will be greatest among young people, and they will celebrate with a new song in their heart. They are the new wineskins, they will be filled with new wine, and their new music will be less refined, raw and unpolished, or so it will seem to us old wineskins. We better prepare for the outpouring of the Holy spirit in our old wineskins by rejuvenate them with the oil of joy to make us ready to receive the old wine, aged to perfection with the full bouquet, like when Jesus turned water into wine. Then we who have been saved for many years can join with the young and appreciate each other, we appreciate their youthful enthusiasm and music, and they will appreciate the good wine that comes from lifelong experience.
There is a great passage in Isaiah 25, a song of praise coming right after the dreadful chapter 24. It speaks of aged wine being the finest of wines.
Revelation 7:17: For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipeaway every tear from their eyes.’”
Yes, there will be a great worldwide revival, and an even greater awakening.
Len Bilén's blog, a blog about faith, politics and the environment. 