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“For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
John 6:33

Today’s Bible Reading

The returned Judeans begin rebuilding the altar of the Lord so that they may resume offering sacrifices. The Judeans lay the foundation of the new temple. The people shout for joy, but many of the older Judeans weep loudly, remembering the grandeur of the first temple.

BibleGateway: Ezra 3 ESV Text: Ezra 3 Ezra 3 (Listen) Rebuilding the Altar 3:1 When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen,… 

All will eventually recognize Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, the Redeemer of fallen mankind. Tragically, however, for many that recognition will come too late, and they will die in their sins. Others, however, will come to faith in this life. They will abide in the saving truth of the Gospel, and thus be free indeed. God grant that we abide in His Word unto the end.

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BibleGateway: John 8:13-36 ESV Text: John 8:13-36 KJV Text: John 8:13-36 The section starts at about 1:33 and ends at about 4:39 13 The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy… 

How many like Zacchaeus—perhaps merely curious about Jesus—end up being called by the gracious Savior into the household of faith? Zacchaeus then made open confession of his previous wrongdoings, and voluntarily promised to give half his goods to the poor and to repay to others more than what he had wrongfully taken. Contrast this with another rich man (Luke 18:22-23) who was too attached to his wealth to follow Jesus.

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BibleGateway: Luke 19:1-10 ESV Text: Luke 19:1-10 KJV Text: Luke 19:1-10 The section starts at about 0:0 and ends at about 1:17      1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 And, behold, there was… 

Self-righteousness is the antithesis of the Christian faith. This Pharisee singled himself out as better than all others on the basis of his religiosity. The publican recognized his sinfulness, and sought God’s mercy. Jesus says that the sinful publican was justified (declared righteous in God’s sight), and the Pharisee was not. We are to be humble, recognizing the truth about ourselves.

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BibleGateway: Luke 18:9-17 ESV Text: Luke 18:9-17 KJV Text: Luke 18:9-17 The section starts at about 0:50 and ends at about 2:15      9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that… 

The judge, who cared not at all about God or the opinions of man, nonetheless finally granted this widow’s request merely because of her persistence. If even a bad man will yield to such persistence, how much more so will our gracious God be prevailed upon by our persistent prayer! Do not fail to continue in prayer, even when the answer seems not to be forthcoming.

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BibleGateway: Luke 18:1-8 ESV Text: Luke 18:1-8 KJV Text: Luke 18:1-8 The section starts at about 0:0 and ends at about 0:59      1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men… 

The blessings of Christianity are so abundant and constant that we tend to take them for granted and fail to be properly thankful to God for His unmerited benevolence. The ten lepers must certainly have been astounded by their healing, yet only one came back and thanked Jesus. Let us think daily on our blessings, and be like the one rather than the nine.

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BibleGateway: Luke 17:11-19 ESV Text: Luke 17:11-19 KJV Text: Luke 17:11-19 The section starts at about 1:26 and ends at about 2:30      11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he… 

Pietists and legalists are proud of their rectitude and adherence to moral codes, as though that’s praiseworthy. That’s like someone who wishes to be praised because he found a lost wallet with much cash and returned it to its owner. That’s not praiseworthy; a failure to do that would be theft. So also, our Christian sanctification is merely our duty which, as unprofitable servants, we fulfill only imperfectly.

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BibleGateway: Luke 17:1-10 ESV Text: Luke 17:1-10 KJV Text: Luke 17:1-10 The section starts at about 0:0 and ends at about 1:35      1 Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences… 

Wherein lies our hope? The hearts of unbelievers can be set only on the things of this world. The “rich man” of this parable is merely one example. His wealth is not the problem; his unbelief is. He is contrasted with the beggar Lazarus (whose name is a rendition of a Hebrew name meaning “God is my help”). Is our focus on worldly matters, or on God?

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BibleGateway: Luke 16:19-31 ESV Text: Luke 16:19-31 KJV Text: Luke 16:19-31 The section starts at about 2:36 and ends at about 4:28      19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and… 

Does God commend dishonest dealing? Certainly not. Note that the commendation of the unjust servant comes from his master, not our Lord. Our Lord’s exhortation begins in v. 9. It is not the steward’s dishonesty that God commends, but rather only the man’s prudence as an example for us to follow. As Christians, we too often fail to be “wise as serpents,” as Jesus exhorts us in Matthew 10:16.

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BibleGateway: Luke 16:1-13 ESV Text: Luke 16:1-13 KJV Text: Luke 16:1-13 The section starts at about 0:0 and ends at about 2:6      1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich… 

Have you ever acted as though your own ideas about how to achieve happiness were better than God’s plans for you? The father in this parable represents God, and the younger son represents those who choose to go their own way. The father allowed his younger son to discover the folly of his own ideas, and to return, chastised, to his household. How blessed we are that for Jesus’ sake, we are received back.

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BibleGateway: Luke 15:11-32 ESV Text: Luke 15:11-32 KJV Text: Luke 15:11-32 The section starts at about 1:10 and ends at about 4:4      11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the… 

Was there anything in the lost sheep or the lost piece of money that made them of greater worth than the other ninety-nine sheep or the other nine coins? No. What differentiated them was that they were lost. The Pharisees and scribes complained that Jesus ate with sinners, so He told these parables to illustrate the seeking love of God. We were lost. Jesus sought us out and saved us.

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BibleGateway: Luke 15:1-10 ESV Text: Luke 15:1-10 KJV Text: Luke 15:1-10 The section starts at about 0:0 and ends at about 1:19      1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to…