Daily Notes & Observations is a 365-part series that follows a chronological daily Bible reading schedule and contains a short article based on something found in the text for each day. This material is also available in paperback.

October 23, 2012

“Before Abraham Was Born, I Am” (10/23)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from John 7-8.

There are many people in the world who believe that Jesus was just a regular human being and that He never possessed the attributes of Deity. Some among our own brethren believe that Jesus surrendered His deity when He came to earth. Both of these theories are debunked by Jesus’ own words.

Notice the conversation Jesus had with certain ones of the Jews who did not believe in Him:

“‘Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.’ So the Jews said to Him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.‘ Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple” (John 8:56-59).

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October 22, 2012

If Your Brother Sins Against You (10/22)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Matthew 18.

“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:15-17).

The New King James Version starts with the phrase, “If your brother sins against you.” Though the New American Standard Bible (quoted above) does not contain a similar phrase, the context certainly implies that private sins that one brother commits against another are the type of sins under consideration. Others were not aware of the sin until after the guilty brother had been approached by the brother whom he had sinned against.
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October 21, 2012

The Son of Man Will Be Killed (10/21)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Matthew 17; Mark 9; Luke 9:28-62.

Even though His disciples did not completely understand what He meant, Jesus told them beforehand what was going to happen to Him.

“For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, ‘The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later’” (Mark 9:31).

Jesus was going to be killed. He knew this would happen. Peter would later say that this was part of the “predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). This was the reason why Jesus came to the earth in the first place – to die on the cross.
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October 20, 2012

What Other People Say and What You Say (10/20)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Matthew 16; Mark 8; Luke 9:18-27.

Immediately before promising to build His church, Jesus taught His disciples an important lesson about what to believe.

“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven’” (Matthew 16:13-17).

It was helpful to recognize what others were saying about Jesus. Many people had misconceptions about Him, just as many people do today. But while it was important to be aware of this, the goal of Jesus’ instruction was not merely to point out the erroneous views that His disciples might encounter. It was also vitally important that the disciples themselves believed the truth about Jesus.
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October 19, 2012

"Experts at Setting Aside the Commandment of God" (10/19)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Matthew 15; Mark 7.

After condemning the Pharisees for worshiping God in vain and elevating the commandments of men to the same status as the commandments of God, Jesus told them they were experts. Unfortunately, they were not experts in an area that was any good.

“He was also saying to them, ‘You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition’” (Mark 7:9).

Jesus was certainly not praising them for their expertise here. They had become highly adept at violating the commandment of God while still appearing to be religious. Sadly, many people today do the same thing. But notice how the Pharisees did this.
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October 18, 2012

Intending to Make Jesus King (10/18)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from John 6.

Many religious people are looking forward to the time when Christ returns and establishes His kingdom here on the earth. The alleged reason why Jesus did not do this when He came the first time was because the people rejected Him and would not make Him their king. Therefore, since Jesus was rejected by His people, He ascended back to heaven, the church was established instead, and believers now look forward to the coming kingdom.

The problem with this the above theory is that it is not taught in the Bible. The following verse debunks the claim that Jesus could not establish His kingdom because the people rejected Him. After feeding five thousand, the people were willing to risk their lives in a rebellion against the Roman Empire with the goal of establishing Jesus as their king. But this was not part of God’s plan.

“So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone” (John 6:15).

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October 17, 2012

Marrying Another Man’s Wife (10/17)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Matthew 14; Mark 6; Luke 9:1-17.

Many today have a casual attitude toward the institution of marriage. As a result, there are many divorces in our society. These divorced persons often end up marrying someone else. This is seen by many as normal and acceptable. Yet John the Baptist opposed such unlawful remarriages even though it ended up costing him his life.

“For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so” (Mark 6:17-19).

Though many today recognize the tragedy of divorce, once the initial damage is done, they believe that the slate is wiped clean and the divorced person – regardless of the cause of the divorce – is free to remarry whomever he/she chooses. Yet this is not what the Scriptures teach.
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