The Daily Devotionals of The Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States for Saturday, 28 January 2017
Today, Please pray for:
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Crete Grace UMC
Blue River District
| 
Daykin UMC
Plymouth Peace UMC
Blue River District
| 
Denton KS UMC
Pleasant Dale UMC
Blue River District
|
This Week's Lectionary
3rd Sunday after the Epiphany – Green
Sunday, 22 January 2016
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Isaiah 9:1-4
Psalm 27:1, 4-9
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Matthew 4:12-23
3rd Sunday after the Epiphany – Green
Sunday, 22 January 2016
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Isaiah 9:1-4
Psalm 27:1, 4-9
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Matthew 4:12-23
Scripture Texts: Isaiah 9:1 (2) The people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
upon those living in the land that lies
in the shadow of death, light has dawned.
2 (3) You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice in your presence
as if rejoicing at harvest time,
the way men rejoice
when dividing up the spoil.
3 (4) For the yoke that weighed them down,
the bar across their shoulders,
and their driver’s goad
you have broken as on the day of Midyan[’s defeat].
4 (5) For all the boots of soldiers marching
and every cloak rolled in blood
is destined for burning,
fuel for the fire.
Psalm 27:(0) By David:
(1) Adonai is my light and salvation;
whom do I need to fear?
Adonai is the stronghold of my life;
of whom should I be afraid?
4 Just one thing have I asked of Adonai;
only this will I seek:
to live in the house of Adonai
all the days of my life,
to see the beauty of Adonai
and visit in his temple.
5 For he will conceal me in his shelter
on the day of trouble,
he will hide me in the folds of his tent,
he will set me high on a rock.
6 Then my head will be lifted up
above my surrounding foes,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, sing praises to Adonai.
7 Listen, Adonai, to my voice when I cry;
show favor to me; and answer me.
8 “My heart said of you, ‘Seek my face.’”
Your face, Adonai, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me,
don’t turn your servant away in anger.
You are my help; don’t abandon me;
don’t leave me, God my savior.
1 Corinthians 1:10 Nevertheless, brothers, I call on you in the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah to agree, all of you, in what you say, and not to let yourselves remain split into factions but be restored to having a common mind and a common purpose. 11 For some of Chloe’s people have made it known to me, my brothers, that there are quarrels among you. 12 I say this because one of you says, “I follow Sha’ul”; another says, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Kefa”; while still another says, “I follow the Messiah!” 13 Has the Messiah been split in pieces? Was it Sha’ul who was put to death on a stake for you? Were you immersed into the name of Sha’ul? 14 I thank God that I didn’t immerse any of you except Crispus and Gaius — 15 otherwise someone might say that you were indeed immersed into my name. 16 (Oh yes, I did also immerse Stephanas and his household; beyond that, I can’t remember whether I immersed anyone else.)
17 For the Messiah did not send me to immerse but to proclaim the Good News — and to do it without relying on “wisdom” that consists of mere rhetoric, so as not to rob the Messiah’s execution-stake of its power. 18 For the message about the execution-stake is nonsense to those in the process of being destroyed, but to us in the process of being saved it is the power of God.
Matthew 4:12 When Yeshua heard that Yochanan had been put in prison, he returned to the Galil; 13 but he left Natzeret and came to live in K’far-Nachum, a lake shore town near the boundary between Z’vulun and Naftali. 14 This happened in order to fulfill what Yesha‘yahu the prophet had said,
15 “Land of Z’vulun and land of Naftali,
toward the lake, beyond the Yarden, Galil-of-the-Goyim —
16 the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
upon those living in the region, in the shadow of death,
light has dawned.” [Matthew 4:16 Isaiah 8:23(9:1)–9:1(2)]
17 From that time on, Yeshua began proclaiming, “Turn from your sins to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!”
18 As Yeshua walked by Lake Kinneret, he saw two brothers who were fishermen — Shim‘on, known as Kefa, and his brother Andrew — throwing their net into the lake. 19 Yeshua said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men!” 20 At once they left their nets and went with him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers — Ya’akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan his brother — in the boat with their father Zavdai, repairing their nets; and he called them. 22 At once they left the boat and their father and went with Yeshua.
23 Yeshua went all over the Galil teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing people from every kind of disease and sickness.
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary: Isaiah 9:1-4
(Read all of Isaiah 9)
Verse 1
[1] Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
Nevertheless — The calamity of this land and its inhabitants shall be great, yet not such as that which was brought upon it by the king of Assyria, who at first indeed dealt more gently with them, but afterwards rooted them out.
He — God.
Zebulun — These parts are particularly mentioned, because this storm fell most heavily upon them; but under them the other parts of the land are understood.
Afterward — By Shalmaneser, who took Samaria, and carried Israel into captivity, 2 Kings 17:5,6. Of which calamity, though yet to come, he speaks as if it were past, as the manner of the prophet is.
The sea — In that part of the land which borders upon the sea, the lake Genesareth, upon which the portions of Zebulun and Naphtali bordered.
Galilee — Or, Galilee of the Gentiles, namely, the upper Galilee, so called because it bordered upon the Gentiles.
Verse 2
[2] The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
The people — Israel and Judah.
Darkness — The expression is general and so may well comprehend both calamity and ignorance, idolatry and profaneness, in which those parts were eminently involved.
Have seen — Shall see at the coming of the Messiah.
Verse 3
[3] Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
Thou hast — Thou hast made good thy promise to Abraham concerning the multiplication of his seed, by gathering in the Gentiles to the Jews.
Before thee — In thy presence, and in the place of thy worship.
Verse 4
[4] For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.
The yoke — His burdensome yoke.
The staff — The staff or staves by which he was forced to carry burdens upon his shoulders.
The rod — Wherewith he beat him.
Oppressor — Of all his oppressors, but especially of sin and the devil.
As — When God destroyed the Midianites in so admirable a manner by three hundred men.
The Upper Room Ministries
PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004, United States
have seen a great light;
upon those living in the land that lies
in the shadow of death, light has dawned.
2 (3) You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice in your presence
as if rejoicing at harvest time,
the way men rejoice
when dividing up the spoil.
3 (4) For the yoke that weighed them down,
the bar across their shoulders,
and their driver’s goad
you have broken as on the day of Midyan[’s defeat].
4 (5) For all the boots of soldiers marching
and every cloak rolled in blood
is destined for burning,
fuel for the fire.
Psalm 27:(0) By David:
(1) Adonai is my light and salvation;
whom do I need to fear?
Adonai is the stronghold of my life;
of whom should I be afraid?
4 Just one thing have I asked of Adonai;
only this will I seek:
to live in the house of Adonai
all the days of my life,
to see the beauty of Adonai
and visit in his temple.
5 For he will conceal me in his shelter
on the day of trouble,
he will hide me in the folds of his tent,
he will set me high on a rock.
6 Then my head will be lifted up
above my surrounding foes,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, sing praises to Adonai.
7 Listen, Adonai, to my voice when I cry;
show favor to me; and answer me.
8 “My heart said of you, ‘Seek my face.’”
Your face, Adonai, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me,
don’t turn your servant away in anger.
You are my help; don’t abandon me;
don’t leave me, God my savior.
1 Corinthians 1:10 Nevertheless, brothers, I call on you in the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah to agree, all of you, in what you say, and not to let yourselves remain split into factions but be restored to having a common mind and a common purpose. 11 For some of Chloe’s people have made it known to me, my brothers, that there are quarrels among you. 12 I say this because one of you says, “I follow Sha’ul”; another says, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Kefa”; while still another says, “I follow the Messiah!” 13 Has the Messiah been split in pieces? Was it Sha’ul who was put to death on a stake for you? Were you immersed into the name of Sha’ul? 14 I thank God that I didn’t immerse any of you except Crispus and Gaius — 15 otherwise someone might say that you were indeed immersed into my name. 16 (Oh yes, I did also immerse Stephanas and his household; beyond that, I can’t remember whether I immersed anyone else.)
17 For the Messiah did not send me to immerse but to proclaim the Good News — and to do it without relying on “wisdom” that consists of mere rhetoric, so as not to rob the Messiah’s execution-stake of its power. 18 For the message about the execution-stake is nonsense to those in the process of being destroyed, but to us in the process of being saved it is the power of God.
Matthew 4:12 When Yeshua heard that Yochanan had been put in prison, he returned to the Galil; 13 but he left Natzeret and came to live in K’far-Nachum, a lake shore town near the boundary between Z’vulun and Naftali. 14 This happened in order to fulfill what Yesha‘yahu the prophet had said,
15 “Land of Z’vulun and land of Naftali,
toward the lake, beyond the Yarden, Galil-of-the-Goyim —
16 the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
upon those living in the region, in the shadow of death,
light has dawned.” [Matthew 4:16 Isaiah 8:23(9:1)–9:1(2)]
17 From that time on, Yeshua began proclaiming, “Turn from your sins to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!”
18 As Yeshua walked by Lake Kinneret, he saw two brothers who were fishermen — Shim‘on, known as Kefa, and his brother Andrew — throwing their net into the lake. 19 Yeshua said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men!” 20 At once they left their nets and went with him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers — Ya’akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan his brother — in the boat with their father Zavdai, repairing their nets; and he called them. 22 At once they left the boat and their father and went with Yeshua.
23 Yeshua went all over the Galil teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing people from every kind of disease and sickness.
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary: Isaiah 9:1-4
(Read all of Isaiah 9)
Verse 1
[1] Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
Nevertheless — The calamity of this land and its inhabitants shall be great, yet not such as that which was brought upon it by the king of Assyria, who at first indeed dealt more gently with them, but afterwards rooted them out.
He — God.
Zebulun — These parts are particularly mentioned, because this storm fell most heavily upon them; but under them the other parts of the land are understood.
Afterward — By Shalmaneser, who took Samaria, and carried Israel into captivity, 2 Kings 17:5,6. Of which calamity, though yet to come, he speaks as if it were past, as the manner of the prophet is.
The sea — In that part of the land which borders upon the sea, the lake Genesareth, upon which the portions of Zebulun and Naphtali bordered.
Galilee — Or, Galilee of the Gentiles, namely, the upper Galilee, so called because it bordered upon the Gentiles.
Verse 2
[2] The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
The people — Israel and Judah.
Darkness — The expression is general and so may well comprehend both calamity and ignorance, idolatry and profaneness, in which those parts were eminently involved.
Have seen — Shall see at the coming of the Messiah.
Verse 3
[3] Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
Thou hast — Thou hast made good thy promise to Abraham concerning the multiplication of his seed, by gathering in the Gentiles to the Jews.
Before thee — In thy presence, and in the place of thy worship.
Verse 4
[4] For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.
The yoke — His burdensome yoke.
The staff — The staff or staves by which he was forced to carry burdens upon his shoulders.
The rod — Wherewith he beat him.
Oppressor — Of all his oppressors, but especially of sin and the devil.
As — When God destroyed the Midianites in so admirable a manner by three hundred men.
Psalm 27:1, 4-9
Verse 4
[4] One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
Dwell. … — Have opportunity of constant attendance upon God.
To behold — That there I may delight myself, in the contemplation of thy amiable and glorious majesty, and of thy infinite wisdom, holiness, justice, truth, and mercy.
Verse 5
[5] For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
The secret — In his tabernacle, into which mine enemies cannot come. He alludes to the ancient custom of offenders, who used to flee to the tabernacle or altar.
Rock — A place high and inaccessible.
Verse 9
[9] Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
Away — From thy face or presence, or from the place of thy worship.
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Verse 10
[10] Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Now I exhort you — Ye have faith and hope; secure love also.
By the endearing name of our Lord Jesus Christ — lnfinitely preferable to all the human names in which ye glory.
That ye all speak the same thing — They now spoke different things, 1 Corinthians 1:12 And that there be no schisms among you - No alienation of affection from each other. Is this word ever taken in any other sense in scripture? But that ye be joined in the same mind - Affections, desires.
And judgment — Touching all the grand truths of the gospel.
Verse 11
[11] For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
It hath been declared to me by them of the family of Chloe — Whom some suppose to have been the wife of Stephanas, and the mother of Fortunatus and Achaicus. By these three the Corinthians had sent their letter to St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 16:17.
That there are contentions — A word equivalent with schisms in the preceding verse.
Verse 12
[12] Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
Now this I say — That is, what I mean is this: there are various parties among you, who set themselves, one against an other, in behalf of the several teachers they admire.
And I of Christ — They spoke well, if they had not on this pretence despised their teachers, 1 Corinthians 4:8 Perhaps they valued themselves on having heard Christ preach in his own person.
Verse 13
[13] Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
Is Christ divided — Are not all the members still under one head? Was not he alone crucified for you all; and were ye not all baptized in his name? The glory of Christ then is not to be divided between him and his servants; neither is the unity of the body to be torn asunder, seeing Christ is one still.
Verse 14
[14] I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
I thank God — (A pious phrase for the common one, "I rejoice,") that, in the course of his providence, I baptized none of you, but Crispus, once the ruler of the synagogue, and Caius.
Verse 15
[15] Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
Lest any should say that I had baptized in my own name — In order to attach them to myself.
Verse 16
[16] And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
I know not — That is, it does not at present occur to my memory, that I baptized any other.
Verse 17
[17] For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
For God did not send me to baptize — That was not my chief errand: those of inferior rank and abilities could do it: though all the apostles were sent to baptize also, Matthew 28:19 But to preach the gospel - So the apostle slides into his general proposition: but not with wisdom of speech - With the artificial ornaments of discourse, invented by human wisdom.
Lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect — The whole effect of St. Paul's preaching was owing to the power of God accompanying the plain declaration of that great truth, "Christ bore our sins upon the cross." But this effect might have been imputed to another cause, had he come with that wisdom of speech which they admired.
Verse 18
[18] For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
To them that perish — By obstinately rejecting the only name whereby they can be saved.
But to us who are saved — Now saved from our sins, and in the way to everlasting salvation, it is the great instrument of the power of God.
Matthew 4:12-23
Verse 12
[12] Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
He retired into Galilee — This journey was not immediately after his temptation. He first went from Judea into Galilee, John 1:43; 2:1. Then into Judea again, and celebrated the passover at Jerusalem, John 2:13. He baptized in Judea while John was baptizing at Enon, John 3:22,23. All this time John was at liberty, John 3:24. But the Pharisees being offended, John 4:1; and John put in prison, he then took this journey into Galilee. Mark 1:14.
Verse 13
[13] And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
Leaving Nazareth — Namely, when they had wholly rejected his word, and even attempted to kill him, Luke 4:29.
Verse 15
[15] The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
Galilee of the Gentiles — That part of Galilee which lay beyond Jordan was so called, because it was in a great measure inhabited by Gentiles, that is, heathens. Isaiah 9:1,2.
Verse 16
[16] The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
Here is a beautiful gradation, first, they walked, then they sat in darkness, and lastly, in the region of the shadow of death.
Verse 17
[17] From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
From that time Jesus began to preach — He had preached before, both to Jews and Samaritans, John 4:41,45. But from this time begin his solemn stated preaching.
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand — Although it is the peculiar business of Christ to establish the kingdom of heaven in the hearts of men, yet it is observable, he begins his preaching in the same words with John the Baptist: because the repentance which John taught still was, and ever will be, the necessary preparation for that inward kingdom. But that phrase is not only used with regard to individuals in whom it is to be established, but also with regard to the Christian Church, the whole body of believers. In the former sense it is opposed to repentance; in the latter the Mosaic dispensation.
Verse 18
[18] And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
Mark 1:16; Luke 5:1.
Verse 23
[23] And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
The Gospel of the kingdom — The Gospel, that is, the joyous message, is the proper name of our religion: as will be amply verified in all who earnestly and perseveringly embrace it.
-------Verse 4
[4] One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
Dwell. … — Have opportunity of constant attendance upon God.
To behold — That there I may delight myself, in the contemplation of thy amiable and glorious majesty, and of thy infinite wisdom, holiness, justice, truth, and mercy.
Verse 5
[5] For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
The secret — In his tabernacle, into which mine enemies cannot come. He alludes to the ancient custom of offenders, who used to flee to the tabernacle or altar.
Rock — A place high and inaccessible.
Verse 9
[9] Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
Away — From thy face or presence, or from the place of thy worship.
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Verse 10
[10] Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Now I exhort you — Ye have faith and hope; secure love also.
By the endearing name of our Lord Jesus Christ — lnfinitely preferable to all the human names in which ye glory.
That ye all speak the same thing — They now spoke different things, 1 Corinthians 1:12 And that there be no schisms among you - No alienation of affection from each other. Is this word ever taken in any other sense in scripture? But that ye be joined in the same mind - Affections, desires.
And judgment — Touching all the grand truths of the gospel.
Verse 11
[11] For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
It hath been declared to me by them of the family of Chloe — Whom some suppose to have been the wife of Stephanas, and the mother of Fortunatus and Achaicus. By these three the Corinthians had sent their letter to St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 16:17.
That there are contentions — A word equivalent with schisms in the preceding verse.
Verse 12
[12] Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
Now this I say — That is, what I mean is this: there are various parties among you, who set themselves, one against an other, in behalf of the several teachers they admire.
And I of Christ — They spoke well, if they had not on this pretence despised their teachers, 1 Corinthians 4:8 Perhaps they valued themselves on having heard Christ preach in his own person.
Verse 13
[13] Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
Is Christ divided — Are not all the members still under one head? Was not he alone crucified for you all; and were ye not all baptized in his name? The glory of Christ then is not to be divided between him and his servants; neither is the unity of the body to be torn asunder, seeing Christ is one still.
Verse 14
[14] I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
I thank God — (A pious phrase for the common one, "I rejoice,") that, in the course of his providence, I baptized none of you, but Crispus, once the ruler of the synagogue, and Caius.
Verse 15
[15] Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
Lest any should say that I had baptized in my own name — In order to attach them to myself.
Verse 16
[16] And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
I know not — That is, it does not at present occur to my memory, that I baptized any other.
Verse 17
[17] For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
For God did not send me to baptize — That was not my chief errand: those of inferior rank and abilities could do it: though all the apostles were sent to baptize also, Matthew 28:19 But to preach the gospel - So the apostle slides into his general proposition: but not with wisdom of speech - With the artificial ornaments of discourse, invented by human wisdom.
Lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect — The whole effect of St. Paul's preaching was owing to the power of God accompanying the plain declaration of that great truth, "Christ bore our sins upon the cross." But this effect might have been imputed to another cause, had he come with that wisdom of speech which they admired.
Verse 18
[18] For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
To them that perish — By obstinately rejecting the only name whereby they can be saved.
But to us who are saved — Now saved from our sins, and in the way to everlasting salvation, it is the great instrument of the power of God.
Matthew 4:12-23
Verse 12
[12] Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
He retired into Galilee — This journey was not immediately after his temptation. He first went from Judea into Galilee, John 1:43; 2:1. Then into Judea again, and celebrated the passover at Jerusalem, John 2:13. He baptized in Judea while John was baptizing at Enon, John 3:22,23. All this time John was at liberty, John 3:24. But the Pharisees being offended, John 4:1; and John put in prison, he then took this journey into Galilee. Mark 1:14.
Verse 13
[13] And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
Leaving Nazareth — Namely, when they had wholly rejected his word, and even attempted to kill him, Luke 4:29.
Verse 15
[15] The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
Galilee of the Gentiles — That part of Galilee which lay beyond Jordan was so called, because it was in a great measure inhabited by Gentiles, that is, heathens. Isaiah 9:1,2.
Verse 16
[16] The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
Here is a beautiful gradation, first, they walked, then they sat in darkness, and lastly, in the region of the shadow of death.
Verse 17
[17] From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
From that time Jesus began to preach — He had preached before, both to Jews and Samaritans, John 4:41,45. But from this time begin his solemn stated preaching.
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand — Although it is the peculiar business of Christ to establish the kingdom of heaven in the hearts of men, yet it is observable, he begins his preaching in the same words with John the Baptist: because the repentance which John taught still was, and ever will be, the necessary preparation for that inward kingdom. But that phrase is not only used with regard to individuals in whom it is to be established, but also with regard to the Christian Church, the whole body of believers. In the former sense it is opposed to repentance; in the latter the Mosaic dispensation.
Verse 18
[18] And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
Mark 1:16; Luke 5:1.
Verse 23
[23] And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
The Gospel of the kingdom — The Gospel, that is, the joyous message, is the proper name of our religion: as will be amply verified in all who earnestly and perseveringly embrace it.
The Upper Room Ministries
PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004, United States
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Today's Scripture:
Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all of you who are struggling and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.[Matthew 11:29 Jeremiah 6:16] 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”[Complete Jewish Bible]
Matthew 11:28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”[The Message]
Today's Scripture:
Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all of you who are struggling and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.[Matthew 11:29 Jeremiah 6:16] 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”[Complete Jewish Bible]
Matthew 11:28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”[The Message]
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Link to GBOD DevotionalContact Information:
Great Plains Episcopal Office
9440 East Boston, Suite 160
Wichita Kansas 67207, United States
316-686-0600
800-745-2350
info@greatplainsumc.org
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