SFJ Bible Reading Plan

Matthew 12-16  (4.8.23)

Grab your Bible, and let’s dig into Romans 12 today.

Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Paul says, “I appeal … I implore … I call … Therefore!”

In essence, he is saying, “As a result of what has come before this … based on this foundation just laid …” He is referring us back to chapters 1-11.

What is before? What is the foundation? What do chapters 1-11 teach us? In sum, they teach us about the mercies of God. God has been merciful to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

So Paul is saying, “If you have Jesus, if He is your holy Sacrifice and therefore you are brothers (or sisters) in Christ …”

“… Then sit back and wait for heaven, doing whatever you want in the meantime.” NO! NO! NO!

He says, then offer or “present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” 

Build your lives on this mercy, and your new life will flow out with mercy.

Just look at the rest of Romans 12 and the life that flows out of those who act upon the mercies of God:

• Show mercy with cheerfulness
• Let love be genuine
• Give to the saints
• Bless those who persecute you
• Weep with those who weep
• Associate with the lowly
• Repay no one evil for evil
• Never avenge yourselves
• If your enemy is hungry, feed him
• Build your lives on mercy, and become merciful

His mercy produces mercy!

Our testimony, our service, our presence will truly change those He puts in our path.

Brothers, we are not here for ourselves; we are here to sacrifice—to give our lives away for the sake of Christ! We are here for the sharing of His gospel for the good of those He intends to save.

We are called by Paul to “PRESENT our bodies as a living sacrifice.”

Not a sacrifice that will be extinguished or consumed, but a sacrifice that will be refined.

The alter we are called to lay our lives on is not a cold slab of stone but the refining fire of God.

Present your bodies = put your lives in the refining fire as a living sacrifice.

We are not sacrificing as those who are dead in sin but as those who are living in Christ and who are now being made more and more in the likeness of Christ.

What this looks like is just as the faithful in the Old Testament denied themselves an earthly treasure (a goat or a bull) and carried their sacrifices to the altar of blood and fire, so we deny ourselves some earthly treasure or ease or comfort and carry ourselves—our bodies—for Christ’s sake to the places and the relationships and the crises in this world where mercy is needed.

This is what causes authentic sacrifice in our daily lives. So I ask you to make it personal today:

How is your submission to the refining fire that produces a living sacrifice?

As God refines you, does it equal more mercies, more forgiveness, more sacrifice in your life?

Do you see more joyful sacrifice in your calendar? 

Do you see more joyful sacrifice in your finances?

Do you see more joyful sacrifice in your actions towards others?

This is the life of the Christian: not one who is sitting around waiting to be asked, but one who is submitting himself to the refining fire so that he is actively living a life that is holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship.

God has not just saved us from sin and death but to righteousness and life.

How do we live lives that are holy and acceptable to God as our spiritual worship?

Romans 6:13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

So when Paul says in Romans 12:1 to present a living, holy body to God, he means give your members—your eyes, your tongue, your hands and feet—give your body to do righteousness and not sin.

The refining fire of God produces holiness, obedience to God’s law, submission to God’s will, worship to God’s glory, acts of mercy to the undeserving, acts of sacrifice to the selfish, acts of generosity to the needy, forgiveness to the guilty … This is our spiritual worship. 

Look further into Romans 12 to see this at work:

Romans 12:9 Let love be genuine …

You can also translate this from the Greek to say, “Let love be without hypocrisy!”

Hypocrisy = pretending to be a certain way that is not true to who you are in the core of your being. 

Christians are famous for this, because when we put the grace and work of Jesus on the back burner, we make our work what is important, and to save face and stay in the club, we put on masks and pretend to be someone we are not.

If you struggle with trying to keep face by not being genuine in this family, realize this: It is impossible to receive love if you are hypocritical, because you will know deep down inside that they are loving the fake you—not the real you.

So how do we love each other genuinely? Without hypocrisy?

You have to grow into Christ. He is the One who firms up your identity to be authentic. He is the One who transforms your love from worldly selfishness to godly other-centeredness!

HOW DO YOU GROW INTO CHRIST? You grow by engaging in gospel community who are pressing and reorienting you into Him.

Romans 12:9b Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

Because I love my kids:

I don’t let our toddler taste the Windex bottle because it is a pretty blue and think she won’t like it as soon as she tastes it, so she’ll digest the little bit ok.

I don’t let my teenagers have unfiltered and unaccountable access to the internet or a smart phone because the worst of the world WILL find its way to them in the dead of night or the temptation of a peer to defraud their minds and tempt them to sinful indulgence.

But hear me: Is this not what we as God’s family do all too often to each other? 

We stand by idly, watching someone we love struggling and then out of fear and no love at all, we stay distant and say nothing, thinking he or she will figure it out. We think, “I don’t want to cause conflict.”

“Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” This means we should grieve what is evil and we HOLD fast to what is good. Our love should cause us to fight for what is good and stand up to what is evil.   

What this means is if we, as club, are not going to be distant and hypocritical, but are going to act in genuine love and mercy, we will pull aside those in our family that are openly practicing sin and say, “I LOVE YOU! I am concerned because what I see you pursuing here, I don’t see in God’s word.”

Realize none of us are immune from this. Eventually, we all are going to need to be confronted. This is life in the body; this is LOVE at work in our family.

You don’t let people you love struggle in things that they can be helped in without at least fighting for them. Realize you are fighting for them! You are not fighting them! You are loving them.

Romans 12:10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

This is not love one another just with deeds. It is saying, “Have feelings for each other.” 

The idea is that our heart would leap a little when we are around each other because we are family!

When we are hypocrites, we can pull off the “do” verses, because we can muster up enough to just do what needs to be done.

But the heart is not as easy to change. To love each other from the heart—with our emotions, with that kind of buy in—is a different thing. It is harder to fake it!

I will tell you this, the only way we get to this is when we quit pretending. It has to be authentic. Genuine love is the only way you have and feel brotherly affection. 

As I write this, I am overwhelmed at the opportunity before us to live lives of mercy and love for all those God puts in our path.

This is a picture of a life centered in Christ—a life of love and mercy! May it be so.

By His grace and for His glory

Joshua “Shepherd” Kirstine

Soldiers For Jesus MC

Chaplain Council

SFJbible.com

Matthew 16

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs

16:1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered them,¹ “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock² I will build my church, and the gates of hell³ shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed⁴ in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!⁵ This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance⁶ to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life⁷ will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Footnotes

[1] 16:2 Some manuscripts omit the following words to the end of verse 3

[2] 16:18 The Greek words for Peter and rock sound similar

[3] 16:18 Greek the gates of Hades

[4] 16:19 Or shall have been bound . . . shall have been loosed

[5] 16:22 Or “[May God be] merciful to you, Lord!”

[6] 16:23 Greek stumbling block

[7] 16:25 The same Greek word can mean either soul or life, depending on the context; twice in this verse and twice in verse 26

(ESV)

Matthew 15

Traditions and Commandments

15:1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”¹ 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word² of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

8   “‘This people honors me with their lips,
    but their heart is far from me;
9   in vain do they worship me,
    teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

What Defiles a Person

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides.³ And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?⁴ 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.⁵

Jesus Heals Many

29 Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

Footnotes

[1] 15:5 Or is an offering

[2] 15:6 Some manuscripts law

[3] 15:14 Some manuscripts add of the blind

[4] 15:17 Greek is expelled into the latrine

[5] 15:28 Greek from that hour

(ESV)

Matthew 14

The Death of John the Baptist

14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,¹ 4 because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way² from the land,³ beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night⁴ he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind,⁵ he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick 36 and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

Footnotes

[1] 14:3 Some manuscripts his brother’s wife

[2] 14:24 Greek many stadia, a stadion was about 607 feet or 185 meters

[3] 14:24 Some manuscripts was out on the sea

[4] 14:25 That is, between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.

[5] 14:30 Some manuscripts strong wind

(ESV)

Matthew 13

The Parable of the Sower

13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears,¹ let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

  “‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,
    and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
15   For this people’s heart has grown dull,
    and with their ears they can barely hear,
    and their eyes they have closed,
  lest they should see with their eyes
    and hear with their ears
  and understand with their heart
    and turn, and I would heal them.’

16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.² 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds³ among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants⁴ of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:⁵

  “I will open my mouth in parables;
    I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Net

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

Footnotes

[1] 13:9 Some manuscripts add here and in verse 43 to hear

[2] 13:21 Or stumbles

[3] 13:25 Probably darnel, a wheat-like weed

[4] 13:27 Or bondservants; also verse 28

[5] 13:35 Some manuscripts Isaiah the prophet

(ESV)