Herod in one ring, layering questions on questions while trying to entice a miracle. The chief priests and the teachers of the Mosaic law became a pack of mad dogs jumping through flaming hoops in another ring. Soldiers, like evil clowns playing dress-up-the-joker in a third ring. Silent Jesus, the focus of their dark crafts. […]
Author: Stephen Ricker
Luke 23:5-7 is today’s BDBD. Political Poison.
Pilate deduced Jesus was not a threat to the Romans. “I find no basis for a charge against this man,” he told the accusers. Jesus’ teachings were no threat to the Roman Empire. The fact that many followed a Jewish Rabbi did not violate Roman law. Nor did it indicate that he was inciting a […]
Luke 23:1-4 is today’s BDBD. You Said So.
By our words we will be judged. Words come from the heart. Words are the fruit that reveals if our tree is rotting at the core and roots. If the core is hollow and infested with termites and/or the roots are dying, then our fruit will be sour. No one will pick and eat them. […]
Luke 22:66-71 is today’s BDBD. Jesus Passed the Test.
NOTE: BDBD will be down for a few days during the change of Domain Hosts. Jesus was arrested in the middle of the night and brought first to Annas, the high priest according to the Law given through Moses. The Romans deposed him for political reasons, ensuring he was unable to lead the Sanhedrin (3:2; […]
Luke 22:63-65 is today’s BDBD. Need a New Heart.
The guards were likely the same ones who were present when he was arrested. They were not identified by the gospel writers, but most likely consisted of temple guards. They were given the authority to arrest Jesus, who had not been charged with a crime. Their cruelty to a man who had not been found […]
Luke 22:54-62 is today’s BDBD. One Confesses, One Denies.
Jesus’s trials, conducted by the Jewish leadership, are contrasted with Peter’s denying Jesus three times in all four Gospel accounts (54-62; Matthew 26:57-75; Mark 14:53-72; John 18:12-27). This is clear because they bounce back and forth between the two with dizzying speed. The whole incident, from Jesus’s arrest to the Jewish leader’s verdict and Peter’s […]
Luke 22:47-53 is today’s BDBD. Will.
After prayer, Jesus committed his will to do God’s will for him. After receiving thirty silver coins, Judas committed his will to betray his rabbi and friend for nearly three years (47-48; Matthew 26:47-50; Mark 14:43-45; John 18:2-3). After sleeping, Jesus’ disciples committed their will to stop Jesus from saving the world but only managed […]
Luke 22:41-46 is today’s BDBD. Sleepless Prayer.
Jesus instructed his disciples to pray so they would not fall into temptation. Then Jesus prayed with a similar concept. Jesus referred to his soon-to-happen suffering as a cup to be drunk, meaning the lot that was assigned to him by his Father in heaven. Jesus was assigned to drink the cup of judgment and […]
Luke 22:39-40 is today’s BDBD. Before the Trial.
The Greek word for temptation is “peirasmos,” meaning to be “put to the test” and “to prove”. Temptation in the Bible is someone facing a decision to go against God and his will or to obey God’s will and trust in his love. When tempted, I am on trial. A person’s faith and patience can […]
Luke 22:35-38 is today’s BDBD. That is Enough.
The disciples did not comprehend what Jesus was saying. The problem was not because Jesus was using allegory or parables. The problem was that the disciples were not listening to what he said, they held onto the wrong idea of God’s kingdom, and when they did understand him, they were too proud to accept it […]
Luke 22:33-34 is today’s BDBD. Stymied Will.
Having the will, no matter how intense, to do something and then not completing it, though it was possible to, counts for nothing. Many alcoholics will find themselves having the best and strongest intention to stand confessing before God, stop drinking, and make amends. Yet, a few days later, they are buried at the bottom […]
Luke 22:31-32 is today’s BDBD. The Great Sifter.
Peter, like the rest of the disciples, wanted to be the greatest amongst his peers so he could be served by them. Jesus wanted them to be great, as long as they were great in the way God sees greatness. God sees greatness in a person if they serve others (26-17). Jesus instructed and provided […]
Luke 22:24-30 is today’s BDBD. Servant Kings.
The disciples were with Jesus in the upper room of a house, eating the Passover meal which Jesus had just modified, calling the cup “the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (20) He thus fulfilled the prophecy declared by Jeremiah. “The time is coming when I will make a new […]
Luke 22:20 is today’s BDBD. Blood Covenant.
Jesus shared the unleavened bread with his disciples during the Passover supper, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me” (19). He thus changed the meaning of the Passover (John 6:35, 41, 47-51). After the Passover supper, Jesus added something new to the Passover, for he was making a […]
Luke 22:14-23 is today’s BDBD. Jesus’s New Passover.
Twilight (sunset) starts the 14th day of the Hebrew month Abib, the first month on the Hebrew calendar, the full moon (Exodus 12:1). This is when the Lord God commanded all Israel and those who believe in and worship the Lord to keep the Passover meal (Exodus 12:6-8, 14; Leviticus 23:4-5; Deuteronomy 16:1-2). At twilight […]
Luke 22:7 is today’s BDBD. Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread.
The Passover was originally commanded while Israel was in slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:1-16). Exodus 12:6 says concerning the lamb that they were to designate on the 10th day of the month Abib, “Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter […]
Luke 22:7-13 is today’s BDBD. Lest you Yeast.
The Passover feast is a special annual meal consisting of lamb, herbs, and unleavened bread (bread made without yeast) eaten at twilight, the start of the 14th day of Abib (aka Nisan, March or April, Exodus 12:1-28, 43-50, 13:10). No other religious celebration was like it at the time it was commanded to obey by […]
Luke 22:1-6 is today’s BDBD. Adversary.
Satan is at work all the time. He has many who are delighted to help his cause. The chief priests and scribes wanted Jesus dead, for they feared the people (2). The religious establishment was the obvious adversary on the outside. After over three years of intense ministry, Jesus had become a household conversation. The […]
Luke 21:34-38 is today’s BDBD. Careful Hearts.
Three destructive behaviors for Christians are dissipation, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life (34). They are a weight on a Christian’s heart, pulling us away from active love of Christ. They take the place of laboring for the kingdom of God and Jesus. They are the rocks, thorns, and thistles in the Parable of the […]
Luke 21:29-33 is today’s BDBD. When You See.
I researched and pondered these five verses throughout the day and many times in the past. I had already written comments for Matthew and Mark on Jesus’ teachings on these five verses in the Olivet Discourse several years ago. The first conclusion I have is that I need more study, prayer, and inspiration from the […]
Luke 21:25-28 is today’s BDBD. Calm the Sea.
What is darkening my sun in midday? Faint not, behold the Son of Man is coming in a cloud. What is turning my moon to bloody tears? Terror not, He comes in power and great glory. What is causing my stars to fall from view? Weep no more, stand up and lift up your head […]
Luke 21:20-24 is today’s BDBD. Signs Foretold Fulfilled.
Jesus is answering the disciples’ question, “And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” (7) Jesus’s answer, given as prophecies, was fulfilled in the revolt against Rome in 66 through 70 A.D. Some of the disciples who heard Jesus give these were still alive when they were fulfilled. In obedience, […]
Luke 21:9-11 is today’s BDBD. Fearful Events, Great Signs.
Between warnings of false christs (8) and persecutions (12-14), Jesus gave predictions of severe and fearful events and great signs. Somewhere, there is a nation or region that has been attacking another almost nonstop since Jesus’s time. Revelation 6:4 tells of the fiery red horse of war that will be sent to the world during […]
Luke 21:12-19 is today’s BDBD. Results of Witnessing in Jesus’s Name.
The apostles began to witness in Jesus’s name when he left us. They did not preach prosperity, share fear, or reveal hidden secrets. They proclaimed Jesus’s words and deeds in the same spirit that Jesus witnessed. As Jesus spoke on behalf of his Father through the Holy Spirit, I, with all believers, am called to […]
Luke 21:8-9 is today’s BDBD. Watch Out!
The disciples heard Jesus confirm it. The temple would be destroyed (6). The temple was the center of first-century Jewish life. The disciples knew that the temple would not go without a terrible war, and no temple meant no Israel. With Israel no more, the lifestyle that they knew would either change or be lost […]
Luke 21:5-7 is today’s BDBD. Big Stones, Small Faith.
Jesus had been teaching in the temple all week. He had given many wise teachings and responded to confrontations by the Jewish religious establishment. Matthew records that Jesus pronounced woes against the religious leaders at the end of the last day of teaching. Jesus concluded the woes by stating, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill […]
Luke 21:1-4 is today’s BDBD. Poor Widow’s Offering.
Every person who has decided to follow Jesus will have multiple times when giving an offering (“doron” in Greek) will not be easy. Many ways exist for us to make an offering to God. An offering is not just money. Romans 12:1 states we are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. This passage concerns […]
Luke 20:41-47 is today’s BDBD. The Honor Teaches honor.
Jesus had validated the resurrection of the dead at the end of the age to religious bigots, the Sadducees. When he shamed them with the Word of God, their religious opponents, the teachers of the Law, were delighted and praised Jesus (39). However, other than different beliefs, they were the same as the Successors. They […]
Luke 20:37-39 is today’s BDBD. Alive and Well, Thank You.
Jesus gives the priestly Sadducees definitive Biblical proof to support his dissertation that physical death is not the end of human existence, and that there will be a physical resurrection in the age to come. More so, he provides it from the Law, the first five books, the only books that the Sadducees recognized as […]
Luke 20:35-36 is today’s BDBD. The Resurrection to come. #2.
The word “resurrection” in Greek is “anastasis”, meaning literally “standing again.” It is used forty times in the New Testament, and always refers most naturally to a bodily rising from the dead. (Luke 20:36; John 11:24; Acts 4:33, Rev. 20:5) There is certainly no warrant for taking it to mean something else. Jesus walked out […]
Luke 20:27-36a is today’s BDBD. Resurrection to come. #1.
When a person gains interest in Jesus, especially when we accept his rule and love in our lives, the reality of Jesus’ teaching concerning the resurrection of the dead must be considered and ascribed to in one aspect or another. The resurrection addressed in this encounter with the Sadducees is not the Lazarus resurrection type […]
Luke 20:20-26 is today’s BDBD. Give.
Who likes taxes, but the receiver? Receiving others’ hard-earned income through taxes is good only if not used for self-gratification or honor. Giving taxes is good when a general citizenry has honest collection to build and maintain civil infrastructure. However, the human race has never created a society that is perfect in tax collection and […]
Luke 20:17-19 is today’s BDBD. The Parable of the Tenants. #3.
The people were startled at the conclusion of Jesus’ parable. They did not want to believe that God would allow his son to be killed by selfish and corrupt tenants and that, in response, he would kill the tenants and give the vineyard to someone else. The prophets often used a vineyard to represent Israel. […]
Luke 20:14-16 is today’s BDBD. The Parable of the Tenants. #2.
Jesus’s “Parable of the Tenants” has the vineyard’s owner sending his son to collect his share of the harvest. The tenants recognize he is the heir and devised a plan to kill him and take the inheritance as their own. Greed and an evil sense of self-importance ruled their decision and the following action. Foolishness […]
Luke 20:9-13 is today’s BDBD. The Parable of the Tenants. #1.
After the religious elite challenged Jesus’ authority, he began teaching them in parables. One is recorded in all three Synoptic gospels: “The Parable of the Tenants” (Matthew 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12). They record that Jesus spoke this parable against them (19). The object is a man who planted a vineyard. The subject is the world’s most […]
Luke 20:1-8 is today’s BDBD. authority challenges AUTHORITY.
Men’s and women’s authority tends to lie and subvert to keep it. We will do these and worse while opposing God’s authority. Jesus had overturned the money exchange tables and driven out those who were selling sacrificial animals in the temple area (19:45-48). This challenged the Jewish religious authority and subverted their money flow. Their […]
Luke 19:45-48 is today’s BDBD. Correct Contact Disconnect.
Jesus highly valued familiar contact with God, otherwise known as prayer. Jesus’ communion with God was more than words and emotions. Prayer is primarily spiritual. When the Lord Jesus formed Adam from the dust of the ground, he looked normal (Genesis 2:7a). Yet, Adam was not made in the image of God until the Lord […]
Luke 19:41-44 is today’s BDBD. Hidden Peace.
Jesus shed tears as he fulfilled the Messianic prophecy in the sight of Jerusalem’s citizens by riding a colt into Jerusalem (41). He cried because they had blinders of pride, greed, and false interpretation on their eyes. God had come (44). They could have peace. They rejected it. They believed they could rule themselves. Jerusalem’s […]
Luke 19:35-40 is today’s BDBD. The First Rock Band.
The Sunday before his arrest and crucifixion, Jesus and his disciples arrived in Jerusalem, traveling from Jericho and passing through Bethphage and Bethany, two small towns less than two miles east of Jerusalem. (28-29; John 12:1, 12) When he arrived at the Mount of Olives in Bethphage, he stopped at a crossroads where one street […]
Luke 19:28-34 is today’s BDBD. A Donkey’s Errand.
God sometimes gives instructions and wants his people to do something that doesn’t make sense or seems unethical. When Jesus and his disciples left Jericho and trekked the approximately five-hour uphill walk to Jerusalem, two disciples would experience such a directive. When they arrived at the Mount of Olives, Jesus instructed them to go into […]
Luke 19:20-26 is today’s BDBD. The Parable of the Ten Minas+None
Jesus has the newly appointed King in “The Parable of the Ten Minas” upon his return, taking account of his ten servants’ investments. Each was given the same amount of minas. Each had an equal chance to accomplish his master’s intent (15). The first two he examined have either increased the investment by 100% or […]
Luke 19:12-27 is today’s BDBD. The Parable of the Ten Minas, Subject or Servant?
Jesus was at the home of Zacchaeus, a very rich chief tax collector, on the midday of his “Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem. Jesus had invited himself and his disciples to eat at his home, an invitation that Zacchaeus was eager to oblige (1-4). They were most likely on the house’s flat canopied roof, a common […]
Luke 19:11-13 is today’s BDBD. The Parable of the Ten Minas, Investing Advice.
Jesus was at the home of Zacchaeus, whose occupation dealt with money, investments, loss, and profit. Thus, Zacchaeus and the Apostle Matthew would have understood “The Parable of the Ten Minas” better than zealots, fishermen, Pharisees, and Levite priests who also heard this parable. Jesus used the best parables for the location he and his […]
Luke 19:11 is today’s BDBD. The Parable of the Ten Minas, Investing Advice.
Jesus had just declared Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector in Jericho, and his household saved and Zacchaeus is a child of Abraham (9). He said that was why he came (10). His statement drew the attention of everyone who heard it, so he used the attention to tell a parable called “The Parable of the […]
Luke 19:1-10 is today’s BDBD. Zacchaeus -salvation came to my house. #4
Daily life journal entry conclusion: Zacchaeus. I told Jesus of Nazareth, whom I am convinced is the promised Messiah, my decision of recompense for my sins, especially cheating others when I collected taxes. I will never forget his response, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. […]
Luke 19:1-10 is today’s BDBD. Zacchaeus -salvation came to my house. #3
Daily life journal entry continued: Zacchaeus. Jesus and I led the way to my home. I had joy that I could not put into words. Jesus had chosen to stay at my house, though many Levite priests, important rabbis, and the synagogue ruler lived in my elite Jericho neighborhood. The synagogue ruler lived next door. […]
Luke 19:1-10 is today’s BDBD. Zacchaeus -salvation came to my house. #2
Daily life journal entry continued: Zacchaeus. Climbing a sycamore-fig tree is not as easy as it looks, especially when the tree flourishes with ripe fruit, a person has short legs, and is wearing a finely crafted suit that only great wealth can buy. I was unaware until this day that too much fragrance annoys the […]
Luke 19:1-10 is today’s BDBD. Zacchaeus -salvation came to my house. #1
Daily life journal entry: Zacchaeus. My parents gave me the Israelite name Zacchaeus, meaning pure, a name I did not live up to until Jesus, the Messiah, invited me to a meal at my house. I grew up an outsider in a Jewish society. They called me “impure brood”, “heathen blood”, “traitor”, and “short root”. […]
Luke 18:35-43 is today’s BDBD. Your Faith Has Healed You. #3
My friend and I, blind men, passed by Herod the Great’s 10-acre, 3-palace garden oasis to the west exit of Jericho. There we waited for Jesus of Nazareth and the exuberant crowd we encountered at the east gate. We had a second chance to receive our sight. We were determined to yell for mercy so […]
Luke 18:35-43 is today’s BDBD. Your Faith Has Healed You. #2
When I heard that Jesus of Nazareth was coming my way, I said to my blind friend across the street, “I believe Jesus can give me sight”. “You do? Like you believed John the Baptist was a prophet? Didn’t Herod, the builder of this city, kill him?” he replied, pointing to the new city to […]
Luke 18:35-43 is today’s BDBD. Your Faith Has Healed You. #1
Daily life journal entry: Bartimaeus. The day my life changed forever. It is eight days before what I expect will be the most wonderful Passover of my life. I sat at my normal place at sunrise this morning between old and new Jericho to ask for alms. The spring air was crisp with much fragrance […]
Luke 18:35-39 is today’s BDBD. Jesus, Have Mercy.
Despondency can find hope; all that is needed is faith. One need not despair; Jesus is going by my way. Despondency continues to cry out in faith; for a better future, the Lord gives eyes to see. Jericho, in the Jordan valley, is the rich man’s paradise, an escape to an oasis “well watered like […]
Luke 18:31-34 is today’s BDBD. Jesus Predicts Death.
Jesus and his disciples, traveling south, passed through Perea on the east side of the Jordan River, turned west, crossed the Jordan River, and entered the northernmost part of the Judean Desert as they approached Jericho (17:11, 18:35) while on their way to Jerusalem for the Passover. This is where John the Baptist had baptized […]
Luke 23:50-56 is today’s BDBD. Jesus’s burial.
What is a Christian burial? I have been to several funerals, most of which can be considered Christian. Yet, none have been like Jesus’s burial. None of the services have read any of the gospel accounts of Jesus’s burial (Luke 23:50-56; Matthew 27:57-66; Mark 15:42-47; John 19:31-42) for enough sorrow is contained the the death […]
Luke 23:26-43 is today’s BDBD. Jesus Crucified.
Today is Good Friday, so someone long passed labeled the first Friday after Passover, the day we remember the crucifixion of Jesus, the Christ. Many have stated an opinion on the label. It is just a label to me. Like all labels, it means one thing to someone, and then the same label will mean […]
Luke 23:1-25 is today’s BDBD. Pilate’s Critical Decision.
Moments of critical decisions measure the heart. The heart of Israel’s religious establishment was found wanting for they decided to kill the awaited Messiah (1, 21, 23). Now, Pilate and Herod’s hearts were on trial. It appeared Jesus was on trial. In reality, God was weighing their hearts. The judges were being examined. The moment […]
Luke 22:66-71 is today’s BDBD. Jesus, the Son of God.
Jesus was arrested in the middle of the night and brought first to Annas, the high priest according to the Law given through Moses, but deposed by the Romans for political reasons and thus, unable to lead the Sanhedrin (3:2; John 11:49-50, 18:13-14, 19, 22, 24; Acts 4:5-6). After questioning Jesus, Annas sent him, still […]
Luke 22:54-62 is today’s BDBD. Peter’s Denials and Jesus’s Trials.
Jesus’s trials conducted by the Jewish leadership are contrasted with Peter denying Jesus three times in all four gospel accounts (54-62; Matthew 26:57-75; Mark 14:53-72; John 18:12-27). This is clear because they bounce back and forth between the two with dizzying speed. The whole incident, from Jesus’s arrest to the Jewish leader’s verdict and Peter’s […]
Luke 22:47-53 is today’s BDBD
After prayer, Jesus committed his will to do God’s will for him. After receiving thirty silver coins, Judas committed his will to betray his rabbi and friend for nearly three years (47-48; Matthew 26:47-50; Mark 14:43-45; John 18:2-3). After sleeping, Jesus’ disciples committed their will to stop Jesus from saving the world but only managed […]
Luke 22:39-46 is today’s BDBD
Someone recently asked me, “What do you think about a statement I read, ‘Once there is a conflict of will, what you want in life, and what God wants for you, life becomes a struggle.” This statement has some truth, yet it is misleading. Consider the meanings of “conflict of will” and “life becomes a […]
Luke 22:14-23 is todays’ BDBD
Tonight at twilight (sunset) starts the 14th day of the Hebrew month Abib, the first month on the Hebrew calendar (Exodus 12:1). This is when the Lord God commanded all Israel and those who believe in and worship the Lord to keep the Passover meal (Exodus 12:6-8, 14; Leviticus 23:4-5; Deuteronomy 16:1-2). At twilight (sunset) […]
Luke 19:45-48 is today’s BDBD
On Monday morning at dawn, when the temple gates opened to the public, the day after the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (41; Matthew 21:10; Mark 11:11-12, 15), Jesus entered the temple courts (45). This was a large open area, 35 acres (0.14 sq. km), where the Gentiles who converted to Judaism were allowed to pray […]
Luke 19:28-40 is today’s BDBD
The Sunday before his arrest and crucifixion, Jesus and his disciples arrived in Jerusalem, traveling from Jericho and passing through Bethaphage and Bethany, two small towns less than two miles east of Jerusalem. (28-29; John 12:1, 12) When he arrived at the Mount of Olive in Bethphage he stopped at a crossroads where one street […]
Luke 18:22-30 is today’s BDBD
Jesus answered a certain ruler who asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus cited the second half of the Ten Commandments, the ones that concern our interaction with other people. When the ruler heard Jesus’s answer, he replied, “All these I have kept as a boy” (21). Perhaps Jesus was going to […]
Luke 18:18-21 is today’s BDBD
A “certain ruler” came to Jesus as he approached the entrance to Jericho (35, 19:1). He was a ruler (18), most likely Jericho’s synagogue ruler (8:41 is Capernaum’s synagogue ruler). He certainly had the qualifications. He kept the commandments (19) probably including the extra rules created by the Pharisees and teachers of the law, he […]
Luke 18:15-17 is today’s BDBD
The social and spiritual health of a nation, society, religion, and city can be determined by how their children are faring. Children fare well when they learn love, respect, faith, and discipline from their parents, family, and neighbors (Ephesians 6:4, Colossians 3:21; Hebrews 12:7-11). When children see their parents love and respect God and each […]
Luke 18:13-14 is today’s BDBD
Humility is Jesus’s lesson in this parable. The tax collector is the example given of humility before God and men. Humility is a personal quality in which an individual knows his state before God, shows dependence on God, and respects others. The tax collector did not look up to heaven. He bowed his head because […]
Luke 18:9-12 is today’s BDBD
“The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector” follows “The Parable of the Persistent Widow”. This is the last parable that is unique to Luke’s gospel. Three more follow. However, they are in another gospel account and thus not unique to Luke. Luke supplies a comment at the beginning, as he had done with […]
Luke 18:8 is today’s BDBD
“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” (Hebrews 11:1-2) Jesus’s example of the persistent widow in the first seven verses is a prime example of faith expressed with pleading day after day, even though the odds of […]
Luke 18:1-8 is today’s BDBD
How do you spot a genius? When someone says, “Chopin was a genius composer,” how do they know? Many claim, “Leonardo da Vinci was a true genius who graced this world with his presence.” Is this true? And why do historians say, “William Shakespeare was the world’s premier genius playwright and poet.” Really? Of all […]
Luke 17:26-27 is today’s BDBD
Jesus just told his disciples that he would suffer many things, be rejected by his generation, and then leave them (25). They would desire to see him, but he would not be with them for a long time (22). He would, however, eventually return. The whole world will know when he returns. No one will […]
Luke 17:22-25 is today’s BDBD
Jesus, referring to himself as the Son of Man, meaning the Messiah per Daniel 7:13-14 and Psalm 80:17-18, tells his disciples they will long to be with him for he will have left them, but only after he must suffer many things and be rejected by his generation. This was the second time he told […]
Luke 17:20-21 is today’s BDBD
A group of Pharisees approached Jesus with a question about the Kingdom of God. It is rather peculiar that a group of them came to ask Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. To understand their intent I need to understand the popular teachings and understanding about the Kingdom of God at the time. […]
Luke 17:11-19 is today’s BDBD
Luke is the only Gentile of the four gospel writers. He is the only one who records the healing of the ten lepers. The emphasis of the passage is that only one of the lepers returned to “give praise to God,” and he was a “foreigner” (18). The other nine were Jews. Jesus often pointed […]
Luke 17:7-10 is today’s BDBD
Jesus’s teaching is concluded by a short, unnamed parable. So I will name it, “The Parable of the Duty of the Unworthy Servants”. The premise is this: 1. Christians are God’s servants. 2. God owns his servants. 3. God gives his servants duties. 4. God’s servants obey his commands, the duties he commits to us. […]
Luke 17:5-6 is today’s BDBD
When Jesus told his disciples that if a brother or sister in Christ were to sin against them, they were to confront them about it, and if they repented, forgive them, the disciples were like deer staring into an oncoming truck’s headlights (3). Most stunning is that Jesus said they should repeat this seven times […]
Luke 17:3b-4 is today’s BDBD
Jesus continued to build upon his statement that offenses will come to all; however, those offenses (stumbling blocks) should not come from his disciples. The type of offense Jesus meant is a behavior or attitude that leads another to sin, especially a brother or sister in Christ. I am to watch myself so I am […]
Luke 17:1-3a is today’s BDBD
After preaching about the Law given through Moses and the writings of the prophets (16:31), Jesus flows through four related teachings (1-3a, 3b-4, 5-6, 7-10). The first is today’s BDBD, where Jesus warns his disciples to be sure that they are not to be the cause of someone else’s sin. He was not teaching this […]
Luke 16:27-31 is today’s BDBD
How many seek God and his righteousness? “Seek and you will find,” promises Jesus (Deuteronomy 4:29; Jeremiah 29:13; Matthew 7:7; Luke 11:9). This is true if the Bible and God’s people are but a few minutes away or in a place where they are hours away, even in areas where Christianity is illegal. The promise […]
Luke 16:19-26 is today’s BDBD
Jesus continued teaching on the subject of riches for before him were Pharisees who loved money and were sneering at him (14) and his poor disciples who gave up everything to follow him (15:1, 3; 16:1). He told them “The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus”. The parable contrasts the life results of an […]
