Week 9, February 23–March 1: Matthew 11–13; Numbers 1–3; Psalm 15
- Sun Feb 23 Matt. 11–13
- Mon Feb 24 Matt. 14–16
- Tue Feb 25 Matt. 17–19
- Wed Feb 26 Matt. 20–22
- Thu Feb 27 Matt. 23–25
- Fri Feb 28 Matt. 26–28
- Sat Mar 1 Num. 1–3 Ps. 15
Matthew’s Gospel ends with Jesus’ parting words to his disciples:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18–20)
In this charge, which we call the Great Commission, Jesus gives his disciples and us today the outline for our task as his followers. Jesus’ disciples have been with him for a while by now. They’ve walked with him, watched him in action, and heard him teach. Then they saw him crucified, and now he is alive. He has risen and will soon ascend to be with the Father. But before he does, he leaves them with these instructions. He sends them out on a mission to tell the world what they’ve seen and heard, and to call others to follow him too.
Gresham Bible Church’s mission is to carry on this same task, to be disciples who make disciples, all for God’s glory and by the transforming power of the gospel. We have the same mission Jesus gave to those first disciples. It’s the same mission the Church has always had since Jesus’ ascension, and it will be our mission until he comes again. Our hope and prayer is that reading the Bible together as a church will help us in this mission. May we, like the disciples, take what we’re seeing and hearing and spread the news. As we come to know our glorious, triune God better, we will want others to know him too.
Earlier in these write-ups we were considering two purposes for doing a read thru. First, we read through the Bible to meet with God regularly and hear what he has to say. And second, we commit to a reading plan like this so we can a lifelong habit of growing in familiarity with God’s word. There’s more we could say about both points, but let’s just touch on one more aspect of the second point for now.
When we read through the Bible in a year, we probably won’t have time to dig deeply into every question that might come up. The format for this kind of reading—around three chapters a day—doesn’t lend itself to lingering for a long time over every verse, meditating on what is being said and studying it in depth. As we read along, we will probably end up with more questions than answers. And that’s ok!
There is certainly a place for studying the Bible in more depth (like our men’s and women’s Bible studies), and it is important to slow down and meditate and memorize Scripture too. But the value of a read thru is in the long, patient work of simply reading. Reading is the starting point, the first step to a life of study, meditation, memorization, and all the other aspects of what it means to be someone who is formed into Christlikeness by the word of God. None of those other steps can happen without the beginning and continuing with reading itself. In reading we are building a foundation of familiarity with the overall story of the Bible. We are growing in biblical literacy.
Growing in biblical literacy is about becoming more acquainted with the Bible over time, not about having answers to all the theological questions that arise as we read. It can be unsettling to have unanswered questions, but we can trust that God gave us his word so that he can be known. We can be confident in his kindness to show himself to us. Over the years, as we read and re-read the Bible, we grow in our familiarity with what God has said. As we do, this begins to shape us, and we grow to be more like him. The story of the Bible—and its God-centered perspective that is focused on Christ—will slowly but surely become the dominating story for our lives.
The Holy Spirit works through the Scriptures he inspired to conform our minds and our hearts to his ways. It is through a lifelong journey of simply reading his word that we grow to know God more, gaining the kind of knowledge that is intimate and personal, the kind of knowledge that can only come about over time, slowly, through long years of being with him and listening to his voice. The more we grow in knowing him like this, the more we will come to worship him and love him and live for him.