Week 10, March 1–7: Luke 13–24; Numbers 1–7; Psalms 25–31

• Sun      Mar 1   Luke 13–15     Ps. 25
• Mon     Mar 2   Luke 16–18     Ps. 26
• Tue      Mar 3   Luke 19–21     Ps. 27
• Wed     Mar 4   Luke 22–24     Ps. 28
• Thu      Mar 5   Num. 1–2        Ps. 29
• Fri        Mar 6   Num. 3–5        Ps. 30
• Sat       Mar 7   Num. 6–7        Ps. 31

Luke’s Gospel account culminates in the death and resurrection of Jesus. It concludes with his appearances to his disciples and finally his ascension. In the last chapter of Luke, we see something that comes up all through the Gospels, and really all through the NT. In Jesus’s interactions with his disciples between his resurrection and ascension, and as we read along in the rest of the NT, it is abundantly clear that Jesus and the apostles—those who wrote the books of the NT—all had a strong conviction that the OT Scriptures all point to Christ.

Jesus rebukes the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, telling them they should have seen from the Scriptures that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer, die, and rise again (Luke 24:25–27). Before their eyes are opened to see it is Jesus talking with them, he opens their eyes to the OT Scriptures to see how they are all about the Christ. Then he appears to the eleven disciples and shows them too that the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms—the whole Hebrew Bible, or what we call the Old Testament—all finds its fulfillment in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah (24:44–47). Jesus believes the whole OT points to him, so does Luke, and so do the rest of the writers of the NT. If this was their perspective, it seems it should be ours too. Let us keep this in mind as we go back and pick up where we left off in our reading in the OT.

After finishing Luke’s Gospel, we move back to the Pentateuch and pick up where we left off a couple weeks ago. Numbers is the third part of the five-part book of Moses and it continues the narrative from Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus. At the beginning of Numbers, Moses and the Israelites are still at Mt. Sinai, and they remain there until chapter 10.

The first few chapters of Numbers include lists of names and the numbers of people in the tribes of Israel as well as a lot of details about where and how the tribes are to be positioned in the Israelite camp. There is also quite a lot of detailed instruction for the Levites and priests who were responsible for all that went on in and around the tabernacle. Admittedly, it can be a bit tedious to read through some of this material, like it may have been in the later parts of Exodus and throughout Leviticus. And yet, a genealogy in Numbers, or detailed instructions for how to handle disease in the skin or in the home, is inspired Scripture just as much as anything else in the Old or New Testament. We can be confident that somehow this is profitable for us, it shapes us, and it helps us to grow towards maturity and to be “equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16–17)

One of the ways this kind of passage shapes us is by cultivating an attitude of humble submission before God. By choosing to spend time reading these chapters we are saying, “Lord, I’m not exactly sure what this list of difficult-to-pronounce names has to do with me or my life, but I trust that you are good and you have given your word, all of it, to communicate with your people and make yourself known. So, because I want to know you, and because you are perfectly wise in all your ways, I am choosing to come to you and hear from you in the way you have chosen to communicate with me, even though I don’t always understand it.” He will honor that kind of humble posture. Simply obeying him and abiding in him through his word will form us into Christlikeness over time.

To use an example that may seem silly, this is kind of like Mr. Miyagi telling Daniel-san to paint the fence and wax the cars. Daniel does not understand why. What’s the point? What does this have to do with learning Karate? But the repeated motion of painting and waxing forms Daniel. It trains him in ways he does not realize while he is doing it. When we repeatedly read through the Bible, even the parts that are less obviously relevant, we are taking the opportunity to be shaped in ways we may not know we need to be. We submit to our wise and kind Lord, standing under his word in order to understand the glorious mysteries he reveals to us there.

We are now over two months into this read thru, and I wonder how it is going for everyone. It is quite likely, I imagine, that some have kept up and read pretty consistently and some have not. That is ok! Maybe you have fallen behind the scheduled reading, or maybe you are just joining in and starting now. Here are a few ideas if you are behind a bit or if you are joining in the read thru now.

First, don’t feel guilty. Reading through the Bible like this is not a competition or a way to prove your Christian maturity—either to yourself, to your pastors or fellow Christians, and certainly not to God. As we have been saying, the aim is to grow in a regular habit of reading Scripture. We are cultivating a practice of spending regular time meeting with God to hear from him through his word, which he has graciously given us as the main means by which we know him. This is a patient, lifelong journey. It is not just an accomplishment to achieve or an obligation to fulfill. The Lord is gracious and kind, and we can rest in the finished work of Christ. We read the Bible not to gain his favor but out of joy as a response to his love. We read because we desire to know him more.

That is the first and most important thing to keep in mind if you are not up to date with the reading schedule. With that in mind, there are a couple ways you could get back on the schedule. You could simply jump in at the reading for this week. Just skip what you have missed for now, or if you have not started yet and are thinking of joining the read thru, just jump in where we are now. This means you will miss some reading this time through, but it also means you can be reading where others at GBC are reading, which is one of the benefits of doing this together as a church. Also, remember, the Bible is meant to be read repeatedly over the course of a lifetime. You can fill in next year what you may have missed this year.

The other option is to try to catch up. You could set aside a larger block of time one day, or maybe an hour or so on a couple days, and settle in and read a larger set of chapters. This in itself can be a really rewarding practice, even if you are not doing it to catch up on the read thru. It is a way to resist the relentless pull we probably all feel to hurry up and get things done. True, you will be picking up the pace in one sense, but you will be doing so by slowing down and sitting with Scripture for more than just a few minutes.

These are a couple ways to catch up with the reading schedule if you are behind or just now starting. But again, the main thing is to rejoice in God’s grace in Christ and to read his word because you love him and want to know him.