The One Year Bible for Women - Flipbook - Page 40
January 12
she sent for Jacob and told him, “Listen, Esau is
consoling himself by plotting to kill you. 43 So
listen carefully, my son. Get ready and flee to
my brother, Laban, in Haran. 44 Stay there with
him until your brother cools off. 45 When he
calms down and forgets what you have done
to him, I will send for you to come back. Why
should I lose both of you in one day?”
46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m sick and
tired of these local Hittite women! I would
rather die than see Jacob marry one of them.”
27:36 Jacob sounds like the Hebrew words for “heel” and “deceiver.”
MATTHEW 9:1‑17
Jesus climbed into a boat and went back
across the lake to his own town. 2 Some people
brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat.
Seeing their faith, J esus said to the paralyzed
man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are
forgiven.”
3 But some of the teachers of religious law
said to themselves, “That’s blasphemy! Does
he think he’s God?”
4 Jesus knew* what they were thinking, so
he asked them, “Why do you have such evil
thoughts in your hearts? 5 Is it easier to say
‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’?
6 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man* has
the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then
Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said,
“Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
7 And the man jumped up and went home!
8 Fear swept through the crowd as they saw
this happen. And they praised God for giving
humans such authority.
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man
named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s
booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” J esus
said to him. So Matthew got up and followed
him.
10 Later, Matthew invited J
esus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along
with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. 11 But when the Pharisees saw
this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your
teacher eat with such scum?*”
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12 When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy
people d
on’t need a doctor—sick people do.”
13 Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy,
not offer sacrifices.’* For I have come to call not
those who think they are righteous, but those
who know they are sinners.”
14 One day the disciples of John the Baptist
came to J esus and asked him, “Why d
on’t your
disciples fast* like we do and the Pharisees do?”
15 Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests mourn
while celebrating with the groom? Of course
not. But someday the groom will be taken
away from them, and then they will fast.
16 “Besides, who would patch old clothing
with new cloth? For the new patch would
shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before.
17 “And no one puts new wine into old wine
skins. For the old skins would burst from the
pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the
skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins
so that both are preserved.”
9:4 Some manuscripts read saw.
9:6 “Son of Man” is a title
J esus used for himself. 9:11 Greek with tax collectors and
sinners?
9:13 Hos 6:6 (Greek version). 9:14 Some manuscripts
read fast often.
PSALM 10:16‑18
16
17
18
The Lord is king forever and ever!
The godless nations will vanish from
the land.
Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless.
Surely you will hear their cries and
comfort them.
You will bring justice to the orphans and
the oppressed,
so mere people can no longer terrify
them.
PROVERBS 3:9‑10
9
10
Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the best part of everything you
produce.
Then he will fill your barns with grain,
and your vats will overflow with good
wine.
AT T H E I N V I TAT I O N O F J E S U S to “follow me and be my disciple,” Matthew accepted
and followed him. Before long, Matthew gave his own invitation to Jesus: “Come to my
house for dinner! I want my friends to meet you.” What heart! Matthew wanted his worlds
to merge and his notorious sinner friends to encounter Jesus. We read no hint of hesitation
in Matthew’s invitation. No shame for Jesus to meet his rowdy crowd, and no concern for
hiding his connection with Jesus from his friends. May our own hearts forever welcome
and love both Jesus and fellow sinners, and may we participate in connecting the two.
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