Deeply Rooted (When I Read Your Word)

R EAD THIS:  Luke 22:49-54 49 When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. 51 But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.  52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? 53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”  54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? These verses teach us two lessons, one about Jesus and one about ourselves! First, we get to learn a lesson from the way that Jesus loves everyone, including His enemies. The disciples weren't going to let Jesus be taken away from them without a f...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 22:39-48 39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. 45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”  47 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” WH...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 22:24-38 24 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.  25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. 29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers....

R EAD THIS:  Luke 22:14-23 14  When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table.  15  And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.  16  For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” 17  After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you.  18  For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19  And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20  In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.  21  But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table.  22  The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!”...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 22:7-13 7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” 9 “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked. 10 He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.” 13 They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? These verses are setting up one of the most famous scenes in the life of Jesus... the Last Supper! This passage shows Jesus and His disciples preparing for this final meal before Jesus's betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection. While it can be easy to look at this story a...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 22:1-6 1 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, 2 and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. 3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. 4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. 5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? This passage kicks off the last days before Jesus’s betrayal and crucifixion, and these verses show us some of the reasons we can make bad choices and choose sin. The Pharisees chose to kill Jesus because they were afraid, and Judas chose to betray Jesus because of a selfish heart. It can be easy to pass the blame of the sins made by these people to things like the world, Satan, o...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 21:32-38 32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.  34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”  37 Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, 38 and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? One full generation will experience all of the signs that Jesus spoke about yesterday, from the crashing waves to the cosmic signs. However, as we each ...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 21:20-31 20 “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.  25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of M...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 21:12b-19 12b They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13 And so you will bear testimony to me. 14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 Stand firm, and you will win life. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Have you ever been given a pep talk about something hard you had to do, but the words ended up leaving you a lot more scared than pepped? This passage can kind of feel that way if you miss the big picture that Jesus is trying to paint for us! Yesterday , we learned that these words from Jesus are about th...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 21:5-12a 5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”  7 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”  8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”  10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.  12 “But before all this, they will seize you an...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 20:45-21:1-4 45 While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, 46 “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” 1 As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? It's easy to look like we care about God and to look like we respect Him and give things/time to Him. It's hard to actually do those things, especially when we've had a ha...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 20:27-40 27 Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. 28 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. 30 The second 31 and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”  34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 B...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 20:20-26 20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.  21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”  23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. 25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”  26 They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? The religious leaders sent people to try to catch Jesus saying something treasonous. They wanted to get rid of Jesus, and the R...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 20:9-19 9 He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. 10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.  13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 20:1-8 1 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. 2 “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?” 3 He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: 4 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?” 5 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.” 7 So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.” 8 Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? In the Gospel stories, we can see a common struggle of the Pharisees trying their best to trick Jesus into saying something that will either prove He was wrong/not a...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 19:45-48 45 When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. 46 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”  47 Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. 48 Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Did you notice the difference between what motivated Jesus versus what motivated the religious leaders? Jesus took a look at the temple, and He was outraged by the way people used the temple to make a profit, even though the temple was supposed to be a place to honor God.  Jesus was motivated to put a stop to the buying and selling because He wanted to honor God, no matter if it meant that people wouldn't like Him.  The religious leaders looked at how Jesus was gaining in popul...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 19:41-44 41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? There are only a few moments in Jesus's life where we witness Him weeping about something, with the most recent example being when He weeps over the death of His friend, Lazarus. But here, Jesus weeps over the entire city of Jerusalem! Just yesterday , we learned that people were welcoming Jesus into the city and proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah... so why is Jesus weeping?   Jesus understood everything that was going to happen ...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 19:36-40 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:            38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the                     highest!”  39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”  40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord" is a reference to Psalm 118:26. Psalm 118 is a celebratory song about entering the Promised Land and being saved by the Messiah. By quoting Psalm 118 to Jesus as He entered Jerusalem, the Jews were proclaiming Jesus as their King, as th...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 19:11-27 28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”  32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”  35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Imagine this: You walk into an H-E-B. You snag a massive bag of Doritos. You walk out the door without paying.  When the cops pick you up, how do you think it'll go when you say, "The Lord needs it."  The disc...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 19:11-27 11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’  14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ 15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.  16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ 17 “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’  18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 19:1-10 1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the los...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 18:35-43 35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied. 42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Can you even imagine? Imagine being a blind person sitting on the side of the road, not knowing what was happening except through sound alone. Then suddenly this massive shuffle of feet ...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 18:31-34 31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; 33 they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.” 34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? As believers in Jesus, it can be really easy to look at the things Jesus did and lose sight at how incredible they are. These verses can be so easy to look at and miss the magnitude of what really just happened... Jesus, days before it actually happened, completely predicts exactly what will happen to Him and tells His disciples this clearly. What's even crazier about this is that this is the third and final time He does this (9:21-22, 9:43-45). Verse 34 tells us that t...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 18:24-30 24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?” 27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” 28 Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!” 29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.” WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Yesterday, we talked about the story of the rich young ruler and his conversation with Jesus. Today, Jesus continues the lesson here in a conversation He has with the disciples and others nearby! Jesus tells the rich young ruler that it is harder for a camel to go through t...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 18:18-23 18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” 21 “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? First off, let's talk about how baller Jesus is. A powerful person comes to Him and calls Him "good teacher." Jesus's response is to say that only God is good. Jesus makes a cutting point here. Either Jesus is not good or He is God. So the real question that Jesus is asking is le...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 18:15-17 15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Yesterday, there were two men who prayed. One thought he was worthy of God, and one didn't. Here, the disciples think that they are worthy of Jesus but kids aren't. What's crazy about that thought is that the disciples know that God created every person...so why would God have a preference over one of His children over another?  Then, Jesus calls the children to Him and says that people need to receive the Kingdom just like a child. A child probably didn't spend much time thinking whether or not they deserved Jesus' at...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 18:9-14 9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:  10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’  14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Have you ever talked to God and expected to receive something because you were being good? In high school, I remember asking God one time to help get rid of something I was...

R EAD THIS:  Luke 18:1-8 1  Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’  4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”  6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Have you ever bugged someone so much...