March 11

Journey-through-the-Bible-with-us

READING FOR MARCH 11, 2026: ISAIAH 31, MATTHEW 28, PSALM 18:31-50                                                                  ISAIAH 31 Pre-exilic Judah was a lot like us and all people everywhere at all times. When looking for help against the formidable Assyrians, Judah was tempted to choose the Egyptians with their many horses and chariots that could be seen rather than God, who is invisible. What do we do when faced with important choices? In reading the condensed history of God’s people in the Bible, in one chapter God’s saves them but in the next, maybe one or two hundred years later, they forget God. How they could have been so foolish. But how about us? Here are three statements on human sexuality, one each from the 1st,18th, and 21st centuries.

Jesus from Matthew 19John Wesley in Notes on BibleUMC Book of Discipline
“At the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate ... I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” “God's making Eve was part of his ori- ginal design, and not a conse quence of Adam's beginning to fall. By making them one man and one woman, man, he condemned polygamy: by making them one flesh, he condemned divorce. It is good for a man – who is master of himself - not to touch a women - that is, not to marry. So great and many are the advantages of a single life. Yet, when it is needful, in order to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife.”   “The United Methodist Church affirms human sexuality ‘as a sacred gift and acknowledge that sexual intimacy contributes to fostering the emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being of individuals and to nurturing healthy sexual relationships that are grounded in love, care and respect.’ (2024 Book of Disci-pline, Paragraph 162.C). This applies to all persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Assuming we think Jesus has some wisdom to offer, let’s examine His statement on human sexuality above. He stresses maintaining the creational order of centuries earlier as articulat-ed in Genesis. In fact, he states that the then-current practice of divorce was too lax. John Wesley’s statement in the middle column is grounded in Matt. 19 and 1 Cor.7, which were written many centuries earlier. The United Methodist statement at right does not reference the Bible, God, or Christianity. It supports all sexuality except forced sex and casual hookups. Wesley’s view advocates the creational order developed millennia ago. In the small sliver of time since Wesley, the UMC departed totally from it. This is one example of choosing Egypt, not God. Another example? “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself” (Lev. 19:34). Of course this is complicated but are we 100% choosing God?

In verses 2-3 we see attributes God has to offer that Egypt doesn’t: all wise, never changes, and is totally just. Egypt on the other hand is human, not divine, and would cause Judah to stumble. God told Isaiah He will swoop down on the lions of Assyria like a flying bird and rescue Judah. Given the certainty of God’s word, Isaiah tells Judah to repent and observe God defeat Assyria, which is exactly what happened: “Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the rest got up early in the morning, behold, all of the 185,000 were dead” (2 Kings 19:35).  Could our church do likewise today?

 MATTHEW 28 Skeptics of Christianity often charge that because accounts of the resurrection vary so much, the story was made up. There are considerable differences. Different gospel writers focused on different aspects. Luke wrote that he had read the different accounts and tried to put events in chronological order (Luke 1:3). John, on the other hand, stressed he only included material that would help the reader believe in Jesus (John 20:20-21). The late George Ladd from Fuller Theological Seminary put together a possible sequence that includes all the resurrection events from the four Gospels. Of course, it might not have happened in this order, but it is reassuring to know the resurrection accounts can be harmonized:

  1. The earthquake and removal of the stone occur before dawn.
  2. A group of four women come early to the tomb, wondering who will move the stone. As they approach, they are

READINGS FOR MARCH 11, 2026: MATTHEW 28, PSALM 18:31-50                                                            

amazed to see that the stone has been rolled away.

  • Mary rushes off to tell Peter and John that the body of Jesus has been stolen (John 20:2). 
  • The other women stay in the garden. They enter the tomb and are met by two angels, who tell them to carry the word of the resurrection to the disciples. 
  • The women rush away from the garden, filled with mingled emotions of fear and joy, speaking to no one about the vision of the angels at the empty tomb (Mark 16:8).                                                                                              
  • Later in the day, Jesus met them. (Matthew 28:9 does not say that this meeting occurred in the garden.) They had to run away from the tomb. Jesus tells them to bear the word to the disciples; they depart to find the disciples, who are not together but scattered (Matthew 26:56). 
  • Peter and John, having been informed by Mary, come to the tomb after the women have left. They see the clothes; vague comprehension dawns on John. They rush off to gather the disciples. 
  • Mary returns to the tomb after Peter and John have left; they had run to the tomb (John 20:4), leaving Mary behind. She still thinks the body has been stolen. She is weeping outside the tomb, knowing nothing of the experience of the women she had left in the garden. She sees the two angels, then Jesus (John 20:11-17).
  • After the first shock of amazement had worn off, the women find some of the disciples; the disciples cannot believe the fanciful story (Luke 24:11). 
  • The disciples have gathered together.   

 Thoughts about the Matthew 28 Resurrection Account:

  • How beautiful that the two Marys faithfully kept the Sabbath but as soon as possible (dawn on Sunday) went to Jesus’s grave. These were also strong women who were not frozen in fear like the guards (vs.4) when they encountered the angel. When they met Jesus, they were able to balance fear with joy (vs. 8), a combination that baffles folks today but is commanded in scripture. Can we do likewise? 
  • The Jewish leaders never even considered the implications of the resurrection beyond their desire to hold onto power. They fabricated a lie and bribed the soldiers to maintain the lie. Sounds like Watergate. Do we really value and live the truth?
  • What’s so special about going to Galilee? Right after Jesus told the disciples they would all desert him (Matt 26:31-32), he quickly changed the subject and told them to meet Him in Galilee. When the angel spoke with the Marys, he told them to tell the disciples Jesus had risen and to meet Him in Galilee. When the Marys bumped into Jesus on the way, He told them to tell the disciples to leave for Galilee. Something big was going to happen in Galilee. Jesus’s first words in Galilee were that He possessed all authority so they can and must go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them to obey His words. Have we heard Jesus’s words from Galilee with the full emphasis He intended? If we obey, we have the promise of Jesus’s presence. WE WILL OBEY?

PSALM 18:31-50 David’s Steps to Victory: Starting and Ending with God 

  • Verses 30-31 God’s qualities
  • Verses 32-36 God’s strengthening of David 
  • Verses 37-48 David’s enemies defeated
  • Verses 49-50 David’s praise offered to God

Eph. 6:12 reminds us that our battles today are against evil forces and not people! Pray the following steps:

  1. Your ways God are perfect and your Word is trustworthy. You are my shield, refuge, leader, and rock (vs. 30-31).(Only pray this if you mean it! God knows our hearts.)
  2. Strengthen me, God, and keep me from disobeying you. Prepare me for the challenge(s) I currently face. Keep me from falling with your gentle hand (vs.32-36).
  3. Deliver and rescue me from (fill in the blank) and be the God of this victory (vs. 37-48).
  4. Thank you for your deliverance and kindness to me and all who care for me (vs. 49-50).