June 3

Journey-through-the-Bible-with-us

READING FOR JUNE 3, 2026: JEREMIAH 8, MARK 15, PSALM 50:1-11

JEREMIAH 8 God gave Jeremiah a particularly gruesome view of the future. The bones of the leadership of Judah, seemingly past and present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be buried, and possibly some exhumed from the grave. They will be strewn along the ground in view of the same heavenly bodies these individuals worshipped in life. Note that in those days, even more so than today, an honorable burial was highly valued. 

Then God commanded Jeremiah to ask the people how they could have been so dumb? (He didn’t use those exact words.) Even birds know enough by pure instinct when and where to migrate, yet they as God’s people did not know about God’s judgment. God goes on in amaze- ment because they actually think they are wise and are following God’s laws. Do we as God’s people today truly obey what the Lord has told us to do in His word? How can we say we do if we have no working knowledge of what His word teaches? 

God makes a point of saying the scribes, the equivalent of today’s seminary-trained scholars, have twisted His word so that it is actually a lie. He says that this amounts to rejecting God’s word. This writer fears this statement aptly describes much seminary education today. In verse 10 God says in response He will give the wives and lands of these so-called spiritual leaders to other people. Their ministry to the people was more soothing, therapeutic, and ultimately deceptive than truthful and foundational. They kept advocating peace but not truth and repentance. This same rubric would be a great diagnostic test for us to administer to any teacher, pastor, or author we encounter today. 

Starting with verse 14 either the people or Jeremiah speaking for the people ask why they are doing nothing. It is suggested that they go to a fortified city and perish there. Maybe they think they might have a better chance of survival there. They mention they hear the destruc- tion coming from Dan, which was the northernmost tribe. In verse 17 we see another confirm- ation from the Lord. He will be sending them snakes that cannot be trained not to be fatal. 

In verse 18 Jeremiah appears to start his lament that blossoms greatly in the book of Lamenta- tions. He is so sorrowful for his people’s rejection of God and coming judgment. They have missed the time of repentance and are not saved. This sorrow for unsaved loved ones is seen later with the Apostle Paul: “I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my countrymen, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (Rom. 9:2-3).  Our Savior Jesus is no less grieved for those who reject Him:“Jerusalem, Jeru- salem, who kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling” (Matt.23:37).   

READING FOR JUNE 3, 2026 CONTINUED: MARK 15, PSALM 50:1-11 

MARK 15 Some of us have experience with America’s criminal justice system. There are certain protections, such as the right to legal counsel and the presumption of innocence. Another feature is the extreme slowness of the process. For example, several of President Trump’s cases dealt with incidents from several years ago and did not go to trial before he was reelected. Here Jesus was given no lawyer, was assumed to be guilty, and--in the middle of the night--was indicted, tried, and sentenced to be executed the next day. As we saw in Matthew’s account, Pilate clearly knew Jesus did nothing wrong (vs. 14), but desired to satisfy the crowd rather than uphold the law (vs. 15). The rule of law is a good thing, but it only works if the officers of the law are committed to the law more than hanging onto power. 

Notice how the different groups act toward Jesus and the cross. Reflect on how we act today:

  •  Soldiers. Mocked Jesus’s rightful status as King of the Jews; mistreated him as a person, let alone the Son of God; obeyed unjust commands as in Germany in the 1940’s; sought Jesus’s assets of garments rather than His truth; and one centurion affirmed His divinity based on the manner of His death.    THE MANNER IN WHICH A PERSON DIES CAN BE A STRONG TESTIMONY TO OTHERS.
  • Bystanders. Mimicked the distorted testimony of Jesus’s accusers; failed to grasp Jesus’s larger mission of redemption and thought Him a failure; and asked for a sign of their own choosing to believe rather than believe the signs Jesus provided by His life and death that fulfilled scripture. Read the Bible!
  • Women Supporters. Viewed the scene from a distance; the two Mary’s discovered his burial site. 
  • Male Supporter. Jesus’s disciples are not mentioned in this account, but Joseph of Arimathea, who was a member of the Jewish leadership, bravely approached Pilate to retrieve and bury Jesus’s body.      THE WAY IN WHICH WE FOLLOW JESUS WHEN HE IS UNPOPULAR IS A MEASURE OF OUR FAITH.

PSALM 50:1-11 The famous twentieth century writer Francis Schaeffer wrote the (very good) book He is There and He is Not Silent. Perhaps Schaeffer derived his title from this Psalm. There is more than enough evidence to believe the Mighty One, God, the Lord exists and that He has communicated with us. Here Asaph cites creation as both evidence of God’s existence and His communication to us. Hebrews states God has communicated through scripture and Jesus: “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2). This fiery, totally self-sufficient God calls all in heaven and earth to observe as He both testifies against and judges His people. In these first 11 verses, He tells us what He is not rebuking: inadequate burnt sacrifices. He says He is aware of their offerings and does not need additional ones. He reminds us He already owns all such animals.  Remember that all Christians will also experience God’s judgment. Hear Peter:“For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Pet. 4:17).  Hear Paul: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10).