Read Matthew 26:36-46

Many churches observe an Easter vigil. This service is usually held at night after sunset on Holy Saturday and before sunrise on Easter Sunday. In some, the mood is somber as believers reflect on Christ’s death and burial. In others, the mood is celebratory as they serve communion and practice baptism.

In today’s text the disciples observed a different kind of vigil. On the night of His betrayal, Jesus asked the disciples to “keep watch” with Him as He prayed in Gethsemane (v. 38). The mood just prior to this was unsettling, as Jesus celebrated His last Passover with them. The disciples bickered amongst themselves about which of them was the greatest (see Luke 22:24). Peter argued with Jesus when He washed his feet (John 13:8). They were deeply disturbed when Jesus told them that one of them would betray Him (Matt. 26:22). It must also have unnerved them when Jesus changed the traditional Passover liturgy and instituted the Lord’s Supper (Matt. 26:26–29).

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Read Jonah 1:1-16

In April 2014, the driver of a Chicago Transit Authority train fell asleep at the wheel as she approached the terminal at O’Hare airport. The train jumped the tracks and crashed into the terminal, destroying an escalator. Later it was revealed that she had fallen asleep at the wheel before.

You might say that Jonah repeatedly fell asleep at the wheel, wreaking havoc on others and himself. Commanded by God to go to Nineveh, Jonah fled in the opposite direction to Tarshish (v. 3). His goal was not only to avoid going to Nineveh, the capital city of Israel’s brutal enemy Assyria, but also to escape from God’s presence.

He couldn’t outrun God. The Lord pursued Jonah by sending a storm so fierce that the sailors feared for their lives. Unperturbed by either the storm or their terror, Jonah went below the deck and literally fell asleep. The outraged captain woke Jonah and urged him to pray. Notice the great irony here. Throughout Jonah’s story, even after he is finally forced to obey the Lord’s command, idol-worshiping pagans seem to have a greater sense of piety than God’s prophet.

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Read Romans 8:14-39

In common usage today, hope is synonymous with wishful thinking. When we say that we hope, we are usually only expressing a desire: “I hope it will not rain,” “I hope I get that job,” or “I hope you won’t mind.” These desires can go unfulfilled. We can also place our hope in things that are not strong enough to sustain the weight of expectation, and our hopes may be dashed.

The Bible has a view of hope that is stronger and more certain. The virtue of biblical hope depends on the power of God, who is the focus of our hope.

This is why Paul remained unshaken by the suffering he experienced. The decay of the created world was merely a signpost pointing to the hope of redemption (vv. 20–23). This was not wishful thinking. Paul was not “hoping” that everything would work out in the end. Rather, for Paul hope meant the certainty of resurrection and the redemption of all creation.

Hope is a discipline because we must choose to take God at His word. Importantly, though, we should note that it is not a mere act of the will. The kind of hope that Paul speaks of in these verses is strengthened by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit prays for us and testifies to the truth of God’s promises within our own spirit (v. 16). The Spirit is God’s guarantee of what is to come (see 2 Cor. 1:22). As a result we can face the future with a hope that is marked by certainty.

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Read Isaiah 58:1-14

The church has never held a uniform view of the Sabbath. One scholar notes, “The early church had no single answer to the question of the relevance of the Sabbath commandment to Christians. The churches of the New Testament period included a variety of views.”

The apostle Paul warned the Colossians not to let anyone judge them when it came to religious festivals, new moon celebrations, or Sabbath days (Col. 2:16). These were all associated with the Mosaic Law. New Testament believers could still observe sacred days if they chose. Paul’s own practice after his conversion to Christ was to visit the synagogue on the Sabbath. This seems to have been driven more by evangelistic intent, however, than by any continued devotion to the day itself. On the first day of the week Paul gathered with other Christians for worship, the regular practice of the New Testament church.

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Read 1 Samuel 13:1-15

Patience is a virtue, but impatience might be a national trait. Timex asked people how long they would wait before taking action; they learned that most would wait thirteen seconds before honking at a car in front of them stopped at a green light, twenty-six seconds before taking the seat of someone who has walked away, thirteen minutes for a table at a restaurant, and twenty minutes for the last person to show up for Thanksgiving dinner before beginning the meal.

In Saul’s case, impatience was more than a personality trait. It was a sin. Saul sent his son Jonathan to attack the Philistine garrison at Geba and summoned the people to assemble at Gilgal for a sacrificial ceremony. The prophet Samuel had commanded Saul to wait at Gilgal when he anointed him to be king (see 1 Sam. 10:8).

Samuel had been emphatic that Saul must wait for his arrival, but Jonathan’s foray against the Philistines provoked such a hostile response that the troops remaining with Saul began to defect (vv. 6–7). Saul waited for seven days, and still Samuel did not appear. He decided that extreme measures were necessary: he began to offer the burnt

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Read Luke 10:38-42

In a New York Times opinion piece “The ‘Busy’ Trap,” Tim Kreider laments today’s culture of busyness. According to Kreider, we use busyness to make us feel better about ourselves: “Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day.”

Today’s reading describes how Martha fell into the busy trap when Jesus came to town. Distracted from the Savior’s teaching by the details of hospitality, she complained to Jesus because her sister Mary was not helping. While Martha was making preparations, Mary sat at the Lord’s feet listening to Him teach. On the surface, Martha seems to make a strong case against her sister. Much work had to be done and Mary had left it all to Martha. Jesus was sympathetic to Martha’s distress, but He praised Mary for making the better choice.

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Read Matthew 25:14-30

In September 2014, Brooklyn postal worker Joseph Brucato admitted that for nine years he had been hiding mail that he was supposed to deliver to residents of Flatbush. His supervisor became suspicious when he noticed that Brucato’s personal car was filled with letters. The undelivered mail weighed more than a ton.

The servant in today’s parable was entrusted with one talent, and he failed to perform his duty. Instead of acting in his master’s interest, he buried the money entrusted to his care. One talent might not sound like much, but the value of a talent in Jesus’ day was roughly equivalent to twenty years’ wages for an ordinary worker. This fiscal conservatism angered the master, who accused him of dereliction of duty and called him a wicked, lazy servant (vv. 26–27).

This servant’s behavior is a good example of sloth. Although sloth sounds like it might be an extreme form of rest, it is really the opposite. While rest refreshes, sloth drains our vitality and depletes our energy. Rest is a remedy but sloth is injurious, a sin of omission. Sloth fails to do what is right, required, or good. Sloth seems like it will make life easier for us, but Scripture describes it as a path blocked with thorns (Prov. 15:19).

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Read Matthew 6:25-34

Fear and worry are related, with the difference that worry is what happens when fear focuses on the future and things that might happen. Jesus provides a sample of the questions that worry asks in Matthew 6:25: What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? For His audience, these were not trivial questions, like which item to select from a menu or which outfit to choose for that day. Many of these people did not know where their next meal was going to come from. Many did not have enough clothing to keep them warm at night.

Some of what we worry about is worthy of concern. Jesus’ words do not imply that food and clothing are insignificant—quite the opposite. But the Savior assures us that we do not need to be anxious even about these vital matters for human survival because we have a heavenly Father who knows what we need (v. 32).

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Read Hebrews 4:1-13

The American mentality is sometimes described as “work hard, play hard.” Who hasn’t heard someone returning from vacation complain, “I need a vacation to recover from my vacation!” Even when we have opportunities to rest, we often choose to fill our time with more busyness.

The same is true in our spiritual lives. In today’s passage, the writer of Hebrews warns of the danger of falling short of the promise of rest. This language is significant, and it comes from God’s promise to provide a place of rest for Israel after the Exodus from Egypt. Like the land that God promised to give to Israel, we must receive the rest of Christ as a gift.

Also like Israel, we must change our place of residence. Those who enjoy the rest of God are those who have been rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of the Son (see Col. 1:13). This is more than a change of attitude—it is a change of venue. Those who come to Christ by faith enter a new realm of experience. We occupy a domain of redemption, forgiveness, and empowerment through the Holy Spirit.

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Read John 5:1-17

“Blue laws” prohibit certain activities on Sunday, usually things like shopping or the sale of liquor. Some of the strictest blue laws outlawed working, traveling, or engaging in recreation. Blue laws were originally instituted for religious purposes and have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

As we saw in yesterday’s study, the Jews of Jesus’ day also had many blue laws focused on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. The religious leaders used these rules to find fault with Jesus when He performed a miracle of healing on the Sabbath.

The healing in today’s passage took place at a pool in Jerusalem located near the sheep gate. This pool had five porticoes or covered colonnades. It was believed to have healing properties and was probably associated with worship of Asclepius, the Roman god of healing. Jesus healed a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years; he was so weak that he could not step down into the water without assistance. The healed man was later charged with violating the Sabbath—for carrying the mat on which he had suffered for so many decades!

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Read Luke 6:1-11

“The Sabbath comes like a caress,” Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, “wiping away fear, sorrow, and somber memories.” But for many in Jesus’ day, the required observance of the seventh day was a burden, not a blessing. In their attempt to preserve the sacred nature of the day, the religious leaders had encumbered worshipers with a load of restrictions.

As Jesus’ disciples walked through grain fields, they began to pick the grain and eat it. This was permissible according to Mosaic Law (see Deut. 23:25). The Pharisees were offended, however, that this happened on the Sabbath. They considered the disciples’ behavior to be a form of work.

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Read John 4:27-38

The lyrics to the song “Sometimes by Step,” written by Rich Mullins and David Strasser, describe what it often feels like to labor for the Lord: Sometimes the day could be so hot / There was so much work left to do / But so much You’d already done. Ministry is work, and work can make us weary. Although Jesus was weary from the journey to Samaria, He was eager to explain the gospel to a woman who came there for water.

Jesus’ disciples had gone to find food. When they returned, they urged Him to eat, perhaps because they saw the people of the town approaching (vv. 30–31). The disciples’ reaction to Jesus’ statement is almost humorous. They interpreted it literally when He replied, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about” (v. 32). Jesus explained that He was sustained by doing the will of the Father. Ministry is hard work—but God is able to sustain us even when we are weary.

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Read Hebrews 2:5-18; 13:11-16

Family members have profound power both to shame and to honor each other. Children make their parents feel embarrassed or proud, depending on how they choose to act. Older siblings often either defend or oppress their younger ones; little siblings usually either idolize or annoy their older brothers and sisters.

Hebrews gives us a breathtaking glimpse into the dynamics of the relationship between God the Father and God the Son (see Hebrews 1–2). The Father allowed His Son to be made “lower than the angels” and to suffer death (2:9–10). As the perfect Son, Jesus willingly subjected Himself to His Father’s discipline.

Jesus’ submission brought glory to the Father. And the Father’s carefully laid plans for the Son’s humiliation culminated in Jesus’ restoration to His glory.

But the divine circle of mutually honoring relationships doesn’t end there. God reaches out to draw us into His family too. Jesus lowered Himself to struggle and suffer like us so that He could raise us up to share the Father’s love the way He does. Like a good older brother, he proudly identifies with us, coaches us along the way, and intercedes to the Father on our behalf (2:11).

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