MPC: Congregational Bible Experience 2026: 12-18 January

Genesis 29-43

Matthew 10-13

 

 

Genesis: While the Bible was written for us (see for example: Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:6-7), it was not - in the first instance - written to us. It was written to others, and we're merely reading over their shoulders. Having this thought in mind will keep us from misreading the Bible's relevance to us, especially in these early chapters of the whole Book.
 

If we assume the traditional notion that Moses was the final writer or editor of Genesis (which means 'Beginnings') - why did he write it?  And, under the inspiration of the Spirit, who did he write it for?
 

In Moses' day, the Children of Israel had been living in Egypt for around 4 centuries. A very long time.  During those many years, their sense of who they were as a people, where they had come from, why they were enslaved, and the relationship that their celebrated ancestors had with (the only, true, living, creating and sustaining) God, and His promises to give them a land of their own and to bless them so that they would be the means of God's blessing to all the other nations round about - all these things had been lost in the mists of time.  They needed to know these truths for what lay ahead.

 

For now, God was once again on the move. Because of His overruling grace, Israel would soon be freed from the physical slavery that had imprisoned and demoralised them and from the spiritual idolatry that had captured their hearts. To encourage Israel to trust Moses and willingly leave Egypt, they needed to be reassured as to who this God was who was taking them away from their homes, what was He like and could He be trusted? Was He as strong and benevolent as the Egyptian gods that they had adopted as their own? (Wait for the book of Exodus to answer that question!) The stories of God's call and faithfulness to their forefathers in the past would encourage them to trust Him for the unknowns and challenges of the future. This is one of the primary reasons we have the book of Genesis.

 

 And so, the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the rest are not so much presented as moral examples for healthy living while they  continued to wait for the real Serpent-Crusher (Genesis 3) to turn up. Rather, Moses focused our attention on the God who graciously commits to His people and His promises, overriding the twistedness of sinful hearts (just like our own) to ensure His will is fulfilled.  These stories - full of family rivalries, jealousy, betrayal, deception - demonstrate that God will not walk away from those whose hearts and lives are naturally sinfully and selfishly centred on themselves, but will patiently and lovingly work with those He has called to Himself to bring them to a place of God-honouring faith.  Through such people - just like ourselves - the sovereign grace of God is displayed, enabling His people, in whatever era, to persevere through difficulties and hardships that they, that we, may be blessings to others as we testify to the goodness, the greatness and the mercy of the one and only glorious God.

 

Matthew: the assigned chapters assigned for this incoming week begin and end with extended teaching from Jesus on the importance of being mission-minded disciples (chapter 10) and being Kingdom-committed disciples (chapter 13), in the context of increasing doubt and suspicion and opposition arising against Jesus and all who follow Him (chapters 11-12). 

 

Jesus gives his disciples an opportunity to sense what the future will hold for them as Gospel-preaching evangelists when he is no longer with them.  For now, Jesus is still around to debrief their experiences and to offer support and encouragement.  His preparatory instructions underline the difficulties they will face, despite their intention to bless others in Jesus' name (12: 1,8). Ahead of them lies the insecurity of neither food nor shelter (v9-16); the probability of civic hostility, arrests and trials (v17-20); family divisions, betrayal, persecution, even death (v21-23, 28, 32-34); misunderstanding and shame (v35-37), and all the while - having to persevere against these push-backs with Christlike grace (v40-42).  Such loyalty and faithfulness to King Jesus is the pathway to life (v38-39) in which the love and protecting care of the Father are sensed (v28-31) in ways that could otherwise never be.  Do think about and pray for missionaries you know as you read these chapters.

Chapter 13 develops this theme. The emphasis here is in what we might call 'undercover discipleship': that is, how disciples live lives under the authority of King Jesus while the rest of the world doesn't see or acknowledge Him as King. And yet, for those who have discovered this Kingdom-life-with-Jesus, it is the most precious treasure of our day (13:44-46).