from the Golden Text

Leviticus 27:28 

Every devoted thing is most holy unto the Lord.

Holiness is a recurring theme in Leviticus. (The term holy appears there more than in any other biblical book.) God’s people are to be holy (a mandate repeated in 19:2; 20:7, 26)—to honor their pure, Godlike identity.

One source calls Leviticus “a narrative pause in the story of our ancestors as they are on their way, having been saved out of Egypt, to settle in the land of Canaan.” He continues, “It is a kind of extended time-out for instruction, a detailed and meticulous preparation for living ‘holy’ in a culture that doesn’t have the faintest idea of what ‘holy’ is.”

While the particulars of daily life have changed from the societal customs outlined in Leviticus, commentators note that its essential message still applies: Devote your entire life to God. 

from the Responsive Reading

Colossians 3:12, 16, 17

As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. . . . Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

—NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION^®

Paul evidently never visited the Greek city of Colossae, and his authorship of this letter is uncertain. Many scholars, however, think the epistle was drafted by him out of deep concern and love for a group of believers he hadn’t met. This patient counsel, similar to that of I Corinthians 13:4–7, follows warnings about unacceptable behavior (see Colossians 3:5–9).

Mark 12:41–44

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

—NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION^®

Coins feature in several teachings or events in Christ Jesus’ ministry. Just prior to this, when Jewish officials try to entrap him about paying tribute money, he points to Caesar’s inscription on a penny (see vv. 13–17). In Matthew 17:24–27 he directs Peter to find a coin in a fish’s mouth. And in Luke 15:8–10 he offers the parable of a lost coin to illustrate God’s joy over the repentant sinner. 

Here the widow’s tiny amount conveys the meaning of real sacrifice­—not measured in monetary value but in the cost to the one sacrificing. Heartfelt giving, he stresses, holds nothing back. His earlier words to his disciples brought this lesson home: “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34).

from Section 1

2 | Isaiah 30:2, 29

Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. . . . Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty One of Israel.

from Section 2

4 | Matthew 4:18–20

Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

Men who became eminent Hebrew leaders were commonly called to God’s service from their everyday work. Moses, David, and Amos, for instance, were shepherds, and Elisha was plowing his field when Elijah summoned him (see Exodus, chap. 3; I Samuel 16:11–13; Amos 7:15; I Kings 19:19–21). Most rabbis, though, did not call students but were sought out by prospective learners. Jesus reverses this practice, inviting disciples directly and teaching multitudes outside the educational structure of the synagogue (see, for example, Mark 2:13; 4:1, 2).

Fishermen occupied a lowly position in antiquity. Yet, a scholar reflects: “. . . God’s empire welcomes them with a new focus (follow me) and mission (fish for people). The story models Jesus’ call, their instant response, and the communal nature of discipleship as a new household based not on genes but on doing God’s will. . . . In his call they encounter God’s rule, presence, salvation.”

from Section 3

6 | Hebrews 3:1

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.

Apostle and High Priest are significant titles. Apostle (used of Christ Jesus only here) means one who is sent—an apt description of the Savior, and one he makes clear in his ministry (see John 4:34; 6:38; 7:28, 29; 8:16). High priest—usually referring to the sole person allowed into God’s presence in the Temple—appears repeatedly in the book of Hebrews as a title for Jesus (see another instance in 7:24–28). A source suggests, “Jesus as the one sent by God represents God to humanity; Jesus as high priest represents humanity to God.”

Katanoeō, the Greek verb rendered consider, describes profound reflection. Sometimes translated behold (see example in Acts 7:31), it goes beyond merely looking at a thing or concept to seeking its deepest sense. Jesus employs it in turning his listeners’ attention to ravens and wildflowers as evidence of God’s love (see Luke 12:24, 27).

8 | II Corinthians 9:8

God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.

from Section 4

9 | Luke 7:37, 38, 44–47

A woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. . . . And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much.

Although the Pharisee in this account respects Jesus enough to invite him to dinner, he soon reconsiders this esteem. Jewish officers held themselves apart from wrongdoers, so this Pharisee disapproves when the Master allows a notorious sinner to touch him (see v. 39). Jesus’ parable condemns his callous attitude, showing that loving engagement with sinners and forgiveness of their misdeeds bring healing.

Kiss has different shades of meaning in this text. In verse 38, it is translated from the Greek verb kataphileō, indicating tender, fervent kisses. This word describes the kiss given by the prodigal son’s father (see Luke 15:20). In Jesus’ declaration, “Thou gavest me no kiss” (7:45), the term philema signifies a kiss of greeting. In stark contrast to the woman’s wholehearted affection, the Pharisee withheld even this small courtesy.

10 | I Corinthians 3:16, 17

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? . . . The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

from Section 5

12 | Luke 22:1, 2, 14, 15, 19, 20, 27

Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him; . . . And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: . . . And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. . . . I am among you as he that serveth.

At this meal Jesus observes Hebrew custom. Bread and wine were integral to the Passover celebration; a sacrificial lamb (also traditional to the feast) prefigured Jesus in his crucifixion.

After the Master’s ascension, breaking bread became a precious symbol for his followers. The two disciples who saw Jesus as they journeyed to Emmaus, for instance, reported that “he was known of them in breaking of bread” (24:35). To Christians, this simple act served to commemorate Jesus’ last meal before the crucifixion as well as to forge bonds of fellowship (see examples in Acts 2:46; 20:7).

Jesus’ assertion “I am among you as he that serveth” is his response to an argument among his closest friends about “which of them should be accounted the greatest” (Luke 22:24). He had already answered a similar dispute, stating “He that is least among you all, the same shall be great” (9:46, 48). Yet the disciples clearly need reminding of his—and their—primary role of service.

13 | Acts 2:22–24, 32

Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. . . . This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.

In this passage, Peter is speaking on the Day of Pentecost. His recounting of the facts of Jesus’ career is distinctly God-centered. “Approved of God” carries the sense that Jesus’ divine origin and mission are endorsed by God. And as “the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” emphasizes, God is the power behind his healings, passion events, and resurrection.

Jesus’ rising from the grave is pivotal to his disciples’ evangelism. Without it, their message would have been empty—especially to Jews, to whom the idea of a crucified Messiah was unthinkable. A risen Savior furnishes indisputable proof of all that he claimed for himself, including his status as the Son of God.

Witness is translated from the Greek noun martys, signifying one who offers testimony of the things he has seen and provides confirmation of his faith. While the term is the source of the English word martyr, it did not originally refer to someone who suffered and died for his beliefs.

14 | I Peter 1:13, 15

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; . . . As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.

15 | Romans 12:1

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Traditional sacrifice, whether Hebrew, Greek, or Roman, often involved killing an animal as a gift to a deity. In calling for a living sacrifice, Paul is demanding something deeper. Instead of bringing an animal to be slaughtered—or giving up a valued possession—the faithful are to dedicate their lives to the constant, active service of God.

One commentary remarks that the Greek noun translated service (latreia) evolved in meaning from paid labor to the worship of God everywhere: “We might say: ‘I am going to church to worship God,’ but we should also be able to say: ‘I am going to the factory, the shop, the office, the school, the garage, the mine, the shipyard, the field, the cowshed, the garden, to worship God.’ ”

from Section 6

17 | I Thessalonians 3:11, 13

Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. . . . To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

“Direct our way unto you” refers to Paul’s desire to revisit the Christian community at Thessalonica. No record exists of his having been able to return there.

Parousia, the Greek term rendered coming, signifies presence, indicating a state rather than an event. In usage, however, parousia was interpreted as an arrival—frequently, as in this verse, a second advent of Christ Jesus on earth. This still-expected reappearing is known as the Parousia today.

from Section 7

18 | Romans 5:5

The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

19 | Colossians 3:16, 17

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Read a related article, “Sacrament” by Mary Trammell, at jsh.christianscience.com/Sacrament