October 17 | Jesus Challenged the Pharisees

Today’s Reading:

Read Matthew 15:1-12, 29-29; Mark 7:1-15; 8:1-9

Play the opposite game! Challenge your family to do the opposite of each instruction you call out. (For instance, you say sit down, your family stands up.) Is it easy or hard to do the opposite of what you’re supposed to do?

During the 400 years between the Old Testament and New Testament, the Jewish people began to listen to leaders called Pharisees and Scribes in order to understand Moses’ law. Remember that the law had a lot of details in it, but there were also a lot of things the law did not cover specifically. So, the law had to be interpreted by people who were trained to understand the traditions of the Jewish people. The Pharisees and the Scribes became very important to the Jewish people because they helped them understand how God would want them to live.

During Jesus’ time on earth, He challenged the Pharisees and Scribes because He knew that they were not interpreting the law correctly. Jesus knew that they were adding to the law. Jesus understood the law so well that He was able to use the law and the prophecy to challenge the Pharisees about things they were saying. (Matthew 15:8-9 is a quote from Isaiah 29:13.)

Jesus knew that the Pharisees were not living the way God would want them to live. They were not acting in the way that they were telling others to act.

Application/Prayer:

Similar to the opposite game you played to begin your reading today, the Pharisees were doing the opposite of the things that God would have wanted them to do. Sometimes we might find ourselves doing the same thing with what we know God has told us to do. Remember, sin is doing something God tells us not to do OR not doing something that God tells us to do. Also remember that sin separates us from God. The good news is, because of Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection we don’t have to be separated anymore. We can be forgiven. Ask God to help you to live like He would want you to live! And thank Him for forgiving you when you don’t!

October Memory Verse:

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you.”

Psalm 56:3

Using the daily reading prompts from George H. Guthrie’s Read the Bible for Life, here’s how to use this devotional:

Bring your Bible! Your kids need to see that everything you are reading to them or learning about comes from an actual Bible!
Each day starts with a reading prompt. Read the selection as a family. If your kids are readers, encourage them to read along with you.
After you’ve read the passage, read the short devotional thought that goes along with each passage.
Prayer and application are important any time we read God’s word! After each devotional, there is a challenge to help apply what your family has read that day.
There is a reading for six days of the week. The last reading of the week is a Gospel Conversation Prompt to help you connect the reading from the week with God’s plan for salvation.