Scripture Friday

Over the years, I have read the Bible cover to cover a few times, but I have never done it in one year. I found read through the Bible in a year programs intimidating. If I missed a day, then it seemed hard to catch up. If I missed more than one day, the task seemed impossible. About a year and a half ago, the church we attended where we lived in Florida had a program in which you read through the Bible by reading a chapter a day. I thought that was quite doable. I started the program where they were at the time, which was in the book of Joshua because I didn’t get in on it in the beginning. Now I’m in the book of Mark.

I’ve decided to try to post a scripture and comment from my weekly reading on my blog every Friday. We’ll see how well I follow through. Today I read the twelfth chapter of Mark. As I’ve been reading the first two gospels, I’ve been reminded of how many times Jesus told a story to make a point. These are  the words from Mark 12:1-12.

Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

6 “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

7 “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

9 “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“‘The stone the builders rejected

    has become the cornerstone;

11 the Lord has done this,

    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

12 Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

How do you like to read the Bible?