Daily Bible Readings - Term 1 Week 11

Week 11: What Jesus Came to Do — and Part One Comes to a Close

This week reaches a milestone: Part One of The Greatest Story Ever Told, Mary's account, ends. The theology readings turn to the heart of the whole story: what Jesus actually came to do, and how he saves.

This week's readings:

- 30 Second Theology — "What was the most important thing Jesus came to do?" (Isaiah 53:1–6; Matthew 8:17) and "How does Jesus save us?" (John 3:17)

- The Greatest Story Ever Told — "The Wedding" (Part One ends)

Day 1 — What Was the Most Important Thing Jesus Came to Do?

*Reading:* 30 Second Theology, "What was the most important thing Jesus came to do?" (Isaiah 53:1–6; Matthew 8:17)

Isaiah describes a suffering servant who carries what isn't his to carry, grief, sickness, punishment, so that others don't have to. Jesus fulfills that description exactly.

Journal prompt: What's something I've been carrying that Jesus wants to carry instead?

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for carrying what I could never carry on my own. I hand that over to you again today.

Day 2 — How Does Jesus Save Us?

Reading: 30 Second Theology, "How does Jesus save us?" (John 3:17)

Jesus didn't come to condemn the world but to save it. Salvation isn't God waiting to catch us out: it's God going out of his way to rescue.

Journal prompt: Do I sometimes picture God as more eager to condemn than to save? How does John 3:17 correct that?

Prayer: God, thank you for sending Jesus to save, not condemn. Help me believe that about you today, especially where I feel most guilty.

Day 3 — The Wedding

Reading: The Greatest Story Ever Told, "The Wedding" (Part One ends)

Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding, his first public miracle, and a fitting close to Mary's account of his life: a small, ordinary celebration made extraordinary by his presence.

Journal prompt: Where in my ordinary life this week could I invite Jesus to show up and make a difference?

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for showing up in ordinary moments, not just dramatic ones. Show up in my ordinary week too.

Day 4 — The Wedding, Continued

Reading: The Greatest Story Ever Told, "The Wedding" (continued reflection)

Sit with this chapter a second day. Jesus' first miracle happens at an ordinary celebration, at his mother's quiet request, before anyone has seen what he's capable of. It's a small, generous first sign of who he is.

Journal prompt: Why do I think Jesus chose an ordinary wedding, not a dramatic public moment, for his first miracle?

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for showing your power first in a small, generous way. Help me trust you with the small things in my life, not just the big ones.

Day 5 — Integration

Reading: No new reading — look back over the week.

This week closed Part One of the story, Jesus revealed as the one who carries our burdens and saves rather than condemns, capped by his first miracle at an ordinary wedding.

Journal prompt: This week I read about what Jesus came to do and how he saves, and I watched his first miracle happen in a small, ordinary moment. What's one thing from Mary's account of Jesus that I want to carry with me as the story continues into Part Two?

Prayer: God, thank you for this week and for the part of the story that's now complete. Thank you for what Jesus came to do and how he saves. Prepare my heart for what's next.