Reflective Bible Study

In our last episode, we began looking at Jesus’ illustration that is normally referred to as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. However, with how Jesus begins the parable, we thought it would be better to emphasize the father in Jesus’ story because this is how Jesus opened up the parable, and because the Father likely represents God.

But our last episode didn’t have enough time to cover the last portion of this parable, so this episode will pick back up where we left off. However, in case you missed the last episode, let’s read the parable through from the start to catch you up, or at the very least, to refresh all of our memories with how this parable begins.

Our parable and passage are found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 15, and we will be reading out of the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 11, Luke tells us that:

¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

This is where we finished off in our last episode. However, Jesus isn’t finished sharing the parable. Continuing in verse 25, we discover that:

²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

²⁸ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

What began as a celebration because of the younger son’s return home turns into a family dispute. It would seem that the father in this parable is only capable of pleasing one of his sons at a time. On the return of the younger son, the older son becomes resentful at the father’s joy.

Does this then mean that when God rejoices at the return and repentance of sinners, those who stayed beside Him without turning away will ultimately turn away and become resentful? From the way this parable describes this event, it certainly seems this way.

However, I believe this parable is a challenge and not a prediction. When we begin to see this parable as a challenge, then we stop letting it dictate our life and our future. Instead of seeing the two sons as two types of people we must choose between, we should think of these two sons as two extremes we probably should avoid.

The younger son represents the first extreme, and this extreme is rejecting God. It is never good to reject God, however this younger son does ultimately turn around and realize He needed to repent and return. The younger son’s return is the best decision that is made in this entire parable. The younger son falls, but he also models the best response when he comes to his senses and he chooses to repent and return to the Father, who as we mentioned in the previous episode represents God the Father.

The older son represents the other extreme, and this extreme is resenting God for His love and acceptance of sinners who repent. This extreme really is only a trap for people who have followed God their entire lives, and it is a trap because we begin to feel like we are missing out on something the world claimed to offer and that God is not happy that we stayed with Him. Neither portion of this trap is true. The younger son experienced temporary happiness that was shallow and self-serving, and then ultimately the younger son experienced rejection and ultimate humiliation. If these things are desirable to someone who has followed God their whole life, then perhaps rejecting God is a great choice.

However, before rejecting God, ask someone who has left God who then came to their senses and returned. Ask this person if their time away from God was valuable and/or worthwhile. Don’t ask someone living apart from God this question, because they won’t give you as honest of an answer simply because they either haven’t come to their senses, or because they truly don’t know both sides of this decision.

The truth of the older son’s extreme is that God is incredibly happy that we have stayed with Him and everything He has is ours. By staying with God, we have avoided many other traps we could face, and the only reason to be resentful is because we think we missed out on something important, or we don’t understand God’s love and His character of forgiveness. If we have been living our lives looking forward to seeing other people get judged for their actions, then we are living in the older son’s extreme and trap.

We don’t have to reject God and we don’t have to chose to be resentful when sinners repent and return to God. However, these two brothers represent the extremes we all face when deciding to come to God and when we discover just how loving, forgiving, and accepting God truly is!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Whether you identify more with the older son or the younger son, choose to avoid each son’s extremes. Choose instead to return to God humbly when you’ve fallen away, and choose to love those who return like God loves and celebrates for those who repent and return. Understand that these two extremes, and the traps that these extremes represent, are the extremes God wants us to avoid in our lives.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself. Don’t take my word, or anyone else’s word for it. Choose to study the Bible for yourself and don’t let me or anyone else get between you and your relationship with God.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we continue moving through John’s gospel, and what John tells us Jesus did and said during the week leading up to the cross, John takes a brief detour and shares how two prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus’ life and ministry. When we look a little closer, these prophecies are not ones Jesus had much control over, because both of these prophecies focus on how the people would respond to the Messiah God would send. Both these prophecies focus on how the people would ultimately reject Jesus.

However, our passage doesn’t just cover these pessimistic sounding prophecies. It also continues past the pessimism to share an amazing promise and challenge Jesus shared as well.

With that said, let’s read our passage for this episode and discover what we can learn from what John tells us. Our passage is found in the gospel of John, chapter 12, and we will be reading from the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 37, John tells us that:

³⁷ Even though he [referring to Jesus] had performed all these miracles in their presence, they did not believe in him, ³⁸ so that what the prophet Isaiah had said might come true:

“Lord, who believed the message we told?
    To whom did the Lord reveal his power?”

³⁹ And so they were not able to believe, because Isaiah also said,

⁴⁰ “God has blinded their eyes
    and closed their minds,
so that their eyes would not see,
    and their minds would not understand,
    and they would not turn to me, says God,
    for me to heal them.”

⁴¹ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

⁴² Even then, many Jewish authorities believed in Jesus; but because of the Pharisees they did not talk about it openly, so as not to be expelled from the synagogue. ⁴³ They loved human approval rather than the approval of God.

Let’s pause reading here for a moment because what John has just said is powerful. John draws our attention to the truth that many Jewish authorities believed in Jesus, but they were secret about it because they didn’t want to lose influence or status. John frames this position as loving human approval more than the approval of God.

This is fascinating to read, because while we might think that being a secret disciple can get us both God’s approval and human approval, because we believe in Jesus while also not being open about it, John frames this idea as placing God in second place.

From this set of verses, we learn that God desires people who will stand up in a public way for their faith. While a secret faith is okay to have temporarily, ultimately a faith that is never publicized is worthless. Faith is the most valuable when it is visible and when it doesn’t step down in fear.

It is interesting to note that from Isaiah’s second prophecy, we might conclude that God purposely blinded the people’s hearts to keep them from turning to Jesus. This is what the prophecy seems to indicate.

However, I wonder if this second prophecy is linked closely to the first one, and that because God’s Spirit was so visibly present in Jesus’ life through the miracles, it had a polarizing effect on the people in the first century. Because of Jesus’ miracles, some people loved Jesus, while others disliked Him greatly.

When we then mix in a series of very challenging things Jesus shares, some even sounding blasphemous, it pushed those who liked the miracles to question whether Jesus was really from God or not.

I don’t believe for a moment that God actively kept those in the first century from opening their hearts to Jesus. Instead, I believe that the way Satan had twisted the culture leading up to that point prompted the way Jesus went about His ministry to close people off. In that culture, there were so many preconceived ideas about who the Messiah would be that anyone coming who didn’t fit the mold could easily be rejected. God, through Jesus, allowed for those in the first century to be blind and their hearts to be closed because Jesus was not interested in stepping into the role of Messiah they had built for Him to take.

It would have been easy for Jesus to gain the approval of the people, but if He had done so, He would have given up more than we could possibly imagine.

Our passage concludes with a challenge Jesus shares. This challenge is one that likely continued the polarizing effect of Jesus’ ministry. Continuing in verse 44, John tells us that:

⁴⁴ Jesus said in a loud voice, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in him who sent me. ⁴⁵ Whoever sees me sees also him who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. ⁴⁷ If people hear my message and do not obey it, I will not judge them. I came, not to judge the world, but to save it. ⁴⁸ Those who reject me and do not accept my message have one who will judge them. The words I have spoken will be their judge on the last day! ⁴⁹ This is true, because I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has commanded me what I must say and speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that his command brings eternal life. What I say, then, is what the Father has told me to say.”

In this final challenge Jesus shares with those in the first century, we see a fascinating truth and a powerful challenge. Just like John includes early in his gospel, framing Jesus’ ministry as one that focused on saving the world instead of judging it, here in this last challenge we see Jesus clearly proclaiming that He did not come to judge, but to save.

Instead of Jesus being the judge, or coming to judge, the words Jesus shares will be the judge. We will be judged on whether we accepted Jesus’ message or not. Jesus frames this as being true because the message He spoke came directly from God. Jesus is not interested in judging people. Jesus instead came to save.

However, Jesus frames the judgment happening on the last day, which in other places in the scripture is the day when Jesus returns. With this framing, we come to a powerful truth: If Jesus’ words will be the judge for people, we can be sure that a just God would protect and preserve Jesus’ words throughout history. This makes the most logical sense.

This is one big reason why I regularly challenge you to keep praying and studying your Bible. Through the Bible, we discover Jesus, and when we have placed our faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus, accepting His message, we gain eternal life.

While our current world is hopelessly stained with sin, disease, and death, God plans to redeem His people and recreate our world into the perfection it was at the beginning, prior to the fall. When we accept Jesus, we are promised eternal life and a future within God’s perfectly recreated world!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, continue seeking God first in your life and choose to place Jesus first. Like I said earlier, be sure to place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus and accept His message that brings eternal life. Eternal life isn’t found in reading the right Bible translation, or in having the right doctrine. Eternal life is found in the person of Jesus, and when we accept Jesus’ life and sacrifice into our lives.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and move closer to God and Jesus. Through prayer and Bible study, we can discover who God is and what He is like, and we can grow a personal relationship with Him that begins today and extends into eternity.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

In our journey through the gospels looking at Jesus’ parables, we come to one of Jesus’ longer parables, one of Jesus’ most famous parables, and the final parable in a set of three parables that Jesus shared emphasizing how God responds to sinners who repent. While this parable is often referred to as the Parable of the Prodigal Son and this son is the focus of the early portion of the parable, from the way Jesus begins this parable, I think He would want us to focus on a different character.

Let’s read what happened in this parable, and discover what God wants us to discover from it that we can apply into our lives and into our relationship with God.

Our passage and parable is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 15, and we will read from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 11, Luke tells us that:

¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Let’s stop reading here for our episode, because the interaction between the younger son and the father is important for us to pay attention to. As I’m looking at the time, it may be best to save the last portion of this parable for our next episode. This is because I want to emphasize how Jesus opens this parable and how it sets the stage for the interaction between the father and his two sons.

Jesus begins the parable by saying, “There was a man who had two sons.” On the surface, this seems somewhat generic or perhaps even irrelevant, but the way this opening is framed is actually the biggest key to unpacking the meaning of this parable. Jesus emphasizes the father who had two sons, and not two brothers who have a father. The whole parable, while we might reference it by one of the two sons, is actually a parable about a loving father who had two very opposite sons.

This detail matters, because when we look at the context of this parable, and how it comes third in a series of parables that seem to emphasize celebrations when sinners return to God, we discover that the most logical character for the father to represent in this parable is God “the Father”. In this parable, God the Father has two opposite sons.

While those of us who are familiar with this parable don’t like the options of the two sons and we might wish for a third choice, the parable leaves us with only two distinct options. However, the parable also leaves us with the freedom of choice, and through the two sons, we discover something amazing about ourselves.

But I’m jumping ahead of myself here. So far, we’ve only read and paid attention to the younger, rebellious son, who insulted his father by demanding his inheritance early, who ran away, who wasted the money he had inherited, and who ultimately returned home humble, and wishing to simply be one of the father’s servants.

The response the father gives this son is nothing short of amazing. The father hears the apology in the son’s opening of his response, before simply ignoring the rest of it. The father throws a celebration for the younger son’s return. This celebration the father throws for his younger son reminds me of the celebration in heaven when a sinner who is a sheep repents and is found, and the celebration that takes place in heaven when a sinner who is a lost coin is found. When the rebellious son returns, God celebrates in heaven.

This detail brings out the amazing truth that God the Father forgives and accepts the rebellious younger son back even though the younger, rebellious son insulted Him in the worst possible way. When we insult God, when we reject Him, and when we run away, we discover that life without God isn’t as great as we might have imagined it to be. However, through this parable, we discover that God doesn’t give up on us and He doesn’t reject us when we genuinely repent and return to Him.

The first portion of this parable demonstrates for us what repentance looks like, and how repentance only is valuable when given with a humble, sorrowful spirit. When God challenges us to repent and return to Him, we should model the younger, rebellious son when we choose to repent and return to God. The younger son’s attitude when he chose to return is the best attitude we can have when repenting and returning to God.

It looks like we’ve run out of time for this episode, so for our next episode, let’s look at the last portion of this parable when the older son discovers how the father responded to his younger brother’s return.

However, as we come to the end of this episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Always intentionally seek God first in your life and if you have rebelled away from God and are looking to return to Him, choose to model the example of the prodigal son in this parable. Don’t focus on how far you have fallen away from God; instead, come before God and ask for forgiveness with a humble, sorrowful attitude, and trust that God accepts you back. God celebrates when sinners return to Him, and He is willing to accept those who humbly return to Him.

Also, be sure to continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day! Through prayer and Bible study, we can grow closer to God and open our hearts to His, and it is through prayer and Bible study that we are able to discover what God wants for each of us. Don’t take my word, or anyone else’s word for it. Discover what God wants to teach you personally through His Word the Bible!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Following Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, John shifts focus and draws our attention onto what was likely Jesus’ biggest proclamation in the temple during His entire ministry. In this declaration, John draws our attention onto a dilemma the crowd faced when hearing Jesus predicting what will happen and having that conflict with what they knew the scriptures said concerning the Messiah.

This event begins with an interesting detail that is not really resolved anywhere in the Bible. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 12, and we will read it from the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 20, John tells us that:

²⁰ There were some Greeks among the people who went up to worship during the feast. ²¹ They came to ask Philip for a favor. Philip was from Bethsaida in Galilee. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went to tell Andrew. Then Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

Pausing briefly here, nothing is said, implied, or suggested in the passage regarding whether Jesus left where He was standing to talk with these Greeks who wanted to see Him. I can suspect that Jesus went to speak with them, because it would have been the polite thing to do, but nothing in the Bible passage that I can see suggests this.

What follows next might be after Jesus has went out into the outer court where the Greeks would have been, or it may have happened immediately when Andrew and Philip told Jesus about the Greek individuals’ request but prior to Jesus heading to the outer courtyard to meet with these Greeks.

Either way this event happened, we continue in verse 23, which tells us:

²³ Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Son of Man to receive glory. ²⁴ What I’m about to tell you is true. Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only one seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ Anyone who loves their life will lose it. But anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it and have eternal life. ²⁶ Anyone who serves me must follow me. And where I am, my servant will also be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

²⁷ “My soul is troubled. What should I say? ‘Father, keep me from having to go through with this’? No. This is the very reason I have come to this point in my life. ²⁸ Father, bring glory to your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven. It said, “I have brought glory to my name. I will bring glory to it again.” ²⁹ The crowd there heard the voice. Some said it was thunder. Others said an angel had spoken to Jesus.

³⁰ Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. ³¹ Now it is time for the world to be judged. Now the prince of this world will be thrown out. ³² And I am going to be lifted up from the earth. When I am, I will bring all people to myself.” ³³ He said this to show them how he was going to die.

³⁴ The crowd spoke up. “The Law tells us that the Messiah will remain forever,” they said. “So how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

³⁵ Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light. Do this before darkness catches up with you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. ³⁶ While you have the light, believe in it. Then you can become children of light.” When Jesus had finished speaking, he left and hid from them.

In this passage, we discover some powerful ideas, and we also discover God the Father’s third declaration about who Jesus is. It is interesting to pay attention to the moment God the Father spoke, because with the crowd’s reaction, we find an interesting conclusion. When God spoke from heaven, everyone heard it. I suspect that the disciples understood it. Others recognized that it was a voice but they did not understand it. Even others simply discounted it as thunder and not a true voice.

I wonder if this reflects our varied experience with God. When God speaks into our lives, it’s most likely not going to be with a thunderous voice, but I wonder if God speaking into our lives might be met with the same three varied responses. Some people might understand God when He speaks. Others may recognize that God is speaking, but they are unsure exactly what He is saying. Still others might simply discount God’s voice as insignificant and ignore it. Whichever case we might fall in, the issue is with us and not with God.

However, what Jesus tells us in verse 24 is also significant: “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only one seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” In this verse, we have an opening for Jesus predicting His upcoming death, and Jesus understands that it is through His death that His life will produce the greatest harvest. In an interesting way, we also discover the powerful truth that without Jesus’ death, there would be no harvest, because without Jesus’ gift, the only ones able to pay for our sins are ourselves and the payment is death.

God loves us more than we could possibly imagine, and because of this, God made a way for us to be redeemed while also keeping His Law in effect. If God discounted His Law in order to amplify forgiveness, then Satan would win by claiming God is truly unjust, holding different people to a different standard. If God upheld His Law without any hope of forgiveness, Satan would also win because his claim is that God is unloving towards those who break His Law.

The path where Satan loses and God achieves victory is through God paying the punishment for our sins, because this path proves both justness and love, and this was demonstrated through Jesus’ death on the cross.

In this declaration, we also have the powerful promise that Jesus gives us in verse 26, when He tells us that: “My Father will honor the one who serves me.”

If we want to be honored by God, the best way for us to do so is by serving and obeying Jesus. We are able to serve Jesus by obeying what He commanded His followers to do, and by modeling Jesus’ life and His love to the world around us. Jesus’ life consisted of helping as many people as God brought into His life, challenging those who wanted to build themselves up at the expense of others, and opening the door to God when the religious elite had tried to close the door and lock it for those outside of their clique of legalism.

We serve Jesus the best by proclaiming God’s love and inviting all who are willing to come to Jesus and accept the free gift He offers to us. Through Jesus’ death, we can have a new life with God, and because Jesus gave His life for us, we are guaranteed an eternal life with God when we accept Jesus’ life and His sacrifice on our behalf.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to accept Jesus’ gift of His life on your behalf. Reject Satan’s lies about God being unloving and unjust, because looking at what Jesus accomplished for us proved once and for all how big a liar Satan really is, and how much God was willing to go through to demonstrate His love for all of us.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself, paying special attention to Jesus’ life and His mission to this world. The whole Bible draws our attention onto the theme of God’s love and His justice, and even with the challenging parts of the gospel message, when we look at them in light of the cosmic conflict over God’s character and Satan’s accusations, we discover a bigger picture of God than we realized before.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!