Reflective Bible Study

When I read our passage for this entry, I am always amazed at how detailed Jesus’ instructions were to these two disciples. While this isn’t the first time Jesus gives a set of instructions to one or more of the disciples, every time He does so, I am amazed that things fall in line exactly how He has described them.

In this passage, Jesus tells these two disciples, “When you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house he enters. Then say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, “Where is the guest room? Where can I eat the Passover meal with my disciples?” ’ He will show you a large upstairs room with furniture already in it. Prepare for us to eat there.” (v.10-12)

And then we read, “Peter and John left. They found things just as Jesus had told them.” (v. 13)

This makes me wonder, “Was the man with the jar of water a servant of the home owner, or was this an angel in disguise?” and “Did Jesus know this home owner before, or was this a first time meeting?”

I suppose these are questions I get to save for heaven, but reading about this event leads me to a truth we can apply in our lives today: Sometimes the instructions Jesus gives us don’t make sense on the front end, but they come together in the end. Jesus’ instructions might seem odd looking forward, but looking back on them later, they make perfect sense.

One thing I always find fascinating is how Jesus interacts with those He is about to help. In some ways, it is as though Jesus always has His “teacher” hat on even while He is healing. In this passage, we find another example of Jesus teaching while also healing, but it is unique from many other examples because Jesus decides to push back against a popular idea: He must be present to heal.

Since this miracle is one of the earlier ones, and one of the first included in John’s gospel, part of me wonders if all the previous miracles Jesus did to heal people were ones where He was present to speak directly to the situation, and perhaps to place His hands on the person being healed.

Perhaps Jesus knew what this official would do, but Jesus, while responding to this official also speaks to the crowd of people following Him when he says, “You people must see signs and miracles before you will believe in me.” (v. 48)

Not really being deterred in his request, the official asks again, “Sir, come before my child dies.” (v. 49)

While Jesus could have waited for the child to die before going to raise him back to life (He did this in Lazarus’ case), Jesus uses this as an opportunity to demonstrate the importance of believing based on the evidence: “Jesus answered, ‘Go. Your son will live.’” (v. 50a)

In this event, Jesus pushed back against the idea that seeing is believing. Jesus knows that belief cannot always be based on physically seeing, and so He takes this event and uses it as a teaching example for believing in the evidence. The official understands and believes Jesus because immediately after hearing Jesus’ response, “The man believed what Jesus told him and went home.” (v. 50b)

This is one of the first examples of individuals who believed Jesus’ words at face value, and this official’s belief was rewarded, because we learn that at about the very time Jesus was talking, his child’s fever broke and his son began the road to recovery.

In this event, Jesus wants us to trust Him based on His word and the evidence we have. In this regard, we can have the same level of incredible faith that this official had when He believed Jesus at His word, and left knowing that his son would live.

In our passage for this entry is a pretty well known example of giving, but what many people don’t expect to find is a picture of Jesus hidden within it. Sure, Jesus is the one making the point and drawing our attention to God’s truth about giving, but in a subtle way, He is also drawing our attention to God’s character – and His upcoming gift to the world.

“Calling his followers to him, Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. They gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had; she gave all she had to live on.’” (v. 43-44)

While this widow has been held up as an example of sacrificial giving, part of me wonders if doing this also steals the spotlight away from Jesus, the ultimate Sacrificial Giver. In this event, the widow gives all the money she has to live on, but she still has her life – at least for the moment. In contrast, Jesus gave His life – which is very literally “all He had to live on”.

Stepping back to look at a bigger picture, we can also see a picture of God’s character. While God is the richest Being in the entire universe, the gift He chose to give was Himself, and One who was most loved by Him. In this way, God showed us – the actively sinning human race we are a part of – how much He loves us.

God, the richest Being in the universe, gave the ultimate sacrificial gift, which in turn allows us to accept the gift of forgiveness, grace, and eternal lives even though we have sinned.

When we think of people in the Bible who are humble, chances are that the person this passage focuses on is not among the highest on our list. However, in this passage, we see a glimpse of the character of John the Baptizer, and the glimpse we see is one that shows His understanding of His role in relation to the Messiah.

The key phrase that reveals John’s character is how he opens his response: “A man can get only what God gives him.” (v. 27)

This phrase summarizes a deep understanding of life and the secret of contentment. In the context, John is speaking of followers and fame, but if we look at the theme/idea surrounding this phrase, it can be applied to most every area of our lives in the marketing-centered society that we live in. Marketing tries to get you to feel like you need or would benefit from having something else; contentment says I am okay with what I have.

John follows up this statement by saying, “You yourselves heard me say, ‘I am not the Christ, but I am the one sent to prepare the way for him.’” and “He must become greater, and I must become less important.” (v. 28, 30)

John understands his role, and it is not being Jesus. He is content with the followers God has given him, but he understands his mission is to not collect followers, but to point the followers he collects to the actual Messiah. John seems thrilled to simply be living during a time when he could meet the Messiah personally.

“A man can get only what God gives him.” (v. 27)

While culture says that it is up to us (our drive, our connections, our talent, our determination, etc.), John counters this idea by pointing us to the source, and that all we are given ultimately comes from God.