Reflective Bible Study

When I read about Jesus’ birth from the gospels, I am continually amazed at those who were chosen to be included. Not only were Mary and Joseph unknown at the time, but pretty much everyone outside of some key rulers and dignitaries are completely unknown to us today. If it had not been for this extraordinary birth, this young couple would have been unknown as well.

But there is another group of otherwise unknown people that our passage focuses in on: “In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.” (v. 8)

Mary and Joseph were handpicked by God to be humanity’s parents for Jesus, and it would seem that these shepherds were also picked by God for a reason. It seems completely backward to us, but sometimes God reveals His plans from the bottom up.

The role of a shepherd was one of the lowest status roles – and the night time shepherd was the lowest status of the shepherds. But it was to these shepherds that God sent an angel choir to. They were the ones God picked to welcome Jesus into the world. While the wise men would also arrive eventually, their trip was mainly because they saw the star and paid enough attention to check it out. The wise men acted on their suspicion that God was up to something – and they were right – but the shepherds were minding their own business and received a special visit from God’s messengers letting them know what was happening in the town nearby.

This leads me to understand that God sometimes reveals His plans from the bottom up. In our world, we typically think of a top-down leadership communication chain, where the big plans and important pieces of information travel from the management team or board members down through the company. But God acts differently. God started at the bottom, and He created a movement by inviting the most socially outcast people to be among the first to know.

Never think your position will invalidate God choosing you to share a message.

If there was something in Jesus’ ministry that bothered Him, most likely it was being challenged by the Pharisees and other religious leaders. One does not need to move too far into any one of the gospels before reading about someone coming to question or trap Jesus.

However, what prompts me to think that this bothered Jesus is from what we read in this entry’s passage. After a series of trap questions, Jesus counter-challenges the challengers with a question of His own: “If David calls him [the Messiah] Lord, how can he be his son?” (v. 45)

From Matthew’s details of this event, we learn that this question stumps and silences all those present – and “from that time on no one dared to ask him another question.” (v. 46)

This event teaches us an important aspect of Jesus’ character – and God’s character too. Up to this point, it would seem as though Jesus was taking a passive or reactive role to those who challenged Him. Basically, He would wait for a challenge before countering it. In this regard, the Pharisee’s and religious leaders have the upper hand, because they can think and craft the question and options over time, while Jesus has to respond with something on the spot. Even with all the time in the world – up to that point – the Pharisees and leaders didn’t succeed in their attempts.

However, Jesus seems to be tired of the constant challenges, so He turns the tables and asks the leaders a question of His own – a question that stumps all of them.

This tells me that after all the challenges we choose to throw at God, we should be ready for a counter-challenge to return. While God starts off accepting and answering the challenges, there is a point where He turns the tables and will challenge those who challenged Him.

In the broad span of recent history, it seems as though God has been silent to the challenges sent His way, but we can learn from this passage that there will be a point when He answers – and then gives a counter-challenge that no one will be able to refute.

Of all the events in Jesus’ life, one stands apart in my mind as being an amazing example of trusting God. While there are big events like the cross and the resurrection at the close of His earthly ministry, and there are big events like His baptism and the temptations in the wilderness that open His ministry, during His three and a half year ministry, Jesus’ daily routine seems pretty similar: heal, teach, preach, and travel around. We might simply call Jesus an Ambassador for God.

It is during this time of ministry, one of the events that stand out the most is our passage for this entry, which is where Jesus is caught sleeping through the storm. “A violent windstorm came up. The waves were breaking into the boat so that it was quickly filling up. But he [Jesus] was sleeping on a cushion in the back of the boat.” (v. 37-38a)

If I understand the geography of the area, flash storms were very possible on the lake they were crossing, and this doesn’t sound like just any storm. This was a storm that had the boat filling up with water faster than the disciples could bail the water out – and Jesus was sleeping through it.

Simply being able to sleep through a storm where you are being splashed with water, tossed about, and in the midst of high winds says something incredible about Jesus: Jesus had 100% trust in God’s plan and His protection.

Jesus knew that His death was going to be on the cross at the hand of the Jewish and Roman leaders and that it was not going to be at the bottom of the lake they were crossing. So regardless of what happened leading up to the big weekend death, Jesus knew God was protecting His life and the lives of the disciples, and this allowed Him the peace that He could sleep through any storm that came.

With Jesus as our example, seeing that He was able to sleep regardless of what came His way, as His followers, we should also have complete 100% trust in God’s plan and protection for our lives. While storms can start and stop in an instant for each of us, God is still in control, and no experience or event that comes our way will be wasted if we let Him work in and through us.

I have sometimes wondered about what prompted Herod to be in Jerusalem during the crucifixion weekend. After all, Jerusalem was not part of his jurisdiction, and prior to the events of the crucifixion weekend in relation to Jesus, he and Pilate were not friends. Some sources say that they disliked each other.

However, part of me wonders if Jesus’ message to Herod through this group of Pharisees prompted the governor to make the trip to Jerusalem. Jesus’ message begins, “Go tell that fox Herod, ‘Today and tomorrow I am forcing demons out and healing people. Then, on the third day, I will reach my goal.’” (v. 32)

Whether Herod took this as a challenge, or whether he was insulted, we do not know, but it is interesting that Jesus would call the governor a name. What is also interesting is Jesus’ message: “Today and tomorrow I am forcing demons out and healing people. Then, on the third day, I will reach my goal.”  

While this event did not occur three days before the cross, I wonder if it foreshadows Jesus’ big mission. In the next verse, Jesus alludes to His upcoming death, and it would not surprise me if during Wednesday and Thursday of crucifixion week, He was forcing out demons and healing people. In this regard, Jesus will reach the goal of the cross “on the third day”.

However, the phrase “On the third day” is interesting. Looking back on the crucifixion weekend from this point in history, “the third day” is typically referred to as the resurrection day. Someone might say, “Jesus died on the cross, and on the third day, He rose again.” In this scenario, the cross and Sabbath day of rest between the crucifixion and resurrection may be symbolic of His earthly mission that included healing, casting out demons, teaching, preaching, and calling people back to God.

This leads me to the big truth that God knows our future, and He directs our path when we allow Him to work in us. While Herod had no other practical reason that we know of to make the journey to Jerusalem, part of me wonders if it was through this message intrigued Herod enough to make the trip for the upcoming Passover weekend.