Validating a Decision: Luke 7:18-35

Focus Passage: Luke 7:18-35 (NCV)

18 John’s followers told him about all these things. He called for two of his followers 19 and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the One who is to come, or should we wait for someone else?”

20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you with this question: ‘Are you the One who is to come, or should we wait for someone else?’”

21 At that time, Jesus healed many people of their sicknesses, diseases, and evil spirits, and he gave sight to many blind people. 22 Then Jesus answered John’s followers, “Go tell John what you saw and heard here. The blind can see, the crippled can walk, and people with skin diseases are healed. The deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor. 23 Those who do not stumble in their faith because of me are blessed!”

24 When John’s followers left, Jesus began talking to the people about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed blown by the wind? 25 What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, people who have fine clothes and much wealth live in kings’ palaces. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, and I tell you, John is more than a prophet. 27 This was written about him:

‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare the way for you.’

28 I tell you, John is greater than any other person ever born, but even the least important person in the kingdom of God is greater than John.”

29 (When the people, including the tax collectors, heard this, they all agreed that God’s teaching was good, because they had been baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and experts on the law refused to accept God’s plan for themselves; they did not let John baptize them.)

31 Then Jesus said, “What shall I say about the people of this time? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace, calling to one another and saying,

‘We played music for you, but you did not dance;
    we sang a sad song, but you did not cry.’

33 John the Baptist came and did not eat bread or drink wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon in him.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! He eats too much and drinks too much wine, and he is a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 But wisdom is proved to be right by what it does.”

Read Luke 7:18-35 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

In Jesus’ main teaching about who John the Baptist was, the gospel of Luke includes a side-note that is worth paying attention to. This side-note reveals a key aspect of human nature and it is one that is very relevant for us living today.

Luke describes how the people responded by saying, “When the people, including the tax collectors, heard this, they all agreed that God’s teaching was good, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts on the law refused to accept God’s plan for themselves; they did not let John baptize them.” (v. 29-30)

This is incredibly important for us to notice, because even before Jesus arrived in the spotlight, John the Baptist’s ministry was creating a distinct dividing line between the people. The common people, that also happened to include people as horrible as tax collectors, accepted John’s teaching and were baptized. This led them to be open and receptive to Jesus’ ministry a few years later.

On the other hand, the Pharisees and religious experts rejected or ignored John’s ministry, and because of this, they ultimately rejected Jesus’ ministry as well.

This draws our attention to a key insight in human nature: It is easier to validate a decision you have already made than it is to change your mind.

The religious leaders had decided that John’s new teaching was not significant, relevant, or worthy of attention, and because of this, they simply validated their previous decision when Jesus steps onto the scene. Their closed minds and attitude towards John led them to be closed-minded towards Jesus as well.

But being open-minded towards John the Baptist led people towards being open-minded and accepting of Jesus – and this group of people was the ones Jesus specifically came for. This group of sinners realized their need for a Savior, and Jesus stepped into humanity to be their “Messiah” for eternity.

In our lives today, we should be open to the people God brings our way and test their teaching with what the Bible has taught us God is like. Being open, accepting, and loving are things God has called us to do for each other, but we are also called to test all ideas based on the God who loved us enough to die for us. It is easier to validate previous decisions than to change our minds, so we must be intentional and thoughtful about the decisions we make.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Learning from Andrew: John 1:35-51

Focus Passage: John 1:35-51 (CEV)

35 The next day, John was there again, and two of his followers were with him. 36 When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Here is the Lamb of God!” 37 John’s two followers heard him, and they went with Jesus.

38 When Jesus turned and saw them, he asked, “What do you want?”

They answered, “Rabbi, where do you live?” The Hebrew word “Rabbi” means “Teacher.”

39 Jesus replied, “Come and see!” It was already about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him and saw where he lived. So they stayed on for the rest of the day.

40 One of the two men who had heard John and had gone with Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and tell him, “We have found the Messiah!” The Hebrew word “Messiah” means the same as the Greek word “Christ.”

42 Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. And when Jesus saw him, he said, “Simon son of John, you will be called Cephas.” This name can be translated as “Peter.”

43-44 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. There he met Philip, who was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. Jesus said to Philip, “Come with me.”

45 Philip then found Nathanael and said, “We have found the one that Moses and the Prophets wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

46 Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Philip answered, “Come and see.”

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said, “Here is a true descendant of our ancestor Israel. And he isn’t deceitful.”

48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

49 Nathanael said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God and the King of Israel!”

50 Jesus answered, “Did you believe me just because I said that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see something even greater. 51 I tell you for certain that you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”

Read John 1:35-51 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

One of Jesus’ better known disciples was Andrew, and periodically we find him appearing by name in the various gospels. However, in the passage we are focusing in on in this entry, we have the first glimpse of this man who was one of the first disciples. When looking at what this passage tells us about Andrew, we see someone who we can definitely learn from.

The first thing we can see is what is implied at the beginning of this passage. Andrew was one of John the Baptist’s followers. He had paid attention to John’s preaching and knew that John was simply a forerunner for the promised Messiah that would come. It seems to me like Andrew followed because he wanted to learn who the Messiah was. If anyone would proclaim the Messiah, it would be the person God sent to announce Him – and Andrew knew this was John the Baptist’s role.

So when John does announce Jesus to be the Messiah, we can learn something else about Andrew.

The second thing we can learn from Andrew is the first thing He does – which is to leave John the Preacher and follow Jesus the Messiah. For Andrew, following Jesus was an intentional choice, and he and an unnamed disciple (who may have been John, the author of this gospel) chose to follow Jesus before Jesus called them to be disciple-apostles. Each of us must decide to intentionally follow Jesus and this often will happen prior to Jesus calling us to fill the role He created us to live.

The third thing we can learn from Andrew is the first thing He does after finding out where Jesus was staying. In verse 41, we read, “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah!’ The Hebrew word ‘Messiah’ means the same as the Greek word ‘Christ.’” Andrew instinctively went and found someone and brought them to Jesus.

So in what we learn from Andrew, we have three stages of discipleship: Choosing to learn the identity of the Messiah is; choosing to follow the Messiah; and choosing to invite others to join the Messiah’s movement. Where are you in these stages?

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Backwards Baptism: Matthew 3:13-17

Focus Passage: Matthew 3:13-17 (NASB)

When I read the details surrounding Jesus’ baptism, one thing I am amazed by is the reaction John the Baptist gives Jesus when He comes to be baptized.

It is one thing for a pastor or leader to push back on a baptism request because of something they see in the individual or in the request itself, but in John the Baptist’s case, he is presented with a unique problem.

If baptism is simply a public symbol of washing one’s past sins away, then Jesus would have had no reason to go into the water. In this respect, John the Baptist is completely justified in his response, “John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?’” (v. 14)

But when we look at Jesus’ response, we see an interesting idea presented. Jesus answered John’s pushback by saying, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (v. 15) In Jesus’ response, it is like He is saying, “Let’s do it this way so I can be an example for others to follow.”

John was justified in his pushback. Of everyone who has ever lived, Jesus was the One person who did not need baptism, but at the opening of His ministry, Jesus chooses to be baptized, and one of the reasons for this is because He came to be our example. Jesus became our ultimate example in baptism even though John was technically correct that Jesus should be baptizing him.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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From the Bottom Up: Luke 2:1-20

Focus Passage: Luke 2:1-20 (NASB)

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.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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