Reflective Bible Study

During the lesser famous miracle of the feeding of the 4,000, we see a unique detail that makes this event distinctly different from the more famous miracle where 5,000 were fed. This detail comes in the form of a question. Jesus asks the disciples: “How much bread do you have?” (v. 34a)

This detail doesn’t seem significant or unique on the surface, except that we have more details about the miracle where 5,000 were fed, and we can use this additional information to determine some unique aspects of this seemingly less significant miracle.

In the feeding of the 5,000 miracle, all four gospels tell us that the entire miracle was prompted by the disciples suggesting to Jesus that He should send the crowd away. In our feeding of the 4,000 miracle, the disciples don’t question Jesus, but Jesus realizes that some of those in the crowd are in trouble. This is a difference worth considering.

Next, we learn from John’s gospel that the initial food that was provided for the miracle where 5,000 were fed originated with a boy who happened to be the only one left in the crowd who had food. It is this detail and difference that I will focus in most closely on: While the feeding of the 5,000 happened because food came from an outside source (i.e. a young boy), the feeding of the 4,000 happened because the disciples gave all the food that they had left.

When Jesus asks the disciples, “How much bread do you have?” the disciples reply saying, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.” (v. 34)

The miracle where the crowd of over 4,000 people is fed is prompted by the generosity of those who are followers of Jesus. While the feeding of 5,000 happens using an insignificantly-sized gift from an outside source, the feeding of the 4,000 happens because Jesus’ closest followers choose to be generous with what they have and Jesus uses it to bless those present.

Regardless of where we are at in life or the amount we feel we can offer, Jesus can use our gifts (however insignificant we feel they may be) for His glory!

The passage we are going to look at in this entry is one of the most powerful, and it is also one that has a challenging past. In many modern translations, this story from John’s gospel carries with it the note that not all ancient manuscripts include it. This tells me that there were some individuals who really wanted this story to not survive, or some who really wanted this legend to persist.

Regardless of whether this event actually happened as described here or not, for the purposes of our discussion we’ll assume that it did, if for no other reason than that through this encounter, and what Jesus chooses to do, we see an incredible display of God-like love through Jesus’ actions.

At the close of this event, Jesus gives a command that has perplexed me for quite some time. While saying good-bye to the woman at the end of verse 11, He says, “You may go now, but don’t sin anymore.”

Some of the more traditional translations say something like, “Go, and sin no more.” Or “Go. From now on sin no more.”

This idea has prompted me to wonder, is a “sinless” life even possible? If I take Jesus at His word here, it would seem so. We read elsewhere that “all have sinned” (past tense), but that doesn’t mean that all people are currently sinning (present tense), or that everyone will sin in the future.

There is an idea in some Christian circles that since Jesus’ blood covers our sins, it no longer matters what we do. The idea isn’t nearly as open ended as this, but it might instead be seen instead as simply being free to be ourselves and free to do what we want. It is a wonderful idea, but it cheapens God’s grace.

Receiving grace when we don’t deserve it is wonderful and an incredible gift; Choosing to sin or keep sinning while expecting grace to come is taking advantage of God. The woman received her life back from Jesus, and it came with the command that said something like the NIV says, “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

When Jesus has come into our hearts, and our lives, He will change us on the inside, making us free to live without sin. His sacrifice covers our past, and we are empowered and free to live a new life with God.

This event and Jesus’ final command does not lessen the standard for believers, it raises it higher because there is no way we can live a future that is free from sin without Jesus by our side.

At one point in the middle of Jesus’ ministry on earth, the gospel of Luke describes an illustration Jesus shared with a group of people that are described as “some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else.” (v. 9)

While in this parable, we are given the picture that these people were like the Pharisee Jesus describes, Jesus also gives us a brief description of a tax collector. While I don’t think it was an accident that Jesus used one of the most hated occupations of that time to be the justified person in His parable, this man’s occupation is likely the least relevant part of his presence in this parable.

In Jesus’ parable, the tax collector receives just a single verse to describe how he approached God: “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’” (v. 13)

When comparing how the Pharisee prayed with how this tax collector prayed, the tax collector simply has one request, and one word to describe himself. In this prayer, the tax collector asks for mercy and he recognizes himself as a sinner.

This prayer is powerful and praised by Jesus not only because Jesus says in verse 14 that this tax collector went home justified before God, but also because this prayer actually contains a request that only God can answer. Only God can give mercy to sinners, and God is happy to answer this request when the prayer has been given in a humble way.

Everything about this tax collector speaks about his need for God, and his desire for God’s help. The tax collector describes himself like God could describe everyone who has ever lived. At the very core of our relationship with God, we must all realize that we come before God as sinners – which is one way of saying that we are guilty of breaking God’s law.

By starting our relationship with God by recognizing this point, there is nothing we can truly do except ask Him for mercy. While the Pharisee probably would technically admit to being a sinner, he is too interested in making himself worthy of God’s favor based on acting righteously. In contrast, the tax collector realizes the only way He can hope to be accepted by God is if God is willing to show him mercy.

The challenge we all must realize is that nothing we can ever do will outweigh the debt of our life’s sin. The only way any of us can hope to be accepted by God, regardless of how good of a life we have lived, is by asking for His mercy and accepting Jesus into our lives. God has provided us mercy through Jesus’ sacrifice, and while it isn’t stated this clearly in Jesus’ parable, this tax collector was justified because He humbly requested God’s help.

In many ways, this fictional tax collector is the reason Jesus came. When we humbly ask God for help with the sin in our lives, we support Jesus’ mission to earth and the cross. God sent us mercy and help, and all we must do is humbly accept God’s gift through Jesus.

On the night of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest, He shares a significant last supper with His disciples. While all four gospel writers include this event, like usual, John writes about this event from a different angle than the rest. In John’s gospel record, we see an interesting verse that we might be tempted to skip over.

John tells us that “The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.” (v. 2)

While John does not give Judas Iscariot much mention during this event, from this statement, we can conclude two things. First, Judas Iscariot was there when Jesus washed the disciples’ feet. Second, we can conclude that Judas Iscariot had already made up his mind to betray Jesus.

It would have been simple for John to say that Judas had left if that were the case, but perhaps I wonder if John sensed something different about Judas during that meal. At the very least, the foot washing Judas experienced might have been the hardest thing he ever faced, knowing beforehand what he was going to do, and believing it to be a secret from everyone else present.

However, even more amazing than the realization that Jesus washed Judas’ feet on the night Judas would betray Him is the sobering warning about Judas being prompted by the devil. It would appear that Judas’ mind was already made up and that this was the night for him to act.

I find this verse sobering because it implies that Judas entertained the devil’s temptation and it was running through his mind during the whole meal. Judas’ decision then becomes a warning for all of us about a simple to understand, but difficult to apply truth about temptations: When we entertain the devil’s temptations in our minds, we trap ourselves into falling for what he has tempted us to do. Only by pushing back the moment we realize a temptation is present are we able to effectively fight and win the battle of self-control.