Reflective Bible Study

As we begin our last regular episode in our year focusing in on Mark’s gospel, we turn our attention onto the last portion of Mark’s gospel’s longer conclusion. As I shared more fully in our last two episodes, scholars have doubts about whether Mark wrote this conclusion or whether this conclusion was added by a scribe later on because Mark’s gospel didn’t seem to have an ending or its original ending was lost.

However, even if Mark didn’t write this conclusion to his gospel, we can learn some powerful insights in how the author of this conclusion summarized the last events in Jesus’ life.

In the last half of this conclusion, we turn our attention to the last great commission Jesus gives to the disciples. While many people focus in on Matthew’s version of Jesus’ great commission, the way the author of Mark’s gospel’s longer conclusion frames Jesus’ message is powerful to focus in on.

With that said, let’s read what this author wrote. Our passage for this episode is found at the end of Mark’s gospel, in chapter 16, and we will read from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 15:

¹⁵ Jesus said to his followers, “Go everywhere in the world, and tell the Good News to everyone. ¹⁶ Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved, but anyone who does not believe will be punished. ¹⁷ And those who believe will be able to do these things as proof: They will use my name to force out demons. They will speak in new languages. ¹⁸ They will pick up snakes and drink poison without being hurt. They will touch the sick, and the sick will be healed.”

¹⁹ After the Lord Jesus said these things to his followers, he was carried up into heaven, and he sat at the right side of God. ²⁰ The followers went everywhere in the world and told the Good News to people, and the Lord helped them. The Lord proved that the Good News they told was true by giving them power to work miracles.

In this last section of Mark’s longer conclusion, we see a number of signs shared that tell us God was with the earlier disciples. This conclusion draws our attention to the miracles that those who believed would be able to do, such as forcing out demons, speaking in new languages, picking up snakes and drinking poison without being hurt, and healing the sick by simply touching them.

While some of the things in Mark’s conclusion’ list the disciples did while they were with Jesus, this seems like a strangely specific list that draws more heavily on the details we find in the book of Acts. While Jesus could have easily predicted this, it seems a little too detailed when we compare it with Jesus’ commissions to His disciples in the other gospels. This list also doesn’t leave room for other ways that God could confirm the message of the gospel.

Perhaps this is just the translation that we are using, but it seems unlike Jesus to use miracles to prove to people that the message they are receiving is from God. This runs counter to both Jesus refusing to offer people in that generation a miracle that proved He was the Messiah, and this runs counter to Jesus’ warning to not blindly believe messages from people who perform signs and wonders.

If we read the portions describing the signs in this great commission and conclusion using the New American Standard Bible, which is the translation we used in our last episode, it describes these miracles in this way: “These signs will accompany those who have believed” is how the miracles are introduced. Verse 20 concludes this message by saying “And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.”

While the New American Standard Bible does not use the word prove, it still frames the way these signs were given as being confirmation of the message. I don’t think I ever noticed this before, but while signs could be given to confirm a message, I don’t see this being Jesus’ model.

Instead, all the miracles Jesus did throughout His ministry were used to help people God loves and to cause people to pay attention, but Jesus intended for His ministry to stand on the words and message that He preached. When the disciples traveled around following Jesus’ return to heaven, the miracles they did helped those God loved, and caused people to take note. The disciples’ ministry and the good news they shared was intended to stand on its own.

This is significant for us to pay attention to for two reasons.

First, if God’s messages will always be validated by miracles, then we have centuries and millennia of messages that can easily be doubted. This includes many of the messages God gave through the prophets in the Old Testament. The Old Testament prophets’ messages were rarely if ever confirmed through miracles. If we set miracles up as a test for whether to confirm whether a message is from God or not, then we will have a good percentage of God’s messages throughout history that could then be claimed to not be inspired. God wouldn’t want this.

Secondly, using miracles as a test sets us up to be deceived if a message is false but a miracle confirms it. If Satan wanted to come to deceive, he would have no difficulty doing things that would appear miraculous. Satan could come helping people, teaching positive, humanitarian messages, and perform miracles and millions would be set up to be deceived simply because they used the miracles as their guide and not the previously revealed truth of scripture. Miracles are capable of being done by both good and evil angels, and because of this, they are a poor test for whether we should trust a messenger.

I wonder if this is why my New American Standard Bible footnotes hinted at theological challenges included in this longer ending of Mark’s gospel. Jesus’ teaching doesn’t suggest we should put much spiritual weight on a miracle worker. Instead, when we see miracles, we should take note, but then judge the value of the message this miracle worker is sharing based on the truth that is included in the Bible.

While Mark’s ending is questionable, and while I can understand why some scholars are concerned with what it suggests, the big truth we should hold on to in this conclusion is that God is with His people.

Jesus’ followers spread the great news of the gospel message, and God went with them as they shared Jesus with everyone they met. Jesus’ early followers dedicated their lives to sharing Jesus with people – even going so far as dying for their faith! I wholeheartedly believe that we are called to share Jesus like these first followers of Jesus shared Him, and that when we step out in faith, we will discover God is with us, helping us every step of the way!

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 to seek God first in your life and let Him lead and guide you as you move through life. Choose to place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus and in His sacrifice to cover your sins.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to discover firsthand what the Bible teaches. Knowing the Bible is our best defense when discerning truth from error, and when we prayerfully study the Bible, we open our hearts and minds to what God wants to teach us from His Word!

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!

We have come a long way in our year focusing on John’s gospel, and during this year, we took time to focus in on many miracles. However, as John begins to wrap up His gospel, the last chapter details a special miracle and event where Jesus shows up in a special way to a smaller group of disciples. While we don’t know where the other disciples were during this event, I wonder if this event and miracle helped reunify the disciples after they all may have felt like failures for abandoning Jesus on the night He was betrayed and arrested.

Let’s read about what happened, and about how Jesus showed up to this smaller group of disciples. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 21, and we will read it using the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹ Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: ² Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ³ “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

⁴ Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

⁵ He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

⁶ He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

⁷ Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. ⁸ The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. ⁹ When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Let’s stop reading here for this episode. We can finish the event and chapter in our next episode. In this first portion of John’s last chapter, several things stand out in my mind.

The first thing to stand out in my mind was that this entire fishing adventure was prompted entirely by Peter. Part of me wonders if Peter had been struggling with his failures on the night Jesus was arrested, and if Peter was having doubts if Jesus really would take Him back. I suspect that this doubt prompted Peter to try going back to the only other life he knew, which was fishing.

While I don’t think Peter would have done anything crazy that night if left on his own, I also suspect that the other disciples who were with Peter wanted to be with him if they sensed he was struggling with his failure.

However, while Peter tries to go back to his former life of fishing, the end of verse 3 summarizes the result of their trip nicely: “So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.”

If Peter felt like a failure for abandoning and denying Jesus, failing at fishing likely didn’t prompt him to feel any better.

It is at this point in this event where we see the powerful truth that without Jesus, we cannot be successful.

While some people might claim success without having belief or faith in God, the only success that comes into a person’s life is success that God allows to come. The only success that lasts for eternity is success that comes from placing your life and your faith in Jesus’ hands!

However, while Peter and the rest of the disciples are floating on the water feeling like failures, Jesus shows up on the shore with a rather dumb sounding suggestion: Jesus tells the disciples when He learns they haven’t caught anything to try the other side of their boat.

It is at this point in the event where a skeptic would simply discount the suggestion of the stranger on shore as entirely unhelpful without even trying it. However, these disciples were not skeptics, at least on the surface. When we hit rock bottom, we may be willing to try anything, and these disciples were not above trying dumb sounding ideas. These disciples, through trying Jesus’ illogical suggestion, demonstrate that they still have a little faith, and their little faith results in a large catch.

While we don’t know how this catch of fish compared with the miraculous catch of fish at the start of Peter’s invitation to be a disciple, there is no denying the similarities that exist between these two events. While both miracles are very distinct, both are very similar as well.

I don’t believe this is an accident or a coincidence. Instead, I suspect that Jesus is setting the stage to re-invite Peter and to forgive him. When John, the disciple who simply described himself as the one Jesus loved, comments that the Man on the shore must be Jesus, Peter abandons the fish, his fellow fishermen, and the boat entirely to swim to shore. I suspect that Peter knew that being near Jesus was exactly what he needed to chase his doubts away.

Before closing out this episode, a phrase John includes in this event is worth drawing our attention to. While John emphasizes that this was the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples after being raised from the dead, John tells us in verse 12: “None of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord.”

This is a very strange detail to include, because they all had seen Jesus at least one time prior to this, and many of them had seen Jesus twice. I wonder if this detail is included as a way to suggest that sometimes Jesus will show up in ways that we might not recognize at first.

Perhaps Jesus didn’t look the same that morning in some way, but everything about how Jesus acted reassured these disciples that this was Jesus. The detail John includes about none of the disciples asking who Jesus was tells us that all these disciples had faith, even if the Person eating with them didn’t look like the Jesus they remembered.

These disciples had faith in Jesus and the faith these disciples had in Jesus ultimately leads them into the next big part of God’s plan for their lives. Through faith in Jesus, these disciples received the Holy Spirit, and with the Holy Spirit’s help, these disciples launch the Christian movement, spreading the news about Jesus to the world. The only reason we know anything about Jesus today is because these disciples accepted God’s call on their life and spread the great news of Jesus to the world.

It is the same with us. Even if we feel as though we have failed God, He is willing to invite us back and to empower us to live the life He created us to live. Our lives with God will be built on prayer and faith in Jesus, and on leaning on the Holy Spirit for strength and guidance to live the life God created us to live as He leads history towards eternity!

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 place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus. Choose to lean on the Holy Spirit for strength and guidance in your life and choose to have faith in God even when you might not recognize how He is working in your life. Trust that God loves you and that Jesus has a plan for your life that includes eternity in heaven!

Also, pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and move closer to God in your life. A personal relationship with God works best when it is personal, and God wants a relationship with you that isn’t based on having a middleman like a pastor or priest between you and Him. God loves you personally, and He wants to have a personal relationship with you!

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!

As we come to the end of Mark’s gospel, we will spend this episode, and the next one looking at the longer conclusion of Mark’s gospel. As I shared in our last episode, many people a lot smarter than me have significant doubts to Mark writing this conclusion. This is primarily because a different style of writing is used in this conclusion, the way this conclusion summarizes what happened using different theological content than the rest of Mark’s gospel, and because several significant early manuscripts do not include this ending. The footnotes in my New American Standard Bible conclude that “Mark’s gospel probably ends at chapter 16, verse 8, or the original ending has been lost”.

I had debated leaving this ending out of our podcasts, but decided against it because while there is debate over whether Mark included this conclusion in his original gospel, nothing included in it is contrary to Christianity or Christian belief. Also, I decided to include it because leaving off at the end of our last episode’s passage seems to leave Mark unfinished.

With that said, let’s read the first portion of Mark’s extended conclusion and discover what we can learn from this event. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 16, and we will read it from the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 9, the author of this conclusion tells us:

⁹ Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. ¹⁰ She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. ¹¹ When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.

¹² After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. ¹³ They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either.

¹⁴ Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.

Let’s stop reading here and save the rest for our next episode. In these few verses, it is interesting that Mark does not include any “new” information. All three encounters included in this portion of the conclusion are found in other gospels. The first encounter Mark’s conclusion described was Jesus speaking to Mary first. This is interesting because only John’s gospel includes this detail. While Mark and John could include the same thing while Matthew and Luke focus on different details, it would be very abnormal since Mark shares the most content with Matthew and Luke while John is left with many unique details and many unique events.

Following describing that Jesus spoke with Mary first, this conclusion shifts focus and summarizes that Jesus then appeared to two disciples as they were walking to the country. This event is found in detail in Luke’s gospel, and while we don’t know which two disciples these were, they were traveling to the town of Emmaus.

Thirdly, this conclusion describes Jesus appearing to the eleven disciples. Since Judas Iscariot had committed suicide and the disciples had not replaced his position yet, this referenced meeting would have included Thomas. John’s gospel describes two appearances with the first appearance missing Thomas, while the second appearance Thomas is present for.

When reading the first part of this conclusion, I can understand why some scholars have doubts about what is included here. The big thing I notice is that unlike the rest of Mark’s gospel, which includes details, this conclusion seems to prompt us to read other gospels to discover the details of what happened. One theory about Mark’s gospel is that it was written first, and if this was the case, it logically wouldn’t gloss over events that should have details included. Every other event in Mark’s gospel is either included in detail or not included. Mark doesn’t summarize without giving details.

However, there is a big theme that we can discover in this first half of Mark’s extended conclusion, and this theme is worth paying attention to. In each of the sections, we see a theme repeating. After Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, she reports this to the disciples. Verse 11 describes the disciples’ response: “When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.”

Next, Jesus appeared to two unnamed disciples traveling to the country. Verse 13 describes the rest of the disciples’ response: “They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either.”

Verse 14 then includes Jesus appearing to the group of eleven as they were together and we see the following challenge, “He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.”

In this first section of Mark’s extended conclusion, the big theme that we can see is the difficulty these disciples had believing that Jesus actually rose from the dead. While other gospel writers, Matthew specifically, describe the religious leaders believing but bribing the soldiers to lie about what happened, the people who should have been the ones who believed the most were the disciples, who Jesus repeatedly told He would be killed and then resurrected.

This first section of Mark’s conclusion also suggests that the disciples had a difficult time accepting that Jesus would appear to people outside of their close circle before He appeared to them as a group. While this is what happened, I can understand the difficulty they faced with this reality. If Jesus had returned to life, the first logical place for Him to appear would be to His group of followers.

However, I wonder if the disciples doubted because they realized they had failed Jesus several nights earlier. When the mob came to arrest Jesus, they all scattered and fled. I wonder if doubts were in their minds that said Jesus had given up on them because they had abandoned Jesus.

But these doubts are lies from Satan. While we fail God more frequently than many of us would want to admit, God does not give up on us. One big failure on the part of these disciples is that they were hiding away, having locked themselves in a secret room. The first followers to see Jesus were the ones who were outside of that room. I have a suspicion that Jesus had really wanted to get the disciples to come to the tomb early on the morning of His resurrection, and to witness what the guards experienced. However, instead of scattering like the guards did, the disciples would be present for one of the greatest events in history, and they would get to see Jesus resurrected and death defeated.

Instead, like we all seem to default to, the disciples doubted other people because they did not see or experience what happened first hand. We all can fall into this trap, but this trap is a lie from Satan. Jesus did step out of the grave victorious, and this means that Satan’s lies against God have been shown to be false. Jesus loved us so much that He willingly faced some of the worst torture sinful humanity has come up with in order to show us how much God loves us.

Jesus was willing to face the cross for you. Instead of doubting God’s love and Jesus’ gift, let’s place our faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus that His sacrifice is enough to cover our sins and give us salvation!

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 Him rather than doubt. When people share what Jesus has done for them, accept and celebrate their stories. Look forward with them to the day Jesus returns to take us home to be with Him forever.

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 study, we can open our hearts to God and we can learn to trust Him as we learn just how much He loves us. While skeptics like to point to challenging events in the Bible, God has revealed Himself to us through the Bible and the biggest theme we can find in the Bible is God’s love for us and His desire to redeem us from sin!

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 doubt where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

After John describes in His gospel that Jesus met Mary in the garden and that she came and told the disciples what had happened, John jumps to that evening. I wonder if during that entire Sunday between these two events, the disciples were full of questions, doubt, and curiosity over a clearly empty tomb, and the possibility of a resurrected Jesus.

However, while we don’t know what Jesus was doing during the entire day leading up to what John focuses on that evening, the next event John describes happens that evening.

Our passage for this episode is found in John’s gospel, chapter 20, and we will read it using the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 19, John describes the scene to us:

¹⁹ It was late that Sunday evening, and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. Then Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. ²⁰ After saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you.” ²² Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Pausing briefly, I find it amazing in this event that Jesus breathes on His disciples, which I suspect has more symbolic meaning than physical. I wonder if this breathing is symbolically connected to God breathing into the nostrils of Adam in the garden after He had formed him. God breathed the breath of life into Adam, and now we see Jesus breathing on His disciples and connecting this breath with receiving the Holy Spirit and a brand new spiritual life.

It is also significant to point out that Jesus gives His followers the authority to forgive sins, which is something that is normally reserved for God. However, the immediate context for this is having the Holy Spirit in one’s life, so while God can forgive sins, and while Jesus can forgive sins, the Holy Spirit, when living in a believer’s heart and life can also forgive sins. While this might bring up pictures in your mind of a catholic confessional booth, I suspect that Jesus meant for this promise and responsibility to be applied in a much different way.

When Jesus gave His followers this responsibility when the Holy Spirit had entered their lives, I believe He expected His followers to apply it in the same way He applied it. If someone rejected Jesus, Jesus’ message, or Jesus’ presence, then they potentially would not receive forgiveness. However, while being nailed to a cross, Jesus asks God the Father to forgive those who were acting hostile towards Him, which tells us that Jesus preferred to forgive others rather than withhold forgiveness.

I suspect that this responsibility Jesus gives His followers is a responsibility that seeks to draw people to God, and to encourage them that God can forgive and that He has forgiven them through what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Forgiveness for sins is something that happens after one has sinned, and for forgiveness to stay present, there is the expectation that one will repent from their sin, which is a fancy way of saying that they will stop doing whatever sin they were doing. God has forgiven us, but we accept His forgiveness when we repent and believe in Jesus.

However, John isn’t finished sharing, because while we might think that all the disciples were present in that room, John tells us that one was missing. Continuing in verse 24, John tells us that:

²⁴ One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (called the Twin), was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ A week later the disciples were together again indoors, and Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands; then reach out your hand and put it in my side. Stop your doubting, and believe!”

²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Do you believe because you see me? How happy are those who believe without seeing me!”

³⁰ In his disciples’ presence Jesus performed many other miracles which are not written down in this book. ³¹ But these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through your faith in him you may have life.

In this second half of our passage, we discovered that during the first time Jesus appeared to all the disciples, that it really wasn’t all the disciples. While Judas Iscariot was obviously not present since he had committed suicide, for one reason or another, Thomas was also not with the disciples.

When hearing about Jesus appearing before the other disciples, Thomas makes the famous statement that he won’t believe unless he sees Jesus personally, and that he is able to touch Jesus’ scars.

From that point forward, Thomas picks up the nickname of doubter. Doubting Thomas is who he is known as from that point forward. However, is this a fair nickname for this disciple?

I don’t believe it is. While Thomas strongly proclaims his doubt and hesitation over not seeing Jesus, Thomas demands to be able to see and touch Him. However, when Jesus appears to the disciples the following week, and challenges Thomas to touch His scars, nothing in this passage indicates that Thomas actually touches Jesus. Thomas proclaims in verse 28: “My Lord and my God!”

Following this, Jesus replies in verse 29: “Do you believe because you see me? How happy are those who believe without seeing me!”

The end of Thomas’ story that’s recorded in the Bible has Thomas believing in Jesus, and from Jesus’ words, we can conclude that Thomas decided His belief and faith did not need to touch Jesus as well. Thomas believed Jesus was alive because he saw Him with his own eyes.

However, Jesus uses this as an opportunity to give all those who would come after a blessing. Jesus uses the same phrasing that He used in the opening of His famous Sermon on the Mount to give those who would believe in Jesus without seeing a blessing. This translation uses the word happy, while other translations used the word blessed. The word that is used here carries the ideas of blessing, happiness, spiritually security, and favored by God. When we believe in Jesus without requiring Him to show up physically in our lives, God promises to bless us, to favor us, and to give us His happiness.

The whole story of scripture, especially the gospel record, contains examples of how humanity fails to achieve God’s ideal plan. In this passage, God gave Thomas an opportunity to believe without needing to see personally, but Thomas failed this opportunity.

However, Jesus takes Thomas’ failure and uses it to emphasize that those who believe in Jesus based on the testimony of others will be blessed. When we believe in Jesus based on the testimony we read in the Bible, and on the testimony we see in people’s changed lives, we step into God’s blessing, and into His favor. While there are plenty of reasons for a skeptic to doubt, there are even more reasons for us to test God’s way out in our own lives and see if God’s way is better.

If you never try God’s way, you won’t know whether it is truly better. The Bible is full of examples of humanity’s failures, so simply looking at other Christians might not give you an accurate picture. Many un-Christ-like people call themselves Christians. God has not called us to be like them. We are called to model Jesus, and the best way to do this is to study firsthand what He was like!

God has called us to believe in Jesus even if we can’t see Him. God’s promises never fail, and He has promised to return and bring all of His people home. In the context of this passage, God’s people are those who have chosen to place their hope, faith, trust, and belief in Jesus to cover their sins!

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 place your faith, your hope, your trust, and your belief in Jesus even if you cannot see, touch, or hear Him. Choose to place your faith on the testimony of others, in the promises contained in the Bible, and on stepping into God’s plan for your life. Only by living God’s way will one truly discover if it is better.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to discover who Jesus truly was. The Bible calls us to be disciples of Jesus, and disciples of Jesus are people who reflect Him and His character. In order to know what Jesus was like, we must study Him, and the best place to prayerfully study Jesus is in the pages of 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!