Reflective Bible Study

As Matthew’s gospel comes to a close, we come to one of the more famous passages in the entire Bible, and likely the most famous and quoted ending to any of the gospels. In Matthew’s conclusion, Jesus gives them what is often called the Great Commission, and He leaves them with a promise. However, far from being a promise just for Jesus’ first followers, this commission and promise extend forward to all of God’s people and to those who have chosen to follow Jesus.

Let’s read what Matthew describes as Jesus’ final message to His followers, and as we read, look for an interesting description of those who were present for this event. Our passage and event are found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 28, and we will read from the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 16, Matthew tells us that:

¹⁶ [But] the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. ¹⁷ When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. ¹⁸ And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

In this grand conclusion to Matthew’s gospel, we read the amazing description that some were doubtful. While Matthew skips over some of the events the other gospel writers include that happened after Jesus’ resurrection, we might be tempted to think that the doubtful “some” was really Thomas, who gets the reputation for being a doubter in what is described in John’s gospel. However, John’s gospel circles around and describes Thomas giving up his doubt when he ultimately sees Jesus. This leads me to conclude that the doubtful disciples described in Matthew’s gospel did not include Thomas.

Before moving forward to focus on the great commission and the great promise, it is worth paying attention to this verse. Verse 17 tells us “When they saw Him [referring to the disciples seeing Jesus], they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.”

From this verse, we can conclude three big things.

First, when Jesus appeared to these disciples, and presumably everyone else who was present, Matthew tells us that when they saw Him, they worshiped Him. This tells us that even though some of them were doubtful, doubt doesn’t have to stop us from worshiping. Some people believe doubt is a reason to not worship or believe, but here in Matthew’s conclusion, we see worship being given to Jesus in spite of some people feeling doubtful.

Also, in this verse, we can conclude that in some instances, it is appropriate to realize that doubt may always be present. However, just because doubt might be present doesn’t mean that it should be given recognition. I wonder if Matthew was one who had some doubts, since he includes this detail here. However, the doubts Matthew may have had did not stop him from worshiping Jesus, and these doubts did not stop Matthew from proclaiming the great news of Jesus till His dying breath. Matthew allows for doubt to be present, but he doesn’t let it get any recognition.

The third thing we can learn from this verse is a challenge. This verse challenges us with an unpleasant truth. Even after seeing Jesus in person and worshiping Him, some people will always question what happened. Some people will let their minds play tricks on them and will let doubt have a foothold in their minds. While some of those present might have still been trying to wrap their minds around the resurrection and what had happened a few weeks earlier, other people take extraordinary events and their default response is to doubt the events actually happened.

Denying an event happened when there is evidence saying the exact opposite is like claiming the traffic light is red when it is really green, or saying that that stop sign doesn’t exist and that it can be ignored. While it is clearly possible to reject the evidence you have staring you in the face, rejecting evidence is never a wise move.

However, a bonus thing we can learn from this verse in addition to these other three things is simply that when we see Jesus, regardless of any doubt we may have, the best thing we can do is to love and worship Him. The best response we can have when seeing Jesus is to worship Him, which is an outward example of loving, praising, thanking, and respecting Him.

After worshiping Jesus, Jesus gives these followers the great commission. He begins by giving the disciples the truth that He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. This means that while Satan still claims to rule this world, he has to work around what Jesus has commanded, and because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, this world truly belongs to God. Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth and this means that anything Satan does is an underhanded attempt to undermine Jesus’ authority.

This shouldn’t surprise us at all, but it should help us understand the spiritual battle we are in. Satan doesn’t want to let this world go without a fight, and while he has lost the war and his fate is sealed, he is still trying to win battles against God for the hearts and minds of those living on this earth. Satan doesn’t care about humanity. All Satan cares about is hurting God because through Jesus and His sacrifice, God showed the universe His character of love while also exposing Satan’s character of hate.

God wants the best for all of humanity, and it is His desire to save as many people as who will accept Him. God isn’t going to force people into heaven against their will or against their choice. A God who forces His will on humanity is not a God of love. In contrast, Satan doesn’t care about humanity and he is more than willing to ridicule, force as much as possible, and make life hard in as many ways as he can for those who have openly sided with God.

But this is all Satan can do. He can make the lives of God’s people challenging in this life, but he cannot steal our future lives away from us. When we have allied with God, we will outlive the devil and that is a promise we repeatedly see in the Bible!

God has challenged us to spread this great news with people. We are called to go to all nations, baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teach people to observe what Jesus has commanded us, and when we move forward doing this, we can claim the promise that even though our lives won’t always be easy, through the Holy Spirit, Jesus is with us until the end of the age!

Even if Satan tries to make our lives as disciples of Jesus hard, remember that Satan cannot steal you away from Jesus, and because of the cross, our ultimate victory is guaranteed and Satan’s fate is sealed.

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 stay with Him regardless of what Satan throws your way. Don’t let doubt gain a foothold in your life and don’t let any doubt that is present have any recognition in your mind. Instead, claim the promise that because Jesus has risen from the dead, He now has all authority in heaven and on earth and that He has promised to be with His people regardless of what Satan does or claims. Remember that with Jesus, we will out-live the devil.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each day. Choose to take everything you read and hear and filter it through the message and truth of the Bible. Don’t take my word, or any other person’s word for what the Bible teaches. Instead, study it out for yourself and in the process of doing this, discover a renewed relationship with Jesus.

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

One week after Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey, He steps out of the tomb victorious over death. Over this past year, we have walked with Jesus through this final week, and we have focused in on what the gospel writers recorded during this time.

To wrap up this year focusing on Jesus facing the cross, I couldn’t simply end with Jesus being dead and in the tomb. Even though the cross and death was Jesus’ mission and goal, He always saw past His death and looked forward to His resurrection. On multiple occasions, recorded in multiple gospels, Jesus tries to forewarn the disciples that He would be put to death, but that He would also rise from the dead on the third day.

However, for all times Jesus predicted crucifixion weekend to His disciples, they still are surprised and caught off guard when it happened. Even on resurrection morning, we discover that an actual resurrection is the last thing on the disciples’ minds. Let’s finish this year by looking at resurrection morning through the eyes of Mark’s gospel.

Our passage is found in the gospel of Mark, chapter 16, and we will read about what happened from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, Mark tells us that:

¹ The day after the Sabbath day, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought some sweet-smelling spices to put on Jesus’ body. ² Very early on that day, the first day of the week, soon after sunrise, the women were on their way to the tomb. ³ They said to each other, “Who will roll away for us the stone that covers the entrance of the tomb?”

⁴ Then the women looked and saw that the stone had already been rolled away, even though it was very large. ⁵ The women entered the tomb and saw a young man wearing a white robe and sitting on the right side, and they were afraid.

⁶ But the man said, “Don’t be afraid. You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, who has been crucified. He has risen from the dead; he is not here. Look, here is the place they laid him. ⁷ Now go and tell his followers and Peter, ‘Jesus is going into Galilee ahead of you, and you will see him there as he told you before.’”

⁸ The women were confused and shaking with fear, so they left the tomb and ran away. They did not tell anyone about what happened, because they were afraid.

It is at this point in Mark’s gospel where some manuscripts end. However, regardless of whether Mark ends his gospel here, or whether the longer version of Mark’s ending is correct, we can discover from this passage that resurrection was not on anyone’s mind.

The women who go to the tomb early on Resurrection Sunday are discussing among themselves who they will ask to help them roll the stone away. They are oblivious to the fact that there had been an order to seal the tomb and a group of soldiers had been posted to guard the tomb. By the time they arrived, the guards had scattered, the seal on the tomb had been broken, and the large stone had been rolled away.

Since they had brought spices to put on Jesus’ corpse, they enter the tomb only to find a young man wearing a white robe who seems to be more aware of what has happened than anyone else, and when they look over to the place they remember seeing Jesus’ body last, no body was there.

As I read about what happened on resurrection morning, I cannot help but wonder if this friendly young man was the angel who came down, frightened all the soldiers, and tossed the stone aside to make way for Jesus’ triumphant exit from the tomb. While there were likely armies of evil angels guarding the tomb with the Roman soldiers, all it took was one of God’s angels to scatter Satan’s forces of darkness – both human and supernatural forces – and prepare the way for Jesus to emerge from the tomb.

In our own lives, while it might seem as though evil is winning when we look at the world today, know that Jesus has already won. Jesus has conquered not just sin and death, but evil as well. Satan has been judged as guilty and he knows his time is coming. The only thing Satan can work towards now is trying to steal as many people away from God as he possibly can. And this is what he has been doing for the past 2,000 years.

While it may appear as though Satan is winning the world today, God is still in control and just one of God’s angels is enough to push back the forces of darkness. When times are tough in this life, we are challenged to remember what Jesus not only accomplished through His death, but also through His resurrection. Jesus defeated Satan and with eternity as our focus, Satan’s time is coming up fast.

I don’t have any idea how much longer the world will continue before Jesus returns to put a final end to sin, suffering, and Satan’s apparent rule, but I do know that when Jesus does return, Satan will be exposed as the deceiver he has always been.

As we move through each day, each month, and each year, let’s remember what Jesus accomplished for us. Jesus came to this earth as one of us, and He lived the life we couldn’t live, so He could give us the life that we don’t deserve – and that life lasts forever with God.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Always choose to place God first in your life and intentionally seek to do His will each and every day. While times might look dark and events might prompt you to think that evil is winning, Satan’s time is short and God will not abandon His people. God is looking forward to the day when Jesus returns more expectantly than we could even imagine, and He wants as many people with Him in heaven as He can.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, pray and study the Bible for yourself and intentionally grow your personal relationship with God each day. Trust that God is still in control and even if life doesn’t make sense right now, know that from eternity’s perspective, God is moving history towards the end of sin and the salvation of His people!

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

As we come almost to the very end of Matthew’s gospel, we come to the climax of the gospel story. All four gospel writers focus in on it, and all the gospel writers share unique details about it. Matthew’s gospel is no exception. Since Matthew tells us about the guards who were posted by the tomb, Matthew includes what happens with them.

Let’s read Matthew’s gospel and discover what he tells us about the morning Jesus was resurrected. Our passage is found in Matthew, chapter 28, and we will read it from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 1, Matthew tells us:

¹ The day after the Sabbath day was the first day of the week. At dawn on the first day, Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary went to look at the tomb.

² At that time there was a strong earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven, went to the tomb, and rolled the stone away from the entrance. Then he sat on the stone. ³ He was shining as bright as lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The soldiers guarding the tomb shook with fear because of the angel, and they became like dead men.

⁵ The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus, who has been crucified. ⁶ He is not here. He has risen from the dead as he said he would. Come and see the place where his body was. ⁷ And go quickly and tell his followers, ‘Jesus has risen from the dead. He is going into Galilee ahead of you, and you will see him there.’” Then the angel said, “Now I have told you.”

⁸ The women left the tomb quickly. They were afraid, but they were also very happy. They ran to tell Jesus’ followers what had happened. ⁹ Suddenly, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings.” The women came up to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell my followers to go on to Galilee, and they will see me there.”

¹¹ While the women went to tell Jesus’ followers, some of the soldiers who had been guarding the tomb went into the city to tell the leading priests everything that had happened. ¹² Then the priests met with the elders and made a plan. They paid the soldiers a large amount of money ¹³ and said to them, “Tell the people that Jesus’ followers came during the night and stole the body while you were asleep. ¹⁴ If the governor hears about this, we will satisfy him and save you from trouble.” ¹⁵ So the soldiers kept the money and did as they were told. And that story is still spread among the people even today.

In this event, lots of things are happening, and it is a very chaotic morning. However, one thing that is interesting in my mind when I read this is how Matthew would have known so much about what happened with the soldiers, with the religious leaders, and with what was said behind closed doors. As we have looked at in the past few episodes, Matthew is well aware of how Judas Iscariot plotted against Jesus and the conversations he had with the priests, and Matthew is also well aware of how the priests respond and try to stop and then silence the resurrection.

It is interesting that Matthew has all these details to share while the other gospel writers either didn’t know or chose to exclude these details from their records of Jesus.

In my mind, since Matthew had come from a background of tax collecting, which was a profession that needed Roman soldier protection, I think that Matthew had friends who were soldiers. While I don’t know if Matthew was personally friends with any of the guards who watched the tomb, it wouldn’t surprise me if Matthew’s guard friends had direct connection to the guards involved. I suspect that Matthew may have gotten some of the back-story that is included in his gospel through a network of friends from his tax collector days. If it isn’t for this, I suspect that Matthew probably knew how to interact with soldiers and he may have known how to get information. It is also possible that some of the soldiers present decided to come clean and become followers of Jesus after this event.

However, what is even more amazing in my mind than Matthew’s connections or how these events were discovered and shared is how Matthew describes the soldiers responding to one angel. Matthew describes the soldiers shaking in fear and becoming like dead men.

In my mind, I’ve always pictured the tomb being guarded by maybe a half-dozen soldiers, but knowing the religious leaders concern, and remembering what we talked about in the last episode about Pilate telling the religious leaders to make the tomb as secure as they know how, I suspect there were many more soldiers present. I wouldn’t be surprised if that Saturday night, the temple in Jerusalem was barely guarded, while Jesus’ tomb had dozens, maybe even a hundred or more soldiers, guarding it.

These soldiers would have slept in shifts, and there wouldn’t have been a single moment in time when all the soldiers would have been asleep. If this happened, the soldiers would likely have been killed or at least severely punished by the governor or their superiors.

Also, I find it interesting that nowhere do we read about any disciple of Jesus going near the tomb. Perhaps, the disciples knew it was clearly guarded and they didn’t want to be killed next. The only records of disciples going to the tomb happen after hearing the report of the women.

It is also interesting that the women come to the tomb, and they are not worried about guards present. It is possible that the women didn’t know that guards had been posted to guard the tomb.

However, the most interesting thing in this entire event in my mind is that the religious leaders’ fear of Jesus’ resurrection prompts them to place eyewitnesses at the tomb, and the only way that this story can stay quiet is for them to bribe the soldiers to tell a lie rather than the truth. The religious leaders cannot defend against a clearly empty tomb, so they default to what is likely the least believable story. The soldiers all fell asleep, and they slept through a seal being broken, a stone being rolled away, and a bunch of amateurs stealing a body that was weighed down with probably over 50 pounds of spices. There would then be the challenge of still hiding Jesus’ body after the fact, and then covering up this story in favor of a resurrection story which is almost as unbelievable.

Why should we believe the resurrection happened and not the soldiers’ story?

In my mind, here’s why: In all of Jesus’ ministry in the gospels, did Jesus ever tell a lie or describe something that didn’t happen the way He said it would? If we cannot find a lie Jesus spoke outside of the statements that are in question about His predicting His death, burial, and resurrection, then these predictions are more believable. If Jesus ever told a lie on any other occasion, then His prediction about His resurrection becomes suspect. However, the only lies Jesus is accused of sharing are lies that the religious leaders try to use to discredit Jesus, and these lies almost made the trial against Jesus fall apart.

Without another lie from Jesus to use as an example, what initially seems impossible, specifically that Jesus accurately predicted His own death, burial, and resurrection, actually becomes more believable than soldiers risking their lives and reputations by sleeping and letting a bunch of amateurs take the thing they were put in charge of protecting.

It is amazing to think that in both the soldiers lie and in the truth of the resurrection, no-one contested the clearly visible fact that Sunday morning, the tomb was empty. In this entire event, the one thing that is not debated is the empty tomb. While nothing could have stopped the resurrection from happening, there were much more believable lies that could have been spread, and better explanations for the tomb being empty.

However, the big truth for us to remember is that following Jesus crucifixion just days before, on that Sunday morning, Jesus’ tomb was empty. Jesus returned to life just like He said He would, and His resurrection is a promise, a gift, and a sign that all of God’s people will be resurrected when Jesus returns to take His people home.

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 place your hope, faith, trust, and belief in Jesus. Understand and believe that Jesus rose from the dead just like He predicted He would, and that His resurrection foreshadows our resurrection when He returns.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and strengthen your personal relationship with Jesus. Don’t let anyone trick you out of believing in the greatest promise and greatest truth of the gospel message!

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

Following Jesus’ death, the gospel of John records the reappearance of a secret disciple, and the introduction of a new secret disciple. These two wealthy men have exactly what is needed for this weekend. While it might not seem like it on the surface, these two men actually save the Easter story because they give everyone involved, including the remaining disciples, the women who followed Jesus, the religious leaders, and even the Roman soldiers exactly what they need for the following 48 hours.

While it is unlikely that Joseph of Arimathea believed his gift would only be temporarily needed, that is what ultimately happened.

Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 19, and we will be reading it from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 38, John tells us that:

³⁸ Joseph from Arimathea was one of Jesus’ disciples. He had kept it secret though, because he was afraid of the Jewish leaders. But now he asked Pilate to let him have Jesus’ body. Pilate gave him permission, and Joseph took it down from the cross.

³⁹ Nicodemus also came with about seventy-five pounds of spices made from myrrh and aloes. This was the same Nicodemus who had visited Jesus one night. ⁴⁰ The two men wrapped the body in a linen cloth, together with the spices, which was how the Jewish people buried their dead. ⁴¹ In the place where Jesus had been nailed to a cross, there was a garden with a tomb that had never been used. ⁴² The tomb was nearby, and since it was the time to prepare for the Sabbath, they were in a hurry to put Jesus’ body there.

From our passage, we discover a number of details that are worth paying attention to. In culture, there is a rumor that Jesus didn’t actually die on the cross. Regardless of all the reasons that say He did, such as from blood loss, suffocation, and a spear through His heart, not to mention the fact that trained executioners were in charge of the whole scene, our passage describes even more reasons to believe Jesus had died, and our passage gives us reasons to thank these two men.

When we look at what happened normally following the death of a crucified person, the body would typically be thrown in a large grave, or it would be tossed in the trash heap to be burned. Unless someone stepped in wanting the body, what happened to the body would quickly become untraceable. By stepping up and asking for Jesus’ body, Joseph of Arimathea gave everyone involved a location to pay attention to.

If Jesus’ corpse was thrown into a large hole with many dead bodies, no one could verify whether He had returned to life or not. The rumors would be harder to verify, or validate. Everyone from the disciples and the women to the religious leaders and even the soldiers needed a place to watch and a location to pay attention to, and Joseph from Arimathea stepped up with the perfect gift at the perfect time.

Not only does Joseph bring the perfect gift, Nicodemus also brings the perfect gift: seventy-five pounds of spices. The two men take Jesus and wrap him up in cloth with these spices, and lay His body in the tomb. The spices were intended to mask the odor of a body decomposing. While some people believe Jesus was simply unconscious during this time, He likely would have suffocated from lack of oxygen if He had been alive. With seventy-five pounds of spices wrapped tightly against your body, with no air hole, not only would the spices on top of you make it difficult for you to inhale, and on the off chance that you could inhale, it would be inhaling spices not air.

Since the passage says these men were in a hurry because the Sabbath was near, would it be possible for them to make a mistake? Sure, but any mistake they might have made would likely make it more difficult for Jesus rather than easier for Him.

Every detail in the death of Jesus points to those present believing Jesus was actually dead, and treating Jesus’ body as not returning to life. From the crucifixion performed by trained executioners, to the hasty but effective preparation of Jesus’ body, and even to the rumor that gets spread following Jesus’ resurrection that the disciples simply stole the body, no one at the time expected Jesus to return to life.

We can thank Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus for their gifts which were exactly what was needed to solidify a fully dead Jesus. Jesus was actually dead, and as we will look at in the next episode, Jesus returns very much back to life.

Also, when we look at the details of how this passage ends, we discover a fascinating detail many people don’t notice on the surface. The last verse we read, which was verse 42, tells us that “The tomb was nearby, and since it was the time to prepare for the Sabbath, they were in a hurry to put Jesus’ body there.”

On the surface, nothing seems abnormal in this verse, but when we look a little closer, we discover something amazing: Following Jesus completing the work of redemption, He rests on the Sabbath. This echoes what we read about following the creation of the world in Genesis when God rests after completing the work of creation.

While some people might see this as being two bookends on Sabbath observance, in my own mind and my own study, this event speaks more strongly towards Jesus validating the Sabbath during the break in His life. If Jesus’ death marked the end of the commandments, then there would be no reason for Him to rest over the Sabbath. Because Jesus rested in peace on the Sabbath, we discover an amazing validation and parallel to God resting following creation.

The Sabbath is first given as a special gift in a perfect world, and we can see Sabbath being present in a perfectly recreated world as Isaiah describes at the close of his book. Because Sabbath is present in both perfect creations, resting on the Sabbath is not connected to sin or our salvation out of sin, but it is foundationally connected with God’s creation honoring God. If God’s perfect creation honors Him in the perfect first world and in the perfect recreated world, God’s people should be honoring Him on the Sabbath in the fallen world as well. The Sabbath was given as a specific day, and Jesus validated the Sabbath day by marking it with rest following His successful completion of the work of salvation.

While this idea is not popular today, the seventh-day Sabbath is an amazing theme that runs through the entire Bible, and this day doesn’t become less significant as history speeds towards its end, it actually becomes more significant.

While I rarely do this, if you haven’t studied the Sabbath out for yourself and you want to read everything the Bible has to say on this topic, the “Day of Rest” study available on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com is for you. This study package might be too comprehensive, because not only do I bring together all the places the Bible teaches us about the Sabbath, I also bring together every reference to the seventh-day that is included in the Bible as well. When this study moves into the New Testament, we look at every occurrence of not only the Sabbath, but also the first day of the week, and we let the Bible define for us what the Lord’s Day represents. While other study tools might be faster, none are more comprehensive, and none will give you all the amazing insights that you will learn from working through the Reflective Bible Study Day of Rest study using the Reflective Bible Study framework.

I developed this study package to personally study the Sabbath and the seventh-day out for myself, and I included it on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com because I want it to help others like it has helped me.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Be sure to seek God first in your life and live your life in a way that brings God honor. If you haven’t studied the Sabbath topic from the Bible, consider this a challenge to do so. While you will be blessed if you use ReflectiveBibleStudy.com, plenty of other studies out there cover this topic well. Just be sure to choose a study that doesn’t pick and choose verses to focus in on. If you want the most balanced approach, find two studies, one that supports the Sabbath and one that rejects it, and study both. This will give you a better idea of both sides of this important issue and then you can decide for yourself with the Holy Spirit’s leading.

As always, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself in order to grow personally close to God. While other people can give you ideas to think about, always filter what you hear and read through the pages of God’s 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 fall away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!