Reflective Bible Study

One evening during the week leading up to His crucifixion, Matthew’s gospel describes Jesus sitting and answering the disciples’ questions about the time of the end. In Jesus’ response, which we will break into several episodes, we discover not only some warnings and challenges for God’s people to pay attention to, but also some parables that are worth us learning from so we can stay connected with God when we face challenges in our own lives.

Leading up to this conversation, Matthew includes a couple of verses to set the stage. Our passage for this episode is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 24, and we will read it from the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 1, Matthew tells us that:

¹ Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. ² And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

³ As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

Let’s pause briefly here because the disciples’ question is interesting. In what seems like a single question, the disciples actually ask three different questions. These three questions are: When will the temple be destroyed; What will be the sign of Jesus’ return; and What marks the end of the age.

It is quite likely that the disciples believed all three of these events to be one and the same, but when looking back on history, we can see that at the very least, the temple being destroyed was an event that happened earlier than the other two events. Looking forward, while we can picture the other two events covering the same point in time, it is possible that these remaining two events are both unique as well.

After receiving this set of questions, let’s look at Jesus’ response. While Jesus responds, let’s also pay attention to which question He is responding to.

Continuing in verse 4:

⁴ [And] Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. ⁵ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. ⁶ You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. ⁸ But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

⁹ “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰ At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. ¹² Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. ¹⁴ This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Pausing briefly, this first portion of Jesus’ response is almost like a summary of what Jesus will then share in greater detail. This summary isn’t as exclusively focused on the destruction of Jerusalem, but on history leading up to Jesus’ return.

Then Jesus shifts focus and gets more specific. Continuing in verse 15, Jesus continues saying:

¹⁵ “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ¹⁷ Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. ¹⁸ Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁹ But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. ²² Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. ²³ Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you in advance.

While Jesus continues sharing, we’ll stop reading here because we are about out of time, and I want to point out some things that stand out in my mind in what Jesus has just shared.

When Jesus shifts focus and then zeros in on specifics, He first focuses on warning His followers about the coming destruction of Jerusalem. In this warning, Jesus gives them a sign they should look for, and it is a sign that mirrors what Daniel spoke about.

While there is speculation that what Daniel spoke about had already been fulfilled, if this is the case, Jesus simply recycles Daniel’s prophecy and tells His followers to pay attention for it to happen again. Other people believe that since Jesus draws our attention onto this prophecy of Daniel, it had not been fulfilled earlier but was waiting until Jesus repeated it and focused us onto the first-century temple destruction.

However, the warnings for God’s people about the temple being destroyed are the least relevant parts of this passage for us to focus on in my mind. This is simply because this has already happened. Instead, I think that the other part of this passage is much more significant.

After talking about the destruction of the temple beginning a great persecution of God’s people, Jesus tells us that for the sake of God’s people, this great persecution would be cut short. After this happens, we must be on our guard. Jesus warns us in verse 23 and 24: “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”

In this warning, which is valid for all of Jesus’ followers at every point in history, we should not believe anyone who comes claiming to be the Jesus of the gospels who has returned to earth. Let’s simply say that if any doubt is present in our minds, that is God telling us this was not Jesus’ return. Jesus’ return will mark the end of the world as we know it, and any “return” that is less than this is the return of a false messiah.

This passage doesn’t tell us that God won’t send messengers or prophets to bring us back to God or to remind us to focus on Jesus’ return. Instead, this is a warning to beware of people coming who claim to be Jesus Christ and a warning to avoid and reject people who claim to be a middleman for God. Jesus came the first time to open the way for us to come directly to God, and through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross while He was here on this earth the first time, we are able to stand before God with Jesus’ righteousness covering our sins.

When Jesus returns, there will be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Jesus has returned, and His return will mark the end of this world as we know it. In this warning, Jesus tells us that any secret return or return that is any less grand is a false second coming from a false messiah.

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 take Jesus’ warning seriously. If someone comes to you claiming to have found Jesus, don’t believe them. When Jesus returns, His return will be visible to everyone, and His return marks the end of this world as it has been. Any return that is less than this is not Jesus returning.

However, don’t take my word for this. Instead, pray and study this truth out for yourself in Jesus’ teaching in the Bible. While I wish we had more time to cover this in our podcasts together, I would rather you take and learn this truth for yourself than have you simply hear it from me. When you study the Bible for yourself, you grow personally and you have a much stronger relationship and foundation with God than you could ever have if you simply heard it from me or someone else.

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 be tricked into leaving where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

After Jesus had been tried by the religious leaders as guilty and by Pilate and Herod as somewhat guilty but guilty because it was easier than dealing with a riot, the soldiers lead Jesus away to crucify Him. However, before Jesus faces the cross, or even the long road to the hill where He will be crucified, there is one last stop to make, and this stop is not an easy one for Jesus, and it’s not a pleasant one for us to read either.

Our passage comes from Mark’s gospel, chapter 15, and we will be reading from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 16, Mark tells us that:

¹⁶ The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. ¹⁷ They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. ¹⁸ And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” ¹⁹ Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. ²⁰ And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

These five short verses contain one of the cruelest portions of the entire Bible, but pushing past the cruelty, we discover some amazing ideas – especially after what we have read leading up to this point.

First, Mark tells us that the soldiers put a purple robe on Jesus. Whether this was put on over the robe that Herod had put on Jesus, or whether this was a different robe entirely, we don’t know, but similar to Herod dressing Jesus up like a king, these soldiers do the same thing.

However, from Jesus’ conversation with Pilate, we discover that Jesus doesn’t see Himself as a king, even though He tells Pilate that He has a kingdom. While Jesus is headed towards the cross, He is fulfilling the mission He came into this world to accomplish, and while this mission ultimately ends with Him being crowned King in Heaven after the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, the premise that Jesus came to be a king on earth was a man-made twisting and misinterpreting of the Old Testament scriptures. Jesus came to lift God up and not to draw people to focus on Him, and in this mission, we discover another amazing idea tucked within this short, dark passage.

When the soldiers dress Jesus up as a king to mock Him, they do so using the man-made premise that Jesus came to be the king of the Jews and the passage tells us that they paid homage to Him. Other words we could use in the place of homage are respect, reverence, honor, and even worship. However, with whatever word we use to describe the soldiers attitude towards Jesus, the homage they paid Jesus was empty. Not only did the soldiers shallowly point the focus on Jesus, which is something Jesus never came to receive, they also give Him shallow, empty worship – which is fascinating, since Jesus, as a member of the Godhead, would be worthy of true, heartfelt worship.

While the soldiers are behind the abuse and the mocking of Jesus, I am sure that Satan was behind the empty worship, because Satan knows that Jesus deserved more. Satan knows that Jesus deserves true, heartfelt, genuine worship, and when given the opportunity, Satan is more than willing to cheapen the worship God receives in any way he can.

Not only did Satan cheapen the worship that the soldiers mockingly gave Jesus, he tries to do the same with each of us today. Satan first will try to get us to discount coming to God. If this doesn’t work, then he will try to crowd our lives with so much busyness that we don’t have any time to come to God. If this doesn’t work, he sends distractions our way to cheapen the time we spend with God. And if this doesn’t work, he will send people to ridicule and mock us for following God. When we come to worship God, the last thing Satan wants us to give to God is the one thing that God wants when we come to worship Him – and that one thing is our hearts.

Jesus came as God’s Messiah not just for the Jews, but for the entire human race. While the Jews were God’s people, God never intended for the Jews to arrogantly live out this calling. God chose a people to be a representative for Him for the world and to show the world what He is like. The Jews failed God in this regard, and I’m not so sure that many Christians today are doing any better.

There are plenty of Christians who get this right, but there are plenty of self-proclaimed “Christians” who don’t understand God’s mission for His people. God isn’t interested in seeing His people debate with each other over non-trivial issues. Instead, God wants a people who reflect His character to the world while obeying His commandments because they have been transformed through His love. God’s character is love, God’s commandments are built on the foundation of love, and the Holy Spirit is the only Source we have for truly living out God’s love in the world today.

While Jesus received empty homage from the soldiers leading up to the cross, when we come to Jesus to give him honor, respect, love, and worship, let’s genuinely and humbly give Him our lives, our minds, our attitude, and most importantly, our hearts!

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

Always seek God first in your life. When you come before God to worship Him, be humble, be present, and be willing to give Him the gift He wants the most. The gift God wants isn’t our money or our stuff; the gift God wants is our hearts. When we worship God, with every gift we bring, we should include our heart with it.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow a personal relationship with God. A personal relationship with God is the best way to know God’s will for your life, and a personal relationship with God is the best way to learn what He wants to teach you. While pastors, speakers, authors, or even podcasters can give you ideas to think about, only the Holy Spirit can direct you to what God wants to teach you personally through 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 even get distracted away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we continue moving through Matthew’s gospel, we come to a passage where Jesus shares a brief message to the city of Jerusalem. In a subtle way, this message isn’t truly for the city of Jerusalem, as in the walls and structure of Jerusalem, but for the religious leadership living in Jerusalem, both during the first century while Jesus walked the earth, as well as during the earlier and later centuries.

Let’s read Jesus’ message for Jerusalem, and discover what we can learn from His message for us living today. Like all our passages in this Year in Matthew, our passage for this episode is found in Matthew’s gospel, and this episode we will focus in on the end of chapter 23, reading it from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 37, Matthew records Jesus saying:

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone to death those who are sent to you. Many times I wanted to gather your people as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you did not let me. ³⁸ Now your house will be left completely empty. ³⁹ I tell you, you will not see me again until that time when you will say, ‘God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

In the chronology of the gospels, some people believe this message was actually given before Jesus entered the city on a donkey. If this is the case, then this would be something Jesus shared on the last trip to Jerusalem before He entered the city on a donkey.

However, Matthew includes this message after Jesus had entered Jerusalem on a donkey with the procession, leading me to wonder if Jesus shared this message again during this week leading up to His crucifixion with the intention that it foreshadows His second coming. While there are many reasons to believe Matthew brought in an earlier teaching into His gospel here, Matthew wouldn’t have done this without a reason. Because Matthew includes this after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, Matthew wants to point us forward to a future time when Jerusalem will see Jesus.

On the surface, this message and event seem to be very narrowly focused on the Jewish people and specifically the spiritual leaders living in Jerusalem. The message begins by calling Jerusalem by name not once but twice. One might think that Jesus was sharing this just for the religious leaders alive during the first century, but leading into this message, Jesus summarizes the response the spiritual leaders had towards the messengers God sent.

Jesus’ summary of Jerusalem’s response to those who God sends them is that they killed the prophets and stoned to death God’s messengers. The religious leaders’ response is one of continued rejection of God. What is interesting to note is that earlier in Jesus’ ministry, Jesus challenged the Pharisees and religious leaders on this same point. Jesus calls the religious leaders out for how their ancestors rejected God’s messengers, before a few generations later deciding to honor God’s messengers after the punishment and disaster they had predicted actually happened.

One might think that the spiritual leadership would have realized this and changed their ways, but Jesus’ message to Jerusalem tells us that no such change was going to happen. Because of this, many people see in Jesus’ message a prediction of a future where God turns His attention to another group of people instead of the Jews. Some people also believe that this passage suggests God will stop sending prophets and messengers after Jesus.

However, in this passage, while I can understand the logic in both these ideas, I don’t see the context of Jesus’ message being one of outright rejection by God, and I don’t see this passage suggesting that God will stop sending messengers. Instead, I see the context of this passage, and really a big theme in this passage, relating to God giving the Jewish nation protection. God isn’t going to force His protection onto a group of people – especially a group of people who are actively rejecting Him.

With the message Jesus shares, I see God expanding His focus, which does not mean rejecting the old in favor of the new. While prior to this, God had focused on trying to teach and share His blessings through a specific nation of people, this ultimately failed, not because of God’s plan not being good, but because sin-tainted humanity is not that reliable.

Also, the focus of this passage is on the broad group and structure of the religion and not on the individual believers. I do think that this is significant to pay attention to, because Jesus is not saying that from this point in history, or from a specific point in history, no more Jews will be saved. Instead, I believe this message emphasizes how God will broaden His focus because the Jewish religious structure and the culture of the Jewish religious leadership had proven it was more interested in protecting its tradition over being dedicated to God.

Jesus loves the Jewish people just as much as He loves the non-Jewish people. This message is not a rejection of the individual who comes to God asking for help. This message isn’t even a message of rejection for a group of people, Jews in this context, who decide to earnestly seek God with their hearts and lives. Looking at first century history, the Jewish leadership actively rejected Jesus, and in the years and decades following Jesus’ return to heaven, the Jewish community pushed the new Christians away, first by trying to persecute them, but also later by adjusting their worship to be unwelcoming towards a follower of Jesus.

Some might still believe this message was only for those living in the first century world. However, in my mind, this message has much bigger implications. In His message to Jerusalem, Jesus emphasizes that leading up to the first century generation of religious leaders, the Jewish religious leadership had rejected God’s messengers. Unfortunately, this same theme is present in the Christian church following Jesus’ time on earth. The hundreds, if not thousands, of different denominations represent different divisions of God’s people because of one group’s rejection of a messenger who may or may not have been from God.

While there are those in Christianity who focus on unity above everything else, the challenge with this belief is the same challenge Jesus gives to Jerusalem. Regardless of the point in history we are looking at, it is very easy for the leadership in any religious organization to become closed-minded and to reject the messengers God sends their way.

Regardless of the denomination one is looking at, regardless of the “not-a-denominational-church” one is looking at, and regardless of the faith community one is looking at, the temptation is present to reject the messengers God sends in favor of holding onto tradition or compromising further from the truth.

The remedy for this condition is humility. The remedy for a community is to test every belief they have and test it with the weight of the scriptures. The remedy for the leadership of a church is to place the truth of the Bible over the traditions of men, and to support or defend these truths with what is written in God’s Word!

While this approach won’t be popular from our secular world’s perspective, or from the perspective of those who value tradition or unity over truth, placing the truth of the Bible over the traditions of men is the only way for a church or community to stay united with Christ.

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

As I regularly challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and dedicate your life to serving God and His truth over traditions that lead away from Christ.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to stay firmly connected with God and to build a strong foundation for your belief in His truth as revealed in His Word. The Bible is the test we are called to use when evaluating traditions and spiritual truth, and it is the only safe place to go when trying to discern God’s character. While the Bible records some challenging events for us to unpack, the Bible is the clearest picture we have into God’s character and His unfailing love for all of humanity.

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 walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

After Pilate’s conversation with Jesus, and after Herod has sent Jesus back without finding anything worthy of death, Luke’s gospel describes the shift that took place that transitions from Jesus simply being released to Jesus being crucified. In Luke’s gospel, we discover two fascinating ideas present in this transition.

Our passage for this episode is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 23, and we will read it from the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 13, Luke tells us that after Herod had sent Jesus back:

¹³ Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people. ¹⁴ He said to them, “You brought me this man. You said he was turning the people against the authorities. I have questioned him in front of you. I have found no basis for your charges against him. ¹⁵ Herod hasn’t either. So he sent Jesus back to us. As you can see, Jesus has done nothing that is worthy of death. ^16-17 So I will just have him whipped and let him go.”

¹⁸ But the whole crowd shouted, “Kill this man! But let Barabbas go!” ¹⁹ Barabbas had been thrown into prison. He had taken part in a struggle in the city against the authorities. He had also committed murder.

²⁰ Pilate wanted to let Jesus go. So he made an appeal to the crowd again. ²¹ But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

²² Pilate spoke to them for the third time. “Why?” he asked. “What wrong has this man done? I have found no reason to have him put to death. So I will just have him whipped and let him go.”

²³ But with loud shouts they kept calling for Jesus to be crucified. The people’s shouts won out. ²⁴ So Pilate decided to give them what they wanted. ²⁵ He set free the man they asked for. The man had been thrown in prison for murder and for fighting against the authorities. Pilate handed Jesus over to them so they could carry out their plans.

In this passage, Luke tells us that Barabbas had taken part in an uprising against the authorities and that Barabbas had committed murder. In an interesting, though disturbing twist, the religious leaders are guilty of both of these things. The religious leaders are set on murdering Jesus who has done nothing that would legally warrant death, at least in the eyes of both governors in the area, and the religious leaders and their crowd of supporters are getting so worked up over this one issue that they probably would have started a riot-rebellion in the city, just like Barabbas.

Also, in an odd sort of way, the religious leaders, while claiming to support Rome, are really allying with one of Rome’s enemies. By requesting Barabbas’ release, these leaders say with their actions that they would rather be led by a rebellious murderer than by a loving, miracle-worker who happened to push them spiritually.

Another thing I find fascinating in this passage is that Jesus willingly takes the place of a commandment-breaker. Not only is Barabbas guilty of murder, which is breaking one of the least contested laws in the Ten Commandments, Barabbas is also guilty of rebelling against the rulers of the land. While there is little that we can redeem from Roman culture that is worth mentioning here, God clearly saw the Roman Empire rise into power, and through Daniel’s prophecies, we discover that God may have even directed some of the events to take place.

While governments are not always positive, and while many things in governments around the world are not redeemable in any way, shape, or form, it is worth noting that these negative governments are only in place because God has let them be in place. While sometimes rebellion makes sense, I think that the attitude David has in the Old Testament may be a better approach to facing human governments.

In the Old Testament, David knows he will ultimately replace Saul as king of Israel. The prophet Samuel has anointed him, and he has the respect of many of the people after defeating Goliath. However, David is unwilling to press forward into the position everyone knows He is destined to be. Multiple times, David has the upper hand against Saul, and every time, David restrains himself and his men from lifting a hand against Saul, the ruler of the people. Saul repeatedly sets out to kill David, and while every time fails, many of these times result in Saul calling off the pursuit after David has clearly shown that he does not wish to harm Saul.

Barabbas is the complete opposite of David. Barabbas would likely have killed the emperor of Rome if he were given the chance. And Barabbas was the sinner Jesus chose to replace that weekend. Since Jesus was part of writing history, He could have picked any time and anyone to replace. Jesus chose to take the place of one of the worst people in society to show us God’s love towards us, and to give us a picture of God’s loving us while we were still rebellious sinners.

There were always going to be three crosses that weekend, and the center cross would have had Barabbas on it if it weren’t for Jesus. Jesus died that weekend not just for Barabbas, but for every rebellious person, every sinner, and everyone who has broken God’s law at any point in their past and at any point in history. With Jesus’ death, He is able to promise us a new life with Him and a future eternal life with God forever.

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

As always, be sure to seek God first in your life. Thank Jesus today for what He did for you and I on the cross that weekend, and thank Jesus for the gift He offers to you and me when we place our faith, belief, and trust in Him.

Also, be sure to always pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and discover the truth that God has for your life. While pastors, speakers, authors, or even bloggers or podcasters can give you ideas to think about, always filter what you hear, see, and read through the lens of the Bible. The Bible has stood the test of time as a reliable guide for our lives, and when something in our lives doesn’t make sense, the Bible should be the first place we look to for an answer.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, or rebel away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!