Reflective Bible Study

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!

As we near the end of Matthew’s gospel, I debated whether to include Matthew’s passage focusing on Jesus’ crucifixion or not. As I looked at what Matthew’s gospel includes in this event, and what I want to cover for the rest of the episodes this year, I decided it makes sense to jump over the point of Jesus’ death, and look at what Matthew’ gospel tells us happened right after Jesus’ death. In the entire crucifixion record, only Matthew includes a key set of verses that sets the stage for what happens on Resurrection morning, and it makes a lot of sense in my mind to focus on these verses leading up to the resurrection.

Leading into this set of verses, Matthew draws our attention onto a previously unknown disciple, and we discover that this disciple steps into the spotlight at just the right moment in history.

Our passage for this episode is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 27, and we will read it from the Contemporary English Version. Starting in verse 57, Matthew tells us:

⁵⁷ That evening a rich disciple named Joseph from the town of Arimathea ⁵⁸ went and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate gave orders for it to be given to Joseph, ⁵⁹ who took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. ⁶⁰ Then Joseph put the body in his own tomb that had been cut into solid rock and had never been used. He rolled a big stone against the entrance to the tomb and went away.

⁶¹ All this time Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb.

Let’s pause reading here for a brief moment because I want to emphasize something that we might not immediately see from a simple reading. When Joseph from Arimathea steps onto the scene asking for Jesus’ body and placing Jesus’ body in his own tomb, we discover that this benefits everyone. This benefits Jesus’ disciples, the women who followed Jesus, and even the religious leaders. If no one had claimed Jesus’ body, it would have been thrown into the trash hole with all the other bodies to be buried or burned.

Joseph, while described as a disciple in this passage, steps into history at just the right moment as a neutral party with just what everyone in this event needs. Everyone needs a place for Jesus’ body to lay and a place that is clearly defined.

Most of the gospels include this detail, but what Matthew tells us next is fascinating and unique to his gospel. Continuing in verse 62, Matthew tells us:

⁶² On the next day, which was a Sabbath, the chief priests and the Pharisees went together to Pilate. ⁶³ They said, “Sir, we remember what that liar said while he was still alive. He claimed that in three days he would come back from death. ⁶⁴ So please order the tomb to be carefully guarded for three days. If you don’t, his disciples may come and steal his body. They will tell the people that he has been raised to life, and this last lie will be worse than the first one.”

⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “All right, take some of your soldiers and guard the tomb as well as you know how.” ⁶⁶ So they sealed it tight and placed soldiers there to guard it.

On this Sabbath day, when the Pharisees and chief priests should have been resting, they were clearly worried about Jesus. It is amazing to think that while these leaders call Jesus a liar, they actually took His words about being raised seriously and are scared of the consequences if something should happen to His body.

It is almost funny to think that those most concerned about the protection of Jesus’ body in this entire event are the people who called Jesus a liar and the ones who put Him to death. While some of the disciples and the women who followed Jesus wanted access to His body to prepare it for burial, only the religious leaders were worried about the body disappearing.

In their attempts to keep Jesus’ body secure, the religious leaders actually place the most valid witnesses present at the tomb for the greatest event in history. While these soldiers appeared to be bribable, they were witnesses everyone could believe – that is except for the story the religious leaders try to bribe them to tell. The lie we will learn about in the next episode is less believable than the truth.

The last section of this passage is also fascinating in my mind. Pilate agrees to the religious leaders’ request. He tells the religious leaders to take their own guards and seal the tomb as well as they know how. The way Pilate frames this request is interesting in my mind. While traditional thought would believe Pilate loaned some of his own soldiers to the religious leaders, the way this translation of Matthew’s gospel frames this event, it is possible that Pilate told the religious leaders to use their own guards and to do the best they could.

It is interesting that Matthew frames Pilate’s message in this way because when we look a little later, it seems that these guards are both under the religious leaders command but also answerable to Pilate the governor. It is likely that with how Pilate frames this message that many of these guards at the tomb were among the mob that arrested Jesus and were present throughout His trial, beating, abuse, and crucifixion.

If the mob that came to arrest Jesus in the night scattered Jesus’ disciples, they were the perfect people to use to keep Jesus’ disciples away from the tomb.

The way Pilate frames his last statement is also interesting because it leaves open the subtle belief that the religious leaders were powerless to stop Jesus from doing what Jesus was going to do. While the religious leaders call Jesus a liar, they openly tell Pilate that Jesus predicted His own resurrection, and I think Pilate likely believed Jesus’ prediction over the Pharisee’s description.

All the plotting, worrying, and conspiring to keep Jesus’ body secure is actually a side story on this Sabbath Jesus was resting in the tomb. The bigger, amazing, massive, and also ignored significance of this Sabbath is that it marks the finished work of salvation. This Sabbath mirrors the Sabbath that was blessed and sanctified at the conclusion of creation week, and this Sabbath is forever significant as the point in History Jesus rested from His work of Salvation.

While Jesus has more to do for all of God’s people, Jesus gets a day of rest following the biggest event in the history of the universe, and the most significant event in our salvation story!

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 and choose to accept Jesus as your Savior and accept the gift He gives to each of us that was purchased with His life. Don’t discount what Jesus did for each of us on the cross as something that was insignificant as I have seen some people do. Instead, take this event and study it to discover just how much God loves you and me!

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to grow a personal relationship with God. Choose to spend time praying and studying to grow personally closer to God and to fall in love with Him like He has fallen in love with you. Discover in the pages of the Bible, a God who gives us Himself because He wants to be with you, me, and everyone in history who is willing to accept His gift for eternity!

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

If you have ever wondered if Jesus tried to force His way into fulfilling prophecy, our passage for this episode sheds light on how unlikely this could be. In our last episode, we looked at how Matthew’s gospel records the time Jesus takes His last breath on the cross, and the amazing things that happened when Jesus gave up His Spirit.

To follow up what we looked at in Matthew’s gospel, John’s gospel records some other interesting details relating to what happened after Jesus had died. From John’s gospel, we discover some very difficult to reconcile prophecies that were fulfilled following Jesus’ death if you believe Jesus tried to force His way into fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah. In John’s gospel, we discover just how eerily accurate the Old Testament pointed towards Jesus as the Messiah.

Our passage for this episode is found in John’s gospel, chapter 19, and we will be reading it from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 28, John describes the moment Jesus dies by telling us:

²⁸ After this, when Jesus knew that everything had now been finished, he said, “I’m thirsty.” He said this so that Scripture could finally be concluded.

²⁹ A jar filled with vinegar was there. So the soldiers put a sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick and held it to his mouth.

³⁰ After Jesus had taken the vinegar, he said, “It is finished!”

Then he bowed his head and died.

³¹ Since it was Friday and the next day was an especially important day of rest—a holy day, the Jews didn’t want the bodies to stay on the crosses. So they asked Pilate to have the men’s legs broken and their bodies removed. ³² The soldiers broke the legs of the first man and then of the other man who had been crucified with Jesus.

³³ When the soldiers came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they didn’t break his legs. ³⁴ However, one of the soldiers stabbed Jesus’ side with his spear, and blood and water immediately came out. ³⁵ The one who saw this is an eyewitness. What he says is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth so that you, too, will believe.

³⁶ This happened so that the Scripture would come true: “None of his bones will be broken.” ³⁷ Another Scripture passage says, “They will look at the person whom they have stabbed.”

In this passage, we discover three prophecies that were fulfilled in Jesus’ time on the cross. Two episodes ago, when we looked at how John’s gospel describes the early portion of Jesus’ time on the cross, we discovered another prophecy that was fulfilled related to how Jesus’ clothing would be divided and gambled for.

Throughout the entire event of the cross, at least four prophecies concerning the Messiah were fulfilled, and only one of these four Jesus had any direct involvement in. It was predicted that He would say He was thirsty while dying and this fulfilled one of the Old Testament predictions. Jesus did step into the role of Messiah willingly.

However, earlier in John’s gospel, we learned that the dividing and gambling of Jesus’ clothing was predicted, and this was not something Jesus had any control over. And then we conclude this passage and learn that Jesus was stabbed instead of having His legs broken. This was not something Jesus could have directed, and the soldiers likely could not have cared less about whether they were fulfilling a Jewish prophecy or not.

Using an unscientific ratio from just this event, if 25% of the prophecies about Jesus were under His control while 75% of the prophecies were not, the amazing reality that Jesus fulfilled so much of the Old Testament predictions regarding the Messiah are overwhelming. This was not something Jesus could force His way into. Even if we were to flip the ratio and say that 75% of the prophecies were within Jesus’ control, the remaining 25% is impressive enough of an amount that we should take note.

Earlier this year, we looked at how Jesus’ betrayal was predicted, the price that was paid for this betrayal was also predicted, and how the money was used after it was returned was also predicted. All this was also outside of Jesus’ direct control, and it was orchestrated by people who should have known better if they wanted to keep Jesus’ life and death from fulfilling prophecy. Their ignorance, or simply ignoring the knowledge they did have, incriminates them because they play into prophecy’s hand.

During Jesus’ crucifixion and death, we discover another group of people who fulfill a section of Old Testament prophecies and we discover that this group wouldn’t know or even care that they were doing so. The Roman soldiers follow a surprisingly specific set of conditions that were prophesied centuries earlier, and any thought that they intentionally orchestrated it is ridiculous when we look at Jewish vs. Roman hostility towards each another.

All this fulfilled prophecy speaks to one simple truth: Jesus is God’s Son and the Messiah God promised to the world! This truth is simple to acknowledge, a little more challenging to accept, and impossible to fully understand.

John writes that he personally witnessed the details that are described here, and that he shares them so that those who follow Jesus and who want to know God better can believe like he believes in Jesus.

Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we discover the picture of History. History is God’s story, and the high point of God’s story is displayed at Jesus’ death and resurrection. The entire scriptures point us to pay attention to Jesus.

When we pay attention to Jesus, we discover who He truly is, and we can then put our faith, hope, trust, and belief in Him. Through the record of the cross, we discover how much God loves us and what He was willing to give to restore our relationship with Him. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we have the offer of a new, eternal life with God!

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

Always seek God first and intentionally focus on Jesus in your life. When looking at your life, your history, and your future, intentionally choose to see yourself in the big picture of history – specifically in the picture of God’s story. Our lives only make sense when we begin to see them through the eyes of Jesus’ sacrifice.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself and intentionally study the scriptures with the understanding that Jesus is the focus. Only when we place Jesus as the focal point of scripture will we begin to discover God’s amazing love for His fallen creation. Decide today that you will discover this truth for yourself by praying and studying the Bible for yourself.

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!