Reflective Bible Study

As we continue moving through Jesus life as recorded in Matthew’s gospel, we come to passage in Matthew’s gospel where the disciples ask Jesus a question, and mixed in with Jesus’ response is a warning that we all should pay attention to.

Our passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 18, and we will read it from the New International Version. Starting in verse 1, Matthew tells us that:

¹ At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

² He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. ³ And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Let’s pause reading our passage here, because I want to draw our attention onto something amazing. As this passage opens, some of the disciples come to Jesus with what seems like a simple and innocent question. These disciples want to know who the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is.

Perhaps something was lost in translation, or perhaps Jesus simply reads more directly into this question, but when I think about who the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is, I am left answering God, and this would include God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I would picture the Godhead as being the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

It’s possible Jesus would see things in a similar way, however, because He knew the follow-up question would be about who comes next, Jesus simply skips over God and answers this other question.

It is also possible that the disciples really want to know what characteristics God values from those living in heaven, and Jesus decides to answer this question as well.

While the disciples likely didn’t expect Jesus’ response, I’m sure it definitely challenged their way of thinking, because Jesus calls a child over to them and uses this child as an example of what we should be like. One of the other gospel writers who included this event implies that Jesus called over an infant or a toddler, which emphasizes His point even more. If we don’t recapture certain aspects of children, then we will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

What aspects might Jesus be referring to?

When I think about the answer to this question, I would have to conclude that faith, trust, love, and a desire to be obedient. When I think about my children at the age that this child may have been, I can see how these characteristics are clearly visible. While I am not a perfect dad by any stretch of the imagination, I know that when I looked into the eyes of each of my children at this age, their eyes showed love, trust, and faith. Also at this age, while it was sometimes annoying for my wife and I as parents, each child wanted to help and do things for themselves even if it would have been easier had mommy or daddy helped.

I believe God wants all of us to experience the same type of trust when we look at Him. While life is more complex as an adult than it is as a child, our spiritual lives are not meant to be complicated. Instead, a simple faith is a more significant faith, and a simple trust in God is a profound trust in God.

This passage then shifts over to warning about those who cause others to stumble. Jesus shares some pretty harsh words towards them. Let’s continue and read the warning Jesus shared. Continuing in verse 6, Matthew tells us that:

⁶ “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

⁷ Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! ⁸ If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. (And then some manuscripts add or exclude verse 11, which says: ^[11] For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.)

In this passage, Jesus challenges those who cause “little ones” to stumble. He says some pretty harsh things about them. In the context of this passage, Jesus could be referring to literal children, as well as those who are childlike in their faith and those who are new to the faith. We can understand this challenge from quite a number of different angles, and the more angles we have, the more challenging this challenge becomes.

However, I believe Jesus is calling all God’s people to a simple, trusting, faith – specifically a faith that believes that the best is coming and a faith that doesn’t need all the answers.

The only other section of this passage that I want to focus on briefly is Jesus’ challenge that it is better for us to enter life with only one eye or one hand or one foot. While this makes an interesting mental image of lots of disabled people in heaven, I believe Jesus is reemphasizing that we shouldn’t let anything cause our faith to stumble, even if it is a part of our bodies.

For the record, I don’t believe there will be injured or disabled people in heaven because Jesus has promised us new bodies that haven’t been tainted by sin. Our new bodies will be perfect, and while I have no idea what perfect means in this context, I am left having faith that I don’t need to know now, because when the time comes, I will be more than happy with the results.

When we have questions that challenge our faith, we shouldn’t let the questions shake what we believe. If the question can be answered, then great. However, if the question does not have an answer, or if the answer is something that can only be known after history has come to an end, then we should leave the question unanswered and hold tightly to our simple faith.

God has given us enough evidence for His existence and enough evidence to show us His character. It is up to us to open our eyes to the evidence He has given and to have faith that looks past the doubt and into the promises He has given to us about our future with Him!

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 purposefully place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus and what He accomplished for each of us when He came to this earth to face the cross.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and strengthen your relationship with God. Through prayer and Bible study, we can know what God is really like, and we can fall in love with Him like He has fallen in love with each of us!

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!

Most of the time, when thinking about where to start reading on the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, we begin when Jesus and His followers arrive in Gethsemane, and Jesus starts the night out in prayer. While we have just finished looking at a powerful prayer Jesus prayed from John’s gospel, Jesus wasn’t finished with His prayers this night.

Several of the gospel writers include Jesus praying in Gethsemane and for our time together in this episode, let’s focus in on Mark’s gospel, and maybe pull in a detail or two from another gospel if we have time. Our passage is found in the gospel of Mark, chapter 14, and we will be reading from the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 32, Mark tells us that:

³² They came to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³ He took Peter, James, and John with him. Distress and anguish came over him, ³⁴ and he said to them, “The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Stay here and keep watch.”

³⁵ He went a little farther on, threw himself on the ground, and prayed that, if possible, he might not have to go through that time of suffering. ³⁶ “Father,” he prayed, “my Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want.”

³⁷ Then he returned and found the three disciples asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Weren’t you able to stay awake for even one hour?” ³⁸ And he said to them, “Keep watch, and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

³⁹ He went away once more and prayed, saying the same words. ⁴⁰ Then he came back to the disciples and found them asleep; they could not keep their eyes open. And they did not know what to say to him.

⁴¹ When he came back the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come! Look, the Son of Man is now being handed over to the power of sinners. ⁴² Get up, let us go. Look, here is the man who is betraying me!”

In this passage, we discover that Jesus prayed three similar, if not identical, prayers. In these prayers, we discover some amazing ideas, both about Jesus and about God the Father. While it would be nice to know more of Jesus’ prayer here than what is included, it is likely that only God and the angels know, since these three closest disciples could not keep their eyes and ears open. While it’s possible that the other, larger group of disciples did stay awake, they were outside of earshot of Jesus’ prayer, and possibly talking amongst themselves.

Our passage includes the simple, profound opening to Jesus’ prayer and in this prayer, we see Jesus’ humanity, His humility, and His heart. Jesus opening to His prayer is basically, “Father, All things are possible for you. Take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want.”

In these four phrases, we see an amazing progression. First, Jesus starts out by acknowledging God as His Father. Jesus describes God the way He teaches us to describe God, simply as our Father.

Next, Jesus acknowledges that anything and everything is possible for God. If God wanted to, He could do anything. Jesus describes the all-powerful, or omnipotent, nature of God.

Then, after laying the foundation of God’s ability to do anything, Jesus makes the request. Jesus asks for the cup of suffering to be taken away from Him. While there were many layers of suffering that Jesus went through that night, we cannot even begin to know or understand what Jesus was going through. Some scholars say that here in Gethsemane, Jesus was receiving the weight of the sins of the human race on His shoulders, and it nearly crushed Him. In this request, we see Jesus’ humanity and a request for help.

If Jesus’ prayer had ended here, it’s possible that God would have come down and rescued Jesus, abandoning the human race to sin. God had placed the cross within Jesus’ power to face or not face, as we saw looking back at how John’s gospel introduces us to the Last Supper, and if there hadn’t been an additional line, we might not have a crucifixion to look back to.

Instead, Jesus follows His request with a bold statement of submission: “Yet not what I want, but what you want.” In this statement, Jesus basically lets God know His request, but He leaves it up to God whether this request is in the best interest for God’s plan. While the cross was Jesus’ decision to make, Jesus’ prayer tells us that He doesn’t make the decision alone.

In this prayer, and how Jesus ends it, we discover a powerful truth about God the Father. If God the Father did not love the human race, Jesus would not have faced the cross. Jesus asks the Father to take the cup of suffering away from Him, but He leaves it up to God.

Jesus’ prayer, and God’s response, or lack thereof, shows us the truth of the most famous passage in the entire Bible: John, chapter 3, verse 16. This passage John included early on in His gospel tells us that “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.” God the Father loved us enough to let Jesus face the cross to save each of us, and this is powerful to know.

God does answer Jesus’ prayer in a way that is helpful but not one that sacrificed the mission. Luke’s gospel described what happened. Luke, chapter 22, verses 43 and 44 tell us that after Jesus prayed this prayer: “An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. In great anguish he prayed even more fervently; his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” Luke tells us that an angel appears to encourage Jesus and He prays even more passionately after this. Luke describes Jesus’ sweat appearing like drops of blood, and whether this was because Jesus had actual blood mixed with His sweat, which is possible, or whether Jesus’ sweat was dripping off His body like blood would if He were cut and the wound hadn’t closed up yet, we see how emotionally intense this night and prayer was to Jesus.

While it would be nice to know more of Jesus’ prayer following this, what we have in Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane is another powerful model we can use when praying to God. When praying using Jesus’ model, we begin by acknowledging God as our Father, and we acknowledge His ability to answer our request. Nothing is impossible for God to accomplish.

We then make our request like Jesus did, before finishing by asking God for His will to be done with our request, and not our own.

After praying in this way, we should move forward in life trusting that God has answered our prayer, and if our request isn’t granted the way we prayed, then we can know that our request isn’t beneficial for God’s kingdom like we might have thought it would have been. I doubt God will answer any prayer we pray that would result in us being excluded from heaven. God looks at life through the lens of eternity, and His ultimate goal is saving as many people as possible for eternity.

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

If your prayers to God have been more self-serving lately, the challenge I have for you is to frame your requests the same way Jesus framed His request. I don’t believe God is annoyed when we ask for things, but when we ask God for help or things, we should acknowledge that His will should be done. In this way, we clearly remind ourselves that God is first in our lives and we submit to His direction and leading.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God. While pastors, authors, speakers, or even a podcaster can give you ideas to think about, never put anyone between you and God. God wants a personal relationship with you, and He doesn’t want to filter His truth to you through other people.

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

As we continue our way through the second half of Matthew’s gospel, we come to an event that only Matthew includes, and this is an event that doesn’t seem to have any resolution, except that this event likely happens exactly as Jesus describes. After all, Jesus describes other events in detail and they happen just as Jesus predicted, so there is no reason in my mind to doubt that this event happened exactly the way Jesus predicted it.

However, in this event, we also see a parallel to one of the biggest themes in the entire Bible, and when I saw this theme in this event, I have a hard time unseeing it.

Let’s read what happened and discover what this short passage teaches us about God’s character. Our passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 17, and we will be reading from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 24, Matthew tells us that:

²⁴ When Jesus and his followers came to Capernaum, the men who collected the Temple tax came to Peter. They asked, “Does your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

²⁵ Peter answered, “Yes, Jesus pays the tax.”

Peter went into the house, but before he could speak, Jesus said to him, “What do you think? The kings of the earth collect different kinds of taxes. But who pays the taxes—the king’s children or others?”

²⁶ Peter answered, “Other people pay the taxes.”

Jesus said to Peter, “Then the children of the king don’t have to pay taxes. ²⁷ But we don’t want to upset these tax collectors. So go to the lake and fish. After you catch the first fish, open its mouth and you will find a coin. Take that coin and give it to the tax collectors for you and me.”

With this verse, our event ends. We are left to conclude that this event happened exactly as Jesus described to Peter. However, in this event, I find it fascinating that when these tax collectors come, they ask Peter whether Jesus pays the temple tax. This is interesting in my mind because these tax collectors don’t ask Peter if he pays the tax or if any of the other disciples pay the tax.

This got me thinking about what this tax was. A quick search located the verses talking about the Temple Tax in the book of Exodus, chapter 30. Verses 12-14 describe this tax saying: “When you take a census of the Israelites, each person must pay the Lord a ransom for his life when he is counted. Then no plague will happen to them when they are counted. As each person is counted, he must give one-fifth of an ounce of silver using the standard weight of the holy place. This one-fifth of an ounce of silver is a contribution to the Lord. Everyone counted who is at least 20 years old must give this contribution to the Lord.”

From this reference in the Old Testament, and from how these tax collectors frame their question to Peter, we see a strong clue that all of Jesus’ disciples looked like they were less than 20 years old, and with the exception of Peter, who might have looked younger, they all were less than 20. Peter likely was older than 20, because Jesus tells Peter to use what he catches with the fish to pay the tax for the two of them.

However, while we have this huge clue about the disciples’ ages hidden in the details of this event, what is more amazing are the details surrounding who actually pays the temple tax in this event. When we ask ourselves the question about where the coin came from to pay the tax, we discover something amazing.

On first glance, it appeared as though Peter paid the temple tax, but the coin Peter used was not Peter’s. The coin Peter used wasn’t even Jesus’ or from the money that had been gifted or given to Jesus and His disciples. Instead, the coin came to Peter in the most unusual way.

For the events to happen just like Jesus described, the only possible explanation is that God’s hand was clearly at work in this event. Either God created a coin in the fish’s mouth when Peter hooked it, or an angel directed a coin to fall into the water, a fish to catch the coin in its mouth, and then direct that fish to Peter’s hook at the exact point in time that Peter was down at the lake fishing. All while keeping the other fish away so that this would be the first fish Peter caught.

Everything in this event speaks to God being the ultimate source of the coin used to pay the temple tax. This means that in this event, God pays His own tax. While I don’t know if Jesus would have paid the tax if these tax collectors had asked Him directly, but because they ask Peter, and because Peter promises before thinking, Jesus steps in with a solution.

This event has a huge theme tucked within it that tells us God is willing to help us when we have messed up and made mistakes. While Jesus’ mission to earth guarantees and pays for everything we need for a future life in Heaven, this event with the fish and the temple tax teach us that God is even willing to help us when we mess up in this life and over promise when we can only under-deliver. God is interested in our lives on this earth, and He is willing to help us save face by providing us a way out.

The Temple Tax collectors likely had no idea where the coin came from, and even if Peter had told them, they probably wouldn’t have believed him. However, in this event, God pays His own tax, and this tax is supposed to be paid by others. When we are adopted into God’s family, He pays the spiritual tax that we owe, and He helps us leave our past behind as we begin a new life with Him. Our life in God’s family can begin today, and our life in God’s family extends into eternity!

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

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first and accept the gift of adoption into His family. Place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus and thank Jesus for everything He has blessed us with through what He did for us and through what He is still doing for us in heaven. Be sure to thank God for paying the tax that we owe, and thank Him for taking an interest in our lives.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and discover what God is truly like. God the Father is not the mean, judgmental God that some people think He is. God the Father is a God who loves us so much that He paid the tax and debt we owed. Jesus’ death isn’t about forgiving us as much as it is actually paying the debt that we owed. We can be forgiven because Jesus paid our debt! Take this truth, and study it out for yourself through prayer and reading the pages of God’s Word. Discover a God who loves you more than you can imagine, and a God who wants to save you 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 give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

After Jesus had finished sharing with His disciples, John’s gospel records Jesus praying a prayer that is both powerful and profound. While I was tempted to split this prayer up into multiple episodes, I decided not to. Instead, let’s read Jesus’ prayer with minimal interruption, to get an amazing picture of Jesus’ heart. Afterwards, I’ll share one or two things that stood out to me during the brief bit of time we have left.

This passage and prayer is found in John’s gospel, chapter 17, and we will read it from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹ After Jesus had finished speaking to his disciples, he looked up toward heaven and prayed:

Father, the time has come for you to bring glory to your Son, in order that he may bring glory to you. ² And you gave him power over all people, so that he would give eternal life to everyone you give him. ³ Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent. ⁴ I have brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you gave me to do. ⁵ Now, Father, give me back the glory that I had with you before the world was created.

⁶ You have given me some followers from this world, and I have shown them what you are like. They were yours, but you gave them to me, and they have obeyed you. ⁷ They know that you gave me everything I have. ⁸ I told my followers what you told me, and they accepted it. They know that I came from you, and they believe that you are the one who sent me. ⁹ I am praying for them, but not for those who belong to this world. My followers belong to you, and I am praying for them. ¹⁰ All that I have is yours, and all that you have is mine, and they will bring glory to me.

¹¹ Holy Father, I am no longer in the world. I am coming to you, but my followers are still in the world. So keep them safe by the power of the name that you have given me. Then they will be one with each other, just as you and I are one. ¹² While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost, except the one who had to be lost. This happened so that what the Scriptures say would come true.

¹³ I am on my way to you. But I say these things while I am still in the world, so that my followers will have the same complete joy that I do. ¹⁴ I have told them your message. But the people of this world hate them, because they don’t belong to this world, just as I don’t.

¹⁵ Father, I don’t ask you to take my followers out of the world, but keep them safe from the evil one. ¹⁶ They don’t belong to this world, and neither do I. ¹⁷ Your word is the truth. So let this truth make them completely yours. ¹⁸ I am sending them into the world, just as you sent me. ¹⁹ I have given myself completely for their sake, so that they may belong completely to the truth.

²⁰ I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. ²¹ I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me.

²² I have honored my followers in the same way that you honored me, in order that they may be one with each other, just as we are one. ²³ I am one with them, and you are one with me, so that they may become completely one. Then this world’s people will know that you sent me. They will know that you love my followers as much as you love me.

²⁴ Father, I want everyone you have given me to be with me, wherever I am. Then they will see the glory that you have given me, because you loved me before the world was created. ²⁵ Good Father, the people of this world don’t know you. But I know you, and my followers know that you sent me. ²⁶ I told them what you are like, and I will tell them even more. Then the love that you have for me will become part of them, and I will be one with them.

The prayer Jesus gives in this passage is amazing. One verse in particular stands out in my mind because it describes future followers of Jesus, including you and me. Verse 20 tells us Jesus prayed, “I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me.” Those of us living today have faith because of what Jesus’ original followers told the world, and because the message of Jesus spread through the centuries moving forward in history. In this verse, Jesus extends His prayer to include Christians throughout the last section of history.

The other verses that stood out to me have to do with what Jesus prayed immediately before verse 20. Verses 15-19 say that Jesus prayed: “Father, I don’t ask you to take my followers out of the world, but keep them safe from the evil one. They don’t belong to this world, and neither do I. Your word is the truth. So let this truth make them completely yours. I am sending them into the world, just as you sent me. I have given myself completely for their sake, so that they may belong completely to the truth.”

In this part of Jesus’ prayer, He tells us that God’s word is truth, and that when Jesus’ followers accept God’s word as truth, we don’t belong to the world but to God. Jesus isn’t praying for God to remove us from the world, even if that would be desirable, but that He will keep us safe as He sends us into the world.

This passage contains a commission for Jesus’ followers. In this section of Jesus’ prayer, we see a challenge for Jesus’ followers to take God’s truth and share it with the world. Jesus gave Himself completely for us, and through Jesus’ sacrifice, God was able to grant us the gift of eternal life that we don’t deserve because Jesus took the punishment that He did not deserve. Jesus gave His life for His followers and for God’s people who have chosen to follow Him over what the world wants to pressure people to believe. Through Jesus’ death and believing God’s truth, we are God’s people while we live here in this world and we will ultimately live forever with God moving forward into eternity.

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

Choose to follow and obey God’s truth over whatever “truth” the world wants to pressure you to believe. We can know God’s truth through what the Bible teaches. The Bible remains consistent even when every generation in history decides to change the definition of truth.

Also, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself to discover what it actually says. While people in history have taken verses and ideas from the Bible to make them fit with their own beliefs, God has called us to build our beliefs with the Bible as the foundation, and to reject the lies of the world. Don’t let me or anyone else dictate what you should believe. Instead, build your belief through prayer and personal study.

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!