Reflective Bible Study

As we move through this year looking at the miracles of Jesus, we come to a very unique, one of a kind, miracle. This miracle is the only one that Jesus ever did that holds this specific characteristic. While many of Jesus’ miracles are included in multiple gospels, and while some of the miracles are reserved for only John’s gospel, Matthew’s gospel, or Luke’s gospel, only one miracle is exclusive to Mark’s gospel. I don’t know why Matthew and/or Luke chose not to include this miracle, while Mark did, but when we read about what happened, we discover something powerful about Jesus’ miracle working ability, and through this miracle, we learn about faith in Jesus.

Let’s read this miracle, then dive into what we can learn from what happened. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 8, and we will read it from the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 22, Mark tells us that:

²² They came to Bethsaida, where some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch him. ²³ Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. After spitting on the man’s eyes, Jesus placed his hands on him and asked him, “Can you see anything?”

²⁴ The man looked up and said, “Yes, I can see people, but they look like trees walking around.”

²⁵ Jesus again placed his hands on the man’s eyes. This time the man looked intently, his eyesight returned, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ Jesus then sent him home with the order, “Don’t go back into the village.”

On the surface, this passage contains a pretty routine miracle, except for the detail that it appeared as though Jesus did not get the healing right the first time. In a strange turn of events, Jesus has to redo the miracle for it to work fully.

Why might this have been? In my own mind, we can discover the answer by stepping back through this miracle and the details that were shared leading up to Jesus being alone with this man. We discover the answer and a powerful insight when we ask the question: Where is faith displayed in this event?

The first place we see faith in this passage is with the people in the village. While these people probably want the blind man to be healed, they are probably more interested in simply seeing a miracle than they are in the actual wellbeing of the man himself. Those present likely wanted one more reason to praise Jesus as a person, and it is less likely they were the sort of people who would have praised God. It may even be possible that these people disliked God, because of what they saw displayed in the lives and attitudes of the religious leaders, but they liked Jesus.

However, Jesus came to give praise and glory to God, and Jesus came to show us what God the Father is like. Jesus is not interested in receiving the praise of these people. So Jesus takes the man outside of town, and away from the faith of this group of people.

At this point in the event, we have Jesus, the blind man, and perhaps the disciples outside of the village. We only can assume the disciples are present because we know the details of what happened, but other than this, we are given a picture that contains simply Jesus and the blind man.

With these two people present, where is faith displayed?

In Jesus’ case, He has all the faith He needs, but He also doesn’t want to force His will on people. Jesus loves each of us and while He wants to save us, He is also mature enough to know that there will be those who reject Him. Because of this, it is unlikely that Jesus uses His measure of faith in this miracle.

This leaves us with the blind man and his faith. We don’t know much about this man but since the man had an idea of what trees looked like, it is possible that he wasn’t born blind, but instead became blind through some injury, illness, or situation. It is also possible that this man had tried anything and everything he could to heal his blindness.

When Jesus steps onto the scene, and rumors spread about His ability to heal people, this man likely gets a sliver of hope, but he has experienced getting his hopes dashed enough times that he doesn’t want to put too much faith in Jesus’ ability.

In this passage, we discover that other people bring the man to Jesus, and this could be because he had reservations about going to Jesus himself. When Jesus pulls him away from the crowd, the man may have even thought that Jesus wanted to let him know privately that He could not heal him, while saving face with those who believed Him to be a miracle worker.

There is a lot in this passage to suggest that the man did not have much faith in Jesus’ miracle working ability, but there was a sliver of hope present. After spitting on the man’s eyes, Jesus asks him in verse 23, “Can you see anything?”

Verse 24 tells us that “The man looked up and said, ‘Yes, I can see people, but they look like trees walking around.’”

In this verse, we see the man look up, but not much had improved. Perhaps the man was so doubtful that he hadn’t expected anything to happen because he was afraid of getting his hopes dashed again. But with Jesus, a small sliver of hope and faith broke through in this partial miracle. The man experienced a change greater than what he had expected. Jesus had taken the tiny, mustard-seed-sized faith the man had and turned it into more than the man thought possible.

But Jesus wasn’t finished yet, Jesus wanted the man to regain all his eyesight. So Jesus repeats the miracle, but this second time, we see a different response from the man. Verse 25 tells us that, “This time the man looked intently, his eyesight returned, and he saw everything clearly”.

With the second miracle, we see the man displaying greater faith. After seeing a sliver of improvement, the man is ready to let his hope and faith loose. After the second time Jesus placed His hands on the man’s eyes, Mark tells us that the man “looked intently”. This was the look of faith, and it was the look of expectation. With this second take of the miracle, the man wanted and believed that healing was possible – and his faith in Jesus healed him.

While Jesus could have brought the man back into the village, Jesus knew the man did not live there. So Jesus sends the man home, telling him to go a different way, because Jesus knows the man will praise and give God thanks, and Jesus isn’t interested and He doesn’t need the crowd’s praise.

In this unique-to-Mark’s gospel miracle, we see the amazing truth that our answers to prayer will likely be relative to the faith we have. If we have a visible faith that actively moves towards our prayers, it is likely that we will ultimately receive answers. But if our faith is weak or non-existent, and we pray without any visible movement, then it is possible our prayers will be weak and/or remain unanswered.

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 make your faith in God visible. Don’t shy away from sharing why you have hope in a world full of chaos, and give God the credit for everything He has done for you leading you towards salvation and eternal life.

Also, be sure to intentionally pray and study the Bible for yourself, learning from the best source we have about what God is like. I once heard someone say that God is good but He isn’t safe. I can understand this idea, but is it in the Bible? When faced with challenges, ideas, or thoughts to ponder, take these thoughts to the Bible and let God’s Holy Spirit help you discover the answers 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!

As Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem and towards the crucifixion weekend, one of the miracles we read about stand out in my mind in a powerful way. This particular miracle stands out in my mind when we look closely at what one of those who was healed risks when he deviates from what he was instructed to do.

We can find this miracle in Luke’s gospel, chapter 17, and we will read it from the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 11, we read that:

¹¹ While He [speaking of Jesus] was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; ¹³ and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” ¹⁴ When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. ¹⁵ Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, ¹⁶ and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? ¹⁸ Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”

This passage is amazing in my mind, and it stands out to me because of what is said, and what is truly risked. The implication I often hear when this passage is shared is that the other nine cleansed lepers were not thankful to be healed because they didn’t return.

However, this makes no sense. All ten men had been outcasts of society and the fact that they ask for Jesus to be merciful to them tells us that they all wanted to be included back into society.

Instead, what we find is that all ten men believe Jesus’ promise to go show themselves to the priests, and all ten men set out towards Jerusalem and the temple. On the way, probably not very far into their journey, they realize that they have been healed.

It is at this point that each man faces a dilemma.

Each man was healed because he was obeying Jesus’ command to go show himself to the priests, but the trip to Jerusalem will take several days and there would be no telling where Jesus would be after they had seen the priests and have been declared clean or healed.

With the exception of the one man who returned, the other nine, who I am sure were incredibly grateful towards Jesus and God for their healing, resolved even harder to make it to the priests to confirm what they believed had already happened. Nothing would stop these nine from finishing their mission because a completed visit with a priest would solidify their status back into the community. The challenge comes with finding Jesus after their trip, which I doubt would be possible since Jesus was headed for the cross.

The exception to the group was the one former leper who decided to return to thank Jesus. By choosing to delay going to see the priest, this Samaritan actually risks losing out on being healed because he stopped the task Jesus asked him to do. Jesus applauds this foreigner’s faith in God and the risk he took to return to give thanks and tells him that his faith has made him well.

We can easily assume that the Samaritan who came back was able to catch up to his friends on their way to visit the priest to be declared clean, or that his trip was successful following returning to say thanks.

From this event, we can see several big themes that are worth applying into our lives.

The first theme is that while the Samaritan is singled out because he returned, the implication is that some in this group were Samaritans while others were Jews. With this miracle, Jesus demonstrates that God is willing to help and heal regardless of any racial tension. God doesn’t show racial favoritism with who He decides to help. This is important because most of us living today are neither Samaritan nor Jew, but we can trust that God still loves each of us and that Jesus was willing to die in our place as sinners.

The second big theme I see is that there is never a wrong time to stop and be grateful towards God for what He has done in our lives. While the Samaritan who came back risked losing his healing, the truth of the matter is that God honors our gratefulness, and He is happy to help us when we are grateful and willing to give Him the glory.

The third big theme in this passage is that sometimes we have to obey before we see God’s hand working in our lives. The leprous men had to start their journey to the priest before they received their healing, and in our own lives, we may need to step out in faith and obedience before seeing Jesus show up in our own lives.

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

Be sure to give God praise and thanks for everything He has blessed you with in your life. Intentionally choose to live a life of gratefulness towards God and those He has brought into your life.

Also, choose to grow closer to Him by praying and studying the Bible for yourself each and every day. Regular prayer and Bible study are the best ways to grow a personal relationship with God and to discover how to be obedient to His voice.

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

In two of the gospels, specifically Matthew and Mark, we discover a miracle that seems similar to one that we have already focused in on, but one that is quite profound when we look at how it is different from the other miracle. The other miracle is the only miracle that all four gospel writers included, and when I say that, you may remember that the miracle I’m referring to is the feeding of the crowd of more than 5,000 that we spent two episodes focusing in on.

However, lesser known is another miracle, where Jesus feeds a crowd larger than 4,000. While some people might think that these two miracles were the same, there is enough evidence and uniqueness in what happens in this episode’s miracle to clearly point to this being a separate event. And as a separate event, this miracle has some profound themes we can learn from.

Our passage for this episode comes from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 15, and we will read it from the New Living Translation of the Bible. Starting in verse 32, Matthew tells us:

³² Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”

³³ The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”

Let’s pause here for a moment because I want to draw out a couple things that we can already see in the verses leading up to the miracle. First off, this miracle is prompted by Jesus’ compassion and the necessity of the situation. Three days with Jesus away from towns in the wilderness is a long time, and from what Jesus describes, many of those who came did not plan for a trip of this length. This detail is powerful, because this means that many in the crowd following Jesus wanted to be near Jesus even more than they wanted to eat. As I say this, I am doubtful of how many self-professed Christians could be described in this way living in the world today.

The other big idea I see in this passage’s introduction is the initial response the disciples give, which is asking where they could get enough food for such a big crowd. All gospel chronology suggests this happened after the previous miracle of food multiplication, so this means that the disciples forgot what Jesus had done in the past, or they doubted His present circumstances for being able to do it again. This detail is also powerful, because it tells us that our present problems will always appear larger than our past victories. Only when we intentionally focus on what Jesus has done for us in the past will we have faith that He wants to help in our current situation.

Now that we remember and have a clear picture in our mind about what Jesus had done in the past, we can continue reading to discover what Jesus does to solve this problem in their present. Continuing in verse 34, Matthew tells us that:

³⁴ Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”

They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”

³⁵ So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.

³⁷ They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. ³⁸ There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. ³⁹ Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.

In this passage and the miracle, we see some fascinating unique details that frame God’s blessings and God’s answers to prayer. In the previous miracle where 5,000 plus were fed, the gift of food came from an outside source, specifically a boy offering his lunch to Jesus. That miracle had the prayer being answered from an outside source.

To contrast this, our current miracle describes the food coming from the disciples’ own reserve. This means that sometimes, it is up to us to supply what God needs to bless others. Sometimes God will bring us outside help to help us when blessing others and when answering our prayers, while other times, God will expect us to use what He has already given to us to bless others.

When we pray, we should be open and willing to accept help from wherever God sends it, and we shouldn’t shy away from using our own resources if no outside help comes.

Also, we learn from both miracles that no gift is too small. I believe that Jesus could have multiplied one loaf just as easily as He multiplied seven. When we bring our gifts to Jesus, we should never consider the gifts as too small or too insignificant for Him to use them. Instead, we should bring our gifts and readily offer them to Him. As we easily see in both miracles, Jesus is more than able to multiply a small gift into a large one when we are willing to give Him what we have. We might think that what we have to offer God is insignificant, but no heartfelt gift given to God is insignificant in His eyes.

When comparing these two miracles, we discover that the source of each miracle was total, complete gifts. While both sources of bread and fish likely were larger days, or even hours before, when the gifts are presented to Jesus, we don’t see any hint of food being held back. This means that when we offer God a gift, we should offer God the full, best, complete gift that we have. I doubt either of these miracles would have been as effective if the supplier of the food had held part of the supply back.

In this pair of similar miracles, we discover that God is more than willing to bless us when we pray, when we need help, and/or when He knows we will be better off with the gift than without. God is also more than willing to multiply the small, seemingly insignificant gifts into blessings for a greater number of people than we could even imagine. And God is interested in heartfelt gifts over gifts given with reservation.

All this leads us to the big truth that the greatest gift that we can give God is our hearts. Jesus came to love us and to redeem us from sin, and the least we can return to Him for this amazing gift is our hearts, our minds, and our lives.

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

Always seek God first and place Him first in your life. Praise God and thank Him for everything that He has done for us and be willing to let Him use you for His grand purposes. Step into God’s plan and give Him the greatest gift you can give, which is the gift of your heart!

Also, as always, pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Seek to grow closer to Him through the pages of His Word and study the scriptures faithfully and prayerfully to let the Holy Spirit into your heart and mind.

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

While I didn’t plan for it to be this way, this year of podcasting through the gospels has reserved a whole block of challenging passages. The next one on the list happens to be an illustration Jesus shares where people are divided over how much truth it teaches. This illustration is called the Rich Man and Lazarus.

This passage has challenged Christians throughout the centuries over exactly how much truth Jesus is trying to teach. Some people say this illustration is not a true parable because it doesn’t start like one and because none of Jesus’ other parables includes a named individual, while others say that the contents of the teaching sound more parable-like than not, even with a named character.

Some people say this teaching proves there is consciousness after death, while others say that Jesus simply used a common illustration of the day but flipped the ending. This idea suggests that there was a common story told by the religious leaders that ends with the rich man being brought into Abraham’s presence, while the poor beggar ends up in the place of torment.

Personally, I don’t know if any of these angles is accurate. I am doubtful of some of them, but I also believe that most of these angles likely include some aspects of truth.

In my own mind, I see this illustration as a parable Jesus shared, similar perhaps to the illustration of the Good Samaritan. The parable of the Good Samaritan is shared following Jesus being asked a question, and it has a very non-parable-like beginning, similar to this parable.

However, what does Jesus want us to learn from this teaching? Is Jesus making a statement about the nature of death, or is He using an illustration that causes us to simply think about life from the point in time when our lives are over?

To uncover an answer to this, let’s look at the themes we can learn from this event, and while reading this passage, think about some big truths we can learn from what Jesus shares.

Our passage is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 16, and we will be reading from the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 16, Jesus continued by saying:

¹⁹ “Once there was a rich man. He was dressed in purple cloth and fine linen. He lived an easy life every day. ²⁰ A man named Lazarus was placed at his gate. Lazarus was a beggar. His body was covered with sores. ²¹ Even dogs came and licked his sores. All he wanted was to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.

²² “The time came when the beggar died. The angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In the place of the dead, the rich man was suffering terribly. He looked up and saw Abraham far away. Lazarus was by his side. ²⁴ So the rich man called out, ‘Father Abraham! Have pity on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water. Then he can cool my tongue with it. I am in terrible pain in this fire.’

²⁵ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember what happened in your lifetime. You received your good things. Lazarus received bad things. Now he is comforted here, and you are in terrible pain. ²⁶ Besides, a wide space has been placed between us and you. So those who want to go from here to you can’t go. And no one can cross over from there to us.’

²⁷ “The rich man answered, ‘Then I beg you, father Abraham. Send Lazarus to my family. ²⁸ I have five brothers. Let Lazarus warn them. Then they will not come to this place of terrible suffering.’

²⁹ “Abraham replied, ‘They have the teachings of Moses and the Prophets. Let your brothers listen to them.’

³⁰ “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will turn away from their sins.’

³¹ “Abraham said to him, ‘They do not listen to Moses and the Prophets. So they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”

In this parable, as I read it just now, I can see a number of big themes we can learn. Perhaps the biggest one is that after someone has died, they cannot change their decisions from this life.

This theme is in many ways intuitive, because while we are alive, we cannot change our past. We can change our decisions in the present and plan for different decisions in the future, but once the future is the present and the present turns to past, our decisions are locked in history. This makes each moment of each day significant and this theme challenges us to be conscious of the decisions we are making every moment of each day.

Also while reading this passage, we see the theme that those who are convinced of something, who are unwilling to change their beliefs, are not going to be convinced to change by anyone – even someone who returns from the grave.

While this illustration oddly enough foreshadows the resurrection of Lazarus, Jesus’ friend, not too long after this, we see Lazarus’ resurrection being enough to convince plenty of Jews to put their faith, belief, and trust in Jesus. However, the religious leaders who were set in their ways make plans to not only kill Jesus after this event, but Lazarus as well.

A third theme that I see in this illustration is that those who have had it hard in this life will find rest in the life to come, while those who have had it easy in this life may experience struggles. I don’t know if the time one spends following death is filled with torment or unpleasantness. But I do know that the next conscious thought one has following death will be one of regret when they realize they didn’t choose correctly.

All these themes are important to us. This illustration pushes us to look past our lives and then back at the decisions we chose while we were still alive. Does Jesus teach more about the state of the dead here? That I will leave for you to decide.

However, as we close out this podcast episode, along with the challenges, I will leave you with a question: Since Jesus loved teaching with visual illustrations, and we have many examples of this in His various parables, would it be possible to share the themes we just finished looking at in a visual way without implying consciousness after death? If so, perhaps we can uncover more themes from this illustration. However if the way Jesus shared this parable is the only “visual” way to challenge us to think with the end in mind, similar to what we talked about in the last episode, then perhaps consciousness after death is not a theme we should put much weight on.

To challenge you as we end this podcast episode, be sure to always seek God first in your life. When difficult questions come trying to shake your faith, lean into trusting God, because when our lives are over, only one thing will truly matter, and that is whether we placed our hope, faith, trust, and belief in Jesus Christ to save us for eternity.

Also, be sure to always pray and study the Bible for yourself and grow your personal relationship with God. Coming to the end of your life and missing out on a personal relationship with God is the worst place to be. Don’t fall into the trap that many people will realize only after it is too late. Focus on growing your personal relationship with God today, and every day moving forward into 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!