Reflective Bible Study

As we move through the gospels looking at miracles, we come to a miracle that is only predicted, but we are left to assume that it actually happened the way Jesus described. While other events are predicted and then described as happening as Jesus had predicted, this event ends before telling us the key disciple involved heads out to follow Jesus’ instructions.

However, while we don’t actually get any resolution with this miracle, the prediction of this miracle contains one of the biggest, most amazing themes in the entire Bible. In just four short verses, we see the gospel message described in a unique and powerful way – all because one of the disciples misrepresents Jesus unintentionally and Jesus gives Him a way to redeem the situation.

This miracle is only described in Matthew’s gospel, and while I wish that Mark, Luke, or John would have included it, I’m happy that it made its way into at least one of the gospels. Let’s read this event together and then discover the powerful theme that it includes.

Our miracle and passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 17, and for our episode this week, we will read it 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.”

In this event, we see a backwards tax being applied to those living in Israel. According to Jesus’ question and Peter’s response, taxes during the first century were paid by those outside of the king or emperor’s family. In Israel, that meant that taxes were imposed on them from outside sources. In the spiritual arena, we also see a tax imposed on the people for the upkeep of the temple.

This was backwards thinking on the part of the religious leaders, because they were to be supported on the giving of tithes and offerings, and not on the secular model of taxation.

However, the most amazing part of this miracle comes when I ask myself the question about where the coin came from to pay the tax?

First off, when faced with this challenge, the easy place to find a coin would have been from the disciples’ cash reserves. It likely had enough in it to pay the temple tax for all of them present. But that is not where the coin originated.

Instead, the coin came from a fish’s mouth, which opens a whole new set of questions and challenges. Think for a moment about how many unrelated events would have needed to align for Peter to randomly go down to the lake, cast out a line, and catch a fish with the exact coin necessary to pay the tax – oh, and succeed on the first try. When we think about all the details that would have needed to happen, this miracle becomes more amazing with each detail added.

This miracle is amazing when we begin to put all the pieces together. Either it was a miracle because God placed a coin in the mouth of the first fish supernaturally after the fish bit Peter’s hook, or one of the most impossible sequences of events would have needed to take place for this miracle to happen as Jesus described it if it didn’t have supernatural intervention after the fact. There is no escaping God’s involvement with this miracle even if we don’t know exactly which method He used to get the coin in the right fish’s mouth.

Since this could have only happened because God stepped in and worked miraculously to get Peter the coin, we must conclude that God paid the temple tax. While on one level, since God owns everything, He is the only one who could pay the temple tax, on another level, the tax that we owe God because of sin is impossible for us to pay on our own. The tax for sin is our lives given in death, and the only way we can escape paying this tax is by being adopted into God’s family.

However, this doesn’t mean that God will wipe our tax bill away, but instead, He files our tax bill under the payment for taxes that were paid through Jesus’ sacrifice. When we are adopted into God’s family, we are freed from the fear of punishment because of our past sin, and we live our future lives giving thanks to God for what He has done for us through Jesus.

The whole gospel of Jesus Christ is summarized in this miracle. When Peter messes up and fails Jesus, it wouldn’t surprise us if Jesus condemned or chastised him. However, Jesus does not condemn him for his failure. Instead, He gives Peter a way out that can only be described as a God-paid, miraculous solution.

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

As always, continue to seek God first in your life and live your life giving thanks for what He has done for you through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Accept that God paid a debt that you owed and could not pay, and that in return, the best way to say thank you is by living your life for Him.

Always continue to intentionally pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each day. While other people can give you things to think about, a personal relationship with God must be personal, and it cannot and should not depend on the faith or relationship of anyone 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 abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As Jesus was approaching Jerusalem leading up to His death, there was anticipation in the group of followers that something big would happen. While they were not wrong believing something big was coming, they were a little off with how they understood the timetable of prophecy.

To help give those listening a better perspective, Jesus decides to tell them a parable to help them reframe their expectations, and this parable is what our passage for this episode will cover. Both Matthew and Luke share similar parables, but there are enough unique differences in each that make me think that Jesus shared two similar parables on two different occasions rather than one parable that was heard in two significantly different ways.

For our episode, we will be looking at Luke’s gospel, and the parable Jesus shared with the crowd. Our passage is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 19, and we will read if from the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 11, Luke tells us that:

¹¹ While the people were listening to these things, Jesus told them a story. He was near Jerusalem. The people thought that God’s kingdom was going to appear right away. ¹² Jesus said, “A man from an important family went to a country far away. He went there to be made king and then return home. ¹³ So he sent for ten of his slaves. He gave them each about three months’ pay. ‘Put this money to work until I come back,’ he said.

¹⁴ “But those he ruled over hated him. They sent some messengers after him. They were sent to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

¹⁵ “But he was made king and returned home. Then he sent for the slaves he had given the money to. He wanted to find out what they had earned with it.

¹⁶ “The first one came to him. He said, ‘Sir, your money has earned ten times as much.’

¹⁷ “ ‘You have done well, my good slave!’ his master replied. ‘You have been faithful in a very small matter. So I will put you in charge of ten towns.’

¹⁸ “The second slave came to his master. He said, ‘Sir, your money has earned five times as much.’

¹⁹ “His master answered, ‘I will put you in charge of five towns.’

²⁰ “Then another slave came. He said, ‘Sir, here is your money. I have kept it hidden in a piece of cloth. ²¹ I was afraid of you. You are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in. You harvest what you did not plant.’

²² “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you evil slave! So you knew that I am a hard man? You knew that I take out what I did not put in? You knew that I harvest what I did not plant? ²³ Then why didn’t you put my money in the bank? When I came back, I could have collected it with interest.’

²⁴ “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his money away from him. Give it to the one who has ten times as much.’

²⁵ “ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten times as much!’

²⁶ “He replied, ‘I tell you that everyone who has will be given more. But here is what will happen to anyone who has nothing. Even what they have will be taken away from them. ²⁷ And what about my enemies who did not want me to be king over them? Bring them here! Kill them in front of me!’ ”

In this parable, we have a number of different things we can focus on. However, for the sake of this episode, and wanting to keep it to a manageable length, let’s focus on two of the really big picture themes that this parable teaches.

The first theme is that the important man who left on a journey came back as king. This man went to become king, and he returned as king. This detail is important for us to focus on because Jesus represents this man who left to become king. Jesus stepped down to this earth, and then down again into death, because His nature is one of stepping down. God the Father balances this characteristic out by lifting Jesus up.

It is interesting that in Luke’s version of this parable, we discover that this man has enemies and people who would prefer to not see this man become king. They send messengers and people to plead their case, desiring probably any other king in this man’s place; but regardless of what happened, this man becomes king in spite of his enemies desires.

Applying this parable to Jesus’ ministry and His role in the world, it doesn’t surprise anyone to learn that Jesus had enemies. While there wasn’t really anything to not like about Jesus, those who were interesting in building themselves up really didn’t get along with Him because Jesus pushed back against their self-serving attitudes.

Jesus had enemies because He wasn’t the sort of leader who was impressed by ambitious ladder-climbing individuals. Those who wanted to climb the latter of spiritual hierarchy did not have an ally in Jesus.

However, circling back to the big truth we learn in this parable is that regardless of what Jesus’ enemies wished to happen, Jesus is made king. This detail is not up for debate.

We then are left with a challenging conclusion: Knowing that Jesus will ultimately return as king, it would be unwise to be one of His enemies.

I don’t know if the time when Jesus returns will mark the time when it is too late to change allegiances, but what I do know is that when Jesus returns as king, the fate of those who have decided to be His enemies is not positive.

This leads us to the second big truth we can learn from this parable. While some people have openly sided against Jesus, we know from other portions of the gospels that Jesus is willing to forgive them. In other parts of the gospels, we learn that Jesus promises to forgive those who speak out against Him.

When we combine the details that Jesus has not returned yet, that He will return as King regardless of our wishes, and that He has promised to forgive those who have spoken against Him while He was away, we can conclude that now is the perfect time to ask for forgiveness and to ally with Jesus.

There is not a better time than now to side with Jesus, because we don’t know when later will be too late. We truly don’t know when the door to changing our decision will close. It might close at the end of our lives, whenever that is for each of us, or Jesus could return and close the door personally.

While we could then shift our focus onto the servants or slaves and what they accomplished, that is the perfect subject for another podcast. The big thing we can take away from the themes we focused on in this podcast is that we should be fruitful for God while we are allied with Jesus. The worst thing we can do is nothing.

So with these thoughts in mind, let’s close this podcast episode with some challenges to apply into our lives:

Whether you’ve chosen to ally with Jesus yet or not, be sure to make your choice before it is too late. Since we don’t know when that is, it would be better to choose today. While this goes without saying for most of us listening, be sure to chose to ally with Jesus, because He has already won. And with our decision for Jesus, be sure to be fruitful in your life with the blessings that God has given to us.

Also, because it is very important for every follower of Jesus to do, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself, because through prayer and Bible study, we can grow our personal relationship with God. While other believers can give you ideas to think about, don’t let a pastor, blogger, podcaster, or anyone else get between you and God. Test everything you hear with what you read in the Bible, and only if the Bible supports it should you believe it.

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

As we move through the gospels and the miracles Jesus did to help people, we come to a miracle that perhaps should have happened before Jesus arrived. However, because of a number of circumstances, we discover that this situation needed Jesus when His disciples alone did not succeed.

However, in this miracle, I wonder about several things, and while we read it together, I’ll pause and talk about several of the details that stand out to me in this event.

Our passage is from the gospel of Mark, chapter 9, and we will read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 14, Mark tells us that:

¹⁴ When they [referring to Jesus, Peter, James, and John] came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. ¹⁵ As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

¹⁶ “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.

¹⁷ A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. ¹⁸ Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

¹⁹ “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

Let’s pause here for a moment. I’m not sure how many times I have read this passage, but before just now, I never realized that the other disciples were arguing with teachers of the law. This phrase could mean Pharisees, Sadducees, or any of the other groups of religious leaders. I wonder if both the disciples and the religious leaders present tried and failed to drive the spirit out.

In a way, I wonder if both groups of religious leaders sensed a situation that could be seen as similar to Elijah’s confrontation with the worshipers of Baal at Mount Carmel. However, in this event, both sides claimed to be on God’s side, while believing the other side was not.

When Jesus arrives, sees the arguing, and gets the details surrounding this situation, the first thing He challenges everyone present on is their lack of belief. This challenge is aimed at both the disciples and the teachers of the law. The implication in Jesus’ challenge is that they all lacked the faith and belief necessary to drive this demon out.

It is at this point where Jesus tells them to bring the boy to Him. Mark continues in verse 20 by telling us:

²⁰ So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

²¹ Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. ²² “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

²³ “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

²⁴ Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Pausing our reading again here, let’s look a little closer at this boy’s father. I imagine the father had been through an emotional roller coaster the previous few hours, as he had brought the boy to Jesus’ disciples believing they could help and then watching them fail. The boy’s father may have even watched the religious teachers try and fail as well.

The only reason the father was there with his son was because he had faith that Jesus could help him. However, there was a war raging in the father’s head between faith and doubt, between belief and unbelief. This internal conflict slips out when he uses the phrase “if you can” directed towards Jesus.

Jesus jumps on this idea, challenging it at its core while also giving us one of the most unbelievable promises in the entire Bible. Jesus tells the man and everyone present that “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

While this phrase in itself could be the subject of an entire podcast episode, we move forward to the next verse where the father completely acknowledges the war raging in his head and he asks Jesus for help facing this war. Mark tells us in verse 24 that, “Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’”

There was no hesitation in the man’s reply and Mark continues in verse 25, telling us what happened next:

²⁵ When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

²⁶ The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

²⁸ After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁹ He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

In this passage, one of the ideas that challenges me is with this final bit of information that Mark includes. When the disciples ask Jesus privately about their failure, Jesus replied by telling them that this kind of spirit can only come out by prayer.

This sounds good on the surface, but reading Mark’s account of this miracle, I don’t see Jesus praying anywhere surrounding this event. Matthew’s gospel has Jesus describe how the disciples didn’t have enough faith, but while that makes more sense on the surface, it still doesn’t solve the problem present here, because the disciples had previously cast out demons when they traveled around the towns of Israel in pairs.

It is also interesting and significant in my mind that the two gospels use two different ideas when describing why the disciples were unable to drive this evil spirit out. Matthew says that it was because of little faith, while Mark says that prayer wasn’t present.

These two ideas put together give us the powerful truth that prayer increases faith. While Jesus didn’t pray during this event, He had just spent the night in prayer. This miracle comes following the event known as the transfiguration of Jesus, and that event in itself demonstrates a high level of faith and a close connection with God.

In this event, the remaining disciples likely had let their prayer connection with God drift away from being strong, and I wonder if this failure challenged them regarding this big truth about prayer. I also wonder if these disciples came at this potential miracle with the attitude of building themselves up at the expense of the religious leaders. The potential pride was a sure likelihood that would have led to failure since God is unlikely to build someone up who is not going to return the glory they are given.

Prayer strengthens faith, and prayer is a reminder that we are small while God is big. Prayer helps reorient our lives by reminding us who we are and who God is. Prayer reminds us that we need God and because of this, prayer strengthens our faith.

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

Always keep seeking God first and placing Him first in your life. Intentionally choose to grow your faith through prayer, regular Bible study, and stepping out in faith in the direction you believe God is leading you. Move forward in life and let God direct your steps. Trust that when doors close, God has something bigger and better in mind, and that we also might need to grow or learn something more in order to be ready for that next opportunity. There are many reasons why doors close, but we can trust that God will only close the doors that are not good for us from an eternity’s perspective.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn personally what God wants to teach you through His Word. While other people can have great ideas, always test what you hear, read, and learn with what you see the Bible teach. God is more than willing to lead you to His truth, and His truth will not conflict with the Bible’s teaching.

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

As we approach the big event that all the gospels focus in on, otherwise known as the crucifixion, some people believe that the events of crucifixion weekend came as a surprise to both Jesus and His disciples. However, people who believe Jesus was surprised about his upcoming death are not very familiar with the gospel record.

Numerous times, Jesus tried to prepare the disciples for what was coming, and it would appear as though Jesus’ words fell on deaf ears. The passage we are focusing in on in this episode is one such time where we find Jesus trying to warn His disciples about His crucifixion and what would happen soon.

Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 18, and we will be reading it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 31:

³¹ Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. ³² He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; ³³ they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”

³⁴ The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

In this short, four-verse passage, we find Jesus clearly telling His followers about His upcoming arrest, His death, and His resurrection; and we see that the disciples didn’t understand any of what He was saying.

Luke’s gospel shares an interesting detail, and this is that the meaning of what Jesus was sharing was “hidden from them”.

The implication of this idea is that God hid the meaning of Jesus’ words from them. While I don’t know why He might have done this, I wonder if it had to do with God wanting the disciples to ask the challenging questions about what would happen.

In the first century, the whole Jewish culture was eagerly looking forward for a messiah to lead them out from being under Roman rule. The messiah they saw the scriptures predicting was one who would lead them to victory and who would last forever. Whether the prophecies about a suffering messiah were misunderstood, or whether they discounted their significance, the last thing on anyone’s mind was that the Messiah God would send would be jointly killed by both Jews and Gentiles.

But Jesus came and He was teaching this alternate view of prophecy. It took Jesus’ death and resurrection to break the preconceived ideas about the Messiah from the disciples’ minds. I don’t believe that God desired the message Jesus was sharing with His followers to be ignored or discounted; I believe God wanted Jesus’ disciples to ask for more information, and to learn from Jesus about what the scriptures said was to take place.

Jesus hints at this when He says in verse 31, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.” While Jesus then describes what will happen, we know that more things happened than Jesus decided to share here. I wonder if Jesus touched on the big points, but really wanted the disciples to ask for more details. It would have been amazing if one of the disciples had been brave enough to push past the confusion to ask Jesus what all was written by the prophets about Him. If one of the disciples had asked Jesus some further clarifying questions, I believe the crucifixion weekend wouldn’t have found the disciples hiding in the upper room for fear of being killed next.

Instead, if one of the disciples had given Jesus an opening, I believe He would have shared with them similar to how He shared with the two disciples walking to Emmaus following Jesus’ resurrection.

It is also interesting in my mind to hear people talk about how Jesus’ death was a surprise to Him. It is as though Judas Iscariot was able to pull off the greatest betrayal in history without Jesus being aware He was being duped.

However, what we find here in this passage is that Jesus knows Jerusalem is where He will face His death before Judas Iscariot even knows He will be the betrayer. Jesus knows exactly what will happen, including His resurrection just days later. Nothing about that trip startled Him, surprised Him, or caused Him to back away from the entire reason He came.

Jesus came to this earth to give His life for us, and He came to help us see how much the Father loves each of us!

In our own lives, with all the challenges, struggles, and problems we face, we can look to this passage and know that even if we don’t understand what is going to happen, God knows, and He is more than happy to walk with us through the struggles we face in this life. God has a bigger perspective and His perspective is saving us for eternity!

Also, we can know from this passage that God doesn’t want us to be surprised by the future. He wants us to know that He knows what will happen, and regardless of the state of the world, He is in control and leading history towards the end of sin and eternity for His people!

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

As we move through life, be sure to seek God first and to trust Him, believe His promises, and to depend on Him for help facing the struggles of this life. Ask Him to help us see His perspective, and to see things with an eternity focus.

Also, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself in order to grow your personal relationship with Jesus.

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