Reflective Bible Study

Part way through Jesus’ ministry, the religious leaders began being extra tricky with their questions. While they could not deny that Jesus was able to work powerfully, they simply did not trust someone who was unwilling to be as judgmental as they were, and they did not believe someone sent from God would surround Himself with people who were the worst in society.

However, part of me wonders if not all the religious leaders were as opposed to Jesus as the stereotype that we often see. While many, perhaps even most, of the leaders did not like Jesus, I am curious if there were many leaders who simply remained secret, or undercover, followers. While I’ll save my thoughts about undercover disciples for another time, with how the gospel of Luke records the passage we are looking at in this episode, it is unclear whether the question being asked of Jesus is a setup for a trap, or if it is simply a religious leader looking for clarification on an idea.

We can find this event in the gospel of Luke, chapter 10, and we will be reading from the Contemporary English Version. Starting in verse 25, Luke tells us that:

²⁵ An expert in the Law of Moses stood up and asked Jesus a question to see what he would say. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to have eternal life?”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “What is written in the Scriptures? How do you understand them?”

²⁷ The man replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.’ They also say, ‘Love your neighbors as much as you love yourself.’”

²⁸ Jesus said, “You have given the right answer. If you do this, you will have eternal life.”

If the passage and conversation were to have ended right here, this would have been a powerful, but also simple lesson on how we should orient our lives. Even though the conversation moves forward with a follow-up question, too often we get caught focusing on the powerful details of what comes next that we miss the simplicity of what Jesus just confirmed in the religious expert’s words.

Jesus has just described eternal life being possible if one has followed these two principles flawlessly.

However, perhaps the religious expert answered in this way because he had heard Jesus give this answer before, or maybe this religious leader wanted to justify himself regarding who he chose to love. But whatever the reason, Luke continues in verse 29, giving a hint at self-righteousness from this religious expert. Luke tells us:

²⁹ But the man wanted to show that he knew what he was talking about. So he asked Jesus, “Who are my neighbors?”

³⁰ Jesus replied:

As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, robbers attacked him and grabbed everything he had. They beat him up and ran off, leaving him half dead.

³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road. But when he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. ³² Later a temple helper came to the same place. But when he saw the man who had been beaten up, he also went by on the other side.

³³ A man from Samaria then came traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him ³⁴ and went over to him. He treated his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. ³⁵ The next morning he gave the innkeeper two silver coins and said, “Please take care of the man. If you spend more than this on him, I will pay you when I return.”

³⁶ Then Jesus asked, “Which one of these three people was a real neighbor to the man who was beaten up by robbers?”

³⁷ The teacher answered, “The one who showed pity.”

Jesus said, “Go and do the same!”

In this illustration, Jesus describes a situation that was very believable – well, until you get to the part about the Samaritan helping the man. Actually, this might not be too unbelievable. While the Jews and Samaritans hated each other, the ethnicity of the man who was left dying on the road is open for debate. Perhaps because this man was not clearly of Jewish descent was the reason the priest and temple helper ignored him.

However, the more likely reason was that helping the man who was dying would cause these religious men to be unclean, and it would impact their responsibilities in a negative way. They ignore the situation because it would negatively affect them personally.

On the other hand, the Samaritan was not overly concerned with keeping himself clean. Instead, he saw an opportunity to help and he had the means to do something. Not only did he have something to treat the injured man’s wounds with, he also had money to pay for the care of the man when leaving to continue his journey.

In this event, Jesus defines the role of a neighbor as someone who acts like a neighbor rather than someone who is literally a neighbor. Being a neighbor in God’s eyes is based upon how we act towards someone else and not simply who we happen to live next to.

I have heard speculation that the religious expert answered the way he did at the very end of this illustration because he could not bring himself to say the word Samaritan in a positive light. It is possible, even likely, that this religious leader was among those who were most condescending towards those who were Samaritans, and it is possible that this leader had asked for a definition of neighbor in hopes of getting some type of pass or loophole out of helping those in the social group that he most despised.

But no such response came, and regardless of if the religious leader answered the way he did because he didn’t want to say the word Samaritan or whether there was another reason that we don’t know, the way he does answer is pretty profound in itself. This religious expert’s answer is entirely framed on the notion of practical, active help. Everything Jesus described that the Samaritan did could be summed up in the descriptive phrase “showing pity” and showing pity for those we come in contact with is how we can be neighborly like God intended. “Showing pity for others” as described by Jesus in this illustration, is the same as loving others as we love ourselves because this love is active and it interrupts our plans for the benefit of others.

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

Choose to obey the best you can the two commandments Jesus validated in the religious leader’s response. Intentionally love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love others as you love yourself. Choose to act like a neighbor to those who need help regardless of whether you actually are their literal neighbor or not.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself, and let God touch your life, open your eyes to the world around you, and give you the love for others you need to be able to be the neighbor He created you to be.

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

On the night Jesus was betrayed, the gospel of John records Jesus’ last conversation with the disciples before He would be taken from them and ultimately put on a cross. We began looking at this conversation last week, and over the next few episodes, we will move through this conversation and focus in on some of the big things we can learn from it.

For this episode’s portion of this conversation, John records Jesus opening with a promise. Let’s read it together. Our passage is found in the gospel of John, chapter 14, and we will be reading from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹ Jesus said to his disciples, “Don’t be worried! Have faith in God and have faith in me. ² There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I wouldn’t tell you this, unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you. ³ After I have done this, I will come back and take you with me. Then we will be together. ⁴ You know the way to where I am going.”

⁵ Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t even know where you are going! How can we know the way?”

⁶ “I am the way, the truth, and the life!” Jesus answered. “Without me, no one can go to the Father. ⁷ If you had known me, you would have known the Father. But from now on, you do know him, and you have seen him.”

⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need.”

⁹ Jesus replied:

Philip, I have been with you for a long time. Don’t you know who I am? If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. How can you ask me to show you the Father? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am one with the Father and that the Father is one with me? What I say isn’t said on my own. The Father who lives in me does these things.

¹¹ Have faith in me when I say that the Father is one with me and that I am one with the Father. Or else have faith in me simply because of the things I do. ¹² I tell you for certain that if you have faith in me, you will do the same things that I am doing. You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father. ¹³ Ask me, and I will do whatever you ask. This way the Son will bring honor to the Father. ¹⁴ I will do whatever you ask me to do.

Let’s stop reading here, because what Jesus has just finished sharing is really powerful, and we might miss it if we kept going.

Jesus opened by promising the disciples that He is going to prepare a place for us in His Father’s house, and that when it is ready, He will come and take us home to be with Him. After facing the question about not knowing the way, Jesus reminds and emphasizes that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one can go to the Father without Him.

If you don’t believe in Jesus, then you might think His statement here is incredibly arrogant, selfish, and egotistical. In some ways it is, but it might also be true. If Jesus lied elsewhere in the gospels, you could make a case for this being deceitful, but if Jesus spoke truthfully everywhere else, then it is likely that even with the selfish implications in this statement, Jesus is simply sharing truth.

After then being asked to show the remaining disciples the Father, Jesus then draws their focus onto the oneness of the Son’s and the Father’s relationship. In every way that matters, Jesus showed us the Father. This Oneness leads into probably the biggest promise that Jesus gave to His followers. This promise seems like a blank check for prayer.

Jesus gives us two angles for faith that we can use to have a powerful prayer connection with God. The first angle is faith that Jesus is One with the Father. This might be challenging to wrap our minds around, but if it were easy to understand and see, then not much faith would be needed.

The other angle we can base our faith on is on the things Jesus has done and is doing. Right now, Jesus is in heaven negotiating on our behalf and looking for every possible angle He can use to save us. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, and when we have faith in Him, He is more than willing to stand in our place and cover our sins with His sacrifice. This is the other foundation we can build our faith on.

Jesus doesn’t seem to make a distinction between which foundation is better or worse, so feel free to pick either or pick both. What matters is that we have faith in Jesus.

Is faith like this the only thing necessary for this blank check for prayer? Almost, but there’s one additional piece of faith hinted at in this passage we must pay attention to.

In the first part of verse 12, Jesus tells His followers that, “I tell you for certain that if you have faith in me, you will do the same things that I am doing.” Once we have based our faith on Jesus using one or both of the foundations He gives to us, we must live this faith in a visible way. We must do the things Jesus would have done. This means loving others, helping those in need, and pointing people towards giving glory to God.

Jesus never lived His life to seek glory from people, but everything He did was to show people God’s love and to give them reasons to give God glory. In Jesus building up to the amazing promise, we have the foundation of faith in Him that leads to living like He would live if He was living on this earth today. When we have these two pieces of the puzzle of faith in place, then He is more than willing to answer our prayers, because what we pray for will be for God’s glory – and Jesus loves giving God the glory.

In this passage, we discover both a blank check for prayer, and the pen we must use to write our request. When we live our faith in Jesus in visible ways, and when we live and love like Jesus lived and loved, we will pray prayers that ask for God to be glorified, and Jesus will always answer huge prayers that point people to God.

All too often, we pray small and selfish prayers, but hopefully this passage has challenged you like it has challenged me to pray differently, and on the foundation of faith in Jesus for who He is, what He is doing, and for what He has given to each of us through His sacrifice on the cross.

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

Always seek God first and live your life in a way that leads people to Jesus and to give God glory. When our lives are pointing people to Jesus, our faith in Him is visible, and He is happy to answer the prayers we pray.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, be sure to always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal connection and relationship with God. Other people can give you great things to think about, but only you can grow a personal relationship with God!

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!

Picking back up were we left off last week, we find Jesus teaching in the temple during this same festival. However, now our passage for this week focuses on the conclusion of Jesus’ preaching in the temple during the festival that He snuck into unannounced, and in this conclusion, Jesus restates some of the key ideas we focused on last week, while also pushing the crowd further.

Let’s let John tell us how Jesus circles back around to His key point. We will be reading from John’s gospel, chapter 8, using the New International Reader’s Version. Picking back up in verse 21, John tells us that:

²¹ Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away. You will look for me, and you will die in your sin. You can’t come where I am going.”

²² This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘You can’t come where I am going’?”

Pausing our reading briefly, Jesus says almost the exact same thing as He said in our last episode’s passage, but this time, the Jews instead wonder if Jesus is planning on committing suicide with His statement. Last week, they thought He would be traveling to some other part of the world, and now they have decided that Jesus must mean something different.

With the emphasis on death, the Jews now wonder if Jesus is talking about death rather than extended travel.

However, Jesus continues in verse 23 with a clearer answer, and John tells us how Jesus answered:

²³ But Jesus said, “You are from below. I am from heaven. You are from this world. I am not from this world. ²⁴ I told you that you would die in your sins. This will happen if you don’t believe that I am he. If you don’t believe, you will certainly die in your sins.”

Pausing again, but only very briefly, here in verses 23 and 24 is a simple explanation of salvation. The criteria Jesus shares for experiencing salvation is that we must believe Jesus the One God sent, and believe that Jesus is the Messiah God promised, and our belief must include our faith and trust being placed onto Jesus. If we don’t believe, then Jesus tells us like He told those present in the temple that we will certainly die in our sins.

Continuing in verse 25:

²⁵ “Who are you?” they asked.

“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. ²⁶ “I have a lot to say that will judge you. But the one who sent me can be trusted. And I tell the world what I have heard from him.”

²⁷ They did not understand that Jesus was telling them about his Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said, “You will lift up the Son of Man. Then you will know that I am he. You will also know that I do nothing on my own. I speak just what the Father has taught me. ²⁹ The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.” ³⁰ Even while Jesus was speaking, many people believed in him.

We’ll stop reading at this verse because I want to really draw our attention onto the side-note John has just inserted. In verse 30, John tells us that “Even while Jesus was speaking, many people believed in him”. This is significant in my mind because while the crowd was confused at what Jesus was saying, their confusion did not hinder their belief.

This is not the case for everyone. Some people use their lack of understanding to be the cornerstone of their reasons for not believing, but the challenge with this line of thinking is that rarely in any other case do we need to know all the answers to believe.

For example, if we are driving down a street and we come to a stoplight, do we need to understand how electricity and relays work in order to understand what makes the different colored lights switch back and forth? Do we need to stop everything else we are doing and do all the research necessary to come to a full understanding of how the stoplight works before believing the color of light and the position of the light are instructions we would be smart to follow?

Or do we simply need to know that red means stop, green means go, and yellow means a red light is about to come?

I think that faith and belief in Jesus are very similar to how we should view our trust in a simple stoplight. While one or two reasons and answers are sufficient to begin our belief, it is only after we begin to obey the stoplight’s instructions for us that we really understand the benefits that obedience offers. While one can rationalize that they don’t understand why the Bible advises people to live a certain way, or they try to discount it as an archaic or dated way to live, only by truly living a life that is obedient to the Bible will one fully learn why the Bible’s way is superior.

While the Bible does not discuss technology or electricity, it does give a full spectrum view of human relationships, and society structures, and time and time again, even with sin factored into the equation, the Bible’s plan is the most solid. Also, while the Bible doesn’t speak to technology, it doesn’t tell us to stay locked in the past. It simply points us to the best way to live during whatever century we are living in.

Jesus concluded His statement to the Jews and the crowd in the temple by saying that He did nothing on His own, and that everything He did was pleasing to the Father. I wonder if we could say the same about our lives living over 2,000 years later. If God were to look down at the world today, which is a very different looking world than it was when Jesus walked on it, would He approve of how we are living, and how we are representing His Son to those who are longing for Godly love?

Through the way Jesus lived His life, everything He did included the Father and the Holy Spirit. While we don’t always see this in our own lives, the question I challenge myself with is whether I would continue doing what I am currently doing, or living how I am currently living, if I truly believed that God the Father and the Holy Spirit were right next to me. Would the Father approve of my life, and would my life, both the online and offline portions of my personality, reflect Jesus accurately?

As Christians, we are called to represent Jesus, and the only way we can do this well is if we understand how Jesus lived, and then intentionally model His character in our world today. While it might seem strange or uncomfortable to do, only after we have committed and begun obeying Jesus’ words will the Christian life be truly Christ-like.

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

Intentionally model Jesus and choose to obey Him even if you don’t have all your questions answered. Choose to obey, then keep your eyes open for why God would recommend for people to live this way. Like I described earlier in this episode, obey God like you obey a stoplight, because only by obeying can we better understand why it is best to obey the stoplight’s instruction.

Also, intentionally pray and study the Bible for yourself and look for principles that you can apply into your life. While some parts of the Bible are technically dated, because society and technology have changed, the principles the Bible shares are timeless, and it is these principles that we are challenged to apply in our own lives regardless of the point in history in which we live.

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!

On the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, immediately following Judas Iscariot leaving to get the soldiers and mob to arrest Jesus, we read in John’s gospel that Jesus wanted to teach something new to the remaining disciples. Now that the final pieces were in motion leading to the cross, Jesus begins sharing more openly and plainly with the disciples now that they only have hours left together.

Let’s read our passage for this episode and discover the first thing Jesus wanted to teach these disciples. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 13, and we will be reading from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 31, John tells us that:

³¹ When he [Judas Iscariot] was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. ³² If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

³³ “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

³⁶ Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

³⁷ Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

³⁸ Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!

In this short passage, Jesus both challenges Peter and He gives a new command to these disciples. Both of these sections in our passage are worth focusing in on, so in the time we have together let’s start with Jesus’ “new command” and see how far we can get.

I’ve heard it said that this new command is not really all that new. Loving God and loving our neighbor basically summarize both this command as well as all the other commandments in the Old Testament. With this line of thinking, Jesus doesn’t really say that this is a new command, but that He is reminding and reemphasizing a familiar command that was already given. It’s possible that the original Greek language supports this interpretation, however I don’t know this for certain since Greek is not one of my language specialties.

However, while this reminder and reemphasis angle on Jesus’ command makes sense on one level, what if this really was meant to be a new command? What if Jesus wanted to elevate the standard that His disciples would model?

In the original summary of all the commands, Jesus taught that loving God and loving our neighbor were the two commands that all the other commandments can be categorized into. Every other commandment could be grouped as either being an example of loving God, loving our neighbor, or some combination of both. But what if there was a group that was missing, or a group that would be easy to exclude?

When looking at how Jesus described loving God and our neighbor, we have a religious expert ask for clarification regarding how to define the idea of neighbor. From this question, Jesus shared the well known parable of the Good Samaritan, which concluded with the least likeable character being the most helpful – and the one who modeled loving a neighbor the best. From the Good Samaritan parable, we learn that loving our neighbor not only covers the neighborly commands of the Ten Commandments, but also that it covers helping strangers who are in need.

But what about those we know but we don’t really like or get along with? What about those people who seem to get under our skin and those people who know how to push all of our buttons?

In my own mind, it is in many ways easier to love and help a total stranger who is in need than to help someone I know who repeatedly keeps messing up or abusing the system. It is also easier to help a stranger than someone who I don’t agree with.

Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples were about as diverse as you could imagine. While no Samaritans were included, we have fishermen, a tax collector, and a zealot – who was someone intent on overthrowing the Roman government. In the broader group of followers, there were former prostitutes, Samaritans, and even some political and religious leaders. Jesus’ followers included people from any and every section of society.

In the command Jesus gives to His disciples, I see Him challenging His followers to love others simply because they are part of the human family. While loving our neighbor is a part of this, this also means loving those who are clearly acting, living, and believing differently than we do. This challenge is a challenge to love others because Jesus loved us, and not because of who the other person is or could be. We love others because Jesus loved us, and because God lives in our heart.

However, as I read our passage, I find it a little humorous that Peter seems to completely miss Jesus’ new command. Giving Peter the benefit of a doubt, the best we could give Peter is that he agrees but pushes this new command to the sidelines.

Peter, like many of the other disciples, is troubled by Jesus telling them that they cannot go with Him. Peter correctly assumes that Jesus could be referring to death, but Peter believes that He is devoted enough to stay by Jesus’ side to the very end.

However, while Jesus is present in Peter’s life, this is true. A little later this very night, when the soldiers arrive to arrest Jesus, Peter is the first to jump to Jesus’ defense. However, after Jesus was arrested, Peter begins to doubt and the doubt leads to denial. Peter wants to learn and know what happens to Jesus, but he also wants to maintain a level of anonymity while being nearby.

When we look at the story of the cross and how it breaks Peter’s life, we discover that we all share similarities with Peter. We all are willing to do a lot more than what ultimately happens, but when Jesus enters our lives, as we see Jesus do through the Holy Spirit after His resurrection, a Jesus-filled-Peter becomes an unstoppable force for God’s kingdom.

In our own lives, we are forgiven like Jesus forgave Peter, and we are called to love each other because Jesus has loved us. Jesus loved us not because of who we were or what we would become, but because of who God is. In our own lives, God has called us to love others because it is who we are when He is in our lives, and not because those we love will do anything differently. This is probably the greatest and most challenge command in the entire Bible – and God modeled it perfectly through Jesus!

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

Be sure to always seek God first and to intentionally love others like He loved us. We see God’s love for us through Jesus coming and dying on the cross in our place. He has called us to love others because He first loved us.

Also, be sure to always pray and study the Bible for yourself and discover who God is and what He is like through the pages of the Bible. God wants a personal relationship with you and the best foundation to have for a strong relationship with God is a strong prayer and study life. Don’t let your relationship with God be filtered through or dependant on someone else’s relationship with God!

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