Reflective Bible Study

Early on during the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, John includes in his gospel record an event that the other three gospel writers don’t include. In this event, not only does Jesus look forward to His upcoming death on the cross, but God the Father speaks from Heaven one additional time.

While our passage is a little longer than what we typically cover in our episodes, I’m having a difficult time determining what to cut out. So let’s dive in and start reading what John describes happened one of the days Jesus was in the temple teaching leading up to His crucifixion, and we’ll see how far we get in our time together.

Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 12, and we will be reading from the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 20, John tells us that:

²⁰ There were some Greeks among the people who went up to worship during the feast. ²¹ They came to ask Philip for a favor. Philip was from Bethsaida in Galilee. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went to tell Andrew. Then Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

²³ Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Son of Man to receive glory. ²⁴ What I’m about to tell you is true. Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only one seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ Anyone who loves their life will lose it. But anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it and have eternal life. ²⁶ Anyone who serves me must follow me. And where I am, my servant will also be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

At this point, I must pause briefly, because what Jesus has just said here is incredibly powerful. Jesus challenges all of His followers to love Him more than they love their own lives, and while that is a huge challenge for His followers at every stage of history, Jesus follows it by promising His followers that God the Father will honor those who serve Him and who have placed Jesus ahead of their own lives.

When saying this, Jesus knows that this is challenging, and it might be difficult for us to fathom, but He never asked us to do anything He was unwilling to do. Picking back up in verse 27, Jesus continues by saying:

²⁷ “My soul is troubled. What should I say? ‘Father, keep me from having to go through with this’? No. This is the very reason I have come to this point in my life. ²⁸ Father, bring glory to your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven. It said, “I have brought glory to my name. I will bring glory to it again.” ²⁹ The crowd there heard the voice. Some said it was thunder. Others said an angel had spoken to Jesus.

³⁰ Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. ³¹ Now it is time for the world to be judged. Now the prince of this world will be thrown out. ³² And I am going to be lifted up from the earth. When I am, I will bring all people to myself.” ³³ He said this to show them how he was going to die.

³⁴ The crowd spoke up. “The Law tells us that the Messiah will remain forever,” they said. “So how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

³⁵ Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light. Do this before darkness catches up with you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. ³⁶ While you have the light, believe in it. Then you can become children of light.” When Jesus had finished speaking, he left and hid from them.

Let’s pause briefly again here, because this brief discussion draws our attention onto the war that the first century culture had in their minds over Jesus. On one hand, Jesus clearly had God’s support and His favor. Otherwise, He could not have performed the miracles He did. However, on the other hand, Jesus kept telling the people that He was going to die, which did not fit with what they understood in the Law and Old Testament that describes the Messiah as lasting forever.

While Jesus could have simply told them that His death wouldn’t last long and that it would end in a resurrection, He instead focused His attention on subtly challenging the people to pay attention to Him and His ministry.

However, part of me wonders if these people were more interested in finding excuses and reasons not to believe in Jesus than to find reasons to believe. Picking back up in verse 37, John tells us that:

³⁷ Jesus had performed so many signs in front of them. But they still would not believe in him. ³⁸ This happened as Isaiah the prophet had said it would. He had said,

“Lord, who has believed what we’ve been saying?
    Who has seen the Lord’s saving power?”

³⁹ For this reason, they could not believe. As Isaiah says in another place,

⁴⁰ “The Lord has blinded their eyes.
    He has closed their minds.
So they can’t see with their eyes.
    They can’t understand with their minds.
    They can’t turn to the Lord. If they could, he would heal them.”

⁴¹ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

⁴² At the same time that Jesus did those signs, many of the Jewish leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees, they would not openly admit they believed. They were afraid they would be thrown out of the synagogue. ⁴³ They loved praise from people more than praise from God.

Pausing yet again, I want to point out how powerful this phrase is. John tells us that these “leaders” were more interested in getting praise from people rather than focusing on getting praise from God. Jesus lived His life entirely seeking praise from God. Jesus would not accept praise from people, and I believe this is a challenge Jesus has for His followers as well. We should seek praise from God over praise or fame from this world.

To wrap up our passage, let’s pick back up in verse 44:

⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only. They also believe in the one who sent me. ⁴⁵ The one who looks at me sees the one who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come into the world to be its light. So no one who believes in me will stay in darkness.

⁴⁷ “I don’t judge a person who hears my words but does not obey them. I didn’t come to judge the world. I came to save the world. ⁴⁸ But there is a judge for anyone who does not accept me and my words. These words I have spoken will judge them on the last day. ⁴⁹ I did not speak on my own. The Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have said. ⁵⁰ I know that his command leads to eternal life. So everything I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

In this passage, Jesus tells us that His words will be the judge on the last day. This is important for us to pay attention to because Jesus’ words are recorded for us to know. Not only do we have recorded the words Jesus spoke in the first century while He walked on the earth, but there have been times God spoke directly in the Old Testament. In these instances, we can conclude since Jesus is One with God, that the words and messages God spoke in the Old Testament will also be included as part of the words that judge humanity on the last day.

Everything Jesus spoke came from God the Father, and everything Jesus did while here on earth was to bring glory to God the Father. God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit love humanity, and that is why Jesus came into this world to give His life for us.

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

Be sure to place God first in your life and to seek His praise. While it might seem crazy to think about, Jesus has challenged each of us to love God more than our own lives. He has called us to follow Him above everything else. Jesus tells us that God the Father will honor those who have placed Jesus ahead of themselves.

Also, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with Jesus further. Never let a speaker, author, pastor, or podcaster stand between you and God. God wants a personal relationship with you, and your relationship begins when you pray and personally study the Bible for yourself.

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

As we continue looking at the Christmas story, tucked within this event is a unique name given to Jesus. When we look at all the gospels, there is only one time where Jesus is given this name, and in many ways, this name summarizes His entire mission on earth. This name helps to explain Jesus’ teaching, preaching, challenging the religious leaders, and everything we read about His life leading up to and including the cross. Also, it is interesting to realize that this name wasn’t given to Jesus by someone present, but instead by an ancient Jewish prophet.

Matthew’s gospel is the only gospel that tells us about this event and this name, and it is one of the first things Matthew shares after sharing Jesus’ family tree that had been traced back to Abraham.

Our passage for this episode is found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 1, and we will read it from the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 18, Matthew tells us:

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. ²⁰ But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” ²² Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ²³ “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” ²⁴ And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, ²⁵ but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

Did you catch the name that was given to Jesus?

In verse 23, Matthew tells us by reminding us of this prophecy: “‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’”

One thing I find amazing about this prophecy is where it originated. While the cross-reference notes in my Bible say that this prophecy was given through Isaiah, and it can be found in the book of Isaiah, chapter 7, verse 14, when we step back a little further and look at this truth, the prophecy did not originate with Isaiah, but with God. In other words, God gave Isaiah the name Immanuel for Jesus.

This is profound because it basically says that God is not interested in remaining distant from us, or letting us die in our rebellion. Through the prophet Isaiah, God draws our attention to a name that summarizes Jesus’ life as simply “God with us”.

The name Immanuel is a filter for Jesus’ life. Using it, we can get the answer for the somewhat rhetorical question about what would God be like if He lived with us. If God stepped off His throne in heaven, and He came to earth, have you ever wondered or speculated about what He would be like?

Prior to Jesus, there was a lot of speculation, but in all of Israelite history, all they could do is look back at the stories of their ancestors, and then draw conclusions. They could look back at what Moses had written about Adam and Eve, about Enoch, about Noah, about Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, or even about Joseph. Unfortunately, even with all the records of these famous men who lived in the first pieces of history, many of the conclusions that the Jewish leaders came to were flawed and over time, the conclusions began painting God in a negative light.

When Jesus came, He came to represent God completely. Like an ambassador sent from heaven, Jesus would live completely in line with the Father’s character, the Father’s will, and Jesus would share the Father’s message with us. When we look at Jesus’ life, we are able to see an accurate representation of the Father.

But the truth behind this name is not simply reserved for those living in first century Judea. When God inspired Isaiah to write the name Immanuel for Jesus, God shared His character with us, and it was through the meaning of this name.

Immanuel means “God with us” as Matthew explains. While there was a point in history where Jesus was walking on earth with the disciples, this is only a small part of the huge truth that God wants to be with us. While Jesus was present on earth, all spiritual power was focused on pointing people to Him, but before He came and after He returned to heaven, the Holy Spirit fills the role of being Immanuel, or in other words “God with us”.

While we live over 2,000 years after this prophecy was given, God’s character has not changed. He still wants to be known as the God who is with us. Jesus repaired the gap that sin caused and it opened us up to the opportunity of having a brand new life with God living inside of us. This is accomplished by surrendering to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, by obeying the truth given in God’s word, and by living a life that is continually filled with prayer.

God wants to live with you and with me, but He will not force it. God values your freedom to choose over his desire to save you. This means that each and every day, we have the freedom to place God first, or let something, or someone, else take precedence. Only when we dedicate our lives to God and continually place Him first will we be living the life He created us to live.

What would your life look like if it was 100% dependant on – and focused on – God?

I cannot answer this question for you, except to say that it would be both challenging and exhilarating; it would mean giving up on some things that you may have enjoyed in the past, but it would also mean that with these other things gone, you would be free to receive so much more.

The promise Matthew reminds us of that God gave through the prophet Isaiah is that God is with us – but it is up to us to accept Him into our lives. God wants to live with us, but He won’t force it. None of Jesus’ disciples were forced to be with Him, and this tells us God values our freedom as well.

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

If you have not chosen to live 100% dependant on, and focused on, God yet, pray for God’s leading, guidance, and courage to make the leap. Start by increasing the amount of time you pray and the length of time you read and study your Bible. These are the best ways of growing closer to God and letting Him into your life.

Also, keep praying and studying the Bible for yourself. While it is easy to find Bible Studies on an assortment of topics, from a variety of theological backgrounds, the challenge to study the Bible for yourself means cutting out the other study materials and simply focusing on you, your Bible, and on the Holy Spirit’s leading.

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

As we continue our journey focusing on the week leading up to the cross, we come to one of the most well known events in Jesus’ entire life, which was the point in time where He rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey.

While all the gospels describe Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a young donkey, only Luke’s gospel includes an interesting detail about this event and where Jesus had placed His focus. However, before we get to that, Jesus first needs to get the young donkey to ride on.

Let’s read about what happened from Luke’s gospel, chapter 19, using the New Living Translation. Starting in verse 28, Luke tells us that:

²⁸ After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples. ²⁹ As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead. ³⁰ “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹ If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

³² So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. ³³ And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?”

³⁴ And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.” ³⁵ So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on.

Pausing briefly, I always find it amazing that Jesus knew exactly what would happen, and that He tells the two disciples exactly what to say when faced with the donkey’s owners who probably thought they were catching two not-so-bright thieves. While we don’t know any of the back story regarding this donkey colt, from how the owners’ responded, we can tell that these owners are willing to trust God with their stuff.

This portion of our event also reassures us that when faced with difficult circumstances surrounding what God has asked us to do, we can trust that He will give us the words to say to bring about His purposes in the world.

Returning to our passage in verse 35,

 ³⁵ So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on.

³⁶ As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him. ³⁷ When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.

³⁸ “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
    Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”

³⁹ But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”

⁴⁰ He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”

⁴¹ But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. ⁴² “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. ⁴⁴ They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.”

In Luke’s gospel, we discover that during the celebration of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, the Pharisees in the crowd had something to disagree with. Actually, this shouldn’t surprise us at all, except to say that it might be a little surprising to discover that there were Pharisees present in this situation. The fact that Pharisees were present in this event makes me think that Jesus likely had his own dedicated team of critics that followed Him wherever He went. I also wonder if some of these Pharisees were commissioned with the task of seeing where Jesus would be staying, just in case the religious leaders decided on a time to arrest Him.

However, this is not all Luke describes. While the crowd cheers for Jesus’ entrance, and the Pharisees sneer at the crowd glorifying Jesus as a coming King, we see a different response from Jesus Himself. Luke tells us that when the city comes into view, Jesus weeps for it.

There are only two places in the gospels where Jesus is recorded as weeping, and this is one of them. The other is when Lazarus was in the tomb and everyone else was crying about His death. While Jesus weeping over Lazarus’ death is significant in its own way, Jesus does something that turns that crowd’s tears into joy.

However, in this instance, there isn’t anything Jesus can do for the city He loves. Jesus knows that His death is the only way for the city’s survival, but more important than Jesus’ death is that the religious leaders must recognize and acknowledge who Jesus is. Jesus’ hands are tied as He realizes that nothing He can do will save the city of Jerusalem from facing destruction.

God offered salvation to His people through Jesus, but they chose to reject Him and this ultimately led to Jerusalem’s destruction when they rallied against Rome and ultimately failed.

In this event, we can learn that when we depend on God and lean on Him for guidance, He will teach us what to say, and He will bring us His peace. While Jesus wept when realizing that the city He loved would ultimately be destroyed, He still loved the city and the people living within its walls. Even if our own lives cause Jesus pain, He still loves each of us and He wants to help heal our hurts.

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 intentionally depend on Him for help facing the challenges that life brings our way. Know that the only place we can find true, lasting peace is through Jesus.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow closer to Jesus personally. While someone else can give you ideas to think about, never let your relationship with Jesus depend on anyone else. Praying personally and studying the Bible personally help grow your personal relationship with Him.

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

As we start into another year of moving through Jesus’ life, it feels a little strange looking at passages many of us probably have heard or read as recently as last month during the Christmas season. However, while these portions of the gospels seem to be reserved for reading during the month of December, the beginning of Jesus’ story on earth has much more to teach us than simply the fact that He was born.

But before touching on Jesus’ own birth story, the gospel of Luke describes another significant birth, and it is in this event that we can see some powerful insights that are relevant for everyone living today, regardless of the time of year we are in.

The event we are focusing on in this episode can be found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 1, and we will read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 5, Luke tells us that:

⁵ In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. ⁶ Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. ⁷ But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

I want to pause briefly because what Luke tells us about Zechariah and Elizabeth is incredibly profound. Luke tells us that this priest and his wife were righteous in God’s eyes, and at least part of the reason for this is that they observed all of God’s commandments and decrees blamelessly. While this doesn’t mean they had never sinned, it does mean they were living right within the path God would have them live.

However, being close with God and right within His will didn’t bring an answer to a specific prayer that they both likely would have had. For years, this couple probably prayed to God asking for a child, asking for Elizabeth to be healed and to be able to conceive, and it appears at this point in their lives that God has said “no” to their request.

But the biggest idea I want to draw our attention to about this couple is that even when it felt like God was saying “no”, both husband and wife remained faithful, obedient, and trusting that God knew best. While they didn’t know that the “no” answer was really a “not yet” response, when God sends an angel to finally answer this prayer, it seems unbelievable.

Picking back up in verse 8, let’s continue and learn what happened when God sent an answer to this prayer:

⁸ Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, ⁹ he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. ¹³ But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. ¹⁴ He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. ¹⁶ He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸ Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

¹⁹ The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰ And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

When receiving this message from an angel, Zechariah’s first response was asking for some sort of sign or guarantee that it would happen. While it is easy for us to be critical of Zechariah’s response and lack of faith, we too can fall into the similar trap of giving up on God when it seems as though our prayers are not answered. Too often, we don’t hold onto God long enough to see the answer to our prayer.

In Zechariah’s case, Gabriel the angel actually gives him a clear sign. We might look at being silent and unable to speak as a punishment for Zechariah’s response, but in reality, this sign was well within the realm of what Zechariah requested. Zechariah wanted some proof that the angel’s promise would come true, and the sign he received would go forward with him until John’s birth.

However, in my own mind, I see this sign being something for more than just Zechariah and Elizabeth. Throughout Jerusalem, the story would spread about the priest who saw an angel and was struck mute. This would shine the spotlight on John’s birth, and give those living in that generation the message that John’s life and ministry would be significant in God’s plan.

Looking at this event from a different angle, when I read about what happened, this event points out that the first person God breaks the silence towards is a priest who has faithfully obeyed Him and who has a prayer that needs to be answered. From between the close of the Old Testament and the start of the New Testament, there was about 400 years where God seemed silent.

While during that time, God was not absent in the lives of His people, and during these 400 years of silence, prayers were being answered, during the time between the two Testaments, no messengers or prophets came from God, and as far as I know, no angels visited with messages from God either. This means that the priests would be the first to officially learn that God was opening up communication with His people, and that He was about to step into history in a big way. It’s too bad that most of the priests missed seeing the significance of what was about to happen within the next few decades.

As we come to the close of our first podcast of the new year, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

If it feels like God is silent or ignoring your prayers, don’t give up on Him. Instead, choose to be like Zechariah and Elizabeth and press forward in obedience. While we don’t always know why God answers or doesn’t answer prayers, this shouldn’t stop us from trusting that He knows something we don’t. Perhaps our prayers are like Zechariah and Elizabeth’s prayer and God is waiting for the right time to send us an answer.

Also, intentionally pray and study the Bible for yourself. Don’t assume that just listening to a podcast or attending church is enough for your relationship with God. God wants to teach us so much more than we could ever learn in a public or podcast setting, and it begins by setting aside time for personal prayer and bible 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 give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!