Reflective Bible Study

Picking back up where we left off of in our last episode, we continue looking at a set of prophecies that focus on John the Baptist stepping into history as Jesus’ forerunner in ministry. In our last episode, we looked at a prophecy in Isaiah that John used to frame his ministry. And in this episode, we’ll look at a prophecy that other people, specifically Jesus, frame John to be.

However, before looking at Jesus’ words about John, let’s first read the Old Testament prophecy that will be the foundation for this topic. This prophecy and our passage is found in the book of Malachi, chapter 4, and we will read it using the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 1, Malachi writes:

¹ “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” ² “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. ³ You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says the Lord of hosts.

⁴ “Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.

⁵ “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. ⁶ He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”

Similar to how the prophecy in our last episode can be interpreted in a broader context than simply looking at Jesus’ first coming, I can easily see how this prophecy in Malachi could have multiple ways it could be fulfilled.

Personally, if I imagine the time when history is over and eternity has begun, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn how this prophecy had several times when it was fulfilled, because at its essence, this prophecy draws our focus onto God sending an Elijah-like prophet into the world prior to doing anything big in the world. Jesus arriving into this world to bring about salvation is huge, and it is worth sending someone ahead of Him to prepare the way. Jesus returning to the earth at the end of time is another time that I could see warranting an Elijah-like prophet to warn people what would be coming soon.

However, while there are several ways this prophecy could be understood, when we look at how Jesus frames John’s life, we get an interesting picture.

In Matthew’s gospel, chapter 11, starting in verse 11, Matthew writes Jesus’ words, saying:

¹¹ Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. ¹³ For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

In this declaration to Jesus’ disciples after John’s disciples had left to deliver a message from Jesus to John, Jesus draws attention onto John being Elijah.

However, in the crazy world we live in where people like to cherry-pick passages out of the Bible to support their claims, I have read non-Christians use this verse to support the idea of reincarnation, specifically that Jesus made the claim that John was actually a reincarnated Elijah.

The only way this claim makes sense is if someone is vastly ignorant of the Old Testament Elijah and the New Testament teachings of Jesus. In the Old Testament, Elijah did not die. Instead, he was carried to heaven in a whirlwind and a fiery chariot. If you are interested in looking this event up, it can be found in 2 Kings, chapter 2, verses 1 through 14.

In order to be reincarnated, one must have at least physically died, or at least that is how I understand it. Since Elijah did not physically die, that presents a problem for this claim of reincarnation.

Moving forward into the New Testament, to the passage we looked at in our last episode, John himself does not claim to be Elijah. In John 1:19-23, we read John the Baptist’s own words where John the gospel writer tells us:

¹⁹ This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” ²¹ They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²² Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” ²³ He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Both the Old and New Testaments challenge this example as supporting the idea of reincarnation, and John the Baptist would be the one most clearly informed about whether he was actually Elijah or not.

Instead, Luke frames John the Baptist’s life and ministry a little differently, and in a way that is less likely to be misunderstood. In Luke, chapter 1, starting in verse 8, prior to John even having been born, Luke tells us:

⁸ Now it happened that while he [referring to Zacharias, who would become John the Baptist’s father] was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, ⁹ according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering. ¹¹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. ¹² Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. ¹⁴ You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵ For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

In Malachi’s prophecy, which is found at the very end of the Old Testament, we discover a powerful prediction about God sending a forerunner ahead of Jesus stepping into the world. This forerunner would fulfill the spiritual role that Elijah filled, and he would help prepare those who would listen to the truth that God’s Messiah had entered the world. In this way, John filled Elijah’s spiritual shoes, or you could say Elijah’s mission, while technically not being Elijah himself.

Just like our prophecy in our last episode has relevance for people living outside of the first century, this prophecy is equally as powerful. Looking at Malachi’s words promising a messenger coming prior to God’s Day of Judgment, we can step into this Elijah-like role when we help others turn to, or perhaps turn back to, God.

God has promised to send messengers prior to Him stepping into the world in a big way, and we can collectively step into this role when we help each other turn towards God while also turning away from sin.

When we lead people to Jesus, not only are we increasing the number of people who will be saved, we are also living our lives in the spirit and power of Elijah as we look forward to the day Jesus will return and the day when sin will be wiped into the past.

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

As I always open by challenging you, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to move forward in your life in the spirit and power of Elijah, focusing your heart and life on God while also leading others to Jesus.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to keep your connection with God strong, and to keep your relationship with Him personal. While other people can have good things to think about, don’t let your relationship with God be dependent on anyone else. Don’t let anyone squeeze their way between you and God. God wants a personal relationship with you and Jesus came to make that relationship possible.

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!

As we continue moving through Luke’s gospel, we arrive at a point where on the surface, it appears Jesus disregards one of the Ten Commandments on two separate occasions. However, when we look a little closer at what Luke describes in these events, we discover a powerful truth about God’s ideal for His Sabbath day celebration.

Let’s read about what happened. Our passage for this event is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 6, and we will read from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 1, Luke describes what happened:

¹ One Sabbath day Jesus was walking through some fields of grain. His followers picked the heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. ² Some Pharisees said, “Why do you do what is not lawful on the Sabbath day?”

³ Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? ⁴ He went into God’s house and took and ate the holy bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he gave some to the people who were with him.” ⁵ Then Jesus said to the Pharisees, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath day.”

⁶ On another Sabbath day Jesus went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man with a crippled right hand was there. ⁷ The teachers of the law and the Pharisees were watching closely to see if Jesus would heal on the Sabbath day so they could accuse him. ⁸ But he knew what they were thinking, and he said to the man with the crippled hand, “Stand up here in the middle of everyone.” The man got up and stood there. ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath day: to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?” ¹⁰ Jesus looked around at all of them and said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man held out his hand, and it was healed.

¹¹ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were very angry and discussed with each other what they could do to Jesus.

In these two events, it appears as though Jesus completely disregarded the Sabbath day. One reason for this was because over the previous few hundred years, the religious leaders had built up the importance of the Sabbath and the significance of it beginning at the time of Nehemiah and the restoration of Jerusalem and the temple.

At that point in history, the Jews realized that their exile had been caused by a rejection of God’s Ten Commandments and it had began subtly as a rejection of the Sabbath commandment. Incidentally, the Sabbath commandment is the easiest commandment of the ten to discount as insignificant.

In response to this realization, the Jewish leaders began building up walls of protection for the Sabbath day to keep people from accidentally or inadvertently breaking the Sabbath and bringing God’s punishment back on the people. By the time Jesus came, there was a complex set of rules around what should be done and what should be avoided on God’s special day. Through the extensive set of rules meant to protect the Sabbath, the religious leaders had sucked out all the joy God had intended for His special day of the week.

With this background in mind, we then come to Jesus stepping into the spotlight. If Jesus had stepped into the spotlight 500 years earlier or 500 years later, we would see Him respond to the Sabbath in significantly different ways. Five hundred years on either side of this issue, the Sabbath was being looked down on and marginalized rather than being overly protected. If Jesus stepped into history at a different point, we would likely get a different impression of what Jesus believed for the Sabbath.

Or would we? Would the impression Jesus gives us about the Sabbath be different?

As I think about this, I don’t think it would be. From our passage and these two events, we discover two huge themes Jesus believed about the Sabbath.

From the challenge the Pharisees give Jesus about His disciples picking grain on the Sabbath, we discover Jesus’ reply doesn’t really defend the disciples’ actions, it simply frames the actions of a highly regarded historical figure in a different light. It is as though Jesus counters the seemingly horrible act the disciples are accused of by saying that David, a great king from Israel’s past, did an even worse thing by eating special bread. However, following this illustration, Jesus makes a startling claim in verse 5, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath day.”

This is significant because Jesus uses the phrase “Son of Man” to refer to Himself, and He tells us that He is Lord of the Sabbath day. As followers of Jesus, we would do well to pay attention to how Jesus acted towards the Sabbath day, because He has laid claim to the Sabbath day in this verse. From this point forward, we should look to Jesus for our cues on how to relate to the Sabbath.

Fortunately for us, Luke follows this first event up with a second event focused on the Sabbath. In this Sabbath-day healing, Jesus asks the religious leaders a question that helps to frame what He believes the significance of the Sabbath is. In verse 9, Jesus asks the religious leaders present, “which is lawful on the Sabbath day: to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?”

Jesus frames the Sabbath as a day to do good, not to do evil; and a day to save lives rather than destroy them. Regardless of what you believe the significance of the Sabbath is 2,000 years after Jesus made this claim, the truth Jesus hints at in this question should be a common foundation for believers.

Jesus intentionally healed the man’s hand on the Sabbath day, in a way that could not be even remotely considered work, but because these religious leaders only saw Jesus as a doctor who healed people, and not a teacher or prophet, Jesus’ healing must be classified as work. The religious leaders’ hostility towards Jesus over how He treated the Sabbath was not because Jesus didn’t take the Sabbath seriously, it was because Jesus openly challenged their traditions and rules regarding the Sabbath and Jesus elevated the Sabbath as a day to worship God and to be a blessing to others.

The Sabbath was a memorial of God creating this world and everything in it, and the Sabbath was also given the status as a memorial of God saving His people out of slavery. In the same way, Jesus elevates the Sabbath and gives it the significance of remembering when He came to save us from sin. Just like God finished His work of creation on the sixth day of the week by creating humanity before resting on the Sabbath, Jesus finished His work of redeeming humanity on the sixth day of the week on the cross before resting on the Sabbath. Jesus modeled the Sabbath and taught it was a day to rest and a day to remember what God has blessed us with, and that it is a time to celebrate just how much God has done for us!

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

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life, and choose to let Him lead and guide you forward. If you haven’t done so recently, look at the Sabbath in the Bible and discover how this might just be one of the most significant forgotten gifts God has ever blessed us with. While many today believe the Sabbath is simply any day that is set apart, realize that the Bible teaches us that the Sabbath is a specific day of the week, and while the term sabbath is used to describe other special celebration days, it is also the name of a specific day of the week.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, purposefully pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow your relationship with God. Decide to study the Sabbath out for yourself. Don’t take my word, or anyone else’s word for what the Bible teaches at face value. Determine to study this out for yourself. I’m certain that you will be surprised with what you discover!

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!

As we move forward in our year looking at prophecies that point towards Jesus, we come to a set of prophecies that focus not on Jesus directly, but on Jesus’ forerunner in ministry, who was John the Baptist. The first of these prophecies we will look at in this episode, and the next prophecy, we’ll save for our next episode.

When thinking of prophecies that point towards John the Baptist, the first prophecy that comes to my mind is one found in the writings of Isaiah, and this was a prophecy that John the Baptist attributes to himself and also that Luke’s gospel draws our attention onto John’s ministry fulfilling.

This prophecy is found in the book of Isaiah, chapter 40, and we will read it using the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 1, Isaiah writes:

¹ “Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.
² “Speak kindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her warfare has ended,
That her iniquity has been removed,
That she has received of the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”

³ A voice is calling,
“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
⁴ “Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
⁵ Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

On a simple reading of this prophecy, shared with a little bit of context leading up to it, we might be tempted to think this prophecy wasn’t fulfilled within the first century. The reason for this is because the context for this prophecy prompts us to look for a time after Israel has finished with war, which would imply a time of relative peace.

Aside from a few rare occasions throughout history, while Israel has been a country or state, there has been no shortage of wars or political clashes in that area.

However, while reading the gospels and how they focus us on the time period of John the Baptist’s ministry, as well as Jesus’ ministry, we get a picture of a relatively peaceful time that is sandwiched between times of unrest. If there were other messiah’s actively rallying people against Rome while Jesus was alive, the gospels only hint at it rather than draw our attention onto it directly. Barabbas’ introduction and presence during Jesus’ trial is one of the only hints at there being other messiahs present during Jesus’ ministry, and that there may have been minor uprisings against Rome that were not successful.

While knowing Israel’s history of conflict might make us doubt the context of this prophecy, it is very clear when we read the authors of the New Testament that they saw a connection. In the gospel of John, which was written by a different man and not John the Baptist, we get a picture for how John the Baptist wanted his ministry framed. In the gospel of John, chapter 1, starting in verse 19, we read:

¹⁹ This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” ²¹ They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²² Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” ²³ He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

²⁴ Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. ²⁷ It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸ These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

In this passage, we get the clear picture that John framed his ministry as being the one prophesied about in Isaiah’s writings. Luke’s gospel also draws our attention onto this connection, even a little more directly, when we read in Luke, chapter 3, starting in verse 1, that:

¹ Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, ² in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. ³ And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; ⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight.
⁵ ‘Every ravine will be filled,
And every mountain and hill will be brought low;
The crooked will become straight,
And the rough roads smooth;
⁶ And all flesh will see the salvation of God.’”

Within this prophecy, all the focus is pointed towards preparing the road for the arrival of the Messiah. While the prophecy itself seems to focus on preparing the landscape for a physical arrival, it is interesting in my mind that the verses leading up to the prophecy focus on the people of Israel, and specifically the people of Jerusalem.

This context then prompts me to see John the Baptist’s ministry as one that focused on preparing the nation of Israel, and specifically the hearts of those living in the nation of Israel, towards God.

Also, it is fascinating in my mind that the context of this prophecy has the strong theme within it that when the Messiah arrived, the slate of Israel’s past sins is symbolically wiped clean. Leading up to our prophecy in Isaiah, we read in verse 2:

“Speak kindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her warfare has ended,
That her iniquity has been removed,
That she has received of the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”

This verse points us towards God’s forgiveness of Israel’s past, and that when Jesus ultimately steps onto the scene, those living in the first century would be given a brand new chance to accept the Messiah God had sent.

Seeing this detail draws my attention onto the infinite number of ways Jesus’ ministry could have gone differently. While Jesus’ death had been written into history, the way Jesus got there, the response of the religious leaders, and the rejection Jesus faced, could have all gone differently. While aspects of Jesus’ life likely would remain the same to fulfill specific prophecies, this prophecy in Isaiah points to that generation being given a clean, second chance, and that they had within their power the choice to accept Jesus, or reject Him.

This choice is the same with us today. I suspect that our own lives could be drawn into this prophecy as well. As we move forward towards Jesus’ return, let’s pick up the challenge found in this prophecy and share Jesus with those God brings into our lives. Let’s begin by drawing close to God, and then let His love shine out of our lives and bless those He brings our way.

Through Jesus, we all have been given a second chance. Through Jesus, our slate of past sins has been wiped clean. Because of Jesus’ first coming, we can look forward with joy to Jesus’ second coming, and the ultimate end of pain, disease, sin, and even death. Let’s take the second chance we have been blessed with and use it to bless others while giving God the glory.

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

As I always open by challenging you, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to let God lead and guide you moving forward. Thank God for the forgiveness that He gave us through Jesus and use the second chance that He gave you and me to show His love to those He brings into our lives.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself, to grow your personal relationship with God. God wants a personal relationship with you. While pastors, authors, bloggers, and even a podcaster can have ideas worth thinking about, never let anyone get between you and 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!

As we continue moving through Luke’s gospel, we come to an event, specifically a miracle, where it appears as though Jesus uses this event to prove a point. However, this event does more than simply prove a point that most Christians currently believe today. In this event, we discover just how powerful faith in Jesus is and we discover something amazing about who Jesus was.

Our event and passage for this episode is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 5, and we will read it using the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 17, Luke tells us that:

¹⁷ One day some Pharisees and experts in the Law of Moses sat listening to Jesus teach. They had come from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem.

God had given Jesus the power to heal the sick, ¹⁸ and some people came carrying a crippled man on a mat. They tried to take him inside the house and put him in front of Jesus. ¹⁹ But because of the crowd, they could not get him to Jesus. So they went up on the roof, where they removed some tiles and let the mat down in the middle of the room.

²⁰ When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the crippled man, “My friend, your sins are forgiven.”

²¹ The Pharisees and the experts began arguing, “Jesus must think he is God! Only God can forgive sins.”

²² Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said, “Why are you thinking that? ²³ Is it easier for me to tell this crippled man that his sins are forgiven or to tell him to get up and walk? ²⁴ But now you will see that the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins here on earth.” Jesus then said to the man, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk home.”

²⁵ At once the man stood up in front of everyone. He picked up his mat and went home, giving thanks to God. ²⁶ Everyone was amazed and praised God. What they saw surprised them, and they said, “We have seen a great miracle today!”

In this event, three big ideas jump off the page at me.

First, it is amazing in my mind how Luke describes Jesus meeting this crippled man. Verse 20 describes this moment for us by saying, “When Jesus saw how much faith they [referring to this man’s friends] had, he said to the crippled man…”

While we are quick to jump to the message Jesus shared with the crippled man regarding this man’s forgiveness, it is very easy to skip over the detail that Luke alludes to. This man didn’t have significant faith in Jesus. Instead, this man’s friends had the unstoppable faith that, one way or another, they would get their friend in front of Jesus.

This is significant for us to pay attention to because it tells us that our faith can impact the lives of unbelievers around us. This man’s friends, while they were not receiving much of any personal benefit from carrying their crippled friend to Jesus, made a huge impact on the crippled man’s life. This miracle happened entirely because this man’s friends had faith in Jesus!

Second, when we look at Jesus’ message, the reaction of the religious leaders, and then at the miracle that happened, we are left to conclude something powerful. If Jesus had spoken outside of God’s will, God would not have allowed the man to be healed. Because of this, Jesus’ teaching was validated by God regardless of whether the religious leaders believed Jesus had the power or authority that He claimed to have.

This detail is significant for us to pay attention to because sometimes God will validate a message He sends with a miracle. However, don’t expect this to be God’s default method. In the gospels, this might be the only time Jesus uses a miracle to prove a spiritual point. In every other case I can think of right now, the miracles were given to help people and to cause people to pay attention. Once people were paying attention, Jesus then teaches a message that stood on its own.

Regardless of whether you believe Jesus’ message here, I don’t believe God would have let this man be healed if this teaching negatively impacted the impression those present had of God.

The third big idea I see in this passage comes in what Jesus’ key idea is. While Jesus does ultimately claim the right to forgive sins, this is not the key piece of His message. The key part of Jesus’ message is that this man’s sins were forgiven. Luke writes Jesus’ words in verse 20, saying, “My friend, your sins are forgiven.”

Looking at the details of what is said and what isn’t said here, Jesus does not say, “My friend, I forgive your sins” even though Jesus potentially could have said this. While the way the Pharisees and religious leaders respond seems to appear that they heard Jesus directly forgiving sins, Jesus’ message to this crippled man was one that assured him that his sins were forgiven.

From the earlier details that Luke includes, Jesus saw faith in the actions of this man’s friends. Luke does not indicate this crippled man had any faith. From the context of the message of forgiveness Jesus shared with this man, part of me wonders and could logically conclude this man believed God was punishing him for some sin in his past, and because of this sin, there was no hope that God loved him enough to heal him. The man’s friends had faith in Jesus’ healing ability, but this man doubted that God even wanted him to be healed. If God was punishing this man for a sin in his past, there would have been no way for Jesus to heal him against God’s will!

Jesus’ message to this man was not, “I forgive your sins”; Jesus’ message to this man was that his sins were forgiven. God was not holding a grudge against this man and punishing him by keeping him crippled. Instead, God loved this man enough that He led four friends to carry this man to Jesus, and to not be discouraged or give up when a crowd was not interested in letting them through.

Jesus ultimately does challenge those present regarding His authority to forgive sins, but the bigger message here is that Jesus came to assure us that our sins have already been forgiven and that God is not angry with us. God loves us and that is the entire reason why Jesus came to this world! God loves you and me and Jesus came to help us understand just how much God loves humanity!

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

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to accept that He has forgiven you of your sins. Accept this truth through what Jesus came to this world to accomplish. Choose to place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus and His sacrifice for you and me on our behalf.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God. Through prayer and Bible study, discover just how much God loves you and I and discover what He was willing to give to redeem us from being trapped in sin. Don’t let your relationship with God be based on the opinions of others. Study out God’s truth for yourself from the Bible to discover what God wants you to learn from His Word.

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 doubt yourself out of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!