Reflective Bible Study

Hey guys,

I know last week for our flashback episode, I said we’d be taking a break this week and as it turns out next week as well since there are two Mondays left in this year. However, after recording that, I thought I’d pull out the recording gear and record a little Christmas greeting for you since it’s Christmas Eve and all.

As many of us are spending time with friends and family remembering the ultimate gift that God sent into this world, remember that God’s gift to us through Jesus only has value because of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. Also, it is worth remembering that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross only has value in our own lives when we have accepted Jesus into our hearts and let Him lead and guide our lives.

While culture has placed a significant emphasis on gift giving during these last few weeks, whether this is buying gifts for others or even buying gifts for yourself, remember that the gift God gave us through Jesus isn’t a gift we can buy, sell, or even repay. The gift Jesus gave us is His life, and Jesus’ life within our lives leads us to ultimately receive eternal life when Jesus returns.

With all this said, let me again say Merry Christmas and I hope that this Christmas season is a time of joy, love, and a time we can remember what Jesus ultimately gave for us by coming to this earth to redeem each of us!

This episode marks the first part of our finale in our second chronological year podcasting through Jesus’ life, and as we begin, let me wish all of you a very special, very Merry Christmas during this holiday season. While I don’t have any idea what most of those listening to this episode are doing, I hope you are able to spend some time remembering Jesus and what His birth into this world ultimately means for our salvation.

As we have looked at over this past year of podcasting, we got a glimpse of who Jesus was when He came to earth during His first advent, and this glimpse that has been recorded for us will help us clearly recognize Him when He returns!

As is our custom, these two last episodes each year are focused on sharing insights that we uncovered during this past year of podcasts, and as is always the case, we discovered so many great insights that make our list difficult to narrow down to something manageable for this set of finale episodes.

With this said, let’s dive into what we learned during the first half of our year moving chronologically through the gospels looking at events in Jesus’ life and pull out some of these awesome insights.

Let’s start by focusing on what we discovered in episode 1, which focused on the two genealogies of Jesus. While other people might see these lists as boring, when we looked at them together, we discovered that like our human parents helped direct the nurture side of our lives, perhaps God could be said as directing the nature side of our development. As a parent, I am able to partner with God in my children’s development. Just like my wife and I are parents to our children, we could also understand God as being a parent to us. When we help raise our children, we are called and challenged to raise them up into being who God created them to be.

Jumping forward to episode 3, where we looked at some prophecies surrounding Jesus’ birth, we discovered that if the religious leaders stopped looking for the Messiah because of Herod’s mass killing of the infants in Bethlehem, then it shows how little faith they had in God – specifically in God’s ability to protect the Messiah that He promised to send. In this episode, we also were challenged by the realization that knowledge is a poor substitute for attention, and if we are not paying attention, no amount of knowledge will keep us from drifting away from God.

Blasting forward to episode number 8, we looked a little closer at Jesus inviting the tax collector Matthew to be a disciple. In this episode, we learned that “good enough” is the enemy of where God wants to take us. God has so many amazing things in His mind for each of us, but if we settle for “good enough”, we stop short of the plan God has for our lives. In other words, good enough is the enemy of God’s great plan for each of us, and it is up to us to be willing to be taught, helped, and lead forward in our lives and our understanding of God and His plan for each of us.

Skipping over episode 9, we come to episode 10, where we looked at a section of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount. In this episode and passage, Jesus tells us that the intent of the law is to guard our thoughts and our minds from doing evil – and not just giving us the excuse that the law is only relevant for our external actions. The gift Jesus gave to us does not give us a license to sin. Jesus’ gift to us gives us freedom from our past sins.

In the very next episode, number 11, we looked at Jesus teaching on the topic of forgiveness. We learned from what Jesus told those listening that God forgiving our sins is necessary for us to be in heaven, and according to what Jesus says here, He will not forgive us when we choose to not forgive others. Jesus challenges us in this passage to do for others, what God has already done for us!

Jumping forward to episode 13, we looked at John the Baptist sending some followers to Jesus with a question. In this episode, we were challenged with the idea that when something we read or are challenged with doesn’t display a loving picture of God, we are challenged to tell ourselves that we only have less than half a perspective. In every event throughout history, there are always more sides to any event than we can fully uncover. With that understanding, we can know and trust that just because something doesn’t look loving from our vantage point, it does not make it unloving from God’s perspective.

Moving forward to episode 15, we looked a little closer at Jesus teaching about a lamp being placed on a lamp stand and how that is a metaphor for our lives. In this episode, we concluded that if God has made us a light for Him, then hiding us away is very illogical. As lights pointing people to Jesus and God, we shouldn’t be surprised when He places us on a lamp-stand, and gives us a platform to shine from.

In the next episode, which was episode number 16, we looked at Jesus sleeping through the storm in a boat. In this episode, we were reminded of the truth that Jesus had complete trust in God and His protection for His life. We also were challenged with the idea that God didn’t keep the storm from happening to Jesus and the disciples, but He protected them all through it.

Jumping ahead to episode 17, where we focused in on Jesus healing some blind men as well as a mute, demon-possessed man, we uncovered a simple litmus test we could use when looking at miracles that happen in our lives. We concluded that if the miracle we are experiencing leads us to strengthen our faith in God, Jesus, and/or the work of the Holy Spirit, then the miracle was from God. If the miracle leads us to place our faith in anything else, then there is a different spiritual force working behind the miracle.

Moving ahead to episode 19, we spent a little bit of time unpacking what we could learn from one time where the crowds abandoned Jesus after Jesus had shared a challenging message with them. In this episode, we discovered that Jesus’ words have creative, restorative, and life-giving power, and they are the essence of His ministry. The miracles and healing then become significant because they point us to pay attention to Jesus’ message and Jesus as God’s Messenger. The miracles lead us to the Messenger and His message, while the Messenger and His message bring us eternal life.

In the very next episode, episode number 20, we looked at Jesus feeding a new crowd of over 4,000 people. In this episode, passage, and miracle, we learned that sometimes we will have to put in the little that we have in order for God to multiply it into being something more. Gifts that other people bring can be multiplied by Jesus, but so can the gifts that we bring too. In this passage, we also discovered that Jesus sometimes will prompt a miracle because He knows we need it perhaps even without us asking. We don’t see people in the crowd asking for or demanding a miracle. We simply see Jesus offering to perform the miracle because He knows the people need it.

Moving forward to episode 21, we looked at Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Messiah God sent into the world. While there was a lot we discovered in this episode, one key insight that is always worth remembering is that it is God the Father and His Spirit who impress upon people the truth about who Jesus is. We can share the good news, we can tell others about Jesus and how our faith has helped our lives, but only God can really move someone to internalize the truth about who Jesus is in their own hearts. Only God can make Jesus real to someone.

As we come to the halfway point of our year, let’s wrap up this first part of our year-end finale by looking at episode 23 and on what Jesus taught His followers about dealing with conflict. In this episode, we discovered that God didn’t call us to hate, avoid, or put down those who don’t believe in Him or those who collect taxes. He calls us to love them. Jesus loved people who didn’t believe in God, and Jesus loved tax collectors. Jesus complimented Zacchaeus the tax collector after He visited Him in Jericho and He called Matthew the tax collector to be one of His twelve closest disciples. While the one who doesn’t listen to the church will be moved to the outside of the ring, there is nothing in Jesus’ words that tell us that the circle of the church is to be exclusively focused inward.

This leads us beautifully into our challenges to wrap up this podcast episode.

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to reflect Him and His love in the world around us. If you are unsure about what God’s love looks like, look no further than Jesus.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to Jesus each and every day. While other people have ideas to think about, never let someone else’s spiritual journey get in the way or replace your personal spiritual journey with God. God wants a personal relationship with you and for your relationship to be personal, it cannot be based on another person’s relationship.

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 begin our special, annual two-part finale, first off I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas. We are well into one of my favorite times of the year, and while it’s likely not the time Jesus actually was born, it is a great time to remember His birth, and what that means for all of His followers living around the world.

This fourth chronological year was a powerful year, and we covered some challenging passages. I know I learned a lot while putting these episodes together, and I hope you learned a lot through what was shared.

As our custom is, let’s begin looking back at some of the biggest insights, at least in my own mind from this past year of episodes. As always, there are way more insights than we can cover in one, or even in two episodes, so this is why we break this finale into two parts while also having to pick and choose.

We began the year looking at Jesus’ birth story, and in our first episode, which focused in on Gabriel the angel’s visit to Mary, we discovered two powerful reminders we can apply into our own lives. The first is that Mary is a perfect example of someone willing to let God use her for His plan. Mary humbly steps into the role of the Messiah’s mother and her example is an example to all of us how a life surrendered to God can be used for His purposes. The second big reminder we can learn is from Gabriel’s message. Gabriel tells Mary that “No word from God will ever fail”. This promise is as true today as it was in the first century when Gabriel spoke it.

Jumping a few episodes forward, we arrive in episode number 3, which focused in on John the Baptist’s message and ministry. Luke describes John’s message, and from this description, we discovered that “Our greatest witness is how we live our lives each day,” and that “We shouldn’t rest on our past ancestry, our past choices, or our past accomplishments. A live of repentance is lived each and every day.”

Episode number 4 focused in on Jesus’ first followers, and how John’s gospel describes how Jesus’ first followers go and invite others to come and see Jesus. When faced with skeptical responses, they simply give an invitation. We can learn from this example that “Jesus did the convincing, we simply need to do the inviting”.

Moving forward into episode 6, from Jesus’ trip to His hometown synagogue, we learned that any “Christian” who does not love someone from another worldview, or even another denomination, is not acting as Christ instructed us to do. Jesus loved Gentiles, and this tells us that God loves both Jews and Gentiles.

Jumping up into episode 9, while reading about Jesus picking the 12 disciples, we see that Jesus spent the night praying before choosing His inner circle, and Jesus specifically chose Judas Iscariot. God knew Judas would betray Jesus, and Jesus choosing Judas Iscariot demonstrates that God is willing to even give betrayers a chance. God loved the betrayer and Jesus was willing to give Judas Iscariot every possible opportunity to place his faith in Him. We also discover how Jesus picked the least likely team of people from the world’s perspective to be His ambassadors for the Christian movement.

A couple episodes later, in episode number 11, we focused on Jesus’ teaching about worry. We learned that “If you cannot change something, it isn’t worth paying a lot of attention to it”. We also asked the question, “Does this desire or goal I have place God’s kingdom first?” This question makes for a great litmus test for if our focus is on the right things. Overall episode 11’s passage taught us that “Trust and faith is the antidote for worry. When worry is present in our lives, we can know we have room for faith and trust to grow.”

Episode 12 focused on Jesus helping a Roman officer. In this episode, we realized that “God’s goal for us is not an easy life in a sinful world. God’s goal for each of His followers is a new life with Him in a sinless new heaven and new earth!”

In the very next episode, episode number 13, we discover a huge truth in the gift a woman gave Jesus, and how Jesus chose to respond. In this episode, we learn that “the sin in our past doesn’t matter as must as our decisions in the present. Forgiveness is available for everyone who turns away from sin.” This episode also taught us that “how we choose to love Jesus demonstrates how forgiven we really are.”

Episode 14 focused on Jesus telling us why listening to His teachings is important, and how by applying what Jesus teaches in our lives is the best way to understand God’s plan for our lives.

A couple episodes later, in episode number 16, we looked at what happened when Jesus got distracted from going to heal a little girl. In this episode, we discovered in the almost secret miracle a formula that can be described as this: Faith + Jesus = a Miracle. The woman who was healed, was healed because she placed her faith in Jesus. This passage reminds us that Jesus is the best place to place our faith.

Moving forward to episode 19, which focused on Jesus insulting a gentile woman, we discover that “In God’s eyes, His people will not display an ‘us vs. them’ attitude. Instead, God’s people will display an ‘us blessing/helping/loving them’ attitude. This is God’s challenge for all His people!”

Following this episode, we then looked at a misunderstanding Jesus has with His disciples in episode 20. This misunderstanding taught us that “God will not bless us in a way that causes us to lose our salvation, but He will also not curse us when we could have been saved under difference circumstances.”

Jumping forward to episode 22, we focused on a passage that defines how God sees greatness. In this episode, one of the big truths we learned was that “Greatness in God’s eyes has to do with stepping down and welcoming those who are unknown in Jesus’ name.”

In episode 23, we find Jesus traveling through Samaria, and a town refuses to let Him stay the night. In this episode, we discovered that both the Samaritans in that town, and some of the disciples are prejudiced towards one another. We discovered from Jesus’ response that “Prejudice doesn’t help anyone. The Samaritans missed out on Jesus and the disciples were scolded because each group was prejudiced. Jesus modeled the right response when He was rejected. Jesus chose to simply move on to another town.”

Episode 24 continued episode 23’s theme about prejudice when we learned that the Pharisees rejected Jesus because they believed no prophet would ever come from the secular region of Galilee. We learned that we can fall into the same trap when we close our eyes and minds to the possibility that God could use some tragic event, a certain group of people who are different from us, or even a certain style of music for His purposes. We set ourselves up to be challenged when God chooses to use something we believe He would never use.

We’ll finish this first part of our annual two-part finale by focusing on the huge truths we learned in episode 25. In this episode, Jesus is teaching and challenging those in the temple during one of the major Jewish festivals, and we learned that holding onto and applying Jesus’ teachings are what make us His disciples. It is only after we hold onto and apply Jesus’ message that we will then know the truth and be set free. We also learned that sin’s goal is to trap and enslave us while Jesus came to set us free and adopt us into God’s family. We learned that death is reserved for those who disobey Jesus, and that Jesus came to honor God and free His people from the fear of death. Jesus teaches us that all the petty excuses and insults people try to use to discredit will never change who Jesus truly is. Jesus is God who came to earth as a human. Obedience is the way we discover the validity of God’s truth in our lives.

As we come to the end of part 1 of this yearly two-part finale, ending with even more challenges doesn’t make a lot of sense, especially when we have covered so many great challenges and things we’ve learned this past year in the gospels. So instead, I’ll simply remind each of us to:

Seek God first and place Him first in our lives;

To always pray and study the Bible for ourselves to keep our connection with God strong;

And to never stop short of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

At the end of Jesus’ time on earth, He sends the disciples out with a commission to tell the world about Him. Last week, we focused in on one big commission we find in John’s gospel, and this week, while we could focus in on Matthew’s commission, which is the most famous one, let’s instead look at Mark’s version.

In my own mind, Mark’s version of this event might be a little more challenging than the commissions included in the other gospels.

Our passage for this episode can be found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 16, and we will be reading it from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 15:

¹⁵ Jesus said to his followers, “Go everywhere in the world, and tell the Good News to everyone. ¹⁶ Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved, but anyone who does not believe will be punished. ¹⁷ And those who believe will be able to do these things as proof: They will use my name to force out demons. They will speak in new languages. ¹⁸ They will pick up snakes and drink poison without being hurt. They will touch the sick, and the sick will be healed.”

¹⁹ After the Lord Jesus said these things to his followers, he was carried up into heaven, and he sat at the right side of God. ²⁰ The followers went everywhere in the world and told the Good News to people, and the Lord helped them. The Lord proved that the Good News they told was true by giving them power to work miracles.

This passage ends the book of Mark. I will note that this conclusion is part of the longer conclusion to Mark’s gospel, and many Bibles will include the note that verses 9-20 are not in many of the early manuscripts. In my own mind, I can understand why. Mark’s longer conclusion includes many challenging ideas.

However, the big question is whether this conclusion at the end of Mark was added by others to enhance Mark’s gospel conclusion, or whether it was tried to be erased by many early writers because it was challenging.

I will be the first to say that I don’t know. A case could be made for adding Mark’s conclusion, or for removing it.

From a removing angle, I can understand why many in the early church might not want this commission around. This is primarily because if the miracles that Mark’s gospel included ever stopped, which they did shortly after the first generation of disciples and church leaders, Mark’s gospel record would then imply that God wasn’t as closely connected with His church. I doubt this would be the case, but the longer conclusion of Mark might make a historian wonder about that.

However, when we look at what Mark’s conclusion includes, almost everything it says is validated in the first century church and the first generation of believers. While this is great evidence that God was working powerfully in the first century Christian movement, it is also a prime opportunity for a well meaning scribe, when seeing that Mark’s gospel doesn’t end all that well, to craft his own ending with the details that he knows happened in the first century church.

The first century disciples used Jesus’ name to force out demons and to heal the sick. They spoke new languages. Paul is even recorded as being bit by a very poisonous or venomous snake and not being hurt. All these things are excellent proof that God was with the first century church, but with how everything is neatly consolidated at the end of Mark’s gospel, and when there is a little bit of discrepancy whether Mark included these details in his original version of his gospel record, a case can be made that these things were added later.

Whether a scribe added the longer version of Mark’s gospel at a later date to help give this gospel a stronger conclusion, or whether the early church wanted to remove Mark’s commission record because there weren’t as many clear miracles present after the first generation of believers, I don’t believe that either group or either case was being deceitful or acting against God. I believe both options actually desired to see God’s church glorified more.

However, what are we to do with Mark’s commission now that we live 2000+ years later?

Whether Mark included his commission or not, the rest of the New Testament confirms the challenge that Mark may have written. Regardless of whether he did include it or not, this longer ending to this gospel draws our attention onto how the Holy Spirit was moving in the first century church, and it includes a challenge that makes me think that the Holy Spirit’s presence was intended to be more permanent in the Christian movement moving forward.

I believe the Holy Spirit has been with God’s church from the moment He came and validated Jesus’ ministry while Jesus was here on earth, and also this would include when He visibly came at the beginning of the book of Acts to the early Christians in the upper room during the festival of Pentecost.

However, while I believe that the Holy Spirit has been active and moving in the church ever since the first century, I believe that the Holy Spirit ultimately had to switch to only working behind the scenes after the first few generations. While this isn’t bad when we look at it from one angle, I don’t believe the Holy Spirit intended to become less visible.

When reading Mark’s commission, I get the impression that those in the first century church didn’t expect the Holy Spirit to become any less visible, and this is the impression I get when reading the letters from Paul and Peter as well.

This commission in Mark’s gospel is both exciting and challenging for all of us. If those in the first century lived so close with God that they had the Holy Spirit move in their lives in visible, miraculous ways; and these early church leaders did not believe that they were somehow special or exclusively picked to receive the Holy Spirit; that means that each of us, living 2000+ years later is capable of living lives that are so close to God that the Holy Spirit cannot help but show up in powerful miraculous ways.

I cannot think of a better way to conclude our four, chronological years of moving through the gospels that with this conclusion. The best conclusion we can have is the challenge for a new beginning with God, and with the Holy Spirit, and with stepping out in faith into the life God created you to live.

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

Be sure to always intentionally seek God first and intentionally move towards Him each and every day. Make prayer and Bible study a regular habit, and be so committed towards moving towards God that the Holy Spirit cannot help but impact your life.

Also, as I always say, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself because through the pages of the Bible, we can discover God’s plan, His character, and our future when we choose Him. Don’t let a pastor, author, podcaster, or anyone else get in the way of your personal relationship with God. While other people can give you great things to think about, your relationship with God must be your own.

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