Reflective Bible Study

Part way through Jesus’ ministry, He hears some news that would make for a good teaching point. As I read the gospels, it seems that Jesus loved teaching themes from the events and culture of the world which He lived in. Our passage for this episode is a perfect example of Jesus teaching based on the events of the world at that time.

To learn what happened, let’s look at Luke’s gospel, chapter 13, and let’s read from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, Luke tells us:

¹ Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. ² Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? ³ I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Let’s pause reading for a moment to touch on what Jesus has just shared. On hearing the news about a group of Galileans who were tortured and likely killed, Jesus senses the opportunity to share about the importance of repentance – and repentance as a continual habit.

Because of the rhetorical question Jesus asks, we can conclude that in the first century culture, the belief was that the way a person died was an indication of their life. If someone died a horrible, painful, or humiliating death, then they must have been bad, while someone who died of old age, painlessly, in their sleep must have lived well and close to God.

Stating this belief in this way draws out the fallacy of this belief. Someone who is very vocally for God may be singled out and tortured, but this wouldn’t be because they were living apart from God but for God. Jesus’ key idea here in the first half of our passage is that the death someone faces doesn’t determine their life – but while one is alive, repentance is crucial.

The two events Jesus includes in His teaching bring out the point that we don’t know when our lives will end. While most everyone hopes for a long life and a painless death in their sleep at the end of a full and rewarding life, this is not practical in all cases. Disease, sickness, accidents, violence, and natural disasters all can end life before it was meant to end. It doesn’t matter if you have 30 days to live or 30 years, what matters is what you focus on today – because with rare exceptions, no-one knows what day will be their last day alive.

To help push this point further, Jesus continues in verse 6 by sharing a parable:

⁶ Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. ⁷ So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

⁸ “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. ⁹ If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

What amazes me about this parable is that it has no ending. We don’t know if the servant taking care of the vineyard was able to spur the tree into producing figs in the coming year.

However, what we do know is that unknown to the tree, that fourth year, was a very important year for it. If it wasn’t fruitful during year four, it would be cut down.

When I read parables like this, I begin to imagine what each character represents. For this parable, God is probably the vineyard owner, and Jesus or the Holy Spirit would be top contenders for the vineyard manager. This leaves the fig tree to represent us as God’s people.

If this is the case, and we are represented by this fig tree, then the discussion we can see surrounding the time we have been given directly relates to how fruitful we are being. Not only does this imply that we develop a character that includes the fruits of the spirit, but it also implies that we must be doing something with what God has given to us. In other words, we should be using the talents that God has given to us in order to glorify Him.

I don’t want to take this parable too far and state that you only have one year to accomplish what God has placed you in this earth for, but echoing Jesus’ earlier remarks, no one knows when their time on earth will be up – which makes every day the most valuable day we have to live. While we can predict that if we are living today we will most likely be alive tomorrow, for many this won’t be the case, and it is wise to remember this truth.

However, while I include this disclaimer about not wanting to take the parable too far, I also want to restate Jesus’ key idea that how a person dies does not determine the life that person lived. There will be a point in time when our lives on earth will end, and at that point, the only thing that will have mattered is how our relationship with God is. If we have placed our belief, trust, hope, and faith in Jesus, then our eternal lives are guaranteed, but if we have lived only for ourselves and have rejected God’s offer through Jesus, our lives will be eternally lost.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, let me challenge you on the positive side of this discussion instead of leaving us thinking of the negative:

Always intentionally seek God first and place Him as first in your life. Live each day with the attitude of forgiveness, repentance, and with the peace that knowing when our lives end, the next face we see will be Jesus.

As we seek to place God first, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself, because when we open our eyes after death and see Jesus, only those who have grown a personal relationship with God will be pleased to look into His eyes. It is the people who know Jesus and the people who Jesus knows who will inherit eternal life and live forever 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 give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we continue moving through our year chronologically moving through events in Jesus’ life and ministry, we come to a parable Jesus shared that is both fascinating as well as challenging. While many of Jesus’ parables and illustrations could be described this way, this one in particular challenges us with where we place our focus and how we respond to God when He has blessed us.

With that said, let’s read this parable and discover what we can learn from what Jesus shared.

Our passage for this episode is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 12, and we will read it using the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting a few verses before the parable itself, Luke tells us starting in verse 13 that:

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to Him [referring to Jesus], “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. ¹⁷ And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ ²¹ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

With this verse, Jesus ends His parable. While Jesus continues teaching following this parable, let’s stop reading here so we can focus on what we can learn from this parable and the question that prompted Jesus to share it.

First off, it is worth looking at how this parable is prompted by someone requesting Jesus to help with a family dispute that is happening over the family estate and inheritance. When we stop to think about it, the circumstances surrounding this dilemma are about as timeless of an issue as we could get. I suspect that most generations, if not most families, have tension, disputes, arguments, or even worse when dealing with the estate of a parent or grandparent who has passed away.

While the question or request over this estate is a fascinating situation in itself, equally amazing is the question Jesus responds with. Before redirecting His teaching, Jesus asked this man in verse 14, “Who appointed me as a judge over you?” This is a fascinating question because on one level, as God, Jesus is the final judge of the whole world. However, when we look at Jesus’ mission and ministry to this world, Jesus did not come to fill the role of a judge, who listens to case after case after case and then renders judgment. Instead, Jesus came as a Teacher and Savior, with the goal of leading people to a true picture of God. While it might have been interesting to know how Jesus would have acted if placed in the judge or negotiator role for this dispute, with the illustration Jesus shares following this dialog, we can get a sense for what Jesus would have said.

After asking this man the rhetorical question, Jesus then redirects His teaching onto the core issue in this situation. In verse 15, Jesus clearly states the root issue when He says, “Be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” In this opening statement, Jesus identifies that the root issue in this situation is greed. On one level, greed is trying to amass as much stuff and wealth as possible. On another level, greed is simply defining yourself by looking at the stuff, or amount of stuff, that you own.

Defining who you are based upon what you own can be as simple as feeling special because you are wearing a certain brand name, or feeling important because you travel a certain way or in a certain type of vehicle. It doesn’t have to be as cliché as the anti-social rich person who hoards everything and cannot let go of a single penny. If we narrowly define greed as something that only affects a certain subset of the population that we would define as rich, then we miss realizing that greed is a character trait that is very distinct from wealth.

Leading up to His parable, Jesus warns us that any time an object, a project, or a balance sheet becomes a part of our identity, greed is working its way into our lives.

In this parable, Jesus’ draws our attention onto the truth that even if you were the richest person in the world, and were so far ahead of whoever happened to be in second place that there was no way for anyone to even come close to catching you, your life would still not be equal to your stuff. In society, we call someone who defines their value in life by their net worth as shallow.

Intuitively, we know that money and stuff doesn’t equal our worth, but in culture today, very little focus is placed on your value in God’s eyes. Fame, fortune, and influence equals value and worth by culture’s standards. Even if culture and society say that stuff doesn’t equal value, culture and society act as though it is, and this is a very shallow view of life.

To contrast this, God showed you how much He values You, and He did this through the life of His Son. Jesus’ life is way more valuable than anything that can be listed on a balance sheet!

Jesus challenges the culture’s idea of our worth in this passage using one of His simplest parables – a parable that has only two characters. In most of Jesus’ parables, one character represents God, and another represents us, and this parable is the same – but in this parable, there is no guessing needed as to who is who. In this parable, God is God, and the man represents all of humanity on an individual level.

Everyone has the temptation to acquire more money, more stuff, and/or more status, but not everyone chooses to cave in to the temptation. The man in this parable does the most natural human thing to do – build bigger barns, which we could say is like buying another investment, buying a bigger house with more land, or depositing the money in another savings account.

However, this parable shifts the focus onto legacy; onto what happens after our life has ended. Regardless of the wealth we have acquired, someone else will get it after we have died. There is no escaping this, and no one gets to take carryon luggage with them on the journey to heaven.

While some might be quick to label this parable as speaking out against the wealthy, this parable is not about the evils of having wealth. The rich man only had an abundant crop because God gave it to him. In the context of this parable, God controlled the weather and other conditions surrounding how productive this rich man’s farm was, and if God didn’t want this rich man to have a productive year, it was easily within His power to do so. But this parable is not about God blessing or punishing rich people; it is about showing us enough about ourselves that He can then redirect us towards having a new perspective on our lives.

This parable, and Jesus’ teaching that follows it about worry, is all about where we place our focus and our trust. It is all about who or what we choose to focus on and where we choose to place our trust and security. Our balance sheet, and everything it represents, wants to tempt us into thinking it offers lasting security, but it is at best only a partial protection against what can happen. Only God can protect us in the present and future, because only He knows what the future holds 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 place your faith, hope, and trust in Him

Also, continue to personally pray and study the Bible, for yourself, in order to learn firsthand who Jesus is and what He thinks of you. Through the pages of the Bible, discover a God who loves you more than you could possibly realize.

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

As I read the gospels, I am amazed at how Jesus interacted with people. On one hand, Jesus loved everyone, and He actively helped those who were hurting, sick, and/or needing encouragement. On the other hand, Jesus had some pretty harsh things to say to others, and in every case that I can think of, Jesus’ harshest words were reserved for those who felt they were spiritually superior to others.

However, in the event we are looking at in this episode, I am extra amazed at the audacity Jesus has one Sabbath afternoon. It would seem from reading this event, Jesus doesn’t shy away from speaking the truth to someone, regardless of whether it would be socially acceptable or not, regardless of whether it was framed in a positive or negative way, and regardless of whether He was a guest in that person’s home.

Let’s read this passage, and discover what happens. Our passage comes from the gospel of Luke, chapter 11, and we will be reading it from the New International Reader’s Version. Starting in verse 27, Luke tells us that:

³⁷ Jesus finished speaking. Then a Pharisee invited him to eat with him. So Jesus went in and took his place at the table. ³⁸ But the Pharisee was surprised. He noticed that Jesus did not wash before the meal.

³⁹ Then the Lord spoke to him. “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish,” he said. “But inside you are full of greed and evil. ⁴⁰ You foolish people! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ Give freely to poor people to show what is inside you. Then everything will be clean for you.

Let’s pause briefly, because Jesus has just been invited home by one of the Pharisees who had been at the synagogue that morning. Perhaps, this invitation was because this Pharisee wanted bragging rights with his friends that Jesus came and ate with Him, or perhaps this Pharisee was simply wanting to be nice to a traveling guest.

However, regardless of the reason for the invitation, Jesus accepts it, and then before the meal has even begun, Jesus begins challenging this man regarding his traditions.

But Jesus doesn’t stop with talking about hand washing and being clean. Continuing in verse 42, Jesus continues challenging the Pharisees present by saying:

⁴² “How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give God a tenth of your garden plants, such as mint and rue. But you have forgotten to be fair and to love God. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first.

⁴³ “How terrible for you Pharisees! You love the most important seats in the synagogues. You love having people greet you with respect in the market.

⁴⁴ “How terrible for you! You are like graves that are not marked. People walk over them without knowing it.”

Jesus’ words and challenges in this passage are shocking in my mind. While I am not shocked that Jesus had these words to say to the Pharisees, it seems crazy in my mind to think that Jesus would wait to be the guest in a home before thoroughly insulting the host and many of the guests.

While Jesus was speaking truth, I am amazed that He chose this time to do it, and that He challenged them in this way. Perhaps, a more diplomatic sharing would not have reached this group of people, or perhaps Jesus spoke the way He did because He wanted to wake these Pharisees up to how they had let their traditions become their expectations for others.

Whatever the case, not only were there Pharisees present, there was another group of people, and they too were offended by what Jesus was saying. Continuing reading in verse 45, Luke tells us that:

⁴⁵ An authority on the law spoke to Jesus. He said, “Teacher, when you say things like that, you say bad things about us too.”

⁴⁶ Jesus replied, “How terrible for you authorities on the law! You put such heavy loads on people that they can hardly carry them. But you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

⁴⁷ “How terrible for you! You build tombs for the prophets. It was your people of long ago who killed them. ⁴⁸ So you show that you agree with what your people did long ago. They killed the prophets, and now you build the prophets’ tombs. ⁴⁹ So God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them. They will kill some. And they will try to hurt others.’ ⁵⁰ So the people of today will be punished. They will pay for all the prophets’ blood spilled since the world began. ⁵¹ I mean from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah. He was killed between the altar and the temple. Yes, I tell you, the people of today will be punished for all these things.

⁵² “How terrible for you authorities on the law! You have taken away the key to the door of knowledge. You yourselves have not entered. And you have stood in the way of those who were entering.”

⁵³ When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law strongly opposed him. They threw a lot of questions at him. ⁵⁴ They set traps for him. They wanted to catch him in something he might say.

How Luke chose to end this passage does not surprise me, and with what Jesus had challenged the Pharisees and teachers of the law by saying, I am not surprised that these two groups hated Jesus.

I wonder if the Pharisee-host for this meal kicked Jesus out after He said these things, or I wonder if Jesus left before the food was served. If Jesus chose to stay for the meal itself, I wonder if there was awkward silence for the rest of the time Jesus was present. Part of me wonders if Jesus accepted this invitation because He saw it as an opportunity to offend everyone who would be there.

But regardless of the reaction these leaders had towards Jesus’ message, when we look at the message itself, we can see an amazing theme come to light. With everything Jesus describes about both groups, we see the theme that these two groups had used their God-given position to make life more difficult for those around them. These two groups were incredibly detailed and focused on the wrong things.

Instead of being focused on the blessings and love God had for His people, these leaders made God’s love conditional to obedience, and then they increased the standard of obedience past anything that God would have required. When someone failed and broke this high standard of obedience, then these leaders were quick to judge and condemn the person, and they were the first to make an example of how this individual who had broken their high standard was now outside of God’s favor.

Jesus’ challenge to these leaders was that they were given their positions in order to help others. They should have been emphasizing God’s love, His forgiveness, and all humanity’s unworthiness, because there are more examples of God’s grace in the Old Testament than His judgment.

Pride had infected the hearts of these leaders, and because of that, their message and view of God was distorted and they could only see the rules and punishments God gave in the past, and their focus on this minority of examples warped the picture of God they taught to others.

Jesus reserved His harshest words for those who kept people from seeing God’s love, and while these words spoken to this group of religious leaders was harsh, it was Jesus’ best chance to get through to them that their focus on life and their picture of God were flawed.

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

Continue seeking God first in your life. Choose to begin building your foundation with Him on the truth that God is 100% love. Use love as a filter for your reading and studying the Bible, because God does not deviate from this character trait.

Also, choose to always pray and study the Bible for yourself – and specifically pay attention to times where God might not appear loving in the Old Testament. If I claim that God is 100% love, but you discover something in the Bible that makes God appear unloving, wrestle the situation out with God for yourself. The only way you can grow into the person God created you to be is by growing personally with God. Pastors and podcasters can inspire ideas, but only personal study with a prayerful, humble attitude can grow a 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 deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we continue into the second half of our first chronological year looking at Jesus’ life and ministry, we arrive at a passage where the disciples ask Jesus an interesting question. While this question might not be the first question we would ask Jesus if given the opportunity, I suspect that if the significance of our questions were ranked, the question Jesus’ disciples ask Him would be really high on the list.

The question these disciples ask is about how they should pray. Two of the gospels record Jesus sharing model prayers, and while each gospel shares a similar prayer, Matthew’s gospel seems to get more attention, while Luke’s gospel focuses in on the personal relationship that we can have with God through our prayers. I believe both prayers are significant, so while our time together will focus on Luke’s version of Jesus’ model prayer, what I say regarding Luke’s version will likely be equally valid if looking at Matthew’s.

With that said, our passage and prayer is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 11, and we will read it using the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 1, Luke tells us that:

¹ One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

² Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this:

‘Father:
    May your holy name be honored;
    may your Kingdom come.
³ Give us day by day the food we need.
⁴ Forgive us our sins,
    for we forgive everyone who does us wrong.
    And do not bring us to hard testing.’”

And that’s it. There is no formal close to the prayer. No “Amen” or anything like that. Luke records Jesus’ example prayer as being very short and sweet. Immediately following this prayer, Luke shares Jesus illustrating the truth that we should be persistent in our prayers with a short parable.

While it would be tempting to jump forward and focus time on Jesus’ parable, if we do so, we might miss out just how profound Jesus’ model prayer in this passage is! While I’m sure there are more things worth identifying in Jesus’ prayer than what we have time for, allow me to share six ideas in Jesus’ prayer that can help anyone who is struggling with wanting a better prayer experience.

The first idea worth pointing out is in Jesus’ opening word. Jesus opens His prayer by calling God His “Father”. This is a relational term, and something we can relate to in our physical lives. You and I have fathers who helped bring us into the world, and we have God as a spiritual Father who is looking out for us in ways that we couldn’t even begin to imagine.

While some people might dismiss this frame simply because God the Father was Jesus’ Father, that misses the simple detail that Jesus is instructing His followers how they should pray. Jesus tells us to call God our Father!

Next, Jesus continues with a statement of humility and respect by saying, “May your holy name be honored”. Our names are a part of our identity, and while we use them to communicate with one another in our physical lives, they carry with them a spiritual element that extends beyond something merely physical. God’s name is similar. We can use it to identify Him, but His name is part of His identity, and it is very spiritual and significant.

Jesus telling us to give honor to God’s name is important, because we are acknowledging that we understand who He is, and in contrast, who we are. God is a huge God, and we are microscopic in His presence, similar to an ant standing in front of a 50 foot tall giant. This makes it that much more awesome that God would be interested in us enough to send Jesus into the world of humanity!

Following talking about God’s name, Jesus shares a statement about God’s role: “may your Kingdom come”. God is a king, and He rules a kingdom that is much greater than any “earthly kingdom”. God’s kingdom spans both the physical and the spiritual worlds, and it is an always-expanding kingdom.

The third statement also brings with it the notion of free will, opening up a transition to the next half of the prayer. God’s kingdom is not forced onto anyone’s heart, but the request to see it come is one we ask to have happen, and when we ask God to bring His Kingdom to us, I believe He is more than happy to bring it. While God has partially hidden His kingdom during this age of sin, as disciples praying to God, we long to see Him end this doomed, sin-stained age and recreate our world into a place where His kingdom is clearly visible.

The first three details in Jesus’ prayer are all about God. Within one sentence, Jesus has focused our attention on who God is, on His relationship with us, on our relationship with Him, and on God’s ultimate role in the affairs of the universe.

The next half of Jesus’ model prayer transitions onto what God can do for us, and it follows a similar progression as the first half did.

The first phrase in the second half of this model prayer acknowledges that God is our provider: “Give us day by day the food we need”. Echoing God’s role as our “Father”, we ask Him to provide us with everything we need, just like a father would. This isn’t asking, or providing for everything we want, but asking for the things we need, and doing it on a day-by-day basis. A parent wouldn’t give their infant three months worth of food and then leave them to fend for themselves, and neither would God dump more on us than we are able handle. “Day by day” is our motto, as we move forward through life with God by our side.

The second phrase in the second half of Jesus’ model prayer brings us to our next layer of need: forgiveness. “Forgive us our sins, for we forgive everyone who does us wrong.” Just like the second statement in the first half of Jesus prayer that framed God as holy, we now acknowledge our need for forgiveness, and this is forgiveness that we understand is not our right to receive. God is holy, and He is not required to forgive us. We demonstrate that we want His forgiveness by forgiving those who have done us wrong. God has promised to forgive us of sin, but His promise is based on our choosing to forgive others who have wronged us.

The last statement in Jesus’ model prayer echoes back to God’s role in the third statement of the introduction. Jesus finishes by saying, “And do not bring us to hard testing” which relates to God’s role as a guide for our lives as we choose to be a part of His kingdom. As we are given responsibility, God watches how we handle the task. We could call this a test and it is God’s right to send tests our way.

This last phrase acknowledges God’s right to test us because He is King, but it also requests that He choose to not test us with hard challenges. Just because we have asked does not mean that our request will be granted, but simply making the request helps keep our focus on God.

Everything in this example prayer is completely focused on God – even the part where Jesus tells us to be forgiving towards others. The first part of this prayer focuses on who God is, and the second part focuses on how we continually need God present in our lives.

There is no closing for this prayer, which suggests that our connection to God should always remain open. Just like we don’t want to end our relationship with Him, there is no reason to “hang up the phone” on our conversation either.

After sharing this prayer, Jesus shifts His focus onto how we should be persistent in our prayers, and persistence when praying is important. Jesus wraps up this teaching by reminding us that God the Father may be compared with an earthly father, except that God the Father is the role model and in every way we can imagine, He is better than any and every earthly Father.

Jesus wants us to see God the Father as our Heavenly Father: specifically as Someone big enough to tackle any problem we face, but also personal enough for us to share life with.

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. Understand that God wants to be your Friend, your Father, and your Forgiver. Recognize these three roles that God wants to have in your life and use them as motivation to intentionally seek God more.

Seeking to know God is best done by intentionally spending time with Him, through prayer, and by personally studying the Bible for yourself. Through the pages of the Bible, discover a God who is passionately in love with His people and that He desperately wants you saved and in heaven with Him!

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