Reflective Bible Study

Throughout Jesus’ ministry, it seemed as though He always ran into conflicts with a religious group known as the Pharisees. The Pharisees had become the predominant religious group in Israel at that time, and they had used their position in culture to develop a set of rules that was supposed to keep the people from coming close to breaking God’s laws. However, by the time Jesus entered history as a man walking the earth, things had gotten a little out of hand, and what began as a good idea had spiraled out of control.

The gospel of Mark describes an event where Jesus’ disciples appear to offend the Pharisees, and how Jesus responds to their reaction. For our episode this week, we will be reading from the gospel of Mark, chapter 7, using the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. Beginning in verse 1, Mark tells us that:

¹ Some Pharisees and several teachers of the Law of Moses from Jerusalem came and gathered around Jesus. ² They noticed that some of his disciples ate without first washing their hands.

³ The Pharisees and many other Jewish people obey the teachings of their ancestors. They always wash their hands in the proper way before eating. ⁴ None of them will eat anything they buy in the market until it is washed. They also follow a lot of other teachings, such as washing cups, pitchers, and bowls.

⁵ The Pharisees and teachers asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples obey what our ancestors taught us to do? Why do they eat without washing their hands?”

⁶ Jesus replied:

You are nothing but show-offs! The prophet Isaiah was right when he wrote that God had said,

“All of you praise me
    with your words,
but you never really
    think about me.
⁷ It is useless for you
    to worship me,
when you teach rules
    made up by humans.”

⁸ You disobey God’s commands in order to obey what humans have taught. ⁹ You are good at rejecting God’s commands so that you can follow your own teachings! ¹⁰ Didn’t Moses command you to respect your father and mother? Didn’t he tell you to put to death all who curse their parents? ¹¹ But you let people get by without helping their parents when they should. You let them say that what they own has been offered to God. ¹² You won’t let those people help their parents. ¹³ And you ignore God’s commands in order to follow your own teaching. You do a lot of other things that are just as bad.

Pausing our reading here, I want to draw our attention onto the fact that Jesus did not initiate this conflict, nor did His disciples. Instead, this discussion was prompted by a challenge from a group of Pharisees who believed their own traditions were ordained by God. This is a disturbing place to be, because only if you are 100% correct, which is not possible, can you truly have a foundation in your traditions. It is not possible because God is bigger than a set of rules or a tablet of phrases on a stone.

Relationships cannot be dictated by rules, nor can rules push relationships towards growth. Rules do help relationships by giving all parties involved a unified frame of reference, but it is up to the people included in the relationship whether the relationship itself will grow or die.

At this point, Jesus senses a teaching moment. Let’s continue reading from verse 14 and learn what happens:

¹⁴ Jesus called the crowd together again and said, “Pay attention and try to understand what I mean. ^15-16 The food that you put into your mouth doesn’t make you unclean and unfit to worship God. The bad words that come out of your mouth are what make you unclean.”

¹⁷ After Jesus and his disciples had left the crowd and had gone into the house, they asked him what these sayings meant. ¹⁸ He answered, “Don’t you know what I am talking about by now? You surely know that the food you put into your mouth cannot make you unclean. ¹⁹ It doesn’t go into your heart, but into your stomach, and then out of your body.” By saying this, Jesus meant that all foods were fit to eat.

²⁰ Then Jesus said:

What comes from your heart is what makes you unclean. ²¹ Out of your heart come evil thoughts, vulgar deeds, stealing, murder, ²² unfaithfulness in marriage, greed, meanness, deceit, indecency, envy, insults, pride, and foolishness. ²³ All of these come from your heart, and they are what make you unfit to worship God.

The big, challenging thought we find in Jesus’ words in our passage is that our spiritual cleanliness is based on what we think, do, and say, because these things come from our heart. The state of our heart is what makes us unclean, because when our hearts are evil, evil actions, words, and thoughts will follow. The passage concludes by saying that these evil things make us unfit to worship God.

I suspect that some people living in the first century believed that the food that was eaten made one acceptable or not acceptable to God. While this is not the case, some people have taken Jesus’ words here to the opposite extreme with the idea that anything can be eaten freely. However, while all “foods” are fit to eat, it would be good for us to define what is intended to be a food for us and what is not. It would also be worth making the distinction that not all foods are equally healthy for us.

Nothing that goes into our mouths makes us less loved by God, but what comes out of our mouths can make us unfit for worship, because the source of what we say is what is inside our hearts.

I’m challenged by this because Jesus is essentially saying that regardless of how we look on a given weekend at church, if our hearts are unclean, then we are unfit to worship Him. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t worship, or that we shouldn’t pray for God to create a new heart within us, but it does mean that we shouldn’t make our worship all about us.

Worshiping with the frame of mind that says we are unfit to come and worship is the beginning of the realization that nothing we do, say, or think can make us more acceptable to God. Instead, this prompts our prayers to be requests for help and acknowledging that our lives are filled with sin – even if that sin is not known by anyone else.

I don’t believe Jesus shared this challenge to put these Pharisees in their place. Instead, I believe this was Jesus’ way of challenging them on their own terms, by pointing out inconsistencies with how they say they believed when compared to how they acted. If it were possible, I believe Jesus would have done everything possible to bring these religious people into a better understanding of God, but because their hearts were so hard and stuck on their traditions, even God couldn’t break in.

Part of me wonders if Jesus’ hard words actually did break through some of the hard shells of the Pharisees’ hearts. While there is no way to know on this side of heaven, I am curious if Jesus’ words reached someone in this group, even though everyone else was offended. I also wonder if these words challenged the disciples who were present with how they chose to worship God.

Perhaps this is even a challenge for us today.

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

Humbly come to God and seek Him first in your life. Understand that without Him, our hearts are bent towards evil and selfishness, and only with His help can we hope to be clean and fit to worship Him. The challenge for us living today is to continually, intentionally move towards Him and ask Him to help clean our lives up.

After making this commitment, it is extra important for us to not only study the Bible for ourselves, but to do so with a prayerful, humble attitude. As we pray and read the Bible, God will impress on our hearts what we need to get rid of and what we should add into our lives.

And when we receive this inspiration, know that it is designed to help us move into where God wants to lead each of us. Because of this reason, I always end each set of challenges by challenging each of us – including me – to 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!

If you have ever wondered whether Jesus contradicted Himself, the passage we will be focusing on in this episode might be a passage you could find such a contradiction. While I am fully willing to acknowledge that there is likely some significant details or nuances that are lost in the translation, or that this potential contradiction is only visible because of the translation I have chosen for this episode, a simple reading of Jesus’ teaching seems to include a contradiction.

With this in mind, instead of reading a long block of teaching, where Jesus shares with those in Capernaum a much bigger message, let’s focus in on the contradiction itself and see if there isn’t something we can learn from Jesus’ words in this portion of His teaching.

To set the stage for this truth, let’s read the first portion of our passage, which is found in the gospel of John, chapter 6. Using the New Century Version and starting in verse 38, Jesus tells the crowd:

³⁸ I came down from heaven to do what God wants me to do, not what I want to do. ³⁹ Here is what the One who sent me wants me to do: I must not lose even one whom God gave me, but I must raise them all on the last day. ⁴⁰ Those who see the Son and believe in him have eternal life, and I will raise them on the last day. This is what my Father wants.”

So far, this seems straightforward. In these three verses, Jesus is simply sharing a portion of His mission to earth. Now let’s jump down a few verses later, still within this broad conversation, and pull out the contrasting part. Jumping back into this passage in verse 47, Jesus tells the same crowd:

⁴⁷ I tell you the truth, whoever believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread that gives life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but still they died. ⁵⁰ Here is the bread that comes down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will never die. 

Following verse 50, Jesus goes on to say that He is the bread from Heaven, but instead of reading further, let’s stop so we can look closer at this potential contradiction.

Within this larger teaching to the crowd in Capernaum, Jesus shares the idea that eternal life comes through Him, the “bread that gives life”, and that the life He gives will never result in death. However to contrast that powerful idea, Jesus says that those who have eternal life now will be raised up on the last day.

To some people, the contradiction is invisible, but to others, the dilemma centers around what it means to be given eternal life. Does getting “eternal life” mean that one never dies, or is it a promise that Jesus will raise this person up on the last day?

The contradiction becomes clearer because the first passage seems to support the last day resurrection of those who have eternal life, while the second passage emphasizes that no true believer will actually die, which negates the need for Jesus to raise them up.

To make the contrast even clearer, Jesus begins wrapping up this teaching by sharing a strange metaphor in verse 54: “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day.” And then as a final, concluding point, in verse 58, Jesus’ last words to the crowd are: “I am not like the bread your ancestors ate. They ate that bread and still died. I am the bread that came down from heaven, and whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

The contrast and contradiction in this passage and teaching is clearly present. In this passage, Jesus is clearly giving His believers the promise of living forever, and in this last verse, living forever is contrasted with the death that the Israelites faced in the desert, even though they had bread from heaven, which they called manna, to eat.

Before continuing on, let me say first off that I don’t like contrasts or contradictions like this because they divide people. What often happens is that when we see a discrepancy in something Jesus says, people set up camps on both sides and then debate each other claiming their own chosen side is true while the other side is in error. Those watching from the sidelines may join one camp, but too often they reject both sides and walk away, ultimately missing out on the truth that is present in both sides of the debate. In the case of this passage, the truth present in both sides is simply this: Jesus has promised eternal life to those who believe in Him. The debate around this idea happens to be about the details of when this life is given.

I also don’t like contradictions similar to how we have framed this passage and this complex truth because framing the passage in this way allows skeptics an opening to try to discredit Jesus. Just as those who set up camps on each side of an issue before debating with each other, the skeptical mind takes aim at not just both sides of the debate, but will also work to discredit the One sharing the ideas. When framed as two opposing ideas, we are led to conclude that only one idea can be true, which then makes the other one a lie, and if Jesus lied, then Jesus immediately becomes untrustworthy.

So is there a resolution to this dilemma? Is there a different layer or level that Jesus is trying to teach? Is there a way where these two seemingly contrasting ideas are unified?

As I look further into this passage, I do find a common theme that blends the ideas. This theme, like I alluded to before, is that belief in Jesus brings eternal life. By using this theme as a filter to view both sides of this debate, we see something interesting appear – both in what is said, what is not said, and what is assumed:

Running the first passage through this big theme gives us the detail that eternal life is “given” or “promised”. This ultimately concludes with those having eternal life being raised up on the last day.

However, what about the second passage and those people who have “died”? If we run the second passage through this same theme – that belief in Jesus brings eternal life – we contrast believing in Jesus being the source of eternal life with those who died in the desert. A whole generation of people, minus two individuals, Joshua and Caleb, died outside of the Promised Land – and it was for one reason only: They didn’t trust God and His promise to lead them into the land that He had promised to give them.

The people in the desert died a death of unbelief – and this is different than simply death. Dying the death of unbelief is dying in a more eternal sense because where there is no belief in Jesus, there is no hope of a resurrection. It is the end. This second passage contrasts eternal life with eternal death – the death of unbelief.

In Jesus’ concluding remarks, the eternal life that is promised is promised through Jesus – who is able to do something that the manna could not do, and that is that Jesus is able to restore our spiritual lives from the inside. Heaven’s manna was a gift from God, but it was not able to restore the nation spiritually even if it sustained them physically. God did want the Israelites to learn that He provides, but they missed the spiritually restoring truth tucked within the literal gift of the manna.

Jesus is different because He lived a life that showed us God’s love and His character. Prayerfully focusing on Him does lead to spiritual renewal and eternal life. The more we look at Him, the more we will begin to look to Him, and the more we look to Him, the more our faith in Him will grow.

I have no idea where you are on the spectrum of faith in Jesus, but I do know that God wants your faith to be growing. That happens by focusing on Jesus and not on focusing on supporting one of the two sides of this never-ending debate over the details.

Focusing on Jesus unifies, and regardless of which side is more correct, when Jesus returns, the whole debate will have been wasted time. Instead of wasting time debating this, choose to focus on growing closer to Jesus and following His plan for your life, because that is what matters above everything else!

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 focus on Jesus first. Purposefully orient your life around serving God and seeking to do His will. If you are on the fence about whether you should follow or believe Jesus, let me challenge you to try God’s way out for yourself for a month or two. If after you have tried God’s way out for that amount of time, you are able to decide whether or not it is right for you, and if you decide that it isn’t right for you, at least you will have made an informed decision.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to discover firsthand what it says. While other people can share ideas with you, test everything you read, see, and hear with what you see written in the pages of the Bible. If there is ever a conflict, choose the Bible’s way over the other alternate.

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

When reading through the gospels and comparing them with one another, John’s gospel seems to stand alone in how it describes Jesus. While all four gospels focus on Jesus as the Messiah who God sent into the world, and while all four gospels describe Jesus’ crucifixion, Matthew, Mark, and Luke take a similar approach to Jesus’ life, and there is a lot of overlap in the events each of these three gospels describe.

In some cases, the events in each of these three gospels might be the same event, but in other cases, they each may have chosen similar but unique events to include. However, John’s gospel seems to share a unique series of events. Aside from the crucifixion conclusion, which is also shared from a unique angle, John’s gospel rarely overlaps events found in the other gospels.

But our passage and event for this week is one of those rare exceptions. While I am use to saying an event is found in two or three of the gospels, our event for this week is found in all four of the gospels. Since John includes a couple additional details, let’s look at how He describes what took place one day during Jesus’ ministry.

The event we are focusing on can be found in the gospel of John, chapter 6, and we will be reading from the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse one, John tells us:

¹ After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). ² A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. ⁴ Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. ⁵ Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” ⁶ This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. ⁷ Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.”

Let’s pause reading here for a moment. Jesus is very observant to what is happening around Him, and He senses a teaching moment for the disciples. While He directly asks Philip the question about bread, Jesus probably could have asked this question to any of the twelve disciples. Maybe Philip knew this part of the countryside better than the other disciples, or perhaps they were all in an unfamiliar location.

It is interesting to note that Jesus asks His question looking for a place, and Philip’s response is that a place to find bread is not as significant as simply coming up with the amount of money needed to purchase enough bread.

However, another one of the disciples, on hearing the question, catches this nuance, and he chooses to answer with a place that has some bread, but even he is doubtful in his response. Continuing in verse 8:

⁸ One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ⁹ “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” 

Pausing again, while Andrew understood that Jesus was looking for bread, even he understood that that five loaves and two fish wouldn’t satisfy the hunger of 5 people, let alone 5 thousand men, in a crowd that likely had plenty of women and children in it as well.

However, Andrew did answer with a place, and with the gift of a child, let’s read about what happens next. Picking back up in verse 10:

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. ¹² When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

Let’s stop reading here and draw our attention to the lesson Jesus wanted the disciples to learn. In this event, the size of what we have is less relevant than the power of God to exponentially multiply what we are willing to give to Him.

In this event, the small gift came from outside of the circle of disciples, and God used it in a powerful way. We can learn from this event to not discount any gift given to God, and to ignore the size of it. We could also frame this event as what happens when a child gives up his entire meal so that Jesus has something to eat. This child didn’t have an extra loaf or two in his back pocket and only gave Jesus part of what he had. In God’s eyes, giving up an entire meal to help one other person was just the faith God could use to bless a crowd that might have exceeded 10,000 people.

Using this ratio and applying it to what God accomplished through Jesus, one perfect life that was sacrificed was able to cover all of humanity’s sin. The feeding of the 5,000 is really an event that echoes what God was doing through Jesus on a much smaller scale.

From the disciples’ frame of reference, the gift of a little food was given to them from an outside source, and God used it to bless thousands. From our frame of reference as members of humanity, the gift of Jesus came from an outside Source, and through Jesus, God is actively saving people each and every day, and giving those who choose Jesus a new life with Him.

Through Jesus, God has made the way for the billions of men, women, and children who have lived at every point in history the option of a new life with Him. Jesus’ life is a sacrifice given to humanity similar to that unselfish child’s gift of a lunch – and when a gift is given like this, God is able to use it to do great things!

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

As I always open these challenges by saying in one way or another, continue seeking and moving towards God in your life. If you haven’t done so already, accept Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as a substitute for your sins, your mistakes, and your rebellion, and trust in Him for your salvation.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, intentionally pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn more about God, more about Jesus, and more about what He has done for you and for me. While we can learn from other people, the best place to learn more about God is through the words He has preserved throughout history in the collection of books we call the Bible. Through the Bible, we can learn what God is like, and how much He loves each of us.

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 our journey through the gospels, we arrive at a passage Jesus shares with His followers that includes both a warning and a promise. However, while we might be tempted to ignore the promise because the warning appears to be scary, only by taking the warning and the promise together do we come to realize a powerful truth about what Jesus is really promising His followers in this passage.

Many studies and statistics point out that one of the worst fears we face as humans is public speaking. Some studies even go as far as suggesting that public speaking is a greater fear than death. For many years following graduating college, I had a fear of public speaking. While I don’t remember if that fear was greater than death or not, the only way I pushed past this fear in my own life was to face it head on.

However, while I am sometimes tempted to think I pushed past this fear on my own, I suspect that I had help facing this fear through what Jesus shared with His followers in our passage for this episode. While I have not faced a situation exactly like Jesus describes, I believe that I still received a similar level of help.

Our passage for this episode is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 10, and for our time together, let’s read it using the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 16, Jesus challenges His followers by saying:

¹⁶ “Listen! I am sending you out just like sheep to a pack of wolves. You must be as cautious as snakes and as gentle as doves. ¹⁷ Watch out, for there will be those who will arrest you and take you to court, and they will whip you in the synagogues. ¹⁸ For my sake you will be brought to trial before rulers and kings, to tell the Good News to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ When they bring you to trial, do not worry about what you are going to say or how you will say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you will say. ²⁰ For the words you will speak will not be yours; they will come from the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

We’ll stop reading at that point because I really don’t want you to miss what Jesus is saying here. When we are faced with someone accusing us over something we believe, we should not worry about what we will say, or even how we will say it. Jesus promises us that when the time comes, God, through the Holy Spirit, will give us the words to say.

Does this cover every single event? Does this cover every single time where we stand up to declare the truth about Jesus and every time someone challenges us regarding our faith?

It may, but the context in this passage is specifically a courtroom-like trial, when the stakes are high and every word counts. It is interesting, because while we may be tempted to see trials like what Jesus describes as things to be avoided, if we look a little deeper at this passage, verse 18 tells us that the reason we are brought to trial is to share the Good News to the rulers and to those who don’t believe.

Looking back at my experience, I have not been placed on trial for what I believe. However, I have stood up in front of groups of people to share what God has taught me while I’ve studied His Word. I look back and see God’s direct hand in the first sermons I shared, because through the feedback I received, I know God was really the source of these messages, and that I simply happened to be the person He used to speak His truth. God even directed the circumstances of one speaking arrangement to prompt me to share something different than I had originally planned, which ultimately was exactly what someone present needed to hear.

While me sharing my experience might sound like bragging to some, I only share how God moved because I want to emphasize that 100% of any success present was because of God. By human standards, those first sermons were genuine failures. The only reason they had any effect was because of God.

I am always amazed at God’s timing, and how circumstances align on both the presenter’s side as well as on the side of those listening in the audience in order to connect God’s message of truth to someone who needs to hear it. It is humbling to realize and recognize when I am a small part of it.

However, with Jesus’ promise that the Holy Spirit will speak through us, should that erase worry?

For some people, it might. In my own experience, I have a little bit of fear every time I get up to speak, but I push the fear aside with my opening prayer asking God for His help to ultimately share His message. I can confirm what other speakers say that after the first sentence or two, the fear goes away. I can also attest to the truth that the better prepared I am, the easier a message is to share, even when there has never been a time up to this point where my practice giving a sermon matches exactly with the sermon I gave. Every time I’ve spoken, God has directed certain aspects of His message in specific ways to reach specific people who are listening. While I know of some of these times, I suspect that when we all reach heaven, I will learn of significantly more ways than I ever dreamed possible.

However, this leads to a different question: If God, through the Holy Spirit, will give us the words to say, what is the point in practicing, or even preparing anything? Why not get up and let the Holy Spirit adlib a message – sharing only what He prompts you in the moment?

This question and angle of Jesus’ promise is what challenges me the most. I have heard of speakers who get up and share whatever happens to be on their minds that morning, and I have witnessed times that a message appeared to be given this way. Let me tell you that rarely if ever are messages shared like this good. The only exception is one where a significant news event happened and the speaker decides that it is best to redirect his message onto the event that is fresh in everyone’s minds.

However, it is again worth drawing our attention to the context of Jesus’ promise which focuses on more of a trial-like setting. While I believe the Holy Spirit is ready and willing to help in every situation where someone wants to stand up to proclaim the truth about Jesus, I don’t believe that this means that those who have the opportunity to prepare something should not do so. In my own mind, the more prepared I am to share, the easier it will be for me to let the Holy Spirit share in the moment the right words that are needed.

I know first-hand that God uses people in their weakness. God does speak powerfully through people who are not good speakers. I am an example of this – especially when I was first starting out. However, God also challenges us to grow, to move forward, and to step out for Him, which in many cases will include some type of sharing the news of Jesus with others.

Our world today has tried to push God to the sidelines and out of focus. Sometimes this means we will be ridiculed and made fun of, while other times we may be physically hurt. Regardless of what your experience has been, trust that God is in control and that He has a plan for your life that involves you being saved for eternity. With whatever happens in this life, trust that when we stick with God and with Jesus, we will receive eternal life that will outlast this sin-filled world.

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 intentionally keep your connections with God strong and growing.

Always pray and prayerfully study the Bible for yourself in order to build and grow a lasting, strong, and significant relationship with God.

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