Reflective Bible Study

Every so often, as I am reading a portion of the gospels, a word or phrase stands out to me because I think Jesus should have said it differently. Whenever this happens to me, I must back up and reread what I was reading to make sure I didn’t simply misread what was said. Occasionally, I’ll even read a number of different translations to see if different translators happened to see the same angle, or different angles, on the text as they were translating it.

As I was preparing for this episode, I noticed an idea that seemed a little backward when compared to what I think it should be. As I was cross-checking this idea between several of the translations we often pick from for our podcast episodes, each one of them checks out this idea – giving confirmation to this slightly backward idea Jesus shares.

As I shared in the intro for this podcast, we will be reading from the gospel of Luke, chapter 12, and the translation I settled on after reviewing all the options is the New Century Version. Starting in verse 35, Jesus taught those present, saying:

³⁵ “Be dressed, ready for service, and have your lamps shining. ³⁶ Be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding party. When he comes and knocks, the servants immediately open the door for him. ³⁷ They will be blessed when their master comes home, because he sees that they were watching for him. I tell you the truth, the master will dress himself to serve and tell the servants to sit at the table, and he will serve them. ³⁸ Those servants will be blessed when he comes in and finds them still waiting, even if it is midnight or later.

The idea Jesus shares in this passage is one I find incredibly profound. The typical thought most people would have is if a master is coming home from a party, and he happens to be late or delayed – or even scheduled to arrive late at night – he would be tired after the long trip. The way we might think this passage should read is that the master will reward the servants for having stayed up waiting, but he would also ask them to serve him.

But this is not how any of the translations I found share this idea. They all say that as a reward for staying up and waiting for him, he will flip roles and serve them as a way to say thanks.

This is backward, but amazing; this is unexpected, but it also tells us something incredible about God’s character.

Immediately following sharing this backward idea, Jesus hits those present with the big truth He wants them to understand. Continuing in verse 39, we read:

³⁹ “Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, he would not allow the thief to enter his house. ⁴⁰ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him!”

The big idea in this passage hinges on Jesus’ return, but in these key verses, Jesus uses an odd metaphor to compare the situation with: Jesus compares His return to the coming of a thief.

By themselves, these two verses make for an interesting discussion.

Should we understand Jesus to be like the owner of the house or like the thief?

Is Jesus’ return one where He comes publicly or one where He comes secretly to steal His people away?

When Jesus returns, is He returning more like a homeowner who will be welcomed by His servants, or is He returning more like a thief who will steal some of this planet’s inhabitants and return home with them?

All these questions and more enter my mind when trying to unpack the meaning of verses 39 and 40:

³⁹ “Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, he would not allow the thief to enter his house. ⁴⁰ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him!”

Perhaps Peter also has this question in his mind because in verse 41, there is a long enough pause that Peter can jump in with a question. Peter asks, “Lord, did you tell this story to us or to all people?”

Jesus responds by saying, “Who is the wise and trusted servant that the master trusts to give the other servants their food at the right time? ⁴³ When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed. ⁴⁴ I tell you the truth, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns. ⁴⁵ But suppose the servant thinks to himself, ‘My master will not come back soon,’ and he begins to beat the other servants, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. ⁴⁶ The master will come when that servant is not ready and is not expecting him. Then the master will cut him in pieces and send him away to be with the others who don’t obey.

⁴⁷ “The servant who knows what his master wants but is not ready, or who does not do what the master wants, will be beaten with many blows! ⁴⁸ But the servant who does not know what his master wants and does things that should be punished will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected.

In this second portion of our passage, Jesus answers, but doesn’t really answer Peter’s question. By not answering the question directly, it makes me believe that everyone who claims God as their Master would be included as a servant making this passage applicable to them.

As I read this, perhaps some of the cultural treatment of servants bothered you. In these verses, Jesus talks about the master cutting a servant into pieces for abusing other servants, and beating other servants for not doing what the master wanted – even if they didn’t know what the master wanted from them.

But while it is easy to get sidetracked on the cultural mistreatment of others, don’t miss Jesus’ key point in this illustration: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected.” (v. 48b)

Jesus tells us that the more we are given, and the more we have been blessed, the higher the standard He will expect from us. This might sound daunting, but what if we looked at it like this: God gave Jesus to be a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus went to the cross to pay the debt that we owed God. Because of this sacrifice, God offers us grace – amazing grace – when we did not deserve it. Because of this incredible gift God has given to us, He expects us to pay this grace forward by extending grace and forgiving others.

No, it’s not easy, but “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected.” (v. 48b)

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

While a passage like this might prompt someone to be afraid of God, choose instead to focus on what God did for you and me and then pay that grace, love, and forgiveness forward!

Also, as I always challenge you to do, prayerfully study the Bible for yourself to learn what God and Jesus are really like, because the Bible presents the best and most accurate picture of God throughout history that we have. While the Bible doesn’t shy away from parts of the Bible that paint God acting in challenging or difficult to understand ways, hold off judging God for actions we might not understand until we can ask Him personally. I suspect that God could explain every difficult action in a satisfying way if we wait to ask Him personally.

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!

One of the things that I am always amazed by is how Jesus explains challenging concepts in simple ways, all while challenging the incorrect beliefs of people who were present. Jesus also had a way of challenging groups of people without singling any one specific person out.

While all four gospels include great sections of Jesus teaching, preaching, and challenging the crowds, the passage we will be looking at in this episode covers quite a number of powerful concepts that we might not make it through them all in one episode.

So without further delay, let’s dive into what Jesus taught His followers. Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 12, and we will be reading from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 1:

¹ Meanwhile, thousands of people had gathered. They were so crowded that they stepped on each other. Jesus spoke to his disciples and said, “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees. I’m talking about their hypocrisy. ² Nothing has been covered that will not be exposed. Whatever is secret will be made known. ³ Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight. Whatever you have whispered in private rooms will be shouted from the housetops.

Let’s pause reading here because it is worth focusing in on the idea Jesus just finished sharing. All too often, we have the idea that we can keep things in our lives a secret, but Jesus tells us that this is a lie. Regardless of whether you believe Jesus’ words to be true or not, we know that in this case, Jesus is sharing truth because of the following reasons:

First, if you look at the recent news, scandal after scandal is being revealed. These things happened because those who are found out to be guilty believed that their actions would remain hidden, however reality discovered their secrets. The first way Jesus’ words are true is when someone breaks the silence and exposes the secret to the world. This could happen while the guilty party is still alive or after they are dead.

Next, Jesus’ words are true because even if it is a secret known only to one, there are truly no secrets known only to one. God, the angels, Satan, and perhaps even those living on other worlds know what is happening here – even when we might think we are doing something that is 100% secret. The secrets we believe are safe will be revealed to everyone when Jesus returns and we get the opportunity to look at God’s record of judgment.

One of the subtle themes in the Bible is that God’s character is on trial because of Satan’s accusations, and while Jesus proved God’s love for each of us, God’s people will get the opportunity to look at history’s record and judge God for His choices throughout history. When we look at history’s record, no secret will stay hidden.

After challenging those present with this, Jesus continues by shifting gears and talking about focusing on eternity. He tells His followers in verse 4:

⁴ “My friends, I can guarantee that you don’t need to be afraid of those who kill the body. After that they can’t do anything more. ⁵ I’ll show you the one you should be afraid of. Be afraid of the one who has the power to throw you into hell after killing you. I’m warning you to be afraid of him.

Pausing again, regardless of what you believe about the nature of death and hell or how this translation words these verses, the clear message here is that God has the ability to determine your eternal destiny, and when faced with challenges in our present lives, they will only be temporary challenges if we choose to stay faithful to God. While remaining faithful to God is not popular in the world today, it is the only way to be safe to save for eternity!

It’s also worth noting that even if we have failed numerous times, we can choose to remain faithful from this point moving forward and God will look at our present choices over our past failures!

Jesus continues in verse 6 by shifting topics slightly again. He tells the crowd of followers:

⁶ “Aren’t five sparrows sold for two cents? God doesn’t forget any of them. ⁷ Even every hair on your head has been counted. Don’t be afraid! You are worth more than many sparrows. ⁸ I can guarantee that the Son of Man will acknowledge in front of God’s angels every person who acknowledges him in front of others. ⁹ But God’s angels will be told that I don’t know those people who tell others that they don’t know me. ¹⁰ Everyone who says something against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But the person who dishonors the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

This last verse is one of the hardest verses for me to understand in the four gospels. However, the theme Jesus shares is unmistakable: Those who publicly side with Jesus will be acknowledged by God throughout the universe, while those who keep their faith hidden or secret will lose out on this acknowledging.

While Jesus said just a few verses earlier that everything secret will be made known, the idea in these verses is that secret faith is worthless – and the implication is that those who God doesn’t acknowledge will not be saved when God’s angels gather God’s people together.

But verse 10 is perplexing: “Everyone who says something against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But the person who dishonors the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.” This verse is challenging because it sounds like people are given a blank check to speak out against Jesus, because they will be forgiven, but there is a zero tolerance policy in place for those who dishonor or speak out against the Holy Spirit.

The way I understand this verse is similar to what we have hinted at a number of times in this year of podcasts already, and this idea is that we must be careful about judging things before seeing the results. If God chooses to use something that is outside of our comfort zone to bring people to Him, then chances are His Spirit is at work. If we try to discredit something God’s Spirit is trying to accomplish because we don’t believe God would do this, there is a good chance we might be guilty of dishonoring His Spirit.

It is also worth pointing out that the more we reject the Holy Spirit working in our own lives, the less clear we will be able to see the real Jesus, and the further we will drift away from Him. If dishonoring the Holy Spirit is synonymous to rejecting His Spirit in our lives, there is no way we can truly come to Jesus to be saved.

Jesus finishes the passage we are looking at by warning His followers that they will be put on trial for what they believe. He tells us in verses 11 and 12:

¹¹ “When you are put on trial in synagogues or in front of rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say. ¹² At that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.”

As a public speaker, I know firsthand the value of preparing beforehand. I know that without preparation, my speaking will fall flat. However, I also am fully aware and embrace the fact that every single presentation I have given has gone differently than I have pictured it going in my head. The more I’ve prepared, the better the difference is, whereas the less I’ve prepared, the more I’ve felt like I flopped.

However, Jesus’ challenge is that when others accuse us or put us on trial, we should trust that the Holy Spirit will speak through us and through our defense. While I don’t believe this means we shouldn’t prepare a defense, I believe that any preparation we do should help us push aside our worry. I believe the Holy Spirit will use what we have prepared for His purposes and for His glory when we let Him. Experience has taught me to prepare and then let God speak through me and give me the exact words to say.

While there have been plenty of cases in history that those on trial for belief in Jesus have faced death, their lives and witness has carried the movement forward and their lives demonstrate what faith in God truly looks like. I have no doubt that these people will be with us in Heaven, and that their lives helped lead others to a saving relationship with God!

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

Choose to place God first in your life. Be confident about acknowledging your faith in God and in Jesus, and be proud of your belief in what Jesus has done for you. Never let someone intimidate you into being quiet about what God has done for you, because when we declare publically that we are on God’s side, God will tell His angels that we are safe to save for eternity.

Also, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow a personal relationship with God. It is through a personal relationship with God that we learn and know what He is like, and included in every strong foundation for this faith is a confidence in the promises of 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 abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

If you ever wondered if Jesus had a favorite one of the five senses, then our passage for this episode makes the case for one specific sense. I know this sounds like a random question, but it is one I recently had while studying in the gospels. All throughout the gospels, Jesus heals people who cannot see, cannot hear, cannot talk, those who have leprosy, which is a sensory disease, and if someone were to have come to Him with no sense of smell or taste, chances are Jesus would have healed them too. Jesus loved making all of our senses whole.

However, unless you are more like me than I would have thought or guessed, I suspect you never thought of asking whether Jesus had a favorite sense, and there is probably no way of really knowing for sure. But with that said, in our passage for this episode, Jesus uses one of the senses as a metaphor for describing the significance of our perspective, and with how Jesus frames this sense, a case could be made that it was His favorite, if Jesus had a favorite.

Our passage for this episode is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 11, and we will read it using the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting with verse 33, Jesus taught those present, saying:

³³ “No one lights a lamp and hides it. No one puts it under a bowl. Instead, they put a lamp on its stand. Then those who come in can see the light. ³⁴ Your eye is like a lamp for your body. Suppose your eyes are healthy. Then your whole body also is full of light. But suppose your eyes can’t see well. Then your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ So make sure that the light inside you is not darkness. ³⁶ Suppose your whole body is full of light. And suppose no part of it is dark. Then your body will be full of light. It will be just as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

I am always amazed when reading passages like this one how Jesus is able to speak on multiple levels simultaneously. Not only are His words literally true, they are symbolically true as well.

The key phrase that unlocks the symbolism in this passage is the metaphor at the beginning of verse 34. Jesus says, “Your eye is like a lamp for your body.” This connects the idea of lighting a lamp and not hiding it with the idea about how healthy eyes help light our whole body.

In a literal sense, when we cannot see well, everything is blurry and if our eyesight is really bad, often called blindness, things would be dark. Perhaps this teaching came following Jesus healing some physically blind people, or maybe Jesus could tell there were some spiritually blind people in the crowd that needed direction.

However, when talking about blindness, it is easy to understand physical blindness, but what about spiritual blindness? How should we define or explain spiritual blindness?

In a symbolic sense, our eyesight can also mean what we choose to focus on. Our eyes are like a lamp for our body and mind because they allow us to see the things we are paying attention to. When our focus and perspective is healthy, our bodies and minds will be full of light and we will have spiritual health. But on the flipside, when our focus and perspective is unhealthy, our bodies and minds will be full of darkness and we will be spiritually sick. This is one simple way to describe spiritual blindness verses spiritual sight.

After sharing this description, Jesus says something that always jumps out at me when I read His words in this passage. In verse 35, He says, “So make sure that the light inside you is not darkness.”

Don’t miss the implications Jesus is saying here. In a literal sense, darkness is simply the absence of light, and when I turn a lamp on in my home, the darkness is reduced. In the literal sense, darkness is weaker than light simply because when the light comes on, it wins and there is less darkness.

In a spiritual sense, darkness seems to have more power than it does literally in the physical world. In our own lives, and in the things we focus on, we are able to focus on something that we really want, or something that we really need, but ultimately learn later that it was not or would not have been a blessing in the end.

In our spiritual lives, it is incredibly important for us to discern light from darkness, though really we could simply say it is important for us to discerning truth from error, because in our lives, we will begin to see more of the things we focus on.

Jesus tells us to “make sure that the light inside you is not darkness.” If left unchecked, we might believe the dimness or darkness inside of us is really light, and seek to spread it. I am probably as guilty as anyone else for wanting to spread what I have learned and discovered, but if I do so without checking these discoveries next to what I see written in the Bible, I could end up spreading darkness.

Darkness, which we could parallel with lies, is in many ways easier to spread than the truth. Darkness and lies are sometimes easier to believe than the truth as well. However, in every single case, the truth will come out. Lies trap those who started the lie because they must remember both the truth and the lie. Lies ultimately kill the reputation of anyone who started or spread the lie when the truth is finally found out. Lies trap us under the weight of the lie itself.

In contrast, the truth sets us free.

Lying delays the results of our poor actions – and this delay adds interest to the results. The truth can be risky to tell and it may cause pain in the moment, but following the pain, those involved are able to move on. Lying adds interest to the pain the truth will cause while delaying the inevitable outcome.

“Make sure that the light inside you is not darkness.”

Jesus’ words here are significant because when we believe and spread lies, we are spreading darkness, and while we might think this darkness is light, it can only be true light if it is leading people into a deeper relationship with God.

The spark of light that God has placed in each of our hearts is important for us to pay attention to. This spark says that we have been created for a purpose, we are special to God, and that we cannot do it on our own. Some people run from their spark, but in my own life, I want to fan the flame and let it grow.

With that said, here are the challenges I will leave you with at the end of this podcast episode:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and pay attention to how you see Him. Choose to move towards Him and seek to discover the light that He has revealed to you when you study His Word and grow closer to Him.

Also, as I challenge you in one way or another every episode, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself to help you discern God’s light from the world’s darkness. Don’t run from the spark God has placed in your heart. Instead, choose to fan the flame God has placed in your heart and let it grow.

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!

In one of the more well-known stories from the gospels, we meet two sisters, and from what we learn, these two sisters are opposite in many ways. However, what we discover in our passage is that one of the sisters is praised by Jesus, while the other one is challenged.

Those of you who are familiar with the gospels probably already know the event we will be focusing in on in this episode. Our passage comes to us from the gospel of Luke, chapter 10, and we will be reading it from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 38, Luke tells us that:

³⁸ As they were traveling along, Jesus went into a village. A woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. ³⁹ She had a sister named Mary. Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to him talk.

⁴⁰ But Martha was upset about all the work she had to do. So she asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself? Tell her to help me.”

⁴¹ The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things. ⁴² There’s only one thing you need. Mary has made the right choice, and that one thing will not be taken away from her.”

In just five short verses, we find a powerful example about how damaging distractions can be in our lives. Looking at this event, Jesus pushes back against our to-do lists, and draws our attention to the importance of our relationships.

However, I think many people stop short when looking at this event. While it is true that we should focus on Jesus and not worry or fuss about all the details, I am certain that Luke chose to include this event for more than simple reminding busy people to stay connected to Jesus.

This event has plenty of other themes present, and some of these themes are very powerful when we look at them a little closer.

The first theme we see is one of the more obvious ones. While both Martha and Mary realized they had the opportunity of a lifetime to get to spend time near Jesus, we see two completely different attitudes from each of these sisters. Even though the passage opens up describing how this was Martha’s house that Jesus was welcomed in to, we learn that Mary sat and listened to Jesus. In Mary’s mind, the best thing she could do was listen and learn from Jesus.

In contrast, we then discover that Martha was focused on housework and all the busywork that was expected (in her mind) from a good hostess. Martha’s focus was on making a good impression to Jesus and His disciples. This contrast is significant. Mary’s goal was to learn from Jesus, while Martha’s goal was to please Jesus. With this contrast, we see the theme that it is more important for us to focus on learning from Jesus than trying to please Him through our actions.

However, this isn’t all we can learn from this event. In Martha’s outburst, we discover something else. Martha asks Jesus, presumably because Mary has ignored her direct requests, to tell Mary to get up and help her. The powerful theme and truth here is that it is easy for someone focused on a task to get upset when others don’t help them with their own goals.

Regardless of the significance of the goal, the goals we set in life feel more important than the goals that other people set. Martha had the goal of being a good hostess, and when Mary didn’t share the same goal as she did, Martha gets upset. Jesus’ response challenges Martha’s focus and tells her that Mary’s goal of resting, listening, and learning is more important than the busywork.

But this isn’t everything we can learn from this event. In Jesus’ response, we can discover two additional themes. In the first part of Jesus’ response to Martha, He says, “Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things. There’s only one thing you need.” This statement draws our attention onto the damaging nature of distractions. Jesus tells Martha that there is only one thing she really needs – and the implication is that one thing is not found on her to-do list. The one thing that Martha needs, and we all need this, is time with Jesus away from the distractions of life. Martha let the distractions of her to-do list get in the way of what was truly important, and while being a host or hostess has its responsibilities and challenges, we should never let distractions steal time away from what is truly important.

Martha’s case is the same as ours. The most important thing we can focus on is developing a relationship with Jesus. In this way, Mary made the right choice by sitting and listening at Jesus’ feet – and ignoring the distractions.

The second theme we can learn from Jesus’ response is in the last portion of what Jesus says. Jesus finishes by saying, “Mary has made the right choice, and that one thing will not be taken away from her.” In a subtle way, we discover that when we make the right choice, and that choice is spending time with God each day, He will help us keep the connection strong. While other things might try to distract us, or make us too busy to spend time with God, those distractions are the work of Satan trying everything he can to keep us from focusing on what is truly important.

Even good things can distract us away from spending time with God, but when a “good thing” is used as a distraction, we discover that this thing really isn’t good in the big picture. When we ask God for His help to focus on what is truly important, He will help us prioritize and He will help minimize the distractions we face. Know that God is never going to distract us away from spending time with Jesus.

While I’m sure there are other themes we could focus in on, this is a great theme for us to end on, and it is the perfect theme to transition into our challenges at the end of our podcast episode:

As I usually start by challenging you, be sure to seek God first, and intentionally focus on spending time with Him each day. Don’t let distractions steal you away from the one thing that is truly important for each of us. By intentionally spending time with Jesus, you are focusing on the one thing that is the most important thing for anyone and everyone in this life – and that is on growing a saving relationship with God.

As you spend time with God, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself, and let God teach you what He wants you to learn from the Bible. While a pastor or podcaster can give you ideas and themes to think about, only through personal study can you discover and grow a personal 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 get distracted while going to where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!