Reflective Bible Study

As we jump into another podcast episode, we continue in our journey through the gospels with another challenging passage – this one about marriage and divorce. While I am happily married, divorce has affected my life in a personal way, since my parents are both divorced and remarried. Divorce has become a standard way of life in our culture today, and this is one reason why this episode’s passage is difficult.

The other reason this passage is challenging is because of what it says about marriage, which is a significant topic in culture at this point in history. Many people living in the world today reject the idea of marriage as presented in this passage. However, it might also surprise many people living today to learn that Jesus’ words surprised those listening to Him in the first century as well.

Let’s dive in to this passage and discover what it can tell us about God’s original plan. Our passage is found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, and we will be reading it from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, Matthew transitions to a new topic by telling us that:

¹ After Jesus said all these things, he left Galilee and went into the area of Judea on the other side of the Jordan River. ² Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³ Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trick him. They asked, “Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for any reason he chooses?”

I will pause here to draw our attention to the similarities with our own culture. From looking at what these Pharisees ask, it would seem like their attitudes towards marriage as a life-long commitment were just as shallow as some people living today.

Continuing reading in verse 4:

⁴ Jesus answered, “Surely you have read in the Scriptures: When God made the world, ‘he made them male and female.’ ⁵ And God said, ‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body.’ ⁶ So there are not two, but one. God has joined the two together, so no one should separate them.”

⁷ The Pharisees asked, “Why then did Moses give a command for a man to divorce his wife by giving her divorce papers?”

⁸ Jesus answered, “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because you refused to accept God’s teaching, but divorce was not allowed in the beginning. ⁹ I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of adultery. The only reason for a man to divorce his wife is if his wife has sexual relations with another man.”

¹⁰ The followers said to him, “If that is the only reason a man can divorce his wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but God has made some able to accept it. ¹² There are different reasons why some men cannot marry. Some men were born without the ability to become fathers. Others were made that way later in life by other people. And some men have given up marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. But the person who can marry should accept this teaching about marriage.”

In many ways, this is a very challenging passage to tackle, because those who uphold the values shared in this passage are attacked by those who despise what Jesus has clearly described. In an oddly similar way, Matthew introduces this subject matter as the Pharisees bringing Jesus a trick question to trap Him. Similar to today’s judgment of anyone who faces this question, those living in the first century had issues of marriage, divorce, and related subjects on their minds.

However, while some are quick to judge anyone who stands beside how this passage describes marriage, it is worth noting that this passage lays the foundation by first describing the ideal, before spelling out how people rejected God’s idea. Then we learn about the sin found in God’s eyes regarding a decision that is less than His ideal, and we learn about the one exception to the rule.

It is amazing that those following Jesus are the ones who are quick to conclude that it might be better to simply not marry in the first place. Those listening to Jesus answer the Pharisees are the ones who are the most shocked by Jesus’ words.

There is very little wiggle-room present in this passage: God’s ideal for marriage is two people, one man, one woman, and when they join themselves together, the two become one in God’s eyes. This was the case in Eden before sin, and when sin entered the world, it seems like this was one of the most challenging ideals for every generation to deal with since that point.

From how Jesus describes marriage and divorce in this passage, it appears as though divorce wasn’t allowed in any fashion prior to Moses making the exception, but perhaps this was Jesus simply comparing the time of Moses to God’s perfect creation in Eden at the beginning.

It is interesting to note that those who are the most opposed to the ideal picture of marriage that Jesus shares in this passage are those who are the most opposed to Jesus, who don’t believe that God exists, and who simply do not care about whether they “sin” against God’s law or not. I’m sure there are exceptions to this, but I imagine these exceptions are very few.

Probably one of the biggest ideas present in this passage regarding marriage is that it is a spiritual union that is demonstrated physically through physical intimacy. Marriage as described in this passage is the decision of both spouses to remain together and faithful to one another. Jesus teaches us that marriage is spiritual because this union is one that God sees from His perspective, and it is physical because we can clearly see it in the decision two people make with one another.

This passage concludes with the equally challenging statement Jesus shares – this one in response to His own followers concluding that it may be better to simply not marry in the first place.

Jesus shares that not everyone can accept this teaching about marriage. This was true for those living in Moses’ time, as it was in Jesus’ time, as it is living in today’s time. Every generation has a percentage of people who cannot accept this teaching about marriage. This passage describes some of these people as those who were born without the ability to become fathers. Others are described as having something happen to them which stopped them from being able to become fathers later in life. A third group is described as people who choose to avoid marriage because they wanted to dedicate themselves more fully to the kingdom of God. This passage describes three very relevant groups of people who cannot accept this teaching about marriage, but it also concludes by saying that those who can and do marry should accept this teaching.

Does this then mean that those who cannot accept Jesus’ teaching and God’s ideal for marriage can simply ignore it and do their own thing, regardless of whether God would consider it sinful or not? I doubt that.

Instead, I believe it means that those who have chosen to stay single, along with those who were born in a way that keeps them from becoming parents and those who were injured in some way that stops their ability to procreate, have been brought into the world with a gift and an opportunity that the majority of people don’t have. This opportunity is the ability to be more able to dedicate themselves to God’s mission for their lives – and each person in this non-marriage group will have a unique way this is possible.

Jesus led the single people as one who chose to remain single for God’s kingdom, while the most famous disciple, Peter, was married. We know this because the gospels describe Jesus visiting and healing Peter’s mother-in-law, and someone only has an in-law when they are married.

This passage points us to God’s ideal for marriage, but it also describes the truth that marriage is not a right that is given to everyone. Marriage is a gift God has given to humanity that some people can accept, but for those who cannot accept God’s gift of marriage, God has other gifts that are less obvious, but not in any way less significant.

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

In whatever you choose to do regarding marriage, or remaining single, seek God first in your life. I speak from personal experience that only when we place God first in our lives will marriage or singleness make sense in His big plan for our lives. If you have not married, let God lead you to marriage if that is part of His will for your life, and if you have gotten married, resolve to stay committed to your spouse regardless of if times are tough or challenging. Staying married through challenging times says more about your character than it does about your difficult spouse.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself, because I believe God wants to speak personally into your life and your situation. Don’t let someone else dictate your 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 fall away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

For our episode this week, I want to share with you a parable Jesus shared that sounds very strange in my mind. While this parable is not the strangest parable I have read in the gospels, this parable would easily fit into a top five list of strange parables Jesus told if I were to create such a list.

However, while this is a strange parable, we don’t have to wonder what Jesus meant by sharing it. Luckily for us, Luke prefaces this parable by telling us why Jesus shared it, and in both the parable and its introduction, we see hints at how God responds to prayer. Our passage, with its strange parable, is found in Luke, chapter 18, and we will read it from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 1, Luke tells us:

¹ Then Jesus used this story to teach his followers that they should always pray and never lose hope. ² “In a certain town there was a judge who did not respect God or care about people. ³ In that same town there was a widow who kept coming to this judge, saying, ‘Give me my rights against my enemy.’ ⁴ For a while the judge refused to help her. But afterwards, he thought to himself, ‘Even though I don’t respect God or care about people, ⁵ I will see that she gets her rights. Otherwise she will continue to bother me until I am worn out.’”

⁶ The Lord said, “Listen to what the unfair judge said. ⁷ God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them. ⁸ I tell you, God will help his people quickly. But when the Son of Man comes again, will he find those on earth who believe in him?”

With that closing question, this parable ends. Many Bibles call this parable The Parable of the Persistent Widow, and in my mind, this parable is an odd one for Jesus to have shared. In this parable, it appears as though Jesus compared God the Father, who loves us enough to send Jesus to redeem us, with an uncaring judge who doesn’t respect God or other people. After giving us these two contrasting characters, Jesus then challenges us to look for similarities between the two.

However, before we get too caught up on how Jesus misaligned these two characters in His illustration, let’s bring our focus back around to how Luke introduces the parable. Luke says in verse 1, “Jesus used this story to teach his followers that they should always pray and never lose hope.”

It seems like the goal Jesus has for this parable is to teach His followers to be persistent in their prayers. Perhaps even though we know that God is not like that uncaring judge, we might feel that way if we pray, and pray, and pray and don’t feel as though we have received an answer.

But if we look closely with how Jesus concludes this passage, we see an interesting paradox. In verse 7, we read Jesus giving us a promise when He says, “God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them.”

The paradox in this verse is that those who are persistent in their prayers will receive quick answers – but then it seems as though God might stall answering if we are not persistent. I have no idea what prompts the responses God gives, or why He chooses the answers He gives to prayers, but I do know there are four possible responses He gives when we pray:

The first possible response to prayer is giving us a “Yes” answer to our request. By far, this is our preferred answer, but it seems as though God only gives us the “yes” answer if He knows it will benefit us or those around us. The promise Jesus shared is that “God will always give what is right to His people”, so if we receive a yes, then we can trust God knows that our request will benefit us and those around us.

The second possible response to prayer is giving us a “No” answer to our request. In some ways, this might seem like the least preferred answer, but actually it isn’t. For some people, receiving a clear “no” is actually a blessing because they trust God has something better in mind for them. Jesus’ promise that “God will always give what is right to His people” filters the requests that are answered with a “no” as being outside what is right. While we might want the things we are requesting, God can see how these things would not be an ultimate blessing to us in the long run.

The third possible response to prayer is giving us a “No, but here is something better” answer to our request. In my own experience, this is usually the response I receive. Perhaps I don’t know how to pray, or maybe I simply pray too small, but once I realized this possible response to prayer, I am able to recognize that many of the times it feels like God is saying “no”, He may really be saying, “No, but here is something better”. When I claim Jesus’ promise that “God will always give what is right to His people”, I can trust that God has something better in mind when I don’t get exactly what I want. For this response and the next one, it’s up to me to learn patience and to not lose hope that God has something great in mind to give me instead.

The fourth and final possible response to prayer is giving us a “Not yet” or a “Wait” answer to our request. This is probably the most painful response we can receive because we want what we want and we want it now! However, a “not yet” answer to prayer is not a “no”, it is simply a delayed “Yes” or a delayed “Here is something better”. While I have no idea when the right time will be, I do have the promise that “God will always give what is right to His people”. Part of God giving us what is right is answering our requests at the right time and in the right way.

The last part of the promise Jesus shares tells us that God “will not be slow to answer” our requests. This means that even if we feel like we are talking to the ceiling without any luck, our prayers are passing through time and space and they ultimately reach God on His throne. God answers our prayers quickly, so if we don’t feel like we have received a response, chances are that the answer is either a “No, but here is something else”, or a “Not yet”.

Both these responses have an element of waiting involved. The “something else” God may give us might not be what we had hoped for, but in time we will see how His response was best for us in the long run.

However, the promise ends with a touch of pessimism. Jesus finishes verse 8 off with a question saying, “But when the Son of Man comes again, will he find those on earth who believe in him?”

God is quick to answer the prayers of His people, but with the way the world and culture is heading, we are speeding towards a place where people might simply give up on Him. God wants to answer our prayers with what is best for us, but if no one is praying to Him, there will be no prayers that He can answer.

Does God need our prayers to help us?

Easily I can answer that with a “No”, but God values our freedom of choice and our free will over forcing good into our lives. Even though it might bring Him pain to watch, He will stay out of our lives if we choose to reject Him, and if we are indifferent to Him, then any blessings He gives may be more subtle than clear.

God doesn’t want to stay an arm’s length away from us. He wants to be right next to us. But He will only come near to us when we ask Him to and move towards Him.

As we close out 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 claim the promise He gave us through this strange parable that “God will always give what is right to His people”.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself, with the goal of learning directly from the Holy Spirit and the message about God that has been preserved through history.

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

As Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem and towards the crucifixion weekend, one of the miracles we read about stand out in my mind in a powerful way. This particular miracle stands out in my mind when we look closely at what one of those who was healed risks when he deviates from what he was instructed to do.

We can find this miracle in Luke’s gospel, chapter 17, and we will read it from the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 11, we read that:

¹¹ While He [speaking of Jesus] was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; ¹³ and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” ¹⁴ When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. ¹⁵ Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, ¹⁶ and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? ¹⁸ Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”

This passage is amazing in my mind, and it stands out to me because of what is said, and what is truly risked. The implication I often hear when this passage is shared is that the other nine cleansed lepers were not thankful to be healed because they didn’t return.

However, this makes no sense. All ten men had been outcasts of society and the fact that they ask for Jesus to be merciful to them tells us that they all wanted to be included back into society.

Instead, what we find is that all ten men believe Jesus’ promise to go show themselves to the priests, and all ten men set out towards Jerusalem and the temple. On the way, probably not very far into their journey, they realize that they have been healed.

It is at this point that each man faces a dilemma.

Each man was healed because he was obeying Jesus’ command to go show himself to the priests, but the trip to Jerusalem will take several days and there would be no telling where Jesus would be after they had seen the priests and have been declared clean or healed.

With the exception of the one man who returned, the other nine, who I am sure were incredibly grateful towards Jesus and God for their healing, resolved even harder to make it to the priests to confirm what they believed had already happened. Nothing would stop these nine from finishing their mission because a completed visit with a priest would solidify their status back into the community. The challenge comes with finding Jesus after their trip, which I doubt would be possible since Jesus was headed for the cross.

The exception to the group was the one former leper who decided to return to thank Jesus. By choosing to delay going to see the priest, this Samaritan actually risks losing out on being healed because he stopped the task Jesus asked him to do. Jesus applauds this foreigner’s faith in God and the risk he took to return to give thanks and tells him that his faith has made him well.

We can easily assume that the Samaritan who came back was able to catch up to his friends on their way to visit the priest to be declared clean, or that his trip was successful following returning to say thanks.

From this event, we can see several big themes that are worth applying into our lives.

The first theme is that while the Samaritan is singled out because he returned, the implication is that some in this group were Samaritans while others were Jews. With this miracle, Jesus demonstrates that God is willing to help and heal regardless of any racial tension. God doesn’t show racial favoritism with who He decides to help. This is important because most of us living today are neither Samaritan nor Jew, but we can trust that God still loves each of us and that Jesus was willing to die in our place as sinners.

The second big theme I see is that there is never a wrong time to stop and be grateful towards God for what He has done in our lives. While the Samaritan who came back risked losing his healing, the truth of the matter is that God honors our gratefulness, and He is happy to help us when we are grateful and willing to give Him the glory.

The third big theme in this passage is that sometimes we have to obey before we see God’s hand working in our lives. The leprous men had to start their journey to the priest before they received their healing, and in our own lives, we may need to step out in faith and obedience before seeing Jesus show up in our own lives.

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

Be sure to give God praise and thanks for everything He has blessed you with in your life. Intentionally choose to live a life of gratefulness towards God and those He has brought into your life.

Also, choose to grow closer to Him by praying and studying the Bible for yourself each and every day. Regular prayer and Bible study are the best ways to grow a personal relationship with God and to discover how to be obedient to His voice.

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!

When reading the gospels, sometimes Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John surprise me about the events they chose to include in each of their respective gospels. While Matthew, Mark, and Luke all share many similar stories, John takes a different approach with his gospel, and he shares many unique events that the other gospels for some reason or another, chose not to include.

Of all the events that John includes that the other three gospels excluded, the event I am most surprised about is the resurrection of Lazarus. For some reason, only John’s gospel included it, and I can only speculate that one of the primary reasons the other three gospel writers didn’t include it was because it was such a well known event that it would have been redundant for those in the first century who were well aware of what happened.

However, when reading about Lazarus’ resurrection, an interesting secondary theme appears, and this theme is both subtle and powerful. Let’s read excerpts from John’s gospel and draw out this theme together. Our passage is found in the gospel of John, chapter 11, and we will read it using the Contemporary English Version. Starting in verse 1, John opens this event by telling us that:

^1-2 A man by the name of Lazarus was sick in the village of Bethany. He had two sisters, Mary and Martha. This was the same Mary who later poured perfume on the Lord’s head and wiped his feet with her hair. ³ The sisters sent a message to the Lord and told him that his good friend Lazarus was sick.

⁴ When Jesus heard this, he said, “His sickness won’t end in death. It will bring glory to God and his Son.”

The first clue to this secondary theme in this event is that Jesus says that Lazarus’ sickness won’t end in death. Instead, it will bring glory to God and His Son.

I’m sure that when the disciples and messengers heard Jesus’ response, they were relieved, but what happens next is startling. Continuing in verse 5, we read:

⁵ Jesus loved Martha and her sister and brother. ⁶ But he stayed where he was for two more days.

In my mind, the two verses we just read don’t add up. Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, but He stayed where He was for two more days. In my mind, it doesn’t seem like love to stay away from your friends who are hurting – especially since John doesn’t give us a reason why.

After the two-day delay, we pick back up reading in verse 7:

⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “Now we will go back to Judea.”

⁸ “Teacher,” they said, “the people there want to stone you to death! Why do you want to go back?”

When reading this portion of the event, part of me wonders if the disciples thought Jesus wouldn’t go back to Judah to see His friends. After two days with no movement in that direction, the consensus among the disciples may have been that no direct intervention was necessary for Lazarus’ benefit.

But Jesus answers them in the next verses by saying:

⁹ [Jesus answered,] “Aren’t there twelve hours in each day? If you walk during the day, you will have light from the sun, and you won’t stumble. ¹⁰ But if you walk during the night, you will stumble, because you don’t have any light.” ¹¹ Then he told them, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep, and I am going there to wake him up.”

¹² They replied, “Lord, if he is asleep, he will get better.” ¹³ Jesus really meant that Lazarus was dead, but they thought he was talking only about sleep.

¹⁴ Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead! ¹⁵ I am glad that I wasn’t there, because now you will have a chance to put your faith in me. Let’s go to him.”

¹⁶ Thomas, whose nickname was “Twin,” said to the other disciples, “Come on. Let’s go, so we can die with him.”

I find it interesting that Jesus begins by saying that Lazarus’ sickness won’t end in death, but here just two days later, Jesus now talks about Lazarus sleeping. However, when the disciples don’t catch the metaphor, Jesus has to plainly tell them: “Lazarus is dead!” (v. 14)

Here is the second clue into our secondary theme hidden in this passage. Jesus seems to talk about death on two separate levels – or He has a bigger picture in mind when discussing death. To learn which it is, let’s continue reading, but let’s jump down in the story to Martha’s conversation with Jesus.

Picking back up in verse 20, we read:

²⁰ When Martha heard that Jesus had arrived, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed in the house. ²¹ Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² Yet even now I know that God will do anything you ask.”

²³ Jesus told her, “Your brother will live again!”

²⁴ Martha answered, “I know that he will be raised to life on the last day, when all the dead are raised.”

²⁵ Jesus then said, “I am the one who raises the dead to life! Everyone who has faith in me will live, even if they die. ²⁶ And everyone who lives because of faith in me will never really die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷ “Yes, Lord!” she replied. “I believe that you are Christ, the Son of God. You are the one we hoped would come into the world.”

The subtle, but not so subtle, theme that Martha picks up on is that Jesus had promised through the messengers that Lazarus’ sickness wouldn’t end in death, but since her brother had died, Jesus must be talking from an eternal perspective. In her conversation with Jesus, Martha demonstrates amazing faith – and she points us to the biggest picture we can imagine that can only be seen through looking at eternity.

But in this conversation, Jesus still sounds like he is still talking about death on two different levels. First He tells Martha that her brother would live again, but then He starts talking about those who have faith in Him dying but not really “dying”. The fact that Jesus says He is the one who raises the dead back to life, but those who believe in Him will never really die is a contradiction – if we understand Jesus to only be talking about death on one level.

This must then mean that Jesus has two different perspectives or angles on death that He refers to in this passage and conversation. Earlier, Jesus tried describing death like a sleep, but He wasn’t successful using this metaphor with the disciples. Jesus then tells Martha that her brother will live again, but she only understands this statement from the big-picture, future resurrection that God’s people will experience.

In each case, dying is dying, but in the first case, the death is equivalent to a sleep that only Jesus can break. In the second case, the death is final. Martha had her perspective correct when she understood Jesus’ promise that Lazarus would ultimately be alive in heaven with God at the end of time, but she missed the immediate promise of Jesus’ words that Lazarus’ death was simply a sleep that he needed Jesus to wake him from.

Lazarus was dead. He wasn’t in a coma or simply unconscious. The way bodies were prepared for burial in that culture would have killed an unconscious person. After four days in the tomb, everyone was certain that Lazarus was truly dead. No one present had any doubts to the contrary.

We can understand the perspective of those present in this passage when they talk about Jesus on the way to the tomb. The crowd says in verse 37, “He gives sight to the blind. Why couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” and Martha pushes back against the idea of opening the tomb in verse 39 by telling Jesus, “Lord, you know that Lazarus has been dead four days, and there will be a bad smell.”

When we think about death, the secondary theme of this passage is that until the resurrection happens on the last day, everyone who dies with their faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus will simply sleep waiting for Him to awaken them. These people technically will never die because they have a future life waiting for them with God.

But those who have died who have rejected God, Jesus, or chosen to believe in something or someone other than Jesus will die, and they will face a death in the future that does not have a resurrection promised.

While the primary theme of this passage relates to Jesus being the Life-Giver and being someone who is worthy of our faith, the secondary theme of this passage tells us that death in this life is more like a sleep, and that after we take our last breath, the next sound we hear will be Jesus waking us up.

With this said, here are the challenges I will leave you with as we close out this podcast episode:

As I always challenge you to do in one way or another, intentionally choose to place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus. Choose to live your life in a way that pleases Him, because when death-sleep comes, it won’t matter whether we stay in the ground until resurrection or whether we immediately go to Heaven. The only thing that will have mattered is how we stood with God at the moment of our last breath.

As always, pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn the truth God wants to teach you. While death is a sad subject for many, God wants to draw your attention to the future life He has promised 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 abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!