Reflective Bible Study

As we continue moving through events the gospel writers include in Jesus’ life, we arrive at a point in Jesus’ ministry where He is teaching the crowds about prayer. For those of you who are familiar with the gospels, you’ll easily recognize that this topic comes immediately following the opening to Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount. After Jesus has shared blessings for various groups of people in the opening portion of His sermon, He shifts the focus of His message first to the big topic of prayer, and what Jesus says might just surprise you.

While Jesus includes a very famous model prayer in our passage, what Jesus says leading up to this prayer are in many ways more important than the prayer itself.

Our passage for this episode, and Jesus’ teaching on the subject of prayer, is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 6, and we will read it using the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 5, Matthew tells us Jesus transitions to talking about prayer by saying:

⁵ “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray so people will see them. I tell you the truth, they already have their full reward. ⁶ When you pray, you should go into your room and close the door and pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you.

Let’s pause reading here because I want to draw our attention onto several specific points. First, the way Jesus describes prayer in this passage is as though prayer is primarily a personal thing; it is something we do with God. Prayer is a two-person event: person 1 is praying, and we could call “Person” 2, God, who is receiving the prayer. God, who we don’t see, sees what we do in secret, and he rewards our personal relationship with Him.

The powerful truth Jesus alludes to in this passage is that our public relationship with God does not matter as much as our private relationship with God. While a public and private relationship are important, Jesus tells us that those who only have a public relationship with God have already received their reward, because their relationship with God is not for God’s benefit, but simply for show.

It is like someone who says they are your friend when other people are around, but who ignores you or doesn’t want to spend time with you when it is just the two of you. That’s not much of a friendship.

Instead, Jesus teaches us that God wants a personal relationship with you – a relationship that is solid on a personal level and that doesn’t feel as though it needs to be displayed in public. This leaves public prayers for addressing simply the group and/or event they are included in, which keeps them relevant as well.

Praying in public or when others are present is something that is beneficial, but only when it is given sincerely, from someone who also has a personal relationship with God in their private life as well.

With this foundation in place, Jesus then shifts the focus slightly in the following verses. Continuing in verse 7, Jesus tells those present:

⁷ “And when you pray, don’t be like those people who don’t know God. They continue saying things that mean nothing, thinking that God will hear them because of their many words. ⁸ Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him. ⁹ So when you pray, you should pray like this:

‘Our Father in heaven,
may your name always be kept holy.
¹⁰ May your kingdom come
and what you want be done,
here on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us the food we need for each day.
¹² Forgive us for our sins,
just as we have forgiven those who sinned against us.
¹³ And do not cause us to be tempted,
but save us from the Evil One.’ [The kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever. Amen.]

While it would be very easy to focus in on Jesus’ model prayer here, the statements Jesus share leading up to this model prayer are just as powerful, and they are oftentimes lost or forgotten. When setting the stage for this powerful prayer, Jesus makes a clear distinction between people who either pray meaningless words, or who act as though God has no idea what they want or need.

If you pray in order to let God know what you need, that subtly suggests that you believe God isn’t all knowing. If we believe God is all-knowing, it is only logical to conclude that He knows what we need, want, and will ask for before we even bow our head to pray. While we can and should still ask for things, it is better for us to understand the truth that by asking, we are intentionally submitting to God and His will. When we ask God for something specific, let’s not treat God as though He is learning something new; instead, let’s ask God to step into our lives and our situations in ways that only He can.

Jesus directly says that using more words does not mean you have a more effective prayer. Probably the opposite is true. I shouldn’t have to say this to us here, but this truth about prayer is true in our private prayers, and it is really, really true in our public ones. Keeping our prayers short in public will keep everyone satisfied, and we can say we are following Jesus’ instructions for us.

Chanting repetitive words or phrases fail Jesus’ prayer instructions for His followers. When we say empty, meaningless, or shallow words, they cheapen our prayer. When we repetitively use words or phrases, each subsequent time we say them may get more intense, but do we think God didn’t hear us the first time. God heard our request before the thought even had occurred in our mind – the first time – and he certainly does not need to hear the request multiple times.

However, what about times or places in the Bible where we are challenged to persist in our requests to God. Is repeating our requests ever okay?

In my own mind, I think it is, but only in specific cases or situations. When we are facing something in our lives that we need God’s help with, it is beneficial for us to repeat our request because repeating the request reminds ourselves of something we have given to God, and repeating our requests reminds us that God is still in control. Also, if we are tempted or struggling whether to give our situation over to God, we should repeat our prayer request because repeating our prayers helps us wrap our minds around our need for God’s help.

In our prayers, we remind ourselves that God is in control, and that He knows the best outcome from eternity’s perspective. We tend to limit our focus to our own limited perspective, but God knows all the possible outcomes, and reminding ourselves that He is in control also reminds us that He knows the best path for history to take from this point forward. God looks at the perspective of eternity, and He wants as many people as possible in His kingdom with Him.

When we pray to God, let’s intentionally focus on drawing near to God and opening our hearts and lives to Him. God loves you and me, and through prayer, we can grow a strong, personal relationship with Him that will extend forward into eternity!

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 work towards growing a personal relationship with Him and with Jesus – giving emphasis on growing your personal, private relationship.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself in order to learn more about God and about Jesus and what He is like. While other people have ideas and opinions, the best place to learn about God is through what He has revealed to us in the Bible.

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!

Of all the times Jesus preached to the crowds, and from all the counter-cultural ideas He shares, the central theme of the passage we are looking at this week is definitely among the most difficult to apply.

While some people may have wished to be excluded from being challenged in this way, Jesus directs this thought at everyone who was listening at that time, and since this teaching is included in two of the four gospels, we can also conclude that it was meant for everyone who would read or hear about it later as well.

Unfortunately, this includes you and me, but before getting upset at me for sharing it with you, tucked within this challenge is a theme that reveals an amazing truth about God the Father, and the extent of His love for humanity.

As I mentioned earlier, this teaching is found in two of the four gospels, but for our time together, we’ll focus in on Luke’s version of it, which is found in Luke, chapter 6, and we will be reading from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 27, Jesus challenges those present by saying:

²⁷ “But I say to you who are listening, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who are cruel to you. ²⁹ If anyone slaps you on one cheek, offer him the other cheek, too. If someone takes your coat, do not stop him from taking your shirt. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and when someone takes something that is yours, don’t ask for it back. ³¹ Do to others what you would want them to do to you. ³² If you love only the people who love you, what praise should you get? Even sinners love the people who love them. ³³ If you do good only to those who do good to you, what praise should you get? Even sinners do that! ³⁴ If you lend things to people, always hoping to get something back, what praise should you get? Even sinners lend to other sinners so that they can get back the same amount! ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without hoping to get anything back. Then you will have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High God, because he is kind even to people who are ungrateful and full of sin. ³⁶ Show mercy, just as your Father shows mercy.

This last phrase not only sums up the reason why Jesus challenges those present to love everyone, in this phrase, we are challenged to love everyone like God has loved and shown mercy to us.

Also tucked into this challenge is the well known phrase in verse 31: “Do to others what you would want them to do to you.” While many people take this phrase and use it to justify their reaction to someone who just hurt them, the context of this teaching is being preemptive, and consciously acting in a way that you want to have returned. “Do to others what you would want them to do to you.” This phrase is given with the goal of helping to turn enemies into friends, so before trying to exclude someone from this challenge because they are not your “enemy”, this phrase is meant for everyone who is not yet a friend and everyone who you want to remain friends with.

One big key to this challenge Jesus gives us that we would be wise to pay attention to is that nowhere in this passage do we read that by doing all these kind things and loving an enemy will immediately or eventually turn our adversary into a friend. Making friends out of our enemies is not the goal of Jesus’ challenge.

Instead, the goal is reflecting God. God has more enemies than we can count, and even though they have aligned themselves against Him, He has not turned His back on them. God loves both His friends and His enemies, even if His enemies have no hope of ever turning back to Him.

In verse 35, the passage phrases God’s kindness extending to even those who are “ungrateful and full of sin”. This thought challenges me because it both implies that as followers and imitators of God, we should be grateful and as sinless as we can possibly be. This brings to mind the idea that while everyone has sinned in their past, there is nothing keeping us from intentionally not sinning in the future. On several different occasions, Jesus challenged those He healed with the words, “Go and sin no more”, which implies that while it wouldn’t be easy, a sinless future is not impossible.

Also, while reading this challenge, I wonder if the theme Jesus shares here is the big error of the religious leaders, the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and all the other Jewish groups present during that time. While most of these groups of Jews followed the laws that were handed down to them as best as they could, it seems as though all of them had missed the central idea of being God-like and God’s representative. These groups had missed seeing God’s love for humanity in the scrolls of their Old Testament scriptures. If they were trying to be God-like, they modeled their actions after a view of God that was a Judge and Someone who would be quick to punish those who broke His Law.

But in Jesus’ words, we see a God who loves before He punishes and a God who is generous to even those who have turned against Him. This is the only option God has if He wants to base His rule on love, on caring relationships, and on the freedom of choice. If God quickly punished those who disobeyed, we would be fearful of Him, and a loving relationship could not develop. Not only this, but if God were to quickly punish us for our sin, there would be no hope of us ever turning back to Him and repenting, since the punishment for sin is death.

Here in our passage and in Jesus’ challenge to those who have heard or read His words is that God wants us to love like He loves, care like He cares, and to model generosity like He is generous – and not just to those in our social circle of friends, but to everyone else – enemies included – as well.

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

Seek God first in your life, and intentionally choose Him to be your role model. God is the only One worthy of modeling our lives after, because everyone else has mistakes and/or flaws that we must look past.

When hearing, reading, and studying the Bible for yourself, pay attention to the many ways God has shown love towards humanity, both in the Old Testament history of Israel, and in the New Testament record of Jesus and the early Christian church.

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 moving through Jesus’ life, focusing on events that the gospel writers included, we come to an event that is a little less well known, but one that is incredibly powerful when we stop to focus in on it.

Early on in Jesus’ ministry, the gospel of Matthew dedicates a significant amount of space to an event known as the Sermon on the Mount. However, if you were paying attention to our introduction, we aren’t going to be reading from Matthew’s gospel in this episode.

Instead, lesser known is a sermon Jesus shares in Luke’s gospel, which is known as Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain. However, this other sermon shares some similarities to Jesus’ famous sermon, and it begins in a similar way before taking a significantly different turn.

Our passage for this episode is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 6, and we will be reading from the God’s Word translation of the Bible. Starting in verse 20, Luke tells us that:

²⁰ Jesus looked at his disciples and said,

“Blessed are those who are poor.
    God’s kingdom is theirs.
²¹ Blessed are those who are hungry.
    They will be satisfied.
Blessed are those who are crying.
    They will laugh.
²² Blessed are you when people hate you, avoid you,
    insult you, and slander you
        because you are committed to the Son of Man.
²³             Rejoice then, and be very happy!
                You have a great reward in heaven.
                    That’s the way their ancestors treated the prophets.

²⁴ “But how horrible it will be for those who are rich.
    They have had their comfort.
²⁵ How horrible it will be for those who are well-fed.
    They will be hungry.
How horrible it will be for those who are laughing.
    They will mourn and cry.
²⁶ How horrible it will be for you
    when everyone says nice things about you.
        That’s the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.

In this passage, we have four blessings and four warnings. On the surface, these blessings cover the range of economic, physical, emotional, and social areas of life, but on a deeper level, the “economic” blessing and warning is really a spiritual blessing and warning.

As far as I am aware, humans are the only species on planet earth to have created an economic system, and we are the only species on earth that are described as “spiritual” beings. According to the first two chapters of Genesis, all life has the breath of God, but only humanity has the fingerprints of God after He hand-formed us as a species. This leads me to believe that parts of humanity that are unique to us (such as economics in this case), are an extension of our spiritual nature, since we are the only creatures to have built an economic system.

While it is tempting to gloss over Jesus’ clear message about those who don’t have now will have later, and those who have now will not have later, if I try to simplify this passage down to one broad theme, We likely will miss the direct nature of these blessings and warnings.

Jesus promises encouragement for those who are hurting spiritually, which also includes those who are hurting financially, as well as those who are hurting physically, emotionally, and socially. In these blessings, He wants to remind all of us that when times are bad, He still is in control, and when things are unfair, they will be made right in the end.

In the warnings, Jesus tells us to watch out for being spiritually and financially rich, because this does not last. Wealth is not guaranteed, nor is the true value of that wealth guaranteed either. In this warning, the comfort wealth brings is stated in the present and past tense – signifying that it has an end point. Jesus says in the last phrase of verse 24, “They have had their comfort.”

In the physical warning, Jesus warns those of us who have enough to eat to understand that this situation will not last. I don’t know if this is Jesus talking to individuals or to societies at large, but the clear statement is that those who are well fed should not count on being well fed in the future.

In the emotional warning, Jesus tells us to not expect life to be all high points. Life is a mixture of peaks and valleys, and this is symbolized here as laughter and crying. While I know I would like life to be more laughter than crying, I understand that the sin in this world is responsible for pain, disease, and death. While we are living in this sinful world, God doesn’t want us to get so attached to it that we don’t want the future sinless life and world He has planned for us when this age ends.

And in the last warning, Jesus tells us to be very careful when people begin to say good things about us, because when this happens, we are dangerously close to how the false prophets were treated. In Old Testament Israel, the true prophets tried to warn the people of destruction and punishment, and they were tortured, mocked, thrown in jail, and largely ignored. The false prophets were welcomed, because they said what the leaders and people wanted to hear, even though it was a lie.

Jesus cautions us to be wary when things are going our way, because it is when things are up that we are tempted to lose our focus on Him and on God. When life is good, the temptation is to think that our skill, ability, and well-placed investments were the cause. We discount God’s blessing and think the gift was given by us to us and not from the true Giver Himself.

In this passage, we discover four blessings and four warnings. Jesus wants us to succeed when things are looking up and when things are not going so well. He said these words specifically to the disciples, but with the crowd present. As followers of Jesus, we are to heed these blessings and these warnings as being relevant to our lives today.

The blessings are given for our encouragement, and the warnings are given to protect us from the temptation of pride.

If all of us individually keep this teaching in our minds and let it absorb into our hearts, we will become even more like Jesus, and the more like Jesus we become, the more God will be preparing us for Jesus’ return and the end of sin!

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 let the promises and warnings we focused on in this episode impact how you live your life.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn who Jesus is and what He is really like. Discover through the pages of the Bible a God who passionately wants you redeemed in heaven, but a God who values your freedom of choice over His desire for you to be saved for eternity.

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!

One of the things I admire about Jesus is His skillful way of answering challenging questions. The event we are looking at in this episode, which is found in three of the four gospels contains one such question, and it is in this question and answer that Jesus gives where we find a fascinating insight into God, His Law, and a right understanding of it.

For our episode this week, we will be looking at Matthew’s version of this event, which is found in Matthew, chapter 12, and we will be using the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 9, we read:

⁹ Jesus left that place and went to a synagogue, ¹⁰ where there was a man who had a paralyzed hand. Some people were there who wanted to accuse Jesus of doing wrong, so they asked him, “Is it against our Law to heal on the Sabbath?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “What if one of you has a sheep and it falls into a deep hole on the Sabbath? Will you not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹² And a human being is worth much more than a sheep! So then, our Law does allow us to help someone on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then he said to the man with the paralyzed hand, “Stretch out your hand.”

He stretched it out, and it became well again, just like the other one. ¹⁴ Then the Pharisees left and made plans to kill Jesus.

Let’s pause reading here because I want to draw our attention onto this question and answer. The Pharisees have skillfully come up with a question where they feel like they know the correct answer, but they want to trap Jesus in His own words. The question they asked is designed to trick Jesus into saying work is acceptable, which violates the fourth commandment, because in their minds, Jesus is playing the role of physician, and the work doctors do is heal their patients.

Even if they considered Jesus to be more than simply a doctor or physician, it would be a double standard to hold the doctor’s healing as work while Jesus’ healing is not.

Jesus’ response begins by setting up a hypothetical scenario, perhaps one that had even happened recently, describing a sheep that had fallen into a hole. A sheep trapped in any way like the one described would be a prime target for a wolf or other predator. It would be logical to put forth a little effort to help free the sheep.

With the stage set, Jesus elevates humanity above this hypothetical sheep before giving the gist of His answer. Jesus’ response to the question is that the Law does allow us to help each other on the Sabbath.

Perhaps God’s law has a built in double standard. Maybe if the owner of the sheep lifts it out it is considered work, because the sheep is connected to its owner’s wealth, while a friend or stranger seeing the sheep fall into the hole is not obligated or rewarded in any way by the sheep being saved. In the stranger’s case, there is nothing compelling him or her to offer help, so the action is purely altruistic and/or selfless.

However, I don’t believe there is a double standard. Help is help, while work is work. If the goal of an action is to be paid or compensated in some way, then it is work; but if the goal of an action is to benefit someone else without any pay or compensation being expected, then it is help. This is how I define the difference between this potentially confusing set of concepts.

Jesus’ instruction to the man to stretch out his hand is the least work-like way of helping. All Jesus did was simply speak and that is something that is easily acceptable on a Sabbath, or any other day. And this instruction prompted a miraculous healing, which also couldn’t be considered work, because we are free to move our limbs in any way we choose on every day of the week.

However, the Pharisees did not like this response or outcome, and they begin plotting to kill Jesus. When we continue reading in verse 15, we learn that:

¹⁵ When Jesus heard about the plot against him, he went away from that place; and large crowds followed him. He healed all the sick ¹⁶ and gave them orders not to tell others about him. ¹⁷ He did this so as to make come true what God had said through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁸ “Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,
    the one I love, and with whom I am pleased.
I will send my Spirit upon him,
    and he will announce my judgment to the nations.
¹⁹ He will not argue or shout,
    or make loud speeches in the streets.
²⁰ He will not break off a bent reed,
    nor put out a flickering lamp.
He will persist until he causes justice to triumph,
²¹     and on him all peoples will put their hope.”

In these verses, Matthew draws our attention onto a prophecy about Jesus that God gave through the prophet Isaiah. When I read this prophecy, I am impressed with the description of the Messiah that is shared. This prophecy tells us that Jesus will announce God’s judgment on the nations, and that He won’t argue, shout, or speak loudly in the streets. Jesus won’t break off a bent reed or put out a flickering lamp, and He will persist until He causes justice to triumph.

The last phrase really stands out in my mind. Verse 21 concludes by saying: “and on him all peoples will put their hope.”

Jesus came to be the Savior for all people. Jesus wasn’t just sent to help the Jews. He came to help people of all ethnicities and backgrounds. While there are occasions where Jesus tells a foreigner that He only came to help the Jews, in each case, with persistence and pushback from the person requesting help, Jesus always complies and helps the situation.

Isaiah’s prophecy tells us that Jesus persisted until He caused justice to triumph. Justice in this case is God’s punishment for sin, and Jesus persisted until His last breath on the cross. Isaiah’s prophecy both foreshadows Jesus’ death as well as His arrival for all people.

Jesus came to help those who needed help and He came to give us a view of God’s Law that allows us to be a blessing to others. The Law was never meant to be a pair of hand-cuffs, but a systematic way of growing a community of people both spiritually and socially. And because Jesus viewed God’s Law this way when the Pharisees didn’t, they wanted to kill Him, which ironically would be a violation of the Law they claimed to obey.

While the Pharisees plotted against Jesus, Isaiah’s prophecy that foreshadowed Jesus’ death for all human-kind was being fulfilled.

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

Choose to seek God in a way that prompts you to focus on helping others. While many people, including those living in the first century, believe that serving God can be separate from helping others, choose to model your life after Jesus’ life. Jesus blended obeying God and helping others. It appears, at least to me, that whenever there was a supposed conflict between obedience and helping someone, Jesus always choose to help. Perhaps this is how we should be in our own lives.

However, don’t take my word for this. You should prayerfully study the Bible for yourself, and this decision for yourself, because only by being connected with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word will you even know what Jesus is like. You can only accurately model someone you have studied 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 deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!