Reflective Bible Study

As Jesus taught the crowds, He frequently challenged them based on their level of commitment. Sometimes Jesus’ challenges were based on His divine knowledge of other people’s thoughts or the state of their hearts. Other times, Jesus challenges the people based on a question He receives or a situation that presents itself.

In our passage for this episode, Jesus challenges all His followers based on a question He receives, and from the answer Jesus shared, we are warned about salvation not being easy and how there will be a group of people who think they are safe who end up being excluded.

Our passage is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 13, and we will be reading from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 22, Luke tells us:

²² Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. ²³ Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

He said to them, ²⁴ “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. ²⁵ Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’

“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’

²⁶ “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

²⁷ “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’

²⁸ “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. ²⁹ People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”

In this passage, we see a clear warning that not everyone will be saved, even if they wanted to be. This is a challenging thing to think about especially when we know that Jesus came to save all people. Jesus died on the cross to make the way for anyone and everyone to be saved, but when asked how many will be saved, without directly saying so, Jesus strongly suggests that only a small number of people will be included.

However, from Jesus’ sobering response, can we learn anything about those who incorrectly believe they are safe so that we don’t fall into the same trap they did? Absolutely!

The first truth I see in Jesus’ response is that there will be a time when the door is closed. After this point, it appears that those who choose to repent will have decided too late. I will be the first to say that I have no idea when the door for salvation will truly close, but the clear truth in this passage is that we shouldn’t delay or stall choosing Jesus.

Whether the door for salvation closes when we take our last breath, or if there is a separate, distinct time that applies to everyone, the sad truth is that those who come knocking at the door probably would have paid attention and come sooner had they known the door was closing. We avoid making the same mistake they do by choosing today to live for God, and entering His kingdom.

The second truth I see in this passage is that those who knock outside the door are described as people who the homeowner does not know. This means in our own lives that simply knowing about God, about Jesus, or about the need for a saving relationship will not be enough to actually save someone. To put it another way, us knowing Jesus isn’t enough; what matters is that Jesus knows you and I. This is accomplished by intentionally growing a relationship with God. Regular prayer, Bible study, and living a faith-filled life that depends on God is the way we grow our relationship with Him.

In many ways this second truth is more important than the first one because the implication is that if the homeowner recognized those who knocked at the door, He would have let them in. We should not let our relationship with God drift away because life is busy or full of distractions. If we are distracted away from God, we risk Him not knowing or recognizing us when we come knocking at the door.

This is also the case if we knew Him at some point in the past. Even those who are excluded say they ate and drank with the homeowner and know He taught in their streets, but a past relationship isn’t as significant as a present one. We need a strong relationship with Jesus in the present in order to be recognized by God.

The third truth is found in the homeowner’s final reply to those knocking at his door. He tells them in verse 27, “Away from me, all you evildoers!” This statement strongly suggests that doing evil will forfeit your salvation. We’ve touched on this already this year, and it is worth repeating that being saved is a gift we receive through faith, but our actions can forfeit the gift God wants to give us.

Those who find themselves on the outside will be guilty of keeping sin in their lives and letting their sin delay their decision to come to Jesus.

The final truth we will touch on for this episode is Jesus’ concluding remarks. Jesus describes Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but those He was talking to, specifically a group of Jews, being thrown out. Jesus then shares how people will come from all directions of the earth to be a part of the feast.

This strong final theme is that our ancestry, heritage, or any decision we made in the past is not enough to guarantee we will be saved. While many Jews believed that simply being a descendant of Abraham covered any fault they might have in their own lives, we fall into the same trap thinking that a single decision we made in the past is enough to cover any wrongdoing in the present. Simply being a Jew does not mean salvation any more than praying a prayer of confession into the Christian faith means we will always be saved. Each starting point needs to lead to a changed lifestyle and a focus on growing closer to Jesus!

We are saved when we focus on growing closer to Jesus to the point that Jesus knows who we are, when we don’t delay making that choice, when we live each day with our hearts and minds focused on living faithfully like Jesus did, and when we don’t rest on our past decisions or ancestry believing they alone are enough.

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

Intentionally make the choice to accept Jesus into your heart and life today. This is the most important single decision you can make. But don’t stop there. After making this decision, be sure to then intentionally choose to focus on growing closer to Jesus and spend time with Him each day. Focus on developing that personal relationship so that when the end comes, God will know you and open the door for you if you are not already inside.

We learn and grow closer to God and Jesus through prayer, through studying the Bible for ourselves, and through living a life of faith and dependence on God. If you need help with any of these areas, be sure to reach out and I am happy to help where I can. The important thing for each of us is to make our relationship with God our own and to not let anyone else get between us and 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 let Satan trick you into leaving where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

While reading the gospels, it seems as though many people liked hearing the stories and illustrations Jesus told, but it seems that in many cases, while the illustrations Jesus used were simple, the truth Jesus was trying to share was lost on the audience.

In our passage for this episode, we’ll be looking at one of these illustrations, and specifically at how Jesus explains what He meant by this illustration. Our passage can be found in the gospel of John, chapter 10, and we will read it from the Contemporary English Version. Starting in verse 1:

¹ Jesus said:

I tell you for certain that only thieves and robbers climb over the fence instead of going in through the gate to the sheep pen. ^2-3 But the gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and he goes in through it. The sheep know their shepherd’s voice. He calls each of them by name and leads them out.

⁴ When he has led out all of his sheep, he walks in front of them, and they follow, because they know his voice. ⁵ The sheep will not follow strangers. They don’t recognize a stranger’s voice, and they run away.

⁶ Jesus told the people this story. But they did not understand what he was talking about.

If you have ever read a passage and not understood what it meant, you have something in common with the crowd in this passage.

However, instead of leaving the crowd confused at this shepherding metaphor, Jesus continues and explains it for those listening. Continuing reading in verse 7,

⁷ Jesus said:

I tell you for certain that I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ Everyone who came before me was a thief or a robber, and the sheep did not listen to any of them. ⁹ I am the gate. All who come in through me will be saved. Through me they will come and go and find pasture.

¹⁰ A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest. ¹¹ I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep. ¹² Hired workers are not like the shepherd. They don’t own the sheep, and when they see a wolf coming, they run off and leave the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock. ¹³ Hired workers run away because they don’t care about the sheep.

¹⁴ I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and they know me. ¹⁵ Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father, and I give up my life for my sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them together too, when they hear my voice. Then there will be one flock of sheep and one shepherd.

¹⁷ The Father loves me, because I give up my life, so that I may receive it back again. ¹⁸ No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly! I have the power to give it up and the power to receive it back again, just as my Father commanded me to do.

¹⁹ The people took sides because of what Jesus had told them. ²⁰ Many of them said, “He has a demon in him! He is crazy! Why listen to him?”

²¹ But others said, “How could anyone with a demon in him say these things? No one like that could give sight to a blind person!”

There are three parts of Jesus’ explanation that stood out when I read this.

The first part in this passage that stands out is Jesus’ telling us He is both the gate and the good Shepherd. These two ideas stand out because of the way Jesus explains them. Firstly, the gate frees the sheep and allows them to go into the pastureland for food and rest, and secondly, the gate protects the sheep and keeps predators out. Jesus is the way to peace, life, and rest – and He is also the best protection we have from those who would try to harm us. There are those who may harm our bodies, but Jesus keeps our lives safe – and this includes both our lives in the world today, and our lives in heaven in the future.

It may be challenging for some to internalize this idea, but just like we were all created with a purpose, God is not going to let us die while there is something left for us to do. This means that while we are working for Him, He is actively protecting us, and it is only after we have accomplished what He created us for that He will let us rest in preparation for the second life that is to come.

The second part of the passage that stood out when I read it is Jesus saying that He has other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. While some might take this to mean that there are multiple paths to God, I see it as extending the principle of Jesus’ ministry into being a little more generic. Jesus came to both divide some people and unify others. As I look at both the Old Testament and New Testament histories, as well as the history of the world up to this point, there are two broad groups of people present at every point in time: There are those who think they can do life on their own, and there are those who realize they need help with their life. The first group is all about self-reliance, while the second group is willing to accept help because they know they need help.

Jesus came for the second group of people, and when I read that He has sheep in other pens, I believe that He is saying that there are people who realize they need Him without knowing who He is. This would include all the righteous people in the Old Testament who only had the symbol of the lamb which is sacrificed for their sins.

The third part of the passage that stood out as I read it is when Jesus says that He has the power to give up His life and receive it back again. Jesus is fully aware in this passage that resurrection is in His future, and that by giving up His life, He is able to receive resurrection.

This ties into the first part of the passage that stood out to me because Jesus lived His life fully within God’s will and God’s plan, and God gave Him protection throughout His ministry leading up to the cross. Culture wants to make us believe that Jesus was betrayed and crucified against His will, but all four gospel writers draw our attention to how Jesus willingly went to the cross, and how all previous attempts on Jesus’ life were thwarted.

This passage concludes with the people taking sides. It seems that everyone thought what Jesus was saying sounded crazy, but while one group believed the source to be a demon, the other group believed the source was really God because of the miracles Jesus blessed others with.

Jesus came to both divide people between their belief about who He is and to unify people throughout time who know they cannot do life on their own.

As we finish 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. Purposely choose to be part of the group who believes in Jesus. When God divides people based on their belief in His Son, choose to stand with those who recognize their need for help and their need for Jesus.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself and learn who Jesus really was from the gospel record. Don’t take my word for it, or even your pastor’s word for it. Study it for yourself because God wants to grow a personal relationship with you, and for your relationship with God to be personal, it cannot be based on anyone else.

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!

One thing I am amazed by when I read the gospels is how Jesus loved and helped people in need regardless of what cultural or society wanted to pressure Him into doing or not doing. It would seem that in Jesus’ eyes, any interpretation of the Law that wasn’t framed in a loving way could be laid aside in favor of doing some type of loving action.

In our walk through the gospels this year, we come to a great example of Jesus doing exactly this: Jesus appeared to set the Law aside in favor of loving someone who needed help. This event can be found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 13, and we will be reading it from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 10:

¹⁰ Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the day of rest—a holy day. [A quick side-note I’ll insert here is that most translations simply say Jesus was teaching on the Sabbath in this verse.] ¹¹ A woman who was possessed by a spirit was there. The spirit had disabled her for 18 years. She was hunched over and couldn’t stand up straight. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called her to come to him and said, “Woman, you are free from your disability.” ¹³ He placed his hands on her, and she immediately stood up straight and praised God.

¹⁴ The synagogue leader was irritated with Jesus for healing on the day of worship. The leader told the crowd, “There are six days when work can be done. So come on one of those days to be healed. Don’t come on the day of rest—a holy day.”

¹⁵ The Lord said, “You hypocrites! Don’t each of you free your ox or donkey on the day of rest—a holy day? Don’t you then take it out of its stall to give it some water to drink? ¹⁶ Now, here is a descendant of Abraham. Satan has kept her in this condition for 18 years. Isn’t it right to free her on the day of rest—a holy day?”

¹⁷ As he said this, everyone who opposed him felt ashamed. But the entire crowd was happy about the miraculous things he was doing.

When reading this event, I am amazed at the mindset of the synagogue leader. From what happens, we can conclude the synagogue leader believed Jesus to be a doctor by trade who also happened to have a great grasp of the scriptures and public speaking. If the synagogue leader didn’t like Jesus, he would not have permitted Jesus to teach at the synagogue that day, but he also didn’t believe Jesus’ occupation to be more than a physician, because when someone appears who needs healing, he classifies this as Jesus’ “work”.

This framing is interesting, because it is about the lowest bar one could have for accepting Jesus. By this point in Jesus’ ministry, the religious leaders could not deny the fact that Jesus could heal virtually any disease. Those in the temple likely were getting tired of unclean people asking to be cleared for entrance back into society – and it probably irritated some of them knowing that Jesus was behind each healing. The religious leaders could not disprove Jesus was a miracle worker – especially with regard to healing others.

However, these religious leaders did not want to take any further steps towards Jesus. They wall themselves off from the truth by simply framing Jesus as a very skilled doctor. Doctors “work” like other professionals do, and that meant that they needed to take the Sabbath off like other professional laborers did.

But when we look at Jesus’ ministry, healing was more like a hobby than a profession. While Jesus healed countless people, and exponentially more people than the Bible had room to include, Jesus seemed to focus equally on teaching the crowds about God’s kingdom, and helping give people opportunities to praise God.

Jesus came to challenge those who thought they had their lives spirituality figured out, and to love those who needed love and help. In the case of this passage, Jesus’ response to those who were upset at His healing frames God’s love perfectly. Jesus frames this healing by saying in verses 15 and 16: “Don’t each of you free your ox or donkey on the day of rest—a holy day? Don’t you then take it out of its stall to give it some water to drink? Now, here is a descendant of Abraham. Satan has kept her in this condition for 18 years. Isn’t it right to free her on the day of rest—a holy day?”

This simple challenge elevated this formerly crippled woman’s status not just to the status of healed, but Jesus points out that she is a descendant of Abraham, just like they are, and elevates her status to one of an equal member of society. In contrast, the livestock that the Jews owned probably didn’t carry the same designation. There wouldn’t be any way to truly know or track whether that synagogue leader’s ox or donkey had descended from Abraham’s ox or donkey – and it was hypocritical for the leaders to be kind to their livestock when they were not willing to be kind to one of their own.

But challenging these religious leaders was not the reason Jesus healed this woman. When we look at the context of the story, Jesus only speaks out after they show dissatisfaction for what He did. Unlike some other times we read about in the gospels, there is nothing in this passage to indicate that this miracle was a setup.

Instead, when I read this event and this miracle, I see the reason Jesus performed it hinging on the healed woman’s response to the healing. Verses 12 and 13 frame this miracle and the woman’s response perfectly: “When Jesus saw her, he called her to come to him and said, ‘Woman, you are free from your disability.’ He placed his hands on her, and she immediately stood up straight and praised God.”

We discover that the first thing the woman does following being healed is that she praises God. What better reason for healing her could there be? Jesus healed this woman because He knew she would praise God. This woman had the right focus. Jesus didn’t heal her to get credit or to get people looking at Him; He healed her so that those who were present could praise God with her!

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

As you move through life, look for opportunities where you can praise God. While you might not witness a firsthand miracle on a Sabbath day, there are plenty of other things we can be grateful and thankful to God for. When a blessing from God comes to mind, let’s give God the credit and the glory that He deserves.

Also, be sure to always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God each day. Regular prayer and Bible study are two of the best ways to grow your relationship with God on a strong foundation, and we make it a personal relationship when we personally study. Pastors or podcasters can give us things to think about, but never let me or anyone else get between you and Jesus.

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!

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!