Reflective Bible Study

As we are approaching the half way part of the year, and our half way milestone in the gospels, one might think that we would be about half way through Jesus’ ministry. However, this thought is not correct, because as we approach the middle of each gospel, we learn that most of the gospels dedicate a significant percentage of their space focusing on Jesus’ final week leading up to the cross.

However, in our walk through the gospels for this year, we haven’t arrived at this point just yet. Instead, we come to a passage that may have happened several weeks leading up to Jesus’ final week, as He begins to make His way towards Jerusalem and towards the cross.

In this passage, we can get a picture of God’s character, and this picture challenges each of us regarding how we choose to react when faced with other people who are mean to us. Also found in our passage is a great example of a subtle issue that gets various groups of Christian’s pointing their fingers at each other rather than realize that we are all on the same team – especially regarding the issue found in this passage.

Our passage is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 9, and we will be reading from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 51, we read that:

⁵¹ When the time was coming near for Jesus to depart, he was determined to go to Jerusalem. ⁵² He sent some messengers ahead of him, who went into a town in Samaria to make everything ready for him. ⁵³ But the people there would not welcome him, because he was set on going to Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When James and John, followers of Jesus, saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven and destroy those people?”

⁵⁵ But Jesus turned and scolded them.

At this point in our passage, most Bible translations either exclude a statement, or they include it with a note. The statement in question is this:

 [And Jesus said, “You don’t know what kind of spirit you belong to. ⁵⁶ The Son of Man did not come to destroy the souls of people but to save them.”]

Then all translations finish this passage by saying: “Then they went to another town.”

The reason I draw emphasis on this distinction between how certain translations vary in their recording of this event is because how people treat this discrepancy is very similar to one big theme found in the passage itself.

In this passage, we find Jesus traveling to Jerusalem, and instead of going the long way around to avoid passing through Samaria, He decides to travel through it. Samaritans and Jews had a very hostile history and they were among the most prejudiced people towards each other that we can find in history.

By this point in Jesus’ ministry, the disciples have already traveled through Samaria a number of times, so it doesn’t surprise them that they decide to go through this region again — however, this might be the first time that a Samaritan town has refused their presence.

The reason: Because Jesus was a Jew traveling to Jerusalem for a festival. Whether this town knew who Jesus was or not, they let their prejudice of Jesus’ ancestry get in the way of them experiencing what Jesus could do for them.

In response, because the town rejected them, two of Jesus’ closest disciples make the suggestion about calling fire from heaven to destroy “those people”.

This passage clearly shows prejudice of both sides, and each side believes they are justified in their actions or suggestions. Both the disciples and the Samaritans fall into an “us vs. them” trap – and if we are not careful, we too can fall into this same trap.

One way this trap has captured the spotlight recently is certain groups of people taking offence at modern translations for “removing” certain key verses or passages. This passage is one great example. The questionable phrase fits completely, and it even helps the dialog of the event. The statements in question give us a frame of reference for how Jesus scolded the disciples for their statement.

The trap for us today is falling into an “us vs. them” mentality because if we see modern translators removing text from the Bible, we might begin distrusting all modern translations because they have been “tampered” with. I recently read an article that focused on this issue.

While I cannot speak for all translations present in the world today, I will say that the majority of the translations that are well-known, modern translations have teams of people much smarter than I who are heartfelt Christian men and women. These people would be appalled at the idea that they are tampering with the text.

Instead, what we are discovering, is that as ancient manuscripts are being discovered and dated, we are learning that the early copies of the writings, including our passage for this episode, actually do not include any details about how Jesus scolded the disciples. Jesus very well could have said the statement in question, but when Luke wrote His gospel, he didn’t include it.

What happened at some point in the manuscript copying process is that a scribe, wanting to help make the idea clearer for those reading, pulled a similar teaching from John’s gospel, and he included it in our passage to help us see God’s character better. It is probable that the scribe looked at John, chapter 3, verse 17, which says “God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17)

No one on either side of the debate doubts the statements which were added on whether they align with God’s character. In this regard, we are all on the same team. Also, both sides of the debate want the most accurate translations of the Bible available and shared with others. This also makes us all on the same team.

Where we are left to debate is whether we should include the additional insights and cross-references that some well-meaning scribes included as they were copying the Bible. Most passages in question are included in other portions of the Bible. An example of this would be if Matthew included a detail that Luke didn’t. A scribe copying Luke’s gospel who also knows the event from Matthew’s gospel may have included Matthew’s detail in Luke’s version to help Luke’s version be better. In the early years of manuscripts, it was not as easy to compare between translations or gospels as it is today, so we can and should thank these early scribes for their work keeping the scriptures alive throughout the early parts of Christian history. This makes these early scribes part of our same team.

Prejudice doesn’t help anyone. The Samaritans miss out on Jesus because of their prejudice, and the disciples are scolded because they were prejudiced as well. Jesus modeled the right response at the close of this event. Everyone agrees that after scolding the disciples, Jesus and His followers “went to another town.”

Not all towns in Samaria were prejudiced against Jesus, and Jesus uses this opportunity to teach His followers to not be prejudiced towards others even if they reject us. Instead, we should simply move on.

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

Be sure to model Jesus’ attitude in this passage. If other people hurt our feelings or reject us, we shouldn’t get mad or revengeful. Instead, we should simply move on. Know that we are all on the same team – especially those of us who have placed Jesus first in our lives.

Also, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself and trust that God has kept His message safe for the thousands of years of history we have been keeping track. If you are doubtful about a translation, the best place to go is to the original manuscripts in the original language they were written in. However, if you don’t know the original languages like I don’t know them, then the next best place we can go is to other translations. When we have lots of translations available in our own language, we are able to see a bigger and clearer picture of what the original said when we don’t know the original language of the text. By using lots of translations, God is able to keep His message alive and relevant for us living over 2,000 years later.

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 doubt yourself into leaving where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Of all the topics that the Bible shares, one of the most relevant and challenging topics the Bible deals directly with is the issue of conflict management. While some people might think of the Bible as only a place to receive spiritual truth, when we sit down to read what the Bible says, we discover that the Bible includes a lot of practical advice in other areas as well.

In the case of conflict management, anytime two or more people get together to do anything significant, expect there to be some level of conflict. I suspect that Jesus was very aware of this, and because of Jesus’ knowledge that conflict happens, I believe He included the passage we will focus on in our time together for this episode to help us navigate the interpersonal challenges we are destined to face.

However, while Jesus’ advice might seem to be too general, or too spiritual, the truth of the concept Jesus shares is amazingly relevant to every area of life.

Let’s read what Jesus advises. This teaching is found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 18, and we will read it from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 15, Jesus continued teaching those present saying:

¹⁵ “If your fellow believer sins against you, go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again. ¹⁶ But if he refuses to listen, go to him again and take one or two other people with you. ‘Every case may be proved by two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a person who does not believe in God or like a tax collector.

We’ll stop reading here because I want to point out a specific statement Jesus concluded this sequence by saying. Jesus’ concluding remarks in His advice are, “If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a person who does not believe in God or like a tax collector.” (v. 17b)

While some people might believe this conclusion warrants looking down on or shunning those who have been excluded, the truth of this idea is that God calls us to love and witness our faith to non-believers. Note also that Jesus even invited Matthew, the author of this gospel, who was a tax collector by trade, to be one of His twelve disciples. Jesus spent time with people who did not believe in God and he had positive interactions with tax collectors. Nothing in Jesus’ ministry suggests that we should push away those who we disagree with.

However, looking at the sequence Jesus shares, this conflict resolution method has more to it than simply treating people who won’t listen like the don’t believe or belong to the church; this conflict resolution has steps that build upon one another and steps that shouldn’t be skipped over.

Verse 15 begins our passage by saying, “If your fellow believer sins against you, go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again.” The first thing we must do if we have a conflict with someone is to talk directly to the person who we have the conflict with. At this point, they are the only one who can help resolve the conflict, and they are the only one who really benefits from being talked to. Talking about the conflict with anyone else before this step signals the start of gossip, and gossip erodes relationships.

If you have conversations about people while those people are not present, it tells everyone you talk to that you will talk about them behind their back as well. Someone who shares with others about a third party plants the seed in the mind of the one they are talking to that they cannot be trusted because if the person who is talking is sharing with them about someone else, they will also share with someone else the details that get shared with them.

While on the surface, people talking about others believe communication is happening, under the surface, those involved close off and stop sharing about themselves because when people gossip, trust ultimately disappears.

The brilliance in Jesus’ method is that there is never any gossip. The first step is a one-on-one conversation with the only person who can help remedy the situation, and if it works, then trust is actually built in this scenario and a friendship is strengthened.

But if it doesn’t work, then we move on to verse 16, where Jesus gives us the next step in the process. He says, “But if he refuses to listen, go to him again and take one or two other people with you.”

This next step is a scary one for most people, because it opens up both parties to scrutiny. If the one who feels wronged takes a couple individuals with them, then the tables may turn. Whoever has been chosen as a third-party to observe the conversation may take the side of the other person after hearing both sides. This actually happened to me a number of years ago, and describing this process actually bothers me for this reason. It is not pleasant to be told that you are on the wrong side of a conflict when you believe yourself to be right.

While we might be tempted to skip over this second step, we should resist this temptation because Jesus finishes verse 16 by saying that “Every case may be proved by two or three witnesses.” Taking one or two people with you is necessary for step number three, because if one presents a case to a third party, then it is one person’s word against another person’s word. While it is emotionally difficult for us to do, step number two gives us credible witnesses for step number three.

Those witnessing the conflict resolution in this second step are prime candidates to be witnesses for the third step, which Jesus shares in verse 17. Jesus tells us, “If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church.” This final step begins a more formal discussion about this topic with a much broader group of people, and like in the second step, it is possible the church in this case could side against the one who felt wronged. Again, there was a time – separate from the earlier case – where it felt like the church sided against me in a conflict resolution matter. I honestly don’t remember the details of what happened, and I am no longer attending that church, but I remember there being a conflict of some sort where I felt wronged.

The key for someone who is asked to be a witness in step two, or a third party juror of sorts in step number three is to objectively look at what happened, and what the one who felt wronged feels. If an apology is necessary from the one who did wrong, even if it doesn’t seem all that significant to those looking from the outside, it should definitely be recommended. If the one who did wrong refuses to apologize, even if it is a small matter, then there is likely something deeper at work in the one who did the wrong.

Apologies require humility, and humility is a vital ingredient for good relationships.

Bringing things around to where we began the discussion, “If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a person who does not believe in God or like a tax collector.”

God did not call us to hate, avoid, or put down those who don’t believe in Him or those who collect taxes. He calls us to love them. Jesus loved people who didn’t believe in God, and Jesus loved tax collectors. He compliments Zacchaeus the tax collector, and He called Matthew the tax collector to be one of His twelve closest disciples. While the one who doesn’t listen to the church will be moved to the outside of the ring, there is nothing in Jesus’ words that tells us that the circle of the church is to be exclusively focused inward.

But that is another issue entirely – which we don’t have any time left for in this podcast episode. With that said, 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 choose to remain humble. Always assume the best in others, and choose to apologize even if you don’t think it is necessary.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn what Jesus is like, and the sort of love He wants us to have towards each other. It is through God’s love living within us that allows us to be humble, loving, and willing to apologize even if we don’t think it is necessary. God doesn’t let minor details stop Him from having a relationship with us, and we shouldn’t let minor thinks sabotage our relationships with others.

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!

If you have ever believed the disciples were somehow spiritually superior to you or I because they walked with Jesus, you probably haven’t read much of the gospel record. When reading the gospels, it doesn’t take too long to discover a point where the disciples behave in a way that shows their flaws.

Our passage for this episode focuses in on one such time, and when we look at Jesus’ response, we discover a profound idea surrounding God’s character and some things He values when looking at our lives. While our passage for this episode isn’t very long, don’t let its length deceive you from thinking it isn’t relevant. This passage might contain one of the greatest spiritual, and non-spiritual, truths in the entire Bible.

This episode’s passage is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 9, and we will be reading it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 46, we learn that:

⁴⁶ An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. ⁴⁷ Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. ⁴⁸ Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”

In these three short verses, we not only see the disciples behaving like children by arguing about who would be the greatest among them, we also see Jesus step into their debate and reframe it with a concept that is quite powerful.

To set the stage for the big spiritual truth, Jesus calls a child over to Him. While we don’t know where this child even came from, or whether this child had been following Jesus from a distance, or if this was a toddler who was with his parents near Jesus, all of these details are irrelevant in the big scheme of things. Actually not knowing any details about this child is relevant to the truth Jesus is about to share.

The big idea Jesus wanted to illustrate in this passage is the contrast between where we think greatness is and where God sees greatness. While we see greatness as a stepping up and associating with people who are more important than we are, greatness in God’s eyes is the exact opposite. Greatness in God’s eyes has to do with stepping down and welcoming those who are unknown in Jesus’ name. It is when we welcome those into our lives who cannot do anything special for us that we welcome Jesus, and by welcoming Jesus into our lives in this way, we welcome God the Father, the One who sent Jesus, into our lives as well!

This is a huge spiritual truth, because in this first portion of verse 48, we discover the way to invite Jesus into our lives and hearts.

Jesus follows this truth up with a general principle that is both spiritual and non-spiritual, and while this truth doesn’t sound logical on the surface, it is actually very true. Jesus finishes verse 48 by saying: “For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.” In Jesus’ statement, we are challenged with the truth that serving, helping, and welcoming the most outcast among us is where we develop greatness in God’s eyes.

While culture and society place a lot of emphasis on the people at the top being the greatest of any organization, company, or group that has a structure, the truth is that in any structure, the people who get things done are rarely high on the ladder of status. Those who serve well might be stars among their peer-group or team of employees, but they are likely still on the level of doing work rather than the alternate.

In this discussion, the alternate is the managerial group. While typical organizational charts place the managers “above” those doing the work, we would be mistaken to think that managers are more important than the workers are. A manager is only as good as the workers he or she has on their team, and this is true moving all the rest of the way up to the highest levels of management. While the top levels of management might look on the surface like they are important because they have greater responsibility and greater influence than the working group they are responsible for, the workers are still the most important part of the process.

While Jesus shares a counter-cultural truth about greatness in the last part of this verse, this truth is also very spiritual as well. When we look at this statement a little closer, we find the flaw present in the original sin and the self-focused attitude Lucifer had before being kicked out of heaven.

Jesus’ statement in this passage speaks to an eternal truth about God’s kingdom: “For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.” Lucifer pushed back at the idea of serving and stepping down being significant for gaining greatness in God’s eyes. Many Biblical scholars point to a passage in the book of Isaiah as describing Lucifer’s character and focus. In Isaiah 14, verses 12-14 we read:

How you have fallen from heaven,
    morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
    you who once laid low the nations!
You said in your heart,
    “I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
    above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
    on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
    I will make myself like the Most High.”

In Lucifer’s mind, we see his desire to ascend higher than he was and to become like God. While this sounds ridiculous for us to think about, the principle in this attitude is where we will focus some time discussing. Jesus describes stepping down and serving as the path to greatness, while Lucifer is completely focused on stepping up and increasing his position in heaven.

Lucifer’s sin was pride – specifically a pride that focused on exalting himself above others. We could call this form of pride arrogance, and whether or not he displayed an outward form of arrogance when dealing with other angels, Isaiah’s prophecy and passage teach us that Lucifer’s heart was full of arrogant-pride that was counter to God’s path for greatness.

To contrast Lucifer, meet Jesus. Everything in Jesus’ life was aimed at stepping down and helping others. Jesus is God, and many Bible scholars understand that Jesus first chose to give up His divine form to become an angel (described at the angel Michael in parts of the Bible). When humanity was created, plans were made for Jesus to step down from His role in heaven and become human to teach us what God is like and to save us from sin.

When we read the gospels, we find Jesus loving and helping the lowest in society almost unquestioningly, and Jesus pushes back against the arrogant, religious elite. Jesus even stepped down so far that He took our punishment for sin when He didn’t deserve it.

Jesus models His statement the best, while culture leans towards a Lucifer-inspired model. Jesus modeled how to step down and serve the least among society the best – and Jesus has called His followers to model His life, His focus, and His character. Jesus has called each of us to step down and serve the least among us and when we do, we are seen as great in God’s eyes. When we welcome and serve others in Jesus’ name, we welcome Jesus into our lives, and God the Father with His Holy Spirit comes into our lives 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 by serving others. As you move through life, pay attention to opportunities where you can serve others, and especially look for people who cannot repay you back for how you serve them. As God opens your eyes to opportunities where you can help others, know that when you serve and welcome others in Jesus’ name, you are serving and welcoming Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and even God the Father.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, pray and study the Bible for yourself, because in the pages of scripture, we can discover what God is like and we can grow a personal relationship with Him. While a pastor or podcaster can share what they have found that is fascinating and relevant to their own lives with you, only when you personally open the pages of scripture will you grow that personal relationship with God and learn His message for you!

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

If you have ever wondered if Jesus or the disciples realized what would ultimately happen to the Messiah, you need to look no further than the event that our podcast focuses on this week. This event is recorded in three of the four gospels, and it gives us a very clear picture of both Jesus’ perspective on His mission, and the disciples’ lack of perspective about what Jesus was trying to warn them about.

For most of our podcast episodes, we pick just one of the gospels to focus in on, but because this event is pretty short, and because each gospel frames the disciples’ response a little differently, for this episode, we will pull in all three passages to help us discover the range of responses the disciples had. For all three passages, we will read them using the New American Standard Bible translation.

The first passage we will look at is from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 17, starting in verse 22:

²² And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; ²³ and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.

If there was any question in your mind about whether Jesus knew death was in His future, this set of verses from Matthew sums it up. But what is amazing in my mind is that Jesus not only sees His death, He also sees the rest day, which is day 2, and the resurrection day, which is day 3.

But it seems as though the disciples missed that last part about the resurrection, because the passage concludes by saying, “And they were deeply grieved.” I suspect that if the disciples had heard the whole statement, concluding with Jesus’ resurrection on the third day, it wouldn’t be cause for alarm or grief, but instead it would be cause for amazement and/or joy. After all, Jesus says that people will kill Him, but He won’t stay dead!

This is how Matthew framed this event. Let’s now look at Mark’s gospel, and see how it frames the disciples’ response. Mark’s gospel has this event in chapter 9, starting in verse 30. Mark tells us:

³⁰ From there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it. ³¹ For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.” ³² But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.

In Mark’s gospel, we see a different picture of their response. Mark tells us they were confused, which does make sense because this prediction is both specific and unique, but it also gives another clue into the disciples when it says that “they were afraid to ask” Jesus what He meant.

Perhaps Jesus’ disciples stayed silent because no one else spoke up, or perhaps they chose to intentionally remain ignorant because each of them didn’t want to believe that Jesus would, or could, be killed. Jesus’ disciples had seen Him narrowly escape death many times before – from both angry people and from the forces of nature. I suspect that in the minds of these disciples, it would be illogical for Jesus to be captured and killed by the religious leaders. After all, every time Jesus had faced off against a group of religious leaders, Jesus was always one step ahead of any plot or scheme that they wanted to trick or trap Him with.

Fear of the truth and the choice not to ask clarifying questions stopped these disciples from learning the truth beforehand. It would only be after the resurrection, on a road leading away from Jerusalem, where a couple of discouraged disciples would ultimately learn the truth regarding the Old Testament predicting the crucified and risen Messiah.

However, while Matthew and Mark frame this event as they have, Luke puts an interesting twist on this message from Jesus to His disciples, and specifically on the disciples’ response. This event is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 9, starting in the second half of verse 43:

^43b But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, ⁴⁴ “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” ⁴⁵ But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.

Luke touches on the disciples’ reaction of fear, but he also brings out an interesting observation. Luke tells us in verse 45 that the disciples “did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it”.

According to Luke, the meaning of the statement Jesus shared with them was concealed from them. This implies that while Jesus shared with them, God kept the true meaning of Jesus’ words hidden until a later time. Luke’s gospel appears to say that while Jesus spoke freely with His followers about what was coming in the near future, the Holy Spirit hid the meaning from them for reasons that only God could fully know.

However, while the language of Luke’s gospel prompts us to look to God as the one hiding the truth, it is probable that the disciples were both not ready to receive or believe in the truth. If Jesus’ disciples had realized parts of this prediction over others, they may have fought the mob that did arrest Jesus because they wanted to hold onto their own view of who the Messiah would be rather than let Jesus be the Messiah He came to be.

The big truth this event tells me is that God will sometimes keep a truth about Himself hidden until we are ready to understand it. The disciples were not ready to accept the truth of Jesus’ words, so this truth was hidden from them until they were ready to pay attention and accept what had happened.

In our own lives, living over 2,000 years later, I wouldn’t be surprised if God is hiding truth from you and me until we are ready to understand and accept it. While some people might look at this as being  an example of God being unloving or keeping secrets, it could simply be because we have some preconceived ideas about God that He wants to help us break out of first. If we trust God with our eternity, we should also trust in His timing as well.

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

As I always open by challenging you, intentionally and prayerfully seek God first in your life and be open to learning from Him. Ask lots of questions and choose to be okay with waiting for His timing when responding to your questions. If you trust God to keep you safe for eternity, choose also to trust in His timing when leading, guiding, and helping you grow.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself with the goal of opening your heart and mind to what God wants to teach you in the events you study. God is the best teacher you could have, and the Bible is one of the best sources of knowledge when wanting to grow closer to 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 doubt yourself away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!