Reflective Bible Study

Part way into Jesus’ ministry, Luke records an event that all three other gospels appear to include as well. The big difference is that Luke seems to place this event much earlier in Jesus’ ministry, which prompts me to think that something like this might have happened more than once. If we compare Luke’s version of this event with the other gospels, while there are several similarities, Luke seems to focus more on the teaching opportunity Jesus takes, while the other gospel writers focus on how their similar events foreshadow Jesus’ upcoming death.

Let’s read how Luke describes this event, and what he wants us to learn about Jesus from what happened. Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 7, and we will be reading from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 36, we read:

³⁶ When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ³⁷ A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. ³⁸ As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

⁴⁰ Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

⁴¹ “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

⁴³ Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

⁴⁴ Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. ⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹ The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰ Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Part of me is fascinated by how this passage ends. Before hitting on a huge truth Jesus shares, we can see Jesus challenging these religious leaders regarding the nature of forgiveness.

Jesus tells the woman that her sins are forgiven, and this startles the group of people present. Forgiving of sins is something that only God does, and since they are the religious leaders, they likely believe they have the ability to determine for someone whether God has forgiven a sin or not.

When Jesus comes and pronounces this woman has been forgiven, and there was no sacrifice taken to the temple or offering given, the idea that forgiveness has been granted doesn’t make sense.

However, Jesus focuses us on a different truth from the Old Testament, and that the sin in our past doesn’t matter as much as our decisions in the present. Forgiveness is available for everyone who turns away from sin. This idea is challenging for those living in the first century and for those living today.

While it is great news that God saves sinners who turn away from their sin, this idea seems too simple. It must be more complicated. Perhaps it is, but I have yet to see it. Perhaps the only catch in the whole salvation process is that only through focusing on and having a relationship with Jesus can we truly move away from sin in our lives. While we can move away from some sins and towards better habits, the sin of living for self rather than for others is one that is so subtle and hidden in our lives that without Jesus shining the light on it, we are unlikely to realize its presence.

However, what big truth does Jesus share leading up to this. We find this truth in verse 47 where Jesus says, “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

The twin ideas that being forgiven of a lot will prompt a lot of love, while being forgiven of a little will only prompt a little love, is fascinating in my mind. These ideas imply that if there is a group of people who have always lived pretty good lives and who only have one or two “socially acceptable sins”, then they are in greater danger than someone who has sinned more times than they can count. This also means that someone with a decent life and not many sins is more likely to grow callous and unloving over time, even when they have been forgiven, than someone who has been forgiven of a past consisting of more sin than not.

While this doesn’t mean that we should go out and sin in as many ways as we can think of so that we can be forgiven and love more, this does mean that we should never brush over anything that might be a “socially acceptable sin” because in God’s eyes, sin is sin, regardless of its severity.

We discover how to love more and how to live a life that shows we have been forgiven by focusing on Jesus first, intentionally making and spending time with Him each day, and by seeking to do His will in our lives. How we choose to love Jesus demonstrates how forgiven we really are.

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

Choose to place Jesus first in your life and intentionally love Him with our lives. We can do this by loving others and by focusing time each day on spending it with Him learning from His word.

While a devotional or podcast can help give you ideas or things to think about, be sure to study the Bible for yourself, because an author, pastor, or podcaster shouldn’t be your only connection to the Bible. Be sure to open and study the Bible for yourself to discover God’s truth for your exact situation.

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!

For many Christians, Jesus is the primary reason, if not the only reason, we have chosen and held onto our faith. For many non-Christians, often it is reasons other than Jesus that have turned them away.

For some non-Christians, it is simply looking at those who self-identify as Christians that turn them off. For others, it is looking at the God described in the Bible and choosing to focus on only the cruel or destructive acts that He is described as doing.

However, what if Jesus subtly spoke into this debate with a phrase and blessing of His own?

Most Christians believe Jesus to be God’s Son and a blending of divinity and humanity. We believe and understand Jesus to be the relatable and visible member of the Godhead, and we also can attribute Jesus’ speaking about Himself as God revealing a part of Himself or sharing a specific message He wants us to learn.

This leads us into our passage for this episode, which is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 7, and we will read it from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 18, Luke tells us that:

¹⁸ John’s followers [and we are talking about John the Baptist who was in prison at this time. John’s followers] told him about all these things [that Jesus was doing]. He called for two of his followers ¹⁹ and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the One who is to come, or should we wait for someone else?”

²⁰ When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you with this question: ‘Are you the One who is to come, or should we wait for someone else?’”

²¹ At that time, Jesus healed many people of their sicknesses, diseases, and evil spirits, and he gave sight to many blind people. ²² Then Jesus answered John’s followers, “Go tell John what you saw and heard here. The blind can see, the crippled can walk, and people with skin diseases are healed. The deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor. ²³ Those who do not stumble in their faith because of me are blessed!”

We’ll stop reading at this point to draw attention onto the message Jesus sends back to John, because in this message is a profound statement about God.

John the Baptist was in prison and we learn that he had a number of followers who were keeping Him up-to-date on what Jesus was doing. However, perhaps at a point when John was feeling extra down or impatient about His situation, he began to have doubts. Of all people, John was among the first to know Jesus was the Messiah, and he directs his followers to Jesus when Jesus shows up on the scene. Our passage for this episode suggests that many of John’s followers may have moved over to Jesus, but not all of them did.

In John’s doubt, we learn something interesting about God. Perhaps hidden in John’s question is a request asking something along the lines of “How long are you going to leave your cousin and biggest fan in prison? When are you going to begin setting up your kingdom and free us from the Romans?”

The popular religious culture at the time said that the Messiah would come, rally the Jews together, and overthrow the Roman occupation of their country. I don’t recall anything included in the Bible that suggests that John did not have at least some of this belief present regarding the Messiah’s ministry.

While John may have been asking a subtle self-serving question about how much longer he must wait in prison, what Jesus does and doesn’t do is important for us when we are wanting to better understand God’s character.

Firstly, Jesus compliments John, but it is only after John’s followers leave. Picking back up in verse 24, we read:

²⁴ When John’s followers left, Jesus began talking to the people about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed blown by the wind? ²⁵ What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, people who have fine clothes and much wealth live in kings’ palaces. ²⁶ But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, and I tell you, John is more than a prophet. ²⁷ This was written about him:

‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare the way for you.’

²⁸ I tell you, John is greater than any other person ever born, but even the least important person in the kingdom of God is greater than John.”

This description Jesus shares is important because it shows that Jesus had a high opinion of John. However, it is also worth pointing out that Jesus (aka God) did not plan to break John out of prison. If God had wanted to, He could have broken the bars, sent angels to trap or subdue the guards, and allow John to simply leave, or He could have put pressure on Herod through Herod’s superiors to let John go free.

But freeing John was not in God’s plan. John had said it himself in an earlier part of his ministry that Jesus must increase while he must decrease. If John was miraculously freed, then the attention of the people would have been drawn away from Jesus and what God was doing through Him. John’s ministry was a success, and he finishes out his life in prison.

This leads us to pay attention to a key phrase Jesus said in his reply to John: “Those who do not stumble in their faith because of me are blessed!” (v. 23)

When Jesus says “because of me”, part of me wonders if He is talking about His immediate actions during His time on earth, or if this is a much broader statement that includes His divinity. Is this a statement simply to tell John to “Keep up your faith, even if I don’t come and rescue you.”? Or is this a much broader statement for all believers throughout history from a divine perspective, as though God is saying to everyone, “You are blessed for having a strong faith in Me even though there have been events that have happened that you don’t understand or events that on the surface appear to contradict My love.”?

In my mind, I think Jesus is actually saying both.

When something I read or am challenged with doesn’t display a loving picture of God, I will always tell myself that I have less than half a perspective. There’s God’s perspective, which I believe sees the situation with eternity in mind, and there is the perspective of the one I am learning about. There are always more sides to any event than we can fully uncover, and with that understanding, I know that just because something doesn’t look loving from my vantage point, it does not make it unloving from God’s perspective.

As I have grown closer to God, I have begun to see that God’s way and His perspective, which is the way and perspective of One who can freely give life, only makes sense when we begin to see a present and future life. If the Life-Giver can give life freely, He will also have a different picture of life than we do. The present life becomes the testbed for life in the future. Not only does this truth amplify the importance of our life and decisions in the present, it helps us trust in God with a hope of a great future with Him.

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

As I always open these challenges by saying, intentionally seek God first in your life. Even if you don’t understand everything that has happened in your life, your past, or the world around us, choose to keep your focus on God. While we are here on earth, we won’t have all the answers, but don’t let a challenge or misunderstanding shake your faith in the One who has blessed us with life.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn the love, the pain, and the mission God has during this phase of His-Story. Through the Bible, discover just how much God loves you, and what He wants to bless you with when He returns to put an end to this sin-filled world.

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!

While Jesus performed countless miracles during His three-and-a-half years of ministry leading up to the cross, one of these miracles stands apart from the rest. This miracle stands out because Jesus isn’t directly present for the healing, though He may have planned to be, and because Jesus praises the faith of the man requesting help.

This miracle stands out in my mind because of some details Luke includes that the other gospel writers didn’t. Let’s read about what happened, from Luke’s gospel, chapter 7, using the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 1, Luke tells us that:

¹ When Jesus had finished saying all these things to the people, he went to Capernaum. ² A Roman officer there had a servant who was very dear to him; the man was sick and about to die. ³ When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his servant. ⁴ They came to Jesus and begged him earnestly, “This man really deserves your help. ⁵ He loves our people and he himself built a synagogue for us.”

Let’s pause reading hear for a moment because Luke just shared some details that I don’t believe Matthew included. In Luke’s version of this event, the Roman officer asks some respected Jewish leaders to ask Jesus for help. Whether this Roman didn’t think Jesus would be interested in helping him directly, or whether he believed that these Jewish leaders would make a stronger case for help, I cannot escape noticing that Jewish leaders came to ask for Jesus’ help.

It is also interesting that this miracle happens in Capernaum, which is one of the locations Jesus lived while He was in ministry. Several of the disciples may have even lived here as well. While it seemed as though Jesus had alienated Himself from most every other religious leader in Israel, these leaders in Capernaum had not written Jesus off – or this event happened early enough in Jesus’ ministry that not every religious leader had turned against Him.

I am also fascinated by the way these Jewish leaders ask Jesus for help. They open by saying that this Roman deserved Jesus’ help, and they support this statement by saying that the officer loved the Jewish people and that he built (probably financed) the synagogue where they worshiped. A subtle implication on both the part of the Roman officer and these leaders is that this officer knew he was outside of the circle Jesus was in, and these religious leaders were inside the circle with Jesus. This distinction is present in both the act of Jewish leaders making the request, and in the request itself when these leaders describe this officer’s love for “our people”.

This Roman officer might not have realized it, but Jesus came to bless both Jew and gentile, and He is happy to help this officer, but I doubt for the reasons that the Jewish leaders present.

Continuing in verse 6, we read:

⁶ So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the officer sent friends to tell him, “Sir, don’t trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house, ⁷ neither do I consider myself worthy to come to you in person. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. ⁸ I, too, am a man placed under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; I order that one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and I order my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

Let’s pause reading again because I want to point out a very interesting contrast. When the religious leaders make their case for Jesus’ help, they tell Jesus that this officer “deserves” Jesus’ help. In contrast, when Jesus is on His way, the officer’s friends bring Jesus the message that the officer does not “deserve” Jesus’ presence, and that this officer believes he is “unworthy” to come in person. While the religious leaders make a case that is founded on pride, the officer counters this case on the foundation of humility and his unworthiness.

Whether the officer believed he was too sinful, or whether he was simply self-conscious about Jesus seeing something he was not proud of in his home, this Roman understood that Jesus was not the one directly performing the miracles. Instead, Jesus was the “commander” so to speak, and God gave the healing. I don’t know if there had been any prior miracles where Jesus hadn’t been directly present before this point, but I don’t think this was the case. The parable of Jesus turning the water into wine comes close though, and this miracle also happened in the city of Capernaum.

How does Jesus respond? Let’s continue reading in verse 9 to find out:

⁹ Jesus was surprised when he heard this; he turned around and said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, I have never found faith like this, not even in Israel!”

¹⁰ The messengers went back to the officer’s house and found his servant well.

I am always amazed at this miracle because Jesus ultimately gives this Roman official a higher compliment than He had given to anyone else in Israel. In what was likely one of the more secular parts of the region of Israel, Jesus recognizes the unconventional faith that this gentile officer had. This Roman knew Jesus could help, he asks Jesus for help, and he lets Jesus know that His presence is not required.

From the moment this officer learned that Jesus would help, he knew that his servant would live because of Jesus. The proof of this was not getting Jesus to touch this servant directly, but simply the servant getting well. I believe if the servant had gotten well weeks later, rather than minutes, this officer still would have attributed this healing to Jesus, and he might have simply written off the time difference as something potentially necessary when dealing with long-distant miracles.

But this passage concludes that the servant was well, we might even say fully healed, by the time the messengers arrive back at the officer’s home. Jesus was not going to let this opportunity slip by with a slow miracle. Even though this officer didn’t believe he deserved Jesus’ help, or even Jesus’ presence, Jesus honored both.

We can learn from this Roman officer because when we think honestly about our own lives, we don’t deserve Jesus’ help. We have sinned, and we are to blame. Any help we request could fall on deaf ears – except that they don’t because of who God is and what He is like.

Also, we can learn from this Roman officer because he trusted Jesus’ word without Jesus’ presence. Jesus is in heaven right now and it is unlikely that He will personally come and answer your request. However, He is willing to help from a distance, and when we are willing to accept Jesus’ long-distance help and believe He wants the ultimate best for everyone in our situation, then with whatever happens, we can know that He has reasons for what happened – even if we don’t know His reasons.

God’s goal for each of us is not an easy life here in a sin-filled earth.

God’s goal for each of us is that we will live forever with Him starting in heaven before ultimately moving to a new heaven and new earth.

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

Always be sure to seek God first in your life. Trust and believe in your heart that He wants the best for you from eternity’s perspective, and sometimes that means we won’t get the answers we want in this life. God loves us and He wants us to be with Him forever in the new heaven and the new earth.

But don’t take my word for it. Be sure to study the Bible for yourself and learn this directly from God’s word. God has protected the Bible for thousands of years, and if we trust God to keep us safe for eternity, we can trust that He is able and willing to keep His words safe over a few thousand years.

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 reject where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Our passage for this episode begins with one of Jesus’ most famous verses, and this verse is one that Christians for centuries have claimed as a promise worth holding onto. However, sometimes what we receive after we claim this promise is not what we ask for, and this often confuses us into thinking God doesn’t care, He doesn’t exist, or perhaps that He dislikes us.

However, none of these thoughts are true. God does care, He does exist, and He does love us. Let’s read the passage for this episode and unpack how we can see each of these things present. Our passage is found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 7, and we will read it using the Contemporary English Version. Starting in verse 7, Jesus continued teaching, saying:

⁷ Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. ⁸ Everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And the door will be opened for everyone who knocks. ⁹ Would any of you give your hungry child a stone, if the child asked for some bread? ¹⁰ Would you give your child a snake if the child asked for a fish? ¹¹ As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask.

Let’s briefly pause here to draw our attention to a contrasting set of ideas that Jesus sets up. We are quick to claim the “Ask”, “Search”, and “Knock” promises, but look a little closer how Jesus says these will be answered. Yes, we will receive when we ask, we will find when we search, and we will have a door opened when we knock, but what often confuses us is that what we receive, what we find, and the door that is opened looks different than what we wanted.

Jesus explains this in the next verses and He summarizes it by saying, “your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask.” (v. 11b) God answers our prayers with things that will help us from His “eternity” perspective, and they will almost always look different than what we were asking for from our “earthly” perspective. God does care for us – He wants to be with us forever!

Let’s continue our passage. In verse 13, Jesus says:

¹² Treat others as you want them to treat you. This is what the Law and the Prophets are all about.

¹³ Go in through the narrow gate. The gate to destruction is wide, and the road that leads there is easy to follow. A lot of people go through that gate. ¹⁴ But the gate to life is very narrow. The road that leads there is so hard to follow that only a few people find it.

We’ll pause here to address an idea that I see included in this portion. The metaphor of a narrow gate and a wide gate and a narrow road contrasted with a wide road are about as famous as the Ask-Seek-Knock set of promises we just read about in the previous section.

However, there is something that bothers me about this metaphor. If believing in Jesus is how we gain entrance into heaven, then it seems as though there is enough people on that path to make it less narrow and easier to find and follow.

Perhaps this is the case, but maybe Jesus is thinking a step deeper than just gaining salvation. He calls this gate the gate of life, so perhaps this gate and path have to with finding the life that God calls each of us to live. I’ve heard this interpretation alluded to, and it is contrasted with those who fall short of God’s plan for their lives.

But Jesus contrasts the “life” gate with the “destruction” gate, which makes me think that we still must look at a judgment-like context. While Christians for centuries believe that belief in Jesus is the only way of receiving a ticket into heaven, the very valid counter-argument-question is what about all those living before Jesus was alive. Is the first several thousand years or more of history doomed to destruction simply because Jesus was not alive and present?

As I look deeper into the theme and idea of Jesus’ sacrifice, I see it echo the first sacrifice that happened immediately following Adam and Eve’s exile from Eden. After being kicked out of the garden, God gives them a promise through the symbol of a sacrificed lamb, and this sets the contrast in place between a “do-it-myself” attitude, and a “let-God-help-lead-and-guide-me” attitude.

The symbol of a sacrificed lamb shows us God’s mercy while still bringing punishment. It shows us God’s mercy towards us by shifting the death we deserve onto something that did not deserve it. I think in many ways, this could have been an incredibly powerful metaphor for those living before Jesus arrived in history – and it helps us trust in God’s existence, even if we don’t always understand His methods.

Let’s continue our passage. In verse 15, Jesus says:

¹⁵ Watch out for false prophets! They dress up like sheep, but inside they are wolves who have come to attack you. ¹⁶ You can tell what they are by what they do. No one picks grapes or figs from thornbushes. ¹⁷ A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that produces bad fruit will be chopped down and burned. ²⁰ You can tell who the false prophets are by their deeds.

Many Christians will take this last section of our passage and apply it with a number of other passages to give the impression that moving forward, God will not send any more prophets. In other words, they say, Jesus was the culmination of the prophets, and there is nothing more for a prophet to predict or point forward to.

While in many ways this is true, another way to describe a prophet is by using the word messenger. The typical way of describing someone as a prophet is if they make a prediction, but if we look at the lives and ministries of the Old Testament prophets, we can see the theme running through all their ministries that they were called to share a message, or a series of messages, from God.

If we understand Jesus’ words about prophets to be forewarning us about upcoming messengers, then we can clearly understand the test Jesus gives to help us weed out the imposters. Jesus’ test is simply to look at their lives. Aside from Jesus, everyone in history has sinned, so simply seeing a sin in someone’s past should not disqualify someone from being a messenger, because then only angels could fill that role.

Instead, Jesus helps us understand that He still likes us, loves us, and wants to help us by promising to send messengers to help point us back to Him. And the easy way to tell if these messengers are from God is to look at how they live their lives. False prophets will have red flags in their actions and attitudes, while true messengers will display fruits of the Spirit and have a more Christ-like and Christ-focused character.

God cares, God exists, and God likes each of us, and our passage in this episode helps us reaffirm our faith and trust in Him.

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. Continue to place your hope, faith, and trust in Jesus, the One who gave His life to be our sacrifice.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself and keep your eyes open for examples of God’s love for His people. Through the Bible, we can learn how God has been present in the history of this world, and we can get an idea for what He is like and how we can see Him moving in the world today.

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!