Reflective Bible Study

One of the things I notice most about Jesus’ teaching and preaching is that He looked for everyday opportunities to turn into teaching moments. As I read what the gospels record of Jesus’ teaching, preaching, and parables, I get the picture that at least everyone understood the setting of each of Jesus’ illustrations even if they didn’t fully grasp the big spiritual picture.

However, one teaching moment stands apart from the rest as extra amazing in my mind. This event begins with Jesus scouting out a place to sit near the moneybox in the temple, and it was because He wanted to catch a teaching moment.

We can find this event recorded in the gospel of Mark, chapter 12, and we will be reading from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 41, Mark tells us that:

⁴¹ Jesus sat near the Temple money box and watched the people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money. ⁴² Then a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which were only worth a few cents.

⁴³ Calling his followers to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. ⁴⁴ They gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had; she gave all she had to live on.”

Whenever I read this passage, I am amazed at this widow. Perhaps culture was different then, and maybe those who were poor or widowed were taken care of better than they are today, but maybe not. Maybe this passage gives insight into one widow’s extraordinary level of faith.

However, the big truth Jesus shares with the disciples has challenged many people since that point. Since Jesus told the disciples that the widow gave more than the rich people, is Jesus challenging or directing all of His followers to give everything to the church and live on nothing? It might seem as though some people understand this passage in this way.

But as I read this passage and event, I don’t see any instruction Jesus gives His followers about giving directly. Jesus doesn’t tell any of His followers to give like this widow gave. Instead, I believe Jesus had a bigger truth that He wants us to learn in this event. In this event, perhaps Jesus wants to teach us that in God’s eyes, the size of our gifts is measured by what we have leftover afterwards.

If God measures our gifts not by how much was given, but by how much we kept back for ourselves, then in some ways, God is measuring our faith by looking at how we give. By looking at our giving, God can see that the more we keep for ourselves signifies the less faith we have in Him.

Looking closer at Jesus’ words to His followers, He tells them that “this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. They gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had; she gave all she had to live on.”

Some people apply this statement to giving our tithes and offerings off the top income line as opposed to giving it after other expenses have happened. I can see logic in this way of thinking.

However, if we look a little deeper, it really doesn’t matter when we give if we are giving what we do not need, and the only time we can give all we have is before it has been given to other things. Maybe the widow had finished paying her rent and utilities, she had a cupboard full of food at home, and the two coins were all that was left. If that were the case, I doubt Jesus would have said what He did about her.

The rich people were probably giving off the top, and before they had physically spent the rest of their money, however, they had also budgeted in a way that made it so they truly didn’t need the money they were giving. This is good self-control and it is wise. But it isn’t giving sacrificially or in a way that increases faith. I think the big challenge Jesus has with these rich gifts is that they did not come with the giver’s heart and they didn’t grow the giver’s faith.

In contrast, the widow gave her two coins when she could have kept one. She demonstrated that she fully trusted God to provide for her. With these two coins came her heart and her faith. On the other hand, with the other gifts of bags filled with coins, none of them came with the giver’s heart. Therefore they were not as valuable. Each of the rich givers’ hearts was with the even larger pile of money that they had saved at home.

In God’s eyes, the size of our gifts is measured by what we have leftover afterwards. This is not because God wants all of our money. Instead, this is because God wants our hearts to come with our gifts – and it is hard to get our hearts with a gift that is only a small percentage of our wealth.

Does God want us to start giving everything like this widow gave? Maybe He does, but maybe He doesn’t. I think the bigger question for you and me is whether we will give Jesus our hearts along with our gifts, and that we will give enough of an amount that we are pushed to place our faith in Him.

This number will look different for each of us, but what will ultimately be the same between your giving and mine is that our hearts will be part of the gift, and as we give in this way, our faith and trust in God will grow, and our lives will be transformed!

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

As I always open these challenges by saying, intentionally continue seeking and placing God first in your life. Challenge yourself to give 10% more than what you gave last month and see what God does in your life. If an increase of 10% makes your heart nervous, perhaps that is because the gift might also include your heart. If you can increase your gift without even noticing, perhaps God may want you to give more.

Whatever the case is, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself, and intentionally growing your relationship with God on a personal level. While group worship is beneficial, personal study is vital to a strong foundation and connection with Jesus. If you haven’t been personally reading or studying the Bible lately, consider this a challenge to start or restart.

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!

Of all the times Jesus received challenges from the religious leaders, one time stands out in my mind as incredibly fascinating. While Jesus usually received His challenges from the religious group known as the Pharisees, there was another group known as the Sadducees who were even more conservative. The Sadducees only acknowledged the writings of Moses as scripture, and in their minds, while other authors might be significant from a historical point of view, Moses’ writings came first.

In today’s world and culture, we might be tempted to think that those in the first century were more unified, but this was not the case. In Judaism, there were many different sects, or denominations, and each group had a different way of thinking. The most well known sect was the Pharisees, and second to them were the Sadducees.

When the Sadducees came to Jesus with a challenge and question, their goal was building up a belief they had that clashed with all the other Jewish groups. Since they only followed the writings of Moses, they saw nothing credible in Moses’ teaching that pointed to a resurrection, so in their minds, a future resurrection was not in God’s plan.

Let’s read what happens from Luke’s gospel, in chapter 20, from the New International Version. Beginning in verse 27, Luke tells us that:

²⁷ Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. ²⁸ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁹ Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. ³⁰ The second ³¹ and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. ³² Finally, the woman died too. ³³ Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

Let’s pause briefly because I want to draw our attention onto this illustration. From the way the scenario is introduced, it is difficult to determine if this was a hypothetical illustration, or if this actually happened to a group of seven brothers.

The Sadducees tip their hand when they bring in the resurrection theme in their ultimate question. This scenario and question were the ultimate brainteasers for convincing others of their way of thought – and it wouldn’t be surprising to me to learn that the Sadducees had used this scenario and question to discredit the idea of resurrection.

But Jesus has a response for them, and Luke’s version of Jesus’ response is amazing to me. Picking back up in verse 34,

³⁴ Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵ But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, ³⁶ and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. ³⁷ But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ ³⁸ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

³⁹ Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” ⁴⁰ And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

When we look at Jesus’ response in this passage, we can separate it into two parts.

The first part of Jesus’ response hits the surface challenge of marriage at the resurrection. Jesus says that “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels.” (v. 34-36a)

Jesus’ first portion of His response challenges the assumption that marriage would be included in heaven. This was the first error of the Sadducees. When marriage is taken out of the equation, then their logic begins to fall apart.

But not only this, Jesus shares something powerful in this first half of His response. In this response, Jesus uses marriage as a litmus test of what age we are living in. In Jesus’ response, if marriage is present, or if it is even an issue, then we know we are living in the same age as Jesus – specifically in the age before the resurrection. However, there is an age to come after the resurrection, and that age will not have marriage. To conclude this first portion of His response, Jesus reminds us that those who have been resurrected who are like the angels “can no longer die” or in other words, they will be immortal like God.

To shift focus onto the second issue in the Sadducees question, Jesus subtly changes the topic from marriage to resurrection by stating in the second half of verse 36 that “God’s children … are children of the resurrection.”

After changing the focus off of marriage, which is something that is reserved for this age of time, Jesus challenges the core idea of what the Sadducees believed – specifically that Moses did not support the belief of a future resurrection. Jesus continued in verse 37 and 38 by stating that “in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

Because Moses uses the present tense when talking about God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who had long since died, this is all that is needed to draw our focus onto God. In how this classic Jewish phrase is worded, we see Jesus shift the idea off of the past and onto the future. Since God is immortal as well as outside of time, there would be no reason to focus on historical figures and their relationship with God unless these figures have a future life in mind.

Jesus concludes with His key counter-challenge to the Sadducees in verse 38 by saying that God “is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” However, while Matthew and Mark finish their statement there, Luke includes an additional phrase. Luke’s full phrase says that God “is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

Some might be quick to take this last phrase and use it to support the idea of an immortal soul. However, everything Luke includes up to this verse says something completely different. In this key point, Jesus focus’ us onto God’s perspective where everyone is alive, but this is because God exists outside of time. God can step into and out of time as He sees fit, and He can fast forward and rewind the movie called history whenever He wants to.

While the cast in history, which includes you and I, changes as the years go by, everyone is alive to God because He can move to any period in history that He wants to. For God, everyone is alive.

However, history in the context of this passage refers to the first age, which is defined by marriage. Jesus firmly supports the resurrection being the start of the second age, and that only those who are children of the resurrection, which is another way of saying that they died and were later resurrected, are given a future life in the age to come.

It is like God, who sees all of this age called history, gets to decide from everyone who lived throughout history whether to bring them into His sequel. His sequel is commonly called the New Heaven and New Earth, and it is the place where, and time when, sin, death, and according to Jesus, marriage won’t exist anymore.

However, we shouldn’t be sad that marriage doesn’t exist in the next age. If the things of today are a shadow of what is to come, then I know God has something even better in mind for us that will make marriage not be significant or even a topic of conversation.

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 when opening these challenges, intentionally focus on growing your relationship with God first. Of all the things that matter when our lives in this age are over, our relationship with God is the most important thing in this life, because our relationship with God in this life is what opens up the way for us to experience the next age with God.

Also, death, resurrection, and what happens when you die is a sensitive topic for many people. Because of this, I suggest you pray and study this subject for yourself. Read the different sides of the debate on the state of the dead, and then look at the context of all the proof verses in the Bible. Only after this will you be better equipped to make up your mind on this topic. Don’t take my word, or anyone else’s word for what happens at death – choose to take God’s Word after having prayerfully studied it for yourself.

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!

During the time Jesus walked on the earth, every time He shared a parable or illustration, it was to teach those present a spiritual truth that they might not have already known. Sometimes those present were the crowds of people, while other times, those present were the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders who felt challenged by Jesus’ ministry.

During one of these latter times, where Jesus is teaching while some priests and leaders are present, we find a fascinating illustration about what God thinks about our words compared with our actions. In this illustration, we find the answer to whether our words are more important or whether our actions are.

While we could easily say that both are important, and ideally one should align both their words and actions with God and His plan, what happens when only one of these things is present. It is this scenario that Jesus draws our attention to in this parable.

For our episode today, we’ll be reading from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 21, using the New Century Version. Starting in verse 28, Jesus turns to the priests and leaders present and asks them:

²⁸ “Tell me what you think about this: A man had two sons. He went to the first son and said, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ ²⁹ The son answered, ‘I will not go.’ But later the son changed his mind and went. ³⁰ Then the father went to the other son and said, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ The son answered, ‘Yes, sir, I will go and work,’ but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two sons obeyed his father?”

The priests and leaders answered, “The first son.”

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God before you do. ³² John came to show you the right way to live. You did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. Even after seeing this, you still refused to change your ways and believe him.

Of all the illustrations Jesus gave, this one likely hit the priests and leaders the hardest. After the priests and leaders give their answer, Jesus shifts the focus back onto reality and onto how they responded to John the Baptist when compared with how the most sinful sinners responded. The priests and leaders listened to John the Baptist’s message, but they didn’t change their ways, while on the opposite end of the spectrum, tax collectors and prostitutes were challenged by John’s message and they did change their ways.

Perhaps each group’s response was because each group had a different frame of mind about their starting point. Those in the sinner group knew they were not living rightly, so they chose to change, while those in the religious group believed they were already walking along the path God wanted them on, so they didn’t.

What I find fascinating about this illustration is that the priests implicate themselves. They identify the son who acted according to his father’s will as the one who obeyed. The refusal on the front end means nothing in comparison to the action that followed. The other son, who verbally said he would help but didn’t cannot be said to have obeyed because his actions didn’t match his words.

However, if we look at this story, and simply change one word, we see another fascinating idea. Instead of asking “which son ‘obeyed’ his father?”, let’s ask “which son gave respect to his father?”

On the surface, the answer to this second question sounds like the second son. After all, the second son tells his father that he would help, which is a lot nicer than the first son who said no.

But is respect best shown through words or through actions? If we say we respect God, is that best displayed by what we say or by what we do?

Jesus’ illustration in our passage gives us the very strong impression that to God, actions speak significantly louder than words. While both our actions and words will ultimately line up when given enough time, while they are not in alignment, our actions are a better representation of who we are and of our character.

But we don’t have to focus on Jesus to learn this truth. All we simply need to do is ask ourselves the question that Jesus asked these leaders. We can ask ourselves whether we value someone’s words or someone’s actions more. Would we rather have a friend who simply says they’re our friend while no one else is around or one who acts like our friend while others are present?

Obviously, someone who says they are your friend and acts like it is the best case, but if you could only have someone’s words or someone’s actions, which would you prefer?

This is Jesus’ point in this illustration. For God, our actions are more important than our words. For God, obedience and respect means living a life that is within His will, and not simply putting on a front when other spiritual people are present. God can use us in a bigger way when our actions are within His will than when only our words are.

God cares about our holistic selves, and this includes both our words and actions, but if He has to choose, He would rather our actions and our obedience.

With this said, as we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As always, choose to intentionally place God first in your life – and do it in a way where your respect and obedience are shown through your actions. While other people simple talk a good talk while not actually following through with actions, resolve to be someone that follows God through your actions first, and if possible, also match up your words to your actions. In other words, resolve to both say you will follow God while also actually following Him, but if you must choose, follow Him with your actions over your words.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself and learn what God is like through how Jesus lived and taught while here on earth. Through what we read in the gospels, discover what Jesus was like and how His life challenges us to live for 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 give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Part way through Jesus’ ministry, the gospel of John adds a side-note that gives us a glimpse into the mindset of the religious leaders living in the first century. In this side-note, John tells us two prophecies that Isaiah gave which were unfortunately fulfilled in Jesus’ ministry.

I wonder if John wrote this side-note with these prophecies to not only give us a perspective on the Jewish leaders, but to also challenge us to not make the same mistake as they did.

Let’s read what John wrote, from the gospel of John, chapter 12, using the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 37, John tells us that:

³⁷ Even though he [Jesus] had performed all these miracles in their presence, they did not believe in him, ³⁸ so that what the prophet Isaiah had said might come true:

“Lord, who believed the message we told?
    To whom did the Lord reveal his power?”

³⁹ And so they were not able to believe, because Isaiah also said,

⁴⁰ “God has blinded their eyes
    and closed their minds,
so that their eyes would not see,
    and their minds would not understand,
    and they would not turn to me, says God,
    for me to heal them.”

⁴¹ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

Let’s pause reading here to draw our attention to an important point. A simple reading might make us think that God did not want the Jewish leaders to believe in Jesus. However, this was far from the truth. While God is seen as the active agent in the second prophecy, He is likely not needed at all in this prophecy since the leaders easily closed themselves off to Jesus – likely without God’s help at all.

I believe the reason Isaiah tells us that God blinded these leaders’ eyes is that it was the ministry of Jesus, specifically the way Jesus focused and directed His ministry, that pushed them away. The light, love, and warmth Jesus radiated throughout His time on earth melted hearts that were receptive to His love, but it also hardened hearts that were defensive to Him and His message. It is like saying that the same sun will either melt butter or harden clay. What matters most in the polarizing effect that Jesus had is the state of the person’s heart.

Let’s continue reading, because we will learn of a third group of people. While the first group openly followed Jesus and believed in Him, and the second group openly rejected Him with hard hearts, there is a third group that John tells us about. Picking back up in verse 42, we read:

⁴² Even then, many Jewish authorities believed in Jesus; but because of the Pharisees they did not talk about it openly, so as not to be expelled from the synagogue. ⁴³ They loved human approval rather than the approval of God.

Let’s pause again to focus on something that was just said. John tells us that there was a group of Jewish leaders who believed in Jesus, but “They loved human approval rather than the approval of God.” (v. 43)

These leaders were “secret followers” because they feared the Pharisees and did not want to be expelled from their synagogues. Some of us might fit into this group of people, because this group is known as people who believe in God, but they don’t let or want their belief to be visible in their lives.

The fearful, secret followers of Jesus, we could describe as spiritual chameleons; these believers actively adapt into whatever social setting they are in. In a worldly setting, they act to fit in, but in church on the weekend, they act differently in order to fit in as well. While they may believe they are being a light, they miss the idea that a light is only as good as how brightly seen it is. By blending in, secret followers of Jesus dim their lights and they cheapen their witness.

However, while John is finished sharing the side-note, he picks back up sharing a powerful statement Jesus says to the crowd which likely was filled with each of the three types of people we have been talking about. Continuing in verse 44, we read:

⁴⁴ Jesus said in a loud voice, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in him who sent me. ⁴⁵ Whoever sees me sees also him who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. ⁴⁷ If people hear my message and do not obey it, I will not judge them. I came, not to judge the world, but to save it. ⁴⁸ Those who reject me and do not accept my message have one who will judge them. The words I have spoken will be their judge on the last day! ⁴⁹ This is true, because I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has commanded me what I must say and speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that his command brings eternal life. What I say, then, is what the Father has told me to say.”

Jesus’ big promise to us here is that He is not the one who will judge. While this might ease our minds a little, Jesus is quick to point out that just because He isn’t the judge doesn’t mean that there won’t be a judge. Jesus directly states that His words and His message will judge them, and it isn’t because He said them, it is because His words and His message came from the Father.

Note here that the emphasis is not simply on hearing Jesus’ message. The emphasis is on obeying it. Rejecting Jesus and His message is the same as hearing it and not obeying it. These people fall under judgment, because they reject the free gift that Jesus has offered.

Jesus closes His message here by saying that He knows that God’s message and His commands bring eternal life, and that the things He says – which presumably include what He just finished saying – are what the Father has told Him to say.

God did not send Jesus into the world to fill the role of judge. The world has too many people in it claiming that role. Instead, Jesus came into the world as a Messenger, a Healer, and a Savior. Jesus came into this world to show us what God is really like.

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 seek God first in your life and purposefully pay attention to the things He has commanded. When discovering something that God has commanded, resolve to apply what you learned into your life. Seek to grow towards God and ask Him to melt your heart rather than harden it.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, choose to personally pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn what God has commanded, and what God has laid as a foundation for our faith and belief in Him. While other people have opinions, God wants to reveal His truth to you that is found only through personally studying the Bible.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!