Reflective Bible Study

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!

If you have ever had a rumor circulate about you, you know how difficult it can be to break that rumor in light of the truth. And if you are in the spotlight, or in a place where you have people looking up to you, then this is even more true.

While the rumor mill is alive and well today, when we look back at the first century, during the time Jesus walked the earth, Jesus was one of the most famous, or infamous, people around. Almost everywhere Jesus went, He drew a crowd, whether it was a synagogue or a deserted place in the middle of nowhere. If someone knew where Jesus was, a crowd would eventually find Him and form around Him. Part of me wonders if there wasn’t always a crowd of people actively looking for Jesus, and that Jesus subtly tried to avoid the crowd whenever He needed time to rest.

However, oftentimes when big groups of people get together, they start talking, perhaps even exaggerating, the stories or things that they say, and when this happens, rumors start that either exaggerate the truth, or spread speculation that is outright false. This is just as true today as it was in the first century.

With the frame of mind that rumors were alive and circulating about Jesus during the first century, let’s read our passage to uncover a question Jesus asks His disciples about the rumors. In my mind, as we read this passage, it is unclear if Jesus really had two questions He wanted to ask, or if the first question really was designed to lead into the second question that Jesus was more interested in knowing.

Our event for this episode is found in three of the four gospels, but Matthew’s gospel includes some details that Mark and Luke don’t include. However, too often, we get caught up in the details Matthew includes that are unique that we miss the profoundness of Jesus’ questions and the responses that the disciples gave.

Because of this, for this episode and our time together, let’s look at Mark’s gospel. In Mark’s gospel, this event is found in chapter 8, and we will read from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 27, Mark tells us that:

²⁷ Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

²⁸ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

²⁹ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

³⁰ Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

In this event, Jesus opens with a question asking the disciples what the rumors surrounding Him are.

Something I find interesting in the response the disciples give is that the people living in Jesus’ time did not believe Jesus to be the Messiah that God had promised, but simply another prophet, or significant historical figure. Some might point to this detail as evidence that the people in Jesus’ time believed in reincarnation, but what is described here is a lot closer to resurrection of a historical figure than someone who is inherently immortal, continually returning in different forms.

It seems that the people believed Jesus to have been sent from God with a message for them, just like God sent John the Baptist and the prophets who came before Him. Jesus shared many similarities with the prophets God had send before, including the somewhat ironic detail that most, if not all, of the prophets were disliked by the spiritual and political leaders during their prophetic ministries. Part of me wonders if the regular Israelite living in the Old Testament had any positive or negative opinions of God’s prophets. From what I remember reading from the prophet and history portions of the Bible, I don’t recall anything being said about the common Israelite’s impression of any of the prophets.

However, the first question Jesus asks seems like more of a setup question in my mind. As I look at this conversation, I suspect that Jesus used this first question to change the subject of the conversation before asking the real question He wanted to know. While the disciples know what other people think and talked about, I believe Jesus really wants to know what they think about Him.

If other people were claiming Jesus was the Messiah, that would be one thing, but I suspect that Jesus wanted to avoid His followers making grander claims about Jesus than what the larger crowds of people were able to handle. I also suspect that since Jesus came to be a different type of Messiah than the culture at that time believed, Jesus knew that claiming the role of Messiah would not be in His best interest.

In my imagination, I wonder if there was a long awkward silence that hung in the air when Jesus shifted the focus from the larger population’s opinion of Him and onto the disciples’ opinion. As I imagine this event, I wonder if Peter responded immediately without even hesitating, or did one or two of the other disciples elbow him into making a response because the silence seemed like an eternity.

Regardless of the length of the silence following Jesus’ question, and regardless of what ultimately prompted Peter to respond in the way that He did, Peter’s answer to Jesus’ question is powerful and significant. Peter replied in verse 29, “You are the Messiah.” It is a simple, direct response, and probably the one Jesus was looking for.

Remember how I shared that Matthew includes some details that Mark and Luke don’t include. These details are shared in Jesus’ response to Peter’s declaration, and the first thing Jesus says I’ll pull into our discussion. In Matthew’s version of this event, which is found in chapter 16 of his gospel, immediately following Peter’s response, we read in verse 17, “Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.’”

The one big detail that made Peter’s response different from all the rumors circulating about Jesus is that God the Father prompted this belief in Peter’s heart that Jesus is the Messiah. From all the rumors circulating, none that the disciples shared framed Jesus as the Messiah, which meant that Peter would have gotten His belief from a different source than the crowd. Jesus frames Peter’s other Source as God the Father prompting this truth on Peter’s heart.

In Jesus’ response, and in the warning to not tell others about Him, I see Jesus saying to all of His followers living throughout history that it is God the Father and His Spirit who impress upon people the truth about who Jesus is. We can share the good news, we can tell others about Jesus and how our faith has helped our own lives, but only God can really move someone to internalize the truth about who Jesus is in their own hearts. Only God can make Jesus real to someone.

Jesus warned the disciples to not go spreading this around. This could have been a message for them prior to His death, since up to Jesus’ death, the popular view of who the Messiah would be was significantly different from the Messiah Jesus came to be. Or this could have been a message for them from that point forward, and to share about what Jesus had done for them and let God’s Spirit move those they shared with into the realization about who the resurrected Jesus is.

In my mind, this second idea could be relevant for us today. We can be witnesses who share our experiences and our testimony about what Jesus and God have done in our lives, but only God and His Spirit can move someone to internalize the truth about Jesus in their hearts.

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. If you are unsure about who Jesus is or should be to you, prayerfully ask God to help you understand how He wants you to see Jesus.

With this prayer on your mind and in your heart, open up your Bible and study it for yourself looking for an answer for this question. The Bible is the best place for us to find information about Jesus, if for no other reason than the New Testament has more recorded copies and manuscripts than any and every other historical document from that era. God wants us to know about Jesus, and He preserved not just the New Testament for us to learn from, but the whole Bible as well.

Also, purposefully and prayerfully study the Bible for yourself so you can learn more about what Jesus is like, which also gives God an opening to make Jesus real to 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 give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

In all the gospel records, and in all of Jesus’ miracles, two similar events are among the most well known events. Actually, let me back up. In all the gospel records, and in all of Jesus’ miracles, there is one event that is very well known, and another similar event that is in many ways just as significant, but it is overshadowed by the more famous event. From these two separate events, we get a glimpse of the size of the crowds that Jesus preached to, though that detail in each event is more of a side note rather than a key detail.

Most of you likely have already jumped ahead and know the two events I’m referring to. These two miracle events are the ones where Jesus multiplies an insignificant amount of food to feed the large crowd of listeners who happened to also be hungry.

One of these events is commonly referred to as the feeding of the five thousand, and it holds a significant and rare award for being one of the few events to be recorded in all four gospels.

However, the event we are focusing in on in this episode is not the feeding of the five thousand.

Instead, for this episode, we turn our attention onto the less famous miracle of this pair, which is simply known as the feeding of the four thousand. While most people know a lot more about the feeding of the five thousand, with the boy giving his lunch to Jesus, let’s discover what we can from this less famous miracle of food multiplication.

Our passage is found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 15, and we’ll read it using the New Living Translation. Starting in verse 32, Matthew tells us:

³² Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”

³³ The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”

³⁴ Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”

They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”

³⁵ So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.

³⁷ They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. ³⁸ There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. ³⁹ Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.

In this passage, as we read it together, we can easily see several places where this miracle of feeding four thousand people has similarities to the feeding of the five thousand. However, instead of focusing in on the similarities, like their being loaves of bread and fish in both events and that there were baskets full of leftovers in both events, let’s focus in on one or two things in this passage that make this event unique from the more famous meal where 5,000 were served.

While I already alluded to both events having bread and fish, the first thing that stands out when I read this is not that the quantities of each are different, but the source of food is different. In the feeding of the five thousand, a small boy offers his lunch and this gift is multiplied exponentially to feed the crowd. But in this event, all indications are that the disciples scavenged among what they had to find the seven loaves of bread and a few small fish.

The big idea that stands out in my mind regarding this detail is that sometimes we will have to put in the little that we have in order for God to multiply it into being something more. In the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus accepts and multiplies the gift from someone in the crowd, but in this event, it is the disciples own food and savings that Jesus used and multiplied into the meal for the over 4,000 people present. This would be like saying that the gifts that other people bring can be multiplied by Jesus, but so can the gifts that we bring too.

All too often, we are tempted to sit back and let someone else step up to provide what is needed, and sometimes, like in the feeding of the 5,000, it happens. But other times, like our event where 4,000 are fed, we have to be the ones to supply the materials and effort.

Another thing that stands out in my mind with the feeding of the four thousand is that it was after the crowd had followed Jesus for three days. In verse 32, we read Jesus saying to His disciples, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”

While the feeding of the five thousand was after one long day, most of the gospels record the disciples telling Jesus He should send the crowd away so the people can get something to eat. But in this event, after three days, Jesus is the One who prompts this miracle because He realizes these people probably left their homes without preparing for a three or more day trip with Him.

This detail tells me that Jesus sometimes will prompt a miracle because He knows we need it perhaps even without us asking. We don’t see people in the crowd asking for or demanding a miracle. We simply see Jesus offering to perform the miracle because He knows the people need it.

Also, as a side observation, while the feeding of the five thousand was after one day where many of the crowd may have had a big breakfast before leaving to find Jesus, the feeding of the four thousand was after three days and almost all the food was gone. In my mind, these four thousand people probably ate even more total combined food than the five thousand, simply because they were all that hungrier.

All these details come together to bring us a key point: Sometimes God is waiting for us to bring our time, talent, energy, and resources to Him to allow Him to do something great in the lives of those in the world. While we are tempted to let someone else do it, God is waiting for your gifts and mine.

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 open by challenging you, intentionally seek God first in your life. Intentionally choose to step up and give God the little you have. While you might think your gift is insignificant in the big picture, your gift may be just the thing God is waiting for to transform someone else’s life. Never think your gifts are too small when giving to the One who multiplies small gifts for great impact!

Also, as I regularly challenge you in one way or another, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to Jesus. A relationship with Jesus is vital, not just for gaining eternal life in the future, but for surviving in life today. While many people focus on the future rewards of following Jesus, don’t ignore the gifts and blessings God is willing to give you today for following 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!

If you have ever felt that following Jesus is hard, or perhaps even a little unrealistic at times, then you may be surprised to find out that you are not alone. It may also surprise you that this isn’t just a feeling people have in today’s modern, busy, technology-filled, Internet-connected world. On multiple occasions within the gospel narrative, large crowds abandoned following Jesus because He said something challenging or something they didn’t agree with.

I don’t claim to know or understand why Jesus pushed the crowds away, but periodically, perhaps if the crowd was getting a little too big, Jesus would go deeper and more challenging in what He was teaching – and almost always, He would say something that would ultimately push the crowd away. While I doubt Jesus was interested in pushing people away, I suspect Jesus would rather have devoted disciples over casual followers. I wonder if Jesus could sense the commitment level of the crowds that followed Him, and if a crowd had a shallow level of commitment, Jesus pushed them to either deepen their commitment, or to find someone else to follow.

Our passage for this episode comes immediately after Jesus has just pushed the crowd following Him in this way. Leading up to the verses we are focusing in on, Jesus has just finished talking about how people must eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to gain eternal life. While we can understand that these two ideas are metaphors that echo the sacrificial system the Jewish religious culture was built on, either the crowd did not understand this connection or they believed this challenge was too difficult to apply into their lives.

Let’s read about what happened following Jesus sharing this teaching from the gospel of John, chapter 6, using the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 60, John tells us that:

⁶⁰ On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

⁶¹ Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! ⁶³ The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. ⁶⁴ Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. ⁶⁵ He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”

⁶⁶ From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

⁶⁷ “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

In this passage, both Jesus’ response to the disciples grumbling about what He was saying, and Simon Peter’s final response stand out as significant in my mind.

In Jesus’ response, which sounded weird to the disciples like it sounds weird to us living over 2,000 years later, we learn something interesting about human nature and about God. Jesus knew that His ministry on earth would end, but that would not stop His ministry at a whole. While some people might have pictured Jesus’ ministry ending when He ascended to heaven following the resurrection, several places in the New Testament frame Jesus’ ministry as not stopping. Instead, Jesus’ ministry shifted, or we could say that it changed focus slightly.

Perhaps some of Jesus’ followers at that time chose to follow simply because of the miracles He was doing, and/or perhaps it was because Jesus was a popular celebrity. These people followed the man Jesus, but they didn’t believe Him to be One with God – and One sent from God. These people would have been the first to be offended by Jesus’ claims and among the first to leave when Jesus shared something that challenged their viewpoint.

When we align our lives around believing in Jesus, this means that we must accept His sacrifice on our behalf. The flesh side of the discussion Jesus shared centers around Jesus’ death on the cross – which was foreshadowed for centuries in the sacrificing of an innocent lamb – and by “eating his flesh”, we are internalizing what He did for us on the cross.

The parallel metaphor of drinking Jesus’ blood, which is even more disturbing when stopping to think about it, means that we must accept Jesus’ life into ours. The blood of a living creature is one key that holds the creature’s life, and perhaps one reason why Jesus’ words here are so appalling to those in the crowd is because the Jews were commanded in Moses’ law to not eat any animal before first draining that animal’s blood.

Since Jesus appears to directly contradict what Moses commanded the nation of Israel to avoid, I suspect that there is a bigger truth Jesus wants His followers to learn.

In my opinion, Jesus challenges us through Moses’ law to not internalize any life that is based in a sin-filled world. Jesus came from Heaven to live a sinless life – so His life is the only life we should look to for getting strength for our own lives.

In some of the pagan cultures, they believed that if one drank the blood of an animal or an enemy, they would gain that animal or enemy’s strength and life essence. While I don’t think Jesus is trying to redeem and validate a very pagan practice, He may be alluding to it in a figurative sense. Jesus might simply be telling us that internalizing His life is the only way we will be able to have true life ourselves – and true life that leads to eternal life.

In Jesus words, we find the statement at the end of verse 63, “The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.”

I suspect that in this passage, Jesus is not speaking here of His physical body or physical blood. Instead, I suspect that Jesus wants to point us to the very real work of the Holy Spirit working through His life. Jesus’ words have creative, restorative, and life-giving power, and they are the essence of His ministry. The miracles and healing then become significant because they point us to pay attention to the message and the Messenger. The miracles lead us to the Messenger and His message, while the Messenger and His message bring us eternal life.

If one believes Jesus’ miracles to be the devil working or the result of a series of cleaver and deceptive tricks, then they can easily discount His entire ministry and message. But if God’s power is the only possible source behind a miracle, then that validates the message and the Messenger – even if it is challenging or difficult to believe. Through our belief in Jesus and what we think about Him, God is able to “enable” us to come to Jesus.

“From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” (v. 66)

In the minds of this crowd of followers, Jesus had stepped over the line. He might be from God, and God might support His ministry, but in their eyes, Jesus’ words at the conclusion of this sermon were too difficult to accept.

On seeing the crowd beginning to disperse, Jesus asks His twelve core followers in verse 67, “You do not want to leave too, do you?”

Perhaps Jesus believed everyone would leave, or maybe He saw some confused or torn looks in the eyes of His closest followers. However, before too much silence had settled in the air, Simon Peter speaks up with one of His bold statements about Jesus in verses 68 and 69, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

In Peter’s mind, Jesus is It. Jesus is the One that God had promised. Jesus is the One that gives eternal life. Why look for anyone else? Peter’s track-record of faith was far from perfect, both in his past and in his future, but Peter has a clear head about the simple truth that Jesus is the Holy One of God, and regardless of what anyone else says or does, He is staying.

With this in mind as our episode is coming to a close, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always open these challenges by saying, intentionally seek God first in your life. Choose to believe with Peter that Jesus is the Holy One of God. Be sure to study out this truth, from both the gospels as well as the rest of the Bible.

Also, as you pray and study the Bible for yourself, purposefully look for evidence of a God who created and loves each of us personally. While there is no shortage of opinions in the world about who God is, what He is like, and who Jesus is in relation to God, choose to base your opinion on what is shared in the Bible. The Bible has stood the test of time, and it is a reliable guide for understanding who God is and why Jesus came to this earth.

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!