Reflective Bible Study

Every so often, as I am reading a portion of the gospels, a word or phrase stands out to me because I think Jesus should have said it differently. Whenever this happens to me, I must back up and reread what I was reading to make sure I didn’t simply misread what was said. Occasionally, I’ll even read a number of different translations to see if different translators happened to see the same angle, or different angles, on the text as they were translating it.

As I was preparing for this episode, I noticed an idea that seemed a little backward when compared to what I think it should be. As I was cross-checking this idea between several of the translations we often pick from for our podcast episodes, each one of them checks out this idea – giving confirmation to this slightly backward idea Jesus shares.

As I shared in the intro for this podcast, we will be reading from the gospel of Luke, chapter 12, and the translation I settled on after reviewing all the options is the New Century Version. Starting in verse 35, Jesus taught those present, saying:

³⁵ “Be dressed, ready for service, and have your lamps shining. ³⁶ Be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding party. When he comes and knocks, the servants immediately open the door for him. ³⁷ They will be blessed when their master comes home, because he sees that they were watching for him. I tell you the truth, the master will dress himself to serve and tell the servants to sit at the table, and he will serve them. ³⁸ Those servants will be blessed when he comes in and finds them still waiting, even if it is midnight or later.

The idea Jesus shares in this passage is one I find incredibly profound. The typical thought most people would have is if a master is coming home from a party, and he happens to be late or delayed – or even scheduled to arrive late at night – he would be tired after the long trip. The way we might think this passage should read is that the master will reward the servants for having stayed up waiting, but he would also ask them to serve him.

But this is not how any of the translations I found share this idea. They all say that as a reward for staying up and waiting for him, he will flip roles and serve them as a way to say thanks.

This is backward, but amazing; this is unexpected, but it also tells us something incredible about God’s character.

Immediately following sharing this backward idea, Jesus hits those present with the big truth He wants them to understand. Continuing in verse 39, we read:

³⁹ “Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, he would not allow the thief to enter his house. ⁴⁰ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him!”

The big idea in this passage hinges on Jesus’ return, but in these key verses, Jesus uses an odd metaphor to compare the situation with: Jesus compares His return to the coming of a thief.

By themselves, these two verses make for an interesting discussion.

Should we understand Jesus to be like the owner of the house or like the thief?

Is Jesus’ return one where He comes publicly or one where He comes secretly to steal His people away?

When Jesus returns, is He returning more like a homeowner who will be welcomed by His servants, or is He returning more like a thief who will steal some of this planet’s inhabitants and return home with them?

All these questions and more enter my mind when trying to unpack the meaning of verses 39 and 40:

³⁹ “Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, he would not allow the thief to enter his house. ⁴⁰ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him!”

Perhaps Peter also has this question in his mind because in verse 41, there is a long enough pause that Peter can jump in with a question. Peter asks, “Lord, did you tell this story to us or to all people?”

Jesus responds by saying, “Who is the wise and trusted servant that the master trusts to give the other servants their food at the right time? ⁴³ When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed. ⁴⁴ I tell you the truth, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns. ⁴⁵ But suppose the servant thinks to himself, ‘My master will not come back soon,’ and he begins to beat the other servants, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. ⁴⁶ The master will come when that servant is not ready and is not expecting him. Then the master will cut him in pieces and send him away to be with the others who don’t obey.

⁴⁷ “The servant who knows what his master wants but is not ready, or who does not do what the master wants, will be beaten with many blows! ⁴⁸ But the servant who does not know what his master wants and does things that should be punished will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected.

In this second portion of our passage, Jesus answers, but doesn’t really answer Peter’s question. By not answering the question directly, it makes me believe that everyone who claims God as their Master would be included as a servant making this passage applicable to them.

As I read this, perhaps some of the cultural treatment of servants bothered you. In these verses, Jesus talks about the master cutting a servant into pieces for abusing other servants, and beating other servants for not doing what the master wanted – even if they didn’t know what the master wanted from them.

But while it is easy to get sidetracked on the cultural mistreatment of others, don’t miss Jesus’ key point in this illustration: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected.” (v. 48b)

Jesus tells us that the more we are given, and the more we have been blessed, the higher the standard He will expect from us. This might sound daunting, but what if we looked at it like this: God gave Jesus to be a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus went to the cross to pay the debt that we owed God. Because of this sacrifice, God offers us grace – amazing grace – when we did not deserve it. Because of this incredible gift God has given to us, He expects us to pay this grace forward by extending grace and forgiving others.

No, it’s not easy, but “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected.” (v. 48b)

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

While a passage like this might prompt someone to be afraid of God, choose instead to focus on what God did for you and me and then pay that grace, love, and forgiveness forward!

Also, as I always challenge you to do, prayerfully study the Bible for yourself to learn what God and Jesus are really like, because the Bible presents the best and most accurate picture of God throughout history that we have. While the Bible doesn’t shy away from parts of the Bible that paint God acting in challenging or difficult to understand ways, hold off judging God for actions we might not understand until we can ask Him personally. I suspect that God could explain every difficult action in a satisfying way if we wait to ask Him personally.

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

If you ever wondered if Jesus had a favorite one of the five senses, then our passage for this episode makes the case for one specific sense. I know this sounds like a random question, but it is one I recently had while studying in the gospels. All throughout the gospels, Jesus heals people who cannot see, cannot hear, cannot talk, those who have leprosy, which is a sensory disease, and if someone were to have come to Him with no sense of smell or taste, chances are Jesus would have healed them too. Jesus loved making all of our senses whole.

However, unless you are more like me than I would have thought or guessed, I suspect you never thought of asking whether Jesus had a favorite sense, and there is probably no way of really knowing for sure. But with that said, in our passage for this episode, Jesus uses one of the senses as a metaphor for describing the significance of our perspective, and with how Jesus frames this sense, a case could be made that it was His favorite, if Jesus had a favorite.

Our passage for this episode is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 11, and we will read it using the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting with verse 33, Jesus taught those present, saying:

³³ “No one lights a lamp and hides it. No one puts it under a bowl. Instead, they put a lamp on its stand. Then those who come in can see the light. ³⁴ Your eye is like a lamp for your body. Suppose your eyes are healthy. Then your whole body also is full of light. But suppose your eyes can’t see well. Then your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ So make sure that the light inside you is not darkness. ³⁶ Suppose your whole body is full of light. And suppose no part of it is dark. Then your body will be full of light. It will be just as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

I am always amazed when reading passages like this one how Jesus is able to speak on multiple levels simultaneously. Not only are His words literally true, they are symbolically true as well.

The key phrase that unlocks the symbolism in this passage is the metaphor at the beginning of verse 34. Jesus says, “Your eye is like a lamp for your body.” This connects the idea of lighting a lamp and not hiding it with the idea about how healthy eyes help light our whole body.

In a literal sense, when we cannot see well, everything is blurry and if our eyesight is really bad, often called blindness, things would be dark. Perhaps this teaching came following Jesus healing some physically blind people, or maybe Jesus could tell there were some spiritually blind people in the crowd that needed direction.

However, when talking about blindness, it is easy to understand physical blindness, but what about spiritual blindness? How should we define or explain spiritual blindness?

In a symbolic sense, our eyesight can also mean what we choose to focus on. Our eyes are like a lamp for our body and mind because they allow us to see the things we are paying attention to. When our focus and perspective is healthy, our bodies and minds will be full of light and we will have spiritual health. But on the flipside, when our focus and perspective is unhealthy, our bodies and minds will be full of darkness and we will be spiritually sick. This is one simple way to describe spiritual blindness verses spiritual sight.

After sharing this description, Jesus says something that always jumps out at me when I read His words in this passage. In verse 35, He says, “So make sure that the light inside you is not darkness.”

Don’t miss the implications Jesus is saying here. In a literal sense, darkness is simply the absence of light, and when I turn a lamp on in my home, the darkness is reduced. In the literal sense, darkness is weaker than light simply because when the light comes on, it wins and there is less darkness.

In a spiritual sense, darkness seems to have more power than it does literally in the physical world. In our own lives, and in the things we focus on, we are able to focus on something that we really want, or something that we really need, but ultimately learn later that it was not or would not have been a blessing in the end.

In our spiritual lives, it is incredibly important for us to discern light from darkness, though really we could simply say it is important for us to discerning truth from error, because in our lives, we will begin to see more of the things we focus on.

Jesus tells us to “make sure that the light inside you is not darkness.” If left unchecked, we might believe the dimness or darkness inside of us is really light, and seek to spread it. I am probably as guilty as anyone else for wanting to spread what I have learned and discovered, but if I do so without checking these discoveries next to what I see written in the Bible, I could end up spreading darkness.

Darkness, which we could parallel with lies, is in many ways easier to spread than the truth. Darkness and lies are sometimes easier to believe than the truth as well. However, in every single case, the truth will come out. Lies trap those who started the lie because they must remember both the truth and the lie. Lies ultimately kill the reputation of anyone who started or spread the lie when the truth is finally found out. Lies trap us under the weight of the lie itself.

In contrast, the truth sets us free.

Lying delays the results of our poor actions – and this delay adds interest to the results. The truth can be risky to tell and it may cause pain in the moment, but following the pain, those involved are able to move on. Lying adds interest to the pain the truth will cause while delaying the inevitable outcome.

“Make sure that the light inside you is not darkness.”

Jesus’ words here are significant because when we believe and spread lies, we are spreading darkness, and while we might think this darkness is light, it can only be true light if it is leading people into a deeper relationship with God.

The spark of light that God has placed in each of our hearts is important for us to pay attention to. This spark says that we have been created for a purpose, we are special to God, and that we cannot do it on our own. Some people run from their spark, but in my own life, I want to fan the flame and let it grow.

With that said, here are the challenges I will leave you with at the end of this podcast episode:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and pay attention to how you see Him. Choose to move towards Him and seek to discover the light that He has revealed to you when you study His Word and grow closer to Him.

Also, as I challenge you in one way or another every episode, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself to help you discern God’s light from the world’s darkness. Don’t run from the spark God has placed in your heart. Instead, choose to fan the flame God has placed in your heart and let it grow.

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 wondered what God the Father is like, or if you have ever wanted to know more about who God the Father is, you happen to be in luck, because in this episode’s short, four-verse passage, Jesus gives us the key for how we can know God.

But before we get to reading our passage for this episode, let me frame what we are about to read with an observation about the culture we live in. In today’s culture, there is a belief that has spread throughout Christianity and the broader culture that says God the Father is mean and vengeful while Jesus is kind and loving. The implication of this belief is that we need Jesus to step between the mean Father and us to protect us from Him.

But this viewpoint is completely misguided and wrong. Yes, there are things that happen in the Bible and the Old Testament that could paint God the Father in a negative light, but as I have studied, I’ve realized God has a different picture and perspective on life, and as a Life-Giver and Creator, He thinks differently than we do as His creation.

However, while I might have a different view on this than other people do, how do I know that the “Mean-Father” belief is inaccurate? One piece of supporting evidence for my belief is found in our passage for this episode. While there are several passages in the gospels that help show us a better picture of God the Father, our passage for this episode answers this challenge regarding the Father’s character a little more directly than most. And like I hinted at a moment ago, this passage also gives us the key to learning more about who the Father is and what He is like.

Our passage is found in the gospel of Luke, in chapter 10, and we will read if using the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 21, Luke tells us:

²¹ At that time Jesus was filled with joy by the Holy Spirit and said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth! I thank you because you have shown to the unlearned what you have hidden from the wise and learned. Yes, Father, this was how you were pleased to have it happen.

²² “My Father has given me all things. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

²³ Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said to them privately, “How fortunate you are to see the things you see! ²⁴ I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear what you hear, but they did not.”

Did you catch the key to knowing God here? Actually, as I read this just now, I saw three keys included in this passage, with one being a little clearer than the other two.

The first and main key is in Jesus’ words specifically about knowing the Father. Verse 22 tells us, “No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Note that last part: “and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” From Jesus’ own lips we read that He is the only one who really knows the Father, and He is the only One who can reveal the Father to others.

This tells me that either Jesus was incredibly arrogant and should not be believed in this case (which is what popular culture wants us to do), or He was sharing a significant truth about God that we would be wise to pay attention to.

If Jesus is the only way for us to really know who the Father is, then anyone who claims to have knowledge about God, or the absence of God, must present it through the lens of Jesus. If they don’t share their ideas with this filter, then they are giving an opinion. It might be their opinion, someone else’s opinion, or even Satan’s opinion, but if we believe Jesus’ words here, any claims about God that do not come through Jesus are merely opinions.

The second key is a little trickier to see, but it is in the first portion of Jesus’ statement. He says in verse 21: “Father, Lord of heaven and earth! I thank you because you have shown to the unlearned what you have hidden from the wise and learned.” In this phrase, we have a brief picture of God, and we can see that God may hide information from the wise and knowledgeable people, while helping show it to those without much education. This may relate to faith, but there is nothing included in this passage to make the knowledge God shares to the unlearned exclusively faith related.

The second key is simply realizing that God may choose to hide Himself from some people. Just like the first key places dependence on Jesus being the one who can choose to reveal God the Father, God the Father Himself can choose to stay hidden or give evidence of Himself to people.

The third key comes at the very beginning of this passage, in how Luke describes the scene. The first part of verse 21 says, “At that time Jesus was filled with joy by the Holy Spirit . . .” This leads into the statement that includes the second and first keys, but here in this third key, we see the Holy Spirit inspiring these words themselves.

By simply observing how Luke describes this event, we can see that the Holy Spirit must be present for someone to understand God the Father in a correct way, and the Holy Spirit is needed when looking at how Jesus reveals the Father, and the Holy Spirit is important when looking at how God the Father chooses to reveal Himself.

In this passage, we have three keys to knowing about God the Father, and each key relates to a member of the Godhead. This also says that any opinion about God that is gained outside of these three keys is simply opinion. It may be a close to accurate opinion or it could be a complete distortion of God, but it is entirely opinion.

Jesus concludes by telling the disciples how fortunate they are to see Jesus in person, because many people throughout all the other points in history wanted to see and hear what they saw and heard. For us living today, we have their testimony, passed down from the first century to help us understand better what God is like.

However, while Bible study is great, it must also be done in the context of our three keys in order to get the most out of it. Like this passage challenges us, we must look through Jesus’ life and ministry to understand the scriptures, God must want to teach us something and open up a truth for us, and the Holy Spirit must be present in order for us to make an accurate conclusion to what we are learning.

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 place growing towards Him as a priority in your life.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do in one way or another, continue prayerfully studying the Bible for yourself, understanding and applying the three keys we just learned in this passage, in order to learn and understand more of what God wants to share with you. While other people often share ideas and opinions, frame everything you hear, read, and see within the framework of Jesus’ ministry. Only through looking at Jesus does history make sense.

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!

While reading the gospels and learning about all the different challenges the religious leaders push onto Jesus, at times I have wondered if the religious leaders ever actually challenged Jesus with what we might consider a valid challenge.

In many ways, all the challenges the religious leaders use against Jesus were valid challenges, but when looking at all the places where Jesus’ ministry is challenged, do any of the challenges that are included in the gospels stand apart from the rest?

When answering this question for myself, we don’t need to look any further than the challenge the Pharisees bring to Jesus in our passage for this episode. Interestingly enough, this challenge from these religious leaders is only found in the gospel of John, and in John’s gospel, it is found in chapter 8. While the Pharisee’s challenge begins in verse 13, let’s begin reading with verse 12 to help us get a better context for how these Pharisees try to discredit Jesus. We’ll also be reading this passage using the New Century Version. Starting in verse 12, John tells us that:

¹² Later, Jesus talked to the people again, saying, “I am the light of the world. The person who follows me will never live in darkness but will have the light that gives life.”

¹³ The Pharisees said to Jesus, “When you talk about yourself, you are the only one to say these things are true. We cannot accept what you say.”

Before reading how Jesus responds, of all the challenges the Pharisees bring, this is among the most relevant for those living in the first century and those of us living in every century since.

If it were not for this passage and challenge, we might not even think of this sort of challenge to Jesus’ ministry today, but this type of challenge was very real in the Old Testament and the first century. In the Law of Moses, in order for any testimony to be valid, it must be independently validated by at least one other witness.

In many ways, this is the same in our court system today. Outside of direct confessions, judges and juries must weigh the evidence and testimony of numerous witnesses in order to determine guilt and innocence. This is even truer in cases where capital punishment or jail-time is a potential result.

The Pharisees’ challenge to Jesus is a valid challenge because if Jesus is the only one giving testimony about Himself, then His testimony is not valid. It would be like anyone standing up and claiming to be the messiah. It would simply be their word alone – and because of this, it would not be valid testimony.

But while this is a valid challenge in many ways, let’s read how Jesus responds, starting in verse 14:

¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Yes, I am saying these things about myself, but they are true. I know where I came from and where I am going. But you don’t know where I came from or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge by human standards. I am not judging anyone. ¹⁶ But when I do judge, I judge truthfully, because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. ¹⁷ Your own law says that when two witnesses say the same thing, you must accept what they say. ¹⁸ I am one of the witnesses who speaks about myself, and the Father who sent me is the other witness.”

¹⁹ They asked, “Where is your father?”

Jesus answered, “You don’t know me or my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father, too.”

Jesus has a second witness, but what I find fascinating about the second witness Jesus’ uses is that in essence Jesus says God is His second witness.

Not only is this a very bold thing to say, it is completely subjective to each person present. The Pharisees can see and hear Jesus, but are they willing to open their eyes to the Father?

When they ask where Jesus’ Father is, I doubt their intention was to validate Jesus’ words. Instead, it was more likely to find ways to invalidate this second supporting testimony. Seeing the sorts of challenges the Pharisees brought to Jesus prompts me to think that they were excellent persuaders and expert trappers. The religious elite in Jesus’ day used logic as a weapon, and while they weren’t successful using it against Jesus, they were sure they could use it against any second “witness” Jesus had to validate His testimony.

However, Jesus’ Father, or we could simply say God the Father, is a valid witness in Jesus’ ministry. If for nothing else, every time Jesus performed a miracle, and every time He cast out a demon, it was only because God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, was empowering these actions. Without the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ ministry would clearly have been a one-witness ministry, and the Pharisees’ challenge would be valid, but because of the miracles, we can have confidence that God was validating Jesus as a witness and if the Pharisees were willing to admit it – which most weren’t – Jesus did have a second witness in the Father.

The other angle of this discussion is one we really don’t have enough time to unpack in this episode, because it has to do with the hundreds of ways Jesus fulfilled Old Testament Messianic prophecies. The fulfillment of prophecies is a clear third witness for those who are willing to accept this.

Our passage concludes in verse 20 by saying:

²⁰ Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the Temple, near where the money is kept. But no one arrested him, because the right time for him had not yet come.

Part of me wonders if Jesus wasn’t arrested here, not only because the right time had not come, but also because at this point, the Pharisees officially wrote Jesus off. If the Pharisees were unwilling to accept the miracles and healing as signs that God was validating Jesus’ ministry, then there was no way they would accept Old Testament prophecy as a witness either.

The argument the Pharisees used to discredit Jesus is valid, and the argument Jesus uses to counter this challenge is subjective – which I believe Jesus does intentionally.

In other places, Jesus taught that only those who the Father brings to Him will understand who He really is. If the Father doesn’t bring someone to Jesus, to that person, Jesus’ ministry will not look valid because they do not know the Father. To someone who the Father brings to Jesus, Jesus’ ministry will look like the most valid ministry ever in the history of the world, because to this person, not only the Father and Jesus are witnesses, but also history, prophecy, and all the miracles. Even the death and resurrection will be a witness to the person whose eyes are open to what God is teaching.

In this passage, Jesus aligns Himself with God the Father, and looking at the gospel record, we can see how the Father responded and validates Jesus’ ministry. The only thing left for us to do is decide whether we will accept the Father-Son testimony that we have been given in scripture.

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

As I always challenge you to do in one way or another, intentionally seek God first in your life. If you are undecided about who Jesus is, don’t discredit Him because of what someone else has said. Instead, seek to understand Him for yourself, and only discredit Him if your personal study reveals that you should.

When studying, as I regularly challenge you to do, purposefully and prayerfully study the Bible for yourself to understand both the God of the Bible and about Jesus who came to show us what God is like. The four gospels, which are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are a great place to begin when studying to learn about both God the Father and about 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 deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him – because, if He created you, which He did, He has an amazing purpose for your life with Him!