Reflective Bible Study

Of all the events in the gospels, one event rises to the top when we look for miraculous events where Jesus displays an amazing level of trust. If you have ever wondered if Jesus lived out His faith, the passage we are focusing in on in this episode is a perfect example – and one that left a deep impression on all of Jesus’ disciples for the rest of their lives.

In the event we are focusing on in this episode, Jesus has just finished preaching, and He and the disciples decide to cross over the lake. This lake crossing is included in three of the four gospels, because something significant happens during it. Let’s read about this event from the gospel of Mark, chapter four, using the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 35, Mark tells us:

³⁵ That evening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side.”

³⁶ Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus along in a boat just as he was. Other boats were with him.

³⁷ A violent windstorm came up. The waves were breaking into the boat so that it was quickly filling up. ³⁸ But he was sleeping on a cushion in the back of the boat.

So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to die?”

³⁹ Then he got up, ordered the wind to stop, and said to the sea, “Be still, absolutely still!” The wind stopped blowing, and the sea became very calm.

⁴⁰ He asked them, “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith yet?”

⁴¹ They were overcome with fear and asked each other, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”

Every time I read this event, I am amazed at Jesus. The boat they were in was not big, nor was it all that stable, and Jesus is able to sleep through a storm that the expert-fishermen-disciples believe they will die in. During the worst storm these disciples had ever experienced, Jesus is at the back of the boat, sleeping – even though the fierce wind was blowing on Him, and wave after wave of water was splashing over the side of the boat onto Him.

Not only does this tell you Jesus could at times be a deep, deep sleeper, it tells us something else that is amazing about Jesus’ faith in God.

Jesus had complete trust in God and His protection for His life. Jesus knew the prophecies, and He knew the path that God had placed in front of Him to walk down. This path led to death on the cross. Jesus knew that until facing the arrest in Jerusalem on that future Passover weekend, His life was protected – which means that regardless of what happened, His life was secure.

This complete faith in God allowed Him to sleep while everyone who was with Him was in a panic.

The storm got so bad, and the disciples began to realize that Jesus wasn’t waking up to help, so they make their way to the back of the boat to wake Him up saying, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to die?” (v. 38b)

The disciples probably expected Jesus to help them pitch water out of the boat or give them some reassurance that they would survive this storm, but instead, Jesus does something they did not expect: He addresses the storm itself.

What at first was a desperate cry for help from Jesus because they were scared of the storm became a fear of Jesus after they realized that even the weather obeyed Him. Without even breaking a syllable, following commanding the storm to cease, Jesus turned to His disciples with the questions, “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith yet?”

Some translations choose not to call the disciples cowards but translate Jesus’ first question as simply “Why are you afraid?” Perhaps His question was aimed at their new fear in what Jesus just did, or perhaps it was aimed the disciples fear of the storm.

In either case, we learn something amazing about God. In the storms that life brings our way, they have had to pass through God’s filter of protection. This means that any- and every-thing that happens has been passed through a God-filter. God doesn’t filter all bad things from happening, because it is when we face challenges that our faith, trust, and character grow, but He does filter the senseless and meaningless bad from occurring.

In other words, if something happens to us in this life, God has an idea for how we can turn the pain into a stepping stone. Perhaps it is something that opens up a connection with someone God wants to reach, or maybe it gives us a shared experience that we can use when talking with someone God loves who has drifted away, or even maybe it is something that is intended to knock us out of our rut of complacency. If we become too comfortable and cease fulfilling our mission, God seems to send us things in order to wake us up.

I don’t claim to have all the answers for why bad things happen to us, except to say that we live in a world full of free choice and evil actions. What we see happening around us doesn’t always make sense, because we are only seeing it from half a perspective.

The event we just read teaches us about how God works through the storms of life. God didn’t keep the storm from happening to Jesus and the disciples, but He protected them all through it. Perhaps the disciples waited longer than they should have to ask Jesus for help, but they ultimately realized they needed Him. When the disciples finally asked for help, Jesus helps in a way that they were not expecting.

However, the big truths I see displayed in Jesus actions are a complete trust in God’s protection, and an extraordinary example of the power of faith.

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 seek God first in your life. When storms happen in our lives, keep your faith and trust in God’s protection, and turn to Him first for help leading you through it. Sometimes God will silence the storm, whereas other times He will walk with you through it.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do in one way or another, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn how God always protects His people through the trials and challenges they face. In the events of the Bible, sometimes God protects us from the bad that could happen, sometimes God walks with us through it, and sometimes God uses it to wake us up from our spiritual sleep. From the events of the Bible, discover that everything happening today, regardless of its level of good or evil, has a purpose and plan from God’s perspective, even if we cannot see it from our perspective. Trust that God knows what He is doing and that He wants to use whatever happens for His glory in order to save as many people as He can for eternity!

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!

Often, when I am reading parts of the gospels that include Jesus teaching people, I am amazed at the simplicity and profoundness of the illustrations He used. On one hand, the illustration is so simple that even a child understands it, but on the other hand, it speaks into a deeper truth that challenges even the most savvy adults.

The short section of teaching that we are focusing in on in this podcast episode is one such place that includes both simple illustrations and difficult challenges – all within a five-verse-long passage.

We’ll be reading from the gospel of Mark, chapter 4, using the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 21, Mark tells us that:

²¹ And He [Jesus] was saying to them, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? ²² For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. ²³ If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” ²⁴ And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. ²⁵ For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”

This passage opens with probably the most simple of illustrations. Jesus contrasts the role of a lamp and the illogical locations for it to be used. Not only does a lamp under a basket or under a bed pose a fire hazard, since lamps during that of time-period were lit with fire, but it defeats the purpose of lighting the lamp in the first place. In this introduction to Jesus’ key point, He asks the question why anyone would turn on a light, only to then hide that light from shining.

It is both simple and profound, because if we then take this thought and apply it to ourselves, Jesus is essentially saying that we must not hide ourselves. If God has made us a light, then hiding us away is very illogical. As lights pointing people to Jesus and God, He is more likely to place us on a lamp-stand, and give us a platform to shine from.

But this is where we often stop reading – but as we read further, the passage continues with a pretty significant challenge in the next verse. Verse 22 says, “For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.”

One of the things my wife, and probably a number of other people close to me, will tell you is that I like giving surprises. A surprise is something that is hidden for a short period of time, and then suddenly revealed. The purpose of a surprise is to prompt some suspense and tension in anticipation of the big reveal. The purpose of a surprise is not to hide something indefinitely – but instead to draw our attention to the point in time when it is revealed.

Trying to hide something indefinitely is called a secret. A secret, whether it is one kept by a single individual, or one held by a small group of people, is different. The purpose of a secret is to remain hidden – and depending on how important it is to those wanting to keep the secret hidden, they will lie and mislead anyone and everyone from finding out.

But Jesus’ challenge is that secrets are destined to come to light. No matter how hard or how well we try to bury them, they are destined to be revealed at some point in the future.

It is as this point in our conversation where my brain asks an interesting question: Why does Jesus talk about not hiding a lamp or light in the same breath as revealing secrets?

Part of me wonders if this teaching is connected with sharing testimonies. Often times, our testimony about how our relationship with God grew comes from experiencing some form of hurt – not from God, but from something or someone that hurt us. We might have even been the person who hurt ourselves.

When something happens that causes us pain, our natural instinct is to either focus on it and on the pain while pushing others away, or it is to bury the pain and pretend that it doesn’t exist. Both of these options push the pain into hiding.

But what if the pain had a purpose? What if the pain was meant in some way to be a light to others? What if that mistake we made, and the consequences that followed, could be shared as a way of helping others avoid failing in the same way?

Perhaps Jesus is talking in these first two verses of our passage about how we are better suited to be witnesses from our failures in life rather than from the triumphs we accomplish. If so, our secrets may become our greatest testimony following the resolution and consequences that come from revealing the truth.

Moving to the last two verses in our passage, we read, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.” (v. 24-25)

Jesus promises that God will return to us the actions and attitude we give others. That means if we keep secrets from others, the world will feel like it is keeping secrets from us. That also means if we are genuine, generous, and grateful, then the world will be genuine, generous, and grateful back to us.

Jesus cautions us to take care of what we pay attention to. The things we focus on will shape who we become, and once we have begun developing habits leading us in one direction, it is more difficult to change course.

Jesus wants each of us to pay attention and be intentional about who we follow – because who we follow has the power to shape who we are and who we become in the future. It is critical for us to be extra selective of the things we let into our lives because our future life depends on it.

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 seek God first in your life and intentionally focus on Jesus and what He has done for you. Jesus is the only place you can find light that leads to eternal life, and Jesus is the only One worthy of our faith, hope, trust, and belief!

Also, as I regularly challenge you by saying in one way or another, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself – and specifically focus in on the four gospels to learn more of what Jesus is like. Jesus came to show us what God the Father is like and if you have a picture of God the Father that is not the same as your picture of Jesus, then Jesus came to help fix your picture of God. Jesus wants you to know that God the Father loves you and God the Father is a big reason why Jesus faced the cross as a sacrifice for your sins!

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

If you ever wished for God or Jesus to give a clear, unquestionable sign that He exists, you may find this passage interesting, or maybe even a little problematic.

While many of us have a tendency to experience doubts living over 2,000 years after Jesus was here on earth, some of us may believe that a sign from God would be nice – if only to assure us that He is still present and interested. According to what our passage for this episode says, those living during Jesus’ life on earth had their doubts and skeptical attitude, and even with Jesus present, they were interested in seeing some type of unquestionable, irrefutable sign from God.

But let’s read how Jesus answers them. Our passage for this episode is found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 12, and we will read it using the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 38, Matthew tells us:

³⁸ Then some experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign.”

³⁹ He responded, “The people of an evil and unfaithful era look for a miraculous sign. But the only sign they will get is the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ Just as Jonah was in the belly of a huge fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will stand up with you at the time of judgment and will condemn you, because they turned to God and changed the way they thought and acted when Jonah spoke his message. But look, someone greater than Jonah is here! ⁴² The queen from the south will stand up at the time of judgment with you. She will condemn you, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon’s wisdom. But look, someone greater than Solomon is here!

What I find amazing in Jesus’ response is that He responds counter to the “seeing-is-believing” attitude that was present in the minds of these skeptics. From the description present in this passage, Jesus knows that there will always be skeptics, and there will always be people who discount or rationalize their faith away from God. Most of these people never admit that they are simply shifting what they place their faith in, because in their minds, faith is a pointless concept.

But when we look closer at Jesus’ response, He does give these skeptical religious leaders a sign to watch for – but it was far from what they were looking for. There was a point when Jesus’ prediction about Himself came true, and He was in the grave like Jonah was in the fish. Jonah likely never even imagined His rebellion would turn into a Messianic symbol, but Jesus draws upon the key event in Jonah’s life as a symbolic representation of Himself.

Jesus then moves the focus of His response onto two events where faith was present. First, the people of Nineveh had faith in Jonah’s words – perhaps because He stank like fish or maybe because He had God at His back – and the people of Nineveh changed their ways. Interestingly enough, Jonah’s prediction did not come true because the people turned away from sin and towards God. The faith the people of Nineveh had was not based on much evidence, they simply trusted that Jonah’s words were important enough to pay attention to – even though Jonah had no previous track record of successful predictions that we are aware of for them to look back on.

Jesus’ other example is of the queen from the south. She heard rumors about Solomon, and perhaps some of these rumors seemed a little too unbelievable to be true. However, instead of writing off the rumors, she decides to investigate further to see if there was any truth in what she was hearing.

In this way, by traveling a great distance to meet someone she had only heard rumors about shows how she had great faith in those spreading the information. She was so far away that there was likely no way for her to have seen any tangible, irrefutable evidence to support the claim that Solomon was uniquely gifted in wisdom. But that didn’t stop her from making the trip to confirm or deny her curiosity.

Both the people of Nineveh and the queen from the south had enough faith in what they heard that they changed their actions and plans in light of the evidence they had. Those in Nineveh had a prophet who stank like fish, and the queen from the south had rumors, some from potentially reliable sources, but perhaps a number from some questionably reliable sources as well.

The key idea Jesus is making is that no amount of signs and miracles can convert a stubborn heart. Jesus is also sharing a key insight regarding God’s character: God is okay with individuals exercising their free will to refuse believing in Him. He doesn’t like it when people refuse those He has sent, but He is reserved enough to know that belief that is bought through spectacular, miraculous signs is cheap. Someone who follows simply because of the miracles is blessed for following, but if they never grow past the miracles themselves, then they are prime to be swept away when someone else comes who is able to perform even more spectacular signs.

It seems that God gives or allows miraculous signs to happen as a way to point us to pay attention to an individual. It is then up to us, knowing what we know about God and His character, to determine if the miracle-worker has God as his or her Source, or of they have a different spiritual force at their back.

God wants our faith and trust not simply because of miracles or signs, but because of who He is and what He is like.

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

As I always open these challenges by saying in one way or another, intentionally seek God first in your life. Choose to follow God because of who He is and because of what Jesus showed us He is like. While other people in your circle of friends might not understand your decision, know that when you make a decision to follow God, you are looking at life from eternity’s perspective and have heaven to look forward to.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, purposefully choose to pray and study the Bible for yourself and look for how God has revealed His character in each event you read. The Bible shares more details about God and His character than we might think at first, but in order to see what God is like in the pages of the Bible, we must be intentionally on the lookout for it.

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!

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!