Reflective Bible Study

When reading through the gospels and comparing them with one another, John’s gospel seems to stand alone in how it describes Jesus. While all four gospels focus on Jesus as the Messiah who God sent into the world, and while all four gospels describe Jesus’ crucifixion, Matthew, Mark, and Luke take a similar approach to Jesus’ life, and there is a lot of overlap in the events each of these three gospels describe.

In some cases, the events in each of these three gospels might be the same event, but in other cases, they each may have chosen similar but unique events to include. However, John’s gospel seems to share a unique series of events. Aside from the crucifixion conclusion, which is also shared from a unique angle, John’s gospel rarely overlaps events found in the other gospels.

But our passage and event for this week is one of those rare exceptions. While I am use to saying an event is found in two or three of the gospels, our event for this week is found in all four of the gospels. Since John includes a couple additional details, let’s look at how He describes what took place one day during Jesus’ ministry.

The event we are focusing on can be found in the gospel of John, chapter 6, and we will be reading from the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse one, John tells us:

¹ After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). ² A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. ⁴ Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. ⁵ Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” ⁶ This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. ⁷ Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.”

Let’s pause reading here for a moment. Jesus is very observant to what is happening around Him, and He senses a teaching moment for the disciples. While He directly asks Philip the question about bread, Jesus probably could have asked this question to any of the twelve disciples. Maybe Philip knew this part of the countryside better than the other disciples, or perhaps they were all in an unfamiliar location.

It is interesting to note that Jesus asks His question looking for a place, and Philip’s response is that a place to find bread is not as significant as simply coming up with the amount of money needed to purchase enough bread.

However, another one of the disciples, on hearing the question, catches this nuance, and he chooses to answer with a place that has some bread, but even he is doubtful in his response. Continuing in verse 8:

⁸ One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ⁹ “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” 

Pausing again, while Andrew understood that Jesus was looking for bread, even he understood that that five loaves and two fish wouldn’t satisfy the hunger of 5 people, let alone 5 thousand men, in a crowd that likely had plenty of women and children in it as well.

However, Andrew did answer with a place, and with the gift of a child, let’s read about what happens next. Picking back up in verse 10:

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. ¹² When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

Let’s stop reading here and draw our attention to the lesson Jesus wanted the disciples to learn. In this event, the size of what we have is less relevant than the power of God to exponentially multiply what we are willing to give to Him.

In this event, the small gift came from outside of the circle of disciples, and God used it in a powerful way. We can learn from this event to not discount any gift given to God, and to ignore the size of it. We could also frame this event as what happens when a child gives up his entire meal so that Jesus has something to eat. This child didn’t have an extra loaf or two in his back pocket and only gave Jesus part of what he had. In God’s eyes, giving up an entire meal to help one other person was just the faith God could use to bless a crowd that might have exceeded 10,000 people.

Using this ratio and applying it to what God accomplished through Jesus, one perfect life that was sacrificed was able to cover all of humanity’s sin. The feeding of the 5,000 is really an event that echoes what God was doing through Jesus on a much smaller scale.

From the disciples’ frame of reference, the gift of a little food was given to them from an outside source, and God used it to bless thousands. From our frame of reference as members of humanity, the gift of Jesus came from an outside Source, and through Jesus, God is actively saving people each and every day, and giving those who choose Jesus a new life with Him.

Through Jesus, God has made the way for the billions of men, women, and children who have lived at every point in history the option of a new life with Him. Jesus’ life is a sacrifice given to humanity similar to that unselfish child’s gift of a lunch – and when a gift is given like this, God is able to use it to do great things!

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 in one way or another, continue seeking and moving towards God in your life. If you haven’t done so already, accept Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as a substitute for your sins, your mistakes, and your rebellion, and trust in Him for your salvation.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, intentionally pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn more about God, more about Jesus, and more about what He has done for you and for me. While we can learn from other people, the best place to learn more about God is through the words He has preserved throughout history in the collection of books we call the Bible. Through the Bible, we can learn what God is like, and how much He loves each of us.

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!

As we continue our journey through the gospels, we arrive at a passage Jesus shares with His followers that includes both a warning and a promise. However, while we might be tempted to ignore the promise because the warning appears to be scary, only by taking the warning and the promise together do we come to realize a powerful truth about what Jesus is really promising His followers in this passage.

Many studies and statistics point out that one of the worst fears we face as humans is public speaking. Some studies even go as far as suggesting that public speaking is a greater fear than death. For many years following graduating college, I had a fear of public speaking. While I don’t remember if that fear was greater than death or not, the only way I pushed past this fear in my own life was to face it head on.

However, while I am sometimes tempted to think I pushed past this fear on my own, I suspect that I had help facing this fear through what Jesus shared with His followers in our passage for this episode. While I have not faced a situation exactly like Jesus describes, I believe that I still received a similar level of help.

Our passage for this episode is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 10, and for our time together, let’s read it using the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 16, Jesus challenges His followers by saying:

¹⁶ “Listen! I am sending you out just like sheep to a pack of wolves. You must be as cautious as snakes and as gentle as doves. ¹⁷ Watch out, for there will be those who will arrest you and take you to court, and they will whip you in the synagogues. ¹⁸ For my sake you will be brought to trial before rulers and kings, to tell the Good News to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ When they bring you to trial, do not worry about what you are going to say or how you will say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you will say. ²⁰ For the words you will speak will not be yours; they will come from the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

We’ll stop reading at that point because I really don’t want you to miss what Jesus is saying here. When we are faced with someone accusing us over something we believe, we should not worry about what we will say, or even how we will say it. Jesus promises us that when the time comes, God, through the Holy Spirit, will give us the words to say.

Does this cover every single event? Does this cover every single time where we stand up to declare the truth about Jesus and every time someone challenges us regarding our faith?

It may, but the context in this passage is specifically a courtroom-like trial, when the stakes are high and every word counts. It is interesting, because while we may be tempted to see trials like what Jesus describes as things to be avoided, if we look a little deeper at this passage, verse 18 tells us that the reason we are brought to trial is to share the Good News to the rulers and to those who don’t believe.

Looking back at my experience, I have not been placed on trial for what I believe. However, I have stood up in front of groups of people to share what God has taught me while I’ve studied His Word. I look back and see God’s direct hand in the first sermons I shared, because through the feedback I received, I know God was really the source of these messages, and that I simply happened to be the person He used to speak His truth. God even directed the circumstances of one speaking arrangement to prompt me to share something different than I had originally planned, which ultimately was exactly what someone present needed to hear.

While me sharing my experience might sound like bragging to some, I only share how God moved because I want to emphasize that 100% of any success present was because of God. By human standards, those first sermons were genuine failures. The only reason they had any effect was because of God.

I am always amazed at God’s timing, and how circumstances align on both the presenter’s side as well as on the side of those listening in the audience in order to connect God’s message of truth to someone who needs to hear it. It is humbling to realize and recognize when I am a small part of it.

However, with Jesus’ promise that the Holy Spirit will speak through us, should that erase worry?

For some people, it might. In my own experience, I have a little bit of fear every time I get up to speak, but I push the fear aside with my opening prayer asking God for His help to ultimately share His message. I can confirm what other speakers say that after the first sentence or two, the fear goes away. I can also attest to the truth that the better prepared I am, the easier a message is to share, even when there has never been a time up to this point where my practice giving a sermon matches exactly with the sermon I gave. Every time I’ve spoken, God has directed certain aspects of His message in specific ways to reach specific people who are listening. While I know of some of these times, I suspect that when we all reach heaven, I will learn of significantly more ways than I ever dreamed possible.

However, this leads to a different question: If God, through the Holy Spirit, will give us the words to say, what is the point in practicing, or even preparing anything? Why not get up and let the Holy Spirit adlib a message – sharing only what He prompts you in the moment?

This question and angle of Jesus’ promise is what challenges me the most. I have heard of speakers who get up and share whatever happens to be on their minds that morning, and I have witnessed times that a message appeared to be given this way. Let me tell you that rarely if ever are messages shared like this good. The only exception is one where a significant news event happened and the speaker decides that it is best to redirect his message onto the event that is fresh in everyone’s minds.

However, it is again worth drawing our attention to the context of Jesus’ promise which focuses on more of a trial-like setting. While I believe the Holy Spirit is ready and willing to help in every situation where someone wants to stand up to proclaim the truth about Jesus, I don’t believe that this means that those who have the opportunity to prepare something should not do so. In my own mind, the more prepared I am to share, the easier it will be for me to let the Holy Spirit share in the moment the right words that are needed.

I know first-hand that God uses people in their weakness. God does speak powerfully through people who are not good speakers. I am an example of this – especially when I was first starting out. However, God also challenges us to grow, to move forward, and to step out for Him, which in many cases will include some type of sharing the news of Jesus with others.

Our world today has tried to push God to the sidelines and out of focus. Sometimes this means we will be ridiculed and made fun of, while other times we may be physically hurt. Regardless of what your experience has been, trust that God is in control and that He has a plan for your life that involves you being saved for eternity. With whatever happens in this life, trust that when we stick with God and with Jesus, we will receive eternal life that will outlast this sin-filled world.

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 intentionally keep your connections with God strong and growing.

Always pray and prayerfully study the Bible for yourself in order to build and grow a lasting, strong, and significant relationship with 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 deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Throughout Jesus’ ministry, He gained a lot of popularity from the miracles, from His teachings, and from the counter-intuitive way He developed His ministry. However, at one notable point, Jesus returns to his hometown, and during this visit, we discover a challenge that we all ultimately face as we move through life.

Let’s read what happened during this event from the gospel of Mark, chapter 6, using the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 1, Mark tells us that:

¹ Jesus left that place and went back to his hometown, followed by his disciples. ² On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue. Many people were there; and when they heard him, they were all amazed. “Where did he get all this?” they asked. “What wisdom is this that has been given him? How does he perform miracles? ³ Isn’t he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t his sisters living here?” And so they rejected him.

⁴ Jesus said to them, “Prophets are respected everywhere except in their own hometown and by their relatives and their family.”

⁵ He was not able to perform any miracles there, except that he placed his hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ He was greatly surprised, because the people did not have faith.

Then Jesus went to the villages around there, teaching the people.

The thing I find most fascinating about this event is the reaction of those in the synagogue. They ask each other in verse 2, “Where did he get all this? What wisdom is this that has been given him? How does he perform miracles?” They then continue by framing their knowledge of Him based on what they knew. Verse 3 describes them rhetorically asking themselves, “Isn’t he [Jesus] the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t his sisters living here?”

Those living in Nazareth were amazed at the wisdom, knowledge, and power Jesus had, but they could not move past their knowledge of Jesus’ younger years and the family He grew up in. Even though Mark tells us that the lack of faith of those present kept Jesus from performing many miracles, a few miracles still were performed, and a small number of people were healed as a result.

However, this tiny number of miracles may have been meant to spark interest and inspire more faith. But the faith of those in Nazareth did not grow when witnessing the early healing. Instead, skepticism grew in the place of faith. As a result, these Jews were more interested in discounting Jesus because they knew His teaching didn’t originate with His upbringing, instead of pushing further and discovering the true Source of Jesus’ knowledge, and the Source of His miracle-working power.

It is because of this that Jesus makes the sobering statement in verse 4 that “Prophets are respected everywhere except in their own hometown and by their relatives and their family.” It seems that if something cannot be explained by those closest to us, or if God chooses to use us to do something special, the ones who are closest to us seem to be the least likely to understand and accept it.

I will be the first to say that this should not be the case. In an ideal world, those closest to the people God chooses to use in a special way should be the biggest supporters of the ministry and the testimony of what God is doing. What the Jews in Nazareth faced when Jesus returned is a paradox that many of us will face at some point in our lives.

While Jesus was traveling, teaching, preaching, and healing, word spread far and wide about what was happening, and what this former carpenter was accomplishing. When the rumors made their way back to Nazareth, those present had a challenge on their hands: Do they believe the rumors, even though what they are hearing doesn’t match up with their memory of the carpenter’s apprentice son; or do they accept the rumors and break out of their preconceived stereotypes, believing that God had chosen Jesus to be more than a mere carpenter?

Those in Nazareth had heard of the wonderful miracles, healing, and reputation Jesus had from His ministry in the other parts of Israel. But when those in Nazareth had the opportunity to see these miracles for themselves, they instead rejected the idea that Jesus was special because they had a history with a younger Jesus that was normal in every way they knew.

On this point, I want to pause and point our attention to the implication that if Jesus’ younger years had been filled with miracles, if Jesus had shown any above-average spiritual knowledge, or if Jesus’ growing up life contained even a single thing out of the ordinary, those in Nazareth would probably have been the first to welcome Him back and have faith in Him. In this scenario, Jesus’ younger years would have broken their stereotype for a carpenter’s son.

Instead, their reaction subtly speaks to having only experienced a normal “Jesus” and they missed out on truly seeing the divine “Jesus” when the time for His ministry had begun.

For all of us living today, we face the same challenge when walking with Jesus. It is likely that much of our walk with Him might look normal, feel normal, and/or otherwise not seem special or significant. However, just because we don’t always have a warm, fuzzy feeling of God’s presence doesn’t mean that Jesus isn’t right beside us. Probably the biggest test of our faith is what we choose to do and move forward doing during the times when we don’t have a clear direction or answer from God.

Will we trust God during the times that it seems as though He is silent and distant? Is our faith going to be based on the spiritual peaks of our past, or on the spiritual valleys? Is it possible, or even wise, to place our faith on something that isn’t as subjective as our own experience?

We all must choose a foundation for where we place our faith, and the best place I know of to place our foundation is on the big themes of the Bible. While our feelings change, and while the past high points of our lives fade within our memories, the themes of the Bible are timeless and truth. While skeptics and culture discount certain details within the Bible and try to use these challenges to discredit the whole thing, nothing will be able to topple the themes of the Bible that have lasted for centuries.

For me, this is where I place my faith, because the biggest theme in the Bible is that God loves humanity so much that He gave Himself to pay the punishment for our rebellion, and He offers each of us the gift of a new life with Him. This promise, and this version of history, is where I choose to place my faith.

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

Continue seeking God first in your life. Choose to base your faith on something more solid and lasting then your feelings or your memory.

Grow your faith in God through regular prayer and regularly studying the Bible for yourself, because only through personal prayer and Bible study is your personal relationship with God going to grow into what God wants it to be.

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!

As we continue our chronological walk through the gospels looking at Jesus’ life and ministry, we come upon an event where it would be very easy for one of the individuals present to lose hope and faith in Jesus.

While the details of this gospel are not clear on if Jesus could have arrived in time had He not been distracted, because Jesus was distracted with an unexpected healing, we discover that the girl Jesus was headed to heal ultimately dies.

I suspect many of us who are familiar with the gospels know which event I am referring to. However, instead of jumping to the end of this event, let’s take a few minutes to focus on what happens leading up to the even-more-amazing-than-anyone-expected-it-to-be miracle that Jesus ultimately did.

If we look at the details leading up to the miracle, there are more than enough reasons for anyone faced with a similar situation to lose hope and faith in Jesus. However, with all these reasons for giving up hope, there are also hints within this passage that prompt us to keep our hope alive.

Let’s read what happened. Our passage for this episode is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 5, and we will read it using the New Living Translation. Immediately following an unexpected healing, verse 35 tells us that:

³⁵ While he [referring to Jesus] was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.”

³⁶ But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”

³⁷ Then Jesus stopped the crowd and wouldn’t let anyone go with him except Peter, James, and John (the brother of James). ³⁸ When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw much commotion and weeping and wailing. ³⁹ He went inside and asked, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.”

⁴⁰ The crowd laughed at him. But he made them all leave, and he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. ⁴¹ Holding her hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means “Little girl, get up!” ⁴² And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! They were overwhelmed and totally amazed. ⁴³ Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what had happened, and then he told them to give her something to eat.

Before this passage took place, Jesus had simply been a Healer – or an exceptional doctor – but after this passage, His reputation shifts into being a “life-giver”. The crowd, the messengers, and the mourners had all given up hope. “Don’t bother the Teacher anymore,” they said. Everyone, except Jesus, understood that returning someone’s life is different than simply returning someone’s health. They all believed that Jesus could return health, but returning life was completely different.

Jairus faces the tension in this passage: give up hope, or continue to have faith in Jesus. Mark tells us that Jesus stopped the crowd and told them (in addition to all but three of His disciples) to not go with Him the rest of the way to the house. It would seem that the pessimism in the crowd was spreading like a virus, and the last person Jesus wanted it to infect was Jairus, the father who Jesus wanted to help.

By stopping the crowd and only continuing with the select few individuals, Jesus stops the sea of pessimism and shifts it to one of curiosity and back in the direction of hope and faith.

However, the crowd of mourners at the house, like in the earlier crowd, had let death conquer their hope. Even Jesus, when He tried to shift their perspective, was laughed at. Death in their minds was nothing like sleep. These mourners understood that we wake up from sleep; we don’t wake up from death.

But Jesus would not be distracted. Taking the three disciples and the girl’s parents into the room, He proves all the naysayers wrong by giving life back to the dead girl.

In this event, Jesus proves that death really is just like sleep: at one point we lose consciousness, and at another point – when Jesus calls to us, we regain consciousness and “wake up”. Almost every spiritual truth has been illustrated by a physical parallel, and in this event, Jesus teaches us that physical sleep is our parallel to death.

But death is different than sleep. When we die, we cannot wake ourselves back up. After death, our bodies decay. Death in many ways is the absence of life, and our body’s internal systems cease to function or even exist. A loud sound can wake us up from sleep, but from death, no such noise can break its hold. Give our bodies just a little time to decay and we would not even have ears to hear that noise. When logically comparing death and sleep, death appears to be significantly different than sleep.

You may be scared of death. I can relate. There have been times in my life when the concept of dying is scary. But the truth I always come back to is Jesus – specifically the truth about who He is. Jesus is a “life-giver” and when given the opportunity, He gives life.

So with all this said, why would Jesus tell the crowd that this girl is not dead? Verse 39 records Jesus’ words as, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” There had to have been other doctors around who could have taken a pulse and determined when the heart actually stopped beating. With no heartbeat and no breath, the girl’s life had left her. Doctors at the time would have easily been able to call this, and they would have done so prior to Jairus meeting Jesus, since messengers come and find them before they reach the crowd that is headed to the house. The messengers bring the message that the girl had died, and there was no reason to think anything different.

That is, until Jesus pushed the crowd to think differently, until Jesus pushed Jairus to not lose hope, and until Jesus proved His point by demonstrating that we have reason for hope after death. This twelve year-old girl was given a second chance for life, and her new life had a purpose. From that point forward, her life was no accident – it had been given and returned especially to her for a purpose. Jesus would always hold a significant place in her heart.

Jesus is the “Life-giver”, and when given the opportunity to give life, He does so. We might not experience the miracle of having our lives restored in the same way that this girl experienced, but Jesus does promise to restore our lives at the end of history when He returns.

This passage and miracle help give us hope that death is not the end. The life Jesus gives is stronger than death. This means that if we ever face sleep-death like this girl did, we know that Jesus will be the first face we see when He wakes us up, and following Jesus waking us up, nothing resembling death will ever be able to take His life from us!

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. Purposefully place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Him to keep you safe throughout history, and believe that the first face you see following any prolonged “sleep” that your future holds will be Jesus.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow closer to Jesus today. The closer you are to Jesus in this life, the more excited you will be for Jesus to return.

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!