Reflective Bible Study

As we continue looking at the Christmas story, tucked within this event is a unique name given to Jesus. When we look at all the gospels, there is only one time where Jesus is given this name, and in many ways, this name summarizes His entire mission on earth. This name helps to explain Jesus’ teaching, preaching, challenging the religious leaders, and everything we read about His life leading up to and including the cross. Also, it is interesting to realize that this name wasn’t given to Jesus by someone present, but instead by an ancient Jewish prophet.

Matthew’s gospel is the only gospel that tells us about this event and this name, and it is one of the first things Matthew shares after sharing Jesus’ family tree that had been traced back to Abraham.

Our passage for this episode is found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 1, and we will read it from the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 18, Matthew tells us:

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. ²⁰ But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” ²² Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ²³ “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” ²⁴ And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, ²⁵ but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

Did you catch the name that was given to Jesus?

In verse 23, Matthew tells us by reminding us of this prophecy: “‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’”

One thing I find amazing about this prophecy is where it originated. While the cross-reference notes in my Bible say that this prophecy was given through Isaiah, and it can be found in the book of Isaiah, chapter 7, verse 14, when we step back a little further and look at this truth, the prophecy did not originate with Isaiah, but with God. In other words, God gave Isaiah the name Immanuel for Jesus.

This is profound because it basically says that God is not interested in remaining distant from us, or letting us die in our rebellion. Through the prophet Isaiah, God draws our attention to a name that summarizes Jesus’ life as simply “God with us”.

The name Immanuel is a filter for Jesus’ life. Using it, we can get the answer for the somewhat rhetorical question about what would God be like if He lived with us. If God stepped off His throne in heaven, and He came to earth, have you ever wondered or speculated about what He would be like?

Prior to Jesus, there was a lot of speculation, but in all of Israelite history, all they could do is look back at the stories of their ancestors, and then draw conclusions. They could look back at what Moses had written about Adam and Eve, about Enoch, about Noah, about Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, or even about Joseph. Unfortunately, even with all the records of these famous men who lived in the first pieces of history, many of the conclusions that the Jewish leaders came to were flawed and over time, the conclusions began painting God in a negative light.

When Jesus came, He came to represent God completely. Like an ambassador sent from heaven, Jesus would live completely in line with the Father’s character, the Father’s will, and Jesus would share the Father’s message with us. When we look at Jesus’ life, we are able to see an accurate representation of the Father.

But the truth behind this name is not simply reserved for those living in first century Judea. When God inspired Isaiah to write the name Immanuel for Jesus, God shared His character with us, and it was through the meaning of this name.

Immanuel means “God with us” as Matthew explains. While there was a point in history where Jesus was walking on earth with the disciples, this is only a small part of the huge truth that God wants to be with us. While Jesus was present on earth, all spiritual power was focused on pointing people to Him, but before He came and after He returned to heaven, the Holy Spirit fills the role of being Immanuel, or in other words “God with us”.

While we live over 2,000 years after this prophecy was given, God’s character has not changed. He still wants to be known as the God who is with us. Jesus repaired the gap that sin caused and it opened us up to the opportunity of having a brand new life with God living inside of us. This is accomplished by surrendering to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, by obeying the truth given in God’s word, and by living a life that is continually filled with prayer.

God wants to live with you and with me, but He will not force it. God values your freedom to choose over his desire to save you. This means that each and every day, we have the freedom to place God first, or let something, or someone, else take precedence. Only when we dedicate our lives to God and continually place Him first will we be living the life He created us to live.

What would your life look like if it was 100% dependant on – and focused on – God?

I cannot answer this question for you, except to say that it would be both challenging and exhilarating; it would mean giving up on some things that you may have enjoyed in the past, but it would also mean that with these other things gone, you would be free to receive so much more.

The promise Matthew reminds us of that God gave through the prophet Isaiah is that God is with us – but it is up to us to accept Him into our lives. God wants to live with us, but He won’t force it. None of Jesus’ disciples were forced to be with Him, and this tells us God values our freedom as well.

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

If you have not chosen to live 100% dependant on, and focused on, God yet, pray for God’s leading, guidance, and courage to make the leap. Start by increasing the amount of time you pray and the length of time you read and study your Bible. These are the best ways of growing closer to God and letting Him into your life.

Also, keep praying and studying the Bible for yourself. While it is easy to find Bible Studies on an assortment of topics, from a variety of theological backgrounds, the challenge to study the Bible for yourself means cutting out the other study materials and simply focusing on you, your Bible, and on the Holy Spirit’s leading.

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

As we move further into our first year chronologically moving through the gospels, we come to a powerful event that contrasts a huge truth that we all face at one point or another. Similar to our last episode, this truth has a lot to do with faith and doubt.

It might be because of my personality, or an unhealthy level of skepticism, but I find myself often doubting the truth of something I read or hear more than simply accepting it. The broad context of our passage for this episode centers around Mary learning about Elizabeth’s pregnancy, and traveling to see her.

Leading up to this point, Luke has described how Zechariah doubted the angel and was struck mute for his lack of belief, and shortly afterwards, Mary is visited by the same angel and believes the angel’s promise to her.

Our passage for this episode is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 1, and we will read it using the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 39, Luke tells us that:

³⁹ Soon afterward, Mary hurried to a city in the mountain region of Judah. ⁴⁰ She entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.

⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard the greeting, she felt the baby kick. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² She said in a loud voice, “You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the child that you will have. ⁴³ I feel blessed that the mother of my Lord is visiting me. ⁴⁴ As soon as I heard your greeting, I felt the baby jump for joy. ⁴⁵ You are blessed for believing that the Lord would keep his promise to you.”

Let’s stop reading here. While we could continue reading and focus on things we can discover in Mary’s song of praise, what Elizabeth just finished saying is too important to skip over. In this passage, Elizabeth finishes in verse 45 by telling Mary: “You are blessed for believing that the Lord would keep his promise to you.”

These are Elizabeth’s words to Mary.

In this short phrase, we see a glimpse into the contrast between these two women and their respective husbands (in Mary’s case, husband-to-be).

With how Elizabeth phrases this statement, she is both commending Mary for her faith, and admitting the doubt that Zechariah (and she) had when being given the message. She was currently living with a mute husband because of his doubt, and had it not been for the significant shift in his speech ability, she probably would have doubted too.

Mary, on the other hand is commended for her faith. Looking back at the angel’s visit, Mary does ask a question, but it seems to be a clarifying one rather than one of doubt. Mary asked, “How will this happen since I am a virgin?” This question does not speak to doubt, but to what her next steps should be.

Elizabeth is living with a mute husband because of doubt, and Mary experiences something impossible to believe and/or describe because of her faith. Elizabeth tells Mary, “You are blessed for believing that the Lord would keep his promise to you.”

In that same regard, you and I are blessed when we believe that God keeps His promises to each of us.

For some, it may feel as though God has long since forgotten you, much less remembered about a single or specific promise that you see given in the Bible. If this is you, I hope you remember that when God is silent, this does not mean that He is absent. It might mean that the timing is not right, that you are not ready to receive the promise, or maybe something else.

I won’t claim to speak for God, but I know without any doubt that He knows who you are, and that He loves you.

For others, it may feel as though God might hate you, because a prayer you prayed did not come back the way you asked. I don’t know why God answers some prayers and not others, but I do know that His perspective is different from ours, and that sometimes He wants to walk with us through the pain rather than take the pain away.

It is my belief that God sees every possible future available that could result from every decision that is made, and He knows the path that leads to the best outcome in the end. This is the best outcome from His perspective, the perspective that looks at life from the framework of eternity, and the perspective that does not want even one person to be lost. Sometimes this means pain and/or seemingly unanswered prayers, but even when God appears to be silent or ignorant of your request, He still is there, and He wants to walk beside you through life rather than fix every problem or smooth every bump in the road.

For others, it might feel that God is close and that He is your best friend. If so, cherish the moments you spend with God and feel His presence. The caution I have is to not let your focus shift to being about “feeling” His presence. God is present whether or not we “feel” His Spirit near us. The temptation for those who emphasize the times when they feel God with them is to doubt God when they don’t feel His presence.

Don’t let that be you. God is present whether we feel Him and/or His Spirit or whether we don’t.

In every case, renew your trust and your confidence in God’s promises, remember that His Word never fails, and never forget that He cares about the wellbeing of all His creation. God looks at life from a different perspective than we do, and this perspective says, “I want to spend eternity with you.”

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. Even when it feels like God is silent, remember that does not mean that He is absent. Remember that God has given us promises for a reason, and that reason is to help build our faith in Him.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to discover who God is and what His promises are. While some people rely on other people to give them knowledge of the Bible, choose instead to study the Bible for yourself and grow personally closer to God each and every day. God wants a personal relationship with you, and a personal relationship is best built on the foundation of regular prayer and Bible study.

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!

As we start into another year of moving through Jesus’ life, it feels a little strange looking at passages many of us probably have heard or read as recently as last month during the Christmas season. However, while these portions of the gospels seem to be reserved for reading during the month of December, the beginning of Jesus’ story on earth has much more to teach us than simply the fact that He was born.

But before touching on Jesus’ own birth story, the gospel of Luke describes another significant birth, and it is in this event that we can see some powerful insights that are relevant for everyone living today, regardless of the time of year we are in.

The event we are focusing on in this episode can be found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 1, and we will read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 5, Luke tells us that:

⁵ In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. ⁶ Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. ⁷ But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

I want to pause briefly because what Luke tells us about Zechariah and Elizabeth is incredibly profound. Luke tells us that this priest and his wife were righteous in God’s eyes, and at least part of the reason for this is that they observed all of God’s commandments and decrees blamelessly. While this doesn’t mean they had never sinned, it does mean they were living right within the path God would have them live.

However, being close with God and right within His will didn’t bring an answer to a specific prayer that they both likely would have had. For years, this couple probably prayed to God asking for a child, asking for Elizabeth to be healed and to be able to conceive, and it appears at this point in their lives that God has said “no” to their request.

But the biggest idea I want to draw our attention to about this couple is that even when it felt like God was saying “no”, both husband and wife remained faithful, obedient, and trusting that God knew best. While they didn’t know that the “no” answer was really a “not yet” response, when God sends an angel to finally answer this prayer, it seems unbelievable.

Picking back up in verse 8, let’s continue and learn what happened when God sent an answer to this prayer:

⁸ Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, ⁹ he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. ¹³ But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. ¹⁴ He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. ¹⁶ He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸ Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

¹⁹ The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰ And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

When receiving this message from an angel, Zechariah’s first response was asking for some sort of sign or guarantee that it would happen. While it is easy for us to be critical of Zechariah’s response and lack of faith, we too can fall into the similar trap of giving up on God when it seems as though our prayers are not answered. Too often, we don’t hold onto God long enough to see the answer to our prayer.

In Zechariah’s case, Gabriel the angel actually gives him a clear sign. We might look at being silent and unable to speak as a punishment for Zechariah’s response, but in reality, this sign was well within the realm of what Zechariah requested. Zechariah wanted some proof that the angel’s promise would come true, and the sign he received would go forward with him until John’s birth.

However, in my own mind, I see this sign being something for more than just Zechariah and Elizabeth. Throughout Jerusalem, the story would spread about the priest who saw an angel and was struck mute. This would shine the spotlight on John’s birth, and give those living in that generation the message that John’s life and ministry would be significant in God’s plan.

Looking at this event from a different angle, when I read about what happened, this event points out that the first person God breaks the silence towards is a priest who has faithfully obeyed Him and who has a prayer that needs to be answered. From between the close of the Old Testament and the start of the New Testament, there was about 400 years where God seemed silent.

While during that time, God was not absent in the lives of His people, and during these 400 years of silence, prayers were being answered, during the time between the two Testaments, no messengers or prophets came from God, and as far as I know, no angels visited with messages from God either. This means that the priests would be the first to officially learn that God was opening up communication with His people, and that He was about to step into history in a big way. It’s too bad that most of the priests missed seeing the significance of what was about to happen within the next few decades.

As we come to the close of our first podcast of the new year, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

If it feels like God is silent or ignoring your prayers, don’t give up on Him. Instead, choose to be like Zechariah and Elizabeth and press forward in obedience. While we don’t always know why God answers or doesn’t answer prayers, this shouldn’t stop us from trusting that He knows something we don’t. Perhaps our prayers are like Zechariah and Elizabeth’s prayer and God is waiting for the right time to send us an answer.

Also, intentionally pray and study the Bible for yourself. Don’t assume that just listening to a podcast or attending church is enough for your relationship with God. God wants to teach us so much more than we could ever learn in a public or podcast setting, and it begins by setting aside time for personal prayer and bible study.

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 wondered whether the gospel accounts are accurate or if the story of Jesus has been exaggerated as time progressed, then you might be fascinated to discover how Luke opens his gospel.

While many of us might face questions or doubts about Jesus at some point in our lives, how we wrestle through our doubts ultimately decides the direction we will conclude regarding the events shared in the gospels.

One possible conclusion we can reach is to scrap the whole idea of Jesus, or perhaps to heavily discount it into being more legend than reality.

Another conclusion we could reach is to dismiss our doubts and our questions as irrelevant, and simply blaze forward with blind faith. Some people understand faith and doubt to be connected, and that means that faith requires the option, or presence, of doubt. If there is no option or presence of doubt, it must be fact, and facts don’t require faith.

A third conclusion we could arrive at is actually wrestling through the questions and the doubts. Most questions do have answers, and instead of ignoring or dismissing our doubts, we face them head on and use them as opportunities to grow our faith. Many people who walk down this path see doubts as opportunities for growth, and not as things we should be worried by or concerned with.

At some point, everyone who has been presented with Jesus and the gospels has had to face the question: “What do I do with what the biblical gospels say about Jesus?” And many people have set up camps among these three very different conclusions.

This question about what to do with what the Bible tells us about Jesus is not a new question. This question has challenged people for over two thousand years. From the moment Jesus was in the temple asking questions, I suspect He was feeling out the state of the Jewish religion and the first century culture about their receptivity towards the Messiah.

As we move through the gospels over the next few years, discover how this question is present in almost every encounter Jesus has with someone, and it is a question that all four gospel writers face head on.

What do we do with Jesus?

If you are wondering about who Jesus is and/or what He did while on earth, then you may want to pay attention to how Luke, one of the members of the early church, introduces us to his account of Jesus’ life. In this introduction, we find many things that we can learn about both the early church, and about what people thought about Jesus shortly after He returned to heaven.

Our passage is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 1, and we will read it using the New Century Version. Starting in verse 1, Luke opens his gospel by saying:

¹ Many have tried to report on the things that happened among us. ² They have written the same things that we learned from others—the people who saw those things from the beginning and served God by telling people his message. ³ Since I myself have studied everything carefully from the beginning, most excellent Theophilus, it seemed good for me to write it out for you. I arranged it in order, ⁴ to help you know that what you have been taught is true.

The first thing that really stands out to me as I read this introduction, is that it is written with more of an editorial, researcher focus, rather than from a “theological” angle.

This is important, because as someone reads through Luke’s account of Jesus’ life, Luke is not interested in creating any theology. Instead, he is more interested in simply clearing up confusion over who Jesus was and what He did.

Why might there be confusion?

If you read any of the gospel writers, or even look at your circle of friends and/or colleagues, you can see that it is very easy for rumors to start, and then grow. Like the childhood game of “telephone” where a line of children whisper a message into the next child’s ear only to realize that the message has been horribly distorted at the end of the line, this same thing was happening following Jesus’ return to heaven – rumors were circulating and growing, and it was beginning to be hard to tell the fact from the fiction.

Note that this was happening not hundreds of years later, but just decades – while eyewitnesses were still alive.

It would appear that the recipient of Luke’s narrative, Theophilus, may have commissioned Luke to sort out the details, or he may have known about Luke’s project, and simply requested a letter summarizing his findings.

Either way, we can see in these short four verses that Luke’s focus is to clear out the clutter, and to write an accurate, historical version of Jesus’ life – using eyewitness accounts as his source.

This is very important to us today because when we read the rest of Luke’s account of Jesus’ life, he is not trying to make theology – instead he is trying to support it by researching the truth about Jesus.

If we look a little closer at verse four, we see Luke’s number one goal, which is: “to help you know that what you have been taught is true”

Luke wants to support the truth that has been taught about Jesus, and clear up the confusion regarding His life, His focus, and His mission.

So where does that leave us today?

What else can we learn from Luke’s method of writing out his gospel?

Verses 1-3 tells us that even though other people had written about Jesus prior to this point, Luke still made it a priority to study Jesus’ life and to write out his findings. Just like many of the other previous writers, Luke heads to the eyewitnesses who were still alive and pieces all the details together.

While it is good to learn from what someone else has studied and discovered, it is also vital that we learn as much as we can from as close to the source as possible. In the case of Jesus’ life and His ministry, the closest source we have is reading the gospels. When reading the gospels, in order to gain the greatest benefit, we should humble ourselves and prayerfully ask God for the Holy Spirit to help guide our study towards His truth.

While it is easy for us to drift towards reading spiritual things other than the Bible, such as devotionals or commentaries, let’s not let our connection to the Source be pushed aside. Devotionals, commentaries, verses of the day, or other things like this are useful for helping to reinforce Bible truths, but in order to stay strongly grounded on God’s truth in the Bible, never let these non-biblical writings, no matter how spiritual they may be, take the place of prayerfully studying the Bible for yourself.

God wants a personal relationship with you, and this relationship comes from leaning into God and His Word, trusting in His promises, and looking to Jesus for our salvation!

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 choose to trust that He has protected His word throughout His Story of history.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow your personal relationship with God. Through a personal relationship with God that is built on prayer and Bible study, you can know God and He will confirm the truth of His word in your life.

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