Reflective Bible Study

When we look at the illustrations Jesus shared with those in the crowds that followed Him, we discover that Jesus regularly challenged people through His parables in exactly the way they needed to be challenged. Only in some occasions do we actually read how those Jesus spoke to responded to these challenges.

In our passage and parable for this episode, Luke describes exactly who Jesus spoke this message to before sharing the parable, and Jesus’ concluding words give the big theme that is just as significant for our lives today as it was for those living in the first century.

Our passage and parable are found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 18, and we will read from the New International Version. Starting in verse 9, Luke writes:

⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

In this passage, Luke makes it clear exactly who Jesus was talking to with how he sets up Jesus’ parable. Luke describes those Jesus was speaking to as “some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else”. This statement describes something that is blatantly obvious in other people, but almost impossible to see in the mirror. It is easy to see the arrogance in others and almost impossible to see it in ourselves.

Jesus’ parable in our passage describes two of the most opposite people imaginable in first century culture. About the only similarities present between these two people is that they were both men and that they were both in the temple praying. After these two details, almost everything else is different about them. It is interesting to note that the Pharisee’s prayer does not focus on anything the Pharisee needs help with, but the tax collector’s prayer only includes the request for help.

Each man’s prayer is significant in its own right. While I don’t think that giving thanks to God is wrong in prayer, or that prayers need to always include more things than simply requests for help, I see the biggest difference in these prayers in the attitudes that each man had towards God. The Pharisee’s attitude towards God was one expecting admiration. In contrast, the tax collector’s attitude towards God was one hoping for mercy. The Pharisee elevated himself by comparing himself to others worse than he was, while the tax collector simply acknowledges his sinful state while requesting help.

Both men in Jesus’ example were sinners, but only one recognized his sin and his need for help.

This leads into Jesus’ big concluding theme that the tax collector “went home justified before God”. While those in the culture wouldn’t have faulted either of these men for their prayer or their attitude towards God, Jesus challenges the cultural norms in that society by saying that the self-righteous, self-exalted man did not receive what he had hoped.

Actually, the Pharisee in Jesus’ illustration had no need of prayer. There was no request for help and there wasn’t anything shared that God would not have already known. The Pharisee’s prayer wasn’t aimed at opening his heart to God but instead it was aimed at reminding God of how good he was.

After sharing that it was the tax collector who was justified, Jesus tells us why. Jesus tells us in the last portion of verse 14 that: “all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

The big truth we would be wise to remember is that exalting ourselves before God will never result in God’s favor being poured down onto us. If we come before God like the Pharisee came to God, and we spend all our time sharing with God our list of accomplishments and the things we do well, we are basically telling God that we don’t need Him. Looking at the Pharisee’s prayer, the Pharisee had no need of God. The Pharisee was stuck, trapped in a works-based theology that is the opposite of true Christianity.

Most belief systems set standards that we must reach in order to be saved. True Christianity teaches that God’s standard is so high that there is nothing we can do to actually reach His standard, but that God sent Jesus to stand in our place and to reach that standard for us.

Our response in Christianity says that we obey Christ because we are thankful for what He has done for us. Obedience in true Christianity doesn’t mean we are working to gain our salvation, but that we live for God as our way of saying “thank you” to God for the gift we do not deserve. God has asked us to obey because God knows obedience leads to life, love, and peace.

Satan is the one who teaches that obedience neglects the gospel message and that anything in our lives that resembles obedience falls into a works-based religion. Jesus teaches that obedience to God’s truth, when understood in light of His sacrifice for us on the cross, is what sets us free.

When we come before God in prayer, we would be better served by modeling the tax collector’s attitude. The tax collector recognized that he is a sinner who needed a Savior, and the tax collector asked God for mercy. The tax collector humbled himself before God and Jesus tells us that God accepted his prayer.

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

As always, intentionally seek God first in your life. When you pray, be sure you intentionally humble yourself, that you glorify God, and that you seek His will for your life. I doubt God would ever reject a prayer acknowledging our need and desire for a Savior to help us with our sins.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. While pastors, speakers, authors, or even podcasters can give you ideas to think about, be sure to filter everything you learn through the pages of God’s Word and let His Holy Spirit guide you into the truth He wants you to learn and know.

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

After John describes Jesus’ teaching and prayer on the night before Jesus’ crucifixion, He shifts focus onto Judas coming with the mob to betray Jesus. However, while John includes a detail that most, if not all, of the other gospel writers include, John also includes an amazing detail that is unique to his gospel account of this event. Through these two details, we discover something powerful about Jesus, and how facing the cross was His choice.

Our passage for this episode is found in John’s gospel, chapter 18, and we will read it using the New Living Translation. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹ After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. ² Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples.

³ The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.

⁴ Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked.

⁵ “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied.

“I am he,” Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) ⁶ As Jesus said “I am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! ⁷ Once more he asked them, “Who are you looking for?”

And again they replied, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

⁸ “I told you that I am he,” Jesus said. “And since I am the one you want, let these others go.” ⁹ He did this to fulfill his own statement: “I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.”

¹⁰ Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. ¹¹ But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?”

In this event, while the other three gospel writers include the detail about someone slashing off the ear of the high priest’s slave, John gives both the name of the slave and the name of the disciple who did the slashing. Part of me wonders if following this event, this slave joins the early church, because Luke’s gospel includes the detail about Jesus healing his ear, and John knows this slave’s name.

However, while this last detail is powerful, what John describes happened earlier is even more amazing. Several of the other gospels describe Judas Iscariot taking the lead and greeting Jesus with a kiss to let the mob know which one was Jesus. However, John’s gospel prompts us with the powerful truth that Jesus steps forward willingly to meet the mob.

Not only does Jesus step forward, but He also takes the lead, perhaps even before Judas Iscariot can come forward. Jesus asks the mob directly who they are looking for, and after the mob has responded, Jesus replies that He is the One they were looking for. Verses 5 and 6 describe Jesus’ response and what happened by saying, “‘I am he,’ Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) 6 As Jesus said ‘I am he,’ they all drew back and fell to the ground!”

While Jesus then repeats His question and they reply, I am amazed by John’s detail that one short but powerful declaration from Jesus knocks the entire mob to the ground. While Jesus may have momentarily let His divinity shine through His humanity at that moment, the detail that the mob was knocked off their feet is not as amazing as the conclusion we can draw from this detail.

Through one simple declaration, Jesus knocked the mob off their feet, which one might think would be enough to wake up this mob that arresting Jesus might be futile. However, they are unconvinced, and follow through with their plans for arrest.

While this might appear like a success on the part of the mob, this entire event was clearly within Jesus’ control. If Jesus could knock the mob down with a simple three-word declaration, nothing the mob could do would overpower Jesus if He was unwilling to surrender. The voice that calmed the storm, that cast out demons, and that taught God’s love was able to knock down this band of hired enemies, but it wasn’t enough to break through the mob’s hard hearts.

Jesus was fully capable of stopping the mob, but He chose not to. When seeing that Jesus could but wouldn’t defend Himself, Peter jumps up to defend Jesus. While Peter’s actions may have been prompted in part by Jesus’ earlier challenge to Peter about denying Him, and Peter assuring Jesus that he would be willing to die for Him, I suspect that this defense also prompted Peter to stand out in the minds’ of those in the mob. This is relevant because many of those in the courtyard we will look at in our next episode likely were also in the mob that arrested Jesus. 

Peter in this passage displays a similar belief as Judas Iscariot, even though both men were very different. It is likely that both Peter and Judas Iscariot believed that Jesus was the Messiah, and it is also likely that both Peter and Judas Iscariot believed the Messiah would last forever.

Where these two disciples differed the most was Judas likely believed Jesus would not let Himself be arrested, or at least condemned, while Peter understood that Jesus likely would be crucified because of this. Neither one of these disciples understood the resurrection Jesus had repeatedly predicted; and neither one of these disciples believed Jesus would return from the dead to then last forever. Both men did not understand the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah’s sacrifice, because that culture had discounted or ignored all passages suggesting a suffering Messiah.

However, the huge conclusion we find in this event is again shared when Jesus challenges Peter about defending Jesus with violence. Our passage concludes with Jesus’ words in verse 11, “Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?”

Jesus willingly chose the cross for you and for me, and because of this, we are able to see God’s love for us. Jesus was not forced to face the cross, but He was willing to face suffering, pain, ridicule, and death in order to show us God’s love and just how far God would go to redeem humanity.

Jesus loves each of us more than we can even imagine, and God’s love for us led Jesus to face the worst, most painful, and most humiliating death imaginable. The sin in our lives and our past deserves this death, but Jesus was willing to pay for our debt in order to show us God’s love for us and to give us a way to be saved and redeemed for eternity.

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 accept the gift Jesus offers to us through the death He chose. Everything in our passage pointed to Jesus willingly choosing to be arrested, and as we move through this event, we’ll see more examples of Jesus humbly following the path towards death when He clearly did not deserve death and could have easily given up.

With that said, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself in order to grow closer to God each and every day. Through prayer and study, we can grow a personal relationship with God, and through a personal relationship with God, discover for yourself just how much God loves you and me!

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 walk through the parables of Jesus, we come to a parable that doesn’t make a lot of sense on the surface, but this is because we may easily miss Jesus’ key opening statement that frames the purpose of this parable, and with this frame in mind, we are better able to trust God with the details.

Our parable and passage are found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 18, and we will read from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, Luke tells us:

¹ Then Jesus used this story to teach his followers that they should always pray and never lose hope. ² “In a certain town there was a judge who did not respect God or care about people. ³ In that same town there was a widow who kept coming to this judge, saying, ‘Give me my rights against my enemy.’ ⁴ For a while the judge refused to help her. But afterwards, he thought to himself, ‘Even though I don’t respect God or care about people, ⁵ I will see that she gets her rights. Otherwise she will continue to bother me until I am worn out.’”

⁶ The Lord said, “Listen to what the unfair judge said. ⁷ God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them. ⁸ I tell you, God will help his people quickly. But when the Son of Man comes again, will he find those on earth who believe in him?”

As we read this passage just now, three parts of this passage stood out in my mind.

The first part of our passage that stood out as we read it is how Jesus frames this illustration in the first verse. Luke tells us in verse 1 that “Jesus used this story to teach his followers that they should always pray and never lose hope.” While the details in this parable can lead us to many different conclusions, we must not forget the framing that we have here, because any conclusion we have from this parable must amplify the value of persistent prayer and keeping our hope alive.

The way I understand this framing is that we should pray about anything and everything that is on our minds and trust God that He will take care of it. In some cases, if we do not see an answer or resolution right away, we should not lose hope. Instead, we should have faith and trust in God that He knows what the best timing is for answering our prayer. While we might think now is the best time for our prayers to be answered, God understands the implications of every possible way He could answer our prayer and His goal for us is eternity with Him in heaven for as many people as possible.

The second part of our passage that stood out in my mind is an interesting parallel in the thoughts of the judge. In verses 4 and 5, the judge thinks, “Even though I don’t respect God or care about people, I will see that she gets her rights. Otherwise she will continue to bother me until I am worn out.” As I read this statement, the thought entered my mind that this idea subtly parallels God’s Holy Spirit working on peoples’ hearts and minds. When we pray for someone, the Holy Spirit begins working on their hearts and lives and also on our hearts and on our lives. In an interesting twist, when we persist in our prayers and let the Holy Spirit work in the lives of those we care about, He is much more effective than if we were to try to help guide them in any other way.

In this illustration, through the unjust judge’s words, we discover a parallel in how the Holy Spirit works in peoples’ lives, and we discover how the Holy Spirit is one of the most effective ways of drawing people to God.

The third part of this passage that stood out as we read it is the two statements in the last verse. The first of these statements counters the unjust judge’s attitude. Jesus tells us in this statement that “God will help his people quickly.” When we pray, God is more than willing to give us an answer right away. However, the answer might not be the one we want or the one we expect. While we would love a fast “yes” answer for every prayer we pray, sometimes the fast answer we receive is a “no”, a “not yet”, or a “no, but here is something better instead”.

These four possible answers are the big ways God answers prayers, and Jesus tells us in this passage that God will not be slow to answer our prayers and He will be quick to help His people. God promises to help His people quickly, but I don’t believe God will help us in any way that would ultimately result in our choosing to leave Him and forfeiting our salvation. I also don’t believe God is interested in making our lives in sin so comfortable that we would prefer this life to the one He has promised us in the New Heaven and New earth.

The very last phrase in our passage is both fascinating and challenging in my mind. Jesus looks forward to the time of His return and asks the almost rhetorical question, “When the Son of Man comes again, will he find those on earth who believe in him?”

This question is fascinating, and for some of my life, I thought this was a ridiculous question to ask, especially because when Jesus returns, He is returning for His people. While many of God’s people will be resurrected at that time, the Bible talks about people being caught up in the clouds to meet Jesus who have not faced death. Everyone who is saved when Jesus returns, both dead and alive, will be saved because they placed their hope, faith, and belief in Jesus.

However, as I see the culture declining, and Christians focusing more time on things other than Jesus, I begin to see Jesus’ words here as a challenge for all of His followers to keep their faith in Him strong. In this passage and this unique parable, Jesus emphasizes the importance of persistent prayer, unwavering hope, and unyielding belief in Him. In many ways, these characteristics help define who God’s people are, and these characteristics help us grow a solid relationship with God as we prepare for eternity!

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, continue to seek God first in your life and to keep your belief in Him strong. Accept Jesus’ challenge in this passage to be persistent in your prayers and to never lose hope. Intentionally trust God with answering your prayers in His timing, and know that when God tells you to wait, it is because He knows something we don’t know in the big picture of eternity.

Also, keep praying and studying the Bible for yourself to grow closer to God each and every day. Growing a strong relationship with God here on this earth simply prepares us for a strong relationship with God throughout eternity, and a strong relationship with God is the only way we will face the challenges of this life without letting our faith be shaken.

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!

On the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, while traveling to the Garden with His remaining disciples, John’s gospel records a powerful prayer Jesus shared and it may surprise you to learn exactly what Jesus prayed for in this prayer. While we might wish for Jesus to have changed certain parts of His prayer, I know that because Jesus prayed the way He did gives us answers to how God may be moving in the world today, even if we would rather He move differently.

This powerful prayer comes immediately following Jesus teaching these disciples and promising them that He would send them the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and teach them.

Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 17, and we will read it using the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹ After Jesus had finished speaking to his disciples, he looked up toward heaven and prayed:

Father, the time has come for you to bring glory to your Son, in order that he may bring glory to you. ² And you gave him power over all people, so that he would give eternal life to everyone you give him. ³ Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent. ⁴ I have brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you gave me to do. ⁵ Now, Father, give me back the glory that I had with you before the world was created.

⁶ You have given me some followers from this world, and I have shown them what you are like. They were yours, but you gave them to me, and they have obeyed you. ⁷ They know that you gave me everything I have. ⁸ I told my followers what you told me, and they accepted it. They know that I came from you, and they believe that you are the one who sent me. ⁹ I am praying for them, but not for those who belong to this world. My followers belong to you, and I am praying for them. ¹⁰ All that I have is yours, and all that you have is mine, and they will bring glory to me.

¹¹ Holy Father, I am no longer in the world. I am coming to you, but my followers are still in the world. So keep them safe by the power of the name that you have given me. Then they will be one with each other, just as you and I are one. ¹² While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost, except the one who had to be lost. This happened so that what the Scriptures say would come true.

¹³ I am on my way to you. But I say these things while I am still in the world, so that my followers will have the same complete joy that I do. ¹⁴ I have told them your message. But the people of this world hate them, because they don’t belong to this world, just as I don’t.

¹⁵ Father, I don’t ask you to take my followers out of the world, but keep them safe from the evil one. ¹⁶ They don’t belong to this world, and neither do I. ¹⁷ Your word is the truth. So let this truth make them completely yours. ¹⁸ I am sending them into the world, just as you sent me. ¹⁹ I have given myself completely for their sake, so that they may belong completely to the truth.

²⁰ I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. ²¹ I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me.

²² I have honored my followers in the same way that you honored me, in order that they may be one with each other, just as we are one. ²³ I am one with them, and you are one with me, so that they may become completely one. Then this world’s people will know that you sent me. They will know that you love my followers as much as you love me.

²⁴ Father, I want everyone you have given me to be with me, wherever I am. Then they will see the glory that you have given me, because you loved me before the world was created. ²⁵ Good Father, the people of this world don’t know you. But I know you, and my followers know that you sent me. ²⁶ I told them what you are like, and I will tell them even more. Then the love that you have for me will become part of them, and I will be one with them.

In this prayer, which seems to end a little abruptly, we see a powerful theme present that many of us might wish was framed a little differently. At several places within this prayer, Jesus emphasizes His request for God to be with His followers while we are in the world and to keep us safe. In verse 11, Jesus prays, “I am coming to you, but my followers are still in the world. So keep them safe by the power of the name that you have given me.” Verse 15 includes the request, “Father, I don’t ask you to take my followers out of the world, but keep them safe from the evil one.” And verse 18 emphasizes this truth even more when Jesus prays to God about His followers saying: “I am sending them into the world, just as you sent me.”

While we might have wished for Jesus to pray that God would rescue all of Jesus’ followers from this world, that was not part of Jesus’ goal. If Jesus had prayed for rescue for His followers, we likely wouldn’t be here today believing in Jesus. Instead, we have people who believe in Jesus over 2,000 years later because Jesus prayed to God to protect His followers while He sent them into the world.

Also, just in case we might have doubts about who Jesus was focusing His prayer on, Jesus quantifies that this prayer is bigger than just these eleven remaining disciples. In verse 20, Jesus emphasizes this point saying: “I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me.”

Jesus’ clear message in this verse is that we are included in His prayer just like His first disciples when we have faith in Him because of what His followers share. We are also able to spread Jesus’ prayer even further by inviting others to believe in Jesus so they can also experience God’s blessings and His promise.

However, near the beginning of this prayer is a powerful truth that is often overlooked or simply missed. In verse 3, Jesus tells us clearly: “Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent.”

Eternal life is only found in knowing God, which can only be done through knowing Jesus Christ, the One God sent. Jesus came to show us God, and He died so that we can have the opportunity of redemption. Jesus Christ brings eternal life, and eternal life is only found when we know God the Father through what Jesus Christ accomplished for each of us!

Knowing in this context is more than simply being aware that God loves us, that Jesus died for us, and that belief in Jesus brings salvation. Knowing in this context means letting the truth about God and about what Jesus has done for us transform our lives! We accept God’s gift through Jesus when we let the Holy Spirit Jesus promised transform our lives with the truth of God’s love!

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, continue to seek God first in your life and choose to accept the truth of God’s love into your heart and let the Holy Spirit transform your life. Choose to accept the mission God has given all of His followers to go into the world and trust that He will protect our lives. Even if our lives on this earth are given up in service to God, our lives are never lost when we have our faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus. When we believe in Jesus, God promises to protect us through the evils of sin and bring us into His recreated New Heaven and New Earth that will exist forever without sin.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God. God wants a personal relationship with you, and a personal relationship with God is best formed and strengthened through regularly praying and studying His Word – the Bible.

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!