Reflective Bible Study

As we continue moving through the events in John’s gospel, we come to the event surrounding one of the most famous Bible verses in the world. However, while this verse is incredible, the event and discussion that surrounds this verse is just as amazing. The conversation happens at night, and I wonder if some of the disciples had already fallen asleep.

Let’s read about what happened, and about what Jesus shared during this late-night conversation with a Pharisee. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 3, and we will read it from the New Living Translation. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹ There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. ² After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

³ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

⁴ “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

⁵ Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. ⁷ So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

⁹ “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰ Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? ¹¹ I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. ¹² But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. ¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

¹⁶ “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

¹⁸ “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. ²⁰ All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. ²¹ But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

²² Then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside. Jesus spent some time with them there, baptizing people.

In this late night conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus shares some amazing things, while always seeming to be one step ahead of Nicodemus’ question. When reading this event, it is as if Nicodemus asks Jesus a question, and Jesus answers what would likely have been Nicodemus’ follow up question.

However, the three big answers Jesus gives us are amazing and profound. Tucked within these big answers is a powerful message that we might be tempted to miss, skip, or ignore. Allow me to share a set of verses or statements pulled from Jesus’ three answers to Nicodemus’ questions. “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God. … I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. … As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. … God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.” (v. 3, 5, 14-15, 17-18)

In Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, there are two clear topics, and both of these topics are initiated by Jesus. The first topic is about being born again. The powerful truth I see in Jesus’ response is that those who have not been born spiritually are unable to see the Kingdom of God. In other gospels, Jesus shares how the Kingdom of God is present among us, and one way to understand Jesus’ words is that the Kingdom of God is present wherever God is actively moving, working, or being present.

With this working definition, we can conclude an obvious but easily overlooked truth that people who are not connected with the Holy Spirit cannot discern how God is working in the world today. Someone connected with the Holy Spirit can look around and see God working everywhere, whereas someone disconnected and uninterested in the Holy Spirit sees random chance, a series of coincidences, or just good or bad fortune.

The second topic of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus is about eternal life and judgment. It is within this second topic that we find our famous set of verses summarizing Jesus’ life and ministry. John, chapter 3, verses 16 and 17 tell us “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”

However, the verses immediately before this and immediately after this are in many ways more powerful than these two famous ones. The two verses before verse 16 predict Jesus’ crucifixion and the results of His sacrifice: “as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.” (v. 14-15)

The two verses after verse 17 tell us about the one criteria God’s judgment will be based on when Jesus returns: “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.” (v. 18-19)

Jesus tells Nicodemus, and all of us, that God’s judgment is reserved for those who do not believe in God’s one and only Son, Jesus. The way people reject Jesus is by preferring darkness and evil actions over coming into the light and letting Jesus wash away their sins. In this framing of judgment, those who avoid God’s judgment are able to because they have placed their belief and trust in Jesus, and they have left their sinful lives in the past, while those who are judged are those who preferred sin and darkness over the offer of a Savior.

Jesus did not come into the world to fulfill the role of judge. Instead, Jesus came to this world to fulfill the role of God’s light, and Jesus’ presence separates those who want to seek God, His light, and His forgiveness, from those who reject God, prefer their sinful lives, and willingly choose to refuse the light God offers.

Whether we face judgment is 100% up to us. While it is unpopular to do in the world today, choosing Jesus in this life gives us a free pass to avoid the judgment when the world ends, and choosing Jesus in this life is done by leaving our sin-filled past in the past, and actively growing towards Jesus each and every day!

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 and choose to believe in the Light God sent into the world through Jesus. When we choose to follow and obey Jesus over our sin-filled desires, we are choosing life over judgment and death. We reject Jesus when we choose sin over our Savior. Always choose to obey Jesus when faced with a choice, because choosing Jesus in this life, regardless of the consequences, is never the wrong choice from eternity’s perspective.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to Jesus. Through personal prayer and study, grow a personal relationship with Jesus and lean on Him for the strength to face each day moving forward in this 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 give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Of the metaphors and illustrations Jesus used during His time preaching and teaching, He seemed to return periodically to the idea of light and that we should not hide the light that we have been given. Several weeks ago, we touched on one of these passages, and in our episode for this week, we turn our attention onto another time Jesus uses this metaphor.

However, unlike the last time we read about Jesus using this metaphor, this time Jesus shares a different conclusion and He emphasizes a different truth that we should learn.

Our passage is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 8, and we will read it from the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 16, Luke tells us Jesus taught:

¹⁶ “Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light. ¹⁷ For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸ So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”

In these few verses, while Jesus shares a similar visual picture of not hiding a lamp after lighting it, the truth Jesus concludes with is powerful and unique. Jesus shifts our focus away from shining our light and onto the truth that nothing we think is secret will ultimately remain secret. And like Jesus teaches about in other parts of the gospels, we should be intentional about how we listen, and we should be intentional about what we have been given.

What do secrets, listening well, and being responsible have to do with lighting a lamp? On the surface, it would appear as though these ideas don’t readily align with each other. For example, keeping a secret is more logical in some cases than exposing the secret, while the metaphor of lighting a lamp implies keeping a secret is illogical and fundamentally impossible in the long run.

However, Jesus placed these seemingly opposite ideas together for a reason, so let’s discuss why He may have done this.

First off, what would be the biggest examples of secrets that should remain hidden? While it might be logical to lump activities like theft, moral failures, sexual sins, coveting, lust, lies, and/or other less reputable activities into being secrets that we might believe should remain hidden, there are much fewer actual examples of secrets that shouldn’t be exposed.

A secret about harm being done to someone needs to be exposed, because by exposing it, potential future harm can be avoided. A secret where someone felt hurt or experienced loss needs to be exposed for the same reasons.

Very few types secrets benefit society when they stay hidden. This is simply because secrets separate people. While two people might feel closer when they have a secret that is hidden from everyone else, outside observers will eventually notice that those with secrets will start to pull away from the community. When the members of a community isolate themselves, the community suffers.

In this passage, Jesus doesn’t focus on keeping secrets. The emphasis is on exposing secrets and shining light on them. The clear truth Jesus emphasizes is that we don’t have the choice about whether a secret will stay a secret. All we can do once a secret is present is choose to reveal it on our terms, or let time expose it outside of our terms.

The destiny of secrets is ultimately for them to be revealed, and when we honestly think about it, nothing is truly a secret, especially when we bring God into the picture. It is foolish to think we could keep a secret from God, who knows everything, and sees everything, and who understands our thoughts better than we do. The best-case scenario is that a secret is kept between one or more people and God – except that through Jesus, God has challenged us with the truth that all secrets will be revealed.

We don’t have the choice of whether a secret will ultimately be revealed. The choice we do have for a limited time is exposing the secret on our own terms.

While this would be a great place to finish off our episode, I want to take a few more minutes and share two other ideas regarding secrets.

The first idea is that when discussing secrets, there is a close cousin to a secret we call a surprise. While secrets have a negative reputation, surprises generally have a positive one. However not all secrets are negative and not all surprises are positive. So what is the difference?

In my own mind, we should define a surprise as a secret that is designed to be revealed and as a secret that when it is revealed uplifts all of those present. A surprise party is a good example. While those who the party is for don’t usually know all the details, or perhaps even any of the details, of the party, they get to enjoy the event and after the surprise has been revealed, the secret-surprise is no longer a secret. A surprise party is a temporary secret.

Another example is when a couple learns they are pregnant. There are many weeks that the gender of the child is unknown, and even when they reach the point of learning the gender for themselves, they can choose to keep it a secret from others, or they can choose how they want to share their great news with their friends.

However, the nature of this secret also demonstrates the temporary nature of secrets and surprises because there will be a point that a birth occurs and those in the baby’s life will learn the new arrival’s biological gender.

Secrets pull people apart because they never want to be revealed to others. Surprises can draw people together because of the release that happens when the news is shared.

The other idea that is worth sharing is that it is possible – and perhaps even desirable – to live a life where secrets aren’t even necessary. If we lived our lives knowing that our history would be turned into a biography or a novel, would we change how we lived? If we lived our lives knowing that everything we do, think, and say was being recorded for our family, friends, and community to review, would we choose to live differently?

If we would live differently knowing that others knew something about our lives, then we have the opportunity to change how we live now, and we have the opportunity to avoid a secret from forming or getting worse.

The goal of a life with integrity is that both the public and private areas of life match up, and when we talk about integrity as a characteristic of our character, we see both the public and private areas of our life as something that we are not embarrassed of if they get revealed to others.

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

As I always do, the first challenge is to seek God first and to continue placing Him first in your life. If you have secrets hidden in your life, choose the best way to move forward. Know that eventually, the secret will be exposed, and that makes the opportunity you have right now one where you can expose the secret on your own terms. While I don’t know what your secrets are, know that God does know, and if you are fearful of how to move forward, take your fear to God and let Him lead and guide you with how to move forward.

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. Through prayer and Bible study, we can grow our personal relationship with God and we can let Him give us the courage to face our fears and let Him help us step into the plan He has for our lives.

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

While several of the other gospel writers include an event like this much later in Jesus’ ministry, John shares with us a time very early on in Jesus’ ministry when He goes to the temple and clears out the commerce. However, while John’s gospel includes this event, what fascinates me more than Jesus kicking the merchants and moneychangers out of the temple is what John tells us happened next.

Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 2, and we will read it from the New International Reader’s Version. Starting in verse 13, John sets the stage saying:

¹³ It was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast. So Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple courtyard he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves. Others were sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵ So Jesus made a whip out of ropes. He chased all the sheep and cattle from the temple courtyard. He scattered the coins of the people exchanging money. And he turned over their tables. ¹⁶ He told those who were selling doves, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered what had been written. It says, “My great love for your house will destroy me.”

Pausing briefly, while we might think Jesus challenged those in the temple because they were cheating people and being dishonest, nothing in John’s description of this event suggests dishonesty. Instead, John frames Jesus’ actions as being against cheapening God’s house and making it like any other marketplace. This challenge is one that says God’s house should be a place where the focus is on God and not on anything else.

This challenge also strongly suggests that God’s house shouldn’t be a place where money is exchanged. Giving money as tithe or offering is different. The big issue I see in Jesus’ actions and words is against exchanging money for goods or services in God’s house because treating where we worship as a marketplace cheapens the holiness of where we come to God to worship Him.

However, Jesus’ actions don’t sit well with the Jewish leaders. Continuing in verse 18, John tells us:

¹⁸ Then the Jewish leaders asked him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do this?”

¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “When you destroy this temple, I will raise it up again in three days.”

²⁰ They replied, “It has taken 46 years to build this temple. Are you going to raise it up in three days?” ²¹ But the temple Jesus had spoken about was his body. ²² His disciples later remembered what he had said. That was after he had been raised from the dead. Then they believed the Scripture. They also believed the words that Jesus had spoken.

Pausing again, whenever I read this brief discussion Jesus has with the Jewish leaders, I chuckle a little because I am confident Jesus answered the way He did in order to be truthful but misunderstood. Jesus intended the Jewish leaders to misunderstand Him.

I suspect that Jesus did this intentionally because if He had spoken in a way that was more clear, they probably would have tried to kill Him on that spot.

Also very interesting to me is exactly what Jesus says in His response. In verse 19, Jesus tells these religious leaders, “When you destroy this temple, I will raise it up again in three days.”

When I casually read this, and John’s explanation that Jesus was referring to His body and to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, I might be tempted to understand it instead as “When you destroy this temple, [God] will raise it up again in three days.”

However, Jesus does not tell us that the Father would resurrect Him, but that He would resurrect Himself. John, chapter 10, verses 17 and 18 also emphasizes this point when Jesus tells the religious leaders and those present that, “The reason my Father loves me is that I give up my life. But I will take it back again. No one takes it from me. I give it up myself. I have the authority to give it up. And I have the authority to take it back again.”

While I don’t believe we can understand the full nuances present in Jesus’ statements about His power to restore Himself, and while we cannot understand exactly how He was able to do this, we do know from all the gospel records that Jesus was crucified and that He returned to life on the third day!

However, our passage isn’t finished yet. John has one more thing to tell us about this event. Continuing reading in verse 23, John tells us that:

²³ Meanwhile, he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast. Many people saw the signs he was doing. And they believed in his name. ²⁴ But Jesus did not fully trust them. He knew what people are like. ²⁵ He didn’t need anyone to tell him what people are like. He already knew why people do what they do.

In this final portion of our passage, John emphasizes how Jesus gave the people signs from God and that this prompted people to believe in Him. However, John quickly follows up with an interesting framing of Jesus’ response. John tells us that Jesus did not fully trust people. Jesus did not fully trust sinners. This is significant because as followers of Jesus, we should clearly and wholeheartedly trust God, but we shouldn’t blindly trust sinners.

At the same time, we shouldn’t distance ourselves from sinners, because we would live a lonely life, and because we might even go crazy trying to get away from ourselves. Whether we like admitting it or not, we all are sinners.

Jesus came to redeem a world full of sinners living in active sin. He came to fulfill God’s plan for the redemption of His people. Jesus triumphed over sin and over Satan. Jesus succeeded God’s mission for His life because He didn’t push sinners away and because He didn’t blindly trust them either. Either option is a trap that could have derailed Jesus off of His mission, and we face the same two traps if we let people’s opinions take precedence over God’s plan for our lives.

As we move forward through life, remember to keep God’s plan first and to trust God exponentially more than sinners in every area of our lives.

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 and place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Him. Choose to trust God, have faith in Jesus, and move forward leaning on the Holy Spirit for strength and guidance. Choose to protect the places where you worship God and keep them special and free from distraction.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and step into the person God has created you to be. Through prayer and Bible study, discover how much God loves you and how much He has given to show you His love. Jesus came for you, and God wants to redeem you personally out of sin.

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!

One event that has always fascinated me in the gospels is the story of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet. Each of the four gospels includes a story describing an event like this. However, while Matthew, Mark, and John frame this event as one leading up to Jesus’ death on the cross, Luke’s gospel includes it early on, and Luke’s gospel draws out a parable Jesus shares at this event.

Because Luke’s gospel is so unique in the details and timing of this event and because Luke’s gospel doesn’t give the woman a name, part of me wonders if Jesus was anointed more than one time during His ministry.

Let’s read about what happened and about the parable Jesus shared during this event. Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 7, and we will read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 36, Luke tells us that:

³⁶ When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ³⁷ A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. ³⁸ As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

⁴⁰ Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

⁴¹ “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

⁴³ Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

⁴⁴ Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. ⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹ The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰ Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

As I read this event just now, the parable didn’t stand out to me as much as the unnamed woman’s desire. In Jesus’ description of the woman’s actions, we could understand her motives to be one seeking salvation and forgiveness through her actions, or we could understand her motives as desiring some type of confirmation or affirmation that her past life of sin has been forgiven.

In the simple parable Jesus shared, forgiveness is a primary theme. However, is it possible to tell the woman’s motivation through this event? In my own mind, I think we can, especially if we are simply choosing between a works-based desire for salvation versus simply affirming God’s forgiveness.

The way I see this woman’s actions, everything we see described about her gives the impression she was humbly coming to serve Jesus. While this doesn’t sound significant at first, this is the key identifier for determining this woman’s motives. The motives of someone coming to Jesus with a works-based attitude would be more interested in building Jesus up, defending Him against His accusers, or doing something similar. While none of these actions are bad, they have more vagueness surrounding their motives.

In contrast, everything described about this woman is that she came seeking forgiveness and that she wouldn’t leave until she had received some type of confirmation that she was forgiven. This woman’s offering to Jesus was the best she had and Jesus honored her gift by affirming her forgiveness in God’s eyes.

If this event does not describe Mary anointing Jesus’ feet leading up to His crucifixion, then we know almost nothing about this woman except that she had a negative reputation before this point, that she anointed Jesus’ feet with perfume and her tears, and that Jesus tells her that her sins are forgiven.

However, in Jesus’ parable, we see an amazing idea that Jesus touches on afterwards. In Jesus’ parable, two unequal debts are forgiven. While Jesus calls the feelings that each forgiven person felt using the word love, we likely would focus the word more towards the idea of gratitude and thankfulness, which are types of love.

In this parable, Jesus connects the concept of forgiveness and love and this connection is worth paying attention to. Before turning to the woman to directly affirm her forgiveness, Jesus finishes His message to Simon by saying in verse 47, “Her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

Jesus tells us that how loving we are to others shows how forgiven we are. When we are only forgiven a little, we only love a little, and when we see ourselves as being forgiven of a lot, then we will love a lot.

The last words Jesus shares are interesting. Jesus tells us that “whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

This is incredibly true, but it is a completely subjective idea that is based entirely on our perception. The truth of our human condition is that even one seemingly insignificant sin in our life is enough to rip our connection with God apart and distance us so far apart from God that it is impossible for us to return. While this sounds extreme, this perspective is the only one we should have when understanding God’s forgiveness.

Our sin is so significant in God’s eyes that Jesus needed to give up His life in order for God to demonstrate both justice and mercy. The littlest, least significant sin, gives us the gift of the death penalty, and through what Jesus did on the cross, we are given our lives back. Jesus’ gift pardons us from receiving the death penalty, and that is how forgiven we truly are.

The more we realize how sin-stained we are, the more we can appreciate what Jesus did for us on the cross and the gift of forgiveness He offers us. The way we show we are forgiven is by loving and forgiving each other.

As we move forward through life together, let’s intentionally be more forgiving towards each other as our way of saying thanks to God for how greatly He has forgiven us.

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, continue to seek God first in your life and take a moment to think about what He has truly forgiven you of. While your past might not be as bad as someone else’s past, I’m willing to bet that if you are anything like me, there are plenty of ways you have messed up and failed God. God has forgiven you because He loves you. Will we recognize how greatly He has forgiven us and reflect His forgiveness to others through our love?

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to keep your personal relationship and connection with God strong. Don’t let anyone get between you and God, and filter everything you study through the lens of what God teaches you through 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, or chicken out of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!