Reflective Bible Study

Continuing moving forward in Mark’s gospel, we come to a miracle Mark includes that probably was the only one like it ever in Jesus’ ministry. One thing I find fascinating about this event is that it didn’t appear as though Jesus was actively healing people, and it is interesting who happens to be inside the home near Jesus when this event takes place.

Let’s continue reading and discover what happened. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 2, and we will read it from the Contemporary English Version. Starting in verse 1, Mark tells us that:

¹ Jesus went back to Capernaum, and a few days later people heard that he was at home. ² Then so many of them came to the house that there wasn’t even standing room left in front of the door.

Jesus was still teaching ³ when four people came up, carrying a crippled man on a mat. ⁴ But because of the crowd, they could not get him to Jesus. So they made a hole in the roof above him and let the man down in front of everyone.

⁵ When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the crippled man, “My friend, your sins are forgiven.”

⁶ Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses were sitting there. They started wondering, ⁷ “Why would he say such a thing? He must think he is God! Only God can forgive sins.”

⁸ Right away, Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said, “Why are you thinking such things? ⁹ Is it easier for me to tell this crippled man that his sins are forgiven or to tell him to get up and pick up his mat and go on home? ¹⁰ I will show you that the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins here on earth.” So Jesus said to the man, ¹¹ “Get up! Pick up your mat and go on home.”

¹² The man got right up. He picked up his mat and went out while everyone watched in amazement. They praised God and said, “We have never seen anything like this!”

In this passage and event, we find something amazing. While those present watch in amazement as the crippled man gets up and walks out of the house, this detail did not stand out to me when reading this event this time. While this healing was amazing, a different detail in this passage stands out as being very significant.

Also significant in this passage is the faith and determination of this man’s friends. When the friends cannot get the man into the home using normal methods, they resort to something very abnormal, which ultimately was successful. But while this was amazing, it did not stand out to me when reading the passage this time.

In this passage, another detail I notice is that the crowd would not let the man’s friends carry him to Jesus. This is interesting, since the crowd would have probably liked to see Jesus perform a miracle, but they were too preoccupied with what Jesus was saying to realize the opportunity they were turning away. While this is also significant, this isn’t the big detail that stood out to me while reading this passage.

Instead, when reading this passage, I was amazed that those in the home next to Jesus were the religious leaders and teachers of the Law. While these religious teachers criticize Jesus claiming to have the power to forgive sins, the only reason they could have done this is if they were present, within earshot, and within conversational distance from Jesus. This means that some of the first people to come see Jesus when He had returned to Capernaum were the religious leaders living in this city.

While we stereotypically think the religious leaders were opposed to Jesus from the very beginning of His ministry, I think this stereotype is not entirely true. While some of the religious leaders simply disliked Jesus for His popularity because it stole from their own popularity, I believe that early on in Jesus’ ministry, everyone from the most religious and spiritual to the least religious and spiritual person took note of Jesus. With the Holy Spirit filling Jesus’ life, which happened at Jesus’ baptism, Jesus showed God’s love in powerful, miraculous ways.

Stepping back to one of the earlier details we skipped over, while the crowd did not let the crippled man’s friends enter the home with him, this was likely a God directed obstacle because it demonstrated to everyone present that these friends had so much faith in Jesus that they would stop at nothing to get their friend to Him.

I imagine the man’s friends stayed behind to fix the hole they made, but even if they didn’t, a hole in a home is less significant in God’s eyes than a healed person giving God thanks, praise, and glory, and a hole in a home is less significant than a person being forgiven of their sins.

In this event, I am amazed at the faith of the man’s friends. However, nowhere do we see any indication of the crippled man’s faith. Instead, all we see is Jesus proclaiming that the crippled man’s sins are forgiven. While Jesus might have said this because it tied into what He was already speaking about, or because He knew that it would get the religious leaders’ attention, I wonder if Jesus actually said this to the crippled man because that is what this man needed to hear.

Nothing in this event indicates the crippled man had faith in Jesus. Instead, I wonder if the crippled man believed God’s punishment was on Him and that his disability was a punishment from God because of something that he had done, because of a sin he had committed, or because of something that had happened. While being healed is nice, I wonder if the real miracle in this event was the proof that this man’s sins were forgiven, and the healing solidified this truth in this man’s mind.

In this healing, Jesus not only healed this man’s disability, He also gave peace to this man’s soul that God was not angry with Him, God was not mad at Him, and God was not judging Him. While sometimes we have to face the consequences of our own actions and our own sins, God is not mad at us or eagerly waiting to judge and condemn us. Instead, God loves us so much that He let Jesus come and take the punishment we deserved for our sins so that we can have a restored relationship with Him!

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 understand that when we come to God asking for forgiveness, God has already forgiven us. While we might have to live with the natural consequences of our actions, God isn’t interested in punishing us more than our actions require. Instead, God is more interested in saving us for eternity, and bringing us home to a recreated world without sin, pain, or death.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Don’t take my word or any pastor, speaker, author, or podcaster’s word for what the Bible teaches. Instead, study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God and to discover God’s truth for yourself.

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 choose to ignore where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we continue moving through John’s gospel, we come to the place where John begins to shift his focus away from John the Baptist and onto Jesus. John does this by following the first two people who chose to follow Jesus, one who was known as Andrew, and the other who is not named but who could easily have been the disciple John, the author of this gospel.

Let’s read about what happened and discover what we can learn from these first followers of Jesus. Our passage is found in the gospel of John, chapter 1, and we will read from the Contemporary English Version. Starting in verse 35, John’s gospel tells us:

³⁵ The next day, John was there again, and two of his followers were with him. ³⁶ When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Here is the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ John’s two followers heard him, and they went with Jesus.

³⁸ When Jesus turned and saw them, he asked, “What do you want?”

They answered, “Rabbi, where do you live?” The Hebrew word “Rabbi” means “Teacher.”

³⁹ Jesus replied, “Come and see!” It was already about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him and saw where he lived. So they stayed on for the rest of the day.

⁴⁰ One of the two men who had heard John and had gone with Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. ⁴¹ The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and tell him, “We have found the Messiah!” The Hebrew word “Messiah” means the same as the Greek word “Christ.”

⁴² Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. And when Jesus saw him, he said, “Simon son of John, you will be called Cephas.” This name can be translated as “Peter.”

^43-44 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. There he met Philip, who was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. Jesus said to Philip, “Come with me.”

⁴⁵ Philip then found Nathanael and said, “We have found the one that Moses and the Prophets wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

⁴⁶ Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Philip answered, “Come and see.”

⁴⁷ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said, “Here is a true descendant of our ancestor Israel. And he isn’t deceitful.”

⁴⁸ “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

⁴⁹ Nathanael said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God and the King of Israel!”

⁵⁰ Jesus answered, “Did you believe me just because I said that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see something even greater. ⁵¹ I tell you for certain that you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”

In this passage, I am amazed at how this early group of followers grew. In these few verses that conclude chapter 1 of John’s gospel, we see Jesus’ first followers going and telling those they know about Jesus and inviting them to come and see Jesus for themselves.

This is incredibly significant in my mind because Jesus has done no miracle, Jesus hasn’t really said anything wise, and Jesus is from a less-than-reputable location. This group of early followers has three things in common: They heard about Jesus from someone else, they believe the testimony they heard, and they accept the invitation to come and see Jesus for themselves.

About the only amazing thing Jesus says is the statement to Nathanael about seeing him under the fig tree, which doesn’t mean that much to us today, and the greater declaration that the disciples would see even greater things than this.

It is also amazing, but to a lesser extent, that when Jesus meets Simon for the first time, Jesus gives him the name Peter. While this could be an official new name, Jesus could also have given him what we might call in today’s culture a nickname. However, far from being a nickname that is based on what Peter had done in the past, this name signaled what Peter would do in the future and how instrumental he would be when standing up for God.

The way this passage shares about Jesus’ first followers I suspect is a model that we are called to apply. When Jesus has done something for us, or when we have found Jesus, the best thing for us to do is share Jesus with those around us. Specifically, when we have been invited to experience Jesus, we should intentionally invite someone else to come and see too.

In our own lives, sometimes we might be afraid of what other people will think of an invitation to church or to a Bible study. Sometimes these fears are valid concerns. There are definitely times and places where sharing Jesus would not be welcomed or wise.

However, if Jesus is the answer we know would solve the pain, anxiety, or stress in a friend, family member, neighbor, or coworker’s life, it would be cruel to keep Jesus from them. These first followers intentionally shared Jesus with those in their lives, and their invitations early on, before Jesus had entered the public spotlight, speak volumes to how their faith in Jesus was not based on miracles or on fame, but on the understanding that Jesus had a solution their lives needed. While each of Jesus’ early followers may have had different reasons for accepting the invitation and sharing it with others, they all knew early on that following Jesus was important.

While we might feel fear about following Jesus or inviting others, intentionally push past the fear because what Jesus did for us is more significant than the worst response we could receive when inviting someone to come to Jesus. The worst response we could receive is anger, hostility, and/or rejection. The response we receive when inviting someone to Jesus doesn’t say anything about ourselves; the response we receive when inviting others to Jesus reveals their hearts and their state of mind.

It is normal to feel a little nervous at times about sharing Jesus with others, but we should push past this fear because we might be surprised how God steps in and shifts the conversation in ways you might be surprised to discover. Jesus’ early followers didn’t try to impress their friends with what Jesus had done, they simply invited them to come and see Jesus for themselves. When we share Jesus with others, the focus is not on us and the conversation isn’t about us. When we share Jesus with others, focus on sharing Jesus. We share what Jesus has done for us, we invite others to come and see, and when the focus stays on Jesus, God moves in amazing ways.

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 seeking God first in your life. If you are unsure or fearful about inviting someone to church or to a Bible study, pray for strength, an opportunity, and the opening to share. Trust that God will bring an opening into your life to share. However, also know that God may be waiting for you to make an opening for Him to step into. When inviting people, keep the focus on Jesus and on what Jesus has done for all of us!

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and discover what God has done for us. The Bible is God’s story of history, and it is our story of redemption through what Jesus accomplished for us. While critics and skeptics can try to discount the Bible based on passages or events they dislike, look past the critics and onto the cross. Look past the skeptics and into the face of Jesus, who came to give His life for you and me. In the pages of the Bible, discover how much God loves humanity, and lean on God’s love for humanity when looking for the strength to invite others to Jesus.

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 let fear paralyze you out of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Continuing our journey through Mark’s gospel, as soon as Jesus left the synagogue where He cast out the demon, Mark describes how Jesus then heads home with of some of His disciples, and how Jesus again has the opportunity to help someone when arriving at this disciple’s home.

Let’s jump into the passage and discover what happened. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 1, and we will read from the New International Version. Starting in verse 29, Mark tells us that:

²⁹ As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰ Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. ³¹ So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

Let’s pause briefly here in our passage, because Simon’s mother-in-law’s response is one of the best responses we could have when Jesus comes into our life. When Jesus touches Simon’s mother-in-law, the fever leaves her and the first thing she does is serve Jesus. When Jesus touches our lives with some healing or some blessing, the best response we can have is serving Jesus. Like Simon’s mother-in-law, serving Jesus is the best way we can say thank you to Jesus.

However, it is also worth noting that Jesus did not heal Simon’s mother-in-law so that she would serve. In that home, there would already have been people capable of serving. Instead, Jesus helps because He can and because there is a need, and not because He wants people to serve Him. God wants to help us because that is who God is, not because God wants more servants. If God wanted servants, He could have created millions and billions of perfect servant robots who would have no freedom of choice. God gifted His creation with the gift of choice because love requires the freedom of choice for it to mean anything.

I believe Jesus also healed Simon’s mother-in-law to relieve a little piece of stress in that home. The Sabbath was given for rest, and when someone is sick, those around them helping them are not experiencing rest, and in the case of the person who is sick, while they are resting, the rest they are experiencing isn’t the same quality of rest as they would have if they were well. Jesus likely healed Simon’s mother-in-law to help everyone present enjoy that Sabbath afternoon more and to give glory to God for what He had blessed them with.

However, Mark then jumps to that evening. Continuing in verse 32, Mark tells us:

³² That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. ³³ The whole town gathered at the door, ³⁴ and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

Pausing reading again, it appears as though Jesus is so busy helping people that He doesn’t get any chance to rest. However, while this was the case during some parts of His ministry, I believe Mark simply wants us to know Jesus’ actions and not Jesus’ rest.

Jesus didn’t spend hours healing one person, and helping Peter’s mother-in-law up out of bed wouldn’t have taken long. The time Jesus spent for each healing was likely measured in seconds rather than even minutes. After healing Peter’s mother-in-law, Jesus would have been able to spend a whole afternoon resting and simply being with the first disciples and Simon and Andrew’s family.

Also, in this second section of our passage, Jesus silences the demons, not letting them speak, likely because of what we shared in our last episode. In our last episode, we concluded that it is not wise to listen to Satan, demons, or even temptation. While Satan is capable of telling the truth, there is always a deceitful motive behind it and a majority of truth with a little lie is like a cup of water with a drop of poison. It is much wiser to reject everything Satan says and take our cue from the Bible, rather than focusing on trying to sift truth out of error.

It’s also possible Satan would try to derail Jesus’ plan using the popular belief at the time that God’s Messiah would be a military leader and that He would need followers rallied around Him to overthrow the Romans. The more people hearing validation that Jesus was the Messiah could cause an uprising that would attract the Roman army and Jesus would be killed outside of God’s plan.

However, what comes next in the passage is powerful, because Mark gives us a clue into the habits of Jesus. While it would be very easy to skip over this to get to more exciting miracles and teaching, let’s instead focus the rest of our time together on this last portion of our passage. Picking back up in verse 35, Mark tells us that:

³⁵ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. ³⁶ Simon and his companions went to look for him, ³⁷ and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

³⁸ Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” ³⁹ So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

In this passage, we discover that early in the morning, before the sun had risen, Jesus woke up, and went out to a place by Himself to pray and spend time with God. While we have other places in the gospels that describe Jesus spending extended periods of time praying, I don’t believe this early morning prayer time was limited to this single event.

Instead, this event might get recognition because it was the first time Jesus did this while the disciples were with Him, and it was a time where these guys who had agreed to follow Jesus had lost Jesus. It is probable in my mind that after this point, Jesus’ habit of waking up early to pray wasn’t a surprise to the disciples, and perhaps even some of the disciples formed this habit as their time with Jesus lengthened.

I also wonder if Jesus snuck out of town early that morning because of what He tells the disciples in response to what the disciples tell Him. While the disciples tell Jesus that everyone in the town is looking for Him, Jesus emphasizes the need to go to other towns and villages and do the same thing.

In a subtle way, Jesus emphasizes in this event how He had come not just for one town or one small group of people, but to help many more people. Jesus likely wanted to also emphasize that God was willing to travel to where those who needed help were. While many people traveled to where Jesus was, Jesus also traveled to where people needed help. Jesus crossed the universe to come to earth and to redeem humanity, and He was willing to travel to where people needed help. Jesus came for more people than one town, one gender, or one race. Jesus came to help and bless humanity because God loves the human race!

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 use Jesus’ example in this passage as a guide. While we might not have people flocking to our door and demanding our time to cast demons out of their lives or to heal them in miraculous ways, we can model our lives after Jesus by getting up early in the morning, going to a place where we can be alone, and spending time with God. Jesus modeled this for us and this is a foundational habit for a strong spiritual life with God.

Also, while growing and strengthening this habit, intentionally pray and study the Bible for yourself while you are alone with God. When reading the Bible in prayer while you are with God, He will send you His Spirit to teach you what He wants you to learn and know. While many Bibles have articles or snippets of text written by other authors within them, focus your time on God in the chapters and verses that make up the Bible. While Bibles with snippets are helpful, if you focus only on the snippets and extras, you can only grow as far as the author of that snippet has grown while God might want to teach you more. Focusing on the Bible opens the door for God to teach you about Himself and about what He wants you to discover in the pages of His Word.

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

As we continue our journey into John’s gospel, John the author of this gospel turns his attention onto John the Baptist, who was Jesus’ forerunner in ministry. While the other gospel writers include details about John the Baptist, John the author includes some unique details we don’t see in the other gospels.

In my mind’s eye, the passage we will look at happens after Jesus was baptized, tempted in the wilderness, and as He is returning to society. However, I suspect that this passage begins during the time when Jesus was at the end of fasting in the wilderness and actively being tempted by Satan.

Let’s read about what happened. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 1, and we will read from the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 19, John the author tells us about John the Baptist, saying:

¹⁹ This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” ²¹ They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²² Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” ²³ He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

²⁴ Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. ²⁷ It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸ These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Pausing our reading briefly, I want to draw our attention onto a couple of details before continuing.

While in other gospels, we read about Jesus saying that John the Baptist fulfilled the role of Elijah who was to come before Him, John the Baptist himself denies that title or role. Only a misquoted, out-of-context verse could make people believe John the Baptist was literally Elijah back from heaven. I have seen people claim that Jesus supported reincarnation because of one misquoted, out-of-context verse, but ironically, the claim is about someone returning who never actually died. Second Kings, chapter 2 tells us the story of Elijah being taken to heaven in a chariot of fire and a whirlwind.

But regardless of all of this, John the Baptist makes no claim about being Elijah, even if others make that claim for him. Instead, John the Baptist focuses on a mission that was foreshadowed by Isaiah. John the Baptist didn’t focus on who he was; he focused on the mission he was sent to accomplish.

John the Baptist’s mission was pointing people to Jesus, and he does so very clearly in this passage.

Let’s continue reading and discover what John the author tells us next. Picking back up in verse 29:

²⁹ The next day he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ³¹ I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” ³² John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. ³³ I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

In my mind, I suspect that this was when Jesus was coming back from being tempted. It is also possible that after Jesus returned from the wilderness, that he spent a few days listening to John the Baptist’s teaching before John openly declares the truth about Him.

John the Baptist doesn’t proclaim who Jesus is with any unclear language. He declares that Jesus is the Son of God in verse 34 by saying, “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

John the Baptist focused on what happened during Jesus’ baptism for the evidence to firmly proclaim Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. It was at Jesus’ baptism when Heaven opened and the Spirit descended onto Jesus. I suspect this was more a sign for John the Baptist’s benefit than for Jesus. I am confident that Jesus had the Holy Spirit before this point, but that Jesus and the Spirit knew that the time wasn’t right before that point.

We can learn a lot from John the Baptist in this event. Not only can we learn that John did not see himself as Elijah or as a prophet, we see through how John described himself that he was focused on mission rather than on role. It’s possible John the Baptist could have known or claimed the roles of Elijah or the Prophet, since other people were likely speculating this. John the Baptist might have known he was fulfilling the role of Elijah, but he also knew that it is better to focus on mission than on roles. If John the Baptist focused on the role of Elijah, the focus would have been placed on himself. By placing the focus on the mission, John the Baptist is clearly directing the attention onto Jesus who would come after him.

Not only that, but we also discover that John the Baptist clearly tells those present who Jesus was in no uncertain terms. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and the only One who is able to redeem us from sin.

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 seeking God first in your life and choose to focus on the mission God has called you to instead of any role or position He may have placed you in. If you are uncertain of what God’s mission for your life is, the best mission to fall back on is simply telling people about Jesus. Choose to proclaim Jesus to those God brings into your life and tell others what Jesus has done for you personally.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and discover more about Jesus and God in your own life. While pastors, speakers, authors, or even podcasters can give you ideas to think about, filter everything you read, hear, or see through the pages and truth of the Bible to discover how the world’s ideas fit within God’s plan. You may be surprised to discover how much of the worlds ideas are simply not compatible with God’s ideal. When faced with the choice, always lean on God, because His way leads into eternity.

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