Reflective Bible Study

In one of the more challenging portions of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus shares a parable that has amazing implications, both from God’s perspective and from our own. The passage we are about to cover, which is a little longer than many of our other passages, doesn’t need much explanation or expansion. This passage is very clear even if it is challenging on its own.

Let’s read what Jesus teaches and then the parable that follows. Our passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 18, and we will read it from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 15, Jesus told those present:

¹⁵ “If your fellow believer sins against you, go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again. ¹⁶ But if he refuses to listen, go to him again and take one or two other people with you. ‘Every case may be proved by two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a person who does not believe in God or like a tax collector.

Before continuing our passage, I want to draw attention to a couple things we just read because I don’t want them to be lost as we move forward. In the first portion of this passage, Jesus outlines the process for conflict resolution. However, while it is tempting to treat conflict in any way other than what Jesus describes, the way Jesus describes is fascinating. Also, it is worth noting that the final step in Jesus conflict resolution process does not allow us to stop loving or reaching out to the person who has refused to listen to the church.

Instead, we are to love those who have hurt us in the same way we love those outside of the church, and we are called to show God’s love to them. Jesus loved tax collectors enough to dine with them, call them out of trees while passing by, and even invite them to be among His group of disciples.

Jesus then shares a passage that sounds similar to a promise Jesus made to Peter a few chapters before this, but the context of this promise is to all of God’s people and Jesus’ disciples. Jesus continues in verse 18, saying:

¹⁸ “I tell you the truth, the things you don’t allow on earth will be the things God does not allow. And the things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.

¹⁹ “Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them.”

Let’s pause again here before looking at Jesus’ parable because what Jesus shared can be easily misunderstood. While one possible reading of Jesus’ promise here is that God will change His will and His law because of our prayers and our decisions, other parts of the Bible describe God as not changing. If God could brush aside the demands of the law under the frame of forgiveness, then Jesus would not have needed to die. Instead, Jesus died to pay the penalty of the law so that we could trade places. Jesus allows the punishment of the law to hold while also opening up the option of forgiveness.

The other way of seeing these verses is that when we are united with and focused on God, our will and our standards will be the same as God’s. This isn’t God changing to match us, but it is us being filled with the Holy Spirit and matching God. When the Holy Spirit is in our lives, the things we allow and don’t allow will match what God allows and doesn’t allow, and when we pray with others who are just as dedicated and focused on God, then our requests and our desires match God’s, and what we pray for will be done.

Continuing our reading in verse 21:

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, when my fellow believer sins against me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he wrongs you seventy times seven.

²³ “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him. ²⁴ When the king began to collect his money, a servant who owed him several million dollars was brought to him. ²⁵ But the servant did not have enough money to pay his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant’s wife and children. Then the money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed.

²⁶ “But the servant fell on his knees and begged, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’ ²⁷ The master felt sorry for his servant and told him he did not have to pay it back. Then he let the servant go free.

²⁸ “Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a few dollars. The servant grabbed him around the neck and said, ‘Pay me the money you owe me!’

²⁹ “The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’

³⁰ “But the first servant refused to be patient. He threw the other servant into prison until he could pay everything he owed. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very sorry. So they went and told their master all that had happened.

³² “Then the master called his servant in and said, ‘You evil servant! Because you begged me to forget what you owed, I told you that you did not have to pay anything. ³³ You should have showed mercy to that other servant, just as I showed mercy to you.’ ³⁴ The master was very angry and put the servant in prison to be punished until he could pay everything he owed.

³⁵ “This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

In this question, response, and parable, we discover just how important forgiveness is in God’s eyes. If having faith in Jesus is the most important thing for us to do, forgiving others is a close second. We could say that this passage forces us to admit that in order to stay forgiven, we must be forgiving.

It is also worth pointing out that we have already been forgiven. Jesus’ death on the cross allows God to extend forgiveness to all of humanity, and in many ways, our default state after Jesus’ death and resurrection is forgiven. However, if we choose to not extend forgiveness towards others, then we forfeit our forgiven status and we bring God’s judgment onto ourselves.

God has called us to place our faith in Jesus, to love others even if they have wronged us, to love those who are different from us, to focus on living the way God wants us to live while praying for His will to be done, and to forgive others because we have been forgiven of infinitely more. In this challenging passage, Jesus shares with us the things that matter most from God’s perspective!

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 live God’s will in your life. Choose to be forgiving towards others because God has forgiven you of so much more, and when others hurt you, follow the steps for resolution that Jesus shared at the beginning of our passage.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to grow closer to God each and every day. With a strong connection with God, our thoughts, hopes, and desires will match His thoughts, hopes, and desires and we will be the representatives for Him that He has called us to be.

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

Of all the places in the gospels, and of all the places specifically in Luke’s gospel, I am fascinated and intrigued by the passage we will be focusing in on for this episode. In this passage, Luke gives us an illustration Jesus shares without giving any context. Luke is the only gospel to include this event, making it more difficult to determine the context as well.

This has let many people to conclude different things regarding what this illustration is intended to teach and how literal we should understand the scenario. Some people believe the passage we will be reading proves there is consciousness after death, while others say that Jesus isn’t teaching what literally happens after death but instead He draws out a spiritual truth using a unique frame of reference.

There is also a theory that Jesus took a parable the religious leaders had and flipped the ending.

For those familiar with the Bible, you no doubt have already figured out that we will be discussing Jesus’ illustration of the Rich Man and Lazarus. There are many details in this parable that set it apart from Jesus’ other parables, while one big detail shines through that almost all of Jesus’ parables includes.

Let’s read what happened and discover what we can learn from Jesus’ illustration. Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 16, and we will read from the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 19, Jesus says:

¹⁹ “Once there was a rich man. He was dressed in purple cloth and fine linen. He lived an easy life every day. ²⁰ A man named Lazarus was placed at his gate. Lazarus was a beggar. His body was covered with sores. ²¹ Even dogs came and licked his sores. All he wanted was to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.

²² “The time came when the beggar died. The angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In the place of the dead, the rich man was suffering terribly. He looked up and saw Abraham far away. Lazarus was by his side.²⁴ So the rich man called out, ‘Father Abraham! Have pity on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water. Then he can cool my tongue with it. I am in terrible pain in this fire.’

²⁵ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember what happened in your lifetime. You received your good things. Lazarus received bad things. Now he is comforted here, and you are in terrible pain. ²⁶ Besides, a wide space has been placed between us and you. So those who want to go from here to you can’t go. And no one can cross over from there to us.’

²⁷ “The rich man answered, ‘Then I beg you, father Abraham. Send Lazarus to my family. ²⁸ I have five brothers. Let Lazarus warn them. Then they will not come to this place of terrible suffering.’

²⁹ “Abraham replied, ‘They have the teachings of Moses and the Prophets. Let your brothers listen to them.’

³⁰ “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will turn away from their sins.’

³¹ “Abraham said to him, ‘They do not listen to Moses and the Prophets. So they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”

With this last message, the illustration ends. Jesus doesn’t appear to give any context for it.

However, I don’t believe this is true. I believe there is context for this illustration and a clear theme that is worth paying attention to. I also believe this is just as much of an illustration as when Jesus taught on the Good Samaritan. While there isn’t the typical opening or anything tying this teaching to God’s kingdom, that also should be significant, because the only kingdom that matters in eternity’s perspective is God’s kingdom, and God’s kingdom is nowhere connected with this dualistic scenario.

I believe the context for this illustration is lost because most people don’t connect the scenario.

Jesus’ teaching in this passage comes immediately after what we focused on in our last episode. Near the end of that passage, we read in verses 14 and 15 of chapter 16: “The Pharisees loved money. They heard all that Jesus said and made fun of him. Jesus said to them, ‘You try to make yourselves look good in the eyes of other people. But God knows your hearts. What people think is worth a lot is hated by God.’”

The reason this context is lost is because between this illustration and that context are two uniquely different challenges, one about the eternal nature of God’s law while the focus of what is being shared changes, and the other about how divorce is seen in God’s eyes.

Many Bible headings will separate these events as well, prompting us to subtly believe Luke included these teachings without a context. However, Luke did not add headings to his gospel. The headings help us locate events, but they shouldn’t be used to separate events.

Jesus shared this illustration to Pharisees who loved money and who were making fun of Jesus. Jesus’ message to these Pharisees speaks volumes when He tells them “You try to make yourselves look good in the eyes of other people. But God knows your hearts.”

Then a few verses later, in our illustration, we discover a rich man who looked great in the eyes of everyone who misses out on being honored in the next life because of his actions and belief in the current life. This rich man in the parable, while not having an immediate context, clearly represents the Pharisees who were making fun of Jesus.

Some people point to the detail that Lazarus is given a name in this illustration, which is different from all other parables Jesus shared, and conclude that this means Jesus’ teaching is more literal than figurative – ignoring all the other very figurative language. I wonder if Jesus is subtly predicting and foreshadowing the resurrection of an actual man named Lazarus.

The Lazarus that was raised from the dead we know very little about. The only detail we really know is that he was Mary and Martha’s brother. Some people believe these two people of the same name are connected, but I am doubtful. If Jesus went to visit Mary and Martha and they told Him that they had a brother who was a beggar with sores all over His body, I suspect Jesus would have helped them and healed their brother. While this is not hinted at anywhere in the gospels, this action would be very consistent with Jesus’ character.

However, if these two men named Lazarus refer to the same man, then Jesus directly predicts Lazarus’ death, and while Jesus’ illustration in our passage for this episode does not have Lazarus being raised from the dead, it does accurately predict the response the religious leaders have when the real Lazarus is raised.

Jesus’ illustration ends with the message in verse 31, “They do not listen to Moses and the Prophets. So they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

A clear resurrection would not be enough to convince the religious leaders. These Pharisees had twisted their picture of God and their religion far from what God had given through Moses and through His prophets. Lazarus returning to life would not be enough to convince them and Jesus’ return to life only prompts them to bribe the soldiers into lying about what happened. Clearly predicted resurrections are not enough to convince someone stubbornly opposed to God, who ignores the messengers He sends.

However, a big theme is included in this illustration that many of Jesus’ other illustrations also include. This theme says that God loves those who are hurting, and He desires to help them. This theme is clearly present in the Lazarus character of this illustration, who appears to be punished by God but who simply is living a challenging life in a sinful, disease-filled world. God longs to heal this planet, but He is waiting until the time is right so that sin will never reappear in a perfectly recreated eternity!

I will leave you to decide whether this illustration teaches more than this about what happens after death. While it is possible, any truth we gather from this illustration must include the big themes and context we shared here, it must align with God’s character of love, and it must harmonize with the big themes of the entire Bible.

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 and choose to accept God and the people He brings into your life without needing to be challenged in a big way.

Always, pray and study the Bible for yourself, and filter what you hear, see, and read through the big themes in the Bible to discover God’s truth for your life. Don’t let anyone dictate what you should believe from the Bible. Instead, take their ideas and test them against the truth revealed in 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 abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we continue moving through Jesus life as recorded in Matthew’s gospel, we come to passage in Matthew’s gospel where the disciples ask Jesus a question, and mixed in with Jesus’ response is a warning that we all should pay attention to.

Our passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 18, and we will read it from the New International Version. Starting in verse 1, Matthew tells us that:

¹ At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

² He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. ³ And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Let’s pause reading our passage here, because I want to draw our attention onto something amazing. As this passage opens, some of the disciples come to Jesus with what seems like a simple and innocent question. These disciples want to know who the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is.

Perhaps something was lost in translation, or perhaps Jesus simply reads more directly into this question, but when I think about who the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is, I am left answering God, and this would include God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I would picture the Godhead as being the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

It’s possible Jesus would see things in a similar way, however, because He knew the follow-up question would be about who comes next, Jesus simply skips over God and answers this other question.

It is also possible that the disciples really want to know what characteristics God values from those living in heaven, and Jesus decides to answer this question as well.

While the disciples likely didn’t expect Jesus’ response, I’m sure it definitely challenged their way of thinking, because Jesus calls a child over to them and uses this child as an example of what we should be like. One of the other gospel writers who included this event implies that Jesus called over an infant or a toddler, which emphasizes His point even more. If we don’t recapture certain aspects of children, then we will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

What aspects might Jesus be referring to?

When I think about the answer to this question, I would have to conclude that faith, trust, love, and a desire to be obedient. When I think about my children at the age that this child may have been, I can see how these characteristics are clearly visible. While I am not a perfect dad by any stretch of the imagination, I know that when I looked into the eyes of each of my children at this age, their eyes showed love, trust, and faith. Also at this age, while it was sometimes annoying for my wife and I as parents, each child wanted to help and do things for themselves even if it would have been easier had mommy or daddy helped.

I believe God wants all of us to experience the same type of trust when we look at Him. While life is more complex as an adult than it is as a child, our spiritual lives are not meant to be complicated. Instead, a simple faith is a more significant faith, and a simple trust in God is a profound trust in God.

This passage then shifts over to warning about those who cause others to stumble. Jesus shares some pretty harsh words towards them. Let’s continue and read the warning Jesus shared. Continuing in verse 6, Matthew tells us that:

⁶ “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

⁷ Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! ⁸ If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. (And then some manuscripts add or exclude verse 11, which says: ^[11] For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.)

In this passage, Jesus challenges those who cause “little ones” to stumble. He says some pretty harsh things about them. In the context of this passage, Jesus could be referring to literal children, as well as those who are childlike in their faith and those who are new to the faith. We can understand this challenge from quite a number of different angles, and the more angles we have, the more challenging this challenge becomes.

However, I believe Jesus is calling all God’s people to a simple, trusting, faith – specifically a faith that believes that the best is coming and a faith that doesn’t need all the answers.

The only other section of this passage that I want to focus on briefly is Jesus’ challenge that it is better for us to enter life with only one eye or one hand or one foot. While this makes an interesting mental image of lots of disabled people in heaven, I believe Jesus is reemphasizing that we shouldn’t let anything cause our faith to stumble, even if it is a part of our bodies.

For the record, I don’t believe there will be injured or disabled people in heaven because Jesus has promised us new bodies that haven’t been tainted by sin. Our new bodies will be perfect, and while I have no idea what perfect means in this context, I am left having faith that I don’t need to know now, because when the time comes, I will be more than happy with the results.

When we have questions that challenge our faith, we shouldn’t let the questions shake what we believe. If the question can be answered, then great. However, if the question does not have an answer, or if the answer is something that can only be known after history has come to an end, then we should leave the question unanswered and hold tightly to our simple faith.

God has given us enough evidence for His existence and enough evidence to show us His character. It is up to us to open our eyes to the evidence He has given and to have faith that looks past the doubt and into the promises He has given to us about our future 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 purposefully place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus and what He accomplished for each of us when He came to this earth to face the cross.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and strengthen your relationship with God. Through prayer and Bible study, we can know what God is really like, and we can fall in love with Him like He has fallen in love with each of us!

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

As we continue moving through Luke’s gospel, we arrive at a parable Jesus shared that I am fascinated by. However, unlike most of Jesus’ other parables, the hero of this parable, if you could call this character a hero, displays some very dishonest characteristics.

However, in spite of this character not being a positive role model, Jesus shared this parable for a very specific purpose, and Luke shares Jesus’ explanation for why after the parable itself ends.

Let’s read this parable, and unpack some big truths we can learn from what Jesus taught and why.

Our passage for this episode is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 16, and we will read it from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 1:

¹ Jesus also said to his followers, “Once there was a rich man who had a manager to take care of his business. This manager was accused of cheating him. ² So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give me a report of what you have done with my money, because you can’t be my manager any longer.’ ³ The manager thought to himself, ‘What will I do since my master is taking my job away from me? I am not strong enough to dig ditches, and I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that when I lose my job people will welcome me into their homes.’

⁵ “So the manager called in everyone who owed the master any money. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe?’ ⁶ He answered, ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write four hundred gallons.’ ⁷ Then the manager asked another one, ‘How much do you owe?’ He answered, ‘One thousand bushels of wheat.’ Then the manager said to him, ‘Take your bill and write eight hundred bushels.’ ⁸ So, the master praised the dishonest manager for being clever. Yes, worldly people are more clever with their own kind than spiritual people are.

In this parable, we discover a manager who is accused of cheating a rich man. It is worth noting that this manager is simply accused, however he has not been tried or found guilty of cheating. However, the accusation against him is significant enough to warrant the rich man deciding to fire this manager.

It also doesn’t help the manager’s case that when given the opportunity to present the record of the debts owed to this rich man, the manager clearly displays dishonesty. This makes me think that whatever the case was against the manager’s integrity was likely valid.

However, while the master praises the manager for being clever, there is nothing in this passage to indicate that the manager got away with his deception. The master simply needed to find out from one honest person what had happened and the dishonest manager’s plot would be foiled.

Actually, the manager likely knew his trick wouldn’t actually change any true debt that was owed. Instead, this trick simply opens the door to friendships, even if these friendships were formed on dishonesty. The trick is brilliant because while it looks like it is against the master because it deprives him of a percentage of his wealth, it is really a trick for quickly making friends.

However, with this manager’s dishonesty being shown now to every one of the people he is seeking friendships with, his reputation is gone if there was any reputation present before. Someone who is dishonest in one area is more likely to be dishonest in many areas than someone who is honest in every situation.

So why then did Jesus share this parable?

While the dishonest manager is praised for being clever, Jesus continues in verse 9 by telling those present:

⁹ “I tell you, make friends for yourselves using worldly riches so that when those riches are gone, you will be welcomed in those homes that continue forever. ¹⁰ Whoever can be trusted with a little can also be trusted with a lot, and whoever is dishonest with a little is dishonest with a lot. ¹¹ If you cannot be trusted with worldly riches, then who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you cannot be trusted with things that belong to someone else, who will give you things of your own?

¹³ “No servant can serve two masters. The servant will hate one master and love the other, or will follow one master and refuse to follow the other. You cannot serve both God and worldly riches.”

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who loved money, were listening to all these things and made fun of Jesus. ¹⁵ He said to them, “You make yourselves look good in front of people, but God knows what is really in your hearts. What is important to people is hateful in God’s sight.

¹⁶ “The law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were preached until John came. Since then the Good News about the kingdom of God is being told, and everyone tries to enter it by force. ¹⁷ It would be easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest part of a letter in the law to be changed.

¹⁸ “If a man divorces his wife and marries another woman, he is guilty of adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman is also guilty of adultery.”

In the verses that follow Jesus’ controversial parable, we discover that God values honesty and integrity more than we might realize. Nowhere is this dishonest manager presented as someone to model our lives after. Instead, his dishonesty is actually criticized by Jesus in the following verses.

Instead, Jesus used this parable to challenge honest people to use their money and wealth to build friendships and relationships so that when the money is gone or the budget is extra tight, we will be welcomed and helped by friends God has placed into our lives. I can say that a friendship my wife and I had while we were moving between homes was very valuable, because these friends opened their home to us for us to live with them for a few weeks while we were technically homeless while finalizing the purchase of our new home.

I suspect this is what Jesus was referring to in this parable. Nothing in our friendship was purchased, dishonest, or lacked integrity. However, the friendship wasn’t entirely free either. We have spent money doing things together and creating shared memories.

Jesus challenged the religious leaders regarding their focus. Many of the religious leaders had placed their focus on looking good and on building wealth. Having money was seen as a sign that God was blessing them.

However, Jesus pushes the religious leaders by saying that a focus on God and a focus on relationships are both more important than a focus on money. There is no way to buy your way into God’s kingdom.

Jesus finishes our passage looking at how God’s law is constant. Jesus did not come to change God’s law. Instead of changing God’s law, Jesus came to fulfill it and to draw God’s people back towards focusing on the things that God wants His people to focus on.

Through this parable that seems to highlight dishonesty, Jesus teaches that God values integrity more than we might realize, nothing that Jesus came to do would change God’s law, and that God wants His people to use money as a tool to grow genuine relationships with others. While friendships in this world are great, the best friendships are ones that will extend into eternity, and that only happens when we share Jesus with those God has brought into our lives, and help them realize the amazing gift Jesus offers to all of us through His death on the cross!

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 place Him first. Choose to obey God’s law and to live your life with integrity. Don’t model the dishonest manager. Instead, use the wealth God has given you to develop genuine friendships with others so that when the opportunity is right, you can share Jesus with them.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow personally closer to God. Through a personal relationship with Jesus, discover how you can open your heart, mind, and life to the Holy Spirit. Don’t let your relationship with God be dependent on others. Choose to personally grow towards God through personal study and personal prayer!

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