Reflective Bible Study

As we move through the gospels looking at miracles, we come to a miracle that is only predicted, but we are left to assume that it actually happened the way Jesus described. While other events are predicted and then described as happening as Jesus had predicted, this event ends before telling us the key disciple involved heads out to follow Jesus’ instructions.

However, while we don’t actually get any resolution with this miracle, the prediction of this miracle contains one of the biggest, most amazing themes in the entire Bible. In just four short verses, we see the gospel message described in a unique and powerful way – all because one of the disciples misrepresents Jesus unintentionally and Jesus gives Him a way to redeem the situation.

This miracle is only described in Matthew’s gospel, and while I wish that Mark, Luke, or John would have included it, I’m happy that it made its way into at least one of the gospels. Let’s read this event together and then discover the powerful theme that it includes.

Our miracle and passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 17, and for our episode this week, we will read it from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 24, Matthew tells us that:

²⁴ When Jesus and his followers came to Capernaum, the men who collected the Temple tax came to Peter. They asked, “Does your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

²⁵ Peter answered, “Yes, Jesus pays the tax.”

Peter went into the house, but before he could speak, Jesus said to him, “What do you think? The kings of the earth collect different kinds of taxes. But who pays the taxes—the king’s children or others?”

²⁶ Peter answered, “Other people pay the taxes.”

Jesus said to Peter, “Then the children of the king don’t have to pay taxes. ²⁷ But we don’t want to upset these tax collectors. So go to the lake and fish. After you catch the first fish, open its mouth and you will find a coin. Take that coin and give it to the tax collectors for you and me.”

In this event, we see a backwards tax being applied to those living in Israel. According to Jesus’ question and Peter’s response, taxes during the first century were paid by those outside of the king or emperor’s family. In Israel, that meant that taxes were imposed on them from outside sources. In the spiritual arena, we also see a tax imposed on the people for the upkeep of the temple.

This was backwards thinking on the part of the religious leaders, because they were to be supported on the giving of tithes and offerings, and not on the secular model of taxation.

However, the most amazing part of this miracle comes when I ask myself the question about where the coin came from to pay the tax?

First off, when faced with this challenge, the easy place to find a coin would have been from the disciples’ cash reserves. It likely had enough in it to pay the temple tax for all of them present. But that is not where the coin originated.

Instead, the coin came from a fish’s mouth, which opens a whole new set of questions and challenges. Think for a moment about how many unrelated events would have needed to align for Peter to randomly go down to the lake, cast out a line, and catch a fish with the exact coin necessary to pay the tax – oh, and succeed on the first try. When we think about all the details that would have needed to happen, this miracle becomes more amazing with each detail added.

This miracle is amazing when we begin to put all the pieces together. Either it was a miracle because God placed a coin in the mouth of the first fish supernaturally after the fish bit Peter’s hook, or one of the most impossible sequences of events would have needed to take place for this miracle to happen as Jesus described it if it didn’t have supernatural intervention after the fact. There is no escaping God’s involvement with this miracle even if we don’t know exactly which method He used to get the coin in the right fish’s mouth.

Since this could have only happened because God stepped in and worked miraculously to get Peter the coin, we must conclude that God paid the temple tax. While on one level, since God owns everything, He is the only one who could pay the temple tax, on another level, the tax that we owe God because of sin is impossible for us to pay on our own. The tax for sin is our lives given in death, and the only way we can escape paying this tax is by being adopted into God’s family.

However, this doesn’t mean that God will wipe our tax bill away, but instead, He files our tax bill under the payment for taxes that were paid through Jesus’ sacrifice. When we are adopted into God’s family, we are freed from the fear of punishment because of our past sin, and we live our future lives giving thanks to God for what He has done for us through Jesus.

The whole gospel of Jesus Christ is summarized in this miracle. When Peter messes up and fails Jesus, it wouldn’t surprise us if Jesus condemned or chastised him. However, Jesus does not condemn him for his failure. Instead, He gives Peter a way out that can only be described as a God-paid, miraculous solution.

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

As always, continue to seek God first in your life and live your life giving thanks for what He has done for you through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Accept that God paid a debt that you owed and could not pay, and that in return, the best way to say thank you is by living your life for Him.

Always continue to intentionally pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each day. While other people can give you things to think about, a personal relationship with God must be personal, and it cannot and should not depend on the faith or relationship of anyone else.

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 Mark begins winding down the events that happened in the temple during the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, he shares a brief statement one of Jesus’ disciples makes, and a startling response Jesus shares with the group of disciples. It is likely that the response Jesus gives prompts the conversation that we will focus in on during the next two episodes.

With that said, while it would be easy to skim past or skip over these two opening verses, these verses set the stage for a much bigger conversation, while also being surprisingly powerful on their own. Let’s read what happened when Jesus and His disciples leave the temple.

Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 13, and we will read it from the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 1, Mark tells us that:

¹ As He [and this is referring to Jesus] was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” ² And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.”

Let’s stop reading here. The next verse transitions into a conversation Jesus has with the disciples later that evening, and while that conversation is likely directly related to this short statement and response, what Jesus has shared here is too significant, and I don’t want us to miss this significance by attaching it to a larger passage in one episode.

In this short passage and conversation, Jesus makes a direct prediction, and He also makes a subtle one. The direct prediction was the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem which ultimately happened several decades later. The subtle prediction is that other buildings we build up will likely be torn down.

While I don’t know what the temple in Jerusalem looked like during the time Jesus and the disciples were alive, I do know that it was likely one of the most magnificent buildings in that region, and perhaps the grandest building that any of them had ever seen.

The Jews took pride in the temple they had built and decorated in Jerusalem. However, what was likely started as a project focused on giving God the best they had, over time and generations, the temple had become the focus in itself rather than simply a place designed to help those present focus on Someone else – specifically on God.

We can see that the temple was the focus in the statement this anonymous disciple makes. This unnamed disciple in verse 1 comments, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”

This statement has nothing to do with glorifying God, which is the only reason the temple had been originally constructed. This disciple’s statement is only focused on praising the building and those who constructed it and not on God, who it was constructed to glorify.

We could say the same thing about many of the iconic buildings in some of the most famous cities. Some of the most distinct buildings that immediately identify the city they are a part of are amazing to see, and they are engineering masterpieces. But few, if any, are constructed to glorify God. And when we look at what has been built, culture never praises God for it, but it praises itself and human ingenuity.

However, a building is simply a building. Jesus’ response, while shocking to all the disciples rings true with a huge, challenging truth: The best buildings we can construct as a human race are nothing but stones, wood, brick, and cement. The best buildings we can construct will ultimately not last past the disaster that Jesus knows is coming.

This leaves us with a question. Knowing that what we build will crumble at some point in the future, should we even try to build anything new, grand, or spectacular?

I would answer this question with a yes. In Jesus’ response, we don’t see any hint that the temple or other grand buildings are evil or wrong. A building is simply a building.

However, a building is never meant to be our focus. Instead, buildings are meant to be places where people can live, work, and collaborate with each other.

In the case of the temple in Jerusalem, it was constructed to be a place where Jews came to worship God and to offer their sacrifices to Him. In the cases of buildings today, they are constructed to help us fulfill purposes beyond simply looking pretty on the outside or inside. Houses are constructed to be places where families can grow and live together. Office buildings and factories are buildings constructed for people to be able to work and accomplish things with the help of each other. Churches are buildings designed for people to come together to worship God.

Buildings should never be seen as the ultimate answer to problems. This is because buildings come and go. Instead, buildings are to be seen and used as tools helping us achieve things together. Just like buildings are a result of hundreds, if not thousands, of people working together in many different industries, buildings are used by many people to accomplish things together.

The best humanity can create or build is nothing when it comes to what God has in store for us in heaven. Culture wants us to minimize God while glorifying what humanity is capable of building. Jesus challenges His followers to glorify God while being realistic about what humanity is able to accomplish.

Natural disasters, terrorism, and other catastrophes can easily destroy in minutes a building that took years to construct. This is why Jesus challenges His followers to not focus on amazing or extravagant buildings. Buildings come and building go, but what matters above everything else is giving glory to the One who created life, and the One who gave His life for each of us!

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

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to glorify Him in whatever environment you are in. Whether you are in a home, an office, a factory, a vehicle, or outside, take a few moments to give God the glory and thank Him for blessing you with life, with breath, and with the gift of eternity together with Him. Resist the culture’s temptation to place buildings over relationships, especially when it comes to your relationship with God.

Also, continue intentionally praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and move closer to God each and every day. While what we pray and study might matter to some, what matters more is that we actually pray and study. Praying and studying our Bibles is infinitely more significant than trying to find the best place to study in. Don’t let the lack of an ideal location stop you from growing closer to God through prayer and study.

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

As we move through the gospels and the miracles Jesus did to help people, we come to a miracle that perhaps should have happened before Jesus arrived. However, because of a number of circumstances, we discover that this situation needed Jesus when His disciples alone did not succeed.

However, in this miracle, I wonder about several things, and while we read it together, I’ll pause and talk about several of the details that stand out to me in this event.

Our passage is from the gospel of Mark, chapter 9, and we will read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 14, Mark tells us that:

¹⁴ When they [referring to Jesus, Peter, James, and John] came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. ¹⁵ As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

¹⁶ “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.

¹⁷ A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. ¹⁸ Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

¹⁹ “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

Let’s pause here for a moment. I’m not sure how many times I have read this passage, but before just now, I never realized that the other disciples were arguing with teachers of the law. This phrase could mean Pharisees, Sadducees, or any of the other groups of religious leaders. I wonder if both the disciples and the religious leaders present tried and failed to drive the spirit out.

In a way, I wonder if both groups of religious leaders sensed a situation that could be seen as similar to Elijah’s confrontation with the worshipers of Baal at Mount Carmel. However, in this event, both sides claimed to be on God’s side, while believing the other side was not.

When Jesus arrives, sees the arguing, and gets the details surrounding this situation, the first thing He challenges everyone present on is their lack of belief. This challenge is aimed at both the disciples and the teachers of the law. The implication in Jesus’ challenge is that they all lacked the faith and belief necessary to drive this demon out.

It is at this point where Jesus tells them to bring the boy to Him. Mark continues in verse 20 by telling us:

²⁰ So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

²¹ Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. ²² “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

²³ “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

²⁴ Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Pausing our reading again here, let’s look a little closer at this boy’s father. I imagine the father had been through an emotional roller coaster the previous few hours, as he had brought the boy to Jesus’ disciples believing they could help and then watching them fail. The boy’s father may have even watched the religious teachers try and fail as well.

The only reason the father was there with his son was because he had faith that Jesus could help him. However, there was a war raging in the father’s head between faith and doubt, between belief and unbelief. This internal conflict slips out when he uses the phrase “if you can” directed towards Jesus.

Jesus jumps on this idea, challenging it at its core while also giving us one of the most unbelievable promises in the entire Bible. Jesus tells the man and everyone present that “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

While this phrase in itself could be the subject of an entire podcast episode, we move forward to the next verse where the father completely acknowledges the war raging in his head and he asks Jesus for help facing this war. Mark tells us in verse 24 that, “Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’”

There was no hesitation in the man’s reply and Mark continues in verse 25, telling us what happened next:

²⁵ When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

²⁶ The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

²⁸ After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁹ He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

In this passage, one of the ideas that challenges me is with this final bit of information that Mark includes. When the disciples ask Jesus privately about their failure, Jesus replied by telling them that this kind of spirit can only come out by prayer.

This sounds good on the surface, but reading Mark’s account of this miracle, I don’t see Jesus praying anywhere surrounding this event. Matthew’s gospel has Jesus describe how the disciples didn’t have enough faith, but while that makes more sense on the surface, it still doesn’t solve the problem present here, because the disciples had previously cast out demons when they traveled around the towns of Israel in pairs.

It is also interesting and significant in my mind that the two gospels use two different ideas when describing why the disciples were unable to drive this evil spirit out. Matthew says that it was because of little faith, while Mark says that prayer wasn’t present.

These two ideas put together give us the powerful truth that prayer increases faith. While Jesus didn’t pray during this event, He had just spent the night in prayer. This miracle comes following the event known as the transfiguration of Jesus, and that event in itself demonstrates a high level of faith and a close connection with God.

In this event, the remaining disciples likely had let their prayer connection with God drift away from being strong, and I wonder if this failure challenged them regarding this big truth about prayer. I also wonder if these disciples came at this potential miracle with the attitude of building themselves up at the expense of the religious leaders. The potential pride was a sure likelihood that would have led to failure since God is unlikely to build someone up who is not going to return the glory they are given.

Prayer strengthens faith, and prayer is a reminder that we are small while God is big. Prayer helps reorient our lives by reminding us who we are and who God is. Prayer reminds us that we need God and because of this, prayer strengthens our faith.

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

Always keep seeking God first and placing Him first in your life. Intentionally choose to grow your faith through prayer, regular Bible study, and stepping out in faith in the direction you believe God is leading you. Move forward in life and let God direct your steps. Trust that when doors close, God has something bigger and better in mind, and that we also might need to grow or learn something more in order to be ready for that next opportunity. There are many reasons why doors close, but we can trust that God will only close the doors that are not good for us from an eternity’s perspective.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn personally what God wants to teach you through His Word. While other people can have great ideas, always test what you hear, read, and learn with what you see the Bible teach. God is more than willing to lead you to His truth, and His truth will not conflict with the Bible’s teaching.

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!

As we continue moving through our year focusing in on the events of Mark’s gospel, we come to an event that I believe is misunderstood by many people. This short event is when Jesus takes a break from teaching in the temple to sit near the temple money box.

However, while I believe this event is misunderstood, that doesn’t make it any less powerful of an event. Let’s read what happened before unpacking several things we can learn from this event. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 12, and we will read it from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 41, Mark tells us that:

⁴¹ Jesus sat near the Temple money box and watched the people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money. ⁴² Then a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which were only worth a few cents.

⁴³ Calling his followers to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. ⁴⁴ They gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had; she gave all she had to live on.”

In this short event, I wonder if the disciples didn’t even notice this widow at first. Prior to Jesus shining the spotlight on her gift, the few coins this woman gave hardly appeared significant in comparison to the large gifts of significant amounts of money.

But when Jesus does focus the disciples’ attention onto this widow’s gift, He tells His followers that she gave more than all the rich people.

Does this mean that God wants all His followers to give all their money to Him? In my own mind, the answer is a yes and no.

First off, in this event, nowhere do I get the impression Jesus was challenging His followers to do like this widow did. We don’t see in any of the gospels that record this event a challenge for the disciples to model this woman’s gift of everything. For this reason, the answer to our earlier question could easily be a “no”.

However, with that said, it is worth noting that God already owns everything. Whether we think we “own” something or not, whatever it is is actually God’s. This is just as true for our home and car as it is for our body and our breath. God created the universe and He owns every atom in this universe because of this.

Bringing this big truth into this discussion, the only giver in our short event who truly understands that God already owns everything is this poor widow who gave everything. She had two coins and she gave both to God. We don’t see her keeping one of her two coins. Instead, we see her give both her coins which shows an incredible faith in God to supply her needs.

In contrast, the extravagant gifts of the rich people were gifts of money that they did not need. This means that while they had plenty of money left over, and while they understood that giving was important, they had focused on their wants and needs ahead of placing God first. While it is possible that these large gifts included the giver’s tithe, nothing in how this event is recorded hints at this. Since the tithe was to be paid first, before expenses, and because Jesus describes these rich gifts as coming from what the rich people did not need, I cannot help but conclude that the gifts from these rich people does not describe them giving their tithe, even if these gifts were 10% or more of their income.

Because of this, we can see this poor widow being an example for us. This widow gives everything she has, which included her tithe and a free will offering, while the other givers only give after they had already satisfied all their needs. In this widow’s gift, we can see a challenge for us to give our gifts to God before anything else, and to not hold back what God may be calling us to give.

I don’t know if the Holy Spirit prompted this widow to give both her coins that day in the temple, or if she was that devoted of a person already. Whatever the case was, this widow gives something even greater than her gift of two coins. In this event, this widow gives her heart, her faith, and her trust to God that He will supply her needs. This widow does this likely knowing full well that her help will come from God and not from the organization that she was giving her money to.

At the time this widow gave her gift, the religious system was corrupt and it was unlikely she would be helped by it. More than anyone else living at that point in time, this widow would have known and realized her gift was being given to a corrupted institution. However, this widow still chooses to give.

This detail is important to realize. God calls us to give the money He has entrusted to us to further His mission on this planet. While we should be diligent regarding where we give our discretionary dollars, we should never exclude God’s church from our giving because we believe the church has fallen away. Jesus commended this widow’s gift to a corrupt institution.

God has called His people to give because giving is what He modeled for us. God wants to replicate His character in our lives and in our hearts. Because God is a giver, He wants His people to be givers as well. God gave us Jesus, and Jesus gave us His life in exchange for ours, and we are challenged to give our lives and hearts back to God as our way of saying thank You to God for everything He has blessed us with, which is similar to what this poor widow did with her gift!

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. Choose to give like this widow gave, and give God more than just your money – intentionally give God your faith, your hope, your trust, and your belief. Give God your heart like God gave you His heart!

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. While other people have many ideas and opinions about the Bible and what it teaches, don’t discount what the Bible says in favor of their opinion. Choose to filter our world through the truth the Bible teaches.

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!