Reflective Bible Study

In Jesus’ entire ministry on earth, one event stands out in His mind as an example of great faith. Jesus even draws our attention to how extraordinary it really was. Our passage actually says the level of faith demonstrated “surprised” Jesus.

In this event, a Roman officer sends a message to Jesus that a servant of his is sick and about to die, and he requests Jesus’ help. Matthew shares that the officer came to Jesus personally, while Luke actually points us to this officer actually sending some of the Jewish elders from the local synagogue with the request to Jesus.

But when Jesus accepts the request and starts towards the officer’s house, another message is sent with a message that Jesus does not need to come personally, but simply delegate the healing to be done like he gives tasks and responsibilities to the officers below him.

“Jesus was surprised when he heard this; he turned around and said to the crowd following him, ‘I tell you, I have never found faith like this, not even in Israel!’” (v. 9)

The level of faith this Roman officer demonstrated is extraordinary. He likely had never met Jesus personally, and so he only had rumors and reports about Jesus to go on. But these were enough for him to know that Jesus was capable of healing his servant.

The Roman officer also realized that Jesus’ healing was not His own ability, but something that He only had because God (or the gods) looked favorably on Him. In this way, the Roman officer knew that Jesus wouldn’t need to come personally, but simply speak the command – and that when He did, God would do what Jesus had requested.

This is the basis for the Roman officer’s faith – and Jesus calls it extraordinary. The officer didn’t need Jesus present or in person and he didn’t need to see it personally. All he needed was a message back saying that the servant would be made well.

Our passage concludes by saying in verse 10, “The messengers went back to the officer’s house and found his servant well.” Before the messengers could even make it back to the house, the servant was healed. Extraordinary faith results in extraordinary healing.

This Roman officer is a model for the faith we should have. We haven’t seen Jesus in person – but we do know what He can do from the reports (gospels) that we can read. We are unworthy to have Jesus even pay attention to us – but we know that He loves us even though we don’t deserve it. We don’t need to see to believe – we simply should have faith that what we ask Jesus to do will be done according to God’s will. Just like this Roman officer did, you and I can live a life that shows an extraordinary level of faith that can even surprise Jesus! It starts by believing without needing to see with our own eyes.

One of the most profound conversations in Jesus’ life and ministry is shared in John’s gospel, and it is a conversation Jesus has with a Samaritan woman. While Jews and Samaritans disliked each other, Jesus chose to cross the national and gender divide by first traveling through Samaria, then by striking up a conversation with this woman.

It is in this conversation that I find something both profound and perplexing. During the conversation, the woman shifts the topic away from herself and onto something that she had wondered about: “‘Sir,’ the woman replied, ‘I see that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, yet you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.’” (v. 19-20)

Basically, this woman is asking if the place where we choose to worship is important. She is asking if the “where” is as important as the “who”.

Jesus response is fascinating. He tells her, “Believe Me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (v. 21-24)

In Jesus’ response we see something interesting. Jesus minimizes the “where” in her question, but He elevates the “how”. This makes the “who” and the “how” of worship the most important factors in Jesus’ eyes.

The “who” is God. God wants us to worship Him. While the context is Jesus talking about worship directed towards the Father, I believe that worship that elevates any member of the Godhead is appropriate.

The “how” is where things get trickier. The description Jesus gives is “spirit and truth” and He gives this description twice for emphasis. Jesus compares the spirit side of worship to God being spirit, so there must be not only a spiritual side to our worship, but something that draws our attention away from our “physical” selves. Not only this, the only way we truly can bring spirit into our worship is with the Holy Spirit living and moving within us. This one side to worship that God wants from His followers elevates “true” worship past what most worship services supply on a given weekend.

However, the “truth” side of this challenge is where things get really challenging. It seems that everyone has their own flavor of what “truth” is. In this postmodern society, truth – in a spiritual sense – is becoming viewed at a more relative and less absolute. But one thing that most people can agree on is that worship should be aimed at pleasing the one we are worshiping. If we are choosing to worship God, then our worship should conform to what He views as truth.

God wants worshipers who have the Holy Spirit and His truth in their hearts – and when this is the case, it doesn’t matter where they are when they turn to Him!

In one of the most famous events in all four gospels, Jesus turns what is a hopelessly small meal for a small boy into a lunch that was able to feed over five thousand people. However, while all four gospels include this event, only the gospel of John gives details about where the food came from – and how the food ultimately reached Jesus.

After Jesus has challenged the disciples to get food, we read about an unlikely turn of events. “One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ‘There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?’” (v. 8-9)

What stands out to me in this event is the appearance of Andrew. This lesser known disciple was the brother of the famous disciple Simon Peter, the one who was looked to as a leader of the group of disciples, and the one who always seemed to either say something that was out of line or something that was incredibly profound.

Aside from Peter, James, and John, who were Jesus’ closest disciples, most of the other disciples don’t show up much by name in the gospels. There are Thomas, Matthew, Philip, and Andrew who occasionally appear, and there is Judas Iscariot who was the one to betray Jesus.

However, John tells us in his gospel that this was Andrew who brought the boy with his lunch to offer it to Jesus. This event in some ways echoes the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, where Andrew chooses to follow Jesus, and then he goes to get his brother and share with him the news that Jesus is the Messiah.

Andrew is the model disciple who is always seen bringing people to Jesus. While he wasn’t one of the most famous in the group of twelve, he may have been the most persuasive.

In our own lives, we might not be the most famous followers of Jesus, but we still can share what we know with others and we can still help others by simply bringing them to Jesus.

If Jesus made any obvious, challenging statements during His ministry, a statement in the passage we are focusing on is likely to show up on the list.

One of the relevant things Jesus liked to talk about was money, but this was not because He was fixated on gaining wealth, but because He knew those in His audience living in the first century did have a tendency to focus on what they had in their bank accounts and on growing that number. This characteristic of human nature is probably the one that is the most universal throughout human history.

Into this discussion, Jesus gives a very obvious statement – one that most everyone can agree on: “You cannot be the slave of two masters!” (v. 24a)

In case there was any doubtful thoughts in the minds of those present listening, Jesus explains further, “You cannot be the slave of two masters! You will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than the other.” (v. 24a)

With this emphasis in place, Jesus has the whole crowd in agreement. Even in situations where one has two bosses, an individual will not be equally loyal to both. If the two bosses agree on something, then everything is great, but if they disagree, then the individual may be forced to choose who gets the greater loyalty.

While this is a very practical, but obvious statement, Jesus then hits His key point for this illustration: “You cannot serve both God and money.” (v. 24b)

“Wait Jesus,” I can hear many in the crowd saying. “You mean we cannot be rich and servants of God?”

This conclusion is what many people who have read this verse have concluded, but I don’t think it is as straightforward as that. Otherwise, one’s estate would be a great measure of their Godliness.

Instead, I believe Jesus’ hinge statement in the middle of this verse is the key that we must pay attention to: “You will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than the other.”

This relates to the money discussion because while following God’s principles can lead to very wise money management, there may be times when God calls you to give. It is in the times when we are called to give freely that serving money clashes with serving God. It is in these moments when we must choose whether serving God is the higher priority, or serving the growth of our bank account.

When following God increases our bank accounts, we feel this is a win-win. But when God calls us to give, we learn where our loyalty and focus really is.