Reflective Bible Study

If we ever wondered or questioned God’s love for His people, this a portion of our passage for this entry helps us see how God loves us. While this passage is an excerpt from a much larger message to Jesus’ followers about remaining faithful to Him regardless of what comes our way through history, and while the majority of our excerpt is also warning, a phrase is present that shines of God’s love and His protection: “If the Lord does not reduce that time, no one will be saved. But those days will be reduced because of those whom God has chosen.” (v. 20)

This verse shouts of God’s love for us, and that no matter what happens, He is in control.

However, before you begin to question God’s love during this time when followers of His are being killed, one big key to understanding this verse is found in the phrase, “no one will be saved”. This says that there is something bigger at play here than simply one or two individuals. In this phrase, Jesus points forward to the ripple effect that our lives and relationships can have.

This phrase speaks of God ending the persecution before it has ended those who God has chosen, which gives us hope that regardless of what we face and how we might mess up, God will not let His message – His “Good News” – die.

However, slightly under the surface of this verse is another message of hope. For those who are killed, their lives still held a purpose. Some of the greatest testimonies are of those who willingly faced death because of their faith. For those who were killed, they have the promise Jesus gave that people can only kill the body; people cannot kill their whole being. God has the power to reverse bodily death and He has promised to do so for those who have died believing in Jesus.

Jesus promises to reduce the time His people are persecuted because they are His people. The persecution helps create character and resolve, but it was not ever meant to destroy. The persecution that Jesus’ followers face is like a fire that is meant to refine and not consume.

In this passage, the primary focus is on Jesus directly telling His disciples what would happen. Jesus tells them plainly that He will “be delivered into the hands of men.” Mark and Matthew’s account tells us that Jesus finishes the sentence, “and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.” (Mark 9:31; Matthew 17:23)

Here in Luke we see an interesting idea that Mark and Matthew don’t bring up, and that is the significance of this prediction was concealed (hidden) from them so they would not understand it. This brings up an interesting idea: “Sometimes God hides truth from us until we are ready to receive it.”

We have 3 or 4 events recorded where Jesus directly tells the disciples that He will be crucified, but they don’t seem to understand. One time Peter thinks He understands and tries to challenge Jesus saying this idea, which doesn’t go so well for Peter, but overall, it seems that only after Jesus has died and shattered their preconceived ideas about the role of the Messiah do they finally understand what Jesus came to accomplish.

I must ask myself: If God hid truth from the disciples, is it possible that He is hiding truth from me – at least until I am ready to receive it? If so, will I trust God enough to accept His timing and not try and push my own?

Of all the events in the gospels, probably the one that thrust Jesus into the spotlight more than any other was the time He fed a huge crowd with a young boy’s lunch. This event holds a very exclusive status as being an event that is included in all four gospels, and while Matthew, Mark, and Luke share many excellent details about this event, only the gospel of John goes into detail about where the food came from, and how it made it to Jesus.

After Jesus had challenged the disciples with an impossible for them task, we read an unlikely turn in the story. “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)

Even though Andrew brought the boy to Jesus, in how he introduces the boy to Jesus we can see plenty of doubt displayed: Andrew asks in the last portion of verse 9, “What are these for so many people?” This semi-rhetorical question doesn’t show much if any faith in what Jesus can do. But even while Andrew was doubtful, he still does something right – he brought the boy with his snack to Jesus.

While Andrew didn’t have any idea what would happen next, he knows that bringing this boy with his food as a gift for Jesus is the right thing to do. And so he leads the boy forward through the disciples as they are all grumbling among themselves about how to solve the problem of feeding this large crowd.

Eleven of the disciples are caught up in the problem, but only Andrew has something to offer, and only Andrew was observant enough to at least bring this boy through the group to allow him the chance to give his lunch to Jesus. Even though Andrew didn’t have much faith, the little faith he had, mixed with the boy’s gift was all that Jesus needed to perform one of the most famous miracles in His entire earthly ministry.

This miracle was only able to happen because a doubtful disciple chose to act and bring a boy with a snack to Jesus. Andrew acted even though he didn’t have much faith, and through this we learn that Jesus doesn’t need a lot of faith from us – just enough to inspire us to act!

Something that I notice when reading the gospels is how the different details that each gospel writer includes helps to change and amplify the story in my mind. It is the case in the event where a Roman officer living in Capernaum requests healing for his servant.

While this event is included in both Matthew and Luke’s gospels, only in the gospel of Luke do we see something that Matthew likely abbreviated to simply save space. In Matthew’s gospel, the Roman officer comes personally, while in Luke, the Roman officer sends Jewish elders from the synagogue.

What really jumps out at me in this unique detail is how these elders frame the officer’s request. Luke tells us that these elders come to Jesus and beg Jesus to come by saying, “This man really deserves your help. He loves our people and he himself built a synagogue for us.” (v. 4b-5)

The officer simply asks for Jesus to come and heal his servant, but the request these elders make is that this officer “deserves” Jesus’ help because he loves the Jewish people and he built their synagogue. Chances are that this was not how the Roman officer wanted his request framed.

Did Jesus bend to the request of these elders because this Roman officer “deserved” God’s help?

It is unlikely, because none of us deserve anything good from God. We have all sinned and broken God’s rules, and we all deserve punishment from God more than blessing. Jesus didn’t accept the officer’s request because of how the elders framed it – He accepted it because of what would happen next.

While on the way to the officer’s home, another message arrives. Perhaps someone had ran ahead and told the officer what had happened and what was said. Not wanting Jesus to really get the wrong idea, or for anyone to think that this request was framed with an immature attitude of entitlement, the officer sends some of his friends with a new message that began by saying, “Sir, don’t trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house…” (v. 6b)

While the Jewish elders felt that this officer “deserved” to have Jesus help him as a thank you for what he had done for them, this Roman officer did not feel this way. This officer knew Jesus was different, special, significant, and perhaps even holy, and that he was truly unworthy to have Jesus enter his home.

It is the same way for us today. We might feel as though God owes us something, but if we travel down that path of thought too long, we will end up bitter towards God. God does not have a debt towards us – it is really the other way around. We have a debt called sin that is owed to God. Jesus came to pay that debt for us. Jesus’ sacrifice frees us from the debt and allows us to have a restored relationship with God – a relationship that is not based on feelings of entitlement. Salvation (i.e. God’s help) is a gift we have been offered – not something we are entitled to receive based on what we have done or have not done. The Roman officer understands this, while the Jewish elders missed it.