Reflective Bible Study

If we look out at culture and at what is happening in our world today, there are plenty of examples of people who have reacted poorly because their feelings were hurt. I can easily use myself as an example because there have been plenty of times I have reacted – or overreacted – negatively because of hurt feelings.

This may be why, when I read this journal entry’s passage, the response James and John give Jesus jumps out at me: “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven and destroy those people?” (Verse 54)

Perhaps this was the first town that had refused Jesus, and James/John didn’t know how to handle a group of people who actively chose to reject the Messiah. Maybe it was pride from being around Jesus, arrogance that they had performed miracles, or simply because they were trying to stick up for Jesus, thinking His feelings were hurt, but whatever the reason, looking at this situation as an outside observer, it is easy to see how these two disciples over reacted.

When our feelings take precedence over our self-control, then it is easy to overreact. Destroying a town of hundreds or thousands of people simply because the gatekeeper or leaders didn’t want to let Jesus and His disciples stay there is way too strong of a response. The town would have had sick people Jesus could have healed, confused people Jesus could have taught, and hurting people Jesus could have loved.

Jesus would have done nothing but positive things for that town, but pride in the town leaders stopped Jesus from entering, and pride in two of the disciples’ hearts caused them to overreact when they heard the news that the town was not interested in letting Jesus stay there.

Pride closes the door for God to work in our lives. Pride takes the focus off of selfless help for others and refocuses it onto selfish help for oneself. The town missed out because of their leaders, but that was the leaders’ choice. When we face situations where we are rejected, it is a chance to practice maturity by not overreacting because of our feelings. Intentionally focusing on helping/giving/serving others without expecting anything in return is the antidote for pride in our lives. Jesus came to help/give/serve and He calls us to be like Him.

While Jesus was teaching His followers about being ready for His return, and as He was sharing parables and illustrations with them, Peter asks Jesus a question that many of us have likely asked at some point in our lives: “Lord, did you tell this story to us or to all people?” (v. 41)

In this question, we have several possible answers. Jesus could be sharing this story to just this small group of disciples, for their own ears and minds. Or Jesus could be sharing this story to all of His followers regardless of when they lived in history. Jesus even could be sharing this story to everyone who has ever lived at any point in history, regardless of whether they believe in Jesus or not.

But which answer is it? How does Jesus respond?

Luke tells us Jesus replied by saying, “Who is the wise and trusted servant that the master trusts to give the other servants their food at the right time? When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed. I tell you the truth, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns. But suppose the servant thinks to himself, ‘My master will not come back soon,’ and he begins to beat the other servants, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master will come when that servant is not ready and is not expecting him. Then the master will cut him in pieces and send him away to be with the others who don’t obey.” (v. 42-46)

While Jesus continues talking after this, it is almost as if His response completely ignores Peter’s question. Jesus first restates that a question has been asked, but He doesn’t really tell us if this parable is limited to a certain group of people or not.

Because of this, I am led to believe that this parable is aimed at everyone, and while it is relevant for everyone, it is only useful if it inspires Jesus’ followers to be responsible and diligent about doing the work He has called us to do. Jesus promises more responsibility for the servants who are faithful with what they have been given, and with more responsibility come more talents and blessings too.

This parable is relevant for everyone because when God’s followers are doing what He has called us to do, the world will be transformed and everyone’s life will be impacted by the love of God.

On the night Jesus was arrested while He and the disciples were finishing up their last supper together and making their way towards the garden of Gethsemane, John’s gospel shares in detail Jesus’ conversation with the disciples. While reading this event, a set of verses stood out to me in a different way than they had before.

John tells us Jesus told the disciples that “I will not leave you all alone. I will come back to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. You will live because I live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father and that you are in me and that I am in you.” (v. 18-20)

In this set of verses, three phrases stood out that I’ve never noticed before, and these three phrases together give us two clear promises we can hold on to.

The first two phrases form the first promise, and this promise relates to Jesus’ return. Jesus begins in verse 18 by saying, “I will not leave you all alone. I will come back to you.” In the context of these two phrases, we have the first phrase emphasizing the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, and the second phrase emphasizing Jesus’ return. Together, these two phrases bring us the promise that Jesus will return, and until that happens, we have God’s Holy Spirit to lead us, teach us, guide us, and keep us company.

The third phrase is the last statement in verse 19, where Jesus states: “You will live because I live.” This phrase stands out in my mind because it shows there was no doubt in Jesus’ mind that there would be resurrection and new life following the cross. It also shows us that our future life depends entirely on what Jesus accomplished on that cross. The promise in this statement is clear: The only reason we have life is because Jesus gave His life for us.

Together, these three statements combine together to create the true reason for every Christian’s hope: Everyone of Jesus’ disciples and followers desires more of the Holy Spirit in our lives; we also look forward to the day Jesus returns; and we recognize that the only reason we have life is because Jesus gave His life for us.

Occasionally while reading an event, a phrase or detail will stand out and give me a clue into what the disciples thought, which reveals a little piece about their character.

The passage for this journal entry has such an insight, but it is most easily seen when looking at both Matthew’s and John’s versions together. In Matthew, we read the following verse: “When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. ‘Why this waste?’ they asked. ‘This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.’” (Matthew 26:8)

Contrasting that with John’s gospel, we read, “But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” (John 12:4-6)

If we blend these two statements, we can see that at least some of the disciples were indignant, while Judas Iscariot perhaps was the one most irritated by this woman’s action. This irritation prompted Judas Iscariot to be the specific disciple who spoke as a representative for the group of those who were indignant.

John draws attention to Judas Iscariot’s motives – that he was a thief, and not really all that interested in the poor – but what is also interesting is that by being indignant – which Matthew attributes to all the disciples (or at least a majority of them), we can get a glimpse of what they all thought about money.

Currently circulating is a rumor/debate regarding whether the disciples were among the affluent, rich class of society, or whether they were the poor. The two occupations that I’ve heard given as examples of rich would be fishermen (at least four of the disciples) and tax collecting (one disciple). This gives us a group of about half of the disciples, and the group includes Matthew, who tells us that the bulk of the disciples were indignant at how much money had just been spent.

While it is possible that the other disciples were only interested in self-gain like Judas Iscariot was, what I see revealed here is something that revealed the money attitudes of other disciples. There are wealthy people who are stingy, but there are many wealthy people who would grasp spending a significant amount of money for something/someone special. Since Mary had the perfume, we can conclude that she had some level of wealth, but the way Matthew records how the disciples respond, they react like individuals who don’t have much money – and for whom a year’s wages was a lot of money.

If the disciples had lived a wealthier lifestyle, then they wouldn’t have been indignant over that amount of money being spent on Jesus.

Jesus responds by saying that it isn’t about money, but about the gift, the symbolism, and the focus – and in this case. In our relationship with Jesus, money should never be the focus. Instead, we should focus on what Jesus did, what He is currently doing, and how much He means to us.