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Why People Followed Jesus: Luke 6:17-26

Published March 15, 2024 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: Luke 6:17-26 (GW)

17 Jesus came down from the mountain with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples and many other people were there. They had come from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They wanted to hear him and be cured of their diseases. Those who were tormented by evil spirits were cured. 19 The entire crowd was trying to touch him because power was coming from him and curing all of them.

20 Jesus looked at his disciples and said,

“Blessed are those who are poor.
    God’s kingdom is theirs.
21 Blessed are those who are hungry.
    They will be satisfied.
Blessed are those who are crying.
    They will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you, avoid you,
    insult you, and slander you
        because you are committed to the Son of Man.
23             Rejoice then, and be very happy!
                You have a great reward in heaven.
                    That’s the way their ancestors treated the prophets.

24 “But how horrible it will be for those who are rich.
    They have had their comfort.
25 How horrible it will be for those who are well-fed.
    They will be hungry.
How horrible it will be for those who are laughing.
    They will mourn and cry.
26 How horrible it will be for you
    when everyone says nice things about you.
        That’s the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.

Read Luke 6:17-26 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

During one of the heights of Jesus’ popularity, Luke describes a message Jesus gives to His followers. While Luke states that this message was given to the disciples, Luke qualifies the word “disciple” in this instance to mean the large group of followers present and Jesus likely spoke it loudly enough for everyone present to hear.

But while transitioning to Jesus’ less famous “Sermon on the Plain”, Luke shares some interesting details in the setup for this message. Luke tells us, “Jesus came down from the mountain with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples and many other people were there. They had come from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. They wanted to hear him and be cured of their diseases. Those who were tormented by evil spirits were cured. The entire crowd was trying to touch him because power was coming from him and curing all of them.” (v. 17-19)

When I read this, I am amazed at the detail in verse 19 that “the entire crowd was trying to touch him [Jesus]”. When I think about crowds and individuals trying to touch Jesus, I immediately think of the woman who tried to secretly touch the edge of Jesus’ robe. That event is so well known that seeing another place where people were clamoring to touch Jesus may come as a surprise.

It is during this commotion that Jesus turns and shares the four blessings and four warnings with His disciples. Luke doesn’t say that Jesus finished healing the sick in the crowd before beginning to speak; Luke simply transitions the focus making me think that Jesus paused in the middle of this crowd.

Luke shares two reasons for Jesus’ popularity at this point during His ministry. He tells us that the crowd of disciples “wanted to hear him and be cured of their diseases.” (v. 18a)

Wanting to hear Him and being cured of their diseases are two key reasons to follow Jesus. While some people think following Jesus is simply “fire insurance” (another way of saying they would rather go to heaven than hell), following Jesus out of fear does not produce true love. A “fire-insurance”, fear-based relationship does not create the society that God would want to build in heaven. There are many examples of fear-based societies on earth, and none of them are desirable to live in. Fear and love may not be able to co-exist together.

In order for love to be present on both sides of a relationship, there must be the freedom to choose and the desire to be present. This crowd demonstrates this by freely choosing to come to Jesus because they wanted to hear Him. The freedom to choose is the first key reason to follow Jesus.

But the second reason is because Jesus is able to heal us. Another way to say this is that He can free us from our diseases. Luke describes Jesus banishing evil spirits who were torturing others. The crowd came to Jesus in order to be helped by Him.

Jesus is interested in freely helping those who come to Him. Jesus wants us to choose Him because we want a relationship with Him and a relationship with God. God wants to win us over to Him through acts of love and a selfless attitude towards us. Jesus demonstrates this – and there is nothing fear-based in God’s approach of inviting us to follow Him!

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Redeeming Sinners: John 9:1-41

Published March 13, 2024 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: John 9:1-41 (NLT)

1 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!

8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!”

But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”

10 They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?”

11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!”

12 “Where is he now?” they asked.

“I don’t know,” he replied.

13 Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, 14 because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”

16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.

17 Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”

The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”

18 The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”

20 His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”

24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”

25 “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”

26 “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?”

27 “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”

28 Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! 29 We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”

30 “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. 32 Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.”

34 “You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.

35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”

37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”

38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.

39 Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”

40 Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”

41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.

Read John 9:1-41 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Have you ever been rejected because of something true that you said?

Or looking from the opposite perspective, have you ever not been interested in hearing the truth about something?

In this passage, we find an amazing declaration about Jesus that is logically sound and true, and when it was shared, the reactions of those who heard it revealed the state of their hearts.

This man who was born blind, who Jesus healed, and who has been brought in for questioning a second time responds by saying, “We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but He is ready to hear those who worship Him and do His will. Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. If this man were not from God, He couldn’t have done it.” (verses 31-33)

This is a logically air-tight conclusion. Only God could have given Jesus this ability, and God does not listen to sinners but only to those who worship Him and do His will. Therefore, Jesus must be from God.

Truth polarizes people. The truth about Jesus polarizes people even more.

The Pharisees respond not against the argument the man gives, but against the man’s character and heart. They reveal their belief that God punishes the children of sinful parents, and that these sinful children are trapped in their sin – never to be saved out of it.

However, this is a complete distortion of God’s character. Regardless of whether the formerly blind man was a complete sinner from birth or not, this does not change the logic and the miracle that took place. It would not be a stretch in my mind to think that Jesus set up this entire event with someone who the Pharisees already hated, just to teach the truth that God loves all people.

Jesus loves sinners. Jesus loves pointing sinners to God. Jesus loves redeeming sinners.

The Pharisees had a worldview and belief that said that sinners cannot be saved and their sins will forever keep them out of God’s presence. Jesus counters by saying that God loves sinners, and He came to take their sin upon Himself and show them a better way forward.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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The Reason for a Fourth Gospel: John 20:24-31

Published March 12, 2024 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: John 20:24-31 (CEV)

24 Although Thomas the Twin was one of the twelve disciples, he wasn’t with the others when Jesus appeared to them. 25 So they told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But Thomas said, “First, I must see the nail scars in his hands and touch them with my finger. I must put my hand where the spear went into his side. I won’t believe unless I do this!”

26 A week later the disciples were together again. This time, Thomas was with them. Jesus came in while the doors were still locked and stood in the middle of the group. He greeted his disciples 27 and said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands! Put your hand into my side. Stop doubting and have faith!”

28 Thomas replied, “You are my Lord and my God!”

29 Jesus said, “Thomas, do you have faith because you have seen me? The people who have faith in me without seeing me are the ones who are really blessed!”

30 Jesus worked many other miracles for his disciples, and not all of them are written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. If you have faith in him, you will have true life.

Read John 20:24-31 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Of the four records of Jesus’ life that are included in the Bible, John’s gospel is the most unique. While the other gospel writers seem to follow a similar path through Jesus’ life, and while they share many similar events, John’s gospel paints a different picture of Jesus, and John gives us insight into many events that the other gospel writers either didn’t know about, or ones they chose not to include.

Near the end of his gospel, John tells us the reason for his unique record of Jesus’ life. At the end of the second-to-last chapter, John tells us what prompted him to write his gospel, and the filter he used for choosing what events to include. John tells us, “Jesus worked many other miracles for his disciples, and not all of them are written in this book. But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. If you have faith in him, you will have true life.” (v. 30-31)

The filter John used when writing his gospel is that he chose events from Jesus’ life that help people see Jesus as Someone worthy of their faith. John’s goal was to paint a picture of Jesus, using events from Jesus’ ministry, where faith and belief are present, and it seems like the events John chose include both subtle examples of faith in among some not so subtle examples as well. John’s goal is helping his reader place his/her trust in Jesus because of what happened, and with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, John succeeds in this goal.

While the other gospels aim to preserve a record of Jesus’ life, John’s gospel aims to not only preserve a record, but John also wants to inspire the reader into making a decision for Jesus by the end of his book. Through his gospel, John has inspired more followers of Jesus than any other method throughout history. John’s impact on the Christian church really cannot be measured because most Christians who have lived since the first century have based their belief on at least one of the events in his gospel.

Reading John’s goal for his gospel also gives us the reason that most skeptics want to push John’s gospel aside. Skeptics really dislike John because through his testimony, we learn of a Jesus who is trustworthy, loving, and caring, and we see a picture of a God who is willing to move heaven and earth to restore a relationship with Him. John’s gospel, more than any of the other three, describes a God who desires a connection with us.

John’s gospel was written to help you and I place our faith and belief in Jesus. This means that when we read this gospel, we shouldn’t be surprised if we find examples we can use to strengthen our faith in Him!

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Leading Us Into Truth: John 16:5-15

Published March 8, 2024 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: John 16:5-15 (NCV)

5 Now I am going back to the One who sent me. But none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Your hearts are filled with sadness because I have told you these things. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go away. When I go away, I will send the Helper to you. If I do not go away, the Helper will not come. 8 When the Helper comes, he will prove to the people of the world the truth about sin, about being right with God, and about judgment. 9 He will prove to them that sin is not believing in me. 10 He will prove to them that being right with God comes from my going to the Father and not being seen anymore. 11 And the Helper will prove to them that judgment happened when the ruler of this world was judged.

12 “I have many more things to say to you, but they are too much for you now. 13 But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all truth. He will not speak his own words, but he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is to come. 14 The Spirit of truth will bring glory to me, because he will take what I have to say and tell it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take what I have to say and tell it to you.

Read John 16:5-15 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

If you ever thought Jesus wanted to say more to the disciples, John tells us that on the night He was betrayed, during a conversation Jesus has with His remaining followers a few hours before He would be arrested, Jesus says this exact thing. But instead of leaving His followers hanging, Jesus offers them hope about being able to learn this truth in the future. The time for them to know was not before the events, because the disciples were not ready for the truth.

In this conversation, immediately following His description of what the Holy Spirit’s role, Jesus tells them, “I have many more things to say to you, but they are too much for you now.” (v. 12)

It seems as though Jesus wants to open up completely with the disciples and share with them all of what He knows, but Jesus also knows that most of what He wants to share would not be understood by the disciples. The information would be too much for them on the front end of the weekend. But Jesus doesn’t leave them hanging without a promise or hope for learning the truth. Instead, He describes a way for them to learn the truth He wanted to tell them in person but couldn’t, and this way is through the Helper – one of the names given to the Holy Spirit.

In the next few verses, Jesus describes what the Holy Spirit would do for them. Jesus has already described the overall mission of the Holy Spirit, and now He narrows the focus and shares what the Holy Spirit will do for each of His followers. Jesus tells them, “But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all truth. He will not speak his own words, but he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is to come. The Spirit of truth will bring glory to me, because he will take what I have to say and tell it to you. All that the Father has is mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take what I have to say and tell it to you.” (v. 13-15)

In this set of verses, Jesus describes how the Holy Spirit will pick up where He left off and continue teaching the disciples. Just like Jesus walked through life with the Holy Spirit leading Him, Jesus describes that His followers should walk through life with this mindset as well.

Not only do we see the truth about God sending the Holy Spirit to help His followers in these verses, but we also can see a beautiful picture of how each member of the Godhead submits to the others. The Holy Spirit submits to God the Father and Jesus by only speaking what He hears. God the Father submits by giving everything He has to the Son. And Jesus has submitted through simply being present in this place as a human. Each member of the Godhead fulfills their role through submitting to the other members.

When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, He will lead us into all truth. This truth will affect our knowledge, our character, and our actions. The truth the Holy Spirit will reveal to us is life transforming. This truth will bring glory to Jesus and God the Father, and this truth is only possible because of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross!

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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