Reflective Bible Study

A theme among many of these passages is that as I read each segment while preparing these journal articles, I am amazed at what is said, and what is not said. My brain likes to fill in and assume some of the missing details, but in reality, the opposite could have happened.

This passage is a clear example of one where my brain has filled in details that are not present. Other places and invitations Jesus gives say that the invitee goes away sorrowfully or chooses to leave instead – but this passage is clearly silent on this. It is an assumption to think that the man left to bury his father just as it is an assumption to think that he seized the opportunity and followed Jesus. After verse 22, Matthew switches gears and the disciples leave the area in a boat with Jesus.

Why would Matthew have not included a few words to indicate the man’s choice? It could have been as simple as “He joined.” or “He left.”

Let’s look again at details included in the passage – perhaps Matthew does give an answer.

Verse 21 gives us a solid clue, because it clearly says that the one asking Jesus was one of His disciples.

Now think with me for a minute: Would Jesus say “Follow Me” to someone who was already currently a disciple? Maybe, because we do see Him say this a second time to Peter following His resurrection (John 21:19) but I am inclined to believe that Matthew tips us off to this being the call of a less prominent disciple. It would be interesting to know which disciple asked the question, but perhaps the point in this passage is not teaching us about one individual’s call, but instead about a call to follow that we all receive.

We are all called to follow Jesus, and while I don’t think Jesus wanted to insult the memory of the disciple’s father, I believe He wanted to shift our focus onto the things that really matter – specifically towards the future life for those who believe in Him.

During the supper Jesus shared with His disciples on the night He was betrayed and arrested, Jesus shares a prophecy with them that makes them all a little uneasy. Jesus also tries to point them towards His resurrection, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears because of the earlier statement.

Both Mark and Matthew record this conversation. Mark tells us that Jesus said, “You will all fall away, for it is written:”

“‘I will strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered.’” (v. 27)

But before they could interrupt Him, Jesus concludes this statement pointing towards His resurrection saying, “But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” (v. 28)

Peter is stuck on the earlier statement Jesus made, and we tend to focus in on Jesus’ prediction about him, but if we look closely, Mark tells us that Peter was not alone in his vocal commitment to Jesus. Both Mark and Matthew tell us that Peter insisted, “‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.’ And all the others said the same.” (v. 31 & Matthew 26:35)

We tend to focus on Peter and his big denial, but all the remaining ten disciples said the same according to both Mark & Matthew. They all vocalized their commitment to Jesus. At this point in the night, Judas had already left and was headed to the Jewish leaders and to round up the mob that would arrest Jesus.

The remaining ten disciples shared Peter’s commitment to Jesus; they just weren’t as vocal about it.

This makes me wonder if this passage, and what ultimately happens, hints at how easy it is for people to silently fall away. One disciple, Peter, went down in a big way, but the other ten loyal disciples all scatter without a word. While John and Peter follow from a distance, and John doesn’t have the same big failure Peter had, the other nine are silently gone, and we only see them later together, gathered back in the upper room.

In our own lives, while we may fail God in a big way, it is also possible to fail in subtle and more silent ways. Staying quiet when we should speak is often just as bad as saying the wrong thing when we should have been silent. Both are missed opportunities.

This passage cautions me to be wary of the subtle ways I can mess up – but it also gives hope that regardless of how public or silent my failure is, Jesus is ready to forgive and accept me back. He wanted to meet the disciples at Galilee after He had risen, and that was to welcome them back after their failures.

While reading about the disciples fishing adventure following Jesus’ resurrection, I am impressed by two details John includes in his version of this event. Following the disciples towing the nets full of fish to the shore, and after Peter had abandoned the disciples and dove into the water to swim to shore, John tells us, “So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.” (v. 11)

John wrote his gospel decades after this event had taken place, and even after so much time had passed, He remembered this event exceptionally well. This event had made such a deep impression on his memory that he even remembered the number of fish they had caught, which was 153, and that even with this high number of fish, the nets did not tear.

When we read about this event, we are tempted to only see one miracle: the miracle catch of fish after having come up empty the previous night. But there is another miracle here as well, and that is the miracle that the nets did not tear. This is a distinctly separate miracle because while the miracle of the fish is one of abundant blessing, the miracle of the nets is one of preservation.

This preservation miracle opens us up to seeing a new angle on how God can work. Not only should we pay attention to His abundant blessings, but we should also note that these blessings were not too much for us to bear. When God abundantly blesses us, He does so in a way that will not ultimately harm us in the long run – and this may mean that the blessing might look different than we might imagine.

Also, the miracle of the nets prompts us to see how God might work subtly – helping to preserve the things we have and helping them last longer. Similar to the children of Israel not having their sandals wear out while walking in the wilderness, God can choose to work by helping our stuff last longer as well. We might not think of this as a miracle, but it may be much more than simply a coincidence.

God’s blessings come in many ways, and the miracle of the nets, while overshadowed by the miracle of the fish, helps us focus on God’s preservation as one way He may choose to work in our lives.

Have you ever wondered whether or not you made the right choice when faced with a difficult decision?

In this passage, I want to focus specifically on what we can learn from Jesus and His response to Martha that Mary has made the “right” choice.

The setting of this passage describes two opposite personalities: a detailed and task-oriented personality, and a relationship driven personality. Often, we look down on Martha because she was so focused on the details, but I don’t think that was what Jesus was talking about when He was making this statement. If this were the case, we could make the argument that God likes some personalities better than others – which is an argument that doesn’t sit well in my mind.

However, while we have two opposite personalities present in this scene, we also have a clear priority given by Jesus. Martha’s personality says that one shows love, respect, and appreciation through acts of service and by serving well. Mary’s personality says that one shows love, respect, and appreciation through quality time spent and by giving attention to the person.

Jesus didn’t tell Martha to stop serving; a response like that would have been counter to her personality. Instead He tells her to stop worrying about getting all the details perfect and to leave Mary alone. The priority Jesus makes clear for us is this: Relationships are more important than appearances. Loving/Helping people should be our priority.

Sure the details matter, and without people focused on getting the details right, we would waste a lot of unnecessary time, but when given the choice, a personal relationship should always come before the details of a task.

This comes easier for some people than for others. I can easily relate with Martha, because I have the task-driven, detail-oriented personality. God is helping me see the importance focusing on the relationship over my natural tendency to ignore relationships in favor of focusing on getting it right. I have come a long ways, but I know there is still a long way to go. What I do know though is that relationships are more important than details and people are more important than perfection.