Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

What God Has Trusted Us With: Luke 17:1-10

Published July 31, 2024 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 17:1-10 (NIV)

¹Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. ²It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. ³So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. ⁴Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

⁵The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

⁶He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

⁷“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? ⁹Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

Read Luke 17:1-10 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Occasionally, I wonder where we fit into the grand scheme of being servants of God.

In the 2,000ish years since Jesus walked on this earth, a lot has changed in the culture, and I think that in the amount of time that has passed between the New Testament authors and us living today, we don’t fully understand one of the key truths that Jesus is sharing in this passage. Quite simply, our first world culture doesn’t allow us to really understand this.

The part of this passage I am referring to is verses 7 through 10:

“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”

In our first world culture, we expect to have “time off”, “vacation”, and/or other benefits for working for someone or some company. While we have an incredible benefit package being connected with God, Jesus’ words in this passage seem to indicate that when we sign up for serving God, we give up our lives, and any piece of “self” that we want to have. Our time is now no longer “our time”.

Is this what Jesus is saying here, or is He hitting on a deeper truth that lies under the surface?

Part of me thinks this teaching pushes us to look deeper. All too often, we like to see the scriptures from our perspective in places where God might be trying to teach us things from His perspective. I think this passage blends the two ideas; I think we are to take this passage as understanding our role as servants of an eternal God.

This passage places on us the responsibility of giving up ourselves to God’s will. This is not God being a dictator, but God telling us that every single second we are alive, we are His witness to others. We are never to let the glory for this rest on ourselves, but instead, we are to always be pointing upward to our “Master”.

The closing words hold the key. We are to picture ourselves as “unworthy servants” who “have only done our duty.” There should be no pride drawing focus onto us. This passage speaks to us in light of our role as ambassadors of Jesus.

God is not a dictator. He is Someone who empowers us to be His representatives. This is not a role to be taken lightly. With great responsibility comes great trust. We are God’s servant-representatives to the world. He has trusted us with carrying on His character.

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!

Subscribe to this blog and never miss an insight.

The Subtle Follower: John 7:37-52

Published July 30, 2024 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 7:37-52 (NIV)

³⁷On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

⁴⁰On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

⁴¹Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? ⁴²Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” ⁴³Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. ⁴⁴Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

⁴⁵Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

⁴⁶“No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.

⁴⁷“You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. ⁴⁸“Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? ⁴⁹No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”

⁵⁰Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, ⁵¹“Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”

⁵²They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”

Read John 7:37-52 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, John’s gospel introduces us to a key spiritual leader who most likely lived in or near Jerusalem. This leader’s name was Nicodemus. Many people know Nicodemus from the late night conversation he has with Jesus early on in Jesus’ ministry, and Nicodemus also happens to be one of the unlikely heroes who shows up on crucifixion weekend to help with Jesus’ burial.

But sandwiched between these two events in Jesus’ ministry, Nicodemus shows up again in John’s gospel. While the other chief priests and Pharisees are speaking out against Jesus, Nicodemus asks a very perceptive question in an attempt to turn the focus of the conversation around. Nicodemus somewhat rhetorically asks their group, “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” (v. 51)

This question is very perceptive because it shines a light on what these religious leaders had done. They had drawn themselves away and trapped themselves in a room where the ideas were all one-sided and biased against Jesus. They had condemned Jesus based on their own impression of Him and not based on something Jesus actually had said or done.

Nicodemus calls them out on their bias, but it was already too late. Instead of responding to Nicodemus’ question, they turn on him while also showing their prejudice. They responded by stating, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.” (v. 52)

The Jewish leaders had closed their minds towards Jesus because He didn’t fit their mold of where a prophet would or should come from. Regardless of where Jesus was born, these leaders rejected Jesus on the basis that Galilee was never a source for any prophet. But even if no prophets had come out of Galilee before, that doesn’t stop God from doing something new.

In an odd, but also God-like way, the fact that Jesus was raised in Galilee actually helps give us a picture of Jesus’ character. If Galilee was the most secular, most worldly, and least “Jewish” part of the country of Israel, then that would be the perfect place for God to send Jesus to. Jesus came to seek and save those who had fallen away from God, and if Jesus was to reach those who God wanted to reach, He would need to be able to interact with them. The unconventional place Jesus was raised may have helped His ministry among those who the Jewish leaders had also rejected.

This subtle truth also has a bigger truth we can apply in our lives today. Regardless of where we have come from or where God will take us, He has a plan for every location He places us in. Our stories, while often sharing similar characteristics, hold a unique and key place in the grand story of history (His-Story) that God is writing. Just like Jesus was rejected because He didn’t grow up in the best or most obvious neighborhood, never let your past determine or limit what God can do through your present and future!

Subscribe to this blog and never miss an insight.

Flashback Episode — The Unanswered Challenge: Mark 11:27-33

Published July 29, 2024 in Audio Journal Entries

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iHeartRadio | RSS

Read the Transcript

As Mark continues to describe the events during the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, we discover another place where the religious leaders decide to challenge Jesus. However, unlike most other times the religious leaders bring a challenge Jesus’ way, this one ends in a way that these leaders did not expect.

Let’s read about what happened, and then take a few minutes to discover what we can learn from it.

Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 11, and we will read from the Contemporary English Version. Starting in verse 27, Mark tells us that:

²⁷Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem. And as he was walking through the temple, the chief priests, the nation’s leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses came over to him. ²⁸They asked, “What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”

Let’s pause reading here. Mark has framed this event as happening the day after Jesus clears the temple. In the immediate context of the timeline in Mark, this implies that the religious leaders’ challenge is directed primarily at Jesus’ clearing the temple courtyard.

However, in a broader context, Jesus has spent years teaching, healing, and preaching all around the region. Another angle for this question and challenge relates to Jesus’ broad ministry and who gave Him the authority to leave the life of a carpenter behind and step into the public eye like He did.

A third angle for this question relates to Jesus assembling 12 disciples. This was very abnormal in the first century. While discipleship was normal, most religious leaders who called disciples to follow them only called one or maybe two followers. Then Jesus comes along and He calls 12 of the least qualified people from the religious leaders’ perspective.

The original language might have hints at which of these angles the challenge being brought to Jesus is aimed at, but when looking at what happens and with the answer we know, the answer is the same regardless of the angle we understand the question.

Let’s continue reading and discover how Jesus responded. Continuing in verse 29, after He was asked the question:

²⁹Jesus answered, “I have just one question to ask you. If you answer it, I will tell you where I got the right to do these things. ³⁰Who gave John the right to baptize? Was it God in heaven or merely some human being?”

³¹They thought it over and said to each other, “We can’t say that God gave John this right. Jesus will ask us why we didn’t believe John. ³²On the other hand, these people think that John was a prophet. So we can’t say that it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize.”

They were afraid of the crowd ³³and told Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus replied, “Then I won’t tell you who gave me the right to do what I do.”

While I don’t know if these religious leaders talked loudly among themselves so that those present could hear them deliberate between the options, or if one of those in the group shared what was said with the gospel writers at a later date, it is interesting that Jesus gives basically the exact same challenge to back to the religious leaders. In Jesus’ counter question, we find the exact same dilemma being given back to the religious leaders that they gave to Jesus.

This question is a subtle trap because if Jesus answered that God gave Him the authority, they would then demand some type of proof, which would be subjective at best, and it would indicate that these religious leaders discounted or outright ignored all the signs around them already.

Instead, we see in Jesus’ counter question the perfect opportunity out of this challenge. The religious leaders’ fear of the crowd stops them from answering one way, and their fear of being judged by Jesus stops them from answering the other way. While I’m sure the religious leaders’ were not happy giving Jesus a “We don’t know” response, it is the only response that allows them to maintain their dignity in the face of the counter-challenge Jesus gave them.

Jesus could have responded to their challenge by simply saying that he had the same source of authority that John did, but while that would also sidestep the direct challenge while also being accurate, it would have allowed for an intentional misunderstanding and it would subtly misrepresent God. If someone in the crowd didn’t believe John was a prophet, then they would also be justified in believing Jesus wasn’t from God if Jesus had given this response.

From looking at this passage, the religious leaders have a greater fear that the crowd believed John had God’s authority, more than there being actual evidence the crowd actually believed this way. The religious leaders are scared to say the opposite because of something they suspected about the crowd, while nothing in the passage itself would suggest that the crowd present was as heavily weighted towards John being a prophet as they feared.

From Jesus’ perspective, the best way out of the religious leaders’ challenge is prompting the question itself to be withdrawn, and the way to do that is by asking a counter question that cannot be easily answered.

From this event, we discover that Jesus most likely had God as His source of authority. We can confirm this theory by simply looking at all the healing Jesus did, and all the miracles Jesus did over the previous years of His ministry. Without God’s approval and support, Jesus could have done nothing.

It is the same in our own lives. If we don’t have God’s approval or support, anything we try to do or build will simply not last. We might be really good at what we do and with what we build, but if God is not behind it, eternity will come and what we built will be left in the past as a distant memory.

This means that the best plan for moving forward is stepping into God’s will and into His plan for our lives. When we are working alongside God and doing what He wants us to do, then what we build and grow will last for eternity. When our focus is on pointing people to Jesus, then we are doing exactly what the Holy Spirit wants to do and we shouldn’t be surprised if the Holy Spirit enters our lives to help us achieve His goal!

Jesus’ entire ministry gave God the glory and it demonstrated God’s never-ending love for sinners. God loves you and me more than we can imagine, and Jesus came to take the punishment we deserve for breaking God’s law so we can be given the reward He deserved for living a sinless life. This is the gospel message and it is great news for everyone who decides to align their lives with God!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to align your plans and your will to His. Choose to lean on Jesus for everything you need in life and place your faith, your hope, your trust, and your belief in Him and His sacrifice on your behalf. Because of Jesus, we are assured of a new life with God that awaits us when He returns to bring us home to heaven!

While we are waiting for His return, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to purposefully grow closer to Him each day. Through personal prayer and study, we open our hearts to God and we let Him into our lives. When God is in our lives, He will lead and guide us along the path He created us to walk.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Flashback Episode: Year in Mark – Episode 31: When some religious leaders challenge Jesus over where He gets His authority, discover in how Jesus responds a powerful truth about life and about where the hearts of these religious leaders were placed.

Being a Disciple: Matthew 10:16-42

Published July 26, 2024 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 10:16-42 (GNT)

¹⁶“Listen! I am sending you out just like sheep to a pack of wolves. You must be as cautious as snakes and as gentle as doves. ¹⁷Watch out, for there will be those who will arrest you and take you to court, and they will whip you in the synagogues. ¹⁸For my sake you will be brought to trial before rulers and kings, to tell the Good News to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹When they bring you to trial, do not worry about what you are going to say or how you will say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you will say. ²⁰For the words you will speak will not be yours; they will come from the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

²¹“People will hand over their own brothers to be put to death, and fathers will do the same to their children; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. ²²Everyone will hate you because of me. But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. ²³When they persecute you in one town, run away to another one. I assure you that you will not finish your work in all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴“No pupil is greater than his teacher; no slave is greater than his master. ²⁵So a pupil should be satisfied to become like his teacher, and a slave like his master. If the head of the family is called Beelzebul, the members of the family will be called even worse names!

²⁶“So do not be afraid of people. Whatever is now covered up will be uncovered, and every secret will be made known. ²⁷What I am telling you in the dark you must repeat in broad daylight, and what you have heard in private you must announce from the housetops. ²⁸Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of God, who can destroy both body and soul in hell. ²⁹For only a penny you can buy two sparrows, yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. ³⁰As for you, even the hairs of your head have all been counted. ³¹So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!

³²“Those who declare publicly that they belong to me, I will do the same for them before my Father in heaven. ³³But those who reject me publicly, I will reject before my Father in heaven.

³⁴“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the world. No, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵I came to set sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law; ³⁶your worst enemies will be the members of your own family.

³⁷“Those who love their father or mother more than me are not fit to be my disciples; those who love their son or daughter more than me are not fit to be my disciples. ³⁸Those who do not take up their cross and follow in my steps are not fit to be my disciples. ³⁹Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for my sake will gain it.

⁴⁰“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹Whoever welcomes God’s messenger because he is God’s messenger, will share in his reward. And whoever welcomes a good man because he is good, will share in his reward. ⁴²You can be sure that whoever gives even a drink of cold water to one of the least of these my followers because he is my follower, will certainly receive a reward.”

Read Matthew 10:16-42 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

During Jesus’ initial “job description” for His disciples, He outlines a number of challenging ideas. But even with these challenging statements, Jesus shares a promise and He describes a bigger perspective regarding our life on planet earth.

Tucked within this challenge near the beginning of their time together, Jesus tells the disciples, “So do not be afraid of people. Whatever is now covered up will be uncovered, and every secret will be made known. What I am telling you in the dark you must repeat in broad daylight, and what you have heard in private you must announce from the housetops.” (v. 26-27)

In these few verses, Jesus gives the disciples their mission. The disciples are to repeat Jesus’ words and His teaching, regardless of whether it makes them “friends” or not. I put friends in quote marks because someone who will only be your friend if you choose to give up something is not a very good friend. But neither is someone who will only be your friend if you must do something for them to keep the friendship.

The truth of history would show that the disciples made more enemies than friends by sharing Jesus’ message following His death. While the disciples succeeded in sharing God’s message and opening the door for the Holy Spirit to draw thousands into the truth about Jesus, many more people chose to ignore or be hostile towards what Jesus’ disciples taught. Many of the most hostile ones were the Jewish leaders – the very same ones who put Jesus to death.

Our big perspective shift comes in the next statement, and it focuses on where we should place our fear. Jesus cautions the disciples by saying, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of God, who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” (v. 28)

Some might take Jesus’ words in this verse as a license to convert people by inspiring them to fear God and His “Hellfire” punishment. By itself, this definitely sounds like it supports a cruel picture of God, but Jesus again puts this fear statement in perspective with the next three verses. “For only a penny you can buy two sparrows, yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. As for you, even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!” (v. 29-31)

Jesus describes how we are so much more valuable than the least valuable living thing at that time. In the market, one could purchase two sparrows for a penny, meaning that each sparrow was worth half a penny. In some ways, we might believe that God sees us in a similar way.

In the expanse of the universe, on a speck of a planet, are some tiny two-legged and two-armed creatures. It might be easy to picture God like the first century culture pictured sparrows: “worth less than a single coin”, but Jesus counters this idea by first giving value to sparrows, before giving value to each of us humans. “yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. As for you, even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!” (v. 29b-31)”

The reason we serve God is not because He will destroy our body and soul in hell if we don’t. The reason we serve Him is because He values us so much that Jesus came from God to be a sacrifice for our sins. God loves us so much that He was willing to pay the penalty of sin so that we could be restored to Him. This endless, limitless love is the reason we serve, and when time ends and the heavens and earth are recreated, we will live together with God because of His love for us!

Subscribe to this blog and never miss an insight.