Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Right Beside Us: John 7:1-9

Published October 16, 2024 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 7:1-9 (NASB)

As I read the gospels, sometimes I get the feeling as though Jesus and His disciples were together 24/7, and there was only an occasional break, such as when He sends 72 followers out to the neighboring villages, or when He sends the disciples alone across the lake while He goes up onto the mountain to pray.

However, in my mind, I see these breaks as the exception rather than the rule. Which is why when I read this journal entry’s passage, I have to ask myself the question: “Where were Jesus’ disciples?”

After Jesus is baptized and He begins His public ministry, we really don’t see much interaction between Him and His earthly family. This passage is really one of only a few places where interaction is recorded.

Perhaps one reason Jesus limited His interactions with His family is because of the pressure they put on Him to reveal Himself as the promised Messiah, or maybe it is an entirely different reason.

What we do know from the context and surrounding chapters is that just prior to this family dialog, Jesus had just finished pushing most of His popular crowd away, and He had left the area to return “home” with only the core group of 12 disciples.

Looking at the progression of events, Jesus’ brothers must have wondered why He would have done this. After all, in their minds, a Messiah who was going to overthrow the Romans needed lots of people rallied together to fight. Getting such a crowd, then pushing them all away for not being committed enough seems like a very counterproductive move.

But then what about our own lives? Are there ever any times that we feel closer to Jesus than others? Are there times where we are in a spiritual high point that contrasts sharply from the spiritual lows we all face?

Perhaps when we don’t see the disciples in this passage, or when we don’t see Jesus’ brothers included in most of the gospel story, we can conclude that there are times when Jesus will be/feel closer, and times when He feels farther away. This doesn’t mean He cares any more or less about us, but it may mean that we have moved closer to or further away from Him.

There may be times we don’t feel close to Jesus, but this doesn’t mean Jesus isn’t still right beside us.

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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Helping Jesus Today: Matthew 10:16-42

Published October 15, 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!

Jesus concludes His first big commission to His disciples by describing them as His representatives. In an interesting chain of statements, Jesus describes how people can truly help God, and this help comes through how we treat His followers. Jesus concludes this set of instructions by saying, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever 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. You 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.” (v. 40-42)

In essence, the principle Jesus is sharing with His followers is that God rewards people based on how they treat His followers. This principle is profound, encouraging, and challenging.

The profound truth in Jesus’ words is that how people treat God’s followers is symbolically equivalent to how they treat Him. This is profound because it is a very practical measure for how God views human interaction. Someone who claims to believe God but who does not welcome or help people they know are His followers is rejecting God through their actions.

This is also encouraging for us as believers. If someone rejects us because of our belief in Jesus, this truth teaches us to not take it personally. In reality, the person rejecting us is really rejecting God, and we are free to move on in life. Perhaps it wasn’t the right time for them, or maybe we just planted some seeds that the Holy Spirit will grow later in the person’s life, but regardless of what God’s big picture is, when we face rejection because of our belief in God, we can move on freely because Jesus tells us they are rejecting God and not just us.

However, this principle is incredibly challenging too. The truth Jesus has shared has implications around how we as followers of Jesus treat other followers of Jesus. If we love sinners like Jesus did, but we are hostile towards those who are in the church, we are falling into the negative side of this teaching. While Jesus did share some harsh words aimed at the religious leaders in the first century, He was never hostile towards them. Many of the leaders were hostile towards Jesus, but Jesus didn’t return their anger. If we are to be like Jesus in this matter, we too are challenged to love and be kind towards those who are in the church – whether they believe the same doctrines as we do or not; whether they like the same style of music as we do or not; and whether they are friendly towards us or not.

The big truth in this conclusion to Jesus’ first big set of instructions for His followers is that how we treat others, and how they treat us when we are Jesus’ representatives on earth, is equivalent to interacting directly with Jesus in each and every case. This truth frees us up to not take rejection personally, and it also challenges us to be more kind and loving towards followers of Jesus who may look and act different from us.

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Flashback Episode — Jesus’ Silence: Mark 15:1-15

Published October 14, 2024 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we continue moving through Mark’s gospel, we come to the morning Jesus is crucified. However, before Jesus is actually nailed to a cross, He must be sentenced to death by the Roman governor, who at this point in history was Pilate. During Jesus’ trial with Pilate, I am amazed how Mark describes this event and how Jesus is ultimately condemned to death without any actual crime being committed.

Let’s read Mark’s gospel record and discover how he describes what happened. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 15, and we will read from the New International Reader’s Version. Starting in verse 1, Mark tells us that:

¹It was very early in the morning. The chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law, and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they tied Jesus up and led him away. Then they handed him over to Pilate.

²“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

³The chief priests brought many charges against him. ⁴So Pilate asked him again, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they charge you with.”

⁵But Jesus still did not reply. Pilate was amazed.

Pausing reading our passage for a moment, I’m amazed at how Mark describes Jesus’ trial before Pilate. While we didn’t have time to cover it in an earlier episode, Mark describes Jesus acting in a similar way towards Pilate that he does towards the chief priests and religious leaders. When being charged and accused, Jesus simply remained silent.

When reading about Jesus’ silence, part of me wonders why Jesus did this. In the earlier case of the religious leaders looking for a reason to condemn Jesus, it makes a little sense, because while Jesus did not speak, the lies and false testimony begin to break down and fall apart.

However, before Pilate, there is only one set of accusations, and while Mark doesn’t tell us what these leaders accuse Jesus with, there is likely a little bit of truth with a whole bunch of lies.

But this doesn’t really answer the question about why Jesus stayed silent – especially when it would not be sin to speak the truth that He is innocent.

As I ask myself this question, I believe Jesus’ silence is intentional and it tells us something important. By not speaking, Jesus is intentionally, subtly, and willing to take all the lies, false testimony, and really all the sins onto Himself. Even though Jesus had predicted His death numerous times leading up to this weekend, no one present in this event believed Jesus’ mission at this point in history was death. Through Jesus’ silence, He allows all the lies, evil, and sin to rest on His shoulders as He is being questioned and charged by Pilate.

However, Pilate is an inquisitive person, but not entirely bright, especially in this instance.

Continuing in verse 6, after Jesus had remained silent, much to Pilate’s amazement, Mark tells us that:

⁶It was the usual practice at the Passover Feast to let one prisoner go free. The people could choose the one they wanted. ⁷A man named Barabbas was in prison. He was there with some other people who had fought against the country’s rulers. They had committed murder while they were fighting against the rulers. ⁸The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.

⁹“Do you want me to let the king of the Jews go free?” asked Pilate. ¹⁰He knew that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him because they wanted to get their own way. ¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd. So the crowd asked Pilate to let Barabbas go free instead.

¹²“Then what should I do with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.

¹³“Crucify him!” the crowd shouted.

¹⁴“Why? What wrong has he done?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”

¹⁵Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd. So he let Barabbas go free. He ordered that Jesus be whipped. Then he handed him over to be nailed to a cross.

In this event, Pilate condemns a man to death who he knows has done nothing wrong. The people in the crowd reveal what type of messiah they wanted by requesting Barabbas, who was another potential messiah who had tried to rally people together to overthrow Rome in their region.

In this event, Pilate could see through the deception of the religious leaders, and Pilate knew the religious leaders disliked Jesus because of their pride and His popularity. However, Pilate doesn’t realize that the only people who would have made up the crowd at this early morning trial would have been those who the religious leaders handpicked.

Pilate doesn’t realize this detail until it is likely too late. While the crowd was present and they appeared impartial, this was the morning leading up to one of the biggest events in Jewish culture, which means that most people would be preparing for the festival and not paying attention to the trial taking place.

The crowd shouting in unison, at the prompting of the religious leaders, and likely all the forces of Satan as well, wins out over Pilate’s objective judgment. Pilate can see that the religious leaders have accused an innocent man. Pilate can also see that Jesus is not actively defending Himself, which doesn’t make a lot of sense to Pilate, but lack of a defense does not make false accusations true. Pilate sees the religious leaders’ lies in their actions, attitudes, and behavior.

Pilate knows one person tied up is guilty, while the other person tied up is innocent. Pilate knows Barabbas deserves death, and Jesus does not.

But the crowd’s united voice convinces Pilate to change his accurate judgment and switch the two condemned people. Pilate sentences Jesus to crucifixion, which was the death Barabbas deserved; and Pilate releases Barabbas, which was the outcome Jesus deserved.

In this event, we discover that Jesus willingly chose to take the place of a rebel, a murderer, and a sinner, and in this event Barabbas, the clearly evil, condemned-to-die person, represents you and me. Barabbas represents every human being who has ever lived who deserves to die for their sins but who gets the opportunity of a new free life because of Jesus!

When we accept the gift Jesus offers us through what He for Barabbas by taking Barabbas’ place on the cross, we allow Jesus’ death to cover our sins and we let Him face the death we deserve while He offers us the life He deserves. Through Jesus’ trial before Pilate, we see that Jesus willingly takes the lies, the false testimony, and all the sin onto Himself, and He willingly takes our place and our punishment onto Himself in order to give us a new chance of life that we did not deserve!

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, be sure to purposefully and intentionally seek God first. Choose to accept the gift Jesus offers to you and I through what He did for Barabbas on crucifixion weekend. Understand that while Barabbas was a criminal, Jesus wrote history in a way that shows God is willing to take the punishment of sinners and criminals against His law onto Himself. Accept the gift Jesus offers for a new chance at life that isn’t trapped and stained by sin!

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Through prayer and Bible study, we are able to open our hearts to God and let Him into our lives, and with God in our hearts, He will teach us how He wants us to live, how we can be loving like He loves us, and how to best thank Him through how we live our lives.

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 walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Flashback Episode: Year in Mark – Episode 42: When being brought before Pilate, Jesus again remains silent to all the accusations of the religious leaders. Discover why Jesus may have chosen to remain silent and a huge spiritual truth we can discover in how this trial concludes.

Unbelief and Our True Hope: John 5:16-47

Published October 11, 2024 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 5:16-47 (NIV)

¹⁶So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. ¹⁷In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” ¹⁸For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

¹⁹Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. ²⁰For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. ²¹For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. ²²Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, ²³that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

²⁴“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

²⁸“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. ³⁰By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

³¹“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. ³²There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.

³³“You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. ³⁴Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. ³⁵John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

³⁶“I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. ³⁷And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, ³⁸nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. ³⁹You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, ⁴⁰yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

⁴¹“I do not accept glory from human beings, ⁴²but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. ⁴³I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. ⁴⁴How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

⁴⁵“But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. ⁴⁶If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. ⁴⁷But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”

Read John 5:16-47 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

As Jesus finishes His counter-challenge to a group of Jewish leaders who were upset about a miracle He performed on the Sabbath, Jesus shares a powerful – and surprising – statement regarding belief, faith, and judgment.

While reading the whole counter-argument Jesus shares, some of those present may have began to think that Jesus was allying Himself against them. Some may have begun to think that Jesus would stand against them when history ends and the Father returns. But Jesus closes by saying He is not their accuser; their accuser will be someone they wouldn’t expect. Jesus tells them, “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” (v. 45-47)

The Jewish leaders had verbally placed their faith in Moses. However, by doing so, they missed the point of Moses’ writings and they misled themselves. In this counter-challenge, Jesus tells them that when time ends, Moses will stand up and accuse them because he will tell them plainly that he was pointing them to Someone else.

Moses never claimed to be the Messiah for the people, and nothing in his writings implied this role for him. The unbelief of these leaders in what Moses wanted them to fully realize led to their rejection of the Messiah that God ultimately sent.

Unbelief is a slippery slope. When we start rationalizing ourselves out of a belief, we can find ourselves rejecting other things we believed as being true as well. Many of those who have left Christianity began their journey when facing one or two challenging ideas they could not reconcile in their minds. When left unchecked, these doubts ultimately led to them losing all their faith.

The way to combat unbelief and/or challenging beliefs that we don’t fully understand is not by ignoring the issue. Instead, the way to face these challenges is by studying the options.

At this point in history, there are dozens of angles regarding any belief or doctrine. Rarely is any belief or doctrine a yes and no proposition anymore. Most have three, four, or even five other angles we could take on the subject. While some people might want you to believe the only choices you have are believing the way they do or rejecting “the truth”, they are lying when presenting you with this approach. The way to push through unbelief and challenges are by replacing these things with something you can believe in.

The Jewish leaders fell into a trap that we all can fall into. Anytime we place our eternal lives in the hands of someone who isn’t part of the Godhead, we are opening ourselves up for disappointment and accusation. Only the most delusional people want others to follow them when they themselves are not following anyone else.

A mature leader is really a follower who helps others move forward while pointing them ahead of themselves. This is how Jesus led, and this is how He has called us to lead as well. A mature leader in the spiritual areas of life will not challenge what you believe without pointing you towards a bigger truth about God. True spiritual leaders don’t cut down someone’s faith; they strengthen it by pointing to Jesus.

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