Reflective Bible Study

As we turn our attention onto Jesus facing the cross, before focusing on the time Jesus spent on the cross, let’s turn our attention back into the Old Testament to how the cross itself was foreshadowed hundreds of years before, and how Jesus Himself frames His life and mission being destined for the cross.

To start this journey in the Old Testament, let’s look back into the book of Numbers, and at an event the people of Israel faced as they were in the wilderness. In Numbers, chapter 21, we discover a fascinating situation. Reading from the New American Standard Bible translation, and starting reading from verse 4, we learn that:

⁴ Then they [referring to the Children of Israel] set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. ⁵ The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.”

⁶ The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. ⁷ So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and you; intercede with the Lord, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. ⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” ⁹ And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.

In this somewhat obscure Old Testament event, we find a fascinating foreshadowing to the fulfillment of Jesus’ mission. However, I suspect that not many people living in the first century who were also familiar with Israel’s history believed that this event in the book of Numbers meant anything more than simply another example of the people of Israel rebelling against God, God punishing them, they realizing they made a mistake, them asking for forgiveness, and God making a way for them to be forgiven.

However, as I say this right now, this summary is an exact overview of Jesus’ mission to this planet. While humanity was in open rebellion, Jesus stepped into history with the plan of salvation.

Early on in Jesus’ ministry, John’s gospel records a secret meeting Jesus has with one of the leading Pharisees, because this Pharisee wants to know more about Jesus. Tucked within this conversation comes one of the most famous set of verses, as well as a reference to this obscure Old Testament event.

In John’s gospel, chapter 3, we learn about the man named Nicodemus. Starting in verse 1, John tells us:

¹ Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; ² this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” ³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? ¹¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. ¹² If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. ¹⁴ As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; ¹⁵ so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

Let’s stop reading here. While those familiar with this conversation know the verses that come next, all too often, the next thing Jesus says completely overshadows the reference Jesus makes to this Old Testament event.

In this conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus gives Nicodemus a clear prediction of His ultimate death, while also linking the type of death He would face to the Old Testament event that involved people looking at a cross.

I will be the first to say that it seems like a very strange, almost backwards, metaphor for the fiery serpent that Moses crafted to be a symbol of the Messiah. However, one psychological reason for this might be because often times our redemption will come from the place we least likely expect, or from the place we are least likely to look.

While it seems backward to think that looking at a “man-made” serpent crafted onto a standard, a poll, or a cross would be able to save someone from a living serpent that had just bitten them, there is an interesting metaphor in how both the cause of our death, and our redemption from death are from approximately the same place. While Satan is clearly behind much of the bad in our world today, and we can blame Him for the existence of sin, God’s law and justness is the ultimate judge condemning sinners to death.

God’s law has condemned us as worthy of death because we have sinned. We could parallel this to those in ancient Israel grumbling against God and Moses, and God sending, or allowing, snakes into their camp. The snakes invasion of the Israelite camp is God-directed judgment.

However, the solution for the judgment also comes from God. God tells Moses to craft the fiery serpent, and that lifting up this serpent for all to see would allow those who had been bitten to be saved. The serpent Moses made was not special. It may have even been hastily assembled. The real power in this metaphor is that everyone who had enough faith to look upon it was healed.

Looking at something is easy to do, but it also takes a measure of humility. A skeptic might say that the bar for this Old Testament miracle was too low, and it wouldn’t surprise me if there were people within the camp who took an approach similar to Namaan did when hearing instructions from the prophet. At first Namaan thought the instructions were too simple, too insignificant for there to be any positive change from the simple act. Namaan initially was going to discount the instructions without even trying them. However, one of his servants challenged him to test the theory out because it was simple, and Namaan was ultimately healed.

In our own lives, accepting Jesus’ gift of salvation is easy – perhaps even too easy. However, God purposefully set the bar so low that there could be no excuse for someone not being able to reach it. This means that the only people excluded from salvation will be those who chose not to accept Jesus, and those who decided that God’s methods were not for them.

From some of the earliest points surrounding God redeeming Israel from Egypt, we can know and understand that God’s plan of salvation is simple. While humanity was in open rebellion against God, God made a way for them to be saved. While deviating from God’s plan likely will include some level of pain or punishment, God is ready and willing to forgive and restore when we are ready to turn away from our sin and move back towards Him. When we turn and look to Jesus, God made a way for us to be forgiven.

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 in one way or another, intentionally seek God first in your life and look towards the cross and to Jesus for hope, healing, and salvation. Trust that God has made the way out of sin possible through Jesus, and believe in Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf to cover the sins in our past.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to grow closer to God and to Jesus. Through prayer and Bible study, discover a God who loves you and a Messiah who dedicated His life to redeem you from sin.

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!

As we continue moving through Luke’s gospel, we arrive at a parable Jesus shared that I am fascinated by. However, unlike most of Jesus’ other parables, the hero of this parable, if you could call this character a hero, displays some very dishonest characteristics.

However, in spite of this character not being a positive role model, Jesus shared this parable for a very specific purpose, and Luke shares Jesus’ explanation for why after the parable itself ends.

Let’s read this parable, and unpack some big truths we can learn from what Jesus taught and why.

Our passage for this episode is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 16, and we will read it from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 1:

¹ Jesus also said to his followers, “Once there was a rich man who had a manager to take care of his business. This manager was accused of cheating him. ² So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give me a report of what you have done with my money, because you can’t be my manager any longer.’ ³ The manager thought to himself, ‘What will I do since my master is taking my job away from me? I am not strong enough to dig ditches, and I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that when I lose my job people will welcome me into their homes.’

⁵ “So the manager called in everyone who owed the master any money. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe?’ ⁶ He answered, ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write four hundred gallons.’ ⁷ Then the manager asked another one, ‘How much do you owe?’ He answered, ‘One thousand bushels of wheat.’ Then the manager said to him, ‘Take your bill and write eight hundred bushels.’ ⁸ So, the master praised the dishonest manager for being clever. Yes, worldly people are more clever with their own kind than spiritual people are.

In this parable, we discover a manager who is accused of cheating a rich man. It is worth noting that this manager is simply accused, however he has not been tried or found guilty of cheating. However, the accusation against him is significant enough to warrant the rich man deciding to fire this manager.

It also doesn’t help the manager’s case that when given the opportunity to present the record of the debts owed to this rich man, the manager clearly displays dishonesty. This makes me think that whatever the case was against the manager’s integrity was likely valid.

However, while the master praises the manager for being clever, there is nothing in this passage to indicate that the manager got away with his deception. The master simply needed to find out from one honest person what had happened and the dishonest manager’s plot would be foiled.

Actually, the manager likely knew his trick wouldn’t actually change any true debt that was owed. Instead, this trick simply opens the door to friendships, even if these friendships were formed on dishonesty. The trick is brilliant because while it looks like it is against the master because it deprives him of a percentage of his wealth, it is really a trick for quickly making friends.

However, with this manager’s dishonesty being shown now to every one of the people he is seeking friendships with, his reputation is gone if there was any reputation present before. Someone who is dishonest in one area is more likely to be dishonest in many areas than someone who is honest in every situation.

So why then did Jesus share this parable?

While the dishonest manager is praised for being clever, Jesus continues in verse 9 by telling those present:

⁹ “I tell you, make friends for yourselves using worldly riches so that when those riches are gone, you will be welcomed in those homes that continue forever. ¹⁰ Whoever can be trusted with a little can also be trusted with a lot, and whoever is dishonest with a little is dishonest with a lot. ¹¹ If you cannot be trusted with worldly riches, then who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you cannot be trusted with things that belong to someone else, who will give you things of your own?

¹³ “No servant can serve two masters. The servant will hate one master and love the other, or will follow one master and refuse to follow the other. You cannot serve both God and worldly riches.”

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who loved money, were listening to all these things and made fun of Jesus. ¹⁵ He said to them, “You make yourselves look good in front of people, but God knows what is really in your hearts. What is important to people is hateful in God’s sight.

¹⁶ “The law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were preached until John came. Since then the Good News about the kingdom of God is being told, and everyone tries to enter it by force. ¹⁷ It would be easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest part of a letter in the law to be changed.

¹⁸ “If a man divorces his wife and marries another woman, he is guilty of adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman is also guilty of adultery.”

In the verses that follow Jesus’ controversial parable, we discover that God values honesty and integrity more than we might realize. Nowhere is this dishonest manager presented as someone to model our lives after. Instead, his dishonesty is actually criticized by Jesus in the following verses.

Instead, Jesus used this parable to challenge honest people to use their money and wealth to build friendships and relationships so that when the money is gone or the budget is extra tight, we will be welcomed and helped by friends God has placed into our lives. I can say that a friendship my wife and I had while we were moving between homes was very valuable, because these friends opened their home to us for us to live with them for a few weeks while we were technically homeless while finalizing the purchase of our new home.

I suspect this is what Jesus was referring to in this parable. Nothing in our friendship was purchased, dishonest, or lacked integrity. However, the friendship wasn’t entirely free either. We have spent money doing things together and creating shared memories.

Jesus challenged the religious leaders regarding their focus. Many of the religious leaders had placed their focus on looking good and on building wealth. Having money was seen as a sign that God was blessing them.

However, Jesus pushes the religious leaders by saying that a focus on God and a focus on relationships are both more important than a focus on money. There is no way to buy your way into God’s kingdom.

Jesus finishes our passage looking at how God’s law is constant. Jesus did not come to change God’s law. Instead of changing God’s law, Jesus came to fulfill it and to draw God’s people back towards focusing on the things that God wants His people to focus on.

Through this parable that seems to highlight dishonesty, Jesus teaches that God values integrity more than we might realize, nothing that Jesus came to do would change God’s law, and that God wants His people to use money as a tool to grow genuine relationships with others. While friendships in this world are great, the best friendships are ones that will extend into eternity, and that only happens when we share Jesus with those God has brought into our lives, and help them realize the amazing gift Jesus offers to all of us through His death on the cross!

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, continue to seek God first in your life and place Him first. Choose to obey God’s law and to live your life with integrity. Don’t model the dishonest manager. Instead, use the wealth God has given you to develop genuine friendships with others so that when the opportunity is right, you can share Jesus with them.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow personally closer to God. Through a personal relationship with Jesus, discover how you can open your heart, mind, and life to the Holy Spirit. Don’t let your relationship with God be dependent on others. Choose to personally grow towards God through personal study and personal prayer!

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