Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Foreshadowing Our Resurrection: Matthew 27:45-56

Published July 22, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 27:45-56 (GW)

⁴⁵At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ⁴⁶About three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” ⁴⁷When some of the people standing there heard him say that, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸One of the men ran at once, took a sponge, and soaked it in some vinegar. Then he put it on a stick and offered Jesus a drink. ⁴⁹The others said, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰Then Jesus loudly cried out once again and gave up his life.

⁵¹Suddenly, the curtain in the temple was split in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split open. ⁵²The tombs were opened, and the bodies of many holy people who had died came back to life. ⁵³They came out of the tombs after he had come back to life, and they went into the holy city where they appeared to many people.

⁵⁴An army officer and those watching Jesus with him saw the earthquake and the other things happening. They were terrified and said, “Certainly, this was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵Many women were there watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee and had always supported him. ⁵⁶Among them were Mary from Magdala, Mary (the mother of James and Joseph), and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

Read Matthew 27:45-56 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Of all the gospels to go into detail about the moment of Jesus’ death, Matthew is the most detailed of the group. Other gospels include the detail that the curtain in the temple was ripped into two – from top to bottom – but only Matthew shares two other perplexing details about the moment Jesus died.

The first detail is that there was an earthquake. Perhaps this earthquake resulted in the temple curtain being torn in two, but according to Matthew’s order of telling us the details, the curtain tore first.

The next detail is the results of the earthquake. “The earth shook, and the rocks were split open. The tombs were opened, and the bodies of many holy people who had died came back to life. They came out of the tombs after he had come back to life, and they went into the holy city where they appeared to many people.” (v. 51b-53)

It is as if an angel shoots down from heaven, rips the curtain in two and impacts the ground causing a ripple that shakes the earth at the exact moment that Jesus takes His last breath. The impact is so strong that the rocks covering graves were split open, and a shockwave of life shoots out from the impact site causing “the bodies of many holy people who had died” to come back to life. I am guessing that these holy people were either prophets from the Old Testament, or other significant figures from Israel’s past. Part of me also wonders if John the Baptist were among those who were gifted with new life (and a restored body) at this first resurrection.

However, what does this odd event that only Matthew includes really mean for us today?

Jesus’ death gives Him power over death and the grave. Jesus’ resurrection, and the resurrection of these holy historical figures, is a promise that when Jesus returns for each of us, He has the power to restore our lives and give each of us new bodies for our new lives with Him. This first resurrection foreshadows the future resurrection when Jesus returns.

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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Growing Fruit: Mark 11:12-14, 20-26

Published July 21, 2022 in Audio Journal Entries

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Continuing our journey through Mark’s gospel, we come to an event that Mark breaks into two parts. In the first portion of this event, we have one of two places where the gospel writers record Jesus as hungry. It is interesting that in both of the times Jesus is recorded as being hungry, He faces a similar situation.

The first time Jesus is identified as hungry was while he was fasting in the wilderness for 40 days leading up to being tempted by Satan. The second time is what we will be focusing in on at the start of our passage for this event.

Let’s read about what happened. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 11, and we will read from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 12, Mark tells us that:

¹²The next day as Jesus was leaving Bethany, he became hungry. ¹³Seeing a fig tree in leaf from far away, he went to see if it had any figs on it. But he found no figs, only leaves, because it was not the right season for figs. ¹⁴So Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And Jesus’ followers heard him say this.

Let’s pause reading here. On the surface, this event sound entirely unlike the first time the gospels mention Jesus as feeling hunger, but while the situations were very different, in both cases, Jesus does not get his hunger satisfied – at least initially.

In a similar way, when we face feelings of hunger, whether they are feelings of hunger that are literal or feelings of hunger that are spiritual, oftentimes we are unable to satisfy those feelings immediately. Sometimes when we feel hungry, there is no immediate way for us to satisfy our hunger. In other times, when we feel hungry, we intentionally push our hunger aside for more immediate or pressing concerns.

Regardless of what prompts our feelings of hunger, if you aren’t able to satisfy your hunger, understand that Jesus has been there too.

Also in this event, we are introduced to a fig tree that was full of life, but it had no fruit. Mark tells us this was because it wasn’t the right season for figs, but that detail does not appear to matter to Jesus. In the context of this event, Jesus expected a tree that had life to also have fruit.

While this is a very literal event, I wonder if Jesus responds in a way that emphasizes a spiritual truth. If we are full of life while alive on this earth, I wonder if we are also equally expected to be bearing fruit. While we face different seasons in our lives, I wonder if every season of our lives is able to bear a different type of fruit. I wonder if in the drier seasons, our fruit is more internal, growing more trust, more dependence, and more faith, while during other seasons, our fruit is able to be more visible, and we are able to share this spiritual fruit with others.

While we normally think of fruit trees as having fruit only during the season for picking fruit, if it isn’t winter time when many of these trees go dormant, every other season has these fruit trees working on producing fruit. In the spring, the trees work on buds and flowers that will ultimately become fruit, and in the summer, we see fruit beginning to form and grow. It is only when we reach harvest time that the fruit is ripe and ready to pick.

I wonder if Jesus didn’t see any evidence of any fruit growing on this fig tree. Regardless of whether it was the right season to pick figs or not, if the tree had leaves on it, it would be reasonable to expect it to have some evidence of figs growing even if these figs were not yet ripe. I wonder if this tree showed no fruit at all.

Because of the lack of fruit, Jesus curses the tree saying “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”

Jumping down a few verses to the next day, we pick back up in verse 20:

²⁰The next morning as Jesus was passing by with his followers, they saw the fig tree dry and dead, even to the roots. ²¹Peter remembered the tree and said to Jesus, “Teacher, look! The fig tree you cursed is dry and dead!”

²²Jesus answered, “Have faith in God. ²³I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, fall into the sea.’ And if you have no doubts in your mind and believe that what you say will happen, God will do it for you. ²⁴So I tell you to believe that you have received the things you ask for in prayer, and God will give them to you. ²⁵When you are praying, if you are angry with someone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins. [ ²⁶But if you don’t forgive other people, then your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins.]”

In this event, Jesus turns the now dead fig tree into being an example of the power of faith and prayer. I think too often, we immediately jump to this second illustration while missing focusing on the importance of being fruitful.

Actually, as I mention this, I think that all of these characteristics are connected. I don’t believe we can have visible faith and powerful prayer without being fruitful and being fruitful is evidence of a powerful faith and a powerful prayer connection with God.

I don’t believe God wants us to run around killing fruit trees or throwing mountains into the sea with our faith. Instead, I believe He wants us to know that our faith is powerful and when we have faith in Jesus, we can do more with God than we could even imagine. God wants our faith and our prayers to be fruitful, and when we are being fruitful we are living the lives God created us to live!

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 be fruitful in whatever season you are in. Whether you are resting in the winter or growing fruit at various stages during the spring, summer, and fall seasons, intentionally be fruitful with what God has blessed you with in the season of life you are in.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow a strong faith and connection with God. Only when we are connected with God can we produce the fruit God wants us to have in our lives and when we are connected to Jesus, we are able to be fruitful from eternity’s perspective!

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 give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Year in Mark – Episode 29: Discover why it is important for us to always be growing fruit in our lives and what that has to do with the fate of an unfruitful fig tree Jesus happens to pass when He suddenly became hungry.

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Redeemed By Jesus: John 7:53-8:11

Published July 20, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 7:53-8:11 (CEV)

⁵³ Everyone else went home, ^8:1 but Jesus walked out to the Mount of Olives. ² Then early the next morning he went to the temple. The people came to him, and he sat down and started teaching them. ³ The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses brought in a woman who had been caught in bed with a man who wasn’t her husband. They made her stand in the middle of the crowd. ⁴ Then they said, “Teacher, this woman was caught sleeping with a man who isn’t her husband. ⁵ The Law of Moses teaches that a woman like this should be stoned to death! What do you say?”

⁶ They asked Jesus this question, because they wanted to test him and bring some charge against him. But Jesus simply bent over and started writing on the ground with his finger.

⁷ They kept on asking Jesus about the woman. Finally, he stood up and said, “If any of you have never sinned, then go ahead and throw the first stone at her!” ⁸ Once again he bent over and began writing on the ground. ⁹ The people left one by one, beginning with the oldest. Finally, Jesus and the woman were there alone.

¹⁰ Jesus stood up and asked her, “Where is everyone? Isn’t there anyone left to accuse you?”

¹¹ “No sir,” the woman answered.

Then Jesus told her, “I am not going to accuse you either. You may go now, but don’t sin anymore.”

Read John 7:53-8:11 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

The passage we are going to look at in this entry is one of the most powerful, and it is also one that has had a challenging past. In most modern translations, this story from John’s gospel carries with it the note that not all ancient manuscripts include it. This tells me that there are some that either really wanted this story to not survive, or some who really wanted this legend to persist.

Whether or not this event actually happened as described here, for the purposes of our discussion we’ll assume that it did, if for no other reason than that this encounter, and what Jesus chooses to do, falls very much in line with His character.

As I studied this passage and story, using several different translations, an interesting shift of wording occurred, and this shift of wording has implications for how we can understand this event. In the more traditional “word-for-word” translations state Jesus’ response in verse 7 as “He who is without sin among you, let . . .”, however some of the more thought-for-thought based and paraphrased translations say, “Has any one of you not sinned? Then . . .”

This distinction is interesting, because when we turn our lives over to God, confess our sins and repent of them, we can move forward in life knowing that God doesn’t count these sins against us. In a sense, at that point we can be “without sin”, moving forward and “sinning no more”. However, we will still have sin staining our past, even if we don’t need to worry about it.

With the traditional translations of these verses, and the Pharisees response, we could easily say that Jesus was writing current, unconfessed sins of these Pharisees. However, the other way would allow for any former sin to be brought up. In either case, the strongest sin to write would be the hidden (i.e. unconfessed) sin, since it would likely be the most embarrassing.

Was Jesus trying to embarrass these Pharisees? I don’t think so in my mind. If He was, He would have announced it or written it in a more “concrete” form than sand. Instead, Jesus picked sand so that only those closest in the crowd (being the eldest) of accusers would have been able to see. When no one was left, then a simple breeze would blow away the evidence.

Which leads us to the big idea for our journal entry: Jesus did not come to condemn, expose, or embarrass anyone. Instead He came to redeem us and draw us back to Him.

Sin breaks our connection with God, Jesus restores it.

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Recording His Life: John 21:15-25

Published July 19, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 21:15-25 (NIV)

¹⁵When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

¹⁶Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

¹⁷The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” ¹⁹Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

²⁰Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) ²¹When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”

²²Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” ²³Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”

²⁴This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.

²⁵Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

Read John 21:15-25 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

To write one of the gospel letters would be tough work, but deciding how to best conclude Jesus’ story is even tougher – especially since Jesus’ story doesn’t really end. Jesus’ story simply moved locations. In John’s case, especially since we can see how his gospel includes some events that the other gospels didn’t include and the other three gospels chose to include events that John excluded, John wraps up his gospel by simply saying, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (v. 25)

While on one hand we can see John exaggerating with this concluding statement, there is a subtle depth of truth to his words.

I wonder if John really understood the size of the world we lived in. With land that stretched over three continents, the first-century world was pretty big. Then explorers discovered North and South America, and the world got even bigger then. We then realized that more of the planet is covered by water, and that again made the world that much bigger.

If every breath of Jesus was recorded over His 34ish years on earth, at the rate of one breath per second, this would result in 1,072,224,000 breaths (give or take a few). If each of these represented a page dedicated for that second of life, then we could assemble a book that is a mere 68 miles thick. For those outside of the United States, this would translate into 109 kilometers thick.

While that would be a massive undertaking, and an impossible to bind manuscript, it is a far cry from being too big for the world to hold.

However, John’s statement is powerfully accurate, because Jesus has done more than simply exist for 33-34 years on earth: Jesus created everything.

If we give Jesus the credit for everything we see here, from all the atoms and molecules to all the stars and planets in the universe, there is way more than could ever be written. Each stroke of a pen would result in a countless number of additional things that should be mentioned.

In this concluding statement, John draws us back to Jesus’ big picture – which is where his gospel message begins. John reminds us how big, powerful, and significant Jesus is, and this big picture look makes the love Jesus demonstrated for His rebellious creation all that more amazing. God loves us, and while we rebelled against Him, He chose to pursue us with His love. He did this most clearly through Jesus – who came, lived, and who we killed. But that didn’t stop God from loving, and He has been actively pursuing us, not because of who we are, but because of who He is!

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