Reflective Bible Study

Before we transition to focusing on prophecies that are connected more directly with Jesus’ road to the cross, there is one prophecy I must include because it frames how Jesus’ ministry was ultimately received by those in the first century. However, while it is tempting to look at this prophecy and say it was only applicable to those in the first century, as we will soon discover, the way this prophecy was written makes it applicable both looking forward and looking back. In other words, this prophecy is just as relevant looking back on the past as it is looking forward to the future, though I will say that looking forward would hopefully teach us something we could use to escape the negative angle of the prophet’s words.

As I shared in the introduction, this prophecy is found in the Old Testament book of Isaiah, in chapter 6, and we will read it using the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 8, Isaiah writes:

⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” ⁹ He said, “Go, and tell this people:

‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive;
Keep on looking, but do not understand.’
¹⁰ “Render the hearts of this people insensitive,
Their ears dull,
And their eyes dim,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.”

In this short message that Isaiah volunteered to deliver, we discover a very challenging message being sent to God’s people. Through Isaiah, God challenges His people to keep looking and listening, but know that their looking and listening won’t result in perceiving or understanding. It is as though God is actively turning the eyes, ears, hearts, and other senses of His people away from Him.

However, there is another interesting angle to this prophecy. This alternate angle is found when asking where the action is present in this prescription. Looking and listening are good first steps for gaining understanding, but nowhere on the surface of this passage do we discover any application of the understanding that is being seen and heard. This prophecy describes a people who have a hollow faith; a people who are simply going through the motions, but who are not interested in going beyond a surface set of rituals.

We can see the truth of this second angle in how the prophecy ends. This prophecy ends with the implication that if those being described really saw, heard, and understood the message, they would return and be healed.

In short, this prophecy is describing a scenario where a group of people think they can see, hear, and understand, but they have written off actually applying what they believe is being shared. Because they have written off any level of application, they choose not to return, which ultimately results in them losing out on healing, greater perception, and deeper understanding.

I suspect that Isaiah gave this message fully understanding and believing that the people in his generation were the ones who needed to hear this message the most.

However, when moving to the New Testament, we discover that Jesus pulls this Old Testament prophecy into that generation when answering a question from the disciples. In Matthew, chapter 13, which interestingly enough is a chapter full of parables, we find Jesus’ disciples come to Jesus and ask Him a question about His teaching in parables. In verse 10, Matthew writes:

¹⁰ And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. ¹² For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. ¹³ Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴ In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand;
You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
¹⁵ For the heart of this people has become dull,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Otherwise they would see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.’

¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

From the way Jesus frames Isaiah’s prophecy, we see a glimmer of hope. While some people might look at Isaiah’s prophecy and conclude that there is no hope for those who God actively chooses to give dim eyes and dull ears, Jesus frames the blindness and deafness of this prophecy not to God, but to those specific individuals. Jesus also draws attention onto this prophecy being for a specific, likely self-selected, group of people, and not for humanity at large. This means that it is entirely up to us whether we will be included in the group who misses out on healing and blessings, or whether we avoid that group in favor of being healed and blessed.

Jesus finishes off His answer to the disciples by describing how many people throughout history wanted to witness what the first century disciples of Jesus were able to witness.

However, while we are living over 2,000 years removed from when Jesus walked the earth in the first century, and while it is easy to wish we could have been alive back then, I am certain that God has placed you in history at this exact moment for a reason. While we might not know all the reasons for why God does what He does, Isaiah’s prophecy includes a powerful promise.

The promise found in Isaiah’s prophecy, which is also echoed in Jesus’ interpretation of this prophecy, is that when we apply the teaching of Jesus that we can understand, while also actively seeking to learn more, we will be blessed with more knowledge and wisdom. Those who actively discount Jesus’ message, Jesus’ teaching, and God’s truth found in the Bible, believing that they know and understand better, are the ones who will ultimately be found to have dim eyes and dull ears.

With the choice being ours to make, let’s together seek to hear, understand, and apply the truth God shares in the Bible, and seek to discover why God’s way is best by living out His plan for our lives rather than judging and discounting it from the sidelines. By living out God’s plan for our lives today, together we will grow into being the people God created us to be, and we will ultimately be welcomed into God’s kingdom, specifically into the New Heaven and New Earth, when Jesus returns.

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

As I always open by challenging you, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to ally and align your life with His. Accept the gift that Jesus made available for us, and choose to let this gift, and God’s truth, change your life. Intentionally apply God’s truth into your life to gain more knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, rather than letting your eyes become dim and your ears dull.

Also, as I regularly challenge you in one way or another, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself, in order to grow your personal relationship with God. Through a personal relationship with God, He will open your eyes, strengthen your ears, and teach you His truth that is relevant for your life today. Through regular prayer and Bible study, we are able to open our hearts and minds to God’s Holy Spirit and let Him lead and guide us forward in life.

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 our journey through Jesus’ life as told through Luke’s gospel, we come to an event that includes one of Jesus’ most famous illustrations. However, if this event didn’t include a follow-up question to the one Jesus answered, Jesus may never have shared the amazing example of what it means to be a neighbor that we will soon read.

While it seems strange to think, this entire discussion hinges around a very legalistic view of the law.

Let’s read our passage for this episode and discover what we can learn from this event. Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 10, and we will read it from the Contemporary English Version. Starting in verse 25, Luke tells us that:

²⁵ An expert in the Law of Moses stood up and asked Jesus a question to see what he would say. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to have eternal life?”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “What is written in the Scriptures? How do you understand them?”

²⁷ The man replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.’ They also say, ‘Love your neighbors as much as you love yourself.’”

²⁸ Jesus said, “You have given the right answer. If you do this, you will have eternal life.”

²⁹ But the man wanted to show that he knew what he was talking about. So he asked Jesus, “Who are my neighbors?”

Pausing here before reading Jesus’ response, it is worth drawing our attention to the detail that this whole discussion is centered around a legalistic angle of observing the law. This expert in Moses’ law knew exactly the right answers, and he correctly summarized the essence of the Old Testament law as loving God wholeheartedly and loving our neighbors.

It is worth drawing attention onto Jesus’ first response, where He says the expert gave the right answer. Jesus tells Him and us that if we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind; and we love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves, we will have eternal life.

However, because this expert wanted to push his own agenda, perhaps even trying to trap Jesus sharing an idea that was contrary to God’s character in the Old Testament, he asked a follow-up question wanting Jesus’ definition of neighbor. From the way Jews treated those who were not Jews in that culture, it was very clear that the Jews viewed the concept of neighbor as being exclusive to nationality, and perhaps even more exclusive than that.

In response to the question asking for a definition of a neighbor, instead of sharing a simple response, Jesus shares a story to illustrate this truth. Continuing in verse 30:

³⁰ Jesus replied:

As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, robbers attacked him and grabbed everything he had. They beat him up and ran off, leaving him half dead.

Pausing briefly again, it is worth pointing out that we have no context for who this man is. The man who was attacked could have been Jewish or not, he could have been wealthy or not, and this might have been a premeditated attack on a specific person or an example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I believe this ambiguity is intentional because if we knew anything more about this individual, we might begin to rationalize the responses others have to seeing him that Jesus is about ready to share. For the purposes of the rest of the parable, feel free to imagine this man was exactly like the people who pass by, exactly opposite, or that each person who passed by could not tell whether this man was like them or not. It is actually an interesting exercise thinking about this parable from all three angles.

With this unknown man lying half-dead on the side of the road, Jesus continues His story in verse 31 saying:

³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road. But when he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. ³² Later a temple helper came to the same place. But when he saw the man who had been beaten up, he also went by on the other side.

³³ A man from Samaria then came traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him ³⁴ and went over to him. He treated his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. ³⁵ The next morning he gave the innkeeper two silver coins and said, “Please take care of the man. If you spend more than this on him, I will pay you when I return.”

³⁶ Then Jesus asked, “Which one of these three people was a real neighbor to the man who was beaten up by robbers?”

³⁷ The teacher answered, “The one who showed pity.”

Jesus said, “Go and do the same!”

In this illustration Jesus shares, three distinctly different people pass by this half-dead man. The first two people we would consider high social status individuals. Both the priest and the temple helper had strict rules and regulations on their lives making them fit verses unfit to serve in the temple. From the context of this story, we don’t know if these men were traveling to Jerusalem to serve in the temple, or if they had finished their service and were returning home. If we decide to legalistically look at the details in this event, then knowing the direction these men were traveling matters.

The brilliant way Jesus shares this illustration, and the context that Jesus shares, tells us a huge truth: Love God with all our hearts, minds, lives, and everything we are, and when we see someone in need, we should help them in whatever way we can – regardless of what others think or how it impacts our serving God. If the priest and temple helper were traveling to Jerusalem to serve in the temple, they likely wouldn’t have been able to begin right away if they stopped to help this man and they might have had to do a cleansing ceremony to become “clean” again to serve. Helping this almost dead man would have challenged their serving God.

However, the truth Jesus shares in this place as well as in other places is that when we help others, we are really helping God. I believe in this illustration and others, God is more than willing to forgive our sins when we happen to technically sin while helping someone else. God is more interested in us modeling His character of love than He is in us legalistically following His rules without love in our hearts.

The Samaritan man, the one described by the religious expert as the one who showed pity, demonstrated what it means to be a neighbor. The Samaritan helped because he could, he helped because there was a clear need, and he helped because that is what he would want someone to do for him if the roles were reversed. This Samaritan didn’t ask or think about what reasons he should not help. He simply saw an opportunity to help and then took advantage of this opportunity!

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 model His love towards others when you see a need in your life. When deciding the best way to help when help is needed, don’t worry about if you are crossing the line into sin because the line you are really aiming for is the line of serving and service. Helping someone in need is more important than legalistically following the rules!

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself. Don’t accept an idea or thought simply because a pastor, speaker, author, podcaster, or anyone says it – including me. Instead, take the ideas you hear, see, and read and test them against the truth you discover in God’s Word the Bible to determine if they have any validity. The Bible is the best guide we have to determining God’s truth; it is the only guide that teaches how to ultimately gain eternal life through Jesus and His sacrifice.

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 talk yourself out of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!