Reflective Bible Study

I know you were expecting this week to begin wrapping up our past year of podcasts, however, after recording last week’s episode, I realized that this year has an extra Thursday, or an extra Monday in the case of the flashback episodes. Because of this, instead of taking a week off, which was one possible idea, I thought it might be neat to use these semi-regular extra days to insert a bonus episode every few years when this happens, and to use these bonus episodes to focus on some of the places Jesus shows up that are not specifically in the gospels.

With all that said, welcome to a bonus episode.

When we look for examples of Jesus being present in books other than the gospels, we don’t need to look any further for an example than the first few verses in the book of Acts. In Luke’s introduction to the book of Acts, he begins by sharing some verses about Jesus’ last days on earth to set the stage for what the disciples would do next. In these few verses, we discover some amazing things about Jesus and about His return that are worth us paying attention to.

Let’s read what Luke describes for us in the book of Acts, chapter 1, using the God’s Word Translation. Starting in verse 1, Luke writes:

¹ In my first book, Theophilus, I wrote about what Jesus began to do and teach. This included everything from the beginning of his life ² until the day he was taken to heaven. Before he was taken to heaven, he gave instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles, whom he had chosen.

³ After his death Jesus showed the apostles a lot of convincing evidence that he was alive. For 40 days he appeared to them and talked with them about God’s kingdom.

⁴ Once, while he was meeting with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for what the Father had promised. Jesus said to them, “I’ve told you what the Father promises: ⁵ John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

⁶ So when the apostles came together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you’re going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷ Jesus told them, “You don’t need to know about times or periods that the Father has determined by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you. Then you will be my witnesses to testify about me in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹ After he had said this, he was taken to heaven. A cloud hid him so that they could no longer see him.

¹⁰ They were staring into the sky as he departed. Suddenly, two men in white clothes stood near them. ¹¹ They asked, “Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking at the sky? Jesus, who was taken from you to heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven.”

¹² Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called the Mount of Olives. It is near Jerusalem, about half a mile away.

In this passage, we get to see a little better overview picture of Jesus’ final days on earth before He returned to heaven. From just reading the gospels themselves, it might seem like Jesus was resurrected, popped in a few times to shock and surprise His disciples, before ultimately disappearing into heaven never to be seen from again.

However, from the way Luke introduces us to what Jesus’ post-resurrection days were like, he describes how Jesus regularly met with and spent time with the disciples. This happened for several weeks following the resurrection leading up to the event called the ascension, when Jesus officially returned to heaven.

As we read this passage, two different sections stood out in my mind that I want to draw our attention to.

The first part of our passage that stood out in my mind is when the disciples ask Jesus if this was the time when He would restore the Jewish nation. Jesus responded to their question with two big ideas. First, Jesus says in verse 7 that “You don’t need to know about times or periods that the Father has determined by his own authority.” Next, Jesus tells them in verse 8 that they “will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you. Then you will be my witnesses to testify about me in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

In this two-verse response, we see a clear indicator where the disciples were placing their focus, and where Jesus challenges them to put their focus instead. In Jesus’ response, He challenges the disciples to not focus on the prophetic future events, but instead to focus on receiving the Holy Spirit and on being witnesses for Jesus throughout the whole world. In many ways, I think this is a challenge for all God’s people throughout the remainder of history. All God’s people should place a greater focus on receiving the Holy Spirit and on being Jesus’ witnesses in the world around us than we should place on figuring out the dates and times that are predicted in prophecy.

This does not mean we shouldn’t focus on prophecy. Instead, the challenge here is to not focus on understanding prophecy more than we focus on being witnesses to our world through the leading, guiding, and power of the Holy Spirit.

The other portion of this passage that stood out to me as we read this passage together is how Jesus leaves, and how the two men in white describe Jesus’ return. Luke describes Jesus’ departure simply by saying in verse 9, “he was taken to heaven. A cloud hid him so that they could no longer see him.”

This event happened on the Mount of Olives, and the men in white, who are understood to be angels that God sent with a message for the disciples, tell them that “Jesus, who was taken from you to heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven.”

Some people understand this to mean that when Jesus returns, He will come in a cloud, and then return to earth, setting His feet first on the Mount of Olives exactly where His feet left. However, this might be reading too much into the text. The only description we have of Jesus’ ascension is that He was hidden by a cloud from their sight. Only in the transition statement at the end of our passage do we discover where this event actually takes place.

The safest understanding of this passage is that Jesus’ return will be concealed with a cloud, before He ultimately becomes visible. Those in the first century did not understand Jesus’ return to be one that ends on earth. Instead, Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 that “The Lord will come from heaven with a command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the dead who believed in Christ will come back to life. Then, together with them, we who are still alive will be taken in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. In this way we will always be with the Lord.”

When Jesus returns, it will be in the same way that He left. He will be concealed in a cloud before becoming visible, and when He becomes visible, we will be caught up into the clouds to meet Him, both those of us who have died and those of us who are still alive when He returns.

We have no idea when God’s timing for Jesus’ return will actually be, nor should we put a lot of focus on trying to figure this out. Instead, like Jesus challenged His disciples to do, we should focus instead on receiving the Holy Spirit and being witnesses for Jesus!

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

As always, be sure to seek God first and to focus each day on asking the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and be present in your lives, and then live each day as a witness for Jesus. Live your life in a way that brings God glory and praise.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn exactly what God wants you to learn. While other people can give you ideas to think about, always take what you learn and study it out from the Bible with prayer to determine if it is spiritual truth. Through prayer, Bible Study, and living a life that glorifies God, we will be the best witnesses we can be for Him here on this earth.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never let life derail you from living the life God has planned for you to live, and never stop short of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Over our past year of podcasting, we have moved through the gospel of John looking closely at each event John includes. This episode marks the conclusion of this year and the last episode where we focus in on John’s gospel. This also means we will be focusing in on the grand finale of John’s gospel.

The event we will be looking at for this episode began in our last episode. The last chapter in John contains one last fishing miracle and we stopped reading as Jesus and a group of disciples had sat down on the shore to eat breakfast after Jesus had shown up and turned their unproductive night of fishing into a miraculous catch.

Our passage for this episode picks up at the end of this meal, and it focuses on Jesus’ conversation with one disciple who may have believed he was no longer worthy to be a disciple. Let’s read about what happened.

Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 21, and we will read it using the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 15, John tells us that:

¹⁵ After they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than the other disciples do?”

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

Jesus told him, “Feed my lambs.”

¹⁶ Jesus asked him again, a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

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

Jesus told him, “Take care of my sheep.”

¹⁷ Jesus asked him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter felt sad because Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” So Peter said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus told him, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸ I can guarantee this truth: When you were young, you would get ready to go where you wanted. But when you’re old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will get you ready to take you where you don’t want to go.” ¹⁹ Jesus said this to show by what kind of death Peter would bring glory to God. After saying this, Jesus told Peter, “Follow me!”

²⁰ Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved. That disciple was following them. He was the one who leaned against Jesus’ chest at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is going to betray you?” ²¹ When Peter saw him, he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”

²² Jesus said to Peter, “If I want him to live until I come again, how does that concern you? Follow me!” ²³ So a rumor that that disciple wouldn’t die spread among Jesus’ followers. But Jesus didn’t say that he wouldn’t die. What Jesus said was, “If I want him to live until I come again, how does that concern you?”

²⁴ This disciple was an eyewitness of these things and wrote them down. We know that what he says is true.

²⁵ Jesus also did many other things. If every one of them were written down, I suppose the world wouldn’t have enough room for the books that would be written.

With this last verse about Jesus having done many other things, John’s gospel ends.

As I look over how John concludes his gospel story, I am struck by a theme that the entire Bible contains, but a theme that is really exemplified in this last event John includes. The theme I see in this passage is redemption.

Of all the disciples’ failures throughout the entire gospel record, the most famous one is likely Peter’s denial. I cannot think of another failure greater than this in all the gospels. However, while all four gospel writers focus in on how Peter denied Jesus on the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, and how all four gospels include Jesus predicting Peter would do so that very night, only John’s gospel includes Peter’s redemption.

While I don’t know why only John included this event, I am glad he did, because it makes for the perfect conclusion to the gospel story. Jesus’ most famous and outspoken disciple, fell the farthest, but even with his failure, Peter was not beyond God’s grace or Jesus’ forgiveness!

Even though Peter had let Jesus down at the point when Jesus would have needed Peter the most, at least by the world’s standards, Jesus is more than willing to forgive Peter when given the chance.

I had thought about including a brief bit about how Jesus and Peter’s discussion use different words for love, and how each of these three questions echoed Peter’s three denials. I had thought about drawing attention onto how each of Jesus’ three challenges builds on the ones shared before it, and how each of these three challenges are similar but also distinct. I had also thought about drawing attention onto Peter’s question to Jesus about John.

However, at this point of our episode, with the major theme of redemption in view, I don’t think these nuances are as significant as the huge theme of redemption. While Jesus asked Peter three questions, Peter gave Jesus three responses, and Jesus challenged Peter three times with similar tasks, the biggest takeaway I can find in this passage is in the two words Jesus tells Peter after all of this. Verse 19 ends with Jesus’ big invitation to Peter: “Follow me!”

Jesus had called all of His disciples to follow Him early on in His ministry. However, Jesus extends this additional invitation to Peter most likely because Peter believed he had blown it and failed.

However, Peter’s second invitation is different from the first. While there are plenty of similarities between both of Peter’s invitations, Peter’s second invitation comes with all the knowledge of failure, and all the history Peter and Jesus had together.

In a similar way, for some people, beginning a brand new life with Jesus is amazing and exciting. For someone who has never followed Jesus before, stepping out in faith with Jesus feels like the beginning of an amazing adventure.

However, someone who has been a Christian for a period of their life but then fallen away might feel as though they have lost their chance. Being a Christian, then leaving for any reason might make one feel as though they will never be welcomed back.

If I just described you, understand that you might feel exactly like Peter did: Peter felt like a failure. In many ways, Jesus’ questions to Peter may have felt as though Jesus was rubbing in the failure.

However, at the end of Jesus questions for Peter, Jesus offers Peter a second chance to follow. Jesus knows that Peter’s story wasn’t over, and that Peter’s failure was something that He could use to transform Peter into the evangelist He created Peter to be.

In your life, I don’t know what you have gone through, been through, or how many times you have failed God. However, I do know that like Peter, Jesus is willing to invite you back if you are willing to return to Him. John ends his gospel story with the redemption of the disciple who failed Jesus in the most public way, and before history has come to a close, Jesus wants to redeem you out of wherever you are and into a new life with Him!

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 return to Him if you have fallen away or failed Him. Know that like Peter, Jesus’ second invitation to you has no false pretenses. Jesus invites us back to Him even when we have failed because that is who Jesus is and that shows just how much God loves us. If you have doubted God’s love, let Peter’s redemption remind you that God loves you even when you fail Him.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow personally closer to God. With a personal relationship with God that is built on prayer and study, discover how God wants to use you to impact the world for Him, and discover how with the Holy Spirit, your life can be an amazing witness for God even if you have failed Him in a major way.

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!