Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

The Creator Pays The Price: Luke 22:14-20

Published March 8, 2023 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 22:14-20 (GNT)

¹⁴ When the hour came, Jesus took his place at the table with the apostles. ¹⁵ He said to them,
I have wanted so much to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer! ¹⁶ For I tell you, I will never eat it until it is given its full meaning in the Kingdom of God.

¹⁷ Then Jesus took a cup, gave thanks to God, and said,
Take this and share it among yourselves. ¹⁸ I tell you that from now on I will not drink this wine until the Kingdom of God comes.

¹⁹ Then he took a piece of bread, gave thanks to God, broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in memory of me. ²⁰ In the same way, he gave them the cup after the supper, saying,
This cup is God’s new covenant sealed with my blood, which is poured out for you.

Read Luke 22:14-20 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

In today’s passage, we touch on one of the most powerful big ideas that we can find within the gospels. It is found within the event most often called “the last supper”. It is within this context, and within Jesus’ words to the disciples, that we find something absolutely amazing:

“This cup is God’s new covenant sealed with my blood, which is poured out for you.” (v. 20)

What had been symbolized for centuries up to this point by the sacrifice of an innocent lamb is now being fulfilled with the sacrifice of God. The old covenant was sealed through the blood of a lamb, while the new covenant is sealed by the blood of God.

Have you ever thought about God “bleeding” before?

In this passage, our all powerful and immortal God chooses to pour out His blood (which is another way to say His life) for us. Jesus’ blood seals a brand new covenant between us and God.

I cannot think of anything more amazing than this. Never in history that I am aware of can I find a more amazing act of humility, or a more powerful demonstration of love than this.

But if we look deeper, we can also see something interesting.

In both cases, with both the old covenant and the new covenant, humans do not pay the price for their sins. With the old covenant, an innocent lamb pays the price. With the new covenant, the “Lamb of God” (one of Jesus’ many symbolic names) pays the price. In both cases, we as humans are dependent on something external to save us.

However, when we take this idea further, when “the creation” (the innocent lamb) pays the price, the sacrifice is not enough. It is enough to cover the sin of the one paying the price, but not enough to restore a relationship with the Creator. This is why the old covenant was destined to fail.

The new covenant is different. When the Creator pays the price (forgives the debtor by absorbing the debt upon Himself), relationship can be restored.

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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The Death Threat: Luke 13:31-35

Published March 7, 2023 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 13:31-35 (NCV)

³¹At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Go away from here! Herod wants to kill you!”

³²Jesus said to them, “Go tell that fox Herod, ‘Today and tomorrow I am forcing demons out and healing people. Then, on the third day, I will reach my goal.’ ³³Yet I must be on my way today and tomorrow and the next day. Surely it cannot be right for a prophet to be killed anywhere except in Jerusalem.

³⁴“Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone to death those who are sent to you. Many times I wanted to gather your people as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me. ³⁵Now your house is left completely empty. I tell you, you will not see me until that time when you will say, ‘God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Read Luke 13:31-35 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

One thing that I’m curious about in our passage for this entry is whether Herod had legitimately called for Jesus’ arrest, or whether the “Pharisee-messengers” were simply trying to trick or intimidate Jesus into leaving their area.

The passage opens by saying, “At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said, ‘Go away from here! Herod wants to kill you!’” (v. 31)

This event comes right after Jesus has shared about coming to God through a narrow door, and that many of those people who wait to the last minute will miss out. While it doesn’t appear to be very insulting to the Pharisees or religious leaders, perhaps what Luke chose to include in His gospel avoids drawing upon these parts of this event. If the Pharisees felt insulted by Jesus, then they easily could craft a death threat to deliver, regardless of its truth or not.

Or perhaps, if these Pharisees were some of the more important ones, they had shared a rumor about Jesus, or met with the governor to give substance to their message. If they told Herod that Jesus wanted to be more famous/popular/important than him, this could result in the governor being jealous and wanting to kill Jesus. A previous generation’s Herod was also interested in killing Jesus because of the prophecies that said He would be the coming Messiah.

This is the skeptical side of me. When I see a group of people described as Pharisees, I don’t really see them being focused on helping Jesus. There are plenty of examples of Pharisees trying to trick or trap Jesus, and perhaps Jesus’ message back to Herod when there was no actual death threat issued is really a message for those who crafted this rumor in the first place. It is as though Jesus is saying, “I’m doing what God wants Me to do, and only when I have reached My goal will God allow Me to die. Jerusalem is the only appropriate place for Me to give up My life.”

However, these Pharisees could simply be trying to help Jesus. Just like we can easily be caught up stereotyping groups of people as all being similar, the Pharisees have been stereotyped as opposed to Jesus, but the broad group consensus does not always represent the individual or small group.

In Jesus’ response we don’t find an accusation back at the Pharisees for lying to Him, but we do find a great example for how to respond when someone tries to intimidate us. We can simply say, “I’m doing what God has called me to do, and only when I have finished what God has called me to finish will He allow me to die.” This is how Jesus responded when threatened, and it is how we can push back those who would try to intimidate us into backing down from the life God has called us to live.

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Flashback Episode — Forgiveness and Eternal Treasure: Matthew 6:14-24

Published March 6, 2023 in Audio Journal Entries

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Picking back up where we left off in our last episode, Jesus continues sharing during His famous Sermon on the Mount about the importance of doing things privately for God rather than publicly for the praise of others.

But before Jesus picks back up with this focus, He has a short, challenging message for all of His followers. Of all the challenging messages and difficult ideas Jesus shares, this one is one of the most challenging and difficult, if for no other reason than because of its subject matter.

Let’s pick up reading where we ended off last week in Jesus’ sermon. Continuing in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 6, using the New International Reader’s Version, immediately following Jesus finishing the model prayer, He tells us starting in verse 14 that we should:

¹⁴Forgive other people when they sin against you. If you do, your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive the sins of other people, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Pausing briefly, I want to emphasize this huge, challenging idea. If we do not forgive other people, God will not forgive us. This makes forgiveness one of the most significant characteristics of God’s people, and some might say that this is the most significant.

If you struggle with forgiving others, then perhaps this challenge from Jesus is a wakeup call for you to ask God for His help to forgive others, to forgive a specific situation, or to simply let go of a past issue that keeps coming to mind. If we hold on to the past, this unforgiving spirit hurts us more than we realize and it ultimately damages our relationships with others and our relationship with God.

After challenging those present with this message of forgiveness, Jesus continues preaching. Picking back up in verse 16, Jesus told the crowd:

¹⁶“When you go without eating, do not look gloomy like those who only pretend to be holy. They make their faces look very sad. They want to show people they are fasting. What I’m about to tell you is true. They have received their complete reward. ¹⁷But when you go without eating, put olive oil on your head. Wash your face. ¹⁸Then others will not know that you are fasting. Only your Father, who can’t be seen, will know it. Your Father will reward you, because he sees what you do secretly.

¹⁹“Do not gather for yourselves riches on earth. Moths and rats can destroy them. Thieves can break in and steal them. ²⁰Instead, gather for yourselves riches in heaven. There, moths and rats do not destroy them. There, thieves do not break in and steal them. ²¹Your heart will be where your riches are.

²²“The eye is like a lamp for the body. Suppose your eyes are healthy. Then your whole body will be full of light. ²³But suppose your eyes can’t see well. Then your whole body will be full of darkness. If the light inside you is darkness, then it is very dark!

²⁴“No one can serve two masters at the same time. You will hate one of them and love the other. Or you will be faithful to one and dislike the other. You can’t serve God and money at the same time.

We’ll stop reading here. In this section of Jesus’ sermon, He reemphasizes the importance of doing things for God in secret, and in a way that only God will see what you are doing. He extends the living, giving, helping, and praying in private to also fasting in private. When we do things secretly for God, we trust that He will reward us.

Jesus compares our doing good for others and doing things secretly for God like making deposits in a heavenly bank account, or like gathering riches in heaven. While we understand the importance of saving and earning money in an earthly sense, Jesus tells us that all the money in the earth is not as safe as a single penny in heaven.

Money on earth can erode, it can decompose, or in our highly digital society, a seemingly insignificant computer glitch can take our money from abundant to absent. While this isn’t a statement for or against a cashless society, Jesus does make the challenge that money acquired here on earth is temporary at best. Instead, we should focus on growing money in heaven.

While this sounds great on the surface, growing money in heaven works differently than growing money on earth. Giving all your money away here on earth can earn some riches in heaven, but heavenly wealth is measured in different terms than earthly wealth, and there is no guarantee that giving money on earth will earn treasure in heaven.

Some might wonder how we earn treasure in heaven, since Jesus appears to place great emphasis on this here in His message. The answer has been what we have been subtly focusing on over the past couple of episodes. We earn treasure in heaven when we do things privately for God, when we give in secret, when we help anonymously, and when we pray privately. When we live for God in a way that gives God the glory, and when we do things for God in ways that cannot be praised or rewarded by others, then we earn treasure in heaven, and treasure in heaven cannot decay, treasure in heaven cannot be stolen, and treasure in heaven does not disappear over time.

Treasure in heaven gains heavenly interest, and while treasure in heaven doesn’t earn us a place in heaven, we can only earn treasure in heaven when we are living for God and have accepted His sacrifice on our behalf.

Ultimately, Jesus tells us that the most valuable part of our treasure in heaven is our hearts, because when our hearts are focused on our heavenly treasure, we live for God in more significant ways than if our hearts are focused on the things of this world.

Jesus finishes by challenging us that we cannot serve two masters. We cannot be looking for and seeking after things in this life while also being 100% dedicated to God in heaven. The challenge Jesus ends with is deciding whether you will serve God, or whether you will chase money or wealth here on earth. We cannot do both, and while society tells us we should choose wealth, Jesus has already framed wealth as not lasting past this life.

God wants us to be rich in heavenly riches, and this comes through focusing on God, serving Him, and living our lives in ways that secretly and publicly honor 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, continue seeking God first and choose to place Him first in your life. Choose to grow riches in heaven by serving God in secret ways while also publicly acknowledging Him. Help others anonymously, give secretly, live subtly, pray privately, and when growing close to God through other spiritual disciplines, do so in a way that others won’t be able to tell. What we do for God in secret is what God will reward us for when we reach heaven!

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and move closer to God. While learning from others is good, always take what you learn and filter it through your personal, private time in prayer and in the Bible. It is through this personal prayer and Bible study where God wants to grow a personal relationship with you and He will teach you what is worth focusing on when we bring what we learn to Him in prayer and study!

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 stop moving towards where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Flashback Episode: Year in Matthew – Episode 10: After Jesus shares a model prayer for us, He talks about forgiveness, and why it is important for us to grow treasure in heaven. Discover what Jesus means when He says this and how we can apply Jesus’ message in our lives today!

Never Again: Mark 13:14-23

Published March 3, 2023 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Mark 13:14-23 (GW)

¹⁴“When you see the disgusting thing that will cause destruction standing where it should not (let the reader take note), those of you in Judea should flee to the mountains. ¹⁵Those who are on the roof should not come down to get anything out of their houses. ¹⁶Those who are in the field should not turn back to get their coats.

¹⁷“How horrible it will be for the women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days. ¹⁸Pray that it will not be in winter. ¹⁹It will be a time of misery that has not happened from the beginning of God’s creation until now, and will certainly never happen again. ²⁰If the Lord does not reduce that time, no one will be saved. But those days will be reduced because of those whom God has chosen.

²¹“At that time don’t believe anyone who tells you, ‘Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’ ²²False messiahs and false prophets will appear. They will work miraculous signs and do wonderful things to deceive, if possible, those whom God has chosen. ²³Be on your guard! I have told you everything before it happens.

Read Mark 13:14-23 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

If we ever wondered or worried about a time when we are persecuted, or singled out for our faith, understanding this passage may give some hope to this worry. In this passage, we jump into the middle of a larger message Jesus is sharing with His disciples, warning them of challenges that will come their way, and challenging them to keep their faith and belief in Him.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all include this warning, but Matthew and Mark focus on a different “hinge event” to trigger this event than Luke does. The hinge event in Matthew and Mark have to do with a “disgusting thing that will cause destruction standing where it should not” (v. 14) while Luke is a little less cryptic when He directs our attention to “When you see armies camped around Jerusalem . . .” (Luke 21:20)

However, while these are the key events that start this event, that is not the promise. The promise is found at the end of a few verses later. After Jesus describes what His followers should do and what they should pray for, He summarizes this time period by saying: “It will be a time of misery that has not happened from the beginning of God’s creation until now, and will certainly never happen again.” (v. 19)

The first part of this summary is pretty depressing, but it ends with a promise: This horrible time of misery “will certainly never happen again”.

There are some Bible commentators who believe that this horrible event was the persecution of the Jesus’ followers in the last portion of the first century, leading up to/through the dark ages. Other commentators believe that while there is reason to believe the start point being the destruction of Jerusalem, so much history and persecution has happened that perhaps this prophecy was not fulfilled at that point in time, and instead, it is still a future event that can hold significance for God’s chosen people.

In the same way, there are those who are expecting and looking for an upcoming horrible “time of trouble” that meets this description, while others look to Jesus’ return being described as “a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2) which most likely means that He will return when we least expect it – meaning it may not be in a period of time where there is persecution, because that might prompt some to expect it.

All this is to draw our attention to Jesus’ promise: He will return, and no matter what comes our way, God has promised to protect His people through anything and everything that Satan throws at us. God’s protection might not be the protection we expect, but His protection is from His “eternity perspective”, which means that even if our life on earth ends, we will be given a new life that lasts for eternity!

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