Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Ready to Receive: Luke 9:43b-45

Published January 12, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 9:43b-45 (NASB)

In this passage, the primary focus is on Jesus directly telling His disciples what would happen. Jesus tells them plainly that He will “be delivered into the hands of men.” Mark and Matthew’s account tells us that Jesus finishes the sentence, “and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.” (Mark 9:31; Matthew 17:23)

Here in Luke we see an interesting idea that Mark and Matthew don’t bring up, and that is the significance of this prediction was concealed (hidden) from them so they would not understand it. This brings up an interesting idea: “Sometimes God hides truth from us until we are ready to receive it.”

We have 3 or 4 events recorded where Jesus directly tells the disciples that He will be crucified, but they don’t seem to understand. One time Peter thinks He understands and tries to challenge Jesus saying this idea, which doesn’t go so well for Peter, but overall, it seems that only after Jesus has died and shattered their preconceived ideas about the role of the Messiah do they finally understand what Jesus came to accomplish.

I must ask myself: If God hid truth from the disciples, is it possible that He is hiding truth from me – at least until I am ready to receive it? If so, will I trust God enough to accept His timing and not try and push my own?

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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Acting Through Our Doubt: John 6:1-15

Published January 11, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 6:1-15 (NASB)

¹ After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). ² A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. ⁴ Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. ⁵ Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *This word is present tense in the Greek, but it has been translated as past tense to conform to modern usage.said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” ⁶ This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. ⁷ Philip answered Him, “Two hundred *The denarius was equivalent to a day’s wagesdenarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” ⁸ One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *This word is present tense in the Greek, but it has been translated as past tense to conform to modern usage.said to Him, ⁹ “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. ¹² When they were filled, He *This word is present tense in the Greek, but it has been translated as past tense to conform to modern usage.said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

¹⁵ So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

Read John 6:1-15 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Of all the events in the gospels, probably the one that thrust Jesus into the spotlight more than any other was the time He fed a huge crowd with a young boy’s lunch. This event holds a very exclusive status as being an event that is included in all four gospels, and while Matthew, Mark, and Luke share many excellent details about this event, only the gospel of John goes into detail about where the food came from, and how it made it to Jesus.

After Jesus had challenged the disciples with an impossible for them task, we read an unlikely turn in the story. “One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ‘There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?’” (v. 8-9)

Even though Andrew brought the boy to Jesus, in how he introduces the boy to Jesus we can see plenty of doubt displayed: Andrew asks in the last portion of verse 9, “What are these for so many people?” This semi-rhetorical question doesn’t show much if any faith in what Jesus can do. But even while Andrew was doubtful, he still does something right – he brought the boy with his snack to Jesus.

While Andrew didn’t have any idea what would happen next, he knows that bringing this boy with his food as a gift for Jesus is the right thing to do. And so he leads the boy forward through the disciples as they are all grumbling among themselves about how to solve the problem of feeding this large crowd.

Eleven of the disciples are caught up in the problem, but only Andrew has something to offer, and only Andrew was observant enough to at least bring this boy through the group to allow him the chance to give his lunch to Jesus. Even though Andrew didn’t have much faith, the little faith he had, mixed with the boy’s gift was all that Jesus needed to perform one of the most famous miracles in His entire earthly ministry.

This miracle was only able to happen because a doubtful disciple chose to act and bring a boy with a snack to Jesus. Andrew acted even though he didn’t have much faith, and through this we learn that Jesus doesn’t need a lot of faith from us – just enough to inspire us to act!

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Flashback Episode — A Mother’s Faith: John 2:1-12

Published January 10, 2022 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we continue forward in our year of podcasts looking at Jesus’ miracles, we actually step back slightly in the timeline of the gospels to the first miracle Jesus did. If you are wondering how we know this, the gospel of John records this miracle, and John also clearly states after this miracle that this was Jesus’ first miracle, or the first of Jesus’ signs.

With this as a backdrop for our episode, let’s read what happened and discover one big thing we can learn from this event. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 2, and we will be reading from the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 1, John tells us:

¹ On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; ² and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

Let’s stop reading here, because what John has just told us about Mary is amazing. Next week, we’ll finish looking at the rest of this miracle, but with what has just happened, I don’t want us to miss this powerful theme that we can see in what Mary just said. But before we get to why this is powerful and amazing, let’s read verse 11, which I alluded to at the start of this episode to give us a little additional context for what we will discover. In verse 11, after the miracle had happened, John tells us that:

¹¹ This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

In this event, and especially in Mary’s declaration, we see an amazing level of faith in Jesus’ ability even though no prior miracle has taken place to make Mary certain of Jesus’ ability to perform miracles. While no previous miracle had taken place, we can look at Mary’s bold statement to both Jesus and to the servants and see faith present in at least two different angles.

The first angle we can see is Mary simply asking Jesus to help, but not necessarily asking for Him to perform a miracle. Mary knows that Jesus is more than physically capable to take the servants out and find a place where they can get wine, but we also don’t know what time of day this is. If it was at night, the shops would be closed and the shop owners would be sleeping. While Jesus chose to perform a miracle, the setup for the miracle doesn’t really emphasize a miracle being necessary, only that help is being asked for and expected.

The second angle we can see in this event is Mary asking Jesus for miraculous help. While there may have been plenty of non-miracle options for Jesus to choose from to help, from Jesus’ response when He says that His hour has not yet come, we can conclude that Mary is asking for help from Jesus’ divine nature more than His human nature. And Mary is unwilling to accept “no” for an answer.

In Mary’s persistence and her unwavering confidence in Jesus’ ability to solve the problem, we discover a model for us to use with our faith, persistence, and confidence. While it isn’t always smart to blaze forward ahead of God’s will, through Mary’s example, we see that when we move forward confidently and fully trusting in God’s help, we discover that He is willing to step in to help us even if it isn’t part of His original plan.

In contrast to Mary’s faith being present before having a miracle to back up her faith, verse 11 finishes by saying that following this miracle, “His disciples believed in Him”. The disciples didn’t have the same history with Jesus that Mary had, but that didn’t stop them from believing in Jesus when they were given a reason to believe.

While we don’t have the same privilege that these early followers had to witness this miracle, they demonstrate faith based on what they saw Jesus doing, and we can base our faith on what we see Jesus doing in our own lives. While culture and Satan tempting make it easy to be skeptical of the truly miraculous, when we ask God to open our eyes to what He is doing in the world today, expect to see the world in a different way. God wants us to see the world as He sees it, and He wants to help us love the world as He loves it!

From the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, we discover a miracle that confirmed the faith of Jesus’ mother, and it gave the first disciples a reason to place their faith and belief in Jesus as God’s Messiah.

While there is more we could focus in on in this miracle, we’ll save it for the next episode. I can think of no better focus for Jesus’ first officially recorded miracle than to bring out the faith that this event included in it: both the faith of Mary who prompts this miracle, and of the disciples who believe in Jesus because of this miracle.

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

Always seek God first and let Him lead you forward through life. Ask God to teach you how to see the world through His eyes, and be willing to live, love, and help in a compassionate, Christ-like way.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, be sure to intentionally and regularly pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God. Through a personal relationship with God, we are able to have faith in Him and the closer we draw to God, the easier it will be to live how He wants us to live, and see the world as He sees it.

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

Flashback Episode: Year of Miracles – Episode 2: In His first miracle, we discover that Mary, Jesus’ mother, prompts Him to do it. Discover the faith that is displayed in this initial miracle, and the effect that this miracle has on the early disciples.

The Misrepresented Request: Luke 7:1-10

Published January 7, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 7:1-10 (GNT)

¹When Jesus had finished saying all these things to the people, he went to Capernaum. ²A Roman officer there had a servant who was very dear to him; the man was sick and about to die. ³When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his servant. ⁴They came to Jesus and begged him earnestly, “This man really deserves your help. ⁵He loves our people and he himself built a synagogue for us.”

⁶So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the officer sent friends to tell him, “Sir, don’t trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house, ⁷neither do I consider myself worthy to come to you in person. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. ⁸I, too, am a man placed under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; I order that one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and I order my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

⁹Jesus was surprised when he heard this; he turned around and said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, I have never found faith like this, not even in Israel!”

¹⁰The messengers went back to the officer’s house and found his servant well.

Read Luke 7:1-10 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Something that I notice when reading the gospels is how the different details that each gospel writer includes helps to change and amplify the story in my mind. It is the case in the event where a Roman officer living in Capernaum requests healing for his servant.

While this event is included in both Matthew and Luke’s gospels, only in the gospel of Luke do we see something that Matthew likely abbreviated to simply save space. In Matthew’s gospel, the Roman officer comes personally, while in Luke, the Roman officer sends Jewish elders from the synagogue.

What really jumps out at me in this unique detail is how these elders frame the officer’s request. Luke tells us that these elders come to Jesus and beg Jesus to come by saying, “This man really deserves your help. He loves our people and he himself built a synagogue for us.” (v. 4b-5)

The officer simply asks for Jesus to come and heal his servant, but the request these elders make is that this officer “deserves” Jesus’ help because he loves the Jewish people and he built their synagogue. Chances are that this was not how the Roman officer wanted his request framed.

Did Jesus bend to the request of these elders because this Roman officer “deserved” God’s help?

It is unlikely, because none of us deserve anything good from God. We have all sinned and broken God’s rules, and we all deserve punishment from God more than blessing. Jesus didn’t accept the officer’s request because of how the elders framed it – He accepted it because of what would happen next.

While on the way to the officer’s home, another message arrives. Perhaps someone had ran ahead and told the officer what had happened and what was said. Not wanting Jesus to really get the wrong idea, or for anyone to think that this request was framed with an immature attitude of entitlement, the officer sends some of his friends with a new message that began by saying, “Sir, don’t trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house…” (v. 6b)

While the Jewish elders felt that this officer “deserved” to have Jesus help him as a thank you for what he had done for them, this Roman officer did not feel this way. This officer knew Jesus was different, special, significant, and perhaps even holy, and that he was truly unworthy to have Jesus enter his home.

It is the same way for us today. We might feel as though God owes us something, but if we travel down that path of thought too long, we will end up bitter towards God. God does not have a debt towards us – it is really the other way around. We have a debt called sin that is owed to God. Jesus came to pay that debt for us. Jesus’ sacrifice frees us from the debt and allows us to have a restored relationship with God – a relationship that is not based on feelings of entitlement. Salvation (i.e. God’s help) is a gift we have been offered – not something we are entitled to receive based on what we have done or have not done. The Roman officer understands this, while the Jewish elders missed it.

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