Reflective Bible Study

As we continue moving through Jesus’ last big opportunity to share with the disciples on the night of His arrest, we come to Jesus teaching us what the role of the Holy Spirit is, what we can expect the Holy Spirit to do, and why it is better that that Jesus should return to heaven. However, I wonder if much of what Jesus was telling His disciples went over their heads. Either that, or I wonder if they understood a little, but not enough of the details to fully understand the events of that weekend.

Let’s read what Jesus shared with the disciples in this part of His message. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 16, and we will be reading from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 5, Jesus continues by saying:

⁵ Now I am going back to the One who sent me. But none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶ Your hearts are filled with sadness because I have told you these things. ⁷ But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go away. When I go away, I will send the Helper to you. If I do not go away, the Helper will not come. ⁸ When the Helper comes, he will prove to the people of the world the truth about sin, about being right with God, and about judgment. ⁹ He will prove to them that sin is not believing in me. ¹⁰ He will prove to them that being right with God comes from my going to the Father and not being seen anymore. ¹¹ And the Helper will prove to them that judgment happened when the ruler of this world was judged.

Let’s pause briefly here because Jesus has just shared a number of big things. First off, we can understand that the disciples are sad because Jesus is leaving, but Jesus counters their sadness by telling them that if He doesn’t leave, the Helper, otherwise known as the Holy Spirit, will not come.

On the surface this doesn’t make sense, unless we believe that God isn’t going to be redundant. However, when reading this passage, I believe the reason for Jesus telling us that the Helper would not come unless He leaves is tucked within the role of the Holy Spirit that Jesus then shares.

Jesus describes three roles the Holy Spirit has in addition to being called our Helper. The first is that the Holy Spirit will prove to the people of this world that sin is not believing in Jesus, the second is that being right with God comes from Jesus’ return to Heaven and not being seen any more, and the third is that judgment happened when the ruler of this world was judged.

These are three huge theological concepts and it would take too much time to fully unpack each of them. However, let’s briefly look at each.

The first huge concept is that sin is not believing in Jesus. As we read this just now, I could not escape the idea that the sin being described here is the unpardonable sin. Not that this sin isn’t reversible, but that every other sin gets erased if at the time of our last breath, we believe in Jesus. While Jesus says that those who speak out against Him will be forgiven, while those who speak against the Holy Spirit are not, I wonder if that verse connects with this verse to define what sin is truly unpardonable.

At the moment we die, the only thing that matters is our belief in Jesus, and this one decision determines our fate in the judgment. This is an idea I just had. It’s worth studying further, but I thought I’d share it with you as I had it.

The second huge concept is that being right with God comes from Jesus returning to the Father. While this is a huge theological concept, the simplest way for me to understand this personally is that when Jesus came, He came as a representative for God. Jesus was Heaven’s Ambassador to earth. Jesus came to show us God’s love.

Following His death and resurrection, Jesus’ return to Heaven marks a shift in His role. While before this Jesus was representing Heaven, now that He has returned to Heaven, He is representing us. Before Jesus was an Ambassador; now He is an Advocate. If you are worried about God’s judgment, trust that Jesus is in Heaven right now defending you with His sacrifice. When we have placed our faith, hope, belief, and trust in Jesus, His sacrifice erases our sinful past, and Jesus becomes our defense attorney. Jesus standing before the accuser defending us is an amazing, powerful, and profound concept that the Holy Spirit wants us to remember.

The third huge concept is that “judgment happened when the ruler of this world was judged”. This verse is translated in an interesting way. Other translations describe a future judgment that is solidified at the moment the ruler of this world was judged. When the Holy Spirit came to the disciples, Jesus describes the event in past tense, which means that when Jesus died, Satan was judged guilty. When the curtain in the temple was torn in two, which we will read about later this year, Jesus tells us Satan is judged as guilty.

The big truth for us to remember living today is that judgment happened against Satan, and He is guilty. God is preparing to return and to carry out this judgment. This means that we have a choice to side with Satan, who has already been judged as guilty, or side with Jesus, who became victorious through His death on the cross. Jesus’ victory was sealed with the resurrection.

All three of these huge theological concepts focus on Jesus, what He has done, and what He is currently doing for each of us.

Jesus continues in verse 12 by saying:

¹² “I have many more things to say to you, but they are too much for you now. ¹³ But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all truth. He will not speak his own words, but he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is to come. ¹⁴ The Spirit of truth will bring glory to me, because he will take what I have to say and tell it to you. ¹⁵ All that the Father has is mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take what I have to say and tell it to you.

When the Holy Spirit came, Jesus promised that He would teach Jesus’ followers the truth about Jesus and about the world. These followers were transformed when the Holy Spirit came into their lives. We would not be believers today if it were not for their life-transformation.

But it would be a mistake to think that the same offer Jesus gave His early followers is reserved only for them. The same offer of the Holy Spirit is available for us today. If we are serious about growing towards God, then we should let the Holy Spirit teach us the truth about Jesus. This truth will match what the Bible teaches, this truth will transform our lives, and this truth will lead us into eternity!

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

As always, be sure to seek God first in your life and ask Him to send His Holy Spirit into your life to teach you the truth about Jesus. Let God show you through His Word who Jesus is and why this historical figure who lived 2000 years ago is worth paying attention to today!

In order to learn this and grow, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself. Personal prayer and study is the way to grow a personal relationship with God, and the Holy Spirit is more than willing to lead you to the truth about Jesus when you take steps towards God with a desire to learn His truth. Pastors, authors, speakers, and even podcasters can give you ideas to think about, but never let anyone get between you and Jesus.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, or chicken out of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Continuing our journey through Matthew’s gospel brings us to a challenge Jesus receives from a group of Pharisees and Sadducees, and also to a challenge Jesus gives His disciples that they initially misunderstand. Let’s read what Matthew tells us and discover what we can learn from our passage for this episode.

Our passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 16, and we will read from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 1, Matthew tells us that:

¹ The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus, wanting to trick him. So they asked him to show them a miracle from God.

² Jesus answered, “At sunset you say we will have good weather, because the sky is red. ³ And in the morning you say that it will be a rainy day, because the sky is dark and red. You see these signs in the sky and know what they mean. In the same way, you see the things that I am doing now, but you don’t know their meaning. ⁴ Evil and sinful people ask for a miracle as a sign, but they will not be given any sign, except the sign of Jonah.” Then Jesus left them and went away.

Let’s pause reading here because I want to draw our attention onto an interesting counter challenge Jesus gives to these religious leaders. First, these leaders come to Jesus asking Him to show them a sign, specifically a miracle from God. On the surface, this doesn’t appear to be a trick or a trap. However, the trap comes in a spiritual form because if Jesus would have performed a miracle for them, it would have taken the focus off of God and placed it upon Himself – which is something Jesus didn’t do. Similar to what Jesus was tempted to do in the wilderness after His baptism, this challenge was to use His divine ability for His own benefit.

Instead of falling to this temptation, Jesus challenges these religious leaders by telling them that there were already signs present that they should open their eyes to. Similar to how the weather gives its own predictions that they had learned to pay attention to, Jesus gave signs throughout His entire ministry that were clearly visible to all who were paying attention.

Jesus challenges the leaders by saying that evil people ask for signs. In my mind, this is because those who demand signs are simply discounting or out-rightly ignoring the signs that are already being given.

Continuing in verse 5, Matthew tells us that:

⁵ Jesus’ followers went across the lake, but they had forgotten to bring bread. ⁶ Jesus said to them, “Be careful! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”

⁷ His followers discussed the meaning of this, saying, “He said this because we forgot to bring bread.”

⁸ Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, “Why are you talking about not having bread? Your faith is small. ⁹ Do you still not understand? Remember the five loaves of bread that fed the five thousand? And remember that you filled many baskets with the leftovers? ¹⁰ Or the seven loaves of bread that fed the four thousand and the many baskets you filled then also? ¹¹ I was not talking to you about bread. Why don’t you understand that? I am telling you to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” ¹² Then the followers understood that Jesus was not telling them to beware of the yeast used in bread but to beware of the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

In this trip across the lake, I wonder if Jesus intentionally spoke in a way that caused a misunderstanding. Not much time had passed between the miracles of feeding the two large crowds, and I wonder if some of the disciples had bread on their minds as they were crossing the lake.

While Jesus regularly spoke spiritual truths using literal examples, the disciples seem to always focus on the literal concept before understanding the spiritual truth. In the case of this event, yeast is physically used in bread, so Jesus must be talking about bread, even though the phrase doesn’t really make sense that the disciples should be concerned about bread from the Pharisees and Sadducees.

With this misunderstanding, Jesus actually has the opportunity to emphasize two different truths. The truth Jesus wanted the disciples to understand they eventually figured out, and that truth is found in verse 12, where Matthew tells us: “Then the followers understood that Jesus was not telling them to beware of the yeast used in bread but to beware of the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”

However, the bonus truth that Jesus could reemphasize because of this misunderstanding is a truth about trust in God. When hearing the conversation turn to not having any bread, Jesus steps in and questions why they even went there. After being present for two extraordinary miracles involving food multiplying in incredible ways, the last thing the disciples should be concerned about is a lack of bread. Using the same ratios as Jesus’ earlier miracles, a crumb in the corner of the boat could have been enough to feed Jesus and all twelve of His disciples till they were full.

With this misunderstanding, Jesus emphasizes the truth that God is more than willing to supply us with what we need, and He is very aware of what we need. Jesus also wants us to be aware of the dangers of placing our trust in the teachings of men. This is because the teaching of men, and you could say of women, changes over time with tradition. However, the spiritual truth God wants to teach us never changes. The big truths and themes of the Bible are just as true as they were when they were written as they are today, regardless of how culture, technology, or humanity has changed.

In our lives, we should ask God to help open our eyes to His truth, to His signs, and to His moving in the world today. Instead of being skeptical of something new, we should bring what we discover to God and let Him help us determine if it is worthy of our time, our energy, or our efforts. God wants the best for us, and when we live for Him, He will guide us along the path He has called us to walk!

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, be sure to intentionally seek God first in your life and place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Him. Choose to trust that God will supply all your needs and ask Him to help you walk the path He created you to walk, and for help opening your eyes to see what He wants you to see and focus on.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each day. Through a strong prayer and study life, you will grow a solid foundation and relationship with God that will withstand the storms Satan wants to throw your 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 let Satan trick you out of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!