Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Belief from a Doubter: John 20:24-31

Published April 22, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 20:24-31 (CEV)

²⁴Although Thomas the Twin was one of the twelve disciples, he wasn’t with the others when Jesus appeared to them. ²⁵So they told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But Thomas said, “First, I must see the nail scars in his hands and touch them with my finger. I must put my hand where the spear went into his side. I won’t believe unless I do this!”

²⁶A week later the disciples were together again. This time, Thomas was with them. Jesus came in while the doors were still locked and stood in the middle of the group. He greeted his disciples ²⁷and said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands! Put your hand into my side. Stop doubting and have faith!”

²⁸Thomas replied, “You are my Lord and my God!”

²⁹Jesus said, “Thomas, do you have faith because you have seen me? The people who have faith in me without seeing me are the ones who are really blessed!”

³⁰Jesus worked many other miracles for his disciples, and not all of them are written in this book. ³¹But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. If you have faith in him, you will have true life.

Read John 20:24-31 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Following Jesus’ resurrection, Thomas gets the reputation of being a doubter because he missed seeing Jesus while the other ten remaining disciples were present when Jesus appeared to them in the upper room. But Thomas doesn’t get the “doubter” label for being absent; he gets this label because of his response when finding out that the other ten had seen Jesus.

On learning the news of Jesus’ visit to the upper room while he wasn’t there, Thomas replied, “First, I must see the nail scars in his hands and touch them with my finger. I must put my hand where the spear went into his side. I won’t believe unless I do this!” (v. 25b)

By basing his belief on seeing and touching Jesus and specifically Jesus’ scars, Thomas gets labeled a doubter. While this label has stuck with him throughout history from that point forward, the label itself may be misplaced in Thomas’ situation.

John records what happened the following weekend. Thomas has determined to not leave the group of disciples in case Jesus returns. Part of me wonders if Thomas had doubts about whether Jesus would come to him personally or not, but perhaps in his mind, Thomas believed he had a better chance seeing Jesus if he was part of the group rather than alone. Maybe for this reason Thomas stayed close to the group of disciples looking forward to the next one of Jesus’ visits.

Thomas’ plan worked, and that following weekend, Jesus appeared to the disciples while Thomas was with them. While greeting the disciples, Jesus directly invites Thomas to touch Him and His scars. However, while this may have happened, John doesn’t record that it did. Instead, simply from seeing and hearing Jesus, Thomas had enough evidence to base his belief in the resurrection. While Thomas’ request was seeing and touching, He was satisfied simply seeing and hearing instead.

This isn’t typically how a skeptic acts. Someone who is looking for reasons to not believe in something will always find some fault in the evidence they are given. A skeptic is quick to push aside evidence that doesn’t support their views regardless of the validity of that evidence. Thomas’ response when Jesus appeared that second weekend tells us that Thomas was not a skeptic.

Also, this event includes a subtle third thing that Thomas used to base His belief in Jesus on. This third thing is that Jesus knew of Thomas’ earlier statement about seeing and touching. Jesus was not physically present when Thomas made his faith challenge, but that didn’t stop Jesus from referencing it.

This subtle third basis for faith is significant for us as well. Thomas’ story following Jesus’ resurrection helps us see that even if we don’t see or feel Jesus’ presence, we can trust that He is with us watching over the details of our lives.

Thomas’ doubt was brief, and when Jesus gave Him evidence for belief, Thomas was quick to accept the evidence and believe. This tells us that Thomas wasn’t a skeptic, but a disciple eagerly looking for something to base his faith on. When we look for evidence to support our faith in Jesus, we begin to see examples everywhere – and while these examples may not be a physical sighing of Jesus, the examples God sends us are effective foundations we can use to support our faith in Him.

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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Closed Minds and Simple Faith: Mark 6:45-56

Published April 21, 2022 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we move through our year focusing on Mark’s gospel, let’s jump over one of Jesus’ most famous miracles and focus in on a miracle that happened on a much smaller scale, but a miracle that may have stood out in the minds of the disciples a little more. Part way through Mark, chapter 6, we find Mark sharing the only miracle that all four gospel writers include. This is the miracle of the feeding a crowd of over 5,000 people.

After this miracle has taken place, we jump into our event that we’ll be focusing in on for our time together this episode. This means that our passage for this episode will come from Mark’s gospel (which is no surprise there), chapter 6, and we will read from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 45, Mark wraps up the miracle of feeding the 5,000 by telling us:

⁴⁵Jesus quickly made his disciples get into a boat and cross to Bethsaida ahead of him while he sent the people away. ⁴⁶After saying goodbye to them, he went up a mountain to pray. ⁴⁷When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on the land.

⁴⁸Jesus saw that they were in a lot of trouble as they rowed, because they were going against the wind. Between three and six o’clock in the morning, he came to them. He was walking on the sea. He wanted to pass by them. ⁴⁹When they saw him walking on the sea, they thought, “It’s a ghost!” and they began to scream. ⁵⁰All of them saw him and were terrified.

Immediately, he said, “Calm down! It’s me. Don’t be afraid!” ⁵¹He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped blowing. The disciples were astounded. ⁵²(They didn’t understand what had happened with the loaves of bread. Instead, their minds were closed.)

Let’s pause reading here briefly because I want to point out what Mark has just told us. While Mark mentions that the disciples were astounded at Jesus and that the wind stopped blowing at the instant Jesus stepped into the boat with them, Mark also includes an interesting side note. Verse 52 tells us that the disciples didn’t understand what had happened with the loaves of bread because their minds were closed.

As I think about this side-note Mark included in his gospel, part of me wanted this verse to read that the disciples’ minds were closed because God wasn’t ready for them to fully understand the significance of what Jesus had done. However, nothing like this is suggested in this passage or in this context.

Instead, the context is the disciples fighting the storm and Jesus walking to them on the water. At the end of what had occurred that night, it wouldn’t surprise many people that the events of the miraculous feeding of a huge crowd was diminished in the minds of these disciples who were likely very sleep deprived while also making very little progress crossing the lake.

Part of me wonders if the disciples had closed off their own minds to Jesus and to the significance of this earlier miracle because they were simply overwhelmed with what they had just been through.

This detail reminds me of the truth that our current problems will always appear to be bigger than our past problems, and the further in the past a problem is, the less significant it appears. It is the same when we look at something that is far away. It always appears smaller than when we are right next to it. When we have a lot of distance between a problem we once faced and where we are today, that problem will always appear less significant than the challenges in our lives today.

While it is crazy to think about, someone who had been homeless for several months a decade or more ago might be more stressed out tomorrow morning about what they will wear from a closet of clean clothes then about their homelessness, even though their homeless state was significantly more stressful at that time of their lives.

With the disciples, while their stomachs had been satisfied through the miracle of food multiplication, they had moved on to the most immediate challenge and their minds were closed to the significance of this miracle.

If the disciples missed the significance of the miracle where Jesus fed the huge crowd, is it possible we too can miss what God is doing in our lives today?

Are our lives so full of distractions that we miss seeing all the amazing miracles that God is doing in the world around us?

Are our lives so focused on screens that we miss the beauty of creation?

While I cannot answer these questions for you, I can certainly say that God has been challenging me at this point in my life with busyness and intentionally staying connected with Him. I will be the first to say that I probably miss more than I should with regards to what God is doing in the world around me.

However, I know that passages like this and specifically challenges like this help me refocus my life onto Jesus.

Before ending this episode, I want to draw our attention onto what happened after Jesus and the disciples reach the far shore. Picking back up in verse 53, Mark tells us that:

⁵³They crossed the sea, came to shore at Gennesaret, and anchored there.

⁵⁴As soon as they stepped out of the boat, the people recognized Jesus. ⁵⁵They ran all over the countryside and began to carry the sick on cots to any place where they heard he was. ⁵⁶Whenever he would go into villages, cities, or farms, people would put their sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch the edge of his clothes. Everyone who touched his clothes was made well.

In these few summary verses, I get a clear reminder that even simple faith in Jesus is enough to work miracles in our lives. Those people living in that area had the faith that simply touching Jesus’ clothing would be enough to make them well. This is amazing faith, and it is also simple faith. I see this passage challenging me to step out of the busyness of my life and back into being better connected with God! Perhaps it can be the same sort of challenge for you too!

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 place your hope, faith, trust, and belief in Jesus. Intentionally make time to step out of the busyness we all face and intentionally take the time to rest with God. God promised us regular rest in His daily and weekly cycle for our lives, and following His pattern for our lives is what ultimately works the best for our health and wellbeing.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. A strong relationship with God will help us face the trials that come into our lives, and a strong relationship with God helps our minds be open to seeing and understanding what He is doing in the world today.

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!

Year in Mark – Episode 16: After Jesus walks to the disciples on the water, Mark tells us that the disciples’ minds were closed. Discover some things we can learn from this event and from what happens after Jesus and His disciples arrive at their destination.

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Accepting the Invitation: Luke 14:7-24

Published April 20, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 14:7-24 (GW)

⁷ Then Jesus noticed how the guests always chose the places of honor. So he used this illustration when he spoke to them: ⁸ “When someone invites you to a wedding, don’t take the place of honor. Maybe someone more important than you was invited. ⁹ Then your host would say to you, ‘Give this person your place.’ Embarrassed, you would have to take the place of least honor. ¹⁰ So when you’re invited, take the place of least honor. Then, when your host comes, he will tell you, ‘Friend, move to a more honorable place.’ Then all the other guests will see how you are honored. ¹¹ Those who honor themselves will be humbled, but people who humble themselves will be honored.”

¹² Then he told the man who had invited him, “When you invite people for lunch or dinner, don’t invite only your friends, family, other relatives, or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they will return the favor. ¹³ Instead, when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the handicapped, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴ Then you will be blessed because they don’t have any way to pay you back. You will be paid back when those who have God’s approval come back to life.”

¹⁵ One of those eating with him heard this. So he said to Jesus, “The person who will be at the banquet in the kingdom of God is blessed.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to him, “A man gave a large banquet and invited many people. ¹⁷ When it was time for the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who were invited, ‘Come! Everything is ready now.’

¹⁸ “Everyone asked to be excused. The first said to him, ‘I bought a field, and I need to see it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹ Another said, ‘I bought five pairs of oxen, and I’m on my way to see how well they plow. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰ Still another said, ‘I recently got married, and that’s why I can’t come.’

²¹ “The servant went back to report this to his master. Then the master of the house became angry. He told his servant, ‘Run to every street and alley in the city! Bring back the poor, the handicapped, the blind, and the lame.’

²² “The servant said, ‘Sir, what you’ve ordered has been done. But there is still room for more people.’

²³ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go to the roads and paths! Urge the people to come to my house. I want it to be full. ²⁴ I can guarantee that none of those invited earlier will taste any food at my banquet.’ ”

Read Luke 14:7-24 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

This journal entry’s passage has a lot of things that stood out to me. For this entry, let’s look at the the group we will call “the impulse guests”. The impulse guests in this parable are the ones that are invited at the last minute – quite literally. In verses 23 and 24, we see the master telling his servant to bring anyone he can bring. The master wants a fully attended party.

The master’s attitude here is interesting. While many people believe God to be in heaven, with the gates locked, and only admitting a select few individuals who have met some criteria, this parable seems to indicate the opposite. Instead of keeping people out, the master is trying to include as many as possible.

Really the only way to be excluded from God’s Kingdom according to this parable is to reject the invitation. It seems as though the only way to reject the invitation is to not value it highly enough to simply show up.

The people who are invited at the last minute have no time to “get ready”. They simply are invited to come. This places an additional twist on what we might traditionally think: We must get “good enough” before going to God, but this parable places its emphasis on going to God and letting Him change you on His terms.

My many years in church, mixed with my analytical nature, really wants to make it seem more complicated. But the only place that this thinking gets me is potentially placing myself in the crowd of people who were formerly invited, and who didn’t accept the invitation – which for the record is not where I want to be.

Are you overly complicating God’s simple invitation?

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A Fourth View on Death: Mark 5:35-43

Published April 19, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Mark 5:35-43 (NLT)

³⁵While he was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.”

³⁶But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”

³⁷Then Jesus stopped the crowd and wouldn’t let anyone go with him except Peter, James, and John (the brother of James). ³⁸When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw much commotion and weeping and wailing. ³⁹He went inside and asked, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.”

⁴⁰The crowd laughed at him. But he made them all leave, and he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. ⁴¹Holding her hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means “Little girl, get up!” ⁴²And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! They were overwhelmed and totally amazed. ⁴³Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what had happened, and then he told them to give her something to eat.

Read Mark 5:35-43 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

In the event surrounding the death of Jairus’ daughter, Jesus makes a startling and counter-cultural statement. This statement even stands counter to what many people believe today.

When Jesus arrives at Jairus’ home, the girl had already died, and it may have been minutes, or perhaps even an hour since her last breath. The people in the first century may not have had the benefits of modern medicine, but they did understand death, and they knew what to look for to identify when someone had died.

But the first thing Jesus says when He arrived is startling, and perhaps even a little offensive. After entering Jairus’ home, Jesus sees what is happening and He asks, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” (v. 39)

The people in that era believed in the resurrection at the end of time, but they did not believe resurrection was possible in their lifetime. They saw the girl’s death as awful and tragic. Some may have even believed that this girl truly had no future hope. These people had rejected the idea of the resurrection.

But Jesus steps into this scene and He makes the startling statement: “The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” (v. 39)

This statement even flies in the face of what many people believe today. The pendulum has swung from not believing in any form of resurrection (something that many people believe today) to believing that death is simply the continuation of life in a different form – whether that form is given through reincarnation or whether that is simply a new ‘spiritual’ form in heaven. Many people today believe one of these three ideas: death is an immediate and final end to life, death is a transition into another life form (reincarnation), or death simply means being immediately translated into heaven.

But Jesus defines it differently. What the people are calling death, Jesus says is not death – only sleep.

What if the sleep we experience each night is a metaphor God placed into humanity for what death is like? In this passage, Jesus describes what we believe to be death as a sleep.

This means we now have a fourth option for understanding death: it is a spiritual sleep. In this viewpoint, all those who have died are simply waiting for God’s voice to wake them up. When God speaks life, a massive resurrection would take place.

Part of me believes that Jesus gives us this fourth option as a way of giving us hope. All other viewpoints on death can be made to appear cruel and unjust. Even immediately going to heaven, while it sounds good, ultimately concludes with either those in heaven ignoring what is happening on earth, or them being glued onto watching all the evil taking place with no way of stopping it.

Death as a sleep is the most loving picture God could give us because it is filled with hope. When his daughter had died, Jesus tells Jairus in verse 36, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.” When we experience death, Jesus says the same thing to us: “Don’t be afraid. Place your faith, your hope, and your trust in Me, and I’ll keep you safe for eternity.”

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