Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

A World without Belief: Luke 18:1-8

Published March 11, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 18:1-8 (NCV)

¹Then Jesus used this story to teach his followers that they should always pray and never lose hope. ²“In a certain town there was a judge who did not respect God or care about people. ³In that same town there was a widow who kept coming to this judge, saying, ‘Give me my rights against my enemy.’ ⁴For a while the judge refused to help her. But afterwards, he thought to himself, ‘Even though I don’t respect God or care about people, ⁵I will see that she gets her rights. Otherwise she will continue to bother me until I am worn out.’”

⁶The Lord said, “Listen to what the unfair judge said. ⁷God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them. ⁸I tell you, God will help his people quickly. But when the Son of Man comes again, will he find those on earth who believe in him?”

Read Luke 18:1-8 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

While the illustration Jesus shares in this passage is interesting, the passage closes with an almost cryptic, pessimistic view of the world at the time of the second coming.

Verse 8 ends with a question Jesus asks about the time of the end, “But when the Son of Man comes again, will he find those on earth who believe in him?” While this probably came as a surprise to the disciples and the early church that seemed to be growing exponentially, looking at this question today brings a completely different perspective with it.

Most of the first world culture could be viewed as “Post-Christian” which is another way of saying, it was Christian at one point, but it has since moved on. The view some people have is that Christianity was good for a time as the framework for culture, but it has outgrown its usefulness.

This is a broad generalization. There are some who wish that Christianity had never even gained a foothold in culture, and others who wish for Christianity to reclaim the key areas of culture that it once held.

According to the question Jesus shares, it could be seen as prophetic, representing the world today where culture is pushing anything past a surface, shallow belief in Jesus aside. Or it could be seen as a challenge to a group of disciples who were a tiny fraction in number compared with the world at their time, and as a continual challenge to Jesus’ followers throughout history to always remain on guard and actively pursuing a better relationship with Him while sharing their relationship with others.

Regardless of which angle we understand this question, we would be wise to keep our faith and belief in Jesus as a top priority in our lives, because everything in the popular culture is focused on stealing that focus away.

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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Teaching with Parables: Mark 4:21-34

Published March 10, 2022 in Audio Journal Entries

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As Mark continues to tell us about Jesus, he decides to include more parables and illustrations Jesus shared. In the set of parables that we will focus on for this episode, we will discover how Jesus both explains and challenges those present with His teaching.

Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 4, and we will read from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 21:

²¹Then Jesus said to them, “Do you hide a lamp under a bowl or under a bed? No! You put the lamp on a lampstand. ²²Everything that is hidden will be made clear and every secret thing will be made known. ²³Let those with ears use them and listen!

²⁴“Think carefully about what you hear. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you, but God will give you even more. ²⁵Those who have understanding will be given more. But those who do not have understanding, even what they have will be taken away from them.”

Let’s pause briefly here because something Jesus just said jumped out at me. In the challenge Jesus just shared, we see a warning cautioning us to pay attention to what we hear. While this warning makes sense in the context of having understanding, between these two ideas that sound connected is an idea that sounds different. The way the New Century Version translated this distinct idea is: “The way you give to others is the way God will give to you, but God will give you even more.”

If we switch translations and read this phrase from a different one, such as the New International Version, we see this idea translated: “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.”

This is one reason why I like having and using many different translations. While I don’t know the original languages of the Bible, having many different translations helps me see new angles on passages such as this one.

If we had simply chosen to use the New International Version, which is likely a little more accurate in this instance, we might have simply jumped to the idea that we are to hold off on judging, stereotyping, or condemning others because if we do this to others, even more of it will be done to us.

This is a huge truth.

However, if we had simply stayed with the New Century Version, we might be tempted to think this was a brief message that we should be generous and give money to the poor so that God will reward us in ways that only He can.

This too is a huge truth.

However, when we put both translations together we see an amazing truth that the way we show grace and forgiveness towards others is the same way we show grace and forgiveness to God, and when we show grace and forgiveness towards others, God shows significantly more grace and forgiveness towards us!

However, Jesus isn’t finished shared. Continuing reading our passage, using the New Century Version, and picking back up in verse 26:

²⁶Then Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like someone who plants seed in the ground. ²⁷Night and day, whether the person is asleep or awake, the seed still grows, but the person does not know how it grows. ²⁸By itself the earth produces grain. First the plant grows, then the head, and then all the grain in the head. ²⁹When the grain is ready, the farmer cuts it, because this is the harvest time.”

³⁰Then Jesus said, “How can I show you what the kingdom of God is like? What story can I use to explain it? ³¹The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, the smallest seed you plant in the ground. ³²But when planted, this seed grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants. It produces large branches, and the wild birds can make nests in its shade.”

³³Jesus used many stories like these to teach the crowd God’s message—as much as they could understand. ³⁴He always used stories to teach them. But when he and his followers were alone, Jesus explained everything to them.

From reading this passage, I get the impression that Jesus loved sharing stories and wrapping spiritual truths into stories that everyone could understand. However, we might be tempted to jump over Mark’s summary statement at the end of this verse, but this would be a mistake because in Mark’s summary, we discover two big ideas.

The first idea is within verse 33 and the first part of verse 34. Mark tells us that “Jesus used many stories like these to teach the crowd God’s message—as much as they could understand. He always used stories to teach them.” The big idea I see in this verse is that Jesus structured His stories specifically for His audience. Jesus wanted those in the crowds to understand God’s truth, and He shared God’s truth in ways that those in the crowds could understand it.

The second idea is in the last portion of verse 34, where Mark follows up by saying that “when he and his followers were alone, Jesus explained everything to them.” This tells me that Jesus really wants His followers and His disciples to understand what He taught and shared. While Jesus always used stories and illustrations in public, according to Mark, Jesus explained everything when He and the disciples were alone.

One big truth I see in this idea is that God might be waiting to explain something we are struggling to understand until we are alone with Him. While God sometimes will bring people into our lives to help us understand, other times, He wants to teach us directly as we study the Bible. While not everyone in the crowd would understand all the layers of truth in Jesus’ illustrations, Jesus wanted His disciples to know and understand everything He taught.

Another truth in this set of verses is that Jesus specifically made time to be alone with His followers. While we might get the impression that there was never times where Jesus was not without a crowd of people prior to the night of His arrest, Mark alludes to times of public ministry, as well as times where Jesus would leave the crowds and focus specifically on His group of disciples.

While it would have been amazing to sit at the feet of Jesus while He walked the earth in the first century, we can figuratively do this when we stop and intentionally read what the gospel writers share.

Some might be quick to point out that this isn’t the same, which is true, but this is the best we can do during this stage of history. Sitting and reading the gospels is actually better than you might realize because when we dedicate time to reading and studying the Bible, God’s Holy Spirit is ready and willing to come and help us understand what God wants to teach us. All the Holy Spirit is waiting for is an open mind and an invitation to come. With these two things in place, we are ready to study God’s Word and understand what He wants to teach us with the Holy Spirit’s help!

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 dedicate time in your life to spend with Him. While it might be easy to jump in and focus on reading and studying, which we should be doing, perhaps the first thing we should do when deciding to spend time with God is to pause, pray, and extend grace to God, similar to what we discovered in the first part of our passage.

When we open our Bibles, we want God to teach us and help us understand, and we should extend God grace because sometimes God will do things that we don’t understand, or things that make us confused. Extending grace to God means that we seek to understand God’s will and actions while also being okay if something doesn’t make sense right now. God is worthy of our trust even if some things He does don’t make sense from our limited perspective.

Speaking of opening our Bibles, always continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself. While it is very easy to simply move through life coasting on the thoughts and ideas of others, you shortchange your spiritual lives by staying dependant on others. Not only do you risk being deceived, you also risk your actual spiritual growth because when you filter your growth through other people, you cannot grow past where that person has grown. God wants more for you than you might realize, and mixed in with all the blessings He wants to give to you, a personal relationship with you is among the most important of these blessings.

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 10: Discover some huge truths Jesus shares when we look at a short passage of parables Jesus shares, and see a big truth about how God wants us to understand what Jesus shared through how Mark summarizes this section of his gospel.

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Showing Our Belief: Luke 12:35-59

Published March 9, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 12:35-59 (NCV)

³⁵ “Be dressed, ready for service, and have your lamps shining. ³⁶ Be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding party. When he comes and knocks, the servants immediately open the door for him. ³⁷ They will be blessed when their master comes home, because he sees that they were watching for him. I tell you the truth, the master will dress himself to serve and tell the servants to sit at the table, and he will serve them. ³⁸ Those servants will be blessed when he comes in and finds them still waiting, even if it is midnight or later.

³⁹ “Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, he would not allow the thief to enter his house. ⁴⁰ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him!”

⁴¹ Peter said, “Lord, did you tell this story to us or to all people?”

⁴² The Lord said, “Who is the wise and trusted servant that the master trusts to give the other servants their food at the right time? ⁴³ When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed. ⁴⁴ I tell you the truth, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns. ⁴⁵ But suppose the servant thinks to himself, ‘My master will not come back soon,’ and he begins to beat the other servants, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. ⁴⁶ The master will come when that servant is not ready and is not expecting him. Then the master will cut him in pieces and send him away to be with the others who don’t obey.

⁴⁷ “The servant who knows what his master wants but is not ready, or who does not do what the master wants, will be beaten with many blows! ⁴⁸ But the servant who does not know what his master wants and does things that should be punished will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected.

⁴⁹ “I came to set fire to the world, and I wish it were already burning! ⁵⁰ I have a baptism to suffer through, and I feel very troubled until it is over. ⁵¹ Do you think I came to give peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I came to divide it. ⁵² From now on, a family with five people will be divided, three against two, and two against three. ⁵³ They will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

⁵⁴ Then Jesus said to the people, “When you see clouds coming up in the west, you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it happens. ⁵⁵ When you feel the wind begin to blow from the south, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it happens. ⁵⁶ Hypocrites! You know how to understand the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you understand what is happening now?

⁵⁷ “Why can’t you decide for yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸ If your enemy is taking you to court, try hard to settle it on the way. If you don’t, your enemy might take you to the judge, and the judge might turn you over to the officer, and the officer might throw you into jail. ⁵⁹ I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid everything you owe.”

Read Luke 12:35-59 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

In this passage, we find a sobering warning that Jesus shares. In verses 47 and 48 we read, “The servant who knows what his master wants but is not ready, or who does not do what the master wants, will be beaten with many blows! But the servant who does not know what his master wants and does things that should be punished will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected.”

This is sobering to me because it tells me that we are judged both by what we know and by what we don’t know. Truth is not subjective to our whims; it is reflective of God’s character. God’s character does not change as we change. Because of this, there is one standard (God’s standard) that we will all be judged by.

There is punishment for not obeying God. This passage makes it clear of that, but it also tells us that there is a distinction. It is bad to not do what is right in God’s eyes, but it is worse to know what is right and to choose to not do it.

Obeying God is what leads us into being wise and trusted servants. Obedience isn’t where our faith journey starts, but it should be where it leads to. This brings me to the big thought I had with this passage: Our belief in Jesus is made known to others when we are living a life that is obedient to Jesus – doing what He wants us to do.

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When Jesus Said No: Mark 5:1-20

Published March 8, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Mark 5:1-20 (NIV)

¹They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. ²When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. ³This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. ⁴For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

⁶When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. ⁷He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” ⁸For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

⁹Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” ¹⁰And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

¹¹A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. ¹²The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” ¹³He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

¹⁴Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. ¹⁵When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. ¹⁶Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. ¹⁷Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

¹⁸As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. ¹⁹Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” ²⁰So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

Read Mark 5:1-20 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Following one of Jesus’ most unique and spectacular healings, we see a surprising response given to the man who Jesus had just cast thousands of demons out of. Mark shares in verse 13 how there were about 2,000 pigs in the herd that the demons went into. If there was one demon per pig, we get a very clear impression that there were a whole lot of demons present in one individual.

Mark concludes this event by sharing a brief conversation Jesus had with the man who had been healed. Mark tells us, “As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, ‘Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.’ So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.” (v. 18-20)

While I can understand Jesus’ perspective, and Jesus knowing that the man would be the most impactful witness for Jesus in that region, I can understand Jesus telling him to stay and share with the cities in that region. But from the man’s perspective, Jesus has just given him his life back, and the man wants to dedicate all he is to the One who freed him.

But Jesus said no. However, Jesus’ ‘no’ is not a complete sentence. In Jesus’ ‘no’, we find a different mission for this man. While this may have been relatively early in Jesus’ ministry, Jesus knew that the man had lived outside of society for years and it would be better for him to return. Jesus also knew that this man had a reputation that had spread to almost everyone living in that area.

Within the mission Jesus gave the man, He tells him to tell others how much “the Lord” had done for him, and how God had shown mercy on him. Jesus intended the man to point all the glory upward, and this miracle was to show how God was more powerful than the demons and other gods of the area.

In a way, the man does share this, but he specifically attributes all of this to Jesus. While Jesus said “the Lord”, the man said “Jesus”. Jesus was Lord in the man’s life. Jesus was his Savior. Even though Jesus didn’t let the man join His band of followers, this man likely made a much stronger impression on the success of Jesus’ ministry in that area then the disciples’ ever could have. And this man did it while Jesus was still alive.

All this leads me to a key idea that one dedicated follower of Jesus who is willing to share what God has done in their life is more impactful than a dozen followers who overanalyze the situation without any action. In this surface rejection, we see Jesus teaching all of His followers about the importance of action and sharing what God has done for us.

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