Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Hated By The Church: John 15:18-16:4

Published August 10, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 15:18-16:4 (NASB)

Today’s passage is a challenging one for me, and today’s big idea within this passage is one that won’t (and shouldn’t) be popular. It is something that should rub most people the wrong way, not because of what it is directly, but instead by what is implied.

In this passage Jesus says, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” (verses 18-19)

This is a well known passage in scripture, however, before jumping on to the next idea, let’s pause, and ask ourselves who hated Jesus the most when He was here on earth. Was it the common working person? Was it women or children? Was it foreigners who were visiting Judea? Or was it the spiritual leaders in the regions where Jesus traveled?

In almost every case, the spiritual leaders (Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, priests, etc.) were the ones who seemed to hate Jesus the most. Common working people, women, and children sought Jesus out and created huge crowds that followed Jesus wherever He went.

In at least one case, Jesus turns to the crowd at the end of a powerful sermon, and challenges their commitment – to the point that most of them leave. Did they leave because they “hated” Jesus? I don’t believe this to be the reason. Instead I believe the crowds dispersed because they thought Jesus’ remarks were unrealistically high and/or that He had gone nuts. However, these ideas are a far stretch from “hating” Jesus.

On the other hand, the spiritual leaders seemed to be envious of Jesus’ popularity. They would have wanted for everyone to leave Jesus and follow them – and this caused hatred to enter their hearts.

So here is today’s big idea: When Jesus says that the “world” will hate us like it hated Him, don’t be surprised if “spiritual” people (including “Christians”) hate you. Spiritual people hated Jesus (and His disciples), and the closer we are to Jesus, the more likely this will be the case for us as well.

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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Inviting Unworthy Sinners: Luke 5:1-11

Published August 9, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 5:1-11 (NCV)

¹One day while Jesus was standing beside Lake Galilee, many people were pressing all around him to hear the word of God. ²Jesus saw two boats at the shore of the lake. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. ³Jesus got into one of the boats, the one that belonged to Simon, and asked him to push off a little from the land. Then Jesus sat down and continued to teach the people from the boat.

⁴When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Take the boat into deep water, and put your nets in the water to catch some fish.”

⁵Simon answered, “Master, we worked hard all night trying to catch fish, and we caught nothing. But you say to put the nets in the water, so I will.” ⁶When the fishermen did as Jesus told them, they caught so many fish that the nets began to break. ⁷They called to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so full that they were almost sinking.

⁸When Simon Peter saw what had happened, he bowed down before Jesus and said, “Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man!” ⁹He and the other fishermen were amazed at the many fish they caught, as were ¹⁰James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will fish for people.” ¹¹When the men brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Read Luke 5:1-11 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

The official call of the earliest and closest disciples contains a fascinating conversation between Jesus and Simon Peter, the man who would ultimately become the most famous disciple. While Matthew and Mark simply include a shortened version of this event, Luke draws out all the details of what happened – and the miracle that changed the direction of these men’s lives.

The idea that is jumping off the page at me while I read this event is in Peter’s response to Jesus after they had finished hoisting the net full of fish into the boat. When Simon Peter realized what had just happened, Luke tells us that he bowed before Jesus and said, “Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man!” (v. 8)

Simon Peter realized after his earlier comment, which was full of doubt and perhaps even a little sarcastic, that Jesus was significant. At what was probably the worst time of the day to fish, Jesus had miraculously brought about a catch that was probably many weeks’ worth of pay. Peter realized this and he realized that there was nothing that made him worthy to even be around Jesus.

Looking at Peter’s time as a disciple we can see that he was the one who seemed to get himself in the most trouble, but he was also one of the only disciples brave enough to declare Jesus to be God’s own Son. Luke tells us that Peter felt unworthy of even being considered as a follower. He felt his past excluded him.

However, a couple verses later, we read how Jesus responded. Jesus replied to Peter by saying, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will fish for people.” (v. 10b)

Jesus’ response tells us something incredible about God. God is willing to include sinful people in His plan. While we are entirely unworthy to even be considered for a part in God’s story, He is more than willing to invite us to be a part of it. Jesus invited sinful Peter, and He is more than willing to invite you and me to be a part of His story in the world today!

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Flashback Episode — A Similar but Different Miracle: Matthew 15:32-39

Published August 8, 2022 in Audio Journal Entries

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In two of the gospels, specifically Matthew and Mark, we discover a miracle that seems similar to one that we have already focused in on, but one that is quite profound when we look at how it is different from the other miracle. The other miracle is the only miracle that all four gospel writers included, and when I say that, you may remember that the miracle I’m referring to is the feeding of the crowd of more than 5,000 that we spent two episodes focusing in on.

However, lesser known is another miracle, where Jesus feeds a crowd larger than 4,000. While some people might think that these two miracles were the same, there is enough evidence and uniqueness in what happens in this episode’s miracle to clearly point to this being a separate event. And as a separate event, this miracle has some profound themes we can learn from.

Our passage for this episode comes from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 15, and we will read it from the New Living Translation of the Bible. Starting in verse 32, Matthew tells us:

³²Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”

³³The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”

Let’s pause here for a moment because I want to draw out a couple things that we can already see in the verses leading up to the miracle. First off, this miracle is prompted by Jesus’ compassion and the necessity of the situation. Three days with Jesus away from towns in the wilderness is a long time, and from what Jesus describes, many of those who came did not plan for a trip of this length. This detail is powerful, because this means that many in the crowd following Jesus wanted to be near Jesus even more than they wanted to eat. As I say this, I am doubtful of how many self-professed Christians could be described in this way living in the world today.

The other big idea I see in this passage’s introduction is the initial response the disciples give, which is asking where they could get enough food for such a big crowd. All gospel chronology suggests this happened after the previous miracle of food multiplication, so this means that the disciples forgot what Jesus had done in the past, or they doubted His present circumstances for being able to do it again. This detail is also powerful, because it tells us that our present problems will always appear larger than our past victories. Only when we intentionally focus on what Jesus has done for us in the past will we have faith that He wants to help in our current situation.

Now that we remember and have a clear picture in our mind about what Jesus had done in the past, we can continue reading to discover what Jesus does to solve this problem in their present. Continuing in verse 34, Matthew tells us that:

³⁴Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”

They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”

³⁵So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. ³⁶Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.

³⁷They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. ³⁸There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. ³⁹Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.

In this passage and the miracle, we see some fascinating unique details that frame God’s blessings and God’s answers to prayer. In the previous miracle where 5,000 plus were fed, the gift of food came from an outside source, specifically a boy offering his lunch to Jesus. That miracle had the prayer being answered from an outside source.

To contrast this, our current miracle describes the food coming from the disciples’ own reserve. This means that sometimes, it is up to us to supply what God needs to bless others. Sometimes God will bring us outside help to help us when blessing others and when answering our prayers, while other times, God will expect us to use what He has already given to us to bless others.

When we pray, we should be open and willing to accept help from wherever God sends it, and we shouldn’t shy away from using our own resources if no outside help comes.

Also, we learn from both miracles that no gift is too small. I believe that Jesus could have multiplied one loaf just as easily as He multiplied seven. When we bring our gifts to Jesus, we should never consider the gifts as too small or too insignificant for Him to use them. Instead, we should bring our gifts and readily offer them to Him. As we easily see in both miracles, Jesus is more than able to multiply a small gift into a large one when we are willing to give Him what we have. We might think that what we have to offer God is insignificant, but no heartfelt gift given to God is insignificant in His eyes.

When comparing these two miracles, we discover that the source of each miracle was total, complete gifts. While both sources of bread and fish likely were larger days, or even hours before, when the gifts are presented to Jesus, we don’t see any hint of food being held back. This means that when we offer God a gift, we should offer God the full, best, complete gift that we have. I doubt either of these miracles would have been as effective if the supplier of the food had held part of the supply back.

In this pair of similar miracles, we discover that God is more than willing to bless us when we pray, when we need help, and/or when He knows we will be better off with the gift than without. God is also more than willing to multiply the small, seemingly insignificant gifts into blessings for a greater number of people than we could even imagine. And God is interested in heartfelt gifts over gifts given with reservation.

All this leads us to the big truth that the greatest gift that we can give God is our hearts. Jesus came to love us and to redeem us from sin, and the least we can return to Him for this amazing gift is our hearts, our minds, and our lives.

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

Always seek God first and place Him first in your life. Praise God and thank Him for everything that He has done for us and be willing to let Him use you for His grand purposes. Step into God’s plan and give Him the greatest gift you can give, which is the gift of your heart!

Also, as always, pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Seek to grow closer to Him through the pages of His Word and study the scriptures faithfully and prayerfully to let the Holy Spirit into your heart and mind.

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

Flashback Episode: Year of Miracles – Episode 32: When Jesus feeds a crowd of 4,000+ people, we discover a great compliment to the earlier miracle where 5,000+ people were fed, and we discover some amazing themes regarding how God chooses to answer our prayers.

Secret Preparation: Matthew 24:36-51

Published August 5, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 24:36-51 (CEV)

³⁶No one knows the day or hour. The angels in heaven don’t know, and the Son himself doesn’t know. Only the Father knows. ³⁷When the Son of Man appears, things will be just as they were when Noah lived. ³⁸People were eating, drinking, and getting married right up to the day that the flood came and Noah went into the big boat. ³⁹They didn’t know anything was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man appears.

⁴⁰Two men will be in the same field, but only one will be taken. The other will be left. ⁴¹Two women will be together grinding grain, but only one will be taken. The other will be left. ⁴²So be on your guard! You don’t know when your Lord will come. ⁴³Homeowners never know when a thief is coming, and they are always on guard to keep one from breaking in. ⁴⁴Always be ready! You don’t know when the Son of Man will come.

⁴⁵Who are faithful and wise servants? Who are the ones the master will put in charge of giving the other servants their food supplies at the proper time? ⁴⁶Servants are fortunate if their master comes and finds them doing their job. ⁴⁷You may be sure that a servant who is always faithful will be put in charge of everything the master owns. ⁴⁸But suppose one of the servants thinks that the master won’t return until late. ⁴⁹Suppose that evil servant starts beating the other servants and eats and drinks with people who are drunk. ⁵⁰If that happens, the master will surely come on a day and at a time when the servant least expects him. ⁵¹That servant will then be punished and thrown out with the ones who only pretended to serve their master. There they will cry and grit their teeth in pain.

Read Matthew 24:36-51 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

During one of the times when Jesus was teaching, some of His followers asked about when His return would be. Instead of sharing a time, which He says He doesn’t know, Jesus describes what the world would be like. In Jesus’ description, He shares an idea that many people have misunderstood.

After sharing that He doesn’t know the time, Jesus tells His followers, “When the Son of Man appears, things will be just as they were when Noah lived. People were eating, drinking, and getting married right up to the day that the flood came and Noah went into the big boat. They didn’t know anything was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man appears.” (v. 37-39)

Jesus parallels His return to the days of Noah. While it is easy to say the people living in Noah’s day were shocked and surprised when the flood ultimately came, they were not uninformed. For over 100 years, Noah had been preaching about the coming judgment, and likely everyone had written him off and gone about their own lives and their own tasks – ignorant of what God was about to do.

We are told this is how it will be when Jesus returns. While people will have been given a clear warning, most will have dismissed or ignored it, and while they were warned, they still will be surprised.

It is under the context of Jesus returning and appearing that we then read the following verses: “Two men will be in the same field, but only one will be taken. The other will be left. Two women will be together grinding grain, but only one will be taken. The other will be left. So be on your guard! You don’t know when your Lord will come. Homeowners never know when a thief is coming, and they are always on guard to keep one from breaking in. Always be ready! You don’t know when the Son of Man will come.” (v. 40-44)

When Jesus returns, He first describes it at a time when He will appear, and then He describes it as being a surprise to people. He describes it as being a time when some people will be ready, while others won’t be.

However, the tricky part of Jesus’ description here is that being ready is not an entirely outward process. When Jesus describes two men in the field and two women grinding grain, He describes people who are essentially doing the same things, but one was ready and one wasn’t. Jesus’ appearance in this passage will not be remotely close to a secret even though it will be a surprise for many.

Jesus concludes this section by reemphasizing His key point: “Always be ready! You don’t know when the Son of Man will come.” (v. 44)

Our preparation for Jesus’ return might not be visible, but it is crucial. Not only is it important for us to be doing the right things and living for Jesus in a public way, but we must also be living for Him privately as well. Our hearts, minds, and actions must all be focused on Jesus and be ready for His return. This is the only way for us to not be surprised when He ultimately appears in the clouds at His return.

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