Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Tap into the Power: Luke 24:44-53

Published March 31, 2021 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 24:44-53 (NCV)

⁴⁴He said to them, “Remember when I was with you before? I said that everything written about me must happen—everything in the law of Moses, the books of the prophets, and the Psalms.”

⁴⁵Then Jesus opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶He said to them, “It is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day ⁴⁷and that a change of hearts and lives and forgiveness of sins would be preached in his name to all nations, starting at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹I will send you what my Father has promised, but you must stay in Jerusalem until you have received that power from heaven.”

⁵⁰Jesus led his followers as far as Bethany, and he raised his hands and blessed them. ⁵¹While he was blessing them, he was separated from them and carried into heaven. ⁵²They worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem very happy. ⁵³They stayed in the Temple all the time, praising God.

Read Luke 24:44-53 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

All too often, when more than one gospel includes an event, we tend to play favorites, and focus on only the gospel that we like the most. Unfortunately, it is this way with the grand conclusion to Jesus’ life on earth. All too often, we focus on Matthew’s gospel and the great commission as the big last event in Jesus life on earth before He returns to heaven. However, by focusing only on Matthew, we miss some interesting insights that we can find in how other gospels chose to finish their narratives.

While reading Luke’s conclusion, a verse stood out to me that I had never seen before. Perhaps this is because too often we stop reading Luke’s gospel following the road to Emmaus and Jesus appearing to the disciples in the upper room. But when we stop there, which is almost at the end, we will miss this amazing verse that Luke chooses to include.

Right in the middle of Luke’s conclusion we read: “Then Jesus opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” (v. 45)

This verse is incredibly significant even though we may be tempted to gloss over it.

Up until this point, the disciples had a preconceived idea about who Jesus was, and about the Old Testament. Their point of view, aside from what Jesus had shared with them, was made up of a long chain of rabbis’ commentaries about what various scriptures meant. One rabbi would discover something in a passage, or look at a passage from a certain angle, and then the rabbis that followed afterwards would continue looking down that same path.

While this is not inherently bad, what becomes bad about it is when we stop being open to other insights or angles when looking at the scripture itself. If you only see a verse or passage one way every time you read it, then you will miss out on what God wants to help you discover.

But here is the great news: “Jesus opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” (v. 45)

Each and every one of us, regardless of our past situations or opinion of the Bible, can learn, grow, and discover new things in the scripture when we let Jesus and the Holy Spirit into our minds while reading the Bible (a.k.a. the scriptures).

Whether you are one to accept this idea or not, we actually need Jesus and the Holy Spirit to help us understand the underlying themes in the Bible, because without Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the Bible becomes a history book full of stories and fables.

Jesus brings meaning to the Bible, and the Holy Spirit is the only way we can really, fully tap into the power that the Bible offers!

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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The Mission: Luke 4:16-30

Published March 30, 2021 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 4:16-30 (NIrV)

¹⁶Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. On the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue as he usually did. He stood up to read. ¹⁷And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. Jesus unrolled it and found the right place. There it is written,

¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is on me.
    He has anointed me
    to announce the good news to poor people.
He has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners.
    He has sent me so that the blind will see again.
He wants me to set free those who are treated badly.
¹⁹    And he has sent me to announce the year when he will set his people free.”

²⁰Then Jesus rolled up the scroll. He gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were staring at him. ²¹He began by saying to them, “Today this passage of Scripture is coming true as you listen.”

²²Everyone said good things about him. They were amazed at the gracious words they heard from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

²³Jesus said, “Here is a saying you will certainly apply to me. ‘Doctor, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me this. ‘Do the things here in your hometown that we heard you did in Capernaum.’ ”

²⁴“What I’m about to tell you is true,” he continued. “A prophet is not accepted in his hometown. ²⁵I tell you for sure that there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah. And there had been no rain for three and a half years. There wasn’t enough food to eat anywhere in the land. ²⁶But Elijah was not sent to any of those widows. Instead, he was sent to a widow in Zarephath near Sidon. ²⁷And there were many in Israel who had skin diseases in the days of Elisha the prophet. But not one of them was healed except Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸All the people in the synagogue were very angry when they heard that. ²⁹They got up and ran Jesus out of town. They took him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They planned to throw him off the cliff. ³⁰But Jesus walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

Read Luke 4:16-30 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

If Jesus ever shared a summary of His mission on earth, chances are that we would find it somewhere in His ministry, and perhaps we might even find it among the prophecies about Jesus from the Old Testament.

Well, one of the first things Jesus does when He steps onto the scene is draw our attention to this truth. In the gospel of Luke, we read Jesus quoting His mission from a prophecy that is found in the book of Isaiah:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me.
He has anointed me
      to announce the good news to poor people.
He has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners.
      He has sent me so that the blind will see again.
He wants me to set free those who are treated badly.
      And he has sent me to announce the year when he will set his people free.” (v. 18-19)

In this quotation from the Old Testament, we learn the role of the Messiah that God sent. In this prophecy, we have a clear picture of who Jesus would be while spending time on earth. We can see in these words Jesus’ mission.

This is not a mission that Jesus gave Himself following the temptations in the wilderness, but instead it was given to Him by God, in the form of a 700+ year old prophecy. And Jesus chooses to share this prophecy first in His hometown synagogue. This isn’t because He knows He’ll be accepted or even understood, but probably out of respect for those He grew up with.

It is the same with our lives. We can make up a goal or mission for our lives, or we can lean on God to show us His goal and mission for each of us. God created you and I for a reason and purpose, and because of this, we should seek to find out what His mission for us is and then do it.

This Old Testament prophecy Jesus shared summarizes His earthly ministry, and it is the test we can use regarding whether Jesus was really the One God sent to be our representative and our sacrifice. Only by spending time with God will He help us discover the mission He created us to live!

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Flashback Episode — Avoiding the Pharisee Trap: Matthew 23:1-36

Published March 29, 2021 in Audio Journal Entries

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After Jesus finished countering the religious leaders’ growing set of challenges with a question of His own that they were unable to answer, Jesus turns and challenges the crowd and His disciples regarding the Pharisees and the scribes. However, while we are quick to point out the religious leaders’ hypocrisy in Jesus’ statement, we too easily miss something that Jesus tells the crowd that seems impossible.

While our passage is long and we might not make it through all of it, let’s dive in and discover what Jesus teaches us about the scribes and the Pharisees. Our passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 23, and we will be reading it from the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 1:

¹ Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; ³ therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. ⁴ They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.

Let’s pause here for a moment because Jesus just said something that we might easily miss. While Jesus has just challenged the religious leaders and framed their hypocrisy as their words not matching their actions, we might be tempted to throw out everything the religious leaders said and did as worthless.

But this is not what Jesus told the crowd in these opening verses. He tells the crowd to follow what the religious leaders teach, but don’t mimic the religious leaders’ actions. The religious leaders teach an ideal that they are unwilling to live up to.

However, when we look at Jesus’ words, the ideal that the religious leaders are pointing people to is not bad. The ideal actually is living within the law on all fronts, and actually it is well away from breaking the law. But the religious leaders acted in a way that cheapened their influence and authority. They didn’t practice what they preached.

Before continuing the passage, the ideal that the religious leaders had placed on the people was all but impossible to attain. It was a great ideal for people to shoot for, but both the law and the ideal standard the religious leaders held up was based on not breaking the law. However, one of the biggest reasons God gave us the law was to help people see and remember their need of a Savior and to remind people that the punishment for their sin was placed on something and ultimately Someone else.

However, when the religious leaders lost the reason for the law and for the sacrifices, their religion became a ritual that had lost its true meaning. Without love and thankfulness in their hearts for what the law pointed to, the law become elevated into God’s standard that He would punish them for at the instant they broke even the tiniest clause. Without seeing the blessing the law pointed towards, the religious leaders feared God’s punishment and they set up regulations to keep people from even breaking the law.

This was great until the focus was so much on avoiding the law that they lost the love, and pride, arrogance, and status crept into their hearts and they began to value their status over their call to serve others. Verse 4 describes the current state of the religious leaders the following way: “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.”

Continuing in verse 5:

⁵ But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their *phylacteries [small boxes that contained scriptures] and lengthen the tassels of their garments. ⁶ They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. ⁸ But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. ¹¹ But the greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹² Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

We’ll stop reading here. The rest of our passage continues by both warning and challenging the scribes and Pharisees regarding their focus, their attitudes, and the hypocrisy of their actions. Jesus elaborates His statement about the Pharisees and religious leaders doing their deeds to be admired by others, and how they had elevated themselves over everyone else.

However, in this opening statement for the rest of the passage, Jesus gives us a powerful frame of reference that we should pay attention to. While the scribes and Pharisees focused on status, and being praised and looked up to by others, Jesus tells His disciples and all His followers that they should avoid this. When giving us a new frame of reference, Jesus challenges us to remember who God is and what He does for us.

In an interesting twist, we discover each of the members of the Godhead in Jesus’ new frame of reference.

The first thing Jesus shares is that we shouldn’t call each other Rabbi, which is another word for teacher. In a similar way, we might be better served by avoiding the word pastor, preacher, or teacher as well. All these terms focus on separating those with knowledge and information from those who don’t have access to it. These terms focus on looking up to those with the knowledge and following them.

Jesus challenges this frame of reference by reminding us that God is our Teacher; God is our Rabbi. While Jesus was the One teaching them in that moment, the member of the Godhead who is responsible for teaching is the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit comes, one responsibility He has is leading God’s people into all truth. We should look to God to teach us, especially relating to all things spiritual.

Next Jesus challenges us to not call anyone on earth our father, because we all have One Father, and this Father is who is in Heaven. We call this Father, God the Father, and He is just as responsible for us being alive on this earth as our biological parents are. God the Father created each of us, and because He did this, we can know and trust that He has a plan for our lives.

Lastly, Jesus challenges us to not call anyone our leader because we have One Leader, and this Leader is Christ. We shouldn’t focus on the idea of leadership but instead of service towards others. If we look up to anyone to lead us, the One we should be looking to is Christ, the Son, Jesus.

When looking at this clear challenge Jesus gives us in Matthew’s gospel, we discover that both in the Christian world and in the secular world, people call each other teacher, father, and leader. While each term might be not as widespread in certain groups, all three terms that Jesus challenges us to reserve for God are widely used to describe humans.

Some of these terms we cannot help but use in certain contexts, but with how Jesus concludes this section of His teaching, we discover that while we cannot stop others from using these terms, our focus should be different. Jesus challenges His people to focus on serving one another, and on being humble.

Each of the terms Jesus describes as reserved for God are terms of status. If we seek to be known as a teacher, a father, or a leader, we seek to exalt ourselves, and Jesus tells us that this will result in us being humbled. Instead, we are to serve others humbly, and if they see us as a teacher, a father, or a leader, we humbly point them to God, who is our Teacher, our Father, and our Leader!

Jesus challenges us to look to God for our knowledge, because He is our Teacher; our purpose, because He is our Father; and our mission, because He is our Leader!

As we conclude another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Seek God first and look to Him for knowledge, for purpose, and for mission. While the world wants to be the source of each of these things, God is the only source that can truly answer all of these desires in a satisfactory way.

As you seek God first and as you seek the answers for these areas of life, be sure to always pray and study the Bible for yourself. Through prayer and Bible study, we are able to draw near to God and we grow our relationship with Him. As we grow closer to God, all three areas of life become clearer.

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

Flashback Episode: Year of the Cross – Episode 13: After silencing the religious leaders and their trick questions and traps, Jesus teaches about where we should place our focus, and three major areas where we should focus on God in our lives.

Members of His Family: Matthew 12:46-50

Published March 26, 2021 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 12:46-50 (NIV)

⁴⁶While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. ⁴⁷Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

⁴⁸He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. ⁵⁰For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Read Matthew 12:46-50 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

In a short event that three of the gospels include, we learn about a time when Jesus’ mother and siblings come to see Him. I’m not entirely sure why Matthew, Mark, and Luke all chose to include this event, but perhaps it is because there is something significant for us to learn in Jesus’ key point.

I was also surprised that when I compared the three gospels and how each recorded this event, there were very few differences. However, Matthew includes an interesting transition statement that helps draw us to a theme that this event helps to teach us: “Pointing to his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’” (v. 49-50)

Matthew draws our attention to Jesus pulling His disciples into this illustration. In some ways, this is surprising, because this group of guys seemed to always be one or two steps behind whatever Jesus was trying to teach them. Time and time again, Jesus would try to teach them some truth about God and a simple reading of the gospels points us to the realization that not much of it stuck.

But there was still something about these disciples that qualified them to be introduced as members in Jesus’ family (in the family of God) – these men and women were close to Jesus, and they followed Jesus, and they stayed beside Jesus even when the Pharisees wanted to attack Him. And even though everyone ran the night Jesus was arrested, they all came back (minus Judas Iscariot), and ultimately became the leaders that Jesus knew they would be.

This passage teaches us that we are all part of Jesus’ family when we obey God the Father. When we are doing God’s will, and when we are close to Jesus, following Jesus, and learning from Jesus, we are a valued member of God’s family!

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