Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Receiving the Holy Spirit: John 20:19-23

Published January 26, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 20:19-23 (GNT)

¹⁹ It was late that Sunday evening, and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. Then Jesus came and stood among them.
         Peace be with you, he said. ²⁰ After saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again,
         Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you. ²² Then he breathed on them and said,
         Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.

Read John 20:19-23 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

In today’s journal entry, we will be looking at one of the last passages in the gospels, and uncovering an idea that I have not heard discussed before. In this passage, we read the following words, “Then he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” (verse 22).

Jesus “breathed on them”. This is one idea that we don’t find included in too many sermons. We like to focus on Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-17), and we like to focus on the Holy Spirit coming to the disciples (Acts 2:1-13), but we often gloss over or ignore this key idea between the promise and the fulfillment of the promise.

In Jesus’ breath, I believe He is singling out the disciples for receiving the Holy Spirit. We may think of this as God placing His mark on each of them, and preparing them for when they receive the gift.

Also, Jesus says “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This is both a promise and a command. It is a promise because the Holy Spirit is coming to them, and it is also a command for them to receive the Holy Spirit when He comes.

This brings a number of other thoughts into my mind:

If we consciously receive the Spirit, we can consciously reject the Spirit.
Also, we must be ready to receive the Spirit for Him to come. In this promise, we have the command to “be ready”. This means that we may miss the Spirit if we are not ready to receive Him.
The Spirit was promised to ALL the disciples, and not just a select few. Was this only something for the eleven remaining disciples? No, because the Holy Spirit came to Paul, the apostle, who was not in the room and didn’t have Jesus’ breath on Him.

Paul is the clearest example that we, as followers of Jesus today, can also receive the Holy Spirit. However, we must remember Jesus’ words in this focus text: “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Be conscious, be willing, and be ready to receive the Holy Spirit. Be in places that the Holy Spirit is more likely to be, and be available to be used by God to bring about His purposes and plan in the situation you are in.

“Receive the Holy Spirit.”

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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Sleeping on the Job: Matthew 26:36-46

Published January 25, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 26:36-46 (GNT)

³⁶Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee. Grief and anguish came over him, ³⁸and he said to them, “The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

³⁹He went a little farther on, threw himself face downward on the ground, and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering from me! Yet not what I want, but what you want.”

⁴⁰Then he returned to the three disciples and found them asleep; and he said to Peter, “How is it that you three were not able to keep watch with me for even one hour? ⁴¹Keep watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴²Once more Jesus went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cup of suffering cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” ⁴³He returned once more and found the disciples asleep; they could not keep their eyes open.

⁴⁴Again Jesus left them, went away, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. ⁴⁵Then he returned to the disciples and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look! The hour has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to the power of sinners. ⁴⁶Get up, let us go. Look, here is the man who is betraying me!”

Read Matthew 26:36-46 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

On the night of Jesus’ arrest, while He was praying in the garden, Jesus’ disciples slept. While we don’t know if every single one of the eleven disciples slept when Jesus had asked them to stay awake, we do know that Jesus repeatedly returned to the disciples and found them sleeping.

It is interesting to me that Jesus specifically asks Peter a question that He answers for Peter. On waking the disciples up, Jesus says, “How is it that you three were not able to keep watch with me for even one hour? Keep watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (v. 40b-41)

Jesus draws our attention onto a key challenge that many of us face. All too often, our spirit is willing, but our bodies are weak. There are plenty of things we can do, and things that we know we should do, but when it comes down to actually doing them, we don’t follow through. In the moment, our body’s weakness takes power over our spirit’s will.

Part of me wonders if Satan helped encourage the drowsiness of these disciples to keep them from keeping watch. I wonder what would have happened if one or more of them had stayed awake and had seen the mob approaching from a distance. Would they have been more prepared to face what was coming?

Matthew tells us that the disciples slept up to the point when the mob arrived. This last time Jesus returned to the disciples after praying, He said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look! The hour has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to the power of sinners. Get up, let us go. Look, here is the man who is betraying me!” (v. 45-46)

In His final words to the disciples, Jesus makes an interesting remark. Jesus stated that “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to the power of sinners.” (v. 45b)

This phrase stands out to me because it demonstrates Jesus’ character and God’s humility. Jesus was willing to submit to be under the power of sinners. In a way, this echoes Jesus’ baptism at the opening of His ministry, where He submitted to John the Baptist (who was a sinner like we all are) to be placed under the water. These two events signify Jesus’ willingness to submit to those who believed He was God (John the Baptist), and those who believed He was their enemy (the Mob and religious leaders).

Jesus was willing to submit to all sinners as a way of showing us God’s love for each of us. We may end up sleeping on the job, but Jesus still loves us in spite of these mistakes. Our spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak. We stumble, fall, and mess up what we know we should do, but no mistake we can make has the power to stop Jesus from submitting to the cross to take the death we deserved!

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Flashback Episode — The Second Miracle: John 4:46-54

Published January 24, 2022 in Audio Journal Entries

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Moving forward through Jesus’ miracles, we come to another miracle, which is tagged as Jesus’ second miracle at the conclusion of it. But when we read how John introduces us to this miracle, I wonder if Jesus would rather not have done any miracles.

Let’s dive into our passage and discover some things it can teach us about faith, about Jesus, and about how Jesus went about His ministry. Our passage is found in the gospel of John, chapter 4, and we will be reading it from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 46, John tells us that:

⁴⁶Jesus went again to visit Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. One of the king’s important officers lived in the city of Capernaum, and his son was sick. ⁴⁷When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to Jesus and begged him to come to Capernaum and heal his son, because his son was almost dead. ⁴⁸Jesus said to him, “You people must see signs and miracles before you will believe in me.”

Let’s pause reading here for a moment because what Jesus has just said is powerful for us to pay attention to. In a short, quick statement, Jesus calls out everyone present, which would include the disciples, this officer making the request, and everyone around on the idea that miracles make one worthy of faith and belief. The idea then is implied that if a greater miracle worker came around, we should switch our allegiance over to the new miracle worker.

When saying it like this, the idea sounds crazy, but it isn’t a stretch to imagine people thinking this way. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn of people living today who believe that they should follow someone working miracles.

However, also tucked within Jesus’ challenge is something we could call a cry to not base our faith on signs or miracles. I imagine the way Jesus said these words was challenging and confrontational with emotion, possibly a hint of sadness, in His words.

While John tells us that Jesus replied to the king’s officer with this statement, Jesus starts His response by saying “You people…” which implies that Jesus was speaking to a larger group of people or segment of the population.

Jesus replied by saying, “You people must see signs and miracles before you will believe in me,” and let’s pick back up in verse 49 to learn what happened next:

⁴⁹The officer said, “Sir, come before my child dies.”

⁵⁰Jesus answered, “Go. Your son will live.”

The man believed what Jesus told him and went home. ⁵¹On the way the man’s servants came and met him and told him, “Your son is alive.”

⁵²The man asked, “What time did my son begin to get well?”

They answered, “Yesterday at one o’clock the fever left him.”

⁵³The father knew that one o’clock was the exact time that Jesus had said, “Your son will live.” So the man and all the people who lived in his house believed in Jesus.

⁵⁴That was the second miracle Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.

In this passage, and specifically in how this passage ends, we discover something amazing. John tells us in verse 54 that this miracle “was the second miracle Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee”.

The implication is that Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine. In the timeline of the gospels, this event likely happened right before Jesus is run out of the Nazareth synagogue that we began this year by looking at.

When we frame this miracle with the detail that the only miraculous thing Jesus had done up to this point was turning water into wine, this officer’s belief is amazing. John described the miracle turning water into wine as something that the servants and early disciples knew, but it wasn’t something that was known beyond those two groups – that is, unless word spread because people had been talking about it.

However, while turning water into wine is amazing in itself, healing someone of a deathly illness is something much greater. A cleaver magician might be able to replicate the first miracle, but this second miracle would require divine intervention, because Jesus didn’t come to heal the man’s son personally, and he didn’t give any medical advice for how to turn the son’s condition around.

By asking Someone who had only turned water into wine up to this point for a miracle, this official is displaying an incredible amount of faith when there hasn’t been a track record for this type of miracle yet. Later on, Jesus will be known for healing people, but at this point, He was only the carpenter’s Son who could turn water into wine.

The official had faith in Jesus’ ability to perform a miraculous healing, and even though Jesus challenges the whole group, and possibly the entire generation of people, on the idea that they must see miracles before they will believe, the simple act of this official coming to ask Jesus for help is a powerful demonstration of faith. This official models faith like we should have faith. The official took Jesus at His word and returned home to find His request answered.

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

Always intentionally seek God first and place your hope, faith, trust, and belief in Him. We should be willing to ask God for help even if we don’t have any evidence of God helping in the specific way we are asking. This official only knew Jesus could help with drinks that had run out, but that was enough to ask Jesus to do the impossible. While we know Jesus is able to do the impossible, we shouldn’t discount our own requests thinking He is either above them or unwilling to help. God wants to help us in our own situation, and it is up to us to simply ask.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with Jesus. A pastor, author, speaker, or even a blogger or podcaster can give you things to think about, but always take what you learn and match it up with what you read and discover in the Bible. God is not going to randomly choose to contradict His Word, and because of this, we can use the Bible as a guide for our spiritual lives 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!

Flashback Episode: Year of Miracles – Episode 4: Moving further in the gospel of John, we come to the miracle where Jesus heals an official’s son. Discover something we can learn from this event about how we should have faith in Jesus, and something we should not depend on when believing in Him.

A Tale of Two Builders: Matthew 7:21-29

Published January 21, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 7:21-29 (GW)

²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the person who does what my Father in heaven wants. ²²Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we force out demons and do many miracles by the power and authority of your name?’ ²³Then I will tell them publicly, ‘I’ve never known you. Get away from me, you evil people.’

²⁴“Therefore, everyone who hears what I say and obeys it will be like a wise person who built a house on rock. ²⁵Rain poured, and floods came. Winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not collapse, because its foundation was on rock.

²⁶“Everyone who hears what I say but doesn’t obey it will be like a foolish person who built a house on sand. ²⁷Rain poured, and floods came. Winds blew and struck that house. It collapsed, and the result was a total disaster.”

²⁸When Jesus finished this speech, the crowds were amazed at his teachings. ²⁹Unlike their experts in Moses’ Teachings, he taught them with authority.

Read Matthew 7:21-29 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

At the close of Jesus’ famous “Sermon on the Mount”, He draws our attention to an illustration contrasting what people who obey His words are like when compared to those who ignores Jesus’ teaching. This illustration is most famous because it has been turned into a children’s song. However, while the song is fun to sing with kids, the illustration itself is very powerful.

Matthew’s version of Jesus’ illustration is more popular. He begins by quoting Jesus as saying, “Therefore, everyone who hears what I say and obeys it will be like a wise person who built a house on rock. Rain poured, and floods came. Winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not collapse, because its foundation was on rock.” (v. 24-25)

Jesus contrasts this wise builder with an example of a foolish one. He continues by saying, “Everyone who hears what I say but doesn’t obey it will be like a foolish person who built a house on sand. Rain poured, and floods came. Winds blew and struck that house. It collapsed, and the result was a total disaster.” (v. 26-27)

While it is easy for us to look at the illustration as a construction example, Jesus really is sharing it as a metaphor for laying the foundation of our lives: obedience to Jesus makes a strong foundation while ignoring Jesus makes a weak foundation.

In my mind’s eye, the builder who built the house on the rock built high above the waterline, perhaps near the edge of a cliff, where they would be plenty of protection from the waves. His house then overlooks the foolish builder who is building on a sandy beach.

But Luke also shares a version of this parable. He describes Jesus opening this parable with a question: “Why do you call me Lord but don’t do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46)

This question frames everything that Jesus is about to share. Then He continues by painting us a picture in our minds of two builders: “I will show you what everyone who comes to me, hears what I say, and obeys it is like. He is like a person who dug down to bedrock to lay the foundation of his home. When a flood came, the floodwaters pushed against that house. But the house couldn’t be washed away because it had a good foundation. The person who hears what I say but doesn’t obey it is like someone who built a house on the ground without any foundation. The floodwaters pushed against it, and that house quickly collapsed and was destroyed.” (Luke 6:47-49)

In Luke’s version, we have two homes that might look identical to a casual observer, but the thought process when building each of them was completely opposite. The wise builder focused on making his home strong in the non-visible areas. The foolish builder only cared about the parts of the home that could be seen.

The big key Jesus wants us to take from this illustration is that obedience to His teaching will result in a life that has a solid foundation. By obeying Jesus, we might not avoid challenges, but we will be able to withstand anything that comes our way. When we build our lives on the truth Jesus shared, our lives will be able to survive whatever storms life sends our way.

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