Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Flashback Episode — A Mother’s Faith: John 2:1-12

Published January 10, 2022 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we continue forward in our year of podcasts looking at Jesus’ miracles, we actually step back slightly in the timeline of the gospels to the first miracle Jesus did. If you are wondering how we know this, the gospel of John records this miracle, and John also clearly states after this miracle that this was Jesus’ first miracle, or the first of Jesus’ signs.

With this as a backdrop for our episode, let’s read what happened and discover one big thing we can learn from this event. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 2, and we will be reading from the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 1, John tells us:

¹ On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; ² and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

Let’s stop reading here, because what John has just told us about Mary is amazing. Next week, we’ll finish looking at the rest of this miracle, but with what has just happened, I don’t want us to miss this powerful theme that we can see in what Mary just said. But before we get to why this is powerful and amazing, let’s read verse 11, which I alluded to at the start of this episode to give us a little additional context for what we will discover. In verse 11, after the miracle had happened, John tells us that:

¹¹ This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

In this event, and especially in Mary’s declaration, we see an amazing level of faith in Jesus’ ability even though no prior miracle has taken place to make Mary certain of Jesus’ ability to perform miracles. While no previous miracle had taken place, we can look at Mary’s bold statement to both Jesus and to the servants and see faith present in at least two different angles.

The first angle we can see is Mary simply asking Jesus to help, but not necessarily asking for Him to perform a miracle. Mary knows that Jesus is more than physically capable to take the servants out and find a place where they can get wine, but we also don’t know what time of day this is. If it was at night, the shops would be closed and the shop owners would be sleeping. While Jesus chose to perform a miracle, the setup for the miracle doesn’t really emphasize a miracle being necessary, only that help is being asked for and expected.

The second angle we can see in this event is Mary asking Jesus for miraculous help. While there may have been plenty of non-miracle options for Jesus to choose from to help, from Jesus’ response when He says that His hour has not yet come, we can conclude that Mary is asking for help from Jesus’ divine nature more than His human nature. And Mary is unwilling to accept “no” for an answer.

In Mary’s persistence and her unwavering confidence in Jesus’ ability to solve the problem, we discover a model for us to use with our faith, persistence, and confidence. While it isn’t always smart to blaze forward ahead of God’s will, through Mary’s example, we see that when we move forward confidently and fully trusting in God’s help, we discover that He is willing to step in to help us even if it isn’t part of His original plan.

In contrast to Mary’s faith being present before having a miracle to back up her faith, verse 11 finishes by saying that following this miracle, “His disciples believed in Him”. The disciples didn’t have the same history with Jesus that Mary had, but that didn’t stop them from believing in Jesus when they were given a reason to believe.

While we don’t have the same privilege that these early followers had to witness this miracle, they demonstrate faith based on what they saw Jesus doing, and we can base our faith on what we see Jesus doing in our own lives. While culture and Satan tempting make it easy to be skeptical of the truly miraculous, when we ask God to open our eyes to what He is doing in the world today, expect to see the world in a different way. God wants us to see the world as He sees it, and He wants to help us love the world as He loves it!

From the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, we discover a miracle that confirmed the faith of Jesus’ mother, and it gave the first disciples a reason to place their faith and belief in Jesus as God’s Messiah.

While there is more we could focus in on in this miracle, we’ll save it for the next episode. I can think of no better focus for Jesus’ first officially recorded miracle than to bring out the faith that this event included in it: both the faith of Mary who prompts this miracle, and of the disciples who believe in Jesus because of this miracle.

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

Always seek God first and let Him lead you forward through life. Ask God to teach you how to see the world through His eyes, and be willing to live, love, and help in a compassionate, Christ-like way.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, be sure to intentionally and regularly pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God. Through a personal relationship with God, we are able to have faith in Him and the closer we draw to God, the easier it will be to live how He wants us to live, and see the world as He sees it.

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 2: In His first miracle, we discover that Mary, Jesus’ mother, prompts Him to do it. Discover the faith that is displayed in this initial miracle, and the effect that this miracle has on the early disciples.

The Misrepresented Request: Luke 7:1-10

Published January 7, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 7:1-10 (GNT)

¹When Jesus had finished saying all these things to the people, he went to Capernaum. ²A Roman officer there had a servant who was very dear to him; the man was sick and about to die. ³When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his servant. ⁴They came to Jesus and begged him earnestly, “This man really deserves your help. ⁵He loves our people and he himself built a synagogue for us.”

⁶So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the officer sent friends to tell him, “Sir, don’t trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house, ⁷neither do I consider myself worthy to come to you in person. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. ⁸I, too, am a man placed under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; I order that one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and I order my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

⁹Jesus was surprised when he heard this; he turned around and said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, I have never found faith like this, not even in Israel!”

¹⁰The messengers went back to the officer’s house and found his servant well.

Read Luke 7:1-10 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Something that I notice when reading the gospels is how the different details that each gospel writer includes helps to change and amplify the story in my mind. It is the case in the event where a Roman officer living in Capernaum requests healing for his servant.

While this event is included in both Matthew and Luke’s gospels, only in the gospel of Luke do we see something that Matthew likely abbreviated to simply save space. In Matthew’s gospel, the Roman officer comes personally, while in Luke, the Roman officer sends Jewish elders from the synagogue.

What really jumps out at me in this unique detail is how these elders frame the officer’s request. Luke tells us that these elders come to Jesus and beg Jesus to come by saying, “This man really deserves your help. He loves our people and he himself built a synagogue for us.” (v. 4b-5)

The officer simply asks for Jesus to come and heal his servant, but the request these elders make is that this officer “deserves” Jesus’ help because he loves the Jewish people and he built their synagogue. Chances are that this was not how the Roman officer wanted his request framed.

Did Jesus bend to the request of these elders because this Roman officer “deserved” God’s help?

It is unlikely, because none of us deserve anything good from God. We have all sinned and broken God’s rules, and we all deserve punishment from God more than blessing. Jesus didn’t accept the officer’s request because of how the elders framed it – He accepted it because of what would happen next.

While on the way to the officer’s home, another message arrives. Perhaps someone had ran ahead and told the officer what had happened and what was said. Not wanting Jesus to really get the wrong idea, or for anyone to think that this request was framed with an immature attitude of entitlement, the officer sends some of his friends with a new message that began by saying, “Sir, don’t trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house…” (v. 6b)

While the Jewish elders felt that this officer “deserved” to have Jesus help him as a thank you for what he had done for them, this Roman officer did not feel this way. This officer knew Jesus was different, special, significant, and perhaps even holy, and that he was truly unworthy to have Jesus enter his home.

It is the same way for us today. We might feel as though God owes us something, but if we travel down that path of thought too long, we will end up bitter towards God. God does not have a debt towards us – it is really the other way around. We have a debt called sin that is owed to God. Jesus came to pay that debt for us. Jesus’ sacrifice frees us from the debt and allows us to have a restored relationship with God – a relationship that is not based on feelings of entitlement. Salvation (i.e. God’s help) is a gift we have been offered – not something we are entitled to receive based on what we have done or have not done. The Roman officer understands this, while the Jewish elders missed it.

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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Baptized with Water and Spirit: Mark 1:1-13

Published January 6, 2022 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we dive into Mark’s gospel, we discover that Mark does not start slowly. Within the first 13 verses, we discover how this gospel points to several big events at the start of Jesus’ ministry, gives us a picture of John the Baptist, and points to a fulfilled prophecy. In Mark’s introduction, we get a quick, but brief look at how the stage was set for Jesus’ ministry to begin.

Let’s read how Mark opens his gospel and discover what we can learn from this introduction. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 1, and we will read from the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 1, Mark tells us that:

¹ The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

² As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
     “Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You,
          Who will prepare Your way;
     ³ The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
          ‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
        Make His paths straight.’”

⁴ John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. ⁶ John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey. ⁷ And he was preaching, and saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. ⁸ I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; ¹¹ and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

¹² Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. ¹³ And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.

In these 13 verses, Mark opens his gospel sharing about how the prophet Isaiah prophesied the appearing of John the Baptist. Isaiah describes the messenger God would send ahead of Jesus as a voice of one crying in the wilderness, and the first description Mark uses to describe John the Baptist is that he appeared in the wilderness preaching about repentance and baptism being important pieces for ultimately receiving forgiveness from sins.

Mark’s gospel frames John’s ministry as a successful one, because the verse describing John’s ministry said, “And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.” Regardless of how strange John the Baptist was, a ministry that taught repentance and baptism would be called successful when people were being baptized and confessing their sins.

While some people might think repentance is simply confessing sins, repentance is actually something much more significant. Repentance is more internal, more long-term, and more like a direction change in one’s life and focus. Repentance is harder to measure in a single event. Confessing sins is the first step to turning away from them because confessing sins acknowledges the sin and it identifies it as being what God doesn’t want for our lives. In order to repent and turn away from sin, we must first be able to identify what is sin and what God doesn’t want in our lives.

Mark tells us that John’s message also pointed people forward to Someone coming after him, and how everything in John’s ministry foreshadowed Jesus. Without skipping a beat or writing any unnecessary words, in eight short verses, we have a clear overview of John the Baptist’s ministry pointing people towards Jesus.

Talking about John’s message about baptism and about One coming after him leads into the transition Mark uses to describe Jesus. Jesus first steps into the public spotlight by coming to John to be baptized. While other gospel writers include more details about this event, Mark doesn’t get bogged down describing details. Mark simply tells us exactly what we need to know: Jesus was baptized by John, and in that moment, John’s baptism of water and God the Father’s baptism of the Spirit launched Jesus’ ministry. Mark focuses on the big truth that in Jesus’ baptism, God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Son are present together at the start of the Son’s ministry on earth.

Mark then describes the first event Jesus does following being baptized and beginning His ministry as being called out into the wilderness to be tempted for forty days. Again, while Matthew and Luke give more details about Jesus’ temptation, Mark wants us to be aware of the big picture of what happened, because all this is setting the stage for Jesus’ ministry teaching, preaching, healing, and helping people.

In Mark’s summary-introduction to Jesus’ ministry, we discover something about Jesus and about how Mark will likely be writing this gospel. While Mark might not include all the details we might see in Matthew or Luke, Mark’s gospel gives us a no-nonsense picture of Jesus that keeps moving forward. If Mark decides to slow down and give more details of an event, then these details are significant in Jesus’ ministry and they are significant in our lives as well.

Within this quick, summary introduction, we see a big truth and a big theme about receiving the Holy Spirit. When Mark describes Jesus’ baptism, in the context immediately before this Mark has just predicted that the One who comes after Him would baptize with the Holy Spirit. When Mark then describes Jesus’ baptism, we see an amazing picture that this baptism wasn’t just with water like John’s previous baptisms. Instead, Jesus’ baptism was with both water and with the Holy Spirit at the start of His ministry, and when Jesus received the Holy Spirit at the beginning of His ministry, this sets the stage for Jesus to be able to baptize others with the Spirit.

The other big challenge I see in Mark’s introduction to Jesus’ ministry is that after Jesus received the Holy Spirit at His baptism, Jesus lets the Holy Spirit take the lead and direct Him where to go from that point forward. While the next stop for Jesus was temptations in the wilderness, Mark describes for us how this was a Holy Spirit directed stop. This means that when we are letting God’s Holy Spirit lead us, we may be led to places that are not comfortable, and when we are in the places God’s Spirit leads us, we can expect to be tempted. It was this way with Jesus and it is foolish to believe that it won’t be this way for Jesus’ followers.

However, like Jesus, we are called to let the Holy Spirit lead in our lives and to resist temptation like Jesus resisted it. While Mark doesn’t describe Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness like Matthew or Luke, Mark draws our attention onto the big truth that even while Jesus was being tempted, God was still with Him and God had not forgotten Him. When we are tempted, God isn’t ignoring us. Instead, when we are tempted, God is paying attention to us and standing by ready to help us stand firm resisting the temptation.

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

As I consistently challenge you to do, remember to seek God first in your life and to let God’s Holy Spirit lead and guide you moving through life. Remember that when we are tempted, God is standing by ready and willing to help us resist the temptation, and being tempted is not a sign of God’s neglect. Instead, being tempted may give us a hint that we are right where God Holy Spirit wants us!

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God in your life. Don’t let someone else step between you and God. While devotionals are nice things to have, they only can take your faith so far. Resolve today and for this year that you will actually open your Bible and study it with God and not through the lens of another author, speaker, or writer.

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 be tempted into leaving where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Year in Mark – Episode 1: In the introduction to the gospel of Mark, we discover in 13 short verses some amazing things about John the Baptist and about how his life and ministry leads into Jesus and His ministry.

Join the discussion. Share your thoughts on this passage.

Judgment and Exile: John 12:20-36

Published January 5, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 12:20-36 (NIrV)

²⁰There were some Greeks among the people who went up to worship during the feast. ²¹They came to ask Philip for a favor. Philip was from Bethsaida in Galilee. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” ²²Philip went to tell Andrew. Then Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

²³Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Son of Man to receive glory. ²⁴What I’m about to tell you is true. Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only one seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵Anyone who loves their life will lose it. But anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it and have eternal life. ²⁶Anyone who serves me must follow me. And where I am, my servant will also be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

²⁷“My soul is troubled. What should I say? ‘Father, keep me from having to go through with this’? No. This is the very reason I have come to this point in my life. ²⁸Father, bring glory to your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven. It said, “I have brought glory to my name. I will bring glory to it again.” ²⁹The crowd there heard the voice. Some said it was thunder. Others said an angel had spoken to Jesus.

³⁰Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. ³¹Now it is time for the world to be judged. Now the prince of this world will be thrown out. ³²And I am going to be lifted up from the earth. When I am, I will bring all people to myself.” ³³He said this to show them how he was going to die.

³⁴The crowd spoke up. “The Law tells us that the Messiah will remain forever,” they said. “So how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

³⁵Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light. Do this before darkness catches up with you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. ³⁶While you have the light, believe in it. Then you can become children of light.” When Jesus had finished speaking, he left and hid from them.

Read John 12:20-36 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

In today’s journal entry, we are going to tackle an odd pair of statements that Jesus made and see if we can uncover something within them. Within our passage, Jesus shares the following, “Now it is time for the world to be judged. Now the prince of this world will be thrown out.” (v. 31)

Both statements in this verse are related, while at the same time each is very distinct. Jesus shared that now is (maybe was?) the time for the world to be judged. What is He talking about? It has been nearly 2,000 years later, and we are still here. Does this mean that God is still judging the world, or was there something different happening at that point in history?

On the flip side, we read that the prince of this world (identified as Satan), will be thrown out. Thrown out of where? Like the previous statement, it has been 2,000 years later, and from the looking at our world today, people are still being tempted and sin seems to be alive and well – perhaps even increasing dramatically compared with other points in history.

However, this brings us to the one key idea that I see shared in these two statements, which we will unpack in this journal entry: Jesus’ death on the cross is a foretaste of the final judgment, and it sealed Satan’s fate, throwing him out of Heaven forever.

Looking at the first statement, there are two ways that Jesus’ life could have gone. Both ways lead to death, but one had people understanding and glorifying the salvation Jesus’ death meant, while the other had people rejecting the gift and celebrating the fact Jesus had been killed. This statement comes a day or two after Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, and the crowds had celebrated His arrival. It was clear to the religious leaders that they wanted Jesus dead, but the crowd had not made their decision. The death Jesus suffered was a foretaste of the final judgment, and it was pre-judging the world based on how humanity responded to the Savior.

Looking at the second statement, as well as some passages in the Old Testament, we can concluded that a Satan’s original fall from heaven, he was kicked out of his position, and his rebellion was banished to earth. However, from the story of Job, we can conclude that Satan still had some provisional access to heaven, since he challenges God of Job’s allegiance (Job 1:6-12). It would seem as though Satan had the opportunity to repent prior to Jesus’ sacrifice, though Jesus’ death became the ultimate judgment for Satan, banishing him from heaven, and sealing his fate in the final judgment.

The death Jesus suffered was the death of judgment, the death we deserved, and in that moment, as Jesus took His final breath, all humanity’s sin was taken with Jesus to His grave – giving us the freedom to choose to accept Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf, allowing us to take part in His future.

Thank You Jesus!

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