Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

The Nightmare God Sent: Matthew 27:15-26

Published July 1, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 27:15-26 (NIrV)

¹⁵It was the governor’s practice at the Passover Feast to let one prisoner go free. The people could choose the one they wanted. ¹⁶At that time they had a well-known prisoner named Jesus Barabbas. ¹⁷So when the crowd gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to set free? Jesus Barabbas? Or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ¹⁸Pilate knew that the leaders wanted to get their own way. He knew this was why they had handed Jesus over to him.

¹⁹While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him a message. It said, “Don’t have anything to do with that man. He is not guilty. I have suffered a great deal in a dream today because of him.”

²⁰But the chief priests and the elders talked the crowd into asking for Barabbas and having Jesus put to death.

²¹“Which of the two do you want me to set free?” asked the governor.

“Barabbas,” they answered.

²²“Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.

They all answered, “Crucify him!”

²³“Why? What wrong has he done?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”

²⁴Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere. Instead, the crowd was starting to get angry. So he took water and washed his hands in front of them. “I am not guilty of this man’s death,” he said. “You are accountable for that!”

²⁵All the people answered, “Put the blame for his death on us and our children!”

²⁶Pilate let Barabbas go free. But he had Jesus whipped. Then he handed him over to be nailed to a cross.

Read Matthew 27:15-26 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

During the last minutes of Jesus’ sentencing on the morning of His crucifixion, Matthew brings out an interesting piece of information that the other three gospel writers don’t include. While the trial is going on and winding to a close, Matthew tells us that “While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him a message. It said, ‘Don’t have anything to do with that man. He is not guilty. I have suffered a great deal in a dream today because of him.’” (v. 19)

Reading this makes me wonder: Did God send Pilate’s wife a dream about Jesus, or was this something Satan did to try and stir up confusion in the moment?

Even more interesting than wondering about the source of the dream is thinking this probably is the only reference in all of history of this woman. Pilate’s wife goes down in history as proclaiming Jesus’ innocence regardless of what others thought.

I wonder about the dream as well. In the message, Pilate’s wife says that she “suffered a great deal” and this makes me think this wasn’t a peaceful dream but more like a nightmare. It is odd to think that God would send someone a nightmare, but I wonder if there wasn’t some spiritual warfare going on that night in Pilate’s wife’s mind. If Pilate valued the counsel of his spouse, and his wife only shared her thoughts on political topics when asked or in very crucial circumstances, then it makes sense that she would have the interest of both angelic and satanic forces to help sway her opinion of the trial that was taking place that night.

In her response, we see which side won: the angelic forces overpowered the satanic ones and prompted her to conclude that Jesus is indeed innocent. This is opposite of the crowd where the satanic forces mixed with the hostility of the religious leader win out.

Matthew draws our attention to an interesting dilemma Pilate faced. Should Pilate choose to side with the counsel of His wife or choose to cave into the crowd’s demands?

It seems as though every gospel writer speaks about Pilate’s desire to let Jesus go free, but ultimately he gives in to the crowd’s demanding for a crucifixion.

I wonder if Pilate ever regretted this decision. I wonder if Pilate’s wife gave him an earful when he went back into the palace. I wonder if Pilate’s choice is a choice that we all end up making at some point in our lives: Do we follow the counsel of our spouse (or a close friend in the case of single people), or do we cave in to the pressure of the moment?

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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Challenging Culture: Mark 10:1-16

Published June 30, 2022 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we continue through Mark’s gospel, we come to what is likely the least politically correct challenge Jesus faced, and a topic that is one of the most divisive topics that our culture has at this point in history. However, Jesus never shied away from difficult situations, nor did He avoid responding to challenges that came His way. Like most of the events where the religious leaders challenged Jesus on certain topics, Jesus’ response shifted the focus onto a higher perspective than those bringing the challenge had been looking at the challenge.

Before jumping in to read this passage, I will put out the disclaimer here that what Jesus shares might be offensive to some people, but Jesus is sharing God’s original ideal. Jesus is very clear that where humanity is currently is not anywhere near God’s ideal, and it is likely that the majority of those who would claim to be offended at what Jesus shares in this event have rejected God, and in this case, rejecting God also means rejecting His ideals.

Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 10, and we will read it from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, Mark tells us:

¹Then Jesus left that place and went into the area of Judea and across the Jordan River. Again, crowds came to him, and he taught them as he usually did.

²Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trick him. They asked, “Is it right for a man to divorce his wife?”

³Jesus answered, “What did Moses command you to do?”

⁴They said, “Moses allowed a man to write out divorce papers and send her away.”

⁵Jesus said, “Moses wrote that command for you because you were stubborn. ⁶But when God made the world, ‘he made them male and female.’ ⁷‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, ⁸and the two will become one body.’ So there are not two, but one. ⁹God has joined the two together, so no one should separate them.”

¹⁰Later, in the house, his followers asked Jesus again about the question of divorce. ¹¹He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of adultery against her. ¹²And the woman who divorces her husband and marries another man is also guilty of adultery.”

Before continuing our passage, I want to pause and emphasize something that is easily missed when reading this event. Within Jesus’ response, Jesus quickly shifts the focus away from the current state of the world in sin, and into a different perspective. The majority of Jesus’ public response is from God’s perspective. Jesus tells the crowd that “when God made the world, ‘he made them male and female’”.

This not only quotes from the creation account in Genesis, but it also affirms God’s direct hand in creating the human race. God is the Author of life, and He created male and female. When marriage unites two people, Jesus tells us that God sees these two people as one, not as two. When God joins a couple together in marriage, His ideal is for them to remain united.

It is only in Jesus’ private response that we see Jesus challenging the disciples with the truth that divorce and remarriage equals adultery in God’s eyes. It is true that adultery is a much broader term than the two situations Jesus describes, but Jesus pulls these two edge cases into this broad term when most people would be inclined to exclude them.

From how Jesus shares His response, as followers of Jesus, we should publicly support honoring our marriage commitments, and place the greatest emphasis on living our lives as examples for others to see what God’s ideal is like. Marriage is a personal commitment to your spouse in the eyes of God, and it is an agreement between both spouses and God. If you are not a spouse in a marriage agreement, what goes on in this marriage agreement is in almost every case none of your business.

In Jesus’ private reply, we see the redefinition of adultery to include divorce and remarriage. This suggests to me that we only privately talk to individuals about this, and then sparingly at best. A conversation like this should be framed with lots of prayer, lots of listening, and lots of God’s love and forgiveness present. It also is best done with a pastor, counselor, or spiritual leader present. Adultery is a significant sin, but it is nowhere near unforgivable. The Bible has many examples of adultery being forgiven, and God doesn’t condemn this sin anymore than any other sin that He wants to forgive.

After sharing this challenging topic, Mark then shifts to something less challenging or politically incorrect, but something that was still a pretty big culture shift from how things were done in first century Judea. Continuing in verse 13, Mark then describes that:

¹³Some people brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch them, but his followers told them to stop. ¹⁴When Jesus saw this, he was upset and said to them, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these children. ¹⁵I tell you the truth, you must accept the kingdom of God as if you were a little child, or you will never enter it.” ¹⁶Then Jesus took the children in his arms, put his hands on them, and blessed them.

In this conclusion to our passage, Jesus shifts our perspective again. While many people might think of those who are older or who are more mature spiritually to be closer to God’s kingdom, it may actually be the opposite. It’s possible that those who are older or more mature might be further away from God than small children might be.

In the context of Jesus’ challenge to the disciples to let the children come to Him, the disciples likely believed they were doing Jesus a service because they were shielding Jesus from what might be considered an insignificant task. I don’t see any hint in this passage that any of the children being brought to Jesus needed to be healed or helped. Instead, the parents simply wanted God’s blessing to be on their children.

When Jesus corrects the disciples and lets the parents bring their children to Him, we can learn that God values spending time with us. While God is at times very task-oriented, He is also very people-oriented and He values the time we spend with Him. If you haven’t spent quality time with Jesus, or if you haven’t had much time available to spend with God, it may be worth looking closer at this event.

Jesus tells us that the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. Mark has described these children as “little children” and that means they are the most dependant on parental help than at any later stage of their growing up. In one sense, the more we depend on Jesus and on God for our salvation, the closer we are to entering God’s kingdom, and the more we let God into our lives and hearts, the better we will be able to represent Him in the world today!

While this passage contains some pretty significant challenges, Jesus did not come to judge people; He came to love, forgive, and redeem everyone who wants to be loved, forgiven, and redeemed.

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 and choose to align your life to God’s will. View life from God’s perspective and choose to accept God like a little child. Depend on God for your salvation and for everything you need in life. A little child is not equipped to survive on their own, and sin has made us incapable of surviving spiritually without God’s help. Let’s together depend on God for help, for our salvation, and for everything we need both today and every day moving forward.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Choose to spend time with God in prayer and study to fall in love with Him like He has already fallen in love with You. God loves you more than you could even imagine, and Jesus came to help us realize the love God has for each of us!

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 abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Year in Mark – Episode 26: In two somewhat unrelated events, see how Jesus challenges two difficult subjects, and how Jesus steps into one of the most politically divisive arguments in our world today.

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Jesus – Tortured For You: Matthew 27:27-31

Published June 29, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 27:27-31 (NIV)

²⁷ Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. ²⁸ They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. ³⁰ They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. ³¹ After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

Read Matthew 27:27-31 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Most of our journal entries have focused on something in the teachings of Jesus. In this journal entry, we visit a different type of passage, one where Jesus demonstrates just how much He loves each of us.

There are a few big ideas we could touch on with this passage, but the main one we’ll look at for this journal entry is this: Jesus loved (and still does) you and I so much that He would endure torture and ridicule to give us the opportunity of life with Him in Heaven.

Not only that, but Jesus also did this while we are still sinners – and actively sinning against Him.

This is such a profound thought and idea that there isn’t much else I want to add. Instead, I’ll ask the question, “If Jesus loved you and I enough to endure torture for us, would knowing this information change how we live our lives each day?”

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Missing God’s Mark: Luke 11:37-54

Published June 28, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 11:37-54 (NIrV)

³⁷Jesus finished speaking. Then a Pharisee invited him to eat with him. So Jesus went in and took his place at the table. ³⁸But the Pharisee was surprised. He noticed that Jesus did not wash before the meal.

³⁹Then the Lord spoke to him. “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish,” he said. “But inside you are full of greed and evil. ⁴⁰You foolish people! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹Give freely to poor people to show what is inside you. Then everything will be clean for you.

⁴²“How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give God a tenth of your garden plants, such as mint and rue. But you have forgotten to be fair and to love God. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first.

⁴³“How terrible for you Pharisees! You love the most important seats in the synagogues. You love having people greet you with respect in the market.

⁴⁴“How terrible for you! You are like graves that are not marked. People walk over them without knowing it.”

⁴⁵An authority on the law spoke to Jesus. He said, “Teacher, when you say things like that, you say bad things about us too.”

⁴⁶Jesus replied, “How terrible for you authorities on the law! You put such heavy loads on people that they can hardly carry them. But you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

⁴⁷“How terrible for you! You build tombs for the prophets. It was your people of long ago who killed them. ⁴⁸So you show that you agree with what your people did long ago. They killed the prophets, and now you build the prophets’ tombs. ⁴⁹So God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them. They will kill some. And they will try to hurt others.’ ⁵⁰So the people of today will be punished. They will pay for all the prophets’ blood spilled since the world began. ⁵¹I mean from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah. He was killed between the altar and the temple. Yes, I tell you, the people of today will be punished for all these things.

⁵²“How terrible for you authorities on the law! You have taken away the key to the door of knowledge. You yourselves have not entered. And you have stood in the way of those who were entering.”

⁵³When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law strongly opposed him. They threw a lot of questions at him. ⁵⁴They set traps for him. They wanted to catch him in something he might say.

Read Luke 11:37-54 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

During one of the times when Jesus was invited to the home of a Pharisee, the Pharisee and guests were surprised that Jesus didn’t ceremonially wash before sitting down for the meal. While we don’t know what Jesus specifically did or didn’t do, the Pharisee-host’s surprise prompts Jesus to share some pretty challenging words to those present.

Perhaps the group of Pharisees and religious leaders who were present represented the highest ranks in the region, or maybe Jesus simply was aware that this group of leaders needed to be spiritually challenged more than many others.

Jesus begins His response by talking about being clean before God, but He then quickly shifts to some other issues as well. Jesus calls the Pharisees out by saying, “How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give God a tenth of your garden plants, such as mint and rue. But you have forgotten to be fair and to love God. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first. How terrible for you Pharisees! You love the most important seats in the synagogues. You love having people greet you with respect in the market. How terrible for you! You are like graves that are not marked. People walk over them without knowing it.” (v. 42-44)

Jesus shares three big issues that defined the Pharisee culture, and they all have to do with focusing on the details while missing the heart.

The first issue is that the Pharisees emphasized tithing to an extreme, and according to Jesus, they even tithed on their seasonings and personal “garden plants” as well. But while this was correct to do, they had pushed aside having love in their hearts for God and being fair. Reading this description sounds like these leaders were perhaps a little resentful towards God for requiring a tithe from them.

The second issue stems from pride and wanting to look good to others. These Pharisees searched out opportunities to get the best seats in church (i.e. the synagogue) and getting respect and compliments when meeting other during the week. The root issue is that they were trying to build themselves up rather than focusing on building God up and passing glory up to Him.

The third issue challenges the Pharisees excessive lists of rules. They had created so many rules that it would be impossible for someone to come and obey them all. In other words, there were so many rules that even God couldn’t keep them all. When there were so many rules, and many that conflicted with one another, there was no way to avoid breaking something. People broke Pharisee rules every day without even knowing it. The Pharisees had gone too far with trying to develop regulations to help keep people from sinning, and Jesus challenges them on this point as well.

With these issues, we learn a key truth about God. With God, it doesn’t seem to be about the lists of rules we keep or about the things we do in His name. Instead, God looks for examples of us loving like He loved, caring like He cared, and being humble like He is humble. God is looking for people reflect and represent Jesus.

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