Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Flashback Episode — When Jesus Wanted to Rest: Mark 6:30-44

Published June 27, 2022 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we are approximately half way through are year focusing on the miracles Jesus did within the gospel record, we come to the only official miracle that all four gospel writers include. While we could argue that all four gospel writer’s include the resurrection and that the resurrection was a significant miracle, interestingly enough, most lists of miracles don’t include the resurrection. However, that won’t stop us from including it near the end of our year of miracles.

Instead, the official list of miracles only includes one miracle that all four gospel writers include, and this miracle is the one where Jesus feeds a crowd of over 5,000 men, plus women and children. Since this miracle is significant enough for all four gospel writers to include, we’ll spend a couple of episodes focusing on this event to draw out some powerful truths we can apply into our own lives.

When reading from how each of the gospel writers sets the stage for this miracle, I was fascinated by how Mark describes this event for us. Following sending the disciples out on their missionary training, and following learning that His cousin, John the Baptist, had been killed, Mark sets the stage for this miracle in a unique way.

Our passage is found in the gospel of Mark, chapter 6, and we will be reading from the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 30, Mark sets the stage for this miraculous event by telling us that:

³⁰ The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. ³¹ And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) ³² They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.

Let’s pause reading here because while it is very tempting to jump forward to get to the miracle, we would miss the significance of what Jesus intended for His disciples. From these opening verses, Jesus wanted to go away with the disciples and simply rest with them. They had successfully completed their missionary outing, and the next best thing they could do was to rest together.

From how this passage describes what was happening, Jesus and the disciples were so busy with people coming and asking for help that they didn’t even have time to eat. If this were to extend too much longer, Jesus and His disciples would experience burnout and crash.

The big lesson we should learn from this opening is that it is critically important for us to take time away from our mission in life to simply rest. We should never feel guilty taking time to rest and recharge. While there is always a never-ending to-do list, it would be wise to remember that the list is literally never-ending. While we shouldn’t ignore the list, we also shouldn’t focus on it so much that we burn out. In these opening verses, Mark describes for us how Jesus wanted to give the disciples the opportunity to rest after they had successfully finished their missionary journey to the surrounding region.

However, we will soon discover that even Jesus didn’t get to experience His ideal plan for their group. Continuing in verse 33, Mark tells us that:

³³ The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. ³⁵ When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and it is already quite late; ³⁶ send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” ³⁷ But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?” ³⁸ And He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” ³⁹ And He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. ⁴¹ And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all. ⁴² They all ate and were satisfied, ⁴³ and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish. ⁴⁴ There were five thousand men who ate the loaves.

Let’s stop reading here because we are coming up to the end of our time for this episode. While we had focused on how Jesus intended for He and the disciples to spend some downtime together to simply rest and recharge, we discover that this wasn’t to happen at this point. Instead, we read that those on the shore followed Jesus around the lake and they beat Him to the other side.

While Jesus could have sent them away because He and the disciples needed to rest, Mark tells us that Jesus felt compassion for them and instead of sending them away, He begins to teach them, and then this teaching ultimately concludes with an amazing miracle. With how Mark’s gospel describes the foundation for this miracle, we discover that it is critical for us to take time regularly to pause our mission and our lives to simply rest and recharge. But with this miracle, we also discover that when God brings people into our lives who need help, it is our responsibility to help them similar to how Jesus helped the crowd even though He would have rather been resting instead.

In our own lives, we should regularly rest and recharge, but we also should always be willing to help those God has brought into our lives.

In our next episode, we’ll continue looking at this miracle, and we’ll focus in on some details a different gospel writer includes in this event, and learn more about what made this miracle significant and special.

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

If you haven’t taken the time or made the opportunity to rest recently, set time aside today. Working yourself to death today will only lead to your death sooner than God may have intended, and you won’t have been as effective or healthy while alive. Regularly schedule times to rest, recharge, and unplug from your mission, while always being ready to help if God sends someone needing help your way.

Also, always keep praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and discover God’s truth for your life. While many people have interesting ideas, filter everything through what you read in the Bible because the Bible is God’s story laid out across this world’s history. If there is ever a conflict in ideas, traditions, or theories, choose the side that aligns with the Bible over any and every other theory.

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 26: While most people familiar with the gospels know about the miracle our passage focuses in on, most people are not aware that Jesus had something else in mind for that time on the other side of the lake. Discover what Jesus wanted to do, and then what He ultimately does do in our passage for this episode.

Leaving Open Questions: Matthew 16:21-28

Published June 24, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 16:21-28 (GNT)

²¹From that time on Jesus began to say plainly to his disciples, “I must go to Jerusalem and suffer much from the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. I will be put to death, but three days later I will be raised to life.”

²²Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “God forbid it, Lord!” he said. “That must never happen to you!”

²³Jesus turned around and said to Peter, “Get away from me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my way, because these thoughts of yours don’t come from God, but from human nature.”

²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. ²⁵For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for my sake, you will find it. ²⁶Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! There is nothing you can give to regain your life. ²⁷For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his deeds. ²⁸I assure you that there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Son of Man come as King.”

Read Matthew 16:21-28 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Shortly after Jesus rebuked Peter for speaking out against His death, Jesus shared a profound phrase and prediction that may be challenging for us to grasp or understand. While the statement sounds simple and straightforward, it can be understood, and perhaps even misunderstood, in several different ways.

Matthew tells us that Jesus told this statement to His disciples, and while Mark and Luke include this teaching, these two gospel writers have other followers included within earshot of Jesus’ message. Following talking about the challenge of being a true disciple, Jesus tells all those who were present, “For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his deeds. I assure you that there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Son of Man come as King.” (v. 27-28)

Both sentences in these two verses are powerful individually, but together, they give an amazing message regarding where Jesus’ ministry will ultimately end. Both statements refer to Jesus’ second coming, and with this time frame in mind, we see two other details in place:

When Jesus comes, He will reward each person according to His deeds. (v. 27)
There are some (i.e. more than one) who were present there who will not die until they have seen this event. (v. 28)

The first statement is easier to grasp. When Jesus comes, the reward that is brought will be based on what we have done. The trick or challenge with this statement is where belief fits in. On the surface, this statement sounds like a person’s actions being used to justify his or her salvation, but then does it nullify faith?

In the first statement, while we could see it as supporting a works based salvation, it doesn’t really address salvation as a topic. Instead, it talks about rewards based on our deeds. Every one of us have sinned, and the only “reward” that sin can bring is death. One thousand righteous actions mixed together with one sinful action still results in the reward of death. God could reward all those righteous actions first, but when He gets to the single sin, death comes – and its consequence is more serious than the rewards given for our righteous deeds. This statement actually promises death for everyone because everyone has sinned.

Salvation fits into the first statement because when we put our faith, trust, and belief in Jesus, He gives us His life as a reward, so when receiving our rewards, we receive the reward Jesus should have received because He took the reward (the death) we deserved. This is how I understand the first statement.

I don’t really understand the second statement. This statement also sounds simple, but is Jesus talking about death as perishing in the second death, or simply ceasing to live on this earth during the present age?

When Jesus went to the mountain and was “transfigured”, did this act give Him the appearance of coming as King, or does this second statement refer exclusively to the second coming?

Does this “not facing death before the second coming” say that some of these followers would be immediately taken to heaven, either at their death or right before their death?

Is this a statement meant for all of Jesus’ followers throughout history, or is it a statement meant for those listening to His words at that moment?

I have some ideas regarding all these questions about the second statement, but sometimes it’s best to leave the questions open, because when we have answered the questions we have, there is nowhere else to grow. Answering questions caps our growth. It is only by searching for answers that we can continue to grow, and when we have found answers, we continue growing by asking more questions.

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 Sin Loop: Mark 9:38-50

Published June 23, 2022 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we approach the half way point in our year looking at Mark’s gospel, we come to a passage where Jesus give a very strong warning and challenge to a specific group of people. While it might be easy to skip over this warning under different circumstances, this challenge is prompted after Jesus is told about something His followers did. Of all the warnings and challenges, this one stands out as being one of the most significant and serious in my own mind. However, this challenge, while it is very serious, also contains within it a promise that is easy to miss if we are not paying attention.

This passage and challenge are found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 9, and we will read from the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 38:

³⁸ John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” ³⁹ But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. ⁴⁰ For he who is not against us is for us. ⁴¹ For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

Let’s pause reading briefly because while Jesus has more to say, I want to emphasize some details in the first portion of this passage. First, it is worth paying attention to John’s opening and telling Jesus that he and some of the other disciples saw someone who wasn’t a part of their group casting out demons in Jesus’ name. John says that they tried to prevent him. However, Jesus pushes back with a powerful counter-intuitive truth: Christianity was never meant to be an exclusive club for sinners saved by grace. Christianity is united by people following Jesus Christ and giving Him the glory, the praise, and the credit for everything.

Jesus emphasizes this truth by telling His disciples that anyone who is not against Jesus is for them, and those who are performing miracles in the name of Jesus have God’s approval to do so. If someone cannot perform a miracle in Jesus’ name, then they are likely misusing Jesus’ name and/or they are missing a relationship with Jesus in their lives. Miracles that succeed using Jesus’ name can only happen if the one doing the miracle has the Holy Spirit in his or her life. Whoever helps someone else in Jesus’ name will not lose the reward God has promised them.

However, Jesus isn’t finished sharing. Continuing the theme of helping others, Jesus turns the tables starting in verse 42, saying:

⁴² “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea. ⁴³ If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, ⁴⁴ [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] ⁴⁵ If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, ⁴⁶ [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] ⁴⁷ If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, ⁴⁸ where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

⁴⁹ “For everyone will be salted with fire. ⁵⁰ Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

In the last section of our passage, we come to a very challenging idea: It would be better for us to cut a part of our body off if it causes us to sin than to risk our salvation. This is a challenging part of our passage because it implies that God wants us to injure ourselves. The implication is that our body controls our head.

While some people may let their bodies and their impulses control their lives, when given the choice of hell or losing a part of your body, I would imagine most people would recoil and acknowledge that any part of their body could be brought into control. Choosing between facing hell or losing a part of your body is like choosing between two significantly bad options when a third option exists.

The third option is banishing the sin from your life and bringing whatever part of your body into control so it does not cause you to sin any more. It may be significant that Jesus uses the example of hand, foot, and eye in this graphic illustration. Our hands can symbolize what we do, our feet symbolize where we go, and our eyes symbolize what we focus on.

In each of these cases, we have the freedom to choose. We can choose to do something wrong, which some people might define using the word sin; we can choose to go somewhere that is not spiritually healthy; and we can choose to focus on things that are not beneficial for our lives. While looking at these three ideas, it’s amazing in my mind that these three ideas create a loop. However, the progression this loop takes is in reverse order of what Jesus shared. The loop looks like this: Focus leads to movement, and movement leads to action. However, action then also prompts us to focus more, leading to more movement, and more action, allowing the loop to continue.

If we are stuck in a loop of sinning, we may have to do something drastic to break this cycle. While I don’t suggest maiming yourself or cutting a part of your body off, I think that given the choice of hell or being crippled, you would look intentionally for a third option.

Our third option comes in Jesus, and in the Holy Spirit. Verse 49 tells us that “everyone will be salted with fire.” While I haven’t done much study on this verse, it is possible that one way to understand Jesus’ words here relate to experiencing the Holy Spirit. Everyone gets the option of receiving and feeling the Holy Spirit’s fire. However, depending upon who the person is, the Holy Spirit’s fire can harden their hearts against God, or it will soften their hearts to hear His message. Everyone is given the option to choose Jesus or not. It is a choice we are freely given, and one that we all must make.

While there is much more we could discuss on this angle of the subject, don’t let the skeptic inside you ask the questions about everyone who doesn’t know about Jesus, or who couldn’t have known. This passage and challenge isn’t about them. This passage and challenge is about you. “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Let the Holy Spirit into your lives and let the Holy Spirit help you become who God created you to be!

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 let the Holy Spirit fill your life. Choose to let God help you move away from sin and intentionally control your bodies and actions in a way that builds up your life towards God’s ideal and don’t let your lives drift into a loop that feeds sin. We can choose what we will focus on, where we will go, and what we will do, and while some people have more freedom in these areas than others, we all have enough freedom to choose to sin or not to sin in any given situation.

Also, continue praying and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. God wants a personal relationship with you, and He wants to help you break free from the sin that is holding you back in your life.

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 let sin or temptation steal you away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Year in Mark – Episode 25: In one of Jesus’ most challenging warnings, discover how this warning includes a promise for all of God’s people and how this promise is something we can claim when sin wants to take control of our lives.

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Rejecting the Invitation: Luke 14:7-24

Published June 22, 2022 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 14:7-24 (GW)

⁷ Then Jesus noticed how the guests always chose the places of honor. So he used this illustration when he spoke to them: ⁸ “When someone invites you to a wedding, don’t take the place of honor. Maybe someone more important than you was invited. ⁹ Then your host would say to you, ‘Give this person your place.’ Embarrassed, you would have to take the place of least honor. ¹⁰ So when you’re invited, take the place of least honor. Then, when your host comes, he will tell you, ‘Friend, move to a more honorable place.’ Then all the other guests will see how you are honored. ¹¹ Those who honor themselves will be humbled, but people who humble themselves will be honored.”

¹² Then he told the man who had invited him, “When you invite people for lunch or dinner, don’t invite only your friends, family, other relatives, or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they will return the favor. ¹³ Instead, when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the handicapped, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴ Then you will be blessed because they don’t have any way to pay you back. You will be paid back when those who have God’s approval come back to life.”

¹⁵ One of those eating with him heard this. So he said to Jesus, “The person who will be at the banquet in the kingdom of God is blessed.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to him, “A man gave a large banquet and invited many people. ¹⁷ When it was time for the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who were invited, ‘Come! Everything is ready now.’

¹⁸ “Everyone asked to be excused. The first said to him, ‘I bought a field, and I need to see it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹ Another said, ‘I bought five pairs of oxen, and I’m on my way to see how well they plow. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰ Still another said, ‘I recently got married, and that’s why I can’t come.’

²¹ “The servant went back to report this to his master. Then the master of the house became angry. He told his servant, ‘Run to every street and alley in the city! Bring back the poor, the handicapped, the blind, and the lame.’

²² “The servant said, ‘Sir, what you’ve ordered has been done. But there is still room for more people.’

²³ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go to the roads and paths! Urge the people to come to my house. I want it to be full. ²⁴ I can guarantee that none of those invited earlier will taste any food at my banquet.’ ”

Read Luke 14:7-24 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Of all the different characters included in our passage/parable, let’s turn our attention to the original invitees; those who were first invited but who blew off their invitation.

The one thing that really stands out in my mind about this group is that these people are who we could call “convenience friends” – friends who are only friends when it is convenient for them. They seem to be friendly with the man who was hosting the banquet occasionally, but the friendship was pretty low on their priorities. They seem to have placed other tasks ahead of attending.

However, what happens if we turn this around onto us. How “convenience friend-like” are we being with God/Jesus? Are we only interested in doing our own thing, but then at the moment we need help, we are praying and asking for assistance? Or are we willing to put the tasks aside to enjoy the friendship?

While the spontaneous invitees only have to accept the invitation to be included, these “convenience friends” seem to have to reject the invitation to be excluded. The way they exclude themselves is that they have placed other priorities ahead of God. In the three excuses, we see three categories that often can take precedence over our relationship with God.

In our lives, do we let our material possessions come first? Like the man who wanted to go check out a piece of land (that he already bought), are we constantly needing to check out our balance sheet like it is a score-card for our success? This man gives up a relationship with God for some stuff. Is this a path we really want to head down?

However, what if we let our career come first? Like the man who needed to test out his new oxen, do we place our focus on how much we can accomplish, or how much status we can acquire with what we do? This man gives up a relationship with God for a bigger paycheck. Is this a path we really want to head down?

The last original invitee is a little trickier, because what if we place our family and spouse ahead of God? Like the person who simply didn’t want to come because he just got married, are we more interested in spending time with our spouse than spending time with God? Are we really thinking that these two relationships have to be in conflict? Is there any logical reason that the host who invited this person wouldn’t have also extended the invitation to his new wife? This man gives up a relationship with God for a relationship with a person – someone who he could have easily had a relationship with as well. Is following this man’s example a path we really want to head down?

I hope your answer is “No” to each of these three paths. Instead I hope that you choose to place having a relationship with God as the highest priority in your life. The myth that we can easily fall into is that having a relationship with God doesn’t allow for these other successes. Instead, God is interested in being first in our lives, and helping us be the best we can be in these other areas.

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