Reflective Bible Study

As Jesus arrives at Jerusalem leading up to the Passover weekend when He would be crucified, Luke describes in his gospel that Jesus does something that seems unexpected, and Luke describes how Jesus gives a prediction and message about the city that probably challenged those present.

In this short four-verse passage, we are able to see an amazing picture of Jesus’ heart and God’s love for His city and His people.

Let’s begin by reading what happens from Luke’s gospel, and then unpack some things we can learn about God from this event. Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 19, and we will be reading from the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 41, Luke tells us that:

⁴¹ He [Jesus] came closer to the city, and when he saw it, he wept over it, ⁴² saying, “If you only knew today what is needed for peace! But now you cannot see it! ⁴³ The time will come when your enemies will surround you with barricades, blockade you, and close in on you from every side. ⁴⁴ They will completely destroy you and the people within your walls; not a single stone will they leave in its place, because you did not recognize the time when God came to save you!”

In this short passage, we can see Jesus’ heart, His emotions, His love, and His challenge for God’s people. This is one of only two places in the gospels where Jesus cried. The other time is shortly before raising Lazarus from the dead. In the Lazarus event, we can learn that Jesus loves people on an individual level, and the Lazarus event has Jesus interacting with both Martha and Mary each separately and uniquely.

To contrast the Lazarus miracle where Jesus cried, we have this passage which demonstrates Jesus’ love for God’s people and His nation – at a national level. On the national level, the people of Israel rejected Him even if there were plenty of individual exceptions. Jesus cries for the city because it represented His people, and how they had waited and waited for God’s Messiah to arrive only to not recognize or accept Him when He actually came.

The two times Jesus cries describe the two ways God interacts with His people. God desires a personal connection with each of us. God also desires a group level connection with us as well. God interacts with groups of people differently than He interacts with individuals. It would be a mistake to interpret a group interaction as being God dealing with someone on a personal level, just as it would be a mistake to interpret an individual message to be equally applicable to a group. While God can use prophets and messengers to deliver messages to either individuals or groups, it would be a mistake to misapply His words to the wrong context.

However, there is a bigger theme present in this passage than God’s emotions and love for His people. This big theme is found in how Jesus ends His message for Jerusalem. Jesus finishes His message by saying at the end of verse 44, “because you did not recognize the time when God came to save you”.

This statement is worth paying close attention to because it describes how the people as a nation decided to reject Jesus because they did not recognize Him, and because they didn’t realize what is needed for peace. The people at that time believed peace was possible only when they were diplomatic, free, or when they had the upper hand with their military.

God being the source of peace regardless of their circumstances was not something that entered their discussions. If God was brought into the discussion, it was because they believed God would keep His promise to their ancestors indefinitely, regardless of their present day choices, and because God had promised to send a Messiah who they believed would set them free from the Romans.

However, Jesus’ closing line in this passage is important for us to pay attention to. This closing line draws our attention onto the fact that we must open our eyes to what God is doing in the world around us. This closing line draws our attention onto the fact that we must depend on God to do the saving. This closing line draws our attention onto the fact that nothing we can do is enough to save ourselves. Today’s Christian culture seems less focused towards depending on God to save us as it is on pressing its own agendas forward towards achieving political, economical, and cultural power – which are all powers based on worldly standards.  

Jesus lived in one of the most oppressive times in world history, and if someone wanted to make the case Jesus came as a military leader, they would have a challenging time with how the gospels’ describe Jesus’ focus. It would take a lot of effort and misrepresenting of the gospels to make Jesus into a political leader. Instead, we see Jesus working on an individual level, helping those who needed help, and pointing people towards giving God the glory – all while living in the distant corner the Roman empire, and even a decent distance away from Jerusalem.

However, I also believe Jesus wouldn’t have changed His tactics even if He lived in Rome. We don’t see any hint of Jesus desiring political power, fame, or popularity while living in Judea, and there is no reason to think He would be different if He lived in a more politically-charged environment.

This means, at least to me, that as a follower of Jesus, I should spend five or even ten times more time praying than I do seeking to build influence among other people. Seeking influence shouldn’t even be a measurable goal for a follower of Jesus.

While there are followers of Jesus in almost every area of culture, the goal for a follower of Jesus is modeling Jesus, not seeking power. Culture has blinded people today, like it blinded those in the first century, regarding what is needed for true peace. Peace is not found in having power, influence, or wealth. Peace is not found in having a bigger military, a stronger economy, or having a better, stronger, or more effective world leader who wants to help you or your group.

The only place where peace can be found is by seeking God through Jesus, learning to depend on Him for everything, and praying like crazy for His will to be done in the world today. This idea fits with a saying I heard a while ago, which says that we should “Let go and let God”.

When trials come into our life, the only place where peace can be found is through leaning on and trusting in God. When things are going well, almost too well, and we are fearful or worried about what the future might hold, the only place where peace can be found is through leaning on and trusting in God.

Let’s pray today for our world, and for God’s will to be done in our world today. Instead of the customary closing challenges that I end every podcast with, let’s turn these challenges into a prayer for our lives:

Father,

Thank You for everything you have blessed us with. Thank You for creating us, for loving us, and for sending Jesus to redeem us from our sin-filled lives. I ask Father, that You be with each of Your followers living in the world today, and to help all of Your people to seek You first in their lives. Help us make You a priority when life’s demands want to distract us away.

Also Father, help us to grow closer to You each and every day through prayer and reading Your Word the Bible. Help each of us to have a personal relationship with You that is present from this point and moves forward with You all the way into eternity.

And Father, please bring about Your will for the world today. Lead, guide, and direct in all the decisions that each of us make, and help us to seek the things You want us to seek, and ignore the things You know are not worth our attention. Be with the state of the world, with all the world leaders, and direct history forward towards Your soon return!

We love You Father. Thank You for hearing, and answering, our prayer. In Jesus name, Amen.

As we move through the gospels looking at miracles, we come to a miracle that is only predicted, but we are left to assume that it actually happened the way Jesus described. While other events are predicted and then described as happening as Jesus had predicted, this event ends before telling us the key disciple involved heads out to follow Jesus’ instructions.

However, while we don’t actually get any resolution with this miracle, the prediction of this miracle contains one of the biggest, most amazing themes in the entire Bible. In just four short verses, we see the gospel message described in a unique and powerful way – all because one of the disciples misrepresents Jesus unintentionally and Jesus gives Him a way to redeem the situation.

This miracle is only described in Matthew’s gospel, and while I wish that Mark, Luke, or John would have included it, I’m happy that it made its way into at least one of the gospels. Let’s read this event together and then discover the powerful theme that it includes.

Our miracle and passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 17, and for our episode this week, we will read it from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 24, Matthew tells us that:

²⁴ When Jesus and his followers came to Capernaum, the men who collected the Temple tax came to Peter. They asked, “Does your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

²⁵ Peter answered, “Yes, Jesus pays the tax.”

Peter went into the house, but before he could speak, Jesus said to him, “What do you think? The kings of the earth collect different kinds of taxes. But who pays the taxes—the king’s children or others?”

²⁶ Peter answered, “Other people pay the taxes.”

Jesus said to Peter, “Then the children of the king don’t have to pay taxes. ²⁷ But we don’t want to upset these tax collectors. So go to the lake and fish. After you catch the first fish, open its mouth and you will find a coin. Take that coin and give it to the tax collectors for you and me.”

In this event, we see a backwards tax being applied to those living in Israel. According to Jesus’ question and Peter’s response, taxes during the first century were paid by those outside of the king or emperor’s family. In Israel, that meant that taxes were imposed on them from outside sources. In the spiritual arena, we also see a tax imposed on the people for the upkeep of the temple.

This was backwards thinking on the part of the religious leaders, because they were to be supported on the giving of tithes and offerings, and not on the secular model of taxation.

However, the most amazing part of this miracle comes when I ask myself the question about where the coin came from to pay the tax?

First off, when faced with this challenge, the easy place to find a coin would have been from the disciples’ cash reserves. It likely had enough in it to pay the temple tax for all of them present. But that is not where the coin originated.

Instead, the coin came from a fish’s mouth, which opens a whole new set of questions and challenges. Think for a moment about how many unrelated events would have needed to align for Peter to randomly go down to the lake, cast out a line, and catch a fish with the exact coin necessary to pay the tax – oh, and succeed on the first try. When we think about all the details that would have needed to happen, this miracle becomes more amazing with each detail added.

This miracle is amazing when we begin to put all the pieces together. Either it was a miracle because God placed a coin in the mouth of the first fish supernaturally after the fish bit Peter’s hook, or one of the most impossible sequences of events would have needed to take place for this miracle to happen as Jesus described it if it didn’t have supernatural intervention after the fact. There is no escaping God’s involvement with this miracle even if we don’t know exactly which method He used to get the coin in the right fish’s mouth.

Since this could have only happened because God stepped in and worked miraculously to get Peter the coin, we must conclude that God paid the temple tax. While on one level, since God owns everything, He is the only one who could pay the temple tax, on another level, the tax that we owe God because of sin is impossible for us to pay on our own. The tax for sin is our lives given in death, and the only way we can escape paying this tax is by being adopted into God’s family.

However, this doesn’t mean that God will wipe our tax bill away, but instead, He files our tax bill under the payment for taxes that were paid through Jesus’ sacrifice. When we are adopted into God’s family, we are freed from the fear of punishment because of our past sin, and we live our future lives giving thanks to God for what He has done for us through Jesus.

The whole gospel of Jesus Christ is summarized in this miracle. When Peter messes up and fails Jesus, it wouldn’t surprise us if Jesus condemned or chastised him. However, Jesus does not condemn him for his failure. Instead, He gives Peter a way out that can only be described as a God-paid, miraculous solution.

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

As always, continue to seek God first in your life and live your life giving thanks for what He has done for you through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Accept that God paid a debt that you owed and could not pay, and that in return, the best way to say thank you is by living your life for Him.

Always continue to intentionally pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each day. While other people can give you things to think about, a personal relationship with God must be personal, and it cannot and should not depend on the faith or relationship of anyone else.

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!

As Jesus was approaching Jerusalem leading up to His death, there was anticipation in the group of followers that something big would happen. While they were not wrong believing something big was coming, they were a little off with how they understood the timetable of prophecy.

To help give those listening a better perspective, Jesus decides to tell them a parable to help them reframe their expectations, and this parable is what our passage for this episode will cover. Both Matthew and Luke share similar parables, but there are enough unique differences in each that make me think that Jesus shared two similar parables on two different occasions rather than one parable that was heard in two significantly different ways.

For our episode, we will be looking at Luke’s gospel, and the parable Jesus shared with the crowd. Our passage is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 19, and we will read if from the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 11, Luke tells us that:

¹¹ While the people were listening to these things, Jesus told them a story. He was near Jerusalem. The people thought that God’s kingdom was going to appear right away. ¹² Jesus said, “A man from an important family went to a country far away. He went there to be made king and then return home. ¹³ So he sent for ten of his slaves. He gave them each about three months’ pay. ‘Put this money to work until I come back,’ he said.

¹⁴ “But those he ruled over hated him. They sent some messengers after him. They were sent to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

¹⁵ “But he was made king and returned home. Then he sent for the slaves he had given the money to. He wanted to find out what they had earned with it.

¹⁶ “The first one came to him. He said, ‘Sir, your money has earned ten times as much.’

¹⁷ “ ‘You have done well, my good slave!’ his master replied. ‘You have been faithful in a very small matter. So I will put you in charge of ten towns.’

¹⁸ “The second slave came to his master. He said, ‘Sir, your money has earned five times as much.’

¹⁹ “His master answered, ‘I will put you in charge of five towns.’

²⁰ “Then another slave came. He said, ‘Sir, here is your money. I have kept it hidden in a piece of cloth. ²¹ I was afraid of you. You are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in. You harvest what you did not plant.’

²² “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you evil slave! So you knew that I am a hard man? You knew that I take out what I did not put in? You knew that I harvest what I did not plant? ²³ Then why didn’t you put my money in the bank? When I came back, I could have collected it with interest.’

²⁴ “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his money away from him. Give it to the one who has ten times as much.’

²⁵ “ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten times as much!’

²⁶ “He replied, ‘I tell you that everyone who has will be given more. But here is what will happen to anyone who has nothing. Even what they have will be taken away from them. ²⁷ And what about my enemies who did not want me to be king over them? Bring them here! Kill them in front of me!’ ”

In this parable, we have a number of different things we can focus on. However, for the sake of this episode, and wanting to keep it to a manageable length, let’s focus on two of the really big picture themes that this parable teaches.

The first theme is that the important man who left on a journey came back as king. This man went to become king, and he returned as king. This detail is important for us to focus on because Jesus represents this man who left to become king. Jesus stepped down to this earth, and then down again into death, because His nature is one of stepping down. God the Father balances this characteristic out by lifting Jesus up.

It is interesting that in Luke’s version of this parable, we discover that this man has enemies and people who would prefer to not see this man become king. They send messengers and people to plead their case, desiring probably any other king in this man’s place; but regardless of what happened, this man becomes king in spite of his enemies desires.

Applying this parable to Jesus’ ministry and His role in the world, it doesn’t surprise anyone to learn that Jesus had enemies. While there wasn’t really anything to not like about Jesus, those who were interesting in building themselves up really didn’t get along with Him because Jesus pushed back against their self-serving attitudes.

Jesus had enemies because He wasn’t the sort of leader who was impressed by ambitious ladder-climbing individuals. Those who wanted to climb the latter of spiritual hierarchy did not have an ally in Jesus.

However, circling back to the big truth we learn in this parable is that regardless of what Jesus’ enemies wished to happen, Jesus is made king. This detail is not up for debate.

We then are left with a challenging conclusion: Knowing that Jesus will ultimately return as king, it would be unwise to be one of His enemies.

I don’t know if the time when Jesus returns will mark the time when it is too late to change allegiances, but what I do know is that when Jesus returns as king, the fate of those who have decided to be His enemies is not positive.

This leads us to the second big truth we can learn from this parable. While some people have openly sided against Jesus, we know from other portions of the gospels that Jesus is willing to forgive them. In other parts of the gospels, we learn that Jesus promises to forgive those who speak out against Him.

When we combine the details that Jesus has not returned yet, that He will return as King regardless of our wishes, and that He has promised to forgive those who have spoken against Him while He was away, we can conclude that now is the perfect time to ask for forgiveness and to ally with Jesus.

There is not a better time than now to side with Jesus, because we don’t know when later will be too late. We truly don’t know when the door to changing our decision will close. It might close at the end of our lives, whenever that is for each of us, or Jesus could return and close the door personally.

While we could then shift our focus onto the servants or slaves and what they accomplished, that is the perfect subject for another podcast. The big thing we can take away from the themes we focused on in this podcast is that we should be fruitful for God while we are allied with Jesus. The worst thing we can do is nothing.

So with these thoughts in mind, let’s close this podcast episode with some challenges to apply into our lives:

Whether you’ve chosen to ally with Jesus yet or not, be sure to make your choice before it is too late. Since we don’t know when that is, it would be better to choose today. While this goes without saying for most of us listening, be sure to chose to ally with Jesus, because He has already won. And with our decision for Jesus, be sure to be fruitful in your life with the blessings that God has given to us.

Also, because it is very important for every follower of Jesus to do, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself, because through prayer and Bible study, we can grow our personal relationship with God. While other believers can give you ideas to think about, don’t let a pastor, blogger, podcaster, or anyone else get between you and God. Test everything you hear with what you read in the Bible, and only if the Bible supports it should you believe 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 abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we move through the gospels and the miracles Jesus did to help people, we come to a miracle that perhaps should have happened before Jesus arrived. However, because of a number of circumstances, we discover that this situation needed Jesus when His disciples alone did not succeed.

However, in this miracle, I wonder about several things, and while we read it together, I’ll pause and talk about several of the details that stand out to me in this event.

Our passage is from the gospel of Mark, chapter 9, and we will read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 14, Mark tells us that:

¹⁴ When they [referring to Jesus, Peter, James, and John] came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. ¹⁵ As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

¹⁶ “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.

¹⁷ A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. ¹⁸ Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

¹⁹ “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

Let’s pause here for a moment. I’m not sure how many times I have read this passage, but before just now, I never realized that the other disciples were arguing with teachers of the law. This phrase could mean Pharisees, Sadducees, or any of the other groups of religious leaders. I wonder if both the disciples and the religious leaders present tried and failed to drive the spirit out.

In a way, I wonder if both groups of religious leaders sensed a situation that could be seen as similar to Elijah’s confrontation with the worshipers of Baal at Mount Carmel. However, in this event, both sides claimed to be on God’s side, while believing the other side was not.

When Jesus arrives, sees the arguing, and gets the details surrounding this situation, the first thing He challenges everyone present on is their lack of belief. This challenge is aimed at both the disciples and the teachers of the law. The implication in Jesus’ challenge is that they all lacked the faith and belief necessary to drive this demon out.

It is at this point where Jesus tells them to bring the boy to Him. Mark continues in verse 20 by telling us:

²⁰ So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

²¹ Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. ²² “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

²³ “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

²⁴ Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Pausing our reading again here, let’s look a little closer at this boy’s father. I imagine the father had been through an emotional roller coaster the previous few hours, as he had brought the boy to Jesus’ disciples believing they could help and then watching them fail. The boy’s father may have even watched the religious teachers try and fail as well.

The only reason the father was there with his son was because he had faith that Jesus could help him. However, there was a war raging in the father’s head between faith and doubt, between belief and unbelief. This internal conflict slips out when he uses the phrase “if you can” directed towards Jesus.

Jesus jumps on this idea, challenging it at its core while also giving us one of the most unbelievable promises in the entire Bible. Jesus tells the man and everyone present that “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

While this phrase in itself could be the subject of an entire podcast episode, we move forward to the next verse where the father completely acknowledges the war raging in his head and he asks Jesus for help facing this war. Mark tells us in verse 24 that, “Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’”

There was no hesitation in the man’s reply and Mark continues in verse 25, telling us what happened next:

²⁵ When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

²⁶ The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

²⁸ After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁹ He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

In this passage, one of the ideas that challenges me is with this final bit of information that Mark includes. When the disciples ask Jesus privately about their failure, Jesus replied by telling them that this kind of spirit can only come out by prayer.

This sounds good on the surface, but reading Mark’s account of this miracle, I don’t see Jesus praying anywhere surrounding this event. Matthew’s gospel has Jesus describe how the disciples didn’t have enough faith, but while that makes more sense on the surface, it still doesn’t solve the problem present here, because the disciples had previously cast out demons when they traveled around the towns of Israel in pairs.

It is also interesting and significant in my mind that the two gospels use two different ideas when describing why the disciples were unable to drive this evil spirit out. Matthew says that it was because of little faith, while Mark says that prayer wasn’t present.

These two ideas put together give us the powerful truth that prayer increases faith. While Jesus didn’t pray during this event, He had just spent the night in prayer. This miracle comes following the event known as the transfiguration of Jesus, and that event in itself demonstrates a high level of faith and a close connection with God.

In this event, the remaining disciples likely had let their prayer connection with God drift away from being strong, and I wonder if this failure challenged them regarding this big truth about prayer. I also wonder if these disciples came at this potential miracle with the attitude of building themselves up at the expense of the religious leaders. The potential pride was a sure likelihood that would have led to failure since God is unlikely to build someone up who is not going to return the glory they are given.

Prayer strengthens faith, and prayer is a reminder that we are small while God is big. Prayer helps reorient our lives by reminding us who we are and who God is. Prayer reminds us that we need God and because of this, prayer strengthens our faith.

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

Always keep seeking God first and placing Him first in your life. Intentionally choose to grow your faith through prayer, regular Bible study, and stepping out in faith in the direction you believe God is leading you. Move forward in life and let God direct your steps. Trust that when doors close, God has something bigger and better in mind, and that we also might need to grow or learn something more in order to be ready for that next opportunity. There are many reasons why doors close, but we can trust that God will only close the doors that are not good for us from an eternity’s perspective.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn personally what God wants to teach you through His Word. While other people can have great ideas, always test what you hear, read, and learn with what you see the Bible teach. God is more than willing to lead you to His truth, and His truth will not conflict with the Bible’s teaching.

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!