Reflective Bible Study

As we approach the big event that all the gospels focus in on, otherwise known as the crucifixion, some people believe that the events of crucifixion weekend came as a surprise to both Jesus and His disciples. However, people who believe Jesus was surprised about his upcoming death are not very familiar with the gospel record.

Numerous times, Jesus tried to prepare the disciples for what was coming, and it would appear as though Jesus’ words fell on deaf ears. The passage we are focusing in on in this episode is one such time where we find Jesus trying to warn His disciples about His crucifixion and what would happen soon.

Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 18, and we will be reading it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 31:

³¹ Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. ³² He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; ³³ they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”

³⁴ The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

In this short, four-verse passage, we find Jesus clearly telling His followers about His upcoming arrest, His death, and His resurrection; and we see that the disciples didn’t understand any of what He was saying.

Luke’s gospel shares an interesting detail, and this is that the meaning of what Jesus was sharing was “hidden from them”.

The implication of this idea is that God hid the meaning of Jesus’ words from them. While I don’t know why He might have done this, I wonder if it had to do with God wanting the disciples to ask the challenging questions about what would happen.

In the first century, the whole Jewish culture was eagerly looking forward for a messiah to lead them out from being under Roman rule. The messiah they saw the scriptures predicting was one who would lead them to victory and who would last forever. Whether the prophecies about a suffering messiah were misunderstood, or whether they discounted their significance, the last thing on anyone’s mind was that the Messiah God would send would be jointly killed by both Jews and Gentiles.

But Jesus came and He was teaching this alternate view of prophecy. It took Jesus’ death and resurrection to break the preconceived ideas about the Messiah from the disciples’ minds. I don’t believe that God desired the message Jesus was sharing with His followers to be ignored or discounted; I believe God wanted Jesus’ disciples to ask for more information, and to learn from Jesus about what the scriptures said was to take place.

Jesus hints at this when He says in verse 31, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.” While Jesus then describes what will happen, we know that more things happened than Jesus decided to share here. I wonder if Jesus touched on the big points, but really wanted the disciples to ask for more details. It would have been amazing if one of the disciples had been brave enough to push past the confusion to ask Jesus what all was written by the prophets about Him. If one of the disciples had asked Jesus some further clarifying questions, I believe the crucifixion weekend wouldn’t have found the disciples hiding in the upper room for fear of being killed next.

Instead, if one of the disciples had given Jesus an opening, I believe He would have shared with them similar to how He shared with the two disciples walking to Emmaus following Jesus’ resurrection.

It is also interesting in my mind to hear people talk about how Jesus’ death was a surprise to Him. It is as though Judas Iscariot was able to pull off the greatest betrayal in history without Jesus being aware He was being duped.

However, what we find here in this passage is that Jesus knows Jerusalem is where He will face His death before Judas Iscariot even knows He will be the betrayer. Jesus knows exactly what will happen, including His resurrection just days later. Nothing about that trip startled Him, surprised Him, or caused Him to back away from the entire reason He came.

Jesus came to this earth to give His life for us, and He came to help us see how much the Father loves each of us!

In our own lives, with all the challenges, struggles, and problems we face, we can look to this passage and know that even if we don’t understand what is going to happen, God knows, and He is more than happy to walk with us through the struggles we face in this life. God has a bigger perspective and His perspective is saving us for eternity!

Also, we can know from this passage that God doesn’t want us to be surprised by the future. He wants us to know that He knows what will happen, and regardless of the state of the world, He is in control and leading history towards the end of sin and eternity for His people!

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

As we move through life, be sure to seek God first and to trust Him, believe His promises, and to depend on Him for help facing the struggles of this life. Ask Him to help us see His perspective, and to see things with an eternity focus.

Also, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself in order to grow your personal relationship with Jesus.

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 give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we continue through the gospels looking at Jesus’ miracles, we come to a miracle that comes with an object lesson, and while this object lesson is not pleasant to thinking about, it is something that is very relevant to our mission in the world today.

During the first century, the culture had developed the belief that those who were sick, injured, disabled, or hurting was because of their sin, or the sin of their parents. Those holding to this belief had several Old Testament texts that they used to support this idea, but while the texts are accurate, as we will soon discover, the error of those holding this belief was thinking that this belief covered every situation.

Let’s read what happened, and discover what Jesus wanted to teach His disciples. Our miracle for this episode is found in John’s gospel, chapter 9, and we will read it from the New Living Translation of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹ As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. ² “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

³ “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. ⁴ We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. ⁵ But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

⁶ Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. ⁷ He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!

⁸ His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!”

But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”

¹⁰ They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?”

¹¹ He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!”

While the event continues for a good portion of the rest of the chapter, this is a good place to jump out of it. Evidently, this miracle happened on the Sabbath, and while we could continue reading and focus on that big theme, we’d run out of time before being able to focus on a few verses near the beginning of this event that stand out even more in my mind.

It is possible Jesus wanted to do this miracle to tick the religious leaders off because it was the Sabbath, but that thought doesn’t match how this event opens. Instead, this passage opens with Jesus and the disciples spotting a blind man begging on the side of the road. While it is logical to think Jesus had already decided to heal him, the question the disciples ask Jesus is very profound when we think about it.

The disciples ask Jesus why this man was born blind. The two options in their minds, which also reflected the minds of those in first century Jewish culture, was that this was because of sins that were either committed by a previous generation, such as his parents or grandparents, or because he had some serious sin present in his life. The last option doesn’t make much sense, because usually the punishment for a sin comes after the sin itself, and this punishment seemed to come before a sin could have even been committed, but this doesn’t exclude it as an option in the minds of those in the first century.

However, while the culture only allowed for two options, Jesus opens the door for a third. As we will soon see, we should openly desire a third option, because the two options present in that culture wouldn’t have allowed Jesus to work any miracles, and those two options would actually keep us from helping others while living within God’s will.

While it sounds crazy to think about, imagine for a moment that a parent is punishing a child for doing something wrong, and as a punishment, the parent takes the child’s favorite toy away. If the child had a friend with the same toy, and the child’s friend chose to give the toy to the child, how would this friend be seen in the eyes of the parent punishing the child? In essence, the parent is trying to punish, but the child’s friend is cancelling the parent’s efforts.

Let’s translate this into first century culture, and into the idea that they had about God. Those in the first century believed that injury, illness, and similar situations were God’s punishment for sin. If this was the case, then every time Jesus healed someone, He broke God’s will that that person deserved to be punished, and it makes Jesus’ ministry oppose God.

However, this is unfortunately what many Christian’s believe. Many Christians see God the Father as a mean God looking for reasons and ways to punish people for their sins, while Jesus is holding the Father back or cancelling the Father’s efforts in certain cases. This doesn’t sound like a unified picture of God or a pleasant picture of heaven.

Luckily, Jesus gives us a different frame of mind to view illness, injury, struggle, and disability: Jesus gives us the frame that shows us it is an opportunity to see God’s power in a person’s life. When bad happens in our lives, Jesus doesn’t say that sin is never the cause, but Jesus opens the door to the option that the bad that happens is not God’s punishment.

Jesus’ third option opens the door for us to be a blessing to others. If God is punishing someone for their sin, we would be unwise to get in the way of that punishment. However, what if the bad that happens is God sending an opportunity for His people to step in and help, and an opportunity for God to be praised through the good that happened in spite of the bad situation? If this is the case, then as Christians, when bad happens, we are to see this as God giving us an opportunity to get involved and challenging us to make a positive difference.

The same is true in our own lives. When we think about our testimony, rarely if ever do we discover our testimony comes out of our triumphs and successes. More often than not, our testimony comes out of our trials in life, and how God brought us through the trials and into a closer relationship with Him. When we let God lead us through the trials, we find that we come out the other side with a testimony. Our testimony is a blessing and it is given so we can be a light in a dark world.

Jesus warned His disciples that the night was coming when no one can work. Jesus tells us that while He is present, He is the light of the world. While Jesus could be saying that the night began when He returned to heaven, I have a suspicion that since we as believers are together called the “body of Christ”, we are to consider the night as still coming. While we can be a blessing to others, we should be a blessing, because the night is coming when we won’t be able to work.

Let’s together demonstrate God’s love, His power, and His compassion to a world that believes God hates them. God doesn’t hate us. Jesus came to redeem us from the curse and punishment of sin.

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

Always seek God first and place Him first in your life. Understand and recognize that God the Father loves you and that He has called you, me, and all believers to be a blessing to others. Don’t see the bad that happens as God punishing, but instead see the bad as an opportunity or a wakeup call from God to start living within His will – whether that means changing something within our lives, or whether it means stepping out and helping someone else in need.

Also, keep praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, discover, and grow closer to God each and every day. Through prayer and study, we grow our relationship with God and we learn from Him what He wants for our lives.

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 choose a path that walks away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we jump into another podcast episode, we continue in our journey through the gospels with another challenging passage – this one about marriage and divorce. While I am happily married, divorce has affected my life in a personal way, since my parents are both divorced and remarried. Divorce has become a standard way of life in our culture today, and this is one reason why this episode’s passage is difficult.

The other reason this passage is challenging is because of what it says about marriage, which is a significant topic in culture at this point in history. Many people living in the world today reject the idea of marriage as presented in this passage. However, it might also surprise many people living today to learn that Jesus’ words surprised those listening to Him in the first century as well.

Let’s dive in to this passage and discover what it can tell us about God’s original plan. Our passage is found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, and we will be reading it from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, Matthew transitions to a new topic by telling us that:

¹ After Jesus said all these things, he left Galilee and went into the area of Judea on the other side of the Jordan River. ² Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³ Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trick him. They asked, “Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for any reason he chooses?”

I will pause here to draw our attention to the similarities with our own culture. From looking at what these Pharisees ask, it would seem like their attitudes towards marriage as a life-long commitment were just as shallow as some people living today.

Continuing reading in verse 4:

⁴ Jesus answered, “Surely you have read in the Scriptures: When God made the world, ‘he made them male and female.’ ⁵ And God said, ‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body.’ ⁶ So there are not two, but one. God has joined the two together, so no one should separate them.”

⁷ The Pharisees asked, “Why then did Moses give a command for a man to divorce his wife by giving her divorce papers?”

⁸ Jesus answered, “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because you refused to accept God’s teaching, but divorce was not allowed in the beginning. ⁹ I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of adultery. The only reason for a man to divorce his wife is if his wife has sexual relations with another man.”

¹⁰ The followers said to him, “If that is the only reason a man can divorce his wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but God has made some able to accept it. ¹² There are different reasons why some men cannot marry. Some men were born without the ability to become fathers. Others were made that way later in life by other people. And some men have given up marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. But the person who can marry should accept this teaching about marriage.”

In many ways, this is a very challenging passage to tackle, because those who uphold the values shared in this passage are attacked by those who despise what Jesus has clearly described. In an oddly similar way, Matthew introduces this subject matter as the Pharisees bringing Jesus a trick question to trap Him. Similar to today’s judgment of anyone who faces this question, those living in the first century had issues of marriage, divorce, and related subjects on their minds.

However, while some are quick to judge anyone who stands beside how this passage describes marriage, it is worth noting that this passage lays the foundation by first describing the ideal, before spelling out how people rejected God’s idea. Then we learn about the sin found in God’s eyes regarding a decision that is less than His ideal, and we learn about the one exception to the rule.

It is amazing that those following Jesus are the ones who are quick to conclude that it might be better to simply not marry in the first place. Those listening to Jesus answer the Pharisees are the ones who are the most shocked by Jesus’ words.

There is very little wiggle-room present in this passage: God’s ideal for marriage is two people, one man, one woman, and when they join themselves together, the two become one in God’s eyes. This was the case in Eden before sin, and when sin entered the world, it seems like this was one of the most challenging ideals for every generation to deal with since that point.

From how Jesus describes marriage and divorce in this passage, it appears as though divorce wasn’t allowed in any fashion prior to Moses making the exception, but perhaps this was Jesus simply comparing the time of Moses to God’s perfect creation in Eden at the beginning.

It is interesting to note that those who are the most opposed to the ideal picture of marriage that Jesus shares in this passage are those who are the most opposed to Jesus, who don’t believe that God exists, and who simply do not care about whether they “sin” against God’s law or not. I’m sure there are exceptions to this, but I imagine these exceptions are very few.

Probably one of the biggest ideas present in this passage regarding marriage is that it is a spiritual union that is demonstrated physically through physical intimacy. Marriage as described in this passage is the decision of both spouses to remain together and faithful to one another. Jesus teaches us that marriage is spiritual because this union is one that God sees from His perspective, and it is physical because we can clearly see it in the decision two people make with one another.

This passage concludes with the equally challenging statement Jesus shares – this one in response to His own followers concluding that it may be better to simply not marry in the first place.

Jesus shares that not everyone can accept this teaching about marriage. This was true for those living in Moses’ time, as it was in Jesus’ time, as it is living in today’s time. Every generation has a percentage of people who cannot accept this teaching about marriage. This passage describes some of these people as those who were born without the ability to become fathers. Others are described as having something happen to them which stopped them from being able to become fathers later in life. A third group is described as people who choose to avoid marriage because they wanted to dedicate themselves more fully to the kingdom of God. This passage describes three very relevant groups of people who cannot accept this teaching about marriage, but it also concludes by saying that those who can and do marry should accept this teaching.

Does this then mean that those who cannot accept Jesus’ teaching and God’s ideal for marriage can simply ignore it and do their own thing, regardless of whether God would consider it sinful or not? I doubt that.

Instead, I believe it means that those who have chosen to stay single, along with those who were born in a way that keeps them from becoming parents and those who were injured in some way that stops their ability to procreate, have been brought into the world with a gift and an opportunity that the majority of people don’t have. This opportunity is the ability to be more able to dedicate themselves to God’s mission for their lives – and each person in this non-marriage group will have a unique way this is possible.

Jesus led the single people as one who chose to remain single for God’s kingdom, while the most famous disciple, Peter, was married. We know this because the gospels describe Jesus visiting and healing Peter’s mother-in-law, and someone only has an in-law when they are married.

This passage points us to God’s ideal for marriage, but it also describes the truth that marriage is not a right that is given to everyone. Marriage is a gift God has given to humanity that some people can accept, but for those who cannot accept God’s gift of marriage, God has other gifts that are less obvious, but not in any way less significant.

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

In whatever you choose to do regarding marriage, or remaining single, seek God first in your life. I speak from personal experience that only when we place God first in our lives will marriage or singleness make sense in His big plan for our lives. If you have not married, let God lead you to marriage if that is part of His will for your life, and if you have gotten married, resolve to stay committed to your spouse regardless of if times are tough or challenging. Staying married through challenging times says more about your character than it does about your difficult spouse.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself, because I believe God wants to speak personally into your life and your situation. Don’t let someone else dictate your relationship with God.

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 fall away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we move through this year looking at the miracles of Jesus, we come to a very unique, one of a kind, miracle. This miracle is the only one that Jesus ever did that holds this specific characteristic. While many of Jesus’ miracles are included in multiple gospels, and while some of the miracles are reserved for only John’s gospel, Matthew’s gospel, or Luke’s gospel, only one miracle is exclusive to Mark’s gospel. I don’t know why Matthew and/or Luke chose not to include this miracle, while Mark did, but when we read about what happened, we discover something powerful about Jesus’ miracle working ability, and through this miracle, we learn about faith in Jesus.

Let’s read this miracle, then dive into what we can learn from what happened. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 8, and we will read it from the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 22, Mark tells us that:

²² They came to Bethsaida, where some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch him. ²³ Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. After spitting on the man’s eyes, Jesus placed his hands on him and asked him, “Can you see anything?”

²⁴ The man looked up and said, “Yes, I can see people, but they look like trees walking around.”

²⁵ Jesus again placed his hands on the man’s eyes. This time the man looked intently, his eyesight returned, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ Jesus then sent him home with the order, “Don’t go back into the village.”

On the surface, this passage contains a pretty routine miracle, except for the detail that it appeared as though Jesus did not get the healing right the first time. In a strange turn of events, Jesus has to redo the miracle for it to work fully.

Why might this have been? In my own mind, we can discover the answer by stepping back through this miracle and the details that were shared leading up to Jesus being alone with this man. We discover the answer and a powerful insight when we ask the question: Where is faith displayed in this event?

The first place we see faith in this passage is with the people in the village. While these people probably want the blind man to be healed, they are probably more interested in simply seeing a miracle than they are in the actual wellbeing of the man himself. Those present likely wanted one more reason to praise Jesus as a person, and it is less likely they were the sort of people who would have praised God. It may even be possible that these people disliked God, because of what they saw displayed in the lives and attitudes of the religious leaders, but they liked Jesus.

However, Jesus came to give praise and glory to God, and Jesus came to show us what God the Father is like. Jesus is not interested in receiving the praise of these people. So Jesus takes the man outside of town, and away from the faith of this group of people.

At this point in the event, we have Jesus, the blind man, and perhaps the disciples outside of the village. We only can assume the disciples are present because we know the details of what happened, but other than this, we are given a picture that contains simply Jesus and the blind man.

With these two people present, where is faith displayed?

In Jesus’ case, He has all the faith He needs, but He also doesn’t want to force His will on people. Jesus loves each of us and while He wants to save us, He is also mature enough to know that there will be those who reject Him. Because of this, it is unlikely that Jesus uses His measure of faith in this miracle.

This leaves us with the blind man and his faith. We don’t know much about this man but since the man had an idea of what trees looked like, it is possible that he wasn’t born blind, but instead became blind through some injury, illness, or situation. It is also possible that this man had tried anything and everything he could to heal his blindness.

When Jesus steps onto the scene, and rumors spread about His ability to heal people, this man likely gets a sliver of hope, but he has experienced getting his hopes dashed enough times that he doesn’t want to put too much faith in Jesus’ ability.

In this passage, we discover that other people bring the man to Jesus, and this could be because he had reservations about going to Jesus himself. When Jesus pulls him away from the crowd, the man may have even thought that Jesus wanted to let him know privately that He could not heal him, while saving face with those who believed Him to be a miracle worker.

There is a lot in this passage to suggest that the man did not have much faith in Jesus’ miracle working ability, but there was a sliver of hope present. After spitting on the man’s eyes, Jesus asks him in verse 23, “Can you see anything?”

Verse 24 tells us that “The man looked up and said, ‘Yes, I can see people, but they look like trees walking around.’”

In this verse, we see the man look up, but not much had improved. Perhaps the man was so doubtful that he hadn’t expected anything to happen because he was afraid of getting his hopes dashed again. But with Jesus, a small sliver of hope and faith broke through in this partial miracle. The man experienced a change greater than what he had expected. Jesus had taken the tiny, mustard-seed-sized faith the man had and turned it into more than the man thought possible.

But Jesus wasn’t finished yet, Jesus wanted the man to regain all his eyesight. So Jesus repeats the miracle, but this second time, we see a different response from the man. Verse 25 tells us that, “This time the man looked intently, his eyesight returned, and he saw everything clearly”.

With the second miracle, we see the man displaying greater faith. After seeing a sliver of improvement, the man is ready to let his hope and faith loose. After the second time Jesus placed His hands on the man’s eyes, Mark tells us that the man “looked intently”. This was the look of faith, and it was the look of expectation. With this second take of the miracle, the man wanted and believed that healing was possible – and his faith in Jesus healed him.

While Jesus could have brought the man back into the village, Jesus knew the man did not live there. So Jesus sends the man home, telling him to go a different way, because Jesus knows the man will praise and give God thanks, and Jesus isn’t interested and He doesn’t need the crowd’s praise.

In this unique-to-Mark’s gospel miracle, we see the amazing truth that our answers to prayer will likely be relative to the faith we have. If we have a visible faith that actively moves towards our prayers, it is likely that we will ultimately receive answers. But if our faith is weak or non-existent, and we pray without any visible movement, then it is possible our prayers will be weak and/or remain unanswered.

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

Always seek God first and intentionally make your faith in God visible. Don’t shy away from sharing why you have hope in a world full of chaos, and give God the credit for everything He has done for you leading you towards salvation and eternal life.

Also, be sure to intentionally pray and study the Bible for yourself, learning from the best source we have about what God is like. I once heard someone say that God is good but He isn’t safe. I can understand this idea, but is it in the Bible? When faced with challenges, ideas, or thoughts to ponder, take these thoughts to the Bible and let God’s Holy Spirit help you discover the answers for yourself.

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!