Reflective Bible Study

Continuing through the gospels and the miracles that Jesus performed, we come to a miracle that Jesus did, not for a Jew, but for a Roman officer. While this detail in itself is significant for us to pay attention to, there are plenty of details in this event that should prompt us to pay attention. Most Jews were hostile towards the thought of Rome being present in their territory, and the thought of Jesus actually helping a Roman would upset many of the most devout Jews. However, it is also worth noting that a Roman asking a Jew for help is also just as shocking.

Let’s read Matthew’s gospel and discover what happened. Our passage is found in chapter 8, and we will be reading from the Good News Translation of the Bible. Starting in verse 5, Matthew tells us that:

⁵ When Jesus entered Capernaum, a Roman officer met him and begged for help: ⁶ “Sir, my servant is sick in bed at home, unable to move and suffering terribly.”

⁷ “I will go and make him well,” Jesus said.

⁸ “Oh no, sir,” answered the officer. “I do not deserve to have you come into my house. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. ⁹ I, too, am a man under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and I order that one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and I order my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

Let’s pause reading for a moment to focus on what Matthew has just told us, because while reading this just now, a phrase jumped off the page at me, and it is something that reveals something this Roman understood about Jesus that most everyone else missed seeing.

While Jesus knows that the Roman officer is simply asking for help and healing, Jesus wants to go a step further and come personally to help. However, the Roman officer is surprised by this and he is content knowing that any promise Jesus makes will happen. The officer doesn’t need Jesus’ presence to confirm Jesus’ command.

This is the first amazing level of faith this Roman officer displays. But there’s another idea present in this passage, and it is this phrase that jumped out at me while reading this.

In verse 9, the Roman officer tells Jesus, “I, too, am a man under the authority of superior officers”. This Roman understood that Jesus was not present just for Himself. Instead, this Roman understood Jesus had been sent with a mission to this world and to the Jewish people. In this phrase, the Roman officer captured an aspect of Jesus’ ministry that we don’t often think about. In Jesus’ ministry, He both came willingly and He was sent with a mission. We often focus on Jesus’ willingness to come, which is true, but we should also realize that there is a very clear theme running through the gospels that Jesus was sent.

This Roman understood the hierarchy involved in a chain of command, and He recognized Jesus was fulfilling His mission in a similar, but also spiritual, structure.

Let’s continue reading to discover how Jesus responded to this man’s statement. Picking back up in verse 10, Matthew tells us that:

¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was surprised and said to the people following him, “I tell you, I have never found anyone in Israel with faith like this. ¹¹ I assure you that many will come from the east and the west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of heaven. ¹² But those who should be in the Kingdom will be thrown out into the darkness, where they will cry and gnash their teeth.” ¹³ Then Jesus said to the officer, “Go home, and what you believe will be done for you.”

And the officer’s servant was healed that very moment.

In this passage and this event, we discover something amazing, both in the faith of this Roman officer, and in the promise within Jesus’ response. In verse 11, Jesus told everyone present a wonderful promise: “I assure you that many will come from the east and the west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of heaven.”

But this promise is followed up with a sobering warning. Verse 12 continues by saying, “But those who should be in the Kingdom will be thrown out into the darkness”. While we might be tempted to think this warning refers exclusively to the Jewish nation living during this time period, the sad truth is that this represents many of God’s professed people living in many different generations.

This also means that Christians today are just as liable to be kicked out of God’s feast as the first century Jews were. Christian’s today should be present at the wedding feast in the kingdom of heaven, but if they assume they are saved while not letting Jesus transform their lives or hearts, then they ultimately will be thrown out. A transformed life is the evidence that Jesus has entered one’s heart and that an individual has placed their faith, hope, and trust in Jesus. An invisible faith is a worthless faith.

In this passage and in this miracle, we discover that as followers of Jesus, we should model this Roman officer’s belief in Jesus. This Roman understood that Jesus was part of a powerful, spiritual chain of command, and this chain of command could instantly heal his favorite servant. The Roman’s faith is solid enough that he does not need Jesus to physically come and help his servant because in the spiritual realm, things can happen quicker than if we need to see in order to believe.

Also, in this passage and miracle, we discover that we should take Jesus at His word and let Him change our hearts and lives. Let’s not be kicked out of this wedding feast because we didn’t let God’s Spirit transform our lives. Let’s choose to place our faith in God in visible, tangible, and relevant ways, and let God transform us into the people He created us to be.

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 your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Him and what He has done for you and me. Accept God’s promises as truth and live each day claiming His promises for our lives. Let’s be like the Roman officer who had stronger faith than the Jews present in that region and understand that Jesus is part of a much bigger picture. Jesus is the key Person in our story of redemption.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, keep praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and let God transform your heart and your life. The closer we grow towards God, the better we will be able to see through His eyes, and love others as He loves each of us. Use the Bible as a filter for your life and as a guide for your spiritual walk.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, or walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Part way through one of Jesus’ most famous sermons, the gospel of Matthew describes Jesus shift his attention to talk about worry, and specifically about how worry is in many ways worthless. Personally, I don’t struggle with worry as much as some others I know, but passages like the one we will be reading in this podcast have challenged me on this subject, and a little life perspective has proven Jesus’ words to be true in my own life.

Let’s read what Jesus has to say about worry. Our passage is found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 6, and we will be reading from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 25, Jesus continues by telling those present:

²⁵ “So I tell you, don’t worry about the food or drink you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your body. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. ²⁶ Look at the birds in the air. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds. ²⁷ You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.

Let’s pause reading here because what Jesus has just said is very profound. The last phrase of verse 25 challenges us to look at the bigger picture that “Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes”. I’m not sure if you have met anyone who stresses over what they eat and what they wear, but I know I’ve met people like this. In this phrase, Jesus draws our attention onto the big idea that life is more than food and clothing.

Intuitively we might know this, but what we eat and what we wear has the tendency to shape how we see ourselves. We have labels for the types of food we eat or don’t eat, such as vegetarian or vegan, and names for fancy diets that we might abide by. Our clothing also has labels designating what company designed and/or manufactured it. Some people really put a lot of thought and emphasis on these labels, but while the food we eat is important, it is not worth worrying about.

I think Jesus is hitting on the point that if something causes you concern, and that something is something you can do something about, then do what you can to change the thing that causes you concern. Jesus clearly states in verse 27, “You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it”. In other words, stop worrying and do something about it.

In contrast, if you cannot do anything about it, don’t focus a lot of attention onto it. Instead, focus on what you can change and improve, and be thankful for what God has blessed you with.

But Jesus isn’t finished talking about worry. He continues in verse 28 by saying:

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? Look at how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves. ²⁹ But I tell you that even Solomon with his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. ³⁰ God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire. So you can be even more sure that God will clothe you. Don’t have so little faith! ³¹ Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³² The people who don’t know God keep trying to get these things, and your Father in heaven knows you need them. ³³ Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well. ³⁴ So don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

In this passage, Jesus describes exactly what we should place our focus on, and what we should prioritize. Verse 33 opens by directly stating this. Jesus tells us to “Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants.”

This advice might sound a little simplistic, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t the truth. Some of the most profound truths are shared in very simple ways. It would be illogical for us to think that God is not aware of our needs. God knows our bodies need food and clothing. We likely do not need the most expensive food or the most glamorous clothing, but God knows what we do actually need, and He is more than happy to help us with that.

But what if we really want something that God does not appear to be blessing us with?

In my own life, when I have this thought or desire, I have to step back and ask myself, am I really seeing God’s kingdom first with this desire? While I won’t say that I have never answered yes to this question, in almost every instance, the thing I really want likely doesn’t move me or God’s kingdom forward. When I reframe my desire by looking at it from God’s kingdom perspective, I can easily see why God might not want me to have this thing.

However, God’s lack of a “yes” answer to prayer doesn’t mean His answer is always a “no”. Sometimes, God answers with a “wait” response, because He knows the timing isn’t right yet, while other times, His response is a “no, but here is something different but better in the long run”. It is up to me to trust that God knows what He is doing, and I can trust God because I know He wants me, and as many people as possible, with Him in heaven.

God wants me in heaven, He wants you in heaven, and he wants everyone in your circle of friends in heaven as well. God knows the best way to accomplish this, and we should trust Him that He knows what He is doing. Making trust a habit pushes worry out of your life. When worry is present, you may be experiencing a gap in your trust. Jesus challenges us to trust Him and not to worry, because “You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it”. (v. 27)

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

Be sure to seek God’s kingdom first and if you struggle with worry, challenge yourself to trust God more. Another word for trust is “faith”. When we have trust or faith in Jesus and/or God, we know that He is capable and willing to help us with whatever comes our way. With trust and faith in God, we know that even when huge problems come into our life, they are no match for the Creator of the Universe.

As always, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn more about God and about Jesus. I can share with you what I have learned and discovered, and I am happy to do so, but following along on my journey doesn’t mean much if you are not on a personal journey with God as well. Be sure to keep your personal connection with God strong by studying the Bible personally, because God wants to have a relationship with you.

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 continue moving forward in the gospels focusing on the miracles Jesus did, we come to a miracle where Jesus asks the person he has healed to be quiet. In this miracle, we discover what Jesus likely wanted, but we also discover that just because Jesus asked this man to do something, doesn’t mean this man obeyed. When someone is excited about something that has happened, it is almost impossible for them to remain quiet about it.

Let’s read what happened, and what we can learn from this miracle that we can apply into our lives.

Our passage is found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 8, and we will be reading from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, Matthew tells us that:

¹ When Jesus came down from the hill, great crowds followed him. ² Then a man with a skin disease came to Jesus. The man bowed down before him and said, “Lord, you can heal me if you will.”

Let’s pause reading here because I want to draw our attention onto something significant. In this passage, the man with a skin disease acknowledges that Jesus is capable of healing him, but he questions Jesus on His willingness to heal him. This is important for us to pay attention to because it has a parallel in our own lives even if we don’t have a skin disease.

In our own lives, we could just as easily say to Jesus, “Lord, you can forgive me if you will”. Through Jesus, we are capable of being forgiven, however do we ever struggle with feeling doubt about whether God would want to forgive us?

While it is easy to say that God is a God who forgives, it is much harder to think that He is willing to apply this forgiveness in serious or extreme situations. This is one reason I am happy to not be the judge or even anywhere close to the judge’s seat in this matter.

It’s possible that this man believes his disease is the result of something bad he had done and this disease is a punishment for that sin, and that God would not want to remove this punishment for the sin this man committed. With this angle on how the man phrases his statement and request, the man actually makes this healing subtly also relate to forgiveness from his past sin.

With this in mind, let’s look at how Jesus responded. Continuing in verse 3, Matthew tells us that:

³ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, “I will. Be healed!” And immediately the man was healed from his disease. ⁴ Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about this. But go and show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded for people who are made well. This will show the people what I have done.”

In Matthew’s gospel, we discover that Jesus is more than willing to heal people, and that Jesus doesn’t see illness, disease, or tragedy as divine punishment. Sometimes bad things happen simply because we live in a sinful world; sometimes bad things happen because God chooses to withdraw His protection. When we are living apart from God, it makes logical sense that God is not obligated to protect us from the sin in this world. God’s protection is a gift, and when we realize this, we should be grateful when we are protected, not angry when bad enters our lives.

After healing this man, Jesus tells him to stay quiet about this but go and show himself to the priest. I wonder if the priests who had pronounced this man as unclean made the claim that God was punishing him for his past sins. If so, then Jesus wants this man to show up healed, and with this healing, along with the gift that those who were healed were to bring, the priests would have to admit that their previous conclusion that this man would be punished for the rest of his life was false.

Matthew’s gospel ends this event here, and we might assume that this man did as Jesus had requested. However, Mark’s gospel records this event with an extra verse at the end. Mark, chapter 1, verse 45 tells us that: “The man left there, but he began to tell everyone that Jesus had healed him, and so he spread the news about Jesus. As a result, Jesus could not enter a town if people saw him. He stayed in places where nobody lived, but people came to him from everywhere.”

I think that part of the reason Jesus wanted the man to stay quiet was that Jesus wanted to slow His advance into the spotlight. I think Jesus wanted anonymity for a little longer so He could help more people.

However, with this healed-man’s excitement, there was no way Jesus could remain secret. Because of this man’s excitement, Jesus became so well known that He couldn’t enter a town if people recognized Him.

Part of me believes that this man’s excitement wasn’t just because Jesus had healed him. When reading this passage, I get the impression that this man was just as excited that Jesus wanted to heal him, and that he felt this healing was connected with the understanding that God had forgiven him as well.

When we make mistakes in life, and when we sin, it is easy to think that God no longer loves us. However, God is more than willing to forgive you and me than we are willing to admit. God loves you and I so much that nothing could stop Jesus from coming down to take the punishment for our sins. Jesus forgives us because He wants to forgive us, and because He knows that His forgiveness is a big part of the way we receive eternal life.

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. Know, understand, and admit that God loves you even when you have sinned, and that God is more than willing to forgive us when we acknowledge that He is willing to forgive. God loves you and I, and He won’t stop loving us even if we have completely walked away and rejected Him.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn what God is like. The Bible is God’s story and it is a record of what He has done in the world. The Bible points us to Jesus, and we must always remember that without Jesus, there wouldn’t be a point to the Bible, and without the Bible, we wouldn’t be able to recognize God or Jesus. Intentionally study the Bible with the goal of growing closer to God each day and know that when we look at the world through the lens of the Bible, we are better able to see the world as God sees it.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Early on in the gospels, during one of Jesus’ sermons to a crowd of followers, He makes a very profound and challenging statement that sounds very much like a universal principle that’s just as true today as it was back in the first century.

Matthew records this sermon and statement, so let’s dive in and read it before unpacking how this is relevant for each of us living today. Our passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 6, and we will be reading from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 1, Jesus tells the crowd present:

¹ “Be careful not to do your good works in public in order to attract attention. If you do, your Father in heaven will not reward you. ² So when you give to the poor, don’t announce it with trumpet fanfare. This is what hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets in order to be praised by people. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. ³ When you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. ⁴ Give your contributions privately. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you.

We’ll stop reading here because what Jesus tells us in these four short verses is too powerful and important to miss. The truth Jesus shares here is crucial for us to pay attention to and we can use it to evaluate our motives and our character.

Jesus opens this passage by warning us about where we have placed our motives. He tells us, “Be careful not to do your good works in public in order to attract attention.” (v. 1a)

Before looking at Jesus’ reason for why we shouldn’t base our good deeds on public praise, let’s take a look at why it might not be a great idea to begin with. If we focus on doing good actions for external rewards (either praise from others, or maybe even monetary compensation), we immediately set ourselves up for disappointment. Regardless of what action we do, external rewards are not guaranteed. They may be present early on, or they may be present under a certain set of circumstances, but things will always change, and external rewards by definition are based on others.

When the source of the external reward changes, or when the bar is moved, those chasing after external rewards must move too, often to more extreme or unusual activities in order to keep receiving the reward. This makes those who seek external rewards dependant on the giver of the reward, and given enough time for a habit to form, those who seek external rewards lose their freedom as they seek their rewards.

In contrast, internal rewards might not look like rewards at all, but they are more certain than external rewards. Internal rewards are rewards that we give ourselves for achieving, accomplishing, and/or behaving in a certain way. In some ways, internal rewards shape how we think of ourselves, and internal rewards help us enjoy life more.

However, does Jesus give us an internal reward or an external reward in this passage about doing good works?

Jesus tells us that those who seek attention with their actions will not be rewarded by God. In contrast, Jesus says that those who do good works or deeds privately, or we could say secretly, will be rewarded by God.

Does this then mean that God’s rewards are also external rewards? In my mind, this might be the case.

When I read this passage, I see two possible ways we can live doing good works secretly: We can either do good works secretly because we will claim God’s promise that He will reward us. This is the external reward option. Or we can do good works secretly because God recommends we do and our good works are done because we are thankful to God for everything He has done for us. This option is actually an internal reward.

In my own mind, God will honor His promise to reward us regardless of whether we internally or externally do good works for Him. Where things get tricky is how and when we will be rewarded.

When we do good secretly, we are not looking for or expecting a reward, at least in this life. The good deed is its own reward and anything above this is great but not necessary. This is doing good secretly based on being internally rewarded.

In contrast, when we do good secretly, while looking for external rewards, we then set ourselves up for disappointment if God doesn’t reward us with what we want, as quickly as we would like, or as abundantly as we would have hoped it to be.

With external rewards, there are plenty of ways for our expectations and hopes to not be met, and only one way for success. With internal rewards, there are significantly more ways for us to enjoy the rewards we get, and there is very little, if any, downside.

God has called us to live generous, grateful, and gracious lives and when we give secretly, He is more than happy to reward us. However, for our lives to be enjoyable, we shouldn’t live seeking after God’s rewards. Instead, we should live our lives doing good as a way of saying thank You to God for everything He has already done for each of us through Jesus on the cross!

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

As always challenge you to do, seek God first and live your life in a way that says Thank You to God for everything He has already blessed you with. Chances are, you have been blessed in many more ways than you are being challenged with. God works in both the blessings and the challenges, but too often, we focus too heavily on the challenges and not enough on the blessings. Take a moment to thank God for what He has blessed you with recently.

Also, be sure to study the Bible for yourself and intentionally grow closer to God and Jesus through what you learn from His Word. The best place to learn what God is like is through the Bible, and while a pastor or podcaster can help, there is nothing like learning, growing, and discovering the Bible 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 walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!