Reflective Bible Study

At the end of John’s gospel, we find an amazing event that echoes one of the first events that many of the disciples’ experience with Jesus. Following the resurrection, perhaps days or even a week or two later, John shares about an event that a little over half of Jesus’ remaining disciples were included in, and it happened back where Jesus found many of His first disciples.

From looking at the details John describes, both what is said and what is implied, following the crucifixion and resurrection weekend, the disciples all may have stayed in Jerusalem for a week or so. But then after an entire week had passed, we get the impression that some, if not all, of them may have slowly drifted back towards their previous lives and occupations. The previous three years they had spent with Jesus was amazing, but with their hopes of power and fame in an overthrown Roman empire gone with Jesus’ crucifixion, they weren’t sure really what to do. So it appears, according to John, that many of them return home to Galilee, with no clear mission for moving forward.

John’s last chapter, number 21, is entirely devoted to Jesus appearing again to these disciples and renewing their mission and faith in Him. Reading from the New International Version and starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹ Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: ² Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ³ “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

⁴ Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

⁵ He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

⁶ He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

⁷ Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. ⁸ The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. ⁹ When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Let’s stop reading here because I want to draw out an interesting statement John includes in his description of this event. In verse 12, John says that “None of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord.”

It would seem odd for John to include this phrase because everything up to this point had already suggested, both subtly and obviously, that the stranger in front of them was Jesus. I wonder if Jesus’ physical appearance was noticeably different, but still similar enough with certain defining characteristics, like scars where He was nailed to the cross, and perhaps a similar impression when looking into His eyes. Part of me wonders if all the disciples who missed recognizing Jesus up to this point had simply failed to catch the small hints at who He was, and only after looking Jesus in the eye do they recognize that it is really Him.

This event echoes how Luke’s gospel describes Jesus inviting several of His first disciples after a unique daytime fishing trip that was surprisingly successful. In a similar, but different way, John ends His gospel describing another fishing miracle, but this time, it set the stage for a second invitation to follow Jesus.

On the night Jesus was arrested, all of His followers abandoned Him, and this was likely weighing on each of their minds. Each of Jesus’ disciples had failed Jesus when He would have needed them the most. When the fishermen disciples decide it is time to go fishing again, Jesus sees the opportunity to repeat His earlier miracle to get their attention. While it wasn’t done in exactly the same way, it was similar enough that none of the disciples missed the connection or significance.

Jesus’ repeat miracle is important for us to pay attention to as well. While I am not a fisherman, and most likely you aren’t either, what we see take place in this event is Jesus visibly forgiving many of His closest followers who feel as though they had failed Him. It is like Jesus says through the entire event in John chapter 21 that it is time for a fresh “restart” with Jesus. This restart is significant because it is built on the foundation that had been laid from the disciples earlier time with Jesus, but also it included the history of their failures.

This restart invitation told each of these fishermen that Jesus was willing to have them back if they were willing to come back, and it tells each of us living today that even though we mess up and make mistakes, God is always willing to take us back if/when we are willing to return to Him.

As we come to the end of another year of podcasting through the gospels, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Be sure to continue seeking God first, and treat each day as a new day with God. Know that days in our past have included mistakes and failures, but also know that God is happy to work with us to build a new relationship even when we have failures checkered throughout our past. Past failures do not disqualify us from living for God moving forward. Jesus’ second fishing miracle helps show this truth to each of us.

As we treat each day as a new day with God, be sure to prayerfully study the Bible for yourself to intentionally grow your relationship with Him each day. If each day is treated as a new day, then each day should include time spent with God, and the best way to do this is in prayer and reading from the Bible. God desires a relationship with each of us and while a pastor or podcaster can inspire you with insights from his or her own experience, only by personally having a relationship with God can you grow into the life He created you to live.

And that brings us to the challenge that I always include in one way or another at the end of every set of challenges: Be sure to 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!

One week after Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey, He steps out of the tomb victorious over death. Over this past year, we have walked with Jesus through this final week, and we have focused in on what the gospel writers recorded during this time.

To wrap up this year focusing on Jesus facing the cross, I couldn’t simply end with Jesus being dead and in the tomb. Even though the cross and death was Jesus’ mission and goal, He always saw past His death and looked forward to His resurrection. On multiple occasions, recorded in multiple gospels, Jesus tries to forewarn the disciples that He would be put to death, but that He would also rise from the dead on the third day.

However, for all times Jesus predicted crucifixion weekend to His disciples, they still are surprised and caught off guard when it happened. Even on resurrection morning, we discover that an actual resurrection is the last thing on the disciples’ minds. Let’s finish this year by looking at resurrection morning through the eyes of Mark’s gospel.

Our passage is found in the gospel of Mark, chapter 16, and we will read about what happened from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, Mark tells us that:

¹ The day after the Sabbath day, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought some sweet-smelling spices to put on Jesus’ body. ² Very early on that day, the first day of the week, soon after sunrise, the women were on their way to the tomb. ³ They said to each other, “Who will roll away for us the stone that covers the entrance of the tomb?”

⁴ Then the women looked and saw that the stone had already been rolled away, even though it was very large. ⁵ The women entered the tomb and saw a young man wearing a white robe and sitting on the right side, and they were afraid.

⁶ But the man said, “Don’t be afraid. You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, who has been crucified. He has risen from the dead; he is not here. Look, here is the place they laid him. ⁷ Now go and tell his followers and Peter, ‘Jesus is going into Galilee ahead of you, and you will see him there as he told you before.’”

⁸ The women were confused and shaking with fear, so they left the tomb and ran away. They did not tell anyone about what happened, because they were afraid.

It is at this point in Mark’s gospel where some manuscripts end. However, regardless of whether Mark ends his gospel here, or whether the longer version of Mark’s ending is correct, we can discover from this passage that resurrection was not on anyone’s mind.

The women who go to the tomb early on Resurrection Sunday are discussing among themselves who they will ask to help them roll the stone away. They are oblivious to the fact that there had been an order to seal the tomb and a group of soldiers had been posted to guard the tomb. By the time they arrived, the guards had scattered, the seal on the tomb had been broken, and the large stone had been rolled away.

Since they had brought spices to put on Jesus’ corpse, they enter the tomb only to find a young man wearing a white robe who seems to be more aware of what has happened than anyone else, and when they look over to the place they remember seeing Jesus’ body last, no body was there.

As I read about what happened on resurrection morning, I cannot help but wonder if this friendly young man was the angel who came down, frightened all the soldiers, and tossed the stone aside to make way for Jesus’ triumphant exit from the tomb. While there were likely armies of evil angels guarding the tomb with the Roman soldiers, all it took was one of God’s angels to scatter Satan’s forces of darkness – both human and supernatural forces – and prepare the way for Jesus to emerge from the tomb.

In our own lives, while it might seem as though evil is winning when we look at the world today, know that Jesus has already won. Jesus has conquered not just sin and death, but evil as well. Satan has been judged as guilty and he knows his time is coming. The only thing Satan can work towards now is trying to steal as many people away from God as he possibly can. And this is what he has been doing for the past 2,000 years.

While it may appear as though Satan is winning the world today, God is still in control and just one of God’s angels is enough to push back the forces of darkness. When times are tough in this life, we are challenged to remember what Jesus not only accomplished through His death, but also through His resurrection. Jesus defeated Satan and with eternity as our focus, Satan’s time is coming up fast.

I don’t have any idea how much longer the world will continue before Jesus returns to put a final end to sin, suffering, and Satan’s apparent rule, but I do know that when Jesus does return, Satan will be exposed as the deceiver he has always been.

As we move through each day, each month, and each year, let’s remember what Jesus accomplished for us. Jesus came to this earth as one of us, and He lived the life we couldn’t live, so He could give us the life that we don’t deserve – and that life lasts forever with God.

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

Always choose to place God first in your life and intentionally seek to do His will each and every day. While times might look dark and events might prompt you to think that evil is winning, Satan’s time is short and God will not abandon His people. God is looking forward to the day when Jesus returns more expectantly than we could even imagine, and He wants as many people with Him in heaven as He can.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, pray and study the Bible for yourself and intentionally grow your personal relationship with God each day. Trust that God is still in control and even if life doesn’t make sense right now, know that from eternity’s perspective, God is moving history towards the end of sin and the salvation of His people!

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!

Following Jesus’ resurrection, the impression I get from the gospels is that things were a little chaotic – at least at first. Out of this confusion over whether Jesus had truly been raised from the dead, we find an amazing event that Luke includes in detail in his gospel record. This event includes two of Jesus’ followers, one who is not named, and another who is only included once in the entire New Testament, at least by this name. Some scholars speculate that the disciple who is named in this event is also the same one that is found in another event that John’s gospel includes, but this is speculation based on the names being very similar.

Our event is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 24, and we will be reading from the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 13, Luke tells us that later on during the day that Jesus was resurrected, two of Jesus’ followers:

¹³ [And behold, two of them] were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. ¹⁶ But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. ¹⁷ And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” ¹⁹ And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, ²⁰ and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. ²¹ But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. ²² But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³ and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. ²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” ²⁵ And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” ²⁷ Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

Let’s pause reading here because I want to point out that I wish Luke could have included the breakdown in detail that Jesus gave to these two followers. While I imagine that most of what Jesus shares is included in the gospels, it would have been incredible to hear Jesus explain His own life and mission using prophecy, first-hand and without holding anything back.

It’s also worth noting that aside from the women who had seen some angels, and Mary Magdalene who John’s gospel tells us stayed behind and thought Jesus was a gardener at first, it seems like these two less famous disciples were the second and third to see a resurrected Jesus. In many ways, the trip these two disciples take with the resurrected Messiah was more profound than Mary’s short conversation.

Continuing our reading in verse 28, Luke tells us that as:

²⁸ [And] they approached the village where they were going, [Jesus] acted as though He were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them. ³⁰ When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. ³² They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” ³³ And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, ³⁴ saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.”

Part of me wondered if the unnamed disciple in this passage was one of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples. However, when we look closely at Luke’s description of what these disciples find after they had raced back to Jerusalem, they find the eleven and a number of other followers with them. This makes it sound like neither one of these two followers was part of Jesus’ eleven remaining closest disciples.

What was a trip that took hours for these men going away from Jerusalem could be measured in minutes as they raced back to the city. But while everything in this event is powerful and profound, one subtle theme stands out in my mind regarding the character of these two followers of Jesus: these two disciples are rewarded the greatest because they displayed hospitality towards a stranger.

If it had not been for Jesus acting like He was going to keep going, and had these disciples not insisted that this stranger come spend the night at their place before continuing on, these two followers would not have known that Jesus was the One who explained the scripture to them. If these two disciples had let Jesus continue on the road without pressing Him to stay with them, they probably would not have made the trip back to Jerusalem that night. Perhaps the next day they would have returned with the good news and explanation that a stranger gave them, but it wouldn’t have been that night.

Also interesting is that these two disciples never once imply or suggest to go back to Jerusalem with their stranger-friend – or at least Luke never implies that this happened. Part of me wonders if these two followers were so amazed at what they were learning from their Companion’s explanation of prophecy,,,,,,, that they simply didn’t think of asking their fellow Traveler to return to Jerusalem,,,,,, and share what He was sharing with them to the other disciples. They may have just thought or concluded that they would bring the news and information to the rest of the disciples on another day.

But regardless of what happened, hospitality towards a stranger led to these two disciples’ eyes being opened, and they, similar to Mary who didn’t recognize Jesus at first, experience the amazement of realizing that they had been talking directly to Jesus.

Living over 2000 years later, I find myself being less hospitable than these two disciples are. It is not that I wouldn’t be hospitable if I could, but culture, life, and travel are significantly different now than it was then, and even picking up a hitch-hiker has fallen out of favor with many people. But I also wonder if the way our culture has shifted has led to many of us, myself included, missing out on God directed meetings because we are too busy, too distracted, and/or too narrowly focused in on the demands of the moment to pay attention to what God wants to share with us.

So as we come to the close of another podcast episode, let’s focus our end-of-this-podcast challenges on this theme and topic:

As I always challenge you to do, be sure to seek God first in your life and be open to following His leading. On the topic of being hospitable towards others, look for people who God brings into your life who need help, need encouragement, or perhaps simply need a friend. As we seek God first, let’s be sure to intentionally be open to God redirecting our path and plans to allow for meetings that He wants us to have. This challenge is really aimed at me because is one of those challenges that is harder for me as a shy introverted guy than it is for someone like my wife who can make a friendship out of thin air.

Also, be sure to prayerfully study the Bible for yourself in order to grow closer to God and build a stronger relationship with Him. With a strong, close relationship with God, we will be more likely to recognize the ways He wants to redirect us and we will be more likely to experience the God-inspired conversations and connections that He wants us to have.

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!

Following Jesus’ death, the gospel of John records the reappearance of a secret disciple, and the introduction of a new secret disciple. These two wealthy men have exactly what is needed for this weekend. While it might not seem like it on the surface, these two men actually save the Easter story because they give everyone involved, including the remaining disciples, the women who followed Jesus, the religious leaders, and even the Roman soldiers exactly what they need for the following 48 hours.

While it is unlikely that Joseph of Arimathea believed his gift would only be temporarily needed, that is what ultimately happened.

Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 19, and we will be reading it from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 38, John tells us that:

³⁸ Joseph from Arimathea was one of Jesus’ disciples. He had kept it secret though, because he was afraid of the Jewish leaders. But now he asked Pilate to let him have Jesus’ body. Pilate gave him permission, and Joseph took it down from the cross.

³⁹ Nicodemus also came with about seventy-five pounds of spices made from myrrh and aloes. This was the same Nicodemus who had visited Jesus one night. ⁴⁰ The two men wrapped the body in a linen cloth, together with the spices, which was how the Jewish people buried their dead. ⁴¹ In the place where Jesus had been nailed to a cross, there was a garden with a tomb that had never been used. ⁴² The tomb was nearby, and since it was the time to prepare for the Sabbath, they were in a hurry to put Jesus’ body there.

From our passage, we discover a number of details that are worth paying attention to. In culture, there is a rumor that Jesus didn’t actually die on the cross. Regardless of all the reasons that say He did, such as from blood loss, suffocation, and a spear through His heart, not to mention the fact that trained executioners were in charge of the whole scene, our passage describes even more reasons to believe Jesus had died, and our passage gives us reasons to thank these two men.

When we look at what happened normally following the death of a crucified person, the body would typically be thrown in a large grave, or it would be tossed in the trash heap to be burned. Unless someone stepped in wanting the body, what happened to the body would quickly become untraceable. By stepping up and asking for Jesus’ body, Joseph of Arimathea gave everyone involved a location to pay attention to.

If Jesus’ corpse was thrown into a large hole with many dead bodies, no one could verify whether He had returned to life or not. The rumors would be harder to verify, or validate. Everyone from the disciples and the women to the religious leaders and even the soldiers needed a place to watch and a location to pay attention to, and Joseph from Arimathea stepped up with the perfect gift at the perfect time.

Not only does Joseph bring the perfect gift, Nicodemus also brings the perfect gift: seventy-five pounds of spices. The two men take Jesus and wrap him up in cloth with these spices, and lay His body in the tomb. The spices were intended to mask the odor of a body decomposing. While some people believe Jesus was simply unconscious during this time, He likely would have suffocated from lack of oxygen if He had been alive. With seventy-five pounds of spices wrapped tightly against your body, with no air hole, not only would the spices on top of you make it difficult for you to inhale, and on the off chance that you could inhale, it would be inhaling spices not air.

Since the passage says these men were in a hurry because the Sabbath was near, would it be possible for them to make a mistake? Sure, but any mistake they might have made would likely make it more difficult for Jesus rather than easier for Him.

Every detail in the death of Jesus points to those present believing Jesus was actually dead, and treating Jesus’ body as not returning to life. From the crucifixion performed by trained executioners, to the hasty but effective preparation of Jesus’ body, and even to the rumor that gets spread following Jesus’ resurrection that the disciples simply stole the body, no one at the time expected Jesus to return to life.

We can thank Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus for their gifts which were exactly what was needed to solidify a fully dead Jesus. Jesus was actually dead, and as we will look at in the next episode, Jesus returns very much back to life.

Also, when we look at the details of how this passage ends, we discover a fascinating detail many people don’t notice on the surface. The last verse we read, which was verse 42, tells us that “The tomb was nearby, and since it was the time to prepare for the Sabbath, they were in a hurry to put Jesus’ body there.”

On the surface, nothing seems abnormal in this verse, but when we look a little closer, we discover something amazing: Following Jesus completing the work of redemption, He rests on the Sabbath. This echoes what we read about following the creation of the world in Genesis when God rests after completing the work of creation.

While some people might see this as being two bookends on Sabbath observance, in my own mind and my own study, this event speaks more strongly towards Jesus validating the Sabbath during the break in His life. If Jesus’ death marked the end of the commandments, then there would be no reason for Him to rest over the Sabbath. Because Jesus rested in peace on the Sabbath, we discover an amazing validation and parallel to God resting following creation.

The Sabbath is first given as a special gift in a perfect world, and we can see Sabbath being present in a perfectly recreated world as Isaiah describes at the close of his book. Because Sabbath is present in both perfect creations, resting on the Sabbath is not connected to sin or our salvation out of sin, but it is foundationally connected with God’s creation honoring God. If God’s perfect creation honors Him in the perfect first world and in the perfect recreated world, God’s people should be honoring Him on the Sabbath in the fallen world as well. The Sabbath was given as a specific day, and Jesus validated the Sabbath day by marking it with rest following His successful completion of the work of salvation.

While this idea is not popular today, the seventh-day Sabbath is an amazing theme that runs through the entire Bible, and this day doesn’t become less significant as history speeds towards its end, it actually becomes more significant.

While I rarely do this, if you haven’t studied the Sabbath out for yourself and you want to read everything the Bible has to say on this topic, the “Day of Rest” study available on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com is for you. This study package might be too comprehensive, because not only do I bring together all the places the Bible teaches us about the Sabbath, I also bring together every reference to the seventh-day that is included in the Bible as well. When this study moves into the New Testament, we look at every occurrence of not only the Sabbath, but also the first day of the week, and we let the Bible define for us what the Lord’s Day represents. While other study tools might be faster, none are more comprehensive, and none will give you all the amazing insights that you will learn from working through the Reflective Bible Study Day of Rest study using the Reflective Bible Study framework.

I developed this study package to personally study the Sabbath and the seventh-day out for myself, and I included it on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com because I want it to help others like it has helped me.

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

Be sure to seek God first in your life and live your life in a way that brings God honor. If you haven’t studied the Sabbath topic from the Bible, consider this a challenge to do so. While you will be blessed if you use ReflectiveBibleStudy.com, plenty of other studies out there cover this topic well. Just be sure to choose a study that doesn’t pick and choose verses to focus in on. If you want the most balanced approach, find two studies, one that supports the Sabbath and one that rejects it, and study both. This will give you a better idea of both sides of this important issue and then you can decide for yourself with the Holy Spirit’s leading.

As always, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself in order to grow personally close to God. While other people can give you ideas to think about, always filter what you hear and read through the pages of God’s Word.

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!