Reflective Bible Study

Continuing our journey into the week Jesus was crucified, we come to one of Jesus’ more challenging, controversial parables. While the parable isn’t all that challenging to us living today, at least on the surface, it spoke in a powerful way to those living in the first century who heard Jesus’ words in the temple.

Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 12, and we will read it from the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 1, Mark tells us that:

¹ Then Jesus spoke to them in parables: “Once there was a man who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to tenants and left home on a trip. ² When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent a slave to the tenants to receive from them his share of the harvest. ³ The tenants grabbed the slave, beat him, and sent him back without a thing. ⁴ Then the owner sent another slave; the tenants beat him over the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵ The owner sent another slave, and they killed him; and they treated many others the same way, beating some and killing others. ⁶ The only one left to send was the man’s own dear son. Last of all, then, he sent his son to the tenants. ‘I am sure they will respect my son,’ he said. ⁷ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the owner’s son. Come on, let’s kill him, and his property will be ours!’ ⁸ So they grabbed the son and killed him and threw his body out of the vineyard.

⁹ “What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do?” asked Jesus. “He will come and kill those tenants and turn the vineyard over to others. ¹⁰ Surely you have read this scripture?

‘The stone which the builders rejected as worthless
    turned out to be the most important of all.
¹¹ This was done by the Lord;
    what a wonderful sight it is!’”

¹² The Jewish leaders tried to arrest Jesus, because they knew that he had told this parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.

This passage is powerful because without clearly saying so, Jesus clearly challenges the religious leaders about their leadership and their attitudes towards God. While some in the crowd listening to Jesus might miss the parallel in Jesus’ choice of describing a man building a vineyard, this detail would not have been missed by the religious leaders. While He could have described any type of farm, Jesus chose a vineyard because it referenced a key challenge towards Jerusalem and Israel in the book of Isaiah.

In Isaiah, chapter 5, we discover a powerful parallel:

¹ Listen while I sing you this song,
    a song of my friend and his vineyard:
My friend had a vineyard
    on a very fertile hill.
² He dug the soil and cleared it of stones;
    he planted the finest vines.
He built a tower to guard them,
    dug a pit for treading the grapes.
He waited for the grapes to ripen,
    but every grape was sour.

³ So now my friend says, “You people who live in Jerusalem and Judah, judge between my vineyard and me. ⁴ Is there anything I failed to do for it? Then why did it produce sour grapes and not the good grapes I expected?

⁵ “Here is what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge around it, break down the wall that protects it, and let wild animals eat it and trample it down. ⁶ I will let it be overgrown with weeds. I will not trim the vines or hoe the ground; instead, I will let briers and thorns cover it. I will even forbid the clouds to let rain fall on it.”

⁷ Israel is the vineyard of the Lord Almighty;
    the people of Judah are the vines he planted.
He expected them to do what was good,
    but instead they committed murder.
He expected them to do what was right,
    but their victims cried out for justice.

When we read about the religious leaders being upset about Jesus’ parable in our passage from Mark’s gospel, we clearly can see that they saw the connection with Isaiah’s passage. Isaiah’s passage leaves no room for interpretation.

This parable Jesus shared is found in the gospels of Matthew and Luke as well. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus make’s His big climactic statement a question, which the people listening respond to Jesus’ question with Isaiah’s answer. In Luke’s gospel, the people respond with shock and a little disbelief.

Seeing this minor discrepancy might make one doubt the gospel record, but these subtle differences draw our attention to the big truth that there were people present who responded in both ways. In this crowd, there were people present who made the connection to Isaiah’s prophecy before Jesus had even finished the parable, and people who were shocked to learn that there would be an eventual end to the owner’s patience.

However, this parable and Isaiah’s message point us to an interesting conclusion: While the evil tenants in Jesus’ parable are killed and the vineyard is turned over to others, Isaiah’s message describes the vineyard illustration as being equally about God and His chosen people. Isaiah’s message challenges those present by saying in verses 3 and 4: “So now my friend says, ‘You people who live in Jerusalem and Judah, judge between my vineyard and me. Is there anything I failed to do for it? Then why did it produce sour grapes and not the good grapes I expected?’”

Isaiah’s passage draws our attention onto the big truth that God’s character is on trial. God gave His people every blessing and advantage He could imagine, and they still rejected Him. This then becomes a challenge to those who don’t believe in free will. While we might not understand every choice we make, and while not all choices are easy or even positive, we have been given the freedom of choice. If humanity didn’t have a choice, then God is ultimately to blame for the state of this world.

God describes how He did everything for His people, and they still rejected Him. We could transpose this idea onto the Garden of Eden, with Adam and Eve eating the fruit, or even earlier when Lucifer and the rest of the angels were created in Heaven.

When the angels were created in heaven, Lucifer included, everything was created perfectly. If Lucifer had been created in a way that bent him towards sin in any way, then he would not have been perfect, and his choice to hold God accountable for his own choice would be a valid argument. If Adam and Eve were created with the desire to sin, then God would be at fault.

However, just because God knows the future doesn’t mean those He creates don’t have the freedom of choice. In a similar way, just because you can re-watch a movie and the characters do the exact same things as the first times you watched doesn’t mean that the characters in the movie had no choice. In all cases, God created a perfect scenario with free will being given to those He created, and those He created chose to reject Him.

Jesus tells us in His parable that the vineyard would be given to others. However, just because this could symbolize the end of literal Israel being identified as God’s chosen people, we shouldn’t forget the big truth this parable teaches:

God gives everyone the freedom to choose Him or not. (This truth we find in Isaiah.)

And God is looking for a people who will return His portion of fruit to Him. While those in Israel may have rejected God, pushing God to look elsewhere, don’t think for a moment that means we are exempt from the same expectation. If we choose to not be fruitful towards God, we will face the same realization that the Jews did in Jesus’ time: God will seek out another group to focus on.

The challenge for us to remember is to be fruitful towards God, and to return His portion of what He has blessed us with.

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

Always seek God first and be sure to thank Him for what He has blessed you with. Be sure to return to Him His portion of what He has ultimately blessed you with. Remember that without God giving you life, you would be nothing, and this means that everything you achieve is because He gave you opportunity.

Also, be sure to always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow closer to God and to discover what He is really like. While a pastor or podcaster can give you things to think about, only through personal prayer and study can you discover this for yourself!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another never give up on, abandon, or stop short of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we move further into the gospel of Matthew, we come to one of the most famous events in Jesus’ entire ministry. While Luke’s gospel hints at a similar event, no gospel writer devotes as much time to a single event as Matthew does to Jesus’ first big sermon, often called the Sermon on the Mount. The only other significant event that all the gospel writers spend a lot of time on is the events leading up to the cross.

The three big focus points of Matthew’s gospel are the sermon Jesus shares near the beginning of His ministry, the parables and teaching Jesus shares about the time of His return, and the details surrounding Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion.

In our time for this episode, we’ll look at the opening section of Jesus’ big sermon, often called the Beatitudes, or the list of blessings. Jesus’ sermon starts in Matthew, chapter 5, and we will be reading from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 1, Matthew tells us that:

¹ When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up a mountain and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them:

³ “Blessed are those who recognize they are spiritually helpless.
    The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn.
    They will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are those who are gentle.
    They will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for God’s approval.
    They will be satisfied.
⁷ Blessed are those who show mercy.
    They will be treated mercifully.
⁸ Blessed are those whose thoughts are pure.
    They will see God.
⁹ Blessed are those who make peace.
    They will be called God’s children.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted for doing what God approves of.
    The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you,
    persecute you,
        lie, and say all kinds of evil things about you because of me.
¹² Rejoice and be glad because you have a great reward in heaven!
    The prophets who lived before you were persecuted in these ways.

Let’s stop reading here because I want to focus on what Jesus has shared in this opening list of nine blessings. For a long time, whenever I would read or hear this list talked about, I imagined this list was an either/or type of list, and similar to a multiple choice list, I had to pick one characteristic and one blessing from the list Jesus shares.

However, as I have grown, studied, and learned, I am beginning to wonder if the items in this list shouldn’t be seen as exclusive to each other, but instead as different aspects of a Christ-like character. The more I have read the characteristics and blessings, I believe all Jesus’ followers are called to be all these things because this is what Christ has modeled for us.

To open the list of characteristics, we have those who recognize they are spiritually helpless. While we have been given so many spiritual blessings through what Jesus has done for us, without Jesus, we are definitely spiritually helpless. I believe the essence of this blessing is directed towards those who recognize their need for a Savior and that Jesus fits all the characteristics we could ever want in Someone sent to save us.

The second blessing is for those who mourn. While this blessing doesn’t seem that significant, I wonder if a deeper angle to this is that we acknowledge the bad in the world and we bring our challenges and our pain to God. While some might challenge us to ignore our feelings or to push them to the side, according to this characteristic, we are blessed when we mourn, because by bringing our pain to God, we are able to be blessed with His comfort.

The third blessing is for those who are gentle. Jesus tells us that gentle people will inherit the earth. While it might be tempting to think that gentle people will take over the earth, this is not the gist of what it means to inherit something. When something is inherited, it is only after someone else has died. In the context of this blessing, we could conclude that when all the proud, self-centered, violent people have died, then the gentle people who are left will inherit the earth. Those who are gentle don’t take over the earth, they wait patiently for God to act and they are ready to accept the inheritance God has for them when He is ready to bless.

Next in our list of blessings are those who hunger and thirst for God’s approval. Those who whole-heartedly seek for God’s approval will discover where God’s approval can be found, and they will be satisfied.

Half way through our list of blessings comes a blessing for those who show mercy. Jesus promises that those who show mercy will be treated mercifully. In a way, this is similar to saying that those who are forgiving towards others will be forgiven.

Next, we see a blessing for those who have pure thoughts. Jesus promises that those with pure thoughts will see God. While there are several angles we could understand this to mean, I wonder if the first portion of this blessing is simply eyes that are open to how God is moving through the world around us. While those with pure thoughts may ultimately be saved and will see God when He returns, I’m curious if this specific blessing refers to more than just pointing us to the second coming, specifically that when we are living for God with His thoughts in our minds, we will see Him clearly moving in the world today.

Next comes a blessing for those who make peace. Jesus tells us that those who make peace will be called God’s children. This is fascinating in my mind because society wants to frame those who carry Christ’s name as anything but peaceful, and there are many in Christianity who have chosen to live in a way that does not promote peace. I wonder if God has a different word to describe those who claim to be His but who He isn’t going to claim as His own. This blessing ties making peace to being described by God as His children.

The last two blessings in this list are blessings related to being persecuted for doing what God approves of. If the world hates us for following God, then we should be happy and satisfied, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to us and we have a great reward in heaven.

This does not mean that simply calling ourselves a Christian and doing things that the world disapproves of will warrant being blessed. We must be doing things God approves of and be persecuted by the world in order to receive God’s blessing. We are called to live our lives following and obeying Jesus and then let God manage our inheritance. Some of these blessings may be realized in this life, but I am confident that regardless of how we are blessed in this life for following this list of characteristics, God is storing up a much larger inheritance for us in heaven, which He will be happy to reward us with when He returns!

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

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first and choose to apply all of these characteristics into your life. Choose to place God ahead of everything else and let Him bless you as you are a blessing to others. Don’t worry about what happens in this life or in this world because God has something better in store for all of us!

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to grow closer to God each and every day. Only through prayer and study can we learn what God is really like, and when we learn more about God, we are better able to be His witness and representatives in today’s busy, crazy, secular world.

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!

Coming right on the heels of Jesus kicking the merchants out of the temple, and the Pharisees challenging Him about what the children were cheering, we discover a new challenge. It would appear that the following day, as Jesus arrived in the temple and began teaching the crowds, the chief priests collectively had decided that what had happened the day before had broke the chain of command.

In our passage for this episode, we discover the chief priests challenging Jesus regarding what happened. In the priests challenge, we can see multiple layers, and we can see many ways that Jesus could fail. Let’s read what happened, and discover how Jesus responded to these religious leaders.

Our passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 21, and we will be reading it from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 23, Matthew tells us that:

²³ Jesus had gone into the temple and was teaching when the chief priests and the leaders of the people came up to him. They asked, “What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ Jesus answered, “I have just one question to ask you. If you answer it, I will tell you where I got the right to do these things. ²⁵ Who gave John the right to baptize? Was it God in heaven or merely some human being?”

They thought it over and said to each other, “We can’t say that God gave John this right. Jesus will ask us why we didn’t believe John. ²⁶ On the other hand, these people think that John was a prophet, and we are afraid of what they might do to us. That’s why we can’t say that it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize.” ²⁷ So they told Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Then I won’t tell you who gave me the right to do what I do.”

Most people stop reading here, right after Jesus declines to answer these leaders, but Matthew continues by sharing more of Jesus’ response. After Jesus tells these leaders that He won’t tell them who gave Him the rights they are challenging, Matthew continues in verse 28 by telling us that:

²⁸ Jesus said:

I will tell you a story about a man who had two sons. Then you can tell me what you think. The father went to the older son and said, “Go work in the vineyard today!” ²⁹ His son told him that he would not do it, but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ The man then told his younger son to go work in the vineyard. The boy said he would, but he didn’t go. ³¹ Which one of the sons obeyed his father?

“The older one,” the chief priests and leaders answered.

Then Jesus told them:

You can be sure that tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you ever will! ³² When John the Baptist showed you how to do right, you would not believe him. But these evil people did believe. And even when you saw what they did, you still would not change your minds and believe.

In this passage, and in Jesus’ follow-up discussion with the religious leaders, we discover a powerful truth: Knowledge that is not applied is worthless. Verse 32 hits this point directly by saying, “When John the Baptist showed you how to do right, you would not believe him. But these evil people did believe. And even when you saw what they did, you still would not change your minds and believe.”

The belief of the tax collectors and prostitutes was visible because they repented, turned to God, and away from their sin. The evidence of their changed lives should have been enough for these leaders to praise God, except that they were too inward focused. They couldn’t deny that John’s message brought results, but they didn’t like him because he wasn’t one of them – and because he challenged them regarding their character, too.

This also brings us to the truth that someone who knows they are living sinfully and apart from God’s will is more savable than someone who believes themselves to be living perfectly for God. It is harder for an arrogant follower of Jesus to be saved than it is for the most sin-filled, evil person who decides to change, come to God, and repent. Anyone who believes they don’t need to repent has just placed themselves in the same group these religious leaders are in, and this group risks losing their salvation.

Jesus’ parable in this passage teaches us a powerful truth that we all intuitively know to be true: Talk is cheap, and actions speak louder than words. You know your true friends by how they act towards you and how they treat you more than what they simply say.

Nowhere in this passage or parable does Jesus ever imply that lying is okay. The clear ideal would be for one son to say that He would go and help, and then follow up by going and helping. However, when given the choice between someone saying they will do something and then deciding to do something else vs. someone who says they won’t help but who ultimately comes to help, you and I would always prefer the one who came.

This is the same with God. The religious leaders talked like people who followed God, but their actions, and the way they treated others were nothing like God. In a similar way, while there are many true Christians in the world today who live and love others like Jesus did, it is also not difficult to find people who claim to be Christians who are act nothing like Christ. Also, we can look among the growing number of people who are not followers of Jesus, and while many are living evil lives, there are plenty of examples of people who act like Jesus even if they don’t know who He is.

I believe Jesus is challenging these religious leaders with the truth that it is easier for someone who cares, loves, and desires good to come to Jesus and be saved, than it is for an arrogant person who claims they know Jesus to be saved.

In our own lives, we can also learn from this truth. Regardless of whether we never knew Jesus or if we grew up knowing about Him from as long as we can remember, this moment in time is a new moment, and it is a moment where we can decide to humble ourselves before Jesus and let Him into our hearts.

An arrogant pride stopped the religious leaders from discovering and accepting Jesus, and arrogant pride in our own lives and hearts risks our own salvation.

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

Always seek God first and humbly come before Him with a repentant heart and a teachable spirit. There will never be a time when we have learned it all, and so we should always be willing to learn, grow, and move closer to God through every experience we face in life.

As you continue seeking God and growing toward Him, be sure to always pray and study the Bible for yourself, to grow that personal relationship. While other people can help you on your journey, your relationship should be your own, and you should never let someone else stand between you and Jesus. Through prayer and Bible study, you can personally grow closer to God.

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

On returning from being tempted, Matthew’s gospel references a gap and transition before describing Jesus beginning His ministry, and I find what Matthew tells us fascinating, especially in light of the prophecy Matthew references, and the starting topic for Jesus’ preaching.

This passage is found immediately after the passage we looked at in our last episode, which was found in Matthew chapter 4. For this episode, we will read from the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 12, Matthew tells us that:

¹² John had been put in prison. When Jesus heard about this, he returned to Galilee. ¹³ Jesus left Nazareth and went to live in the city of Capernaum. It was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴ In that way, what the prophet Isaiah had said came true. He had said,

¹⁵ “Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali!
    Galilee, where Gentiles live!
    Land along the Mediterranean Sea! Territory east of the Jordan River!
¹⁶ The people who are now living in darkness
    have seen a great light.
They are now living in a very dark land.
    But a light has shined on them.”

¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach. “Turn away from your sins!” he said. “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”

In this short passage, I am fascinated by a number of things.

First, I am curious about how much time passed between Jesus being tempted and John the Baptist being arrested. I would imagine it was no more than a few weeks. From the way Matthew frames this transition in his gospel, we could conclude that John was arrested while Jesus was being tempted, but this isn’t likely because John’s gospel, which doesn’t include Jesus’ baptism or temptation, has Jesus passing John while John is preaching, and in my mind, this likely was on Jesus’ return from the desert being tempted.

However, around that time was when John spoke out against Herod, and this message John shared led to his arrest.

But Matthew pays little attention to John. The only reason he includes this detail is to use it as a transition for Jesus returning to Galilee and ultimately Capernaum. Matthew includes this detail because he sees this decision as being a direct fulfillment of prophecy.

Before looking at the prophecy, I want to point out an interesting, and somewhat ironic, thought related to Matthew as a person, as a disciple, and as the author of this gospel. Matthew was previously a tax collector. Tax collectors were among the most hated and looked down on people in that society. Tax collectors were likely also the most secular.

It is interesting in my mind to think of Matthew, the tax collector, writing in his gospel narrative about all the ways Jesus fulfilled prophecies. Matthew and John are the disciples who focus in on the prophecies more than the other gospels, and I believe Matthew’s gospel draws our attention onto more prophecies than John.

The ironic part of this thought in my mind is that through his gospel, Matthew, the former hated and despised tax collector is teaching and challenging the Jews regarding who Jesus is, using the prophecies that they all may have known better than he should have known. However knowing and understanding are two different things, and Matthew rightly interprets the correct understanding of the prophecies even if he had been an outsider because of his occupation.

In the prophecy Matthew quotes here, we find an interesting focus. In this prophecy, we see allusion to God turning His attention onto the part of the country that was perhaps the least Jewish. Verses 15 and 16 tell us this prophecy:

 “Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali!
    Galilee, where Gentiles live!
    Land along the Mediterranean Sea! Territory east of the Jordan River!
The people who are now living in darkness
    have seen a great light.
They are now living in a very dark land.
    But a light has shined on them.” (v. 15-16)

I don’t know whether the Jewish leaders knew, understood, ignored, or simply rejected this prophecy from Isaiah’s writings, but this short prophecy gave Jesus direction for where He would live at the beginning of His ministry. In an interesting way, Jesus starts His ministry focusing on the exact opposite people than we might expect Him to focus on.

While the Jews would have had all the right knowledge regarding the Messiah, Jesus likely knows that they are blinded by their tradition and their closed-minded, single-track understanding of the Old Testament prophecies. Perhaps for this reason, or maybe simply because God likes to work in ways that we might not expect, Jesus begins His ministry among the least Jewish and most looked down on people in the country. One could say that Jesus started at the bottom of society’s ladder of status, and He kept a solid focus on the bottom rung of this ladder throughout His entire ministry.

When Jesus began speaking, preaching, and teaching, I am fascinated to learn Jesus’ beginning message. Verse 17 tells us that Jesus’ first preaching message was for people to “Turn away from your sins!” because “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”

This message is exactly where John the Baptist’s message and ministry ended. John’s whole message was focused on getting people to repent, which is another way of saying to turn away from their sins, because the kingdom of heaven is coming.

In a subtle, but not that subtle, way, Jesus starts where John leaves off signaling that He is picking up the torch that John began with His ministry. When John was arrested, Jesus continues the message that John began. However, unlike John, Jesus could take the message of God’s kingdom further than John could because Jesus was the Messiah John was preparing the people for, and because Jesus had arrived, the kingdom of heaven had come near.

Overall, in this passage leading up to Jesus’ ministry in Matthew’s gospel, we see Jesus intentionally choosing to focus first on the most secular, least Jewish, and most looked down on people in society. In this way, we get a picture of God who loves and desires a relationship with anyone and everyone, not just those who are spiritual and close to Him.

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

As always, be sure to intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to let Him show you what you should focus on and pay attention to. God has called us to be His representatives and part of this calling is focusing on loving those He has brought into our lives.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to keep your connection with God strong. While Jesus came to those who were the least connected to God, He didn’t want them to stay disconnected. Jesus kept His connection with God strong and He wanted to help those who God loves – which is everyone at every place of society – to have a strong connection with God like He did.

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!