Reflective Bible Study

After Pilate’s conversation with Jesus, and after Herod has sent Jesus back without finding anything worthy of death, Luke’s gospel describes the shift that took place that transitions from Jesus simply being released to Jesus being crucified. In Luke’s gospel, we discover two fascinating ideas present in this transition.

Our passage for this episode is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 23, and we will read it from the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 13, Luke tells us that after Herod had sent Jesus back:

¹³ Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people. ¹⁴ He said to them, “You brought me this man. You said he was turning the people against the authorities. I have questioned him in front of you. I have found no basis for your charges against him. ¹⁵ Herod hasn’t either. So he sent Jesus back to us. As you can see, Jesus has done nothing that is worthy of death. ^16-17 So I will just have him whipped and let him go.”

¹⁸ But the whole crowd shouted, “Kill this man! But let Barabbas go!” ¹⁹ Barabbas had been thrown into prison. He had taken part in a struggle in the city against the authorities. He had also committed murder.

²⁰ Pilate wanted to let Jesus go. So he made an appeal to the crowd again. ²¹ But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

²² Pilate spoke to them for the third time. “Why?” he asked. “What wrong has this man done? I have found no reason to have him put to death. So I will just have him whipped and let him go.”

²³ But with loud shouts they kept calling for Jesus to be crucified. The people’s shouts won out. ²⁴ So Pilate decided to give them what they wanted. ²⁵ He set free the man they asked for. The man had been thrown in prison for murder and for fighting against the authorities. Pilate handed Jesus over to them so they could carry out their plans.

In this passage, Luke tells us that Barabbas had taken part in an uprising against the authorities and that Barabbas had committed murder. In an interesting, though disturbing twist, the religious leaders are guilty of both of these things. The religious leaders are set on murdering Jesus who has done nothing that would legally warrant death, at least in the eyes of both governors in the area, and the religious leaders and their crowd of supporters are getting so worked up over this one issue that they probably would have started a riot-rebellion in the city, just like Barabbas.

Also, in an odd sort of way, the religious leaders, while claiming to support Rome, are really allying with one of Rome’s enemies. By requesting Barabbas’ release, these leaders say with their actions that they would rather be led by a rebellious murderer than by a loving, miracle-worker who happened to push them spiritually.

Another thing I find fascinating in this passage is that Jesus willingly takes the place of a commandment-breaker. Not only is Barabbas guilty of murder, which is breaking one of the least contested laws in the Ten Commandments, Barabbas is also guilty of rebelling against the rulers of the land. While there is little that we can redeem from Roman culture that is worth mentioning here, God clearly saw the Roman Empire rise into power, and through Daniel’s prophecies, we discover that God may have even directed some of the events to take place.

While governments are not always positive, and while many things in governments around the world are not redeemable in any way, shape, or form, it is worth noting that these negative governments are only in place because God has let them be in place. While sometimes rebellion makes sense, I think that the attitude David has in the Old Testament may be a better approach to facing human governments.

In the Old Testament, David knows he will ultimately replace Saul as king of Israel. The prophet Samuel has anointed him, and he has the respect of many of the people after defeating Goliath. However, David is unwilling to press forward into the position everyone knows He is destined to be. Multiple times, David has the upper hand against Saul, and every time, David restrains himself and his men from lifting a hand against Saul, the ruler of the people. Saul repeatedly sets out to kill David, and while every time fails, many of these times result in Saul calling off the pursuit after David has clearly shown that he does not wish to harm Saul.

Barabbas is the complete opposite of David. Barabbas would likely have killed the emperor of Rome if he were given the chance. And Barabbas was the sinner Jesus chose to replace that weekend. Since Jesus was part of writing history, He could have picked any time and anyone to replace. Jesus chose to take the place of one of the worst people in society to show us God’s love towards us, and to give us a picture of God’s loving us while we were still rebellious sinners.

There were always going to be three crosses that weekend, and the center cross would have had Barabbas on it if it weren’t for Jesus. Jesus died that weekend not just for Barabbas, but for every rebellious person, every sinner, and everyone who has broken God’s law at any point in their past and at any point in history. With Jesus’ death, He is able to promise us a new life with Him and a future eternal life with God forever.

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

As always, be sure to seek God first in your life. Thank Jesus today for what He did for you and I on the cross that weekend, and thank Jesus for the gift He offers to you and me when we place our faith, belief, and trust in Him.

Also, be sure to always pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and discover the truth that God has for your life. While pastors, speakers, authors, or even bloggers or podcasters can give you ideas to think about, always filter what you hear, see, and read through the lens of the Bible. The Bible has stood the test of time as a reliable guide for our lives, and when something in our lives doesn’t make sense, the Bible should be the first place we look to for an answer.

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

During the week Jesus was crucified, Jesus traveled into Jerusalem during the day and every evening, He would leave the city and spend the night outside of Jerusalem. On one afternoon, as they were leaving the temple, we are told about a remark one of the disciples makes, and how Jesus refocuses the conversation onto something much more significant.

Let’s look a little closer at what was said from the gospel of Mark, chapter 13, and let’s use the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 1, Mark tells us:

¹ As He [Jesus] was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” ² And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.”

While I had planned on reading more for this episode, let’s stop reading here and focus on what was just said, because it is incredibly relevant for us living today – maybe even more relevant than to the disciples looking at the magnificent temple. It would be very easy to keep reading and completely miss the relevance of these first two verses. While I don’t know the back-story for why this disciple made this comment, or really what the intent of his thought was, on the surface, this remark speaks to the remarkable achievements of the human race.

While the temple in Jerusalem was one of the most spectacular buildings to see in the ancient world, in today’s culture, we could substitute virtually any of the hundreds or even thousands of distinctive man-made structures that have begun to identify the location where they were constructed. In many ways, just seeing a specific building or specific skyline can immediately identify what city is being displayed.

In this short statement about buildings, the unnamed disciple unintentionally tries to draw the focus onto what we as humankind can build and accomplish. Now 2000 years later, we are able to build bigger buildings, taller buildings, and more magnificent buildings than anything constructed during the first century or at any point during ancient times. This is in part because we have better materials and bigger tools at our disposal.

But regardless of whether Jesus was talking about God’s house on earth, also known as the temple, or if we were to substitute the focus from the temple and onto some of the most spectacular towers and buildings in the world today, I believe Jesus’ response would remain the same.

Jesus responded with the sobering reality in verse 2 that begins with a question: “Do you see these great buildings?” Jesus asks this disciple. “Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.”

The response Jesus gives is fascinating in my mind because it appears as though Jesus leads the disciples into thinking that He is agreeing with him. It is like Jesus says, “Yep, these are pretty amazing buildings. Too bad they will soon be completely destroyed.”

If I was tempted to put words into Jesus’ mouth, I likely would have responded with the statement, “Do you see these great buildings? They are nothing compared to what God has in store for all His followers in heaven.” I may also have framed it along the lines of feeling in awe of God because when we are in a large building of that sort, such as a cathedral, we are reminded of how small we are in comparison to how big God is. Sure, God is much bigger than any and every cathedral ever constructed, but it’s good to be reminded visually of our “smallness” when pride likes to trick us into thinking we are bigger than we really are.

But Jesus doesn’t make a comparison with the best humanity can do placed next to what God can do, and He doesn’t even frame the magnificent buildings as structures that can help us draw near to God.

Instead, Jesus focuses our attention on the temporary nature of anything humanity can build or achieve, and this is incredibly relevant for us.

First, every achievement we accomplish will fade in significance with the more time that passes. Our minds minimize our past successes in light of our current challenges and our future fears. This is just a part of human nature. The best we can hope to do is slow this fading in our minds by structuring time into our lives to focus on what we have achieved in the past, and this is best done when framing our accomplishments in the context of what God was able to do through us.

Next, every achievement we accomplish will be out-done by someone else at some point in the future. While we might die on top of the hill of a certain accomplishment, eventually, someone somewhere will beat the record we set, or build something bigger, better, or more efficient than we did. Records and achievements are fluid and as greater lengths of time pass, humanity as a species get better and better, faster and faster, and more efficient with what we do.

The best we can hope for with achievements like this is to be happy for those who out do us. There is a good chance the person who out did us looks up to us in some way, and rarely are they the bad guy in a competition. While we shouldn’t ever stop pushing forward and trying to do better following a big achievement, we shouldn’t let our achievements define who we are. Defining ourselves based on our achievements opens us up for failure and disappointment when someone out-achieves us.

Someone who identifies with being the best at a particular skill will lose a part of who they are if another person becomes better than them. When a person’s identity is wrapped up in a past accomplishment or a certain set of skills, then they have an unhealthy emotional and spiritual foundation for their lives.

In our passage, the unnamed disciple appears to identify with the magnificent buildings as amazing accomplishments from a human perspective. But Jesus reminded him, and all of us, that the really important things in life are not physical in nature. The best accomplishments and achievements we can do as a species could in seconds be turned to rubble if hit with the right natural disaster.

Instead, Jesus warns us to not focus on the achievements of humanity and instead, He subtly suggests that we focus solely on doing God’s will, focusing on what He would want us to focus on, and to resist getting caught up with what society and culture want us to pay attention to.

With this said, as we come to the close of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Be sure to continually seek God first in your life and intentionally focus on the things He wants us to focus on. While there is nothing wrong with pursuing greatness, we must always keep our motives in check for why we are pushing towards a particular goal. If the motives revolve around self, self-esteem, or even self-worth, then these are negative motives in God’s eyes. Instead, if the motives relate to helping others, giving glory to God, or spreading the news about Jesus to a certain group of people, then these are positive motives in God’s eyes.

As we are focusing on the things God wants us to focus on, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself to keep your relationship and connection with Him strong. Unless you are neglecting helping others in the world, you will never hear God tell you He wants you to spend less time in your Bible and in prayer. For most people, prayer and Bible study are among the first things that get crowded out of a busy schedule. This regular challenge is to resist giving up on personal Bible study when life gets busy, because Bible study, at least for me, helps me stay in the right frame of mind and it helps us have the best perspective on this life that we can have – and it helps us have a strong relationship with God too.

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 let life squeeze you out of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Last week, we talked about Luke’s description of Jesus facing Pilate. In Luke’s gospel, we read that Pilate had two separate encounters with Jesus, with these two separate encounters being divided by Pilate sending Jesus to see Herod, and Herod sending Jesus back.

However, none of the other gospels include Jesus’ visit with Herod, and John’s gospel includes greater detail of Pilate’s conversation with both Jesus and the religious leaders. While we can only speculate where Herod’s visit occurred in what the gospels share about Jesus’ trial before Pilate, we know that what happened that morning was more detailed and nuanced than any of the gospel writers had space to include.

Last week, I speculated that John’s conversation between Jesus and Pilate could have occurred before Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, or it could have occurred after Jesus was sent back. But regardless of when Jesus was sent to visit Herod, let’s read what John’s gospel tells us about Jesus’ trial before Pilate and the conversation that takes place between Pilate and Jesus.

Our passage is found in the gospel of John, chapter 18, and we will be reading from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 28, John transitions away from Jesus’ trial before the religious leaders and onto His trial before Pilate by saying:

²⁸ Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. ²⁹ So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

³⁰ “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”

³¹ Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. ³² This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.

³³ Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

³⁴ “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

³⁵ “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

³⁶ Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

³⁷ “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

³⁸ “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. ³⁹ But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

⁴⁰ They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.

In this passage, I see something amazing take place. Up until Pilate references the Jewish custom about releasing a prisoner, Jesus is presumed to be innocent. While the religious leaders only brought Jesus to Pilate on the claim that He is guilty, Pilate has just stated his conclusion that there is no basis for a charge against Jesus, and we could add that there is no basis for a charge that is worthy of death.

However, Pilate, perhaps unknowingly, switches assumptions after sharing His conclusion. Up to this point, Pilate assumed and concluded that Jesus was innocent, but now Jesus is presumed as guilty and in need of being freed. Perhaps this switch in assumption is because a small group of religious leaders and temple guards bring Jesus to Pilate, and the assembly of Jews present Pilate believes are impartial observers.

But this is unlikely, because only 12 hours prior to this, Jesus was walking around as a free man. For most Jews present in Jerusalem, they would have gone to sleep believing Jesus to be free, and they would have woken up and headed into Jerusalem at around the point when Jesus was being led with a cross to Golgotha. The only Jews present for the trial before Pilate are the ones who were handpicked to be awake for Jesus’ trial in front of the religious leaders, and they would have logically followed Jesus to Pilate’s palace to aid in Jesus’ judgment.

Pilate incorrectly assumed Jesus’ guilt after stating that he did not find the case against Jesus was valid, and he incorrectly assumed the neutrality of the Jews present in his court to help him decide his case.

However, within Jesus’ conversation with Pilate is an interesting idea that Pilate doesn’t fully understand. Jesus avoids the description and title of king, while also describing Himself as having a kingdom. Like most people would, Pilate equates the possession of a kingdom as being equal to being a king, but Jesus separates the two.

Jesus also separates His kingdom from both the Jewish leaders and this world as a whole. This is worth paying attention to because it runs counter to everything we believe about earthly kingdoms, countries, and empires.

In this conversation with Pilate, Jesus reveals several profound ideas. First, Jesus has a kingdom, but this kingdom is from a place that is not this world. This revelation should both ease tension between Christians and those focused on holding political power, but while doing so, it should also raise tension between Christians and other people who do not want to acknowledge a world other than the one we live in.

Jesus did not come to upset the political powers of the empire He lived in, and He did not call His followers to do this either. The idea that Christians should seek political influence is not found in the teachings of Jesus. While Christians can be promoted to political offices, this should always be secondary in relation to their service to Christ.

However, with this idea shared, Jesus also shares that His mission into this world is to testify to the truth. Jesus says that those who are interested in learning truth will listen to Him. Pilate, like many people living the post-Christian, post-modern world today, scoffed at Jesus claiming to have a handle on truth, especially when the concept is so subjective to so many people.

However, this is what Jesus claimed, and while Pilate rejected Jesus’ claim that He was on the side of truth, if we call ourselves followers of Jesus, we should be willing to side with the truth that Jesus taught above everything else that people living today claim is truth. As followers of Jesus, His Word should supersede any claim of truth from anywhere else in culture, regardless of how loud, dominant, or widespread a theory or claimed fact is. If Jesus validates an event, idea, or fact, we can trust in it regardless of what culture says.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to place His truth above truth that the world claims it has, and to trust in His promises regarding our present lives, and the future, eternal lives He has promised to those who place their faith, belief, and trust in 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 seek God first and use Jesus’ Word as the filter for everything you see in the world today. Don’t let any idea, assumption, or secular idea take the place of the foundation of Truth that Jesus has called His followers to accept. When we side with Jesus, we accept the truth that He teaches, and this truth is as true today as it was yesterday and as true as it will be tomorrow. Jesus’ truth is truth for eternity.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, pray and study the Bible for yourself, personally, and let God, through the Holy Spirit, teach and lead you into the truth He wants you to learn. Open the Bible with a prayer requesting for the Holy Spirit to teach you, and then let the Holy Spirit open your mind to the truth about God. Don’t let anyone get in the way of you learning from God through the pages of His 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 let the world push you away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

During the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, it seems as though all the various groups of religious leaders collectively decided that now was the time to trap Jesus with His own words. Near the end of their challenges, after a religious group known as the Sadducees had given their challenge, the gospel of Mark tells us that one of the teachers of the law had a question for Jesus.

From this teacher’s question, it is unclear if other teachers sent him with this question, or if he had been present earlier in Jesus’ ministry when another leader asks a very similar question. But whatever this teacher’s background, the reaction he gives to Jesus’ response is powerful.

Let’s look a little closer at what happened and at what was said. This event can be found in the gospel of Mark, chapter 12, and we will be reading from the New International Reader’s Version. Starting in verse 28, Mark tells us that:

²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came and heard the Sadducees arguing. He noticed that Jesus had given the Sadducees a good answer. So he asked him, “Which is the most important of all the commandments?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “Here is the most important one. Moses said, ‘Israel, listen to me. The Lord is our God. The Lord is one. ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ And here is the second one. ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ There is no commandment more important than these.”

³² “You have spoken well, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one. There is no other God but him. ³³ To love God with all your heart and mind and strength is very important. So is loving your neighbor as you love yourself. These things are more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴ Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely. He said to him, “You are not far from God’s kingdom.” From then on, no one dared to ask Jesus any more questions.

What stands out to me most in this conversation is that this teacher responds in a way that validates Jesus’ response. In this passage, we hear Jesus give an answer, then it is a little surprising that this teacher backs up Jesus’ response and agrees with Jesus’ words rather than following up with another question or idea to challenge Him.

Part of me wonders who this teacher was, and if this teacher may have been one of the secret Jesus-followers present in the religious elite. The phrase that stands out most in my mind is that this teacher concludes his remarks by saying that loving God and our neighbors are, “more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices”.

Earlier, this same question regarding the most important commandment had prompted Jesus to share a parable related to identifying who our neighbor truly is. In that case, it appeared that the question regarding the most important commandment was simply a set up question for the real one about defining who our neighbor is.

However, in this event, it seems that this teacher was truly interested in focusing the attention of everyone present onto the characteristic of love, and it seems as though Jesus was happy to do this.

Even though this teacher successfully shifted the focus onto the key portions of the law and commandments, Jesus comments at the close of this conversation in verse 34 that this teacher is “not far from God’s kingdom”. On the surface, it appears that everything this teacher asked, said, and replied was correct in Jesus’ eyes, but even with the right answer, Jesus implies that this man has still not found God’s kingdom. Close to God’s kingdom is good, but it’s better to be included in God’s kingdom.

From looking at the nuances included in this passage, I can come up with two things this teacher may have missed prior to this conversation with Jesus that would have led to Jesus stating that he still needed something more to make it into God’s kingdom.

The first is that this teacher had all the right answers, but nothing is implied or stated that said this teacher followed through with his love for God and his love for his neighbor with tangible action. Having the right answers is great, but they don’t mean anything when faced with reality. In my mind, Jesus might be challenging this teacher to live the life that is being described. While the teacher has said that loving God and others is more important than even sacrifices, Jesus may have known that this teacher had been poorly modeling this attitude in his own life. Love is only as valuable as it is visible and helpful to others. Love that is hidden does not have any value in the big picture.

The second thing that I could see Jesus implying with His comment that this teacher was not far from God’s kingdom is that all that was left for this teacher was to accept Jesus as his substitute and to make the commitment to put his hope, trust, faith, and belief in Him. Another way to say this is that it does not matter how much we say we love others, or how much we say we love God. The key thing that matters is that we have placed Jesus first in our life.

The most loving person in the world who has rejected Jesus will still be lost when faced with the judgment. This is because there is nothing we can do, say, act, or pay that will get us into God’s kingdom on our own merit. Instead, the way into God’s kingdom is by accepting Jesus into our hearts and lives, and perhaps, in the case of this religious teacher, he was not far from God’s kingdom because he was on the verge of accepting Jesus into His heart and life.

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

If you have not accepted Jesus into your heart and life, now would be a great time to do so. We accept Jesus into our hearts when have the realization that nothing we can do will earn our own salvation, and we make the commitment to depend on Jesus 100% for our eternity. We then choose to live moving forward with the faith that Jesus has taken care of our past, and that He has secured our future, and that everything we do today is done as our way of saying “Thank You” for giving us the gift we truly don’t deserve.

Also, as I always include in these challenges, be sure to continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself in order to grow and strengthen your personal relationship with God and Jesus. When we have a strong connection with God, we will be able to clearly see Him working in our lives, and we will be more in touch with His will for each of us.

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