Reflective Bible Study

If you have ever picked up your Bible to read a specific passage and the opening line hits you in a way you never realized before, this describes me as I picked up the Bible to prepare for this week’s podcast. While the teaching we are looking at is one of Jesus’ more famous illustrations, I believe there is a lot that we can discover about God that many of us may have missed when hearing or reading this illustration before.

However, before getting to the illustration itself, Luke’s gospel has Jesus lead into this illustration with a thought-provoking and challenging question. One reason we might miss this is that too often, we only look at this teaching from Matthew’s gospel, and while there are plenty of similarities between both gospels, there are enough unique features that make Luke’s description of Jesus’ illustration just as profound, or perhaps even more profound, than Matthew’s version.

So before diving into the illustration, let’s read the question that jumped off the page as I was preparing for this episode, before continuing into the illustration itself. We will be reading from the gospel of Luke, chapter 6, using the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 46, Jesus challenges those present by saying:

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me Lord but don’t do what I tell you?

This question is powerful in my mind because it reemphasizes the root meaning of a name for Jesus that has unfortunately become a cliché in the Christian world.

The word Lord in this case not only refers to God, the ruler of the universe, but it also carries with it the secondary meaning of noble or king. With this secondary meaning, we see a more practical reason for God or Jesus to be the one to make the rules.

However, in the case of this question, Jesus is not asking people to call Him Lord. Instead, He is challenging them for using that term in a shallow way. If we truly choose to call Jesus “Lord”, then all of the implications of this word should be applied, and specifically the idea that a person who calls another person “lord” is acknowledging that they are that individual’s “subject”.

This question is powerful, not only to understand that those living while Jesus was walking the earth in the first century didn’t completely obey, but because ever since that point, a majority of Jesus’ followers want to pick and choose exactly “how” they will follow Jesus.

By picking and choosing what commands to obey, Christianity has cheapened the concept of Lord, and eroded the powerful nature of this name for God.

Let’s continue reading and see how Jesus illustrates this idea. Picking back up in verse 47, Jesus continues by saying:

⁴⁷ “I will show you what everyone who comes to me, hears what I say, and obeys it is like. ⁴⁸ He is like a person who dug down to bedrock to lay the foundation of his home. When a flood came, the floodwaters pushed against that house. But the house couldn’t be washed away because it had a good foundation. ⁴⁹ The person who hears what I say but doesn’t obey it is like someone who built a house on the ground without any foundation. The floodwaters pushed against it, and that house quickly collapsed and was destroyed.”

We often read Matthew’s description of this illustration, and picture in our minds a house high on the rocks of a cliff, overlooking another house built on the sand of a beach. However, Luke describes something different.

What we see in Luke could be identical looking homes on the surface, but one was built with a solid foundation that dug into the earth, while the other one was hastily built on the ground and they chose to skip the foundation. The only difference between these two homes is the foundation, and the only difference in the description of these two contrasting homes is that the second home, the one with no foundation, is built by the person who comes, hears, but does not obey.

This then implies that the only real value of coming and hearing Jesus is if it translates into obedience. Hearing without acting is as useful as reading a book while ignoring its content. We could also apply this into the spiritual framework by saying that faith, without some visible evidence of it – also known as works – is dead.

In many ways, this is the perfect illustration for Jesus’ challenging question. This question and the illustration are not intended for those who have chosen to live a life that rejects God’s rule. Those people are not likely to call Jesus or God using the term “Lord”. Instead, this opening to our illustration describes an average Christian when compared with a dedicated disciple of Jesus.

This illustration emphasizes that the foundation of a home, specifically the part of the house that is the least visible to those passing by, is the most important. In the exact same way, when we look at someone’s life, the foundation of that life is the least visible part of it to those who are looking from the outside, but the foundation of that person’s life is the most important.

In this illustration, we see the two parallel ideas of faith and works being blended into the idea of obedience. If we don’t have faith, there is no reason for us to obey, and if we don’t obey, then the faith we claim to have has no foundation.

We can illustrate this by describing two people: both are very generous, very friendly, likeable to most everyone, humble, and a pleasure to be around. For the purposes of this discussion, their outer lives look identical.

However, one person has chosen to live their life this way because of the way he feels when surrounded by others. He enjoys people and has determined that these actions are the best actions to take for attracting people to be with.

The other person has chosen this life because it is a life that models what he sees Jesus as like in the gospels. While the first person’s private life is filled with acquiring conversation material, based on following the latest television shows and other media, the second person has filled his private life with prayer and study, in order to grow closer to God and to learn more about Jesus.

While this example is in some ways cheesy and cliché for a Christian to use, it describes too many people living today – specifically people who would call Jesus “Lord”. Too many of those who would call Jesus “Lord” spend less than 2 hours with Him each week – and that is a 2 hour block of time on the weekend, when it’s convenient.

If this was all the time God had available to spend with us, then we would have to make due, but the very nature of God invites us to spend 24/7 with Him – which does not mean that we leave town to join a monastery, but it does mean that we bring God into our daily lives and make time to spend with Him each day.

Living with God is living in a way that acknowledges God is with us when we sleep, when we are awake, when we are driving to work, and when we are facing the daily challenges of work. He is with us when we are running errands, preparing our next meal, and joking around with our friends. If we call Him “Lord” and we believe He is omnipresent, which is a fancy word for everywhere, it might be worthwhile to both obey and acknowledge His presence as we go throughout the week.

And because God is with us at all times, because we have chosen to call Him “Lord”, and because He has challenged us with this truth, we should work on obeying and building a foundation in our lives that emphasizes our dependence on Him. Luke’s version of Jesus’ parable is what prompted me to create Reflective Bible Study, and it is because I wanted a good way to personally study and grow my foundation with God, and I wanted to help share what I found with others, including you!

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

If you have chosen to call God using the term “Lord”, then intentionally focus on obeying what He has commanded us to do. This includes things like loving others and being generous, but there is so much more we can learn about obedience from the Bible when we study about what it means to obey God.

With that in mind, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself, because personal Bible study, when it is combined with honest, humble prayer will help grow your foundation with God. When opening the Bible, don’t read with the goal of placing your opinions onto the pages. Instead, read with the frame of mind that God wants to teach you something about Himself within what you are reading.

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!

Coming right after the passage we focused on last week, we discover in our passage for this week that Jesus has a question for the religious leaders. When reading about this event, our last few weeks of episodes most likely cover one long event, and this event finds Jesus facing a series of questions challenging His ministry and His role.

However, the passage we focused in on last week didn’t seem to be much of a challenge. A religious teacher asks Jesus what the greatest commandment is and Jesus answered by quoting the law where it talks about loving God and Jesus follows up with the second most important commandment which is love for our neighbor.

The religious teacher agrees with Jesus, and it appeared to be the end of the discussion. However, part of me wonders if our passage for this week has Jesus speak up with a counter question before the religious leaders can regroup with a new question. Perhaps Jesus knows the next question that will come and He wants to short-circuit it before it gets asked.

Let’s read our passage and discover what Jesus asks the crowd of people who are present and what we can learn from what is said and the question that might not have had the chance to get asked. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 12, and we will read it using the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 35, Mark tells us that:

³⁵ While Jesus was teaching in the temple courtyard, he asked, “How can the experts in Moses’ Teachings say that the Messiah is David’s son? ³⁶ David, guided by the Holy Spirit, said,

‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Take the honored position—the one next to me [God the Father] on the heavenly throne
        until I put your enemies under your control.”’

³⁷ David calls him Lord. So how can he be his son?”

The large crowd enjoyed listening to him.

In this short question and quotation, we discover some profound ideas. Right before our event and Jesus’ counter question, Jesus had just shared the most important commandment, which in verses 29-30, Jesus quotes in full by saying “Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. So love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”

This commandment stresses the singular nature of God. The question that likely was being formulated in the religious leaders’ minds was the question challenging Jesus on this very idea. If God is One and Jesus claimed to be God, then they had successfully trapped Jesus in His own words. While Jesus was both God and man, this union of Creator and creation isn’t something we can really understand. If Jesus was asked this question, it is possible there is no good, easy to understand answer.

So Jesus jumps in with His own question that challenges the premise of the question the religious leaders are all thinking, and in His response, He subtly gives Himself a role in the prophetic words David spoke.

Jesus attributes this psalm to David being guided by the Holy Spirit, and we discover in this psalm a conversation between God the Father and God the Son. This psalm has messianic connections because God the Father is pictured as being a deliverer and letting the Messiah sit next to Him while He deals with the Messiah’s enemies.

This psalm describes an event in Heaven, and it is a discussion among the members of the Godhead. This detail challenges the notion that God is one singular being. This detail also challenges the idea that God is singular but different at different points in history. This detail draws our attention onto two member of the Godhead, and Jesus alludes to the third Member of the Godhead in the opening statement to His question.

Not only does this question and quotation challenge the argument the religious leaders were forming about God being One, singular Being, but it also suggests that the Messiah existed before David, and that in itself challenges the idea that the Messiah is David’s descendant.

The only way all these details can be reconciled is a union between God and humanity, through a virgin birth. This detail makes sense on one level to us living thousands of years later, but it is still about as difficult and unbelievable as it was to someone hearing it for the first time in the first century.

Since the religious leaders didn’t believe God liked humanity enough to become a human, they could not fathom the idea that the Messiah could be a descendant of David, while also being a member of the Godhead. It is in this dilemma the religious leaders create for themselves that Jesus steps into. With the religious leaders’ preconceived ideas, Jesus asks them a question they want to answer, but they cannot. This question is perfect because it silenced both the question they were planning on asking, and it silences all their future challenges because it challenged the foundation of their entire tradition.

This conversation, and this question, challenges us today. While there are many people who believe Jesus was simply a good teacher who had some nice things to say, will we be willing to believe that God actually became human, and as a human, that God lived and died to take the punishment for our sins?

Meeting Jesus and knowing who He is can be discovered up to a point, but past that point, we must have faith. Knowing how Jesus can be both human and divine is something we cannot fully comprehend, but we don’t have to understand it to believe that it is true. All that matters is that God knows how it is possible, and that He made it possible for us.

Because Jesus became human and because He died the death we deserved, we have the hope of an eternal future life with God in heaven.

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

Always seek God first and have faith when faced with ideas we cannot understand. Always push forward to learn and discover more, but know that time will end before we reach the end of what God wants to teach us.

As always, pray and study the Bible for yourself, and don’t take my word, or any pastor, podcaster, author, or speaker’s word for it. Discover God’s truth straight from the Holy Spirit inspired Bible, and study it in preparation for learning directly from God when Jesus returns!

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

During Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, He shares some advice that is both practical for everyone, as well as profound. While some people might think Jesus came to teach and challenge only one or two certain groups of people, what He shares in the passage we are focusing on for this episode not only is applicable for Christians and Jews, but for everyone else as well.

Let’s read what Jesus shared and learn what He wanted to teach us. Our passage comes from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 6, and we will be reading from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. Starting with verse 19, Jesus continued by saying,

¹⁹ Don’t store up treasures on earth! Moths and rust can destroy them, and thieves can break in and steal them. ²⁰ Instead, store up your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy them, and thieves cannot break in and steal them. ²¹ Your heart will always be where your treasure is.

While some might be quick to say that they don’t believe in heaven, the advice Jesus shares is not as much about heaven as it is about where we are placing our security. Even if we don’t believe in heaven, most people, if they are truly being honest, will acknowledge there is no place on earth that is 100% guaranteed to be safe for our treasure. The best security system, or the most hidden hole in the ground, is only a deterrent for some people. Others see acquiring your treasure as a challenge, and the harder you try to protect it, the greater the challenge.

But the focus of this set of verses is not even on our treasure either. Instead, it is on the location of our heart. God wants our hearts to be safe with Him in heaven. This is why He tells us in verse 21 that “Your heart will always be where your treasure is” and he both advises us in verses 19 to “Don’t store up treasures on earth” and “store up your treasures in heaven”. This whole thought centers around getting our hearts into heaven.

But Jesus isn’t finished sharing. He continues in verse 22 by saying,

²² Your eyes are like a window for your body. When they are good, you have all the light you need. ²³ But when your eyes are bad, everything is dark. If the light inside you is dark, you surely are in the dark.

Let’s pause again and focus on these two verses. While Jesus had just been focusing on our hearts, He shifts to talking about our eyes, but in these two verses, Jesus is sharing truth on multiple levels.

On the surface, what Jesus is literally saying makes sense: when our eyes are good, we can see everything we need to see; and the opposite is also true, because when our eyes are bad, everything is dark.

However, Jesus finishes by saying something that doesn’t make as much sense on the surface. He then shares in verse 23 that “If the light inside you is dark, you surely are in the dark.” Up to this point, light enters our bodies through our eyes, but now Jesus shifts the focus to a light inside of us.

It is with this final phrase that we see a different meaning for Jesus’ earlier statements. If we understand Jesus to be instead talking about spiritual light, and seeing through spiritual eyes, then we discover that Jesus is talking not only about what we are looking at and focusing on, but also on how we are interpreting the things we are seeing and/or experiencing.

If the light inside us is darkness, there is no way to really see true light. In other words, if our outlook on life is negative, pessimistic, or depressing, everything we see and experience will appear to us as negative, pessimistic, or depressing, even if what we are looking at includes things that would bring someone else joy.

Reading this also reminds me of this song, “This little Light of Mine”, which on the surface simply talks about sharing light, but when we think about the idea of sharing light, there is the subtle truth that our attitudes are contagious, and if we are living life with a negative outlook, this negative outlook can spread to those who are with us and bring them down as well.

However, the reverse is true, and living with a positive outlook on life is also contagious, and over time, it can spread and lift others up as well.

Jesus then shares a profound idea in verse 24 that is true for everyone alive at every point in history. He tells us that:

²⁴ You cannot be the slave of two masters! You will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Some translations might say servant rather than slave, but regardless of the wording, the truth is there. While slavery isn’t the same today as it once was in the past, if you have ever had two jobs, you can see the truth of this statement: one job likely was more favorable than the other. While both jobs hopefully paid you money, there was one you preferred over the other.

However, if you only have ever had one job, you could understand this truth by comparing your home or personal life with your job life. Your responsibilities at home are different than your responsibilities at work, and chances are you prefer one over the other. For some, they might prefer work over home, but hopefully for all of us listening in, we prefer home over work.

But Jesus finishes with a huge parallel idea that challenges our motivation and purpose. Jesus finishes by saying, “You cannot serve both God and money.”

This distinction is huge, because it pushes us to reflect on what is motivating our lives. While some people might think that Satan is the biggest adversary pulling our hearts, minds, and lives away from God, Jesus hints at the truth here that perhaps “money” is a bigger adversary than even Satan when it comes to God getting our hearts.

The way we can test whether we are serving God or money is by asking ourselves a question such as, “If God asked me to give more than I thought I could afford, would I trust Him enough to do it?” Another similar question we could ask is, “Is my motivation for this decision because it helps God or others, or is it because of the money I will earn?”

Another question to help us reframe money from a completely different angle is, “What is something that money cannot buy?” Some possible answers to this question include love, solid and healthy relationships, and health. While money can help us be healthier in some ways, it cannot cure an incurable disease or illness.

These questions help guide us to where we should place our trust, where we should ultimately look to for the light inside of us, and where we should seek to store our treasure and hearts. The safest place for our trust, our light, our treasure, and our heart is with Jesus in heaven.

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

Do a self-assessment and ask yourself one or more of the questions I shared earlier. If you get the idea that you are trusting or serving money over God, then take steps to make the switch. While God is not opposed to us having or using money, our motivation should be serving Him regardless of the money or lack of money serving Him will bring.

Also, the Bible has a lot to say about money. Many scholars believe that money is the most common subject in the entire Bible, and one of the most common subjects that Jesus talked about during His life on earth. With these ideas in mind, pray and study the Bible for yourself and keep your eyes open for things that the Bible teaches us about money. When I did this, I found some surprising references and truths that have impacted my own life.

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

Immediately following Jesus’ encounter with the Sadducees, we learn that another religious teacher brings a question to Jesus. However, unlike other challenges, this one ends in a unique way that is worth us paying attention to. Instead of ending the discussion with the religious leader looking foolish or scratching his head, this discussion ends on a positive note, which is very unusual.

Let’s read about what happened from Mark’s gospel. Our passage is found in chapter 12, and we will read from the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. 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.

We’ll stop reading this passage here, because Mark includes the transition statement about Jesus not receiving any more questions after this. However, it’s possible that the questions stopped after what we will read about in our next episode, which covers one last question we find in a different gospel record that may have taken place immediately after the event we just read about.

In many ways, this passage appears to set the stage for what Jesus is about to say next. However, if we too quickly jump there, we might miss something profound Jesus says in this portion of this discussion.

From the question this religious teacher asks, from Jesus’ response, and from the way the religious teacher restates Jesus’ words, part of me wonders if this wasn’t the first time Jesus received this question, and I wonder if this religious teacher was already expecting this answer. When Luke’s gospel records a similar event, the person asking a question is described as a lawyer and he wanted further clarification regarding who we should consider as our neighbor.

That event likely happened before this one, so it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that this religious teacher already had a good idea of what Jesus’ response would be.

However, this teacher says something profound as he restates Jesus’ answer. When wrapping up Jesus’ words, the teacher concludes by saying, “These things are more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (v. 33b)

What we discover from this teacher’s words is an amazing, big truth: Love for God and love for our neighbor are more important than our offering, our sacrifices, and anything we give to God. This response teaches us that before we even think about bringing something to God, we should first have love for Him and we should have love for others. If these two foundations are not met, then our offerings and sacrifices will be tainted and we risk God not accepting them.

While the context of this discussion deals with the requirements of the sacrificial system, the language that we have with us today can also be used for all other types of giving and giving up.

When we bring something to God, whether it is money, time, an object or possession, or even our hearts, we call this an offering. These offerings are not burned on an alter like the burnt offerings in the Old Testament era, but we still call them the same word. I don’t think this is an accident. Instead, I believe these categories of modern offerings are equivalent, especially in the context of our discussion.

In a similar way, when we sacrifice something, we are removing it from our lives. While sacrifice is closely related to giving offerings, offering focuses on the giving act and specifically where our gift goes, while sacrifice focuses on the giving act and what we are giving up or removing from our lives.

Both aspects of giving are key to our discussion and to this teacher’s concluding statement. We must have love in our hearts before we give up anything from our life, which is called sacrifice, and before we give anything as an offering to God. Having love for God and love for our neighbor “are more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (v. 33b)

This passage wraps up with one more statement from Jesus. Verse 34 begins by telling us that “Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely. He said to him, ‘You are not far from God’s kingdom.’”

This is interesting because it implies that while this teacher knows the right answer, he was missing something that was needed for entrance into God’s kingdom.

Assuming that this teacher had love for God, love for his neighbor, and a solid track record of sacrifices, what could Jesus have been referring to in His final response? If all these other things are in place, the only thing missing is a belief in Jesus.

This man was not far from God’s kingdom because he knew all the right things, and he likely lived them out. But when challenged on whether Jesus was the Messiah God sent, this man sided with the traditional religious culture who believed Jesus to be an imposter. This man wasn’t far from God’s kingdom, but he was missing the key needed for entrance. Faith and belief in Jesus is that key.

In our own lives, while we might say and do all the right things, if we aren’t placing our faith in Jesus, we forfeit the life we are promised that comes through Jesus. In the end, being not far from God’s kingdom might then mean that we are close, but being close to the kingdom is still being outside of it. Accepting Jesus into our hearts and lives is the key we use to enter God’s kingdom.

While life inside God’s kingdom includes doing and saying the right things, the motivation for what we do and say is different. Those outside of God’s kingdom seek entrance through their actions. Those inside God’s kingdom live righteously as a thank you to God for everything He has already blessed us with – and these blessings and gifts rest on the foundation of the most important gift ever: Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross to pay for our sins. Nothing is more important than this. It is the key for entrance into God’s kingdom.

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

If you are worried that you aren’t good enough for God or that you cannot reach His standard, accept the fact that this is true. However, also accept the fact that Jesus came to live the life you couldn’t live, and to offer His life as a replacement for yours. Accept Jesus’ gift and change your focus from living righteously trying to please God to living righteously as a Thank You to God.

When we are living life from a Thank You perspective, we might stumble, but when we stumble, this doesn’t change our attitude of thanks. Instead, when we stumble or fall, our thankfulness towards God is increased, and we get back up and press forward. Living with a “Thank You” perspective is a completely different perspective than what many people are use to.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow personally towards God and towards Jesus. Personal prayer and Bible study grow a personal relationship with God, and a personal relationship with God leads to eternal life.

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