Reflective Bible Study

On Jesus’ last night with His disciples prior to being betrayed, arrested, and crucified the following day, John’s gospel shares a long conversation Jesus has with His followers, and in this conversation, Jesus teaches them about many things, like having faith, hope, and belief in Him, and He reminds them that He will be leaving them soon.

While I wonder if Jesus wanted to teach them more plainly about His upcoming death, because they hadn’t understood or received His warnings along those lines very well, part of me wonders if Jesus shifted focus onto simply talking about His leaving them which is something they would understand easier than His crucifixion.

However, even telling the disciples that He would be leaving them soon filled their hearts with sadness. This portion of what Jesus shared is the focus of our passage for this episode, and in our passage, Jesus tries to explain why it is better for them if He leaves.

Let’s read what Jesus shared with the disciples that night. Our passage is found in John, chapter 16, and we will be reading from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 5, Jesus continued by saying:

⁵ Now I am going back to the One who sent me. But none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶ Your hearts are filled with sadness because I have told you these things. ⁷ But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go away. When I go away, I will send the Helper to you. If I do not go away, the Helper will not come. ⁸ When the Helper comes, he will prove to the people of the world the truth about sin, about being right with God, and about judgment. ⁹ He will prove to them that sin is not believing in me. ¹⁰ He will prove to them that being right with God comes from my going to the Father and not being seen anymore. ¹¹ And the Helper will prove to them that judgment happened when the ruler of this world was judged.

¹² “I have many more things to say to you, but they are too much for you now. ¹³ But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all truth. He will not speak his own words, but he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is to come. ¹⁴ The Spirit of truth will bring glory to me, because he will take what I have to say and tell it to you. ¹⁵ All that the Father has is mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take what I have to say and tell it to you.

We’ll stop reading here because in these few verses, there are some really big takeaway points – probably more than we are able to cover in this podcast episode. However, there are two big points I want to draw our attention to in the time we have left together.

The first big point is when Jesus describes how it is better for His followers that He leaves. I’m sure the disciples were shocked to hear Jesus say this and many of them might not have believed Him in that moment. But what Jesus says is profound. If Jesus didn’t leave, then the Holy Spirit, also known as the Helper, would not come. In contrast, if Jesus does leave, then the Holy Spirit will come.

On first glance, we might think that the Holy Spirit wasn’t present ever during Jesus’ life and ministry, but that is not the case. The most notable time that the Holy Spirit is mentioned is when Jesus was baptized. Also, I believe Jesus depended entirely on both the Father and the Holy Spirit while He was present on earth. If the Holy Spirit hadn’t been with Jesus, I doubt He could have healed people or performed miracles.

However, hinted at in this passage is one role of the Holy Spirit, and this role is to bring glory to Jesus. Other roles the Holy Spirit has that are shared in this passage are that: “He will prove to the people of the world the truth about sin, about being right with God, and about judgment. He will prove to them that sin is not believing in [Jesus]. He will prove to them that being right with God comes from [Jesus’] going to the Father and not being seen anymore. And the Helper will prove to them that judgment happened when the ruler of this world was judged.” (v. 8-11)

In many ways, the Holy Spirit’s task-list looks impossible – especially when we look at our culture and the world today. However, the Holy Spirit’s role is only impossible when Jesus is present on earth.

The way I picture the Holy Spirit working, is that while Jesus was present on earth, Jesus had 100% of the Holy Spirit’s focus and power. The Holy Spirit gave Jesus glory and drew people to Him in first-century Judea. This is why we see Jesus performing miracles, and every time Jesus’ disciples are with Jesus, we never see them perform any miracles, because this would distract the focus off of Jesus.

However, when Jesus sent the disciples in pairs, we do learn that they had the Holy Spirit’s support. They healed people, cast out demons, and gave glory to both Jesus and God the Father. When Jesus was not present, the Holy Spirit focused on giving glory to Jesus through the next best thing – Jesus’ followers.

While Jesus’ message might not make sense that it’s better that He return to heaven, when we see the exponential growth of Christianity following Jesus’ ascension into heaven, we can see how the Holy Spirit and followers of Christ are able to impact the world in a much bigger, better, and more personal way than a single person could. The Holy Spirit’s role is only impossible when Jesus is present on earth, because His focus is 100% on Jesus while Jesus is physically present, and while Jesus is physically present, He is only in one place at one time. When Jesus launched the Christian movement, the Holy Spirit was freed to work though all of Jesus’ disciples and followers when Jesus returned to heaven. With Jesus in heaven, the Holy Spirit could exponentially grow the movement Jesus began into a worldwide community – which He has been doing ever since.

I will be the first to say that not everyone who calls themselves a Christian, a Christ follower, or even a disciple, believer, or any of the dozen or more terms common in the world today is actually a true follower of Christ. While the Holy Spirit knows our hearts and He knows who the true followers are from the imposters, He is willing to use anything and everything, anyone and everyone He can to lead people to Jesus. This might mean that people will come to Jesus through some very unconventional, round-about, and unusual ways. The path people take to find Jesus is less important than the simple fact that they found Him.

The second big point I want to bring out in this passage is that Jesus describes how time is against Him. He tells His followers in verse 12 and the first part of verse 13, “I have many more things to say to you, but they are too much for you now. But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all truth.”

This detail is important for us to remember: Jesus shared everything He could with the disciples, and the disciples included everything they could in their ministry. The gospel writers included everything that space allowed them to include as well. However, the Holy Spirit isn’t finished teaching us the truth about God and about Jesus. He may never be done throughout eternity.

I draw our attention to this detail for one big reason: Don’t be afraid of someone sharing what they claim to be “new truth”. It is possible they are correct. However, be cautious in every case because new truth will never contradict, change, or distract from “old truth”. In the context of this discussion, I am calling “old truth” the foundation that is found in the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments. Also, “new truth” will never minimize, distract from, or belittle Jesus’ role in history.

History is His Story – specifically Jesus’ story, and it is a story of redemption. Any and every new truth the Holy Spirit will lead us into will have the Jesus of the gospels at its foundation. The Holy Spirit’s role is to bring glory to Jesus!

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

Always seek God first and intentionally focus on Him. Don’t be scared of the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit exists to draw you into a saving relationship with Jesus!

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself in order to keep your connection with God strong. It is when we are personally connected with Him that He is able us use to bless others.

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!

On the night of Jesus’ arrest, while the remaining eleven disciples are walking with Jesus to the garden just outside of Jerusalem, the gospel of John shares a powerful conversation Jesus had with these closest followers. In this conversation, we can learn a lot about who God really is.

If we think about the timing of this conversation, this is Jesus’ last chance to share with the disciples before His death – and Jesus knows there is a lot that still needs to be shared.

However, as I read this part of John’s gospel, I am drawn to a metaphor Jesus shares part way through the conversation. This metaphor is found at the beginning of John, chapter 15, and we will be reading from the New International Reader’s Version. Starting in verse 1, Jesus says:

¹ “I am the true vine. My Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch joined to me that does not bear fruit. He trims every branch that does bear fruit. Then it will bear even more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain joined to me, just as I also remain joined to you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain joined to the vine. In the same way, you can’t bear fruit unless you remain joined to me.

⁵ “I am the vine. You are the branches. If you remain joined to me, and I to you, you will bear a lot of fruit. You can’t do anything without me. ⁶ If you don’t remain joined to me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and dries up. Branches like those are picked up. They are thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain joined to me and my words remain in you, ask for anything you wish. And it will be done for you. ⁸ When you bear a lot of fruit, it brings glory to my Father. It shows that you are my disciples.

We’ll stop reading here because I want to focus in on the metaphor of being a branch on the vine. It would seem that Jesus emphasizes the idea here that what we say doesn’t really matter as much as the fruit we produce. When I read about Jesus describing us producing fruit, I get the picture that He is describing everything our lives produce. This would include our words, our actions, our projects, and even our relationships.

Everything our lives produce should be in harmony with everything else our lives produce. Otherwise our lives wouldn’t make sense. It would be weird to grow an apple that has the skin of an orange.

While God can grow anything and there may be an apple-orange hybrid fruit in heaven, this isn’t where I am going with this thought. Instead, I want to emphasize that our words, which are like the skin of our fruit, should match our actions, projects, and relationships, which are all like the inside parts of our fruit. Our words should match our actions.

Jesus describes God as walking along the vine looking for branches that are not bearing fruit. When He finds such a branch, He cuts it off. While this sounds harsh, this is what happens when someone who says they are a Christian does not live like they are. In our world and culture today, these people live worldly lives but claim to be Christians because they want to avoid hell more than they ultimately love Jesus. It’s my opinion that God is more interested in building relationships with us than simply having us around because we preferred to not spend time in the hot place.

But fruitless branches are not the only ones God the Gardener touches. When God comes by a branch that is bearing fruit, Jesus tells us that He trims those branches as well. Most gardeners will tell you that to get a plant to really start producing fruit, vegetables, or flowers (whichever the case may be for that plant), one must cut off some of the first things that are produced, and perhaps a little more afterwards. The process is known as pruning, and pruning in a spiritual sense is what really prompts fruit to grow in our lives.

However, pruning is the result of God cutting away things from our lives. These things might be friendships, hobbies, jobs, homes, cars, money, or really anything that God knows won’t serve us in the long run. God wants our hearts, and He will prune away the things in our lives that might draw our hearts away from His.

We cannot escape being touched by God the Gardener. Either we choose to be cut off because we are not fruitful, or pruned because we are being fruitful and God wants to see us produce even more fruit.

Jesus also challenges all of His disciples and followers to remain joined to Him. This is the only way we can truly bear fruit. Just like your favorite flower, if you leave it connected to the bush or plant, it will survive longer than if you cut it off to put it in a vase. While flowers in vases look pretty as decorations around the house, after a few days or weeks, most will have begun to wilt and die. This is because they are no longer connected to the plant.

The only way we can truly have life that never ends is to remain connected to the life-giver – and that is Jesus. Remaining joined to Jesus is the only way to have eternal life. If we separate ourselves from Him, we will dry up and die.

Jesus finishes the illustration of the vine by saying that when we are joined and connected to Him, with His words living inside of us, we are free to ask for anything we wish and it will be done for us. The whole context of this illustration is bearing fruit, so in truth, all of Jesus’ answers to our requests will center on us bearing fruit for God. When we bear a lot of fruit, it brings glory to God and it shows that we are Jesus’ disciples.

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 in your life and choose to remain connected with Him. Understand that God the gardener will touch your life and when He does, let Him prune you because you are being fruitful. Know that the things that God takes out of your life might not make sense now, but when we reach heaven, we will understand more and all our questions will be answered.

Also, intentionally pray and study the Bible for yourself to keep that connection with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit strong. It is through this connection that we are able to bear fruit, bring glory to God, and truly live like disciples of Jesus. Only through this connection can we truly do anything in 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 abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

While Jesus and His disciples were together on the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, the gospel of John shares with us some of Jesus’ last dedicated teaching with His followers. During this last short block of time with His followers, Jesus shares with them where they should place their faith, and He challenges them to keep their faith strong.

Let’s read what Jesus tells the disciples on their last night prior to the crucifixion, and discover some things we can learn about God and where we are to place our faith as followers of Jesus thousands of years later.

Our passage is found in the gospel of John, chapter 14, and we will be reading from the Contemporary English Version. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹ Jesus said to his disciples, “Don’t be worried! Have faith in God and have faith in me. ² There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I wouldn’t tell you this, unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you. ³ After I have done this, I will come back and take you with me. Then we will be together. ⁴ You know the way to where I am going.”

⁵ Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t even know where you are going! How can we know the way?”

⁶ “I am the way, the truth, and the life!” Jesus answered. “Without me, no one can go to the Father. ⁷ If you had known me, you would have known the Father. But from now on, you do know him, and you have seen him.”

⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need.”

⁹ Jesus replied:

Philip, I have been with you for a long time. Don’t you know who I am? If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. How can you ask me to show you the Father? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am one with the Father and that the Father is one with me? What I say isn’t said on my own. The Father who lives in me does these things.

¹¹ Have faith in me when I say that the Father is one with me and that I am one with the Father. Or else have faith in me simply because of the things I do. ¹² I tell you for certain that if you have faith in me, you will do the same things that I am doing. You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father. ¹³ Ask me, and I will do whatever you ask. This way the Son will bring honor to the Father. ¹⁴ I will do whatever you ask me to do.

While Jesus continues sharing for several more chapters, let’s stop reading here because in this first section of verses, Jesus touches on a number of really big ideas.

The first thing Jesus tells the disciples might also be one of the most challenging things for them to grasp: He is going to be leaving them. After spending over three years together, Jesus alludes to His followers that He is going away and leaving them. Jesus isn’t leaving them forever; He is leaving to prepare a place for them, and then He will return.

Jesus then makes a statement that catches at least one of the disciples off guard. Jesus tells them in verse 4, “You know the way to where I am going”.

Thomas, the disciples who gets the reputation for being a doubter even if he is a realist, interrupts Jesus by stating in verse 5, “Lord, we don’t even know where you are going! How can we know the way?”

Jesus uses this opening to reemphasize the idea that faith in Him is the way to heaven. Without Jesus and His sacrifice, “no one can go to the Father”. (v. 6)

In this next portion of Jesus’ teaching, He emphasizes that knowing Him is the same as knowing the Father, and now Philip chimes in with a statement of his own. In verse 8, Philip interrupts Jesus by asking, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need”.

When responding to Philip and continuing sharing with the disciples, Jesus makes a powerful statement that could easily be misunderstood. After Jesus challenges Philip’s belief in the oneness of Jesus and God the Father, He shares a statement of faith.

In verses 11-14, we discover an incredible, open-ended promise that Jesus gives His followers. He tells them, “Have faith in me when I say that the Father is one with me and that I am one with the Father. Or else have faith in me simply because of the things I do. I tell you for certain that if you have faith in me, you will do the same things that I am doing. You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father. Ask me, and I will do whatever you ask. This way the Son will bring honor to the Father. I will do whatever you ask me to do.”

I don’t know if you have ever prayed and not received the answer you have wanted, but this open-ended statement appears to promise us both the ability to perform miracles through the Holy Spirit, and to ask for great things of God and receive answers.

While I don’t fully understand why God answers prayers in certain ways or not, this amazing promise appears to hinge on Jesus’ opening statement about having faith in Him. Jesus sets the stage by saying, “Have faith in me when I say that the Father is one with me and that I am one with the Father. Or else have faith in me simply because of the things I do. I tell you for certain that if you have faith in me…” , and with this opening, Jesus then shares the huge open-ended promise.

Three times in this opening, Jesus uses the phrase “faith in me”. We are to have faith that Jesus is one with the Father. We are to have faith in Jesus because of the things he does and has done for us. And, we are to have faith that Jesus will do whatever we are asking.

While I won’t claim to speak for God as to why some prayers appear to be answered while others are not, I will say that in order to fully realize all that God created us to be, we must exercise the three levels of faith in God that this passage describes. We must have faith in who Jesus is, specifically that He is one with God the Father. We must have faith in what He has done for us, especially faith in His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection. And we must have faith in His future working in our life and faith that He is faithful in keeping His promises.

Jesus brings honor to God the Father when we ask Him for help, and when our requests match His will, nothing will stand in the way of God answering our prayers!

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

Be sure to always seek God first in your life and intentionally focus your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Him and His Son Jesus. Don’t be afraid of asking Jesus tough questions or for big requests, but also know that God’s plan is much bigger than our plan. Chances are that He won’t answer a prayer that will not benefit us in the perspective of eternity, because God’s goals is to see us with Him in heaven.

Also, be sure to always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your relationship with God and to keep your relationship with Him strong.

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!

On the night of His arrest, which happened on the day before His crucifixion, Jesus shared a special supper with His followers. This supper has become known throughout the Christian church as “The Last Supper”, and one of the key things that happened during this supper is an event we call communion.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all include Jesus eating and sharing bread and wine with His disciples, and each of these gospels includes Jesus attaching a symbol to each part of the communion ceremony. Let’s read from Matthew’s gospel to uncover what happened and what symbolism Jesus attached to the bread and the wine during this supper meal.

Our passage for this episode is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 26, and we will read it using the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 26, Matthew describes what happened:

²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took a piece of bread, gave a prayer of thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples. “Take and eat it,” he said; “this is my body.”

²⁷ Then he took a cup, gave thanks to God, and gave it to them. “Drink it, all of you,” he said; ²⁸ “this is my blood, which seals God’s covenant, my blood poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ I tell you, I will never again drink this wine until the day I drink the new wine with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”

³⁰ Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

In these short 5 verses, we have one of the most symbolic and treasured ceremonies throughout the entire Christian Church. While different denominations celebrate communion differently, what is always present is bread and some form of grape juice, and everyone rightly attaches symbolism to each item as they eat or drink it.

Earlier in Jesus’ ministry, He describes eating His flesh and drinking His blood when challenging a crowd of supposed followers. While at the time, most people thought He was crazy and cannibalistic for saying this, perhaps He was simply pointing forward to the foundation He lays during this meal.

Verse 26 describes the first symbol, which is attached to the bread: “While they were eating, Jesus took a piece of bread, gave a prayer of thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples. ‘Take and eat it,’ he said; ‘this is my body.’”

The Passover bread represented Jesus’ body. When reading this, part of me wonders if Jesus isn’t actually describing any new symbolism. I wonder if the Passover bread that was eaten throughout the centuries following the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt was a symbol of the Messiah. If this was the case, then what the people had missed for over a thousand years was a symbol pointing to the Messiah tucked in one of the highest, most significant Jewish feasts in their entire calendar.

When breaking and eating the Passover bread, if we keep in our minds the symbolism that it represents Jesus’ body, then we can associate it with Jesus’ sacrifice and Him giving His body to be put to death. While Passover was celebrated as a reminder of the last plague that struck Egypt, tucked in it is an incredible symbol of God’s love, protection, and redemption of His people.

Verses 27 and 28 draw our attention onto the next symbol: Then [Jesus] took a cup, gave thanks to God, and gave it to them. “Drink it, all of you,” he said; “this is my blood, which seals God’s covenant, my blood poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

While the bread was symbolic, the cup filled with wine is even more symbolic. The wine represented Jesus’ blood, and while it sounds disturbing to think about drinking blood, a person or animal’s blood represents its life. The Jews were commanded to not drink blood from an animal, or even to eat meat with the animal’s blood still in it.

Perhaps there is symbolism in the command to avoid an animal’s blood as well. Since God views us as being more valuable than animals, if we blend these two ideas together, the idea of eating or drinking an animal’s blood would symbolically imply that we desire to be more animal-like. This is just speculation on my part, but it would be an interesting study to undertake.

But we cannot escape the symbolism pointing Jesus’ blood being symbolic of His life. Jesus’ life and death sealed God’s covenant with His people, and it made a way for God’s justice to allow for the forgiveness of sins. The symbolism in the communion drink is that we are taking in Jesus and desiring to be more Christ-like with every drop that is consumed. Drinking during communion is a way for us to symbolically internalize Jesus’ life and accept His sacrifice on our behalf.

In one of the most significant Jewish festivals, Jesus draws out one of the most significant pair of symbols for the early Church. Maybe the Jews understood the Passover memorial of the final plague in Egypt to be symbolic of the Messiah, but maybe not. Either way, the plague of the angel of death, and the lamb’s blood that saved the Israelites marks an incredible symbol of the effectiveness of God’s Messiah.

None of the previous plagues had worked to change Pharaoh’s heart into letting Israel go. It took the most powerful symbol of the Messiah coming and dying to protect His people that ultimately broke the Pharaoh’s grip on God’s people.

As I say this, I wonder if the plagues’ themselves, and Israel’s exodus is symbolic – representing history, specifically God’s redemption for all His people throughout all of history. If this is the case, at the heart of the exodus event was the blood of the lamb, and at the heart of our salvation story is the blood of Jesus. In both cases, God’s people are protected by the sacrifice and life that was not theirs. We all benefit from the sacrifice that Someone else made and that makes our salvation that much more valuable.

When we celebrate communion, we pick up and remember thousands of years of symbolism in a seemingly simple ritual, but even though we might not think about how deeply the Messianic symbols flow through Communion and the Passover celebration, we still can be blessed knowing that we are carrying on a symbol that Jesus began long ago.

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 in your life. The next time you take part in a communion ceremony, remember how everything points to God. Also, remember how the Passover celebration itself foreshadowed Jesus as God’s Messiah.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do in one way or another, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself. While pastors and other religious leaders are valuable for giving you ideas to think about and places to start, what matters most is that you are growing a personal relationship with God through the reading and study 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 deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!