Reflective Bible Study

Throughout the gospels, we read about Jesus sharing some pretty harsh things, and making some very challenging statements. However, if we were to rank Jesus’ difficult statements, in my own mind, one specific passage, specifically one verse in a specific passage, tops the list. If you are looking for a reason to not follow Jesus, look no further than the challenging verse near the beginning of our passage for this episode.

This difficult passage is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 14, and we will read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 25, Luke describes the scene for us:

²⁵ Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ²⁶ “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

²⁸ “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? ²⁹ For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, ³⁰ saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

³¹ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³² If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. ³³ In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

³⁴ “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? ³⁵ It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.

“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

Let’s stop reading here because this might be one of the most challenging messages Jesus makes in the entire Bible, and the way Jesus starts is perhaps the most startling.

If we ignore Jesus’ opening message, the rest of the passage sounds challenging, but it isn’t very harsh. Planning, saving, and being strategic with our finances and our resources is simply a smart way to live, and the majority of Jesus’ message is telling us to focus on the end goal when we are making plans to start. One big theme we can see in this entire message is to think with the end in mind.

In the case of the tower, we need to think with the end in mind and focus on what we will need to save in order to finish the project. And in the case of a war, it is only smart to analyze whether we have enough resources to win. In both cases, if we don’t have enough resources, it would be better to either wait or look at our other options.

The same consideration is present when we choose to follow Jesus: We must think with the end in mind. In the case of our faith, thinking with the end in mind seems on the surface to be easy. It is wonderful to think and dream about what heaven will be like. Thinking about heaven and focusing on eternity is one way we can have hope when our lives are falling apart.

But then why would Jesus start out by talking about hating those in our family if we truly want to be His disciples. This sounds needlessly cruel and in many cases, God has brought those people into our lives.

While we could look at this statement and think that Jesus simply said it to get the attention of those present, similar to a speaker today saying something shocking to get the attention of a crowded auditorium, I don’t think this would be a technique Jesus would use if the statement was truly false. If the statement’s only value was shock value, it would mean that Jesus lied to the crowd of people, and I don’t believe Jesus could or would deceive anyone.

However, I believe that the way Luke describes the scene prompts Jesus’ words and His message. Luke opened this passage in verse 25 by saying that “Large crowds were traveling with Jesus”. Another way to say this is that Jesus had become popular among the people. The challenge Jesus faced with a large crowd of followers is that Jesus did not come to start a popularity competition, and He did not want the popularity of the crowd.

Jesus came to give God the glory, to give His life for sinners, and to give us a picture of God’s love for each of us. Jesus pushed back against followers who were not sincere. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the majority of those in the crowd traveling with Jesus that day simply wanted to be near the most popular person in the country, and they enjoyed seeing miracles, and being able to tell their friends about what Jesus did and said.

Instead of giving into the popularity trap, Jesus cuts straight to the core of this crowd of “followers”. Just like Jesus describes in later portions of this passage and in other parts of the scripture, His followers are to think with the end in mind.

This means that we should really take a hard look at whether we are ready to be followers of Jesus, because followers of Jesus are hated by others, ridiculed by many, and killed in plenty of cases. If the choice comes to loving our parents, our siblings, our spouse, or our children over following God and His mission for our lives, we must choose God’s way over family – and even over our own lives.

A recent episode pointed out the truth that nothing anyone can do to us in this life can compare to what God will reward or punish us with after this life has ended. Because of this truth, we should be ready for trials to come from any and every direction. However, because of what Jesus teaches here and in other places in the gospels, we should keep our hope alive by thinking with the end in mind.

We can face more than we believe we are capable of when we keep eternity in focus. When trusting Jesus and looking forward to heaven is our focus, we rightly realize that the challenges we face today are insignificant in the big picture of eternity. If friends or family members choose to reject us because we have committed our lives to Jesus, know that Jesus has promised us a brand new family of believers in the New Heaven and New Earth.

While Jesus speaks challenging words to those of us who call ourselves Christians, His big challenge is to keep the end in mind when we face challenges in our lives today – and to intentionally choose to stay connected with Him each and every day moving forward into eternity!

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 to keep Him in focus as you go through each day. Be sure to live your life in a way that gives Him glory and in a way that is pleasing to Him.

Also, be sure to always pray and study the Bible for yourself to keep your connection with Him strong and your relationship with Him personal. A pastor or podcaster can give you great ideas to think about, but never let anyone come between you and Jesus!

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

All throughout the gospels, while Jesus was teaching, preaching, healing, and traveling throughout the countryside, there seemed to be only one key thing that the religious leaders really disliked Him for.

While Jesus was helping people, and pointing people to God, which are both things the religious leaders couldn’t really complain about, the religious leaders did not like that Jesus was gaining popularity – but a popular Jesus didn’t bother them as much as something else Jesus continually did.

It would seem as though on about every chance Jesus got, He would choose to heal people regardless of what day of the week it was. Whether the day was a weekday or a weekend day, it seems as though Jesus never really took a day off from helping people – and this really bothered the religious leaders because it went against one of the Ten Commandments in their minds, specifically the Sabbath commandment.

The Sabbath commandment said that the other six days of the week were workdays, but the Sabbath seventh-day of the week was set aside to be a holy day where there was to be no work performed on it. The Pharisees saw Jesus as a teacher-healer, and therefore, healing was part of Jesus’ occupation and something that the Sabbath said He should rest from.

Our passage in this episode shares an event where Jesus heals on the Sabbath day, and the interesting thing about the version of the Bible I chose to use for this episode is that it doesn’t use the word “Sabbath” to describe the day. But even though the day is not given a name in this translation, the day is still given significance. This event is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 14, and we will read it from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 1, Luke tells us that:

¹ On a day of rest—a holy day [most other translations say this day was the Sabbath] Jesus went to eat at the home of a prominent Pharisee. The guests were watching Jesus very closely.

² A man whose body was swollen with fluid was there. ³ Jesus reacted by asking the Pharisees and the experts in Moses’ Teachings, “Is it right to heal on the day of rest—a holy day, or not?” ⁴ But they didn’t say a thing.

So Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away. ⁵ Jesus asked them, “If your son or your ox falls into a well on a day of rest—a holy day, wouldn’t you pull him out immediately?” ⁶ They couldn’t argue with him about this.

I find this version of the Bible fascinating because of how it has chosen to describe the Sabbath day. The Sabbath is described everywhere it is found in this version of the Bible as a day of rest and specifically as a holy day. Perhaps this is because these translators wanted to take the emphasis off of the name Sabbath, or perhaps they felt that the name of this day had become watered down and had lost its meaning. By always describing the significance of the Sabbath instead of simply saying its name, while it makes for a little more awkward flowing text, we are pushed to remember what this culture thought about this specific day.

But a number of other things in this passage stood out to me as I read it. Before we even learn about the man with the disability we read that “The guests were watching Jesus very closely.” (v. 1b)

This immediately tells me that this event was a set-up. At the home of a prominent Pharisee, with all of his Pharisee friends present, probably following a worship service at the local synagogue, Jesus accepted the invitation for lunch. Had this been a supper time meal, it would have been close to the sun setting and there would be no problem with a miracle healing because after the sun set, the Sabbath would have been over and a new week would have begun.

I also find it interesting that the first thing Jesus does is pose the question about whether it is right for someone to heal on the holy day of rest or not. In this question, it seems Jesus is either opening up the floor for discussion, or being polite and asking if anyone had any objections to Him healing this man.

This looks even more like a set-up when no one answers Jesus’ question. Remember, this is a group of Pharisees, and Pharisees were among the most legalistic law-followers around. Yes, they objected to this healing, but they wanted to trap Jesus doing work, so technically they could not object because then Jesus might not perform the miracle they wanted to trap Him with. In the simple question and lack of response, it was like these Pharisees gave Jesus the green light to go ahead and heal this man.

However, Jesus knows that they really did object, but instead of answering their objection directly, He makes a comparison that they could not argue with. Jesus asked them the semi-rhetorical question in verse 5: “If your son or your ox falls into a well on a day of rest—a holy day, wouldn’t you pull him out immediately?”

While the Pharisees couldn’t argue about this, they still didn’t like the implication. Jesus didn’t even break a sweat healing this man. Healing was almost effortless for Him. However, everyone present at this meal knew that helping up a child or an animal that had fallen into a well would take a lot more effort and if this was something the religious leaders were willing to do, then healing a person would be just as acceptable. Part of me wonders if this had happened recently and a number of Pharisees present helped free an animal that had fallen into a well or ditch.

But a question still remains: Why would Jesus even accept the invitation knowing that He was being set up? If Jesus knew this entire event was a set-up, why even go?

I believe it was because Jesus loved the person who was ill and He wanted to heal him regardless of who was present, and because Jesus wanted to take those present – yes the legalistic Pharisees who were wanting to trap Him – to a different and more accurate view of the Sabbath holy day of rest.

For Jesus, the Sabbath was a day that was dedicated to God to rest and focus on family, friends, and relationships. It was to be the high point at the end of the week and it was to be a blessing for those who kept it. It was not intended to be a burden where people had to be extra-cautious for those 24 hours for fear of breaking a rule.

Jesus lived God’s idea of the Sabbath, and that was an idea that focused on helping people on that special day. For the man who was healed, that Sabbath day would forever be a special day in his life because it marked freedom from his illness, and it may have been a day he chose to celebrate every year like a birthday or anniversary.

Jesus loved to help people, and He wants us to realize that the Sabbath is a day where we are free to help others!

With that said, here are the challenges I want to leave you with at the end of this podcast episode:

If you have written off the Sabbath, or if you have been more focused on the rules of what not to do, pay attention to how Jesus treated the Sabbath. As I have read about this, Jesus observed the Sabbath but did so differently than the culture did at that time. When celebrating the Sabbath, be sure to focus on God, friends, and family, and be sure to avoid letting it become a day where rules trump relationships. God loves you and He created the Sabbath day to be a blessing and gift for all humanity.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, prayerfully study the Bible for yourself to learn more about why God set the Sabbath day apart for rest, and if you have never looked into it, the Bible gives enough information to help one discover what day of the week the Sabbath day is today in the 21st century. Learning what day this is might both surprise and challenge you.

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!

As Jesus taught the crowds, He frequently challenged them based on their level of commitment. Sometimes Jesus’ challenges were based on His divine knowledge of other people’s thoughts or the state of their hearts. Other times, Jesus challenges the people based on a question He receives or a situation that presents itself.

In our passage for this episode, Jesus challenges all His followers based on a question He receives, and from the answer Jesus shared, we are warned about salvation not being easy and how there will be a group of people who think they are safe who end up being excluded.

Our passage is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 13, and we will be reading from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 22, Luke tells us:

²² Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. ²³ Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

He said to them, ²⁴ “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. ²⁵ Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’

“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’

²⁶ “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

²⁷ “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’

²⁸ “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. ²⁹ People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”

In this passage, we see a clear warning that not everyone will be saved, even if they wanted to be. This is a challenging thing to think about especially when we know that Jesus came to save all people. Jesus died on the cross to make the way for anyone and everyone to be saved, but when asked how many will be saved, without directly saying so, Jesus strongly suggests that only a small number of people will be included.

However, from Jesus’ sobering response, can we learn anything about those who incorrectly believe they are safe so that we don’t fall into the same trap they did? Absolutely!

The first truth I see in Jesus’ response is that there will be a time when the door is closed. After this point, it appears that those who choose to repent will have decided too late. I will be the first to say that I have no idea when the door for salvation will truly close, but the clear truth in this passage is that we shouldn’t delay or stall choosing Jesus.

Whether the door for salvation closes when we take our last breath, or if there is a separate, distinct time that applies to everyone, the sad truth is that those who come knocking at the door probably would have paid attention and come sooner had they known the door was closing. We avoid making the same mistake they do by choosing today to live for God, and entering His kingdom.

The second truth I see in this passage is that those who knock outside the door are described as people who the homeowner does not know. This means in our own lives that simply knowing about God, about Jesus, or about the need for a saving relationship will not be enough to actually save someone. To put it another way, us knowing Jesus isn’t enough; what matters is that Jesus knows you and I. This is accomplished by intentionally growing a relationship with God. Regular prayer, Bible study, and living a faith-filled life that depends on God is the way we grow our relationship with Him.

In many ways this second truth is more important than the first one because the implication is that if the homeowner recognized those who knocked at the door, He would have let them in. We should not let our relationship with God drift away because life is busy or full of distractions. If we are distracted away from God, we risk Him not knowing or recognizing us when we come knocking at the door.

This is also the case if we knew Him at some point in the past. Even those who are excluded say they ate and drank with the homeowner and know He taught in their streets, but a past relationship isn’t as significant as a present one. We need a strong relationship with Jesus in the present in order to be recognized by God.

The third truth is found in the homeowner’s final reply to those knocking at his door. He tells them in verse 27, “Away from me, all you evildoers!” This statement strongly suggests that doing evil will forfeit your salvation. We’ve touched on this already this year, and it is worth repeating that being saved is a gift we receive through faith, but our actions can forfeit the gift God wants to give us.

Those who find themselves on the outside will be guilty of keeping sin in their lives and letting their sin delay their decision to come to Jesus.

The final truth we will touch on for this episode is Jesus’ concluding remarks. Jesus describes Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but those He was talking to, specifically a group of Jews, being thrown out. Jesus then shares how people will come from all directions of the earth to be a part of the feast.

This strong final theme is that our ancestry, heritage, or any decision we made in the past is not enough to guarantee we will be saved. While many Jews believed that simply being a descendant of Abraham covered any fault they might have in their own lives, we fall into the same trap thinking that a single decision we made in the past is enough to cover any wrongdoing in the present. Simply being a Jew does not mean salvation any more than praying a prayer of confession into the Christian faith means we will always be saved. Each starting point needs to lead to a changed lifestyle and a focus on growing closer to Jesus!

We are saved when we focus on growing closer to Jesus to the point that Jesus knows who we are, when we don’t delay making that choice, when we live each day with our hearts and minds focused on living faithfully like Jesus did, and when we don’t rest on our past decisions or ancestry believing they alone are enough.

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

Intentionally make the choice to accept Jesus into your heart and life today. This is the most important single decision you can make. But don’t stop there. After making this decision, be sure to then intentionally choose to focus on growing closer to Jesus and spend time with Him each day. Focus on developing that personal relationship so that when the end comes, God will know you and open the door for you if you are not already inside.

We learn and grow closer to God and Jesus through prayer, through studying the Bible for ourselves, and through living a life of faith and dependence on God. If you need help with any of these areas, be sure to reach out and I am happy to help where I can. The important thing for each of us is to make our relationship with God our own and to not let anyone else get between us and God!

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 Satan trick you into leaving where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

While reading the gospels, it seems as though many people liked hearing the stories and illustrations Jesus told, but it seems that in many cases, while the illustrations Jesus used were simple, the truth Jesus was trying to share was lost on the audience.

In our passage for this episode, we’ll be looking at one of these illustrations, and specifically at how Jesus explains what He meant by this illustration. Our passage can be found in the gospel of John, chapter 10, and we will read it from the Contemporary English Version. Starting in verse 1:

¹ Jesus said:

I tell you for certain that only thieves and robbers climb over the fence instead of going in through the gate to the sheep pen. ^2-3 But the gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and he goes in through it. The sheep know their shepherd’s voice. He calls each of them by name and leads them out.

⁴ When he has led out all of his sheep, he walks in front of them, and they follow, because they know his voice. ⁵ The sheep will not follow strangers. They don’t recognize a stranger’s voice, and they run away.

⁶ Jesus told the people this story. But they did not understand what he was talking about.

If you have ever read a passage and not understood what it meant, you have something in common with the crowd in this passage.

However, instead of leaving the crowd confused at this shepherding metaphor, Jesus continues and explains it for those listening. Continuing reading in verse 7,

⁷ Jesus said:

I tell you for certain that I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ Everyone who came before me was a thief or a robber, and the sheep did not listen to any of them. ⁹ I am the gate. All who come in through me will be saved. Through me they will come and go and find pasture.

¹⁰ A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest. ¹¹ I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep. ¹² Hired workers are not like the shepherd. They don’t own the sheep, and when they see a wolf coming, they run off and leave the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock. ¹³ Hired workers run away because they don’t care about the sheep.

¹⁴ I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and they know me. ¹⁵ Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father, and I give up my life for my sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them together too, when they hear my voice. Then there will be one flock of sheep and one shepherd.

¹⁷ The Father loves me, because I give up my life, so that I may receive it back again. ¹⁸ No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly! I have the power to give it up and the power to receive it back again, just as my Father commanded me to do.

¹⁹ The people took sides because of what Jesus had told them. ²⁰ Many of them said, “He has a demon in him! He is crazy! Why listen to him?”

²¹ But others said, “How could anyone with a demon in him say these things? No one like that could give sight to a blind person!”

There are three parts of Jesus’ explanation that stood out when I read this.

The first part in this passage that stands out is Jesus’ telling us He is both the gate and the good Shepherd. These two ideas stand out because of the way Jesus explains them. Firstly, the gate frees the sheep and allows them to go into the pastureland for food and rest, and secondly, the gate protects the sheep and keeps predators out. Jesus is the way to peace, life, and rest – and He is also the best protection we have from those who would try to harm us. There are those who may harm our bodies, but Jesus keeps our lives safe – and this includes both our lives in the world today, and our lives in heaven in the future.

It may be challenging for some to internalize this idea, but just like we were all created with a purpose, God is not going to let us die while there is something left for us to do. This means that while we are working for Him, He is actively protecting us, and it is only after we have accomplished what He created us for that He will let us rest in preparation for the second life that is to come.

The second part of the passage that stood out when I read it is Jesus saying that He has other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. While some might take this to mean that there are multiple paths to God, I see it as extending the principle of Jesus’ ministry into being a little more generic. Jesus came to both divide some people and unify others. As I look at both the Old Testament and New Testament histories, as well as the history of the world up to this point, there are two broad groups of people present at every point in time: There are those who think they can do life on their own, and there are those who realize they need help with their life. The first group is all about self-reliance, while the second group is willing to accept help because they know they need help.

Jesus came for the second group of people, and when I read that He has sheep in other pens, I believe that He is saying that there are people who realize they need Him without knowing who He is. This would include all the righteous people in the Old Testament who only had the symbol of the lamb which is sacrificed for their sins.

The third part of the passage that stood out as I read it is when Jesus says that He has the power to give up His life and receive it back again. Jesus is fully aware in this passage that resurrection is in His future, and that by giving up His life, He is able to receive resurrection.

This ties into the first part of the passage that stood out to me because Jesus lived His life fully within God’s will and God’s plan, and God gave Him protection throughout His ministry leading up to the cross. Culture wants to make us believe that Jesus was betrayed and crucified against His will, but all four gospel writers draw our attention to how Jesus willingly went to the cross, and how all previous attempts on Jesus’ life were thwarted.

This passage concludes with the people taking sides. It seems that everyone thought what Jesus was saying sounded crazy, but while one group believed the source to be a demon, the other group believed the source was really God because of the miracles Jesus blessed others with.

Jesus came to both divide people between their belief about who He is and to unify people throughout time who know they cannot do life on their own.

As we finish out 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. Purposely choose to be part of the group who believes in Jesus. When God divides people based on their belief in His Son, choose to stand with those who recognize their need for help and their need for Jesus.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself and learn who Jesus really was from the gospel record. Don’t take my word for it, or even your pastor’s word for it. Study it for yourself because God wants to grow a personal relationship with you, and for your relationship with God to be personal, it cannot be based on anyone else.

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!