Reflective Bible Study

If you have ever believed the disciples were somehow spiritually superior to you or I because they walked with Jesus, you probably haven’t read much of the gospel record. When reading the gospels, it doesn’t take too long to discover a point where the disciples behave in a way that shows their flaws.

Our passage for this episode focuses in on one such time, and when we look at Jesus’ response, we discover a profound idea surrounding God’s character and some things He values when looking at our lives. While our passage for this episode isn’t very long, don’t let its length deceive you from thinking it isn’t relevant. This passage might contain one of the greatest spiritual, and non-spiritual, truths in the entire Bible.

This episode’s passage is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 9, and we will be reading it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 46, we learn that:

⁴⁶ An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. ⁴⁷ Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. ⁴⁸ Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”

In these three short verses, we not only see the disciples behaving like children by arguing about who would be the greatest among them, we also see Jesus step into their debate and reframe it with a concept that is quite powerful.

To set the stage for the big spiritual truth, Jesus calls a child over to Him. While we don’t know where this child even came from, or whether this child had been following Jesus from a distance, or if this was a toddler who was with his parents near Jesus, all of these details are irrelevant in the big scheme of things. Actually not knowing any details about this child is relevant to the truth Jesus is about to share.

The big idea Jesus wanted to illustrate in this passage is the contrast between where we think greatness is and where God sees greatness. While we see greatness as a stepping up and associating with people who are more important than we are, greatness in God’s eyes is the exact opposite. Greatness in God’s eyes has to do with stepping down and welcoming those who are unknown in Jesus’ name. It is when we welcome those into our lives who cannot do anything special for us that we welcome Jesus, and by welcoming Jesus into our lives in this way, we welcome God the Father, the One who sent Jesus, into our lives as well!

This is a huge spiritual truth, because in this first portion of verse 48, we discover the way to invite Jesus into our lives and hearts.

Jesus follows this truth up with a general principle that is both spiritual and non-spiritual, and while this truth doesn’t sound logical on the surface, it is actually very true. Jesus finishes verse 48 by saying: “For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.” In Jesus’ statement, we are challenged with the truth that serving, helping, and welcoming the most outcast among us is where we develop greatness in God’s eyes.

While culture and society place a lot of emphasis on the people at the top being the greatest of any organization, company, or group that has a structure, the truth is that in any structure, the people who get things done are rarely high on the ladder of status. Those who serve well might be stars among their peer-group or team of employees, but they are likely still on the level of doing work rather than the alternate.

In this discussion, the alternate is the managerial group. While typical organizational charts place the managers “above” those doing the work, we would be mistaken to think that managers are more important than the workers are. A manager is only as good as the workers he or she has on their team, and this is true moving all the rest of the way up to the highest levels of management. While the top levels of management might look on the surface like they are important because they have greater responsibility and greater influence than the working group they are responsible for, the workers are still the most important part of the process.

While Jesus shares a counter-cultural truth about greatness in the last part of this verse, this truth is also very spiritual as well. When we look at this statement a little closer, we find the flaw present in the original sin and the self-focused attitude Lucifer had before being kicked out of heaven.

Jesus’ statement in this passage speaks to an eternal truth about God’s kingdom: “For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.” Lucifer pushed back at the idea of serving and stepping down being significant for gaining greatness in God’s eyes. Many Biblical scholars point to a passage in the book of Isaiah as describing Lucifer’s character and focus. In Isaiah 14, verses 12-14 we read:

How you have fallen from heaven,
    morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
    you who once laid low the nations!
You said in your heart,
    “I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
    above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
    on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
    I will make myself like the Most High.”

In Lucifer’s mind, we see his desire to ascend higher than he was and to become like God. While this sounds ridiculous for us to think about, the principle in this attitude is where we will focus some time discussing. Jesus describes stepping down and serving as the path to greatness, while Lucifer is completely focused on stepping up and increasing his position in heaven.

Lucifer’s sin was pride – specifically a pride that focused on exalting himself above others. We could call this form of pride arrogance, and whether or not he displayed an outward form of arrogance when dealing with other angels, Isaiah’s prophecy and passage teach us that Lucifer’s heart was full of arrogant-pride that was counter to God’s path for greatness.

To contrast Lucifer, meet Jesus. Everything in Jesus’ life was aimed at stepping down and helping others. Jesus is God, and many Bible scholars understand that Jesus first chose to give up His divine form to become an angel (described at the angel Michael in parts of the Bible). When humanity was created, plans were made for Jesus to step down from His role in heaven and become human to teach us what God is like and to save us from sin.

When we read the gospels, we find Jesus loving and helping the lowest in society almost unquestioningly, and Jesus pushes back against the arrogant, religious elite. Jesus even stepped down so far that He took our punishment for sin when He didn’t deserve it.

Jesus models His statement the best, while culture leans towards a Lucifer-inspired model. Jesus modeled how to step down and serve the least among society the best – and Jesus has called His followers to model His life, His focus, and His character. Jesus has called each of us to step down and serve the least among us and when we do, we are seen as great in God’s eyes. When we welcome and serve others in Jesus’ name, we welcome Jesus into our lives, and God the Father with His Holy Spirit comes into our lives as well.

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

Seek God first in your life by serving others. As you move through life, pay attention to opportunities where you can serve others, and especially look for people who cannot repay you back for how you serve them. As God opens your eyes to opportunities where you can help others, know that when you serve and welcome others in Jesus’ name, you are serving and welcoming Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and even God the Father.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, pray and study the Bible for yourself, because in the pages of scripture, we can discover what God is like and we can grow a personal relationship with Him. While a pastor or podcaster can share what they have found that is fascinating and relevant to their own lives with you, only when you personally open the pages of scripture will you grow that personal relationship with God and learn His message for 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 drift away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

If you have ever wondered if Jesus or the disciples realized what would ultimately happen to the Messiah, you need to look no further than the event that our podcast focuses on this week. This event is recorded in three of the four gospels, and it gives us a very clear picture of both Jesus’ perspective on His mission, and the disciples’ lack of perspective about what Jesus was trying to warn them about.

For most of our podcast episodes, we pick just one of the gospels to focus in on, but because this event is pretty short, and because each gospel frames the disciples’ response a little differently, for this episode, we will pull in all three passages to help us discover the range of responses the disciples had. For all three passages, we will read them using the New American Standard Bible translation.

The first passage we will look at is from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 17, starting in verse 22:

²² And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; ²³ and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.

If there was any question in your mind about whether Jesus knew death was in His future, this set of verses from Matthew sums it up. But what is amazing in my mind is that Jesus not only sees His death, He also sees the rest day, which is day 2, and the resurrection day, which is day 3.

But it seems as though the disciples missed that last part about the resurrection, because the passage concludes by saying, “And they were deeply grieved.” I suspect that if the disciples had heard the whole statement, concluding with Jesus’ resurrection on the third day, it wouldn’t be cause for alarm or grief, but instead it would be cause for amazement and/or joy. After all, Jesus says that people will kill Him, but He won’t stay dead!

This is how Matthew framed this event. Let’s now look at Mark’s gospel, and see how it frames the disciples’ response. Mark’s gospel has this event in chapter 9, starting in verse 30. Mark tells us:

³⁰ From there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it. ³¹ For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.” ³² But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.

In Mark’s gospel, we see a different picture of their response. Mark tells us they were confused, which does make sense because this prediction is both specific and unique, but it also gives another clue into the disciples when it says that “they were afraid to ask” Jesus what He meant.

Perhaps Jesus’ disciples stayed silent because no one else spoke up, or perhaps they chose to intentionally remain ignorant because each of them didn’t want to believe that Jesus would, or could, be killed. Jesus’ disciples had seen Him narrowly escape death many times before – from both angry people and from the forces of nature. I suspect that in the minds of these disciples, it would be illogical for Jesus to be captured and killed by the religious leaders. After all, every time Jesus had faced off against a group of religious leaders, Jesus was always one step ahead of any plot or scheme that they wanted to trick or trap Him with.

Fear of the truth and the choice not to ask clarifying questions stopped these disciples from learning the truth beforehand. It would only be after the resurrection, on a road leading away from Jerusalem, where a couple of discouraged disciples would ultimately learn the truth regarding the Old Testament predicting the crucified and risen Messiah.

However, while Matthew and Mark frame this event as they have, Luke puts an interesting twist on this message from Jesus to His disciples, and specifically on the disciples’ response. This event is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 9, starting in the second half of verse 43:

^43b But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, ⁴⁴ “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” ⁴⁵ But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.

Luke touches on the disciples’ reaction of fear, but he also brings out an interesting observation. Luke tells us in verse 45 that the disciples “did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it”.

According to Luke, the meaning of the statement Jesus shared with them was concealed from them. This implies that while Jesus shared with them, God kept the true meaning of Jesus’ words hidden until a later time. Luke’s gospel appears to say that while Jesus spoke freely with His followers about what was coming in the near future, the Holy Spirit hid the meaning from them for reasons that only God could fully know.

However, while the language of Luke’s gospel prompts us to look to God as the one hiding the truth, it is probable that the disciples were both not ready to receive or believe in the truth. If Jesus’ disciples had realized parts of this prediction over others, they may have fought the mob that did arrest Jesus because they wanted to hold onto their own view of who the Messiah would be rather than let Jesus be the Messiah He came to be.

The big truth this event tells me is that God will sometimes keep a truth about Himself hidden until we are ready to understand it. The disciples were not ready to accept the truth of Jesus’ words, so this truth was hidden from them until they were ready to pay attention and accept what had happened.

In our own lives, living over 2,000 years later, I wouldn’t be surprised if God is hiding truth from you and me until we are ready to understand and accept it. While some people might look at this as being  an example of God being unloving or keeping secrets, it could simply be because we have some preconceived ideas about God that He wants to help us break out of first. If we trust God with our eternity, we should also trust in His timing as well.

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

As I always open by challenging you, intentionally and prayerfully seek God first in your life and be open to learning from Him. Ask lots of questions and choose to be okay with waiting for His timing when responding to your questions. If you trust God to keep you safe for eternity, choose also to trust in His timing when leading, guiding, and helping you grow.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself with the goal of opening your heart and mind to what God wants to teach you in the events you study. God is the best teacher you could have, and the Bible is one of the best sources of knowledge when wanting to grow closer to 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 doubt yourself away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Part way into Jesus’ ministry, we come to an event that many skeptics probably would eliminate from the Bible if they could. This event is one of the clearest examples in Jesus’ ministry that He was from God, but interestingly enough, Jesus asked the disciples who were present to keep the event a secret until after He was raised back to life.

As we read this event together, think about what you might have done if you were there with the disciples when it happened. Our event is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 17, and we will be reading from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 1:

¹ After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John (the brother of James) and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone.

² Jesus’ appearance changed in front of them. His face became as bright as the sun and his clothes as white as light. ³ Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them and were talking with Jesus.

⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good that we’re here. If you want, I’ll put up three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵ He was still speaking when a bright cloud overshadowed them. Then a voice came out of the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I love and with whom I am pleased. Listen to him!”

⁶ The disciples were terrified when they heard this and fell facedown on the ground. ⁷ But Jesus touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid!” ⁸ As they raised their heads, they saw no one but Jesus.

Let’s pause reading here for a moment, because what just happened is very significant when we think about it. In this event, not only does Jesus temporarily reveal His glory to the three closest disciples, we also have confirmation from God the Father and two of the most prominent Old Testament figures.

I don’t think it was an accident that Moses and Elijah were the one’s present for this event. Moses, who died and was buried on a mountain just outside the Promised Land is one of the first in history to have been physically resurrected and taken to heaven. While Enoch lived a thousand or more years before Moses, Enoch never experienced death. Moses had. When we look at Moses being included in this event, we see foreshadowing of those who will face death looking forward to the opportunity of resurrection.

Including Elijah is also significant, because in some respects, he was the most famous and Holy Spirit filled prophet in the Old Testament history. Elijah is also significant because he is the only individual in Israel’s history to have never experienced death. God took him to heaven on a fiery chariot prior to his death.

When thinking of the phrase, “law and the prophets”, we can see Moses representing the law, and Elijah representing the prophets. In this event, both of these historical figures come and validate what Jesus is doing, and what He is here to accomplish. In the same way, both the law and the prophets point forward to Jesus, His mission, and His ministry.

Looking at the timetable of history, I wonder what sort of conversations Jesus had with both these men prior to coming to earth as a baby. Both these men would have been able to spend hundreds of years with Jesus in heaven prior to this brief moment on the mountain, and we really don’t know what they shared with Jesus while on the mountain in this passage.

Which makes me wonder, what would you have done if you were on the mountain there with Jesus, Moses, Elijah, and the three disciples? Peter impulsively says the first thing that comes to his mind, which while not bad, was not all that necessary. James and John on the other hand simply don’t say anything at all. If it weren’t for them being included in the verses leading up to this event, we wouldn’t even know they were there.

I’m not sure what I would have done, but I’d like to think I would have been more like James and John, who stayed silent and observed, rather than Peter, but it would be impossible to know for sure.

Let’s continue reading and see how this event ends. Picking back up in verse 9:

⁹ On their way down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen. Wait until the Son of Man has been brought back to life.”

¹⁰ So the disciples asked him, “Why do the experts in Moses’ Teachings say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “Elijah is coming and will put everything in order again. ¹² Actually, I can guarantee that Elijah has already come. Yet, people treated him as they pleased because they didn’t recognize him. In the same way they’re going to make the Son of Man suffer.”

¹³ Then the disciples understood that he was talking about John the Baptizer.

One thing that amazes me about this trip down the mountain is that Jesus clearly gives an opening for these disciples to ask Him about the crucifixion-plus-resurrection weekend. Jesus asks these disciples to keep quiet about this event until after He was brought back to life, which would have been the perfect opening for one of the disciples to ask Him what He meant.

Instead, since Elijah is fresh on their minds, and since he was one of the unexpected guests on the mountain, the disciples ask Jesus about why the religious experts say Elijah is supposed to come first. Jesus gives a great answer, and the disciples realize that John the Baptizer fulfilled this prediction, but the disciples miss asking the big question that would have made crucifixion weekend significantly different for them.

If they had simply asked Jesus to teach them about what He meant when He referenced His death and coming back to life, I doubt the disciples would have been as sorrow-filled when Jesus actually died. Instead, the disciples would have been waiting expectantly for His resurrection. They might have even been present at the tomb to witness the angel.

However, they didn’t ask the question. For all the openings Jesus gave them to ask about His death and resurrection, the disciples didn’t ask Jesus to teach them about it until it was too late. Only after the resurrection and the confusion surrounding the weekend do the disciples actually stop and pay attention to what the scriptures actually predicted would happen. Only while Jesus is walking with disciples who don’t recognize who He is, do we see the disciples being open to learning what the scriptures predicted would happen that weekend.

In our own lives, God wants to teach us and show us amazing things, but we must be willing and open to what He wants to teach us. While Jesus is in heaven now preparing a place for each of us, we can look forward expectantly for the day He will return and bring us home to Him. We can look back in scriptures and discover who Jesus is and what He is like. We can look at Jesus’ life, love, and ministry, and discover what God the Father is like as well. And we can trust, believe, and have faith that God is doing everything He can to save us for eternity!

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

Be sure to seek God first in your live and be open to letting Him teach you what He wants you to learn. Be open to being used by God in amazing ways, for His purposes, and trust that He has your best future – your eternal future – secure. While crazy things might happen while sin is present in our world today, trust, believe, and look forward to the new heaven and new earth where sin will be a distant, forgotten memory.

Also, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself so that you will learn and know what God and Jesus are like firsthand. While listening to pastors or podcasters can help you see the Bible in new ways, God wants to show you Himself through the pages of His word personally. Only through personal study can you grow a personal relationship with God, and a personal relationship with God is something you can start today. There’s no reason to wait until heaven to grow towards 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 reject where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

If you have ever had a rumor circulate about you, you know how difficult it can be to break that rumor in light of the truth. And if you are in the spotlight, or in a place where you have people looking up to you, then this is even more true.

While the rumor mill is alive and well today, when we look back at the first century, during the time Jesus walked the earth, Jesus was one of the most famous, or infamous, people around. Almost everywhere Jesus went, He drew a crowd, whether it was a synagogue or a deserted place in the middle of nowhere. If someone knew where Jesus was, a crowd would eventually find Him and form around Him. Part of me wonders if there wasn’t always a crowd of people actively looking for Jesus, and that Jesus subtly tried to avoid the crowd whenever He needed time to rest.

However, oftentimes when big groups of people get together, they start talking, perhaps even exaggerating, the stories or things that they say, and when this happens, rumors start that either exaggerate the truth, or spread speculation that is outright false. This is just as true today as it was in the first century.

With the frame of mind that rumors were alive and circulating about Jesus during the first century, let’s read our passage to uncover a question Jesus asks His disciples about the rumors. In my mind, as we read this passage, it is unclear if Jesus really had two questions He wanted to ask, or if the first question really was designed to lead into the second question that Jesus was more interested in knowing.

Our event for this episode is found in three of the four gospels, but Matthew’s gospel includes some details that Mark and Luke don’t include. However, too often, we get caught up in the details Matthew includes that are unique that we miss the profoundness of Jesus’ questions and the responses that the disciples gave.

Because of this, for this episode and our time together, let’s look at Mark’s gospel. In Mark’s gospel, this event is found in chapter 8, and we will read from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 27, Mark tells us that:

²⁷ Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

²⁸ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

²⁹ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

³⁰ Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

In this event, Jesus opens with a question asking the disciples what the rumors surrounding Him are.

Something I find interesting in the response the disciples give is that the people living in Jesus’ time did not believe Jesus to be the Messiah that God had promised, but simply another prophet, or significant historical figure. Some might point to this detail as evidence that the people in Jesus’ time believed in reincarnation, but what is described here is a lot closer to resurrection of a historical figure than someone who is inherently immortal, continually returning in different forms.

It seems that the people believed Jesus to have been sent from God with a message for them, just like God sent John the Baptist and the prophets who came before Him. Jesus shared many similarities with the prophets God had send before, including the somewhat ironic detail that most, if not all, of the prophets were disliked by the spiritual and political leaders during their prophetic ministries. Part of me wonders if the regular Israelite living in the Old Testament had any positive or negative opinions of God’s prophets. From what I remember reading from the prophet and history portions of the Bible, I don’t recall anything being said about the common Israelite’s impression of any of the prophets.

However, the first question Jesus asks seems like more of a setup question in my mind. As I look at this conversation, I suspect that Jesus used this first question to change the subject of the conversation before asking the real question He wanted to know. While the disciples know what other people think and talked about, I believe Jesus really wants to know what they think about Him.

If other people were claiming Jesus was the Messiah, that would be one thing, but I suspect that Jesus wanted to avoid His followers making grander claims about Jesus than what the larger crowds of people were able to handle. I also suspect that since Jesus came to be a different type of Messiah than the culture at that time believed, Jesus knew that claiming the role of Messiah would not be in His best interest.

In my imagination, I wonder if there was a long awkward silence that hung in the air when Jesus shifted the focus from the larger population’s opinion of Him and onto the disciples’ opinion. As I imagine this event, I wonder if Peter responded immediately without even hesitating, or did one or two of the other disciples elbow him into making a response because the silence seemed like an eternity.

Regardless of the length of the silence following Jesus’ question, and regardless of what ultimately prompted Peter to respond in the way that He did, Peter’s answer to Jesus’ question is powerful and significant. Peter replied in verse 29, “You are the Messiah.” It is a simple, direct response, and probably the one Jesus was looking for.

Remember how I shared that Matthew includes some details that Mark and Luke don’t include. These details are shared in Jesus’ response to Peter’s declaration, and the first thing Jesus says I’ll pull into our discussion. In Matthew’s version of this event, which is found in chapter 16 of his gospel, immediately following Peter’s response, we read in verse 17, “Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.’”

The one big detail that made Peter’s response different from all the rumors circulating about Jesus is that God the Father prompted this belief in Peter’s heart that Jesus is the Messiah. From all the rumors circulating, none that the disciples shared framed Jesus as the Messiah, which meant that Peter would have gotten His belief from a different source than the crowd. Jesus frames Peter’s other Source as God the Father prompting this truth on Peter’s heart.

In Jesus’ response, and in the warning to not tell others about Him, I see Jesus saying to all of His followers living throughout history that it is God the Father and His Spirit who impress upon people the truth about who Jesus is. We can share the good news, we can tell others about Jesus and how our faith has helped our own lives, but only God can really move someone to internalize the truth about who Jesus is in their own hearts. Only God can make Jesus real to someone.

Jesus warned the disciples to not go spreading this around. This could have been a message for them prior to His death, since up to Jesus’ death, the popular view of who the Messiah would be was significantly different from the Messiah Jesus came to be. Or this could have been a message for them from that point forward, and to share about what Jesus had done for them and let God’s Spirit move those they shared with into the realization about who the resurrected Jesus is.

In my mind, this second idea could be relevant for us today. We can be witnesses who share our experiences and our testimony about what Jesus and God have done in our lives, but only God and His Spirit can move someone to internalize the truth about Jesus in their hearts.

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. If you are unsure about who Jesus is or should be to you, prayerfully ask God to help you understand how He wants you to see Jesus.

With this prayer on your mind and in your heart, open up your Bible and study it for yourself looking for an answer for this question. The Bible is the best place for us to find information about Jesus, if for no other reason than the New Testament has more recorded copies and manuscripts than any and every other historical document from that era. God wants us to know about Jesus, and He preserved not just the New Testament for us to learn from, but the whole Bible as well.

Also, purposefully and prayerfully study the Bible for yourself so you can learn more about what Jesus is like, which also gives God an opening to make Jesus real to 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 give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!