Reflective Bible Study

As we continue moving through the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, we come to a portion of a larger teaching Jesus shares regarding the end times. While I will be the first to say that what Jesus has predicted may have already happened, I will also be among the first to say that what Jesus describes might still be something we should pay attention and watch for.

Some people might discount this passage as less relevant believing it has already been fulfilled, but personally, I am less certain and hold to a belief that some prophecies may be circular, and they may repeat at certain points of history.

Let’s read this passage and then talk for a few minutes about how this passage may still be applicable for our lives today. Our passage is found in the gospel of Mark, chapter 13, and we will be reading it from the God’s Word translation. Jumping into Jesus’ teaching at verse 14, He continues by saying:

¹⁴ “When you see the disgusting thing that will cause destruction standing where it should not (let the reader take note), those of you in Judea should flee to the mountains. ¹⁵ Those who are on the roof should not come down to get anything out of their houses. ¹⁶ Those who are in the field should not turn back to get their coats.

Let’s pause reading here to draw our attention onto a phrase Jesus uses in the first part of this passage. This passage opens with Jesus using a phrase to describe this event from the prophetic writings of Daniel. There is lots of speculation over what Jesus calls the “the disgusting thing that will cause destruction” or the “abomination of desolation” which is how this phrase is translated in more classic translations. The impression we learn from how the gospel writers describe this is it is something that we should make note of and pay attention to.

There are three primary viewpoints regarding this phrase. Some people believe it was fulfilled shortly after Daniel’s lifetime when one of the Greek emperors captured Jerusalem and set up an idol to the god Zeus and sacrificed a pig on the altar. Others, believe this prophecy was fulfilled in AD 70 when Jerusalem was captured by the Romans after a Jewish revolt. A similar event occurred where the Romans laid waste to the temple and tried to install an idol on the place where the temple was.

Still another group of people believe this phrase relates to something that hasn’t happened yet. For these people, we still should pay attention and be on the lookout for something like this to happen.

Is it possible for more than one of these interpretations to be correct? Let’s look at what this passage says after this phrase. Reading again from verse 14, Jesus tells us:

 ¹⁴ “When you see the disgusting thing that will cause destruction standing where it should not (let the reader take note), those of you in Judea should flee to the mountains. ¹⁵ Those who are on the roof should not come down to get anything out of their houses. ¹⁶ Those who are in the field should not turn back to get their coats.

¹⁷ “How horrible it will be for the women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days. ¹⁸ Pray that it will not be in winter. ¹⁹ It will be a time of misery that has not happened from the beginning of God’s creation until now, and will certainly never happen again. ²⁰ If the Lord does not reduce that time, no one will be saved. But those days will be reduced because of those whom God has chosen.

Pausing reading again, we see an indicator that this is a one-time prophecy. Jesus describes this as “a time of misery that has not happened from the beginning of God’s creation until now, and will certainly never happen again”. While I don’t want to diminish anything we see in history, I picture what Jesus describes in this passage as being something that would clearly be visible within the pages of history. While this could be a description of the early church being persecuted by the Romans, the Romans only affected a small portion of the world. I wonder if the time of misery described here will be of a much larger, perhaps even a worldwide, scale.

The conclusion Jesus describes is clear. Verse 20 tells us that “If the Lord does not reduce that time, no one will be saved. But those days will be reduced because of those whom God has chosen.”

However, Jesus isn’t finished describing the end. After God has reduced the time of misery for the benefit of His people, Jesus tells us in verse 21:

²¹ “At that time don’t believe anyone who tells you, ‘Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’ ²² False messiahs and false prophets will appear. They will work miraculous signs and do wonderful things to deceive, if possible, those whom God has chosen. ²³ Be on your guard! I have told you everything before it happens.

To conclude the portion of this passage we are focusing in on, Jesus describes how we should be on guard for false prophets and false messiahs appearing. Jesus describes a time when we should not believe anyone who tells us that the Messiah has returned and he is somewhere specific. The return of Jesus is something that will be so clear, distinct, and traumatic that it likely will end the world as we know it. Anyone claiming to be God’s messiah with any less significant of an entrance we could call a false messiah.

Jesus also tells us that the false prophets and false messiahs will work miraculous signs and do wonderful things in order to deceive. While I won’t speculate on what these things are, one test that is easy to use is simply asking if the miracle or sign points people back to the Jesus of the Bible. If not, it is not from God. God has told us that He will glorify Jesus, and anything that takes our focus off of the Jesus described in the gospels we are told is the work of the antichrist.

However, with all the talk of the end-times and times of misery, we can know that God is still in control. Just like He cuts the time of misery short because He can, He will be with His people and He will protect His people. While God’s protection might not mean all of His people will be spared from death, it does mean that God’s people are protected and saved for the future new heaven and new earth when sin has been destroyed.

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 and keep your focus on the Jesus of the Bible. It is by keeping our eyes focused on Him that will keep us safe when trouble, trials, and challenges come into our lives.

Also, be sure to always pray and study the Bible for yourself because while a pastor or podcaster can share good ideas, it is always best to stay connected to the Source – and for us living today, the Source is God’s Holy Spirit that we can have through prayer and studying 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 abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

One of the things I notice most about Jesus’ teaching and preaching is that He looked for everyday opportunities to turn into teaching moments. As I read what the gospels record of Jesus’ teaching, preaching, and parables, I get the picture that at least everyone understood the setting of each of Jesus’ illustrations even if they didn’t fully grasp the big spiritual picture.

However, one teaching moment stands apart from the rest as extra amazing in my mind. This event begins with Jesus scouting out a place to sit near the moneybox in the temple, and it was because He wanted to catch a teaching moment.

We can find this event recorded in the gospel of Mark, chapter 12, and we will be reading from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 41, Mark tells us that:

⁴¹ Jesus sat near the Temple money box and watched the people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money. ⁴² Then a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which were only worth a few cents.

⁴³ Calling his followers to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. ⁴⁴ They gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had; she gave all she had to live on.”

Whenever I read this passage, I am amazed at this widow. Perhaps culture was different then, and maybe those who were poor or widowed were taken care of better than they are today, but maybe not. Maybe this passage gives insight into one widow’s extraordinary level of faith.

However, the big truth Jesus shares with the disciples has challenged many people since that point. Since Jesus told the disciples that the widow gave more than the rich people, is Jesus challenging or directing all of His followers to give everything to the church and live on nothing? It might seem as though some people understand this passage in this way.

But as I read this passage and event, I don’t see any instruction Jesus gives His followers about giving directly. Jesus doesn’t tell any of His followers to give like this widow gave. Instead, I believe Jesus had a bigger truth that He wants us to learn in this event. In this event, perhaps Jesus wants to teach us that in God’s eyes, the size of our gifts is measured by what we have leftover afterwards.

If God measures our gifts not by how much was given, but by how much we kept back for ourselves, then in some ways, God is measuring our faith by looking at how we give. By looking at our giving, God can see that the more we keep for ourselves signifies the less faith we have in Him.

Looking closer at Jesus’ words to His followers, He tells them that “this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. They gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had; she gave all she had to live on.”

Some people apply this statement to giving our tithes and offerings off the top income line as opposed to giving it after other expenses have happened. I can see logic in this way of thinking.

However, if we look a little deeper, it really doesn’t matter when we give if we are giving what we do not need, and the only time we can give all we have is before it has been given to other things. Maybe the widow had finished paying her rent and utilities, she had a cupboard full of food at home, and the two coins were all that was left. If that were the case, I doubt Jesus would have said what He did about her.

The rich people were probably giving off the top, and before they had physically spent the rest of their money, however, they had also budgeted in a way that made it so they truly didn’t need the money they were giving. This is good self-control and it is wise. But it isn’t giving sacrificially or in a way that increases faith. I think the big challenge Jesus has with these rich gifts is that they did not come with the giver’s heart and they didn’t grow the giver’s faith.

In contrast, the widow gave her two coins when she could have kept one. She demonstrated that she fully trusted God to provide for her. With these two coins came her heart and her faith. On the other hand, with the other gifts of bags filled with coins, none of them came with the giver’s heart. Therefore they were not as valuable. Each of the rich givers’ hearts was with the even larger pile of money that they had saved at home.

In God’s eyes, the size of our gifts is measured by what we have leftover afterwards. This is not because God wants all of our money. Instead, this is because God wants our hearts to come with our gifts – and it is hard to get our hearts with a gift that is only a small percentage of our wealth.

Does God want us to start giving everything like this widow gave? Maybe He does, but maybe He doesn’t. I think the bigger question for you and me is whether we will give Jesus our hearts along with our gifts, and that we will give enough of an amount that we are pushed to place our faith in Him.

This number will look different for each of us, but what will ultimately be the same between your giving and mine is that our hearts will be part of the gift, and as we give in this way, our faith and trust in God will grow, and our lives will be transformed!

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

As I always open these challenges by saying, intentionally continue seeking and placing God first in your life. Challenge yourself to give 10% more than what you gave last month and see what God does in your life. If an increase of 10% makes your heart nervous, perhaps that is because the gift might also include your heart. If you can increase your gift without even noticing, perhaps God may want you to give more.

Whatever the case is, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself, and intentionally growing your relationship with God on a personal level. While group worship is beneficial, personal study is vital to a strong foundation and connection with Jesus. If you haven’t been personally reading or studying the Bible lately, consider this a challenge to start or restart.

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 I have read the Bible, studied through the gospels and other passages, and prayed for wisdom, not many verses have stumped me on exactly what they mean. However, the passage we are focusing on in this episode is one passage I don’t really understand. In our passage for this episode, which can be found in three of the four gospels, after avoiding trick and trap questions, we find Jesus challenging the religious leaders with a question of His own.

Perhaps it is a matter of how the question and quotation is worded, but for a long time I wasn’t sure what David was describing.

Let’s read Jesus’ question and what happens, before discussing some thoughts about this event. While our event is recorded in three of the four gospels, let’s read Matthew’s version of it for our episode today. Our passage is found in Matthew, chapter 22, and we will be reading from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 41, Matthew tells us that:

⁴¹ While the Pharisees were still gathered, Jesus asked them, ⁴² “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

They answered him, “David’s.”

⁴³ He said to them, “Then how can David, guided by the Spirit, call him Lord? David says,

⁴⁴ ‘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.”’

⁴⁵ If David calls him Lord, how can he be his son?”

⁴⁶ No one could answer him, and from that time on no one dared to ask him another question.

For a long time, about the only part of this passage that I understood was the last statement, where Matthew simply describes the detail that no one could answer Jesus’ question and they didn’t ask Him any more questions after this. I think part of my confusion regarding this whole passage and discussion is in the first phrase of Jesus’ quotation. When Jesus quotes David saying, “The Lord said to my Lord”, who are each of the “Lords” that David is referring to.

Since the term “lord” can both refer to God as well as important humans, is David’s statement referring to God the Father, speaking to God the Son, or is David the one being honored with Jesus referring to David as a lord.

This psalm is quoted numerous times throughout the New Testament, which meant that not only was it significant following Jesus’ use of it in our passage, but that those in the first century understood what it meant.

In preparation for this episode, where I would need to come up with at least one theory or idea for us to think about, I decided to switch translations to see if a different translation would help uncover the meaning of this passage, and especially the phrase that was obscure. What I found was that almost every translation worded this event in a very similar way. However, one translation did explain it in a profound way.

The Amplified Bible translation is one hidden gem of a translation because throughout this particular version of the Bible, the translators include additional nuances that the original language has but that isn’t readily able to be translated into English. They do this by including these extras in parenthesis.

When looking at the amplified Bible at this passage, we discover that “The Lord (the Father) said to my Lord (the Son, the Messiah)”. Now we have a frame of reference to use when understanding this passage. David isn’t talking about himself at all, but he is sharing a dialog between the Father and the Son – also known as the Messiah.

This detail is key because of the broader context. The footnotes for this passage from the Amplified Bible share some interesting thoughts on this passage’s significance. This passage immediately follows Jesus being challenged by a key Pharisee about what commandment was the greatest. We learn that the goal of this question was to trap Jesus in His own words, but when we read Jesus’ response, we don’t fully grasp what the trick part of this question is.

When looking at Mark’s version of the Pharisee’s trick question, we discover that Jesus shares the opening lines leading up to the greatest commandment, which the New American Standard Bible translation tells us are “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord;” (This is Mark 12:29 quoting Deuteronomy 6:4.)

This detail is significant because it sets up the trick question. With the Pharisees trap, they were going to challenge Jesus based on His claim of being God’s Son because there is only one God and one Lord. Matthew’s gospel, while leaving this opening line of the commandment out, describes how Jesus answered the Pharisees question, but then challenged them on this foundational idea.

When the Pharisees answer Jesus’ question that the Messiah would be David’s descendant, they both speak truthfully, but they also expose the idea that they might believe the Messiah to be simply a human descendant of David and not someone divine.

Knowing that David was a key figure in their history, Jesus pulled their attention and ours onto three Members of the Godhead in how He quotes the psalm in our original passage. Matthew 22, starting in verse 43 says, “Then how can David, guided by the Spirit [also known as the Holy Spirit], call him Lord? David says, ‘The Lord [referencing God the Father] said to my Lord [referencing the Son and the Messiah]…”

In David’s own writings, he describes how the Messiah is honored by God and that the Messiah existed prior to His arrival. David called the Messiah “Lord”, using a term that is generally reserved for God, and with a context that does make it refer to God. By using the word Lord to describe the Messiah, David acknowledged that his descendant would be greater than he was.

In this passage, we discover some amazing ideas, and while I still don’t fully understand all the nuances that were present in this event, I do understand more than I did when I began. In this passage, Jesus pulls our attention onto the detail that David acknowledged the divinity of the Messiah, and that the Messiah is David’s descendant. These two details combined give us the impossible-for-us-to-understand nature of Jesus as both fully God and fully human. Jesus asks the perfect question to stop future questions because the answer to this question is something we cannot understand.

However, just because we cannot understand how this is possible doesn’t mean we cannot believe it. The Bible gives us plenty of evidence we can use to base our faith on, and we can use what the Bible says to know everything we need to know to be saved. It isn’t important for us to know how it was possible for Jesus to be both God and human, but it is important for us to know that God – the Son – died in our place on the cross.

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

Be sure to intentionally seek God first in your life and trust in Him even if we don’t have all the answers to all the tough or perplexing questions we might have. Know that some questions we have can probably never be understood, while others are only able to be understood once we reach heaven.

Also, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself so that you can keep your relationship and connection with God strong. A pastor, author, speaker, or podcaster can give you great things to think about, but test everything on the truth of God’s word the Bible. Take your questions to God and let Him lead you to His answers.

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!

Of all the times Jesus received challenges from the religious leaders, one time stands out in my mind as incredibly fascinating. While Jesus usually received His challenges from the religious group known as the Pharisees, there was another group known as the Sadducees who were even more conservative. The Sadducees only acknowledged the writings of Moses as scripture, and in their minds, while other authors might be significant from a historical point of view, Moses’ writings came first.

In today’s world and culture, we might be tempted to think that those in the first century were more unified, but this was not the case. In Judaism, there were many different sects, or denominations, and each group had a different way of thinking. The most well known sect was the Pharisees, and second to them were the Sadducees.

When the Sadducees came to Jesus with a challenge and question, their goal was building up a belief they had that clashed with all the other Jewish groups. Since they only followed the writings of Moses, they saw nothing credible in Moses’ teaching that pointed to a resurrection, so in their minds, a future resurrection was not in God’s plan.

Let’s read what happens from Luke’s gospel, in chapter 20, from the New International Version. Beginning in verse 27, Luke tells us that:

²⁷ Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. ²⁸ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁹ Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. ³⁰ The second ³¹ and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. ³² Finally, the woman died too. ³³ Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

Let’s pause briefly because I want to draw our attention onto this illustration. From the way the scenario is introduced, it is difficult to determine if this was a hypothetical illustration, or if this actually happened to a group of seven brothers.

The Sadducees tip their hand when they bring in the resurrection theme in their ultimate question. This scenario and question were the ultimate brainteasers for convincing others of their way of thought – and it wouldn’t be surprising to me to learn that the Sadducees had used this scenario and question to discredit the idea of resurrection.

But Jesus has a response for them, and Luke’s version of Jesus’ response is amazing to me. Picking back up in verse 34,

³⁴ Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵ But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, ³⁶ and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. ³⁷ But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ ³⁸ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

³⁹ Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” ⁴⁰ And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

When we look at Jesus’ response in this passage, we can separate it into two parts.

The first part of Jesus’ response hits the surface challenge of marriage at the resurrection. Jesus says that “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels.” (v. 34-36a)

Jesus’ first portion of His response challenges the assumption that marriage would be included in heaven. This was the first error of the Sadducees. When marriage is taken out of the equation, then their logic begins to fall apart.

But not only this, Jesus shares something powerful in this first half of His response. In this response, Jesus uses marriage as a litmus test of what age we are living in. In Jesus’ response, if marriage is present, or if it is even an issue, then we know we are living in the same age as Jesus – specifically in the age before the resurrection. However, there is an age to come after the resurrection, and that age will not have marriage. To conclude this first portion of His response, Jesus reminds us that those who have been resurrected who are like the angels “can no longer die” or in other words, they will be immortal like God.

To shift focus onto the second issue in the Sadducees question, Jesus subtly changes the topic from marriage to resurrection by stating in the second half of verse 36 that “God’s children … are children of the resurrection.”

After changing the focus off of marriage, which is something that is reserved for this age of time, Jesus challenges the core idea of what the Sadducees believed – specifically that Moses did not support the belief of a future resurrection. Jesus continued in verse 37 and 38 by stating that “in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

Because Moses uses the present tense when talking about God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who had long since died, this is all that is needed to draw our focus onto God. In how this classic Jewish phrase is worded, we see Jesus shift the idea off of the past and onto the future. Since God is immortal as well as outside of time, there would be no reason to focus on historical figures and their relationship with God unless these figures have a future life in mind.

Jesus concludes with His key counter-challenge to the Sadducees in verse 38 by saying that God “is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” However, while Matthew and Mark finish their statement there, Luke includes an additional phrase. Luke’s full phrase says that God “is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

Some might be quick to take this last phrase and use it to support the idea of an immortal soul. However, everything Luke includes up to this verse says something completely different. In this key point, Jesus focus’ us onto God’s perspective where everyone is alive, but this is because God exists outside of time. God can step into and out of time as He sees fit, and He can fast forward and rewind the movie called history whenever He wants to.

While the cast in history, which includes you and I, changes as the years go by, everyone is alive to God because He can move to any period in history that He wants to. For God, everyone is alive.

However, history in the context of this passage refers to the first age, which is defined by marriage. Jesus firmly supports the resurrection being the start of the second age, and that only those who are children of the resurrection, which is another way of saying that they died and were later resurrected, are given a future life in the age to come.

It is like God, who sees all of this age called history, gets to decide from everyone who lived throughout history whether to bring them into His sequel. His sequel is commonly called the New Heaven and New Earth, and it is the place where, and time when, sin, death, and according to Jesus, marriage won’t exist anymore.

However, we shouldn’t be sad that marriage doesn’t exist in the next age. If the things of today are a shadow of what is to come, then I know God has something even better in mind for us that will make marriage not be significant or even a topic of conversation.

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 when opening these challenges, intentionally focus on growing your relationship with God first. Of all the things that matter when our lives in this age are over, our relationship with God is the most important thing in this life, because our relationship with God in this life is what opens up the way for us to experience the next age with God.

Also, death, resurrection, and what happens when you die is a sensitive topic for many people. Because of this, I suggest you pray and study this subject for yourself. Read the different sides of the debate on the state of the dead, and then look at the context of all the proof verses in the Bible. Only after this will you be better equipped to make up your mind on this topic. Don’t take my word, or anyone else’s word for what happens at death – choose to take God’s Word after having prayerfully studied it for yourself.

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!