Reflective Bible Study

While Jesus performed countless miracles during His three-and-a-half years of ministry leading up to the cross, one of these miracles stands apart from the rest. This miracle stands out because Jesus isn’t directly present for the healing, though He may have planned to be, and because Jesus praises the faith of the man requesting help.

This miracle stands out in my mind because of some details Luke includes that the other gospel writers didn’t. Let’s read about what happened, from Luke’s gospel, chapter 7, using the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 1, Luke tells us that:

¹ When Jesus had finished saying all these things to the people, he went to Capernaum. ² A Roman officer there had a servant who was very dear to him; the man was sick and about to die. ³ When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his servant. ⁴ They came to Jesus and begged him earnestly, “This man really deserves your help. ⁵ He loves our people and he himself built a synagogue for us.”

Let’s pause reading hear for a moment because Luke just shared some details that I don’t believe Matthew included. In Luke’s version of this event, the Roman officer asks some respected Jewish leaders to ask Jesus for help. Whether this Roman didn’t think Jesus would be interested in helping him directly, or whether he believed that these Jewish leaders would make a stronger case for help, I cannot escape noticing that Jewish leaders came to ask for Jesus’ help.

It is also interesting that this miracle happens in Capernaum, which is one of the locations Jesus lived while He was in ministry. Several of the disciples may have even lived here as well. While it seemed as though Jesus had alienated Himself from most every other religious leader in Israel, these leaders in Capernaum had not written Jesus off – or this event happened early enough in Jesus’ ministry that not every religious leader had turned against Him.

I am also fascinated by the way these Jewish leaders ask Jesus for help. They open by saying that this Roman deserved Jesus’ help, and they support this statement by saying that the officer loved the Jewish people and that he built (probably financed) the synagogue where they worshiped. A subtle implication on both the part of the Roman officer and these leaders is that this officer knew he was outside of the circle Jesus was in, and these religious leaders were inside the circle with Jesus. This distinction is present in both the act of Jewish leaders making the request, and in the request itself when these leaders describe this officer’s love for “our people”.

This Roman officer might not have realized it, but Jesus came to bless both Jew and gentile, and He is happy to help this officer, but I doubt for the reasons that the Jewish leaders present.

Continuing in verse 6, we read:

⁶ So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the officer sent friends to tell him, “Sir, don’t trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house, ⁷ neither do I consider myself worthy to come to you in person. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. ⁸ I, too, am a man placed under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; I order that one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and I order my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

Let’s pause reading again because I want to point out a very interesting contrast. When the religious leaders make their case for Jesus’ help, they tell Jesus that this officer “deserves” Jesus’ help. In contrast, when Jesus is on His way, the officer’s friends bring Jesus the message that the officer does not “deserve” Jesus’ presence, and that this officer believes he is “unworthy” to come in person. While the religious leaders make a case that is founded on pride, the officer counters this case on the foundation of humility and his unworthiness.

Whether the officer believed he was too sinful, or whether he was simply self-conscious about Jesus seeing something he was not proud of in his home, this Roman understood that Jesus was not the one directly performing the miracles. Instead, Jesus was the “commander” so to speak, and God gave the healing. I don’t know if there had been any prior miracles where Jesus hadn’t been directly present before this point, but I don’t think this was the case. The parable of Jesus turning the water into wine comes close though, and this miracle also happened in the city of Capernaum.

How does Jesus respond? Let’s continue reading in verse 9 to find out:

⁹ Jesus was surprised when he heard this; he turned around and said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, I have never found faith like this, not even in Israel!”

¹⁰ The messengers went back to the officer’s house and found his servant well.

I am always amazed at this miracle because Jesus ultimately gives this Roman official a higher compliment than He had given to anyone else in Israel. In what was likely one of the more secular parts of the region of Israel, Jesus recognizes the unconventional faith that this gentile officer had. This Roman knew Jesus could help, he asks Jesus for help, and he lets Jesus know that His presence is not required.

From the moment this officer learned that Jesus would help, he knew that his servant would live because of Jesus. The proof of this was not getting Jesus to touch this servant directly, but simply the servant getting well. I believe if the servant had gotten well weeks later, rather than minutes, this officer still would have attributed this healing to Jesus, and he might have simply written off the time difference as something potentially necessary when dealing with long-distant miracles.

But this passage concludes that the servant was well, we might even say fully healed, by the time the messengers arrive back at the officer’s home. Jesus was not going to let this opportunity slip by with a slow miracle. Even though this officer didn’t believe he deserved Jesus’ help, or even Jesus’ presence, Jesus honored both.

We can learn from this Roman officer because when we think honestly about our own lives, we don’t deserve Jesus’ help. We have sinned, and we are to blame. Any help we request could fall on deaf ears – except that they don’t because of who God is and what He is like.

Also, we can learn from this Roman officer because he trusted Jesus’ word without Jesus’ presence. Jesus is in heaven right now and it is unlikely that He will personally come and answer your request. However, He is willing to help from a distance, and when we are willing to accept Jesus’ long-distance help and believe He wants the ultimate best for everyone in our situation, then with whatever happens, we can know that He has reasons for what happened – even if we don’t know His reasons.

God’s goal for each of us is not an easy life here in a sin-filled earth.

God’s goal for each of us is that we will live forever with Him starting in heaven before ultimately moving to a new heaven and new earth.

As we conclude another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Always be sure to seek God first in your life. Trust and believe in your heart that He wants the best for you from eternity’s perspective, and sometimes that means we won’t get the answers we want in this life. God loves us and He wants us to be with Him forever in the new heaven and the new earth.

But don’t take my word for it. Be sure to study the Bible for yourself and learn this directly from God’s word. God has protected the Bible for thousands of years, and if we trust God to keep us safe for eternity, we can trust that He is able and willing to keep His words safe over a few thousand years.

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!

Our passage for this episode begins with one of Jesus’ most famous verses, and this verse is one that Christians for centuries have claimed as a promise worth holding onto. However, sometimes what we receive after we claim this promise is not what we ask for, and this often confuses us into thinking God doesn’t care, He doesn’t exist, or perhaps that He dislikes us.

However, none of these thoughts are true. God does care, He does exist, and He does love us. Let’s read the passage for this episode and unpack how we can see each of these things present. Our passage is found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 7, and we will read it using the Contemporary English Version. Starting in verse 7, Jesus continued teaching, saying:

⁷ Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. ⁸ Everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And the door will be opened for everyone who knocks. ⁹ Would any of you give your hungry child a stone, if the child asked for some bread? ¹⁰ Would you give your child a snake if the child asked for a fish? ¹¹ As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask.

Let’s briefly pause here to draw our attention to a contrasting set of ideas that Jesus sets up. We are quick to claim the “Ask”, “Search”, and “Knock” promises, but look a little closer how Jesus says these will be answered. Yes, we will receive when we ask, we will find when we search, and we will have a door opened when we knock, but what often confuses us is that what we receive, what we find, and the door that is opened looks different than what we wanted.

Jesus explains this in the next verses and He summarizes it by saying, “your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask.” (v. 11b) God answers our prayers with things that will help us from His “eternity” perspective, and they will almost always look different than what we were asking for from our “earthly” perspective. God does care for us – He wants to be with us forever!

Let’s continue our passage. In verse 13, Jesus says:

¹² Treat others as you want them to treat you. This is what the Law and the Prophets are all about.

¹³ Go in through the narrow gate. The gate to destruction is wide, and the road that leads there is easy to follow. A lot of people go through that gate. ¹⁴ But the gate to life is very narrow. The road that leads there is so hard to follow that only a few people find it.

We’ll pause here to address an idea that I see included in this portion. The metaphor of a narrow gate and a wide gate and a narrow road contrasted with a wide road are about as famous as the Ask-Seek-Knock set of promises we just read about in the previous section.

However, there is something that bothers me about this metaphor. If believing in Jesus is how we gain entrance into heaven, then it seems as though there is enough people on that path to make it less narrow and easier to find and follow.

Perhaps this is the case, but maybe Jesus is thinking a step deeper than just gaining salvation. He calls this gate the gate of life, so perhaps this gate and path have to with finding the life that God calls each of us to live. I’ve heard this interpretation alluded to, and it is contrasted with those who fall short of God’s plan for their lives.

But Jesus contrasts the “life” gate with the “destruction” gate, which makes me think that we still must look at a judgment-like context. While Christians for centuries believe that belief in Jesus is the only way of receiving a ticket into heaven, the very valid counter-argument-question is what about all those living before Jesus was alive. Is the first several thousand years or more of history doomed to destruction simply because Jesus was not alive and present?

As I look deeper into the theme and idea of Jesus’ sacrifice, I see it echo the first sacrifice that happened immediately following Adam and Eve’s exile from Eden. After being kicked out of the garden, God gives them a promise through the symbol of a sacrificed lamb, and this sets the contrast in place between a “do-it-myself” attitude, and a “let-God-help-lead-and-guide-me” attitude.

The symbol of a sacrificed lamb shows us God’s mercy while still bringing punishment. It shows us God’s mercy towards us by shifting the death we deserve onto something that did not deserve it. I think in many ways, this could have been an incredibly powerful metaphor for those living before Jesus arrived in history – and it helps us trust in God’s existence, even if we don’t always understand His methods.

Let’s continue our passage. In verse 15, Jesus says:

¹⁵ Watch out for false prophets! They dress up like sheep, but inside they are wolves who have come to attack you. ¹⁶ You can tell what they are by what they do. No one picks grapes or figs from thornbushes. ¹⁷ A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that produces bad fruit will be chopped down and burned. ²⁰ You can tell who the false prophets are by their deeds.

Many Christians will take this last section of our passage and apply it with a number of other passages to give the impression that moving forward, God will not send any more prophets. In other words, they say, Jesus was the culmination of the prophets, and there is nothing more for a prophet to predict or point forward to.

While in many ways this is true, another way to describe a prophet is by using the word messenger. The typical way of describing someone as a prophet is if they make a prediction, but if we look at the lives and ministries of the Old Testament prophets, we can see the theme running through all their ministries that they were called to share a message, or a series of messages, from God.

If we understand Jesus’ words about prophets to be forewarning us about upcoming messengers, then we can clearly understand the test Jesus gives to help us weed out the imposters. Jesus’ test is simply to look at their lives. Aside from Jesus, everyone in history has sinned, so simply seeing a sin in someone’s past should not disqualify someone from being a messenger, because then only angels could fill that role.

Instead, Jesus helps us understand that He still likes us, loves us, and wants to help us by promising to send messengers to help point us back to Him. And the easy way to tell if these messengers are from God is to look at how they live their lives. False prophets will have red flags in their actions and attitudes, while true messengers will display fruits of the Spirit and have a more Christ-like and Christ-focused character.

God cares, God exists, and God likes each of us, and our passage in this episode helps us reaffirm our faith and trust in Him.

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. Continue to place your hope, faith, and trust in Jesus, the One who gave His life to be our sacrifice.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself and keep your eyes open for examples of God’s love for His people. Through the Bible, we can learn how God has been present in the history of this world, and we can get an idea for what He is like and how we can see Him moving in the world today.

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!

Part way through one of Jesus’ most famous sermons, the gospel of Matthew describes Jesus shift his attention to talk about worry, and specifically about how worry is in many ways worthless. Personally, I don’t struggle with worry as much as some others I know, but passages like the one we will be reading in this podcast have challenged me on this subject, and a little life perspective has proven Jesus’ words to be true in my own life.

Let’s read what Jesus has to say about worry. Our passage is found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 6, and we will be reading from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 25, Jesus continues by telling those present:

²⁵ “So I tell you, don’t worry about the food or drink you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your body. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. ²⁶ Look at the birds in the air. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds. ²⁷ You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.

Let’s pause reading here because what Jesus has just said is very profound. The last phrase of verse 25 challenges us to look at the bigger picture that “Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes”. I’m not sure if you have met anyone who stresses over what they eat and what they wear, but I know I’ve met people like this. In this phrase, Jesus draws our attention onto the big idea that life is more than food and clothing.

Intuitively we might know this, but what we eat and what we wear has the tendency to shape how we see ourselves. We have labels for the types of food we eat or don’t eat, such as vegetarian or vegan, and names for fancy diets that we might abide by. Our clothing also has labels designating what company designed and/or manufactured it. Some people really put a lot of thought and emphasis on these labels, but while the food we eat is important, it is not worth worrying about.

I think Jesus is hitting on the point that if something causes you concern, and that something is something you can do something about, then do what you can to change the thing that causes you concern. Jesus clearly states in verse 27, “You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it”. In other words, stop worrying and do something about it.

In contrast, if you cannot do anything about it, don’t focus a lot of attention onto it. Instead, focus on what you can change and improve, and be thankful for what God has blessed you with.

But Jesus isn’t finished talking about worry. He continues in verse 28 by saying:

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? Look at how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves. ²⁹ But I tell you that even Solomon with his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. ³⁰ God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire. So you can be even more sure that God will clothe you. Don’t have so little faith! ³¹ Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³² The people who don’t know God keep trying to get these things, and your Father in heaven knows you need them. ³³ Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well. ³⁴ So don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

In this passage, Jesus describes exactly what we should place our focus on, and what we should prioritize. Verse 33 opens by directly stating this. Jesus tells us to “Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants.”

This advice might sound a little simplistic, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t the truth. Some of the most profound truths are shared in very simple ways. It would be illogical for us to think that God is not aware of our needs. God knows our bodies need food and clothing. We likely do not need the most expensive food or the most glamorous clothing, but God knows what we do actually need, and He is more than happy to help us with that.

But what if we really want something that God does not appear to be blessing us with?

In my own life, when I have this thought or desire, I have to step back and ask myself, am I really seeing God’s kingdom first with this desire? While I won’t say that I have never answered yes to this question, in almost every instance, the thing I really want likely doesn’t move me or God’s kingdom forward. When I reframe my desire by looking at it from God’s kingdom perspective, I can easily see why God might not want me to have this thing.

However, God’s lack of a “yes” answer to prayer doesn’t mean His answer is always a “no”. Sometimes, God answers with a “wait” response, because He knows the timing isn’t right yet, while other times, His response is a “no, but here is something different but better in the long run”. It is up to me to trust that God knows what He is doing, and I can trust God because I know He wants me, and as many people as possible, with Him in heaven.

God wants me in heaven, He wants you in heaven, and he wants everyone in your circle of friends in heaven as well. God knows the best way to accomplish this, and we should trust Him that He knows what He is doing. Making trust a habit pushes worry out of your life. When worry is present, you may be experiencing a gap in your trust. Jesus challenges us to trust Him and not to worry, because “You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it”. (v. 27)

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

Be sure to seek God’s kingdom first and if you struggle with worry, challenge yourself to trust God more. Another word for trust is “faith”. When we have trust or faith in Jesus and/or God, we know that He is capable and willing to help us with whatever comes our way. With trust and faith in God, we know that even when huge problems come into our life, they are no match for the Creator of the Universe.

As always, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn more about God and about Jesus. I can share with you what I have learned and discovered, and I am happy to do so, but following along on my journey doesn’t mean much if you are not on a personal journey with God as well. Be sure to keep your personal connection with God strong by studying the Bible personally, because God wants to have a relationship with 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 abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

If you have ever wondered about how important forgiveness is, or if you have ever had trouble forgiving someone, in this episode’s passage, we find one of the most bothersome, but strangely practical, warnings about this difficult, challenging subject.

In my own life, for a long time, forgiveness was something I struggled with, and it impacted my family, my friends, my co-workers, and every other area of my life. Forgiveness was something I struggled with because I didn’t really understand it all that well, and also because part of me simply did not want to extend forgiveness to people who, in my mind, clearly didn’t deserve it.

Thankfully, God brought some people into my life who helped me understand what forgiveness is and what it is not, and they helped me see why forgiveness is important.

Let’s read our passage for this episode, before unpacking a little more about what forgiveness is all about. Our passage is found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 6, and we will read it using the New International Reader’s Version. Starting in verse 14, Jesus continued teaching, saying:

¹⁴ Forgive other people when they sin against you. If you do, your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive the sins of other people, your Father will not forgive your sins.

¹⁶ “When you go without eating, do not look gloomy like those who only pretend to be holy. They make their faces look very sad. They want to show people they are fasting. What I’m about to tell you is true. They have received their complete reward. ¹⁷ But when you go without eating, put olive oil on your head. Wash your face. ¹⁸ Then others will not know that you are fasting. Only your Father, who can’t be seen, will know it. Your Father will reward you, because he sees what you do secretly.

While the last portion of our passage doesn’t appear to focus on forgiveness, it is still important for us to pay attention to – and in several ways, it is relevant to our discussion about forgiveness. But before we get to how this relates to forgiveness, let’s focus in on how this passage opens.

Probably the biggest, most ominous comparison in this passage is Jesus warning about forgiveness in the first two verses of this passage. He directly says, “Forgive other people when they sin against you. If you do, your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive the sins of other people, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (v. 14-15)

This elevates the nature of forgiveness into looking dangerously close to a salvation issue. God forgiving our sins is necessary for us to be in heaven, and according to what Jesus says here, He will not forgive us when we choose to not forgive others.

So what is forgiveness?

The simplest way I know of to explain how I understand forgiveness is by using a money metaphor. If I owed you $50,000, we would say that I was in debt to you. If I could not pay the debt and you chose to forgive what was owed, then forgiveness simply means that we canceled the debt. If you refused to forgive the debt, then weeks, months, or even years might go by with my inability to pay the debt. With an open expectation of payment for this debt, we would have a huge strain on our relationship, if there was one to begin with, and the more you internalized that I owed you money, the debt would begin to change you, and eventually it would bleed over into the other areas of your life, even affecting your other relationships.

While I am not suggesting that I don’t pay my debts, I am suggesting that in many ways, forgiveness benefits the debtor more than the one in debt. By having my debt forgiven by you, I would be relieved and thankful, but you would also experience a release from the burden of trying to collect the debt from me.

In this money scenario, perhaps forgiveness might look like I pay a small percentage relative to what I have, while you forgive the rest. However, in every other area of life, forgiveness gets significantly more complicated and challenging. While forgiveness always involves releasing a debt of some type, when we look at non-monetary debts, repayment can never be full restoration.

In the Old Testament, the Jews had the saying, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,” but even this concept, which stresses fair treatment and don’t do something to someone if you would not want them to return the favor, falls short of debt repayment. If someone literally poked out your eye, there is no way for them to restore your eye. Using this principle, you could injure them in the same way they injured you, but while that might make you feel satisfied, you both end up in a worse place than when you began.

In non-monetary areas, there is no way for debt repayment to happen, and if we look deeper at both monetary debts and non-monetary debts, there is no way to ever repay what was potentially lost. By not having that chunk of money, using our first example, there were ample investments that you missed out on. Losing out on other investments might not be significant in your mind, but in the non-monetary world, there is no way a parent, whether it is a father or mother, can repay for the time that was lost if they were gone for a while. A parent who has left for months or even years can return and choose to be more engaged and involved, but there is no way they can truly repay for the time that they missed while they were gone.

This is where forgiveness comes in. In many ways, it is like mentally and emotionally wiping the slate clean. It is saying something like, “I will not expect you to give me anything for how you hurt me.” It does not mean that both individuals must reconcile or restore their relationship. It is simply a release of expectation in the heart and mind of the one who feels cheated and/or like someone owes them something.

How does forgiveness and forgiving others relate to the last portion of our passage?

In the second portion of our passage, Jesus talks about doing some things for God in secret. While many people don’t often think this way, what Jesus describes in the second portion of this passage relates to forgiveness because forgiveness is mainly an internal decision. It is a point in time where one decides to cancel the debt they feel they are owed. They might tell the person who wronged them about it later, but that is less necessary.

In this way, forgiving others releases us to feel joy again. When I struggled with forgiveness, I also had anger issues. When someone irritated me, it rubbed on the hurts others had made and prompted me to react to all the pain that had added up in my past instead of to the issue at hand. Forgiveness helped me realize the extent of the past hurts, to release debts that could not be repaid, and to freely move forward with a new-found feeling of joy that I had not had in a long time.

We all are challenged and called to forgive others because God has offered us His forgiveness, and the debt we owe Him is far greater than the debt anyone owes us. While forgiving people who don’t deserve it is challenging from an emotional level, God offers us forgiveness through what Jesus did for us on the cross when we don’t deserve it. Jesus challenges us in this passage to do for others, what God has already done for us!

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 seek God first in your life. Accept God’s forgiveness for your sins by forgiving those who have hurt you. Choose to learn from the past, and aside from the lessons learned, leave everything from the past in the past, and release those who hurt you from your expectation that they will ever change. If they do, then great, but don’t let their lack of change infect your life moving forward.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, continue intentionally growing closer to God by praying and studying the Bible for yourself. As you study, look for examples of His love for you and the forgiveness He offers for your sins. Remember that because God has forgiven you when you don’t deserve it, He is more than happy to help you forgive others who don’t deserve it. God loves you too much to want you carrying the baggage of bitterness in your heart moving forward.

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!