Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

New Solutions to Old Problems: Luke 5:33-39

Published April 2, 2024 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 5:33-39 (GW)

³³They said to him, “John’s disciples frequently fast and say prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. But your disciples eat and drink.”

³⁴Jesus asked them, “Can you force wedding guests to fast while the groom is still with them? ³⁵The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. At that time they will fast.”

³⁶He also used these illustrations: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new coat to patch an old coat. Otherwise, the new cloth will tear the old. Besides, the patch from the new will not match the old. ³⁷People don’t pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the new wine will make the skins burst. The wine will run out, and the skins will be ruined. ³⁸Rather, new wine is to be poured into fresh skins.

³⁹“No one who has been drinking old wine wants new wine. He says, ‘The old wine is better!’”

Read Luke 5:33-39 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

While Jesus was a master storyteller and illustrator, everything He shared that the gospel writers include contains spiritual truth that we can learn from. Often times, the spiritual meaning is given in the context of the illustration, but other times, the spiritual meaning is not included. Perhaps the gospel writer believed the spiritual truth to be obvious to the reader, or maybe the writer didn’t understand the truth himself. Maybe there were multiple truths present and the gospel writer didn’t want to exclude a truth by sharing only his thoughts.

Early on in Luke’s gospel, he records a miscellaneous set of Jesus’ illustrations without giving much in the way of context. Luke tells us that Jesus used the following illustrations: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new coat to patch an old coat. Otherwise, the new cloth will tear the old. Besides, the patch from the new will not match the old. People don’t pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the new wine will make the skins burst. The wine will run out, and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine is to be poured into fresh skins. No one who has been drinking old wine wants new wine. He says, ‘The old wine is better!’” (v. 36-39)

Luke doesn’t share context for these illustrations, and because of this, we are left looking at the other gospel writers to give us clues into Jesus’ words. Mark and Matthew don’t share much additional context except that Jesus shared these thoughts while talking about fasting and how His followers wouldn’t fast while He was with them.

This leaves us to wonder if the spiritual truth Jesus is sharing in these illustrations only relates to fasting, or if it is a broader truth or principle. From the way that all three gospels share these illustrations, I’m prompted to believe that Jesus is sharing a broader principle.

Understanding that Jesus is sharing a broader principle, if we take these illustrations and look for an overall theme in them, we come across the principle that old solutions don’t always help new problems. It is the same way in reverse: New solutions don’t always help old problems either.

This principle is equally powerful and relevant in our physical lives as it is in our spiritual lives. While sometimes new information can help us better understand solutions that have worked in the past, not many principles of life remain unsolved. While hundreds of new diets appear each year offering to help people with their weight, the old solution of fresh air, exercise, moderation, and eating fresher foods is the most effective way to help people shave off pounds and keep them off for life. This is an old problem and it is an old solution.

A new problem might be how to fix a bug in a piece of software in a modern programming language. While old principles can help direct one to an answer, the solution to this problem cannot help but be new because it hasn’t been seen before. Fifty years ago, people didn’t have programming challenges in the same way that we do today.

Some people fixate themselves on only using old methods and ways, and this cripples them from moving forward in life. Others purposely ignore the old and bounce from the newest thing to the next newest thing, and they cannot get traction because their lives look like a ball in a pinball machine. Both types of people miss out on what the other group knows and can teach them.

When I read these illustrations, I cannot help but see the principle that our solutions must match our problems. Old solutions don’t always help new problems, while new solutions rarely fix old problems either. Only by staying open to both the old and the new can I hope to gain lasting traction when growing with God and moving forward in life.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

Subscribe to this blog and never miss an insight.

Flashback Episode — Ignoring Rejection: Mark 6:7-13

Published April 1, 2024 in Audio Journal Entries

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iHeartRadio | RSS

Read the Transcript

After being rejected in His hometown of Nazareth, Mark’s gospel transitions to Jesus sending His disciples out to spread God’s message. Whether this was directly because of the rejection Jesus faced, or because Jesus wanted to teach the disciples a big truth, Mark transitions us to this event, and he specifically includes some of Jesus’ instructions to the disciples as they head out.

Let’s read what Mark tells us and discover some things we can learn from Jesus sending out His disciples. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 6, and we will read it from the New International Reader’s Version. Starting in verse 7, Mark tells us that Jesus:

⁷[He] called the 12 disciples to him. Then he began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority to drive out evil spirits.

⁸Here is what he told them to do. “Take only a walking stick for your trip. Do not take bread or a bag. Take no money in your belts. ⁹Wear sandals. But do not take extra clothes. ¹⁰When you are invited into a house, stay there until you leave town. ¹¹Some places may not welcome you or listen to you. If they don’t, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet. That will be a witness against the people living there.”

¹²They went out. And they preached that people should turn away from their sins. ¹³They drove out many demons. They poured olive oil on many sick people and healed them.

In this short passage, we discover some amazing ideas. Probably the first amazing thing is that Jesus gives His disciples the authority to drive out evil spirits. While we can learn from the detail of Jesus sending His disciples out in pairs, this strategy is less amazing than the incredible thought that Jesus would give sinful, people the authority to drive out evil spirits.

It is even a little more amazing to think that this passage strongly implies that Judas Iscariot would have been included in this. Judas Iscariot was the disciple who would later let Satan into his life prompting his betrayal of Jesus, and here, earlier in Jesus’ ministry, Judas Iscariot is given the power and authority to drive evil spirits out of other people.

However, in Jesus’ instructions to the disciples, another big idea stands out in my mind. Jesus tells the disciples to basically travel empty-handed. All Jesus tells them they can take are the clothes they are currently wearing, a walking stick, and sandals for their feet. This would be equivalent to what someone might take if they were going for an afternoon walk, but not for a month-long or more trip. While near the end of Jesus’ time on earth, He tells the disciples to pack a little more when they travel from that point forward, I believe this first missionary-like trip emphasizes dependence and acceptance.

Jesus then tells the disciples to stay at one place in town as long as they are welcome, and to silently reject the towns that reject them. While shaking the dust off of their feet would be visible to those who are watching, this action is not disruptive or obnoxious in any way.

Similar to how Jesus had been rejected in Nazareth, Jesus emphasizes that some of the disciples would likely experience rejection in the towns they visited. It’s possible that depending on how many towns Jesus asked the disciples to travel to, all six pairs of disciples faced rejection at least once.

When reading this event and wondering about the territory that was covered in this evangelistic campaign, I am curious if there was no overlap between disciple pairs covering the town. In other words, I am curious if one pair of disciples was rejected at their first or second town, if later on, a different pair of disciples stopped to share at the same town and was met with success. Something I have noticed as I have traveled speaking is that different people respond differently to different people. It is possible that the former tax collector Matthew could have been rejected because of his reputation, but James, who was a fisherman before becoming a disciple, was accepted.

In this passage, we have no indication how long the disciples traveled and we have no indication how many towns Jesus asked them to visit. It is quite likely that Jesus gave these disciples this detail, but that these details are not relevant to the bigger themes that the disciples understood Jesus to be teaching.

However, just like what we saw that was amazing at the opening of our passage, we discover an amazing idea and truth at the close of our passage. At the opening of our passage, we discovered how Jesus gives His disciples the power to drive out evil spirits. At the close of this passage, we discover how their missionary journey was successful. Not only were the disciples able to drive evil spirits out, they preached a message of repentance, and they healed many sick people as well. In the lives of these disciples, in this event we see evidence of the Holy Spirit being with them while Jesus was alive on earth.

When reading the summary of what happened, it is amazing to see what is not said alongside what was said. While about half of the instructions Jesus shares with the disciples relates to responding when a town rejects the disciples, nothing is even indicated that any town rejected any pair of disciples. This either tells me that the instructions Jesus gave regarding this point were not needed, or more likely, that the disciples simply didn’t focus on or dwell on the rejection that they did face. Instead, the disciples focused on the towns and people they were able to help and bless, and this truth is a great point to remember.

While it is easy to remember and focus on the points when people rejected us in our past, remembering our rejection is never positive. Instead, we should remember the times when God has used us in powerful and/or significant ways, and seek to place ourselves in situations where God can work powerfully in us again. God used these disciples to bless the towns that accepted them, and God is more than willing to use us to bless our communities when we let Him lead our lives as well!

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

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to let His Holy Spirit guide and direct your steps. While it might seem that at times God is silent, during those times, I recommend living your life as a witness for God and to focus on growing your personal relationship with Him.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself. While pastors, speakers, authors, or even a random podcaster can give you ideas to think about, take everything you learn and discover and test it against the truth of the Bible. God has giving us everything we need to strengthen our spiritual lives in the pages of the Bible, and the Bible gives us many warnings about traps our spiritual lives can face. With prayer and study, we can learn from God how to best live for Him in a world that is opposed to God in almost every way imaginable.

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!

Flashback Episode: Year in Mark – Episode 14: When Jesus sends the disciples out in pairs, He gives them instructions about how to face rejection, but the disciples return without even mentioning anything about that. Discover why this might be and some other big truths in this amazing passage!

Join the discussion on the original episode's page: Click Here.

Paying the Tax: Matthew 17:24-27

Published March 29, 2024 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 17:24-27 (NCV)

²⁴When Jesus and his followers came to Capernaum, the men who collected the Temple tax came to Peter. They asked, “Does your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

²⁵Peter answered, “Yes, Jesus pays the tax.”

Peter went into the house, but before he could speak, Jesus said to him, “What do you think? The kings of the earth collect different kinds of taxes. But who pays the taxes—the king’s children or others?”

²⁶Peter answered, “Other people pay the taxes.”

Jesus said to Peter, “Then the children of the king don’t have to pay taxes. ²⁷But we don’t want to upset these tax collectors. So go to the lake and fish. After you catch the first fish, open its mouth and you will find a coin. Take that coin and give it to the tax collectors for you and me.”

Read Matthew 17:24-27 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

While reading about Peter’s encounter with the temple tax collectors, a question entered my mind that completely changed how I saw this event, and this new angle shows an amazing picture of God’s love for all of us as His children.

When Jesus gives Peter instructions in the last verse, we begin to see something incredible. After explaining how the king’s children are exempt from paying taxes, Jesus continues by saying, “But we don’t want to upset these tax collectors. So go to the lake and fish. After you catch the first fish, open its mouth and you will find a coin. Take that coin and give it to the tax collectors for you and me.” (v. 27)

This set of instructions is surprisingly simple, yet detailed. Peter is to go fishing and the first fish he catches will have a coin in its mouth that is valuable enough to pay the temple tax for two people.

The question that entered my mind while reading this is “Who ultimately paid the temple tax?” While Peter made the final delivery to the tax collectors, the coin that was taken did not come from the disciples own reserves of money. Peter didn’t ask Judas Iscariot for a coin from their donations to use for this tax.

Instead, for this to have happened exactly like Jesus had instructed, a coin had to have fallen out of a boat, and then a fish would have had to catch it on its descent towards the bottom of the lake. I wonder whether the fish thought the coin was smaller or whether its eyes were bigger than its throat, but in either case the coin was big enough for the fish’s mouth but too big for it to swallow.

Then, for this scenario to work, the fish wouldn’t spit out the coin, but instead swim over to where Peter was fishing and also try to eat what Peter was using as bait – at the exact time Peter was down fishing following receiving these instructions from Jesus.

There are too many unlikely-to-happen details in this event to really come up with a good statistic of the chances of this happening. This was an impossible-to-predict event.

The other option we have is that on the way up, an angel added a coin to the mouth of the fish that Peter had caught. While not as glamorous, this is actually more plausible than the other options.

However this event unfolded, the inescapable conclusion we come to is that God was the only one who could have orchestrated this event! This means that God paid our temple tax, and He did this through Jesus’ death on the cross for sins that He did not commit. This short fish story contains the entire gospel message, and it shares how much God values each of us!

Subscribe to this blog and never miss an insight.

Letting Jesus Help: John 6:16-24

Published March 28, 2024 in Audio Journal Entries

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iHeartRadio | RSS

Read the Transcript

Immediately following Jesus feeding the crowd of over 5,000 people that we looked at in our last episode, our passage for this episode takes place that evening. At the end of our last event, Jesus sends the disciples away, telling them to cross the lake and that He will find them later. Jesus did this because the people present who experienced the miracle of food multiplication wanted to make Jesus their king at that moment. I suspect the disciples would have supported this declaration, and Jesus wanted to stop this from happening.

This leads us into our passage for this episode. Our passage opens with Jesus praying on the mountain by Himself, and the disciples beginning their journey across the lake. Let’s read what happened.

Our passage for this episode is found in John’s gospel, chapter 6, and we will read it from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 16, John tells us that:

¹⁶When evening came, his disciples went to the sea. ¹⁷They got into a boat and started to cross the sea to the city of Capernaum. By this time it was dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸A strong wind started to blow and stir up the sea.

¹⁹After they had rowed three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they became terrified.

²⁰Jesus told them, “It’s me. Don’t be afraid!”

²¹So they were willing to help Jesus into the boat. Immediately, the boat reached the shore where they were going.

²²On the next day the people were still on the other side of the sea. They noticed that only one boat was there and that Jesus had not stepped into that boat with his disciples. The disciples had gone away without him. ²³Other boats from Tiberias arrived near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord gave thanks. ²⁴When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into these boats and went to the city of Capernaum to look for Jesus.

In this event, two details stand out to me.

The first detail is that immediately after Jesus stepped into the boat, the boat reached the shore where they were going. It is possible this was another miracle beyond Jesus simply walking on water, or that John abbreviated the last portion of the trip. The big truth I can learn from the first portion of this passage is that life without Jesus is significantly more difficult than life with Jesus.

Taking this idea a step further, we could also conclude that it is impossible to reach God’s goal for us without Jesus. However, when we are with Jesus, we have already arrived at God’s destination for us.

The second detail that stood out to me is found in verse 22, when we read that “On the next day the people were still on the other side of the sea. They noticed that only one boat was there and that Jesus had not stepped into that boat with his disciples.”

This detail is fascinating to me. The people who had been fed knew that the disciples had taken the only boat when they left, and that Jesus wasn’t with them in the boat when they pushed off from the shore. These people, as well as some others who made the trip across the lake to the place where the bread had been served were all looking for Jesus, expecting to find Him without His disciples.

However, they all were disappointed and too late. This detail tells me that sometimes Jesus is away from His followers, but the best place to look for Jesus is with those who are serving and following Him.

Part of me wonders what would have happened if Jesus had stayed on that shore, and if the disciples had reached Capernaum without Him. What would the crowd have done if they had found Jesus apart from His disciples? Would the crowd have wanted to pressure Jesus into being a king? Would they have demanded more food like the previous day’s miracle?

We might never know, but what we can be certain of is that Jesus walked across the lake to the disciples not just because they were having a difficult time without Him in the boat, but because Jesus loves His followers. Another thing we can learn in this event is that when we are unable to reach our goal, Jesus is happy to come find us to help us get to our destination. The disciples made it part way across the lake without Jesus, but when Jesus came to be with them, He solves the part of the trip they are unable to solve.

In our own lives, when we are dealing with turning away from sin and leaving it in our past, some aspects of this are possible for us to do on our own. However, there will be a point when we have reached as far as we can without Jesus, and when we have come to this place and want to go further, don’t be surprised if Jesus comes and offers His help.

Jesus is more than willing to help us conquer sin in our lives and when we fill our hearts with Him and God’s Holy Spirit, we actively are pushing sin out. The best way to get rid of sin is by crowding our lives with Jesus and serving Him. When we are wholly serving Jesus, we won’t have time for sin, and our focus will be on God’s will for our lives!

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

Always continue to seek God first in your life and choose to depend on Him for help turning away from sin in your own life. Resolve to focus on what God wants you to focus on and push the sin out of your life by filling it so full of God’s goals for your life that sin cannot break in. Choose to be too busy doing God’s will for you to have time to sin.

Always keep your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus and His sacrifice because we cannot earn our salvation through what we do. Jesus earned salvation for us, and the best way for us to say thank You to Him is by walking forward through life with Him and without sin.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to grow closer to God each and every day. God wants a personal relationship with you, and we grow a personal relationship with God when we pray, study our Bibles with an open mind listening for what He wants to share with us, and when we actively step out into His will and His plan for our lives. Life with God can begin today, and life with God extends into eternity!

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!

Year in John – Episode 13: When we face trials in life, the best thing for us to do is ask Jesus for help. We might be surprised with how much help Jesus can give us, especially when we look at what happens after the disciples spent a night unsuccessfully trying to cross the lake without Jesus.

Join the discussion. Share your thoughts on this passage.