Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Eating Jesus: John 6:22-59

Published August 20, 2024 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 6:22-59 (NCV)

²²The next day the people who had stayed on the other side of the lake knew that Jesus had not gone in the boat with his followers but that they had left without him. And they knew that only one boat had been there. ²³But then some boats came from Tiberias and landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ²⁴When the people saw that Jesus and his followers were not there now, they got into boats and went to Capernaum to find Jesus.

²⁵When the people found Jesus on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Teacher, when did you come here?”

²⁶Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you aren’t looking for me because you saw me do miracles. You are looking for me because you ate the bread and were satisfied. ²⁷Don’t work for the food that spoils. Work for the food that stays good always and gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give you this food, because on him God the Father has put his power.”

²⁸The people asked Jesus, “What are the things God wants us to do?”

²⁹Jesus answered, “The work God wants you to do is this: Believe the One he sent.”

³⁰So the people asked, “What miracle will you do? If we see a miracle, we will believe you. What will you do? ³¹Our ancestors ate the manna in the desert. This is written in the Scriptures: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

³²Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven; it is my Father who is giving you the true bread from heaven. ³³God’s bread is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

³⁴The people said, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

³⁵Then Jesus said, “I am the bread that gives life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶But as I told you before, you have seen me and still don’t believe. ³⁷The Father gives me the people who are mine. Every one of them will come to me, and I will always accept them. ³⁸I came down from heaven to do what God wants me to do, not what I want to do. ³⁹Here is what the One who sent me wants me to do: I must not lose even one whom God gave me, but I must raise them all on the last day. ⁴⁰Those who see the Son and believe in him have eternal life, and I will raise them on the last day. This is what my Father wants.”

⁴¹Some people began to complain about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that comes down from heaven.” ⁴²They said, “This is Jesus, the son of Joseph. We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

⁴³But Jesus answered, “Stop complaining to each other. ⁴⁴The Father is the One who sent me. No one can come to me unless the Father draws him to me, and I will raise that person up on the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. ⁴⁶No one has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷I tell you the truth, whoever believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸I am the bread that gives life. ⁴⁹Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but still they died. ⁵⁰Here is the bread that comes down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will never die. ⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give up so that the world may have life.”

⁵²Then the evil people began to argue among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

⁵³Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, you must eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. Otherwise, you won’t have real life in you. ⁵⁴Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day. ⁵⁵My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them. ⁵⁷The living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father. So whoever eats me will live because of me. ⁵⁸I am not like the bread your ancestors ate. They ate that bread and still died. I am the bread that came down from heaven, and whoever eats this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹Jesus said all these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Read John 6:22-59 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Of all the things Jesus told the crowds while He was alive, probably the craziest of them all would be statements that can really only be thought of as cannibalistic. According to John’s gospel, during a conversation Jesus has with a group of people who traveled a significant distance to find Him, Jesus says the following crazy and challenging statement, “I tell you the truth, you must eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. Otherwise, you won’t have real life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day. My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them. The living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father. So whoever eats me will live because of me. I am not like the bread your ancestors ate. They ate that bread and still died. I am the bread that came down from heaven, and whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (v. 53-58)

While most people, myself included, believe Jesus to be symbolically pointing forward to the bread and wine within the Last Supper, without this context that comes at the close of Jesus’ ministry, there are not many other ways to understand Jesus words outside of the surface-level cannibalistic approach.

However, to set this statement up, John gives us a key detail that we might miss if we are not paying close attention. Immediately before Jesus shared these words, John tells us “Then the evil people began to argue among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’” (v. 52)

John describes those who were only looking at the surface level of Jesus’ statement as evil. In reality, the cannibalistic angle on these words was all they could see. Nowhere else in this passage are those who were present described as evil, and this distinction is important for us to pay attention to.

Throughout this entire conversation, Jesus wants to lead those present into putting their faith, trust, and belief onto Him – and for their belief in Him to be stronger than simply because He multiplied their meal the day before. Throughout this conversation, those present were being divided into two groups. One group was being drawn towards Jesus and they would ultimately put their faith in Him. The other group is the group that John describes as evil.

However, in setting up this challenging statement, John also shares something else that is interesting: the evil people argue among themselves. None of these people actually ask Jesus to clarify what He means. By arguing among themselves, this group moves further away from Jesus instead of humbly asking for clarification.

While I don’t fully understand what Jesus meant with these strong words, I do know that they were spoken to a group of people who had closed their hearts and minds off towards Jesus and God. Perhaps Jesus was trying to wake them up to the food metaphor, and He may have been trying to teach them the spiritual significance of the miracle of the food from the day before. However, their minds were closed and their hearts were evil, and they ultimately walk away instead of keeping the conversation going with more questions.

I don’t believe Jesus would have turned away an honest question from someone who wanted to understand better what He was saying. I just wish there was someone like this present in the crowd that day.

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!

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Flashback Episode — Giving More than Money: Mark 12:41-44

Published August 19, 2024 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we continue moving through our year focusing in on the events of Mark’s gospel, we come to an event that I believe is misunderstood by many people. This short event is when Jesus takes a break from teaching in the temple to sit near the temple money box.

However, while I believe this event is misunderstood, that doesn’t make it any less powerful of an event. Let’s read what happened before unpacking several things we can learn from this event. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 12, and we will read it from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 41, Mark tells us that:

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

⁴³Calling his followers to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. ⁴⁴They 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.”

In this short event, I wonder if the disciples didn’t even notice this widow at first. Prior to Jesus shining the spotlight on her gift, the few coins this woman gave hardly appeared significant in comparison to the large gifts of significant amounts of money.

But when Jesus does focus the disciples’ attention onto this widow’s gift, He tells His followers that she gave more than all the rich people.

Does this mean that God wants all His followers to give all their money to Him? In my own mind, the answer is a yes and no.

First off, in this event, nowhere do I get the impression Jesus was challenging His followers to do like this widow did. We don’t see in any of the gospels that record this event a challenge for the disciples to model this woman’s gift of everything. For this reason, the answer to our earlier question could easily be a “no”.

However, with that said, it is worth noting that God already owns everything. Whether we think we “own” something or not, whatever it is is actually God’s. This is just as true for our home and car as it is for our body and our breath. God created the universe and He owns every atom in this universe because of this.

Bringing this big truth into this discussion, the only giver in our short event who truly understands that God already owns everything is this poor widow who gave everything. She had two coins and she gave both to God. We don’t see her keeping one of her two coins. Instead, we see her give both her coins which shows an incredible faith in God to supply her needs.

In contrast, the extravagant gifts of the rich people were gifts of money that they did not need. This means that while they had plenty of money left over, and while they understood that giving was important, they had focused on their wants and needs ahead of placing God first. While it is possible that these large gifts included the giver’s tithe, nothing in how this event is recorded hints at this. Since the tithe was to be paid first, before expenses, and because Jesus describes these rich gifts as coming from what the rich people did not need, I cannot help but conclude that the gifts from these rich people does not describe them giving their tithe, even if these gifts were 10% or more of their income.

Because of this, we can see this poor widow being an example for us. This widow gives everything she has, which included her tithe and a free will offering, while the other givers only give after they had already satisfied all their needs. In this widow’s gift, we can see a challenge for us to give our gifts to God before anything else, and to not hold back what God may be calling us to give.

I don’t know if the Holy Spirit prompted this widow to give both her coins that day in the temple, or if she was that devoted of a person already. Whatever the case was, this widow gives something even greater than her gift of two coins. In this event, this widow gives her heart, her faith, and her trust to God that He will supply her needs. This widow does this likely knowing full well that her help will come from God and not from the organization that she was giving her money to.

At the time this widow gave her gift, the religious system was corrupt and it was unlikely she would be helped by it. More than anyone else living at that point in time, this widow would have known and realized her gift was being given to a corrupted institution. However, this widow still chooses to give.

This detail is important to realize. God calls us to give the money He has entrusted to us to further His mission on this planet. While we should be diligent regarding where we give our discretionary dollars, we should never exclude God’s church from our giving because we believe the church has fallen away. Jesus commended this widow’s gift to a corrupt institution.

God has called His people to give because giving is what He modeled for us. God wants to replicate His character in our lives and in our hearts. Because God is a giver, He wants His people to be givers as well. God gave us Jesus, and Jesus gave us His life in exchange for ours, and we are challenged to give our lives and hearts back to God as our way of saying thank You to God for everything He has blessed us with, which is similar to what this poor widow did with her gift!

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. Choose to give like this widow gave, and give God more than just your money – intentionally give God your faith, your hope, your trust, and your belief. Give God your heart like God gave you His heart!

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. While other people have many ideas and opinions about the Bible and what it teaches, don’t discount what the Bible says in favor of their opinion. Choose to filter our world through the truth the Bible teaches.

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!

Flashback Episode: Year in Mark – Episode 34: While Jesus was watching the money box, He sees an example of an amazing gift. Discover how the poor widow’s gift is extra significant in God’s eyes, and for reasons more than simply this gift’s percentage.

Spiritual Loyalty: Matthew 10:16-42

Published August 16, 2024 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 10:16-42 (GNT)

¹⁶“Listen! I am sending you out just like sheep to a pack of wolves. You must be as cautious as snakes and as gentle as doves. ¹⁷Watch out, for there will be those who will arrest you and take you to court, and they will whip you in the synagogues. ¹⁸For my sake you will be brought to trial before rulers and kings, to tell the Good News to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹When they bring you to trial, do not worry about what you are going to say or how you will say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you will say. ²⁰For the words you will speak will not be yours; they will come from the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

²¹“People will hand over their own brothers to be put to death, and fathers will do the same to their children; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. ²²Everyone will hate you because of me. But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. ²³When they persecute you in one town, run away to another one. I assure you that you will not finish your work in all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴“No pupil is greater than his teacher; no slave is greater than his master. ²⁵So a pupil should be satisfied to become like his teacher, and a slave like his master. If the head of the family is called Beelzebul, the members of the family will be called even worse names!

²⁶“So do not be afraid of people. Whatever is now covered up will be uncovered, and every secret will be made known. ²⁷What I am telling you in the dark you must repeat in broad daylight, and what you have heard in private you must announce from the housetops. ²⁸Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of God, who can destroy both body and soul in hell. ²⁹For only a penny you can buy two sparrows, yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. ³⁰As for you, even the hairs of your head have all been counted. ³¹So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!

³²“Those who declare publicly that they belong to me, I will do the same for them before my Father in heaven. ³³But those who reject me publicly, I will reject before my Father in heaven.

³⁴“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the world. No, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵I came to set sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law; ³⁶your worst enemies will be the members of your own family.

³⁷“Those who love their father or mother more than me are not fit to be my disciples; those who love their son or daughter more than me are not fit to be my disciples. ³⁸Those who do not take up their cross and follow in my steps are not fit to be my disciples. ³⁹Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for my sake will gain it.

⁴⁰“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹Whoever welcomes God’s messenger because he is God’s messenger, will share in his reward. And whoever welcomes a good man because he is good, will share in his reward. ⁴²You can be sure that whoever gives even a drink of cold water to one of the least of these my followers because he is my follower, will certainly receive a reward.”

Read Matthew 10:16-42 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

During Jesus’ first commission to His disciple, He shares a brief idea about how spiritual loyalty works. On the surface, this idea sounds obvious, but even with all its obvious characteristics, this idea is often ignored. In His first message directly to His group of twelve followers after bringing them together as a group, Jesus includes the following big idea: “Those who declare publicly that they belong to me, I will do the same for them before my Father in heaven. But those who reject me publicly, I will reject before my Father in heaven.” (v. 32-33)

There are several layers of this truth that are worth paying attention to. The first is that this concept relates to public declarations. This is significant because while what we do in private for God is important, what we live, say, and do for God is even more important. If we live completely for God in private, but then live completely counter to God’s will in public, then we have missed the truth about discipleship.

Declaring our allegiance to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in public is rarely ever popular, but it is what Jesus says is important. This does not mean that we stand on a street corner with a bull horn declaring to everyone who is within earshot that we belong to Jesus, but instead that we don’t shy away from living our beliefs and siding with God’s plan for our lives even if others around us choose to live differently. Declaring publicly means that we let people know that Jesus is the reason for us living the way we do, whether this declaration is to a stadium full of people or to one or two friends we are with away from the crowds.

But if we have messed up and rejected Jesus publicly, have we closed the door to Jesus ever accepting us again? Not at all!

Jesus’ star disciple, Peter, is known for speaking before thinking, and this character trait got Peter in trouble more than the other disciples. Throughout all the gospels, Peter is the disciple who is known as the one who publicly rejected Jesus, not just once, but three times on the night of Jesus’ arrest. In this event, Peter is our example for what happens when someone who has followed Jesus chooses to publicly reject Him.

Following Jesus’ resurrection, we learn the answer: Jesus invites Peter to be His disciple again. (John 21:19)

For those who have messed up or fallen away from God and Jesus, the invitation is open to come back to Him. This invitation won’t always be open, because Jesus may return before we take the chance or our lives may end before we have made the decision. While the invitation is open, we would be wise to take Jesus up on it. When we publicly declare that we belong to Jesus, He will draw us to God and we will be saved for eternity. This declaration comes with a wiping away of our past sins, and it marks the beginning (or restart) of our live with God!

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Loving Like God: John 22:31-38

Published August 15, 2024 in Audio Journal Entries

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Near the end of the special supper Jesus shares with His disciples, and after Judas Iscariot had left, Jesus shares a powerful truth and challenge to His remaining disciples. While it would be easy to focus in on the part of Jesus’ words that Peter focused in on, something Jesus said is worth paying attention to that it appears as though Peter missed.

With that said, let’s dive into our passage and discover what Jesus shared that Peter missed, and several things that are worth us paying attention to. Our passage is found in the gospel of John, chapter 22, and we will read from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 31, John tells us that:

³¹When he [referring to Judas Iscariot] was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. ³²If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

³³“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

³⁴“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

³⁶Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

³⁷Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

³⁸Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!

In this passage, we see Jesus challenge Peter on his vocal willingness to be ready to die for Jesus. Jesus responds with the famous challenge that Peter would deny Him that night. While it would be very easy for us to focus on this detail, there are two verses that seem to disappear when reading this passage. These two verses are powerful, but it is as though Peter doesn’t hear them because of what Jesus had just said before.

Immediately after Jesus told the disciples that they cannot come with Him, and before Peter asks Jesus where He is going, Jesus gives the disciples a new command in verses 34 and 35, saying “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

In this command, we might be tempted to think this is simply Jesus restating or reminding the disciples about one of the two greatest commandments that are shared earlier in the gospels. In many ways, loving one another is very similar to the command to loving our neighbor. However, if we stop here, we miss something significant.

Within the earlier command to love our neighbor, the context is very tangible, and when using Jesus’ illustration of the Good Samaritan, we have a framework for what it means to “love our neighbor”. The wording of this command is specifically to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

However, Jesus’ command to the disciples is distinctly different. Just as Jesus elevated God’s ideal for His law to a level much higher than the words themselves, such as when Jesus calls hating someone close as equivalent to murder, I suspect that Jesus is doing something similar here.

In the Old Testament law, we are challenged to love others as we love ourselves, and this makes us equals. This is healthy, and it pushes back arrogance and pride from our lives, because we are equal with each other.

However, Jesus’ command in this passage is that we are to love others like Jesus loved them. With this framing, does Jesus love other people as though they are equal to Him? While a case could be put together that implies this is true, when I read the gospels, I don’t see an equal frame for Jesus’ type of love. While it is very true that Jesus loved all people equally and individually, and while this is something we should do, I don’t recall seeing a place where Jesus emphasizes His equality with men.

In contrast, Jesus understood who He was, namely the Son of God, and He understood that we are sinners. This perspective could have led Jesus to judge others, which is a temptation for everyone to fall into, but it didn’t. Instead, this perspective led Jesus to extend mercy and grace to everyone God loved. With only one or two extraordinary exceptions, Jesus’ harsh words were reserved for those who believed themselves to be better than others and who used this moral superiority to bully those who were not as good as them. Unfortunately, this seems to be the norm today on many social and spiritual issues.

However, while Jesus understood that He was the Son of God, sinless, and that we all are sinners, how did that change His actions? Remember, Jesus is giving the disciples a new command to love each other like Jesus loved them, and what did Jesus do to demonstrate that love?

While we could easily jump to the cross, the disciples didn’t have that as a frame of reference like we do looking back on this event. Instead, the clearest modeling of Jesus’ new command was when, earlier that evening, Jesus stepped into the lowest servant’s role and washed their feet. When we look at how Jesus acted when loving others, never do we see Jesus step above someone else. Instead, in almost every case, Jesus steps down and places Himself in the role of servant to those needing help.

With all this said, Jesus elevates the Old Testament commandment in these two verses by challenging the disciples to place others ahead of themselves, like Jesus placed humanity ahead of Himself. It would have been easier to abandon humanity to sin, but it wouldn’t have been loving. True love in God’s eyes pushes past the easy, convenient solution towards the solution that puts others ahead of Himself.

We are called to love each other like Jesus loved us, and this is done when we place others ahead of ourselves. While this doesn’t eliminate the need for us to rest or to have healthy boundaries, it does mean that when God brings people into our lives that we can help, we are to place them ahead of ourselves and love them like the Godhead loves us.

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

As always, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to love others like Jesus commanded His followers to do, and loving others like Jesus loved each of us. While Jesus paid the ultimate price for us, the love He models is giving Himself to help us in ways that only He could. We are called to use our time, our talents, and our resources to help others beyond the quick, convenient fix. While help often looks different depending on the situation, when in doubt, lean on God to help you know how to best love those He brings into your life.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with Jesus. A personal relationship is personal when we focus on growing closer to Jesus and we don’t put anyone else in the middle of our relationship. While authors, speakers, pastors, or even podcasters can have good ideas worth considering, take everything you read, see, and hear and compare it with the truth found in the Bible. If what you are hearing or reading doesn’t match a clear truth within the Bible, it is an idea that likely won’t last beyond the end of sin.

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 discount where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Year in John – Episode 33: Near the end of the special meal Jesus shares with His disciples on the night He was betrayed and arrested, He tells the disciples that He is leaving them and one other thing. While all the focus in the room went to the detail about Jesus leaving, the two verses that get ignored are among the most powerful verses in the Bible, and together, they give us a picture of God’s love for each of us!

Join the discussion. Share your thoughts on this passage.