Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

The Only People Who Paid Attention: Matthew 27:57-66

Published June 28, 2024 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 27:57-66 (CEV)

⁵⁷That evening a rich disciple named Joseph from the town of Arimathea ⁵⁸went and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate gave orders for it to be given to Joseph, ⁵⁹who took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. ⁶⁰Then Joseph put the body in his own tomb that had been cut into solid rock and had never been used. He rolled a big stone against the entrance to the tomb and went away.

⁶¹All this time Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb.

⁶²On the next day, which was a Sabbath, the chief priests and the Pharisees went together to Pilate. ⁶³They said, “Sir, we remember what that liar said while he was still alive. He claimed that in three days he would come back from death. ⁶⁴So please order the tomb to be carefully guarded for three days. If you don’t, his disciples may come and steal his body. They will tell the people that he has been raised to life, and this last lie will be worse than the first one.”

⁶⁵Pilate said to them, “All right, take some of your soldiers and guard the tomb as well as you know how.” ⁶⁶So they sealed it tight and placed soldiers there to guard it.

Read Matthew 27:57-66 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

The only gospel writer to include any details of the Sabbath Jesus was dead is Matthew, and the details that Matthew includes are amazingly significant to the gospel story. Nothing about this weekend was normal or ordinary, but in this extraordinary set of days, we learn of some people who actually paid attention to Jesus’ words even better than the disciples had.

Matthew describes what happens by saying, “On the next day, which was a Sabbath, the chief priests and the Pharisees went together to Pilate. They said, ‘Sir, we remember what that liar said while he was still alive. He claimed that in three days he would come back from death. So please order the tomb to be carefully guarded for three days. If you don’t, his disciples may come and steal his body. They will tell the people that he has been raised to life, and this last lie will be worse than the first one.’” (v. 62-64)

What is amazing about this when I read what these leaders say to Pilate is that they actually heard Jesus’ prediction about coming back to life. While they don’t believe Jesus to be capable of resurrecting Himself, they don’t trust Jesus’ followers to not steal the body and claim this. The Jewish leaders’ fear prompts one of the most understated, key details to happen surrounding Jesus’ resurrection.

Nowhere in the gospels do we read about the disciples thinking about crafting a resurrection lie or myth, but if they had thought this, the guards at the tomb would stop them from succeeding. In a strange way, the guards present actually validate the resurrection story because for those of us reading about this many centuries later, if no guards were present, a myth could spread that the disciples did come and steal the body. Even sleeping guards would discourage a midnight raid because the cost of waking them would be too high.

But Pilate’s response is even more amazing than the religious leaders’ request. Matthew tells us Pilate told the leaders, “All right, take some of your soldiers and guard the tomb as well as you know how.” (v. 65)

After John’s gospel record of Jesus’ conversation with Pilate the previous day, it is possible that Pilate actually believed the rumor these Jewish leaders brought to him. While the Jewish leaders believed Jesus to be lying about resurrecting, Pilate may have not been so sure. By saying “guard the tomb as well as you know how”, Pilate hints at his belief that Jesus may be capable of what they don’t believe. In Pilate’s mind, if Jesus was capable of returning to life, nothing the religious leaders could do would be enough to stop Him.

By placing guards at the tomb, the Jewish leaders unknowingly help prove that the resurrection miracle actually happened. While trying to prevent a heist that could become legend, they actually place credible witnesses in place for the ultimate miracle of all of history. Jesus was the only person to ever predict His death and resurrection days later, and then have history play out exactly as He said it would.

Reading about this Sabbath tells me that God can use anyone to help move His plan forward. Even the most unlikely individuals who had no faith and who were completely opposed to the thought of resurrection become a part of God’s plan. They end up being witnesses and the first to know of Jesus’ resurrection, and while they were trying to avoid rumors and speculations from spreading regarding a resurrection, they get the tables turned on them and have to create their own rumor about the heist they were trying to prevent.

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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Resurrection and the Unnecessary Prayer: John 11:17-44

Published June 27, 2024 in Audio Journal Entries

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In our last episode, we started looking at the event where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. In that episode, we focused in on what happened when Jesus learned that Lazarus was sick and how Jesus promised that His sickness would not end in death, but that God and His Son would be glorified through this event. However, Jesus stayed where He was for two more days, before announcing to the disciples that Lazarus had died, and that it was now time to travel to Bethany.

While I don’t know how far of a journey it is between where Jesus was at and Bethany where Lazarus was sick, from the way this event is framed, Jesus likely would have not made it in time since He waited two days before beginning to travel to Bethany. And as we will soon see, when Jesus arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for more than two days.

Let’s read what happened and discover some things we can learn from the amazing miracle that was about to take place. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 11, and we will read it using the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 16, John tells us that:

¹⁷When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸(Bethany was near Jerusalem, not quite two miles away.) ¹⁹Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.

²⁰When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. Mary stayed at home. ²¹Martha told Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask him.”

²³Jesus told Martha, “Your brother will come back to life.”

²⁴Martha answered Jesus, “I know that he’ll come back to life on the last day, when everyone will come back to life.”

²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the one who brings people back to life, and I am life itself. Those who believe in me will live even if they die. ²⁶Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe that?”

²⁷Martha said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who was expected to come into the world.”

²⁸After Martha had said this, she went back home and whispered to her sister Mary, “The teacher is here, and he is calling for you.”

²⁹When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Jesus. ³⁰(Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still where Martha had met him.) ³¹The Jews who were comforting Mary in the house saw her get up quickly and leave. So they followed her. They thought that she was going to the tomb to cry. ³²When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who were crying with her, he was deeply moved and troubled.

Let’s pause briefly here, because I want to draw out an interesting contrast. From how John frames each sister’s discussion with Jesus, we might conclude that Mary was about to have the same discussion with Jesus that Martha had. However, a detail is present at the beginning of Mary’s conversation that is not present in Martha’s. From how John frame’s Mary’s arrival to Jesus, we get the picture that Mary was very emotional, upset, and in tears – and not just Mary, but the group of mourners with her.

In a way, while Jesus’ earlier visit to Bethany paints Martha in a negative light for being upset with Mary for wanting to sit listening to Jesus rather than help her sister, this event reverses these sisters’ roles. While Mary appears to be too emotional for a conversation to take place, Martha had moved passed her emotions to understand that it was possible Jesus spoke from a bigger perspective. Martha began with the same declaration as Mary, but Martha added a key idea in verse 22: “But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask him.”

Martha’s declaration about Jesus implies a powerful faith in Jesus, and in Jesus’ resurrecting ability, even if Martha has accepted the possible truth that Lazarus won’t live again during their lifetimes, but will be raised up on the last day. Martha has moved past being blinded emotionally, while Mary is still deep in sorrow, unable to have much of a rational conversation.

Let’s continue reading. Rereading verse 33 and continuing forward:

³³When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who were crying with her, he was deeply moved and troubled.

³⁴So Jesus asked, “Where did you put Lazarus?”

They answered him, “Lord, come and see.”

³⁵Jesus cried. ³⁶The Jews said, “See how much Jesus loved him.” ³⁷But some of the Jews asked, “Couldn’t this man who gave a blind man sight keep Lazarus from dying?”

Pausing again, I am amazed at the focus of most everyone in this event. Martha, Mary, and the Jews who were present all were focusing on the detail that Jesus had come too late. All of Jesus’ earlier resurrecting miracles happened much closer to the time of death. In Lazarus’ case, they had already had a funeral, and had buried him. The other resurrection miracles had happened within hours, or perhaps a day of the death. In contrast, Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days, which meant that he likely had died four or maybe even five days before Jesus’ arrival.

All the focus in this event was directed towards Jesus not being able to keep Lazarus from dying, and I suspect this is what bothered Jesus. Continuing in verse 38:

³⁸Deeply moved again, Jesus went to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone covering the entrance. ³⁹Jesus said, “Take the stone away.”

Martha, the dead man’s sister, told Jesus, “Lord, there must already be a stench. He’s been dead for four days.”

⁴⁰Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see God’s glory?” ⁴¹So the stone was moved away from the entrance of the tomb.

Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. ⁴²I’ve known that you always hear me. However, I’ve said this so that the crowd standing around me will believe that you sent me.” ⁴³After Jesus had said this, he shouted as loudly as he could, “Lazarus, come out!”

⁴⁴The dead man came out. Strips of cloth were wound around his feet and hands, and his face was wrapped with a handkerchief. Jesus told them, “Free Lazarus, and let him go.”

In this event, one powerful truth we discover is within Jesus’ seemingly unnecessary prayer. This prayer both sounds unnecessary, but when compared with Jesus’ words to Martha in verse 25, it really seems unnecessary. In Jesus’ conversation with Martha, in verse 25, Jesus tells Martha, “I am the one who brings people back to life, and I am life itself.”

Then when we read Jesus’ prayer in verses 41 and 42, Jesus prayed, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I’ve known that you always hear me. However, I’ve said this so that the crowd standing around me will believe that you sent me.” It’s amazing in my mind that nothing in Jesus’ prayer even hints at God raising Lazarus back to life. Looking at Jesus’ words to Martha, and at what is not included in Jesus’ prayer, we must conclude that Jesus used His divinity to raise Lazarus to life.

However, it is also worth noting that if God the Father had not wanted this miracle to happen, there would have been no way for Jesus to have done it. In the seemingly unnecessary prayer, we find a different focus. Instead of focusing on God raising Lazarus from the dead, which is what we might expect to see included in this prayer, we discover Jesus emphasized His connection with the Father, and set the stage for this miracle to emphasize this connection as the basis for our belief in Him.

While throughout this entire event, including the verses we looked at in our last episode, we discover from the very beginning Jesus wanted this event to bring God glory and give those present one more reason to place their faith in Him. While Mary, Martha, and the crowd believed Jesus was too late, the powerful truth we discover in this event is that with Jesus, God is never too late, and regardless of how long we have been in the grave, when Jesus calls to us at the end of time, we will be resurrected just like Lazarus was.

When Jesus calls, those who are dead hear His voice and return to life! For God’s people, death is nothing more than a sleep waiting for the end of sin and the final resurrection into a brand new life with God!

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 place your faith, your hope, your trust, and your belief in Jesus. If death scares you, know it is nothing more than a sleep for those who have placed their faith in Jesus, and death is something Jesus not only resurrected Lazarus from, but something He conquered personally as well. Death is something that is not to be feared by followers of Jesus because it simply means the next thing we hear will be Jesus calling us from the grave.

Also, pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Choose to focus your studying on learning more about God and don’t take anyone else’s word for what the Bible teaches. Instead, choose to study the Bible’s truth for yourself, especially on topics as important as death to discover what the Bible teaches rather than what culture wants you to believe. You may be surprised to learn what the Bible teaches us about death and resurrection.

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!

Year in John – Episode 26: When everyone present believed Jesus had arrived too late to raise Lazarus from the dead, discover how Jesus takes their doubt and turns it into faith through a powerful resurrection, and through a seemingly unnecessary prayer Jesus gives right before calling Lazarus from the tomb.

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Does God Hate Fame: Luke 16:1-18

Published June 26, 2024 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 16:1-18 (NCV)

¹ Jesus also said to his followers, “Once there was a rich man who had a manager to take care of his business. This manager was accused of cheating him. ² So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give me a report of what you have done with my money, because you can’t be my manager any longer.’ ³ The manager thought to himself, ‘What will I do since my master is taking my job away from me? I am not strong enough to dig ditches, and I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that when I lose my job people will welcome me into their homes.’

⁵ “So the manager called in everyone who owed the master any money. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe?’ ⁶ He answered, ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write four hundred gallons.’ ⁷ Then the manager asked another one, ‘How much do you owe?’ He answered, ‘One thousand bushels of wheat.’ Then the manager said to him, ‘Take your bill and write eight hundred bushels.’ ⁸ So, the master praised the dishonest manager for being clever. Yes, worldly people are more clever with their own kind than spiritual people are.

⁹ “I tell you, make friends for yourselves using worldly riches so that when those riches are gone, you will be welcomed in those homes that continue forever. ¹⁰ Whoever can be trusted with a little can also be trusted with a lot, and whoever is dishonest with a little is dishonest with a lot. ¹¹ If you cannot be trusted with worldly riches, then who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you cannot be trusted with things that belong to someone else, who will give you things of your own?

¹³ “No servant can serve two masters. The servant will hate one master and love the other, or will follow one master and refuse to follow the other. You cannot serve both God and worldly riches.”

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who loved money, were listening to all these things and made fun of Jesus. ¹⁵ He said to them, “You make yourselves look good in front of people, but God knows what is really in your hearts. What is important to people is hateful in God’s sight.

¹⁶ “The law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were preached until John came. Since then the Good News about the kingdom of God is being told, and everyone tries to enter it by force. ¹⁷ It would be easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest part of a letter in the law to be changed.

¹⁸ “If a man divorces his wife and marries another woman, he is guilty of adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman is also guilty of adultery.”

Read Luke 16:1-18 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Every so often, a phrase jumps out at me while reading a passage I have read dozens of times before. Perhaps this has happened to you. You are leisurely reading through the Bible when bam, some phrase hits you in a new way and shifts your thinking.

This passage holds one of these “bam”-moments for me. While most of the time we read these verses, we focus in on the parable, the verse that jumped off the page at me comes after the story, and in Jesus’ direct words to the Pharisees. Verse 15 says, “He said to them, ‘You make yourselves look good in front of people, but God knows what is really in your hearts. What is important to people is hateful in God’s sight.’”

Prior readings of this verse never really jumped out at me, probably because the verses on either side of this one have powerful messages as well, but the last sentence of this verse hit me in a new way: “What is important to people is hateful in God’s sight.”

In the context, Jesus is challenging the Pharisees on their view of money and the priority they have placed on it, and in the sentence just before this one (verse 15a), sets the stage for a broader focus than on money. Making oneself look good in front of people may come because one has some money, but it is the desire for fame and status. Desiring fame and status is one subtle foothold for pride to enter our lives. Pride wants the focus to be turned towards me, and desiring fame and status, is similar because it wants the spotlight and the stage – specifically the attention.

But Jesus says, “What is important to people is hateful in God’s sight.”

This truth is both powerful and challenging.

Is God saying that He hates money, fame, status, and stuff?

While it might appear like this on the surface, Jesus is touching on a deeper truth: Where is your heart at?

Is your heart focused on acquiring money, stuff, status, etc. or is it focused on Jesus?

Can it be both? Perhaps one could have both sides of this dilemma, but there must be a priority that is visible in your life. If Jesus is first, then it must be visible to others through with where we put our money, time, talents, and other resources. If we are not intentionally placing Jesus first in our lives, all the stuff that crowds out God will crowd out God.

All the stuff that is important to people is hateful in God’s sight because it feeds pride in one’s heart, and because it crowds out God from being the primary focus. God doesn’t hate fame, status, or stuff; He wants us to have righteous priorities.

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Being Salt: Mark 9:38-50

Published June 25, 2024 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Mark 9:38-50 (NASB)

One of the interesting metaphors I find in Jesus’ teaching has to do with salt. In several places in the gospels, Jesus uses salt to describe a truth He wanted His followers to understand. In one of the most concentrated uses of the word salt, Mark describes one of Jesus’ ideas using this word six times in two verses.

Following Jesus’ warnings about stumbling in one’s faith, Mark gives us one of Jesus’ big ideas. He tells us Jesus concludes by saying, “For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” (v. 49-50)

In these two verses, the word salt is used as a noun, a verb, and as an adjective. This set of two verses also includes three somewhat unique ideas.

“Everyone will be salted with fire.” (v. 49)

This phrase makes me think that fire will be sprinkled on (or added to) everyone, because that is how salt is used today. However, before refrigeration, some things (such as meat) were dipped in and covered with salt as a way to keep it from spoiling. In many ways, this statement may mean that we will all experience God’s fire at some point in our lives. It may purify us in the present, or it may consume us at the judgment.
“Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again?” (v. 50a)

The second phrase describes how salt is inherently useful because of what it is and because of what it does. Salt’s value comes from being salty. If salt ever lost its saltiness, it will have also lost its value. This phrase concludes with the question, how can unsalty salt be made salty again? This is a question I don’t know the answer to, but one that deserves our attention if we are represented by salt in these phrases.
“Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” (v. 50b)

This third phrase is interesting, and I think it describes how salt reacts to other things. Salt is found as an ingredient in almost everything, and salt can be added to most everything. However, salt must be added in the right quantities for it to not to ruin what it was added to. If we have salt inside of ourselves, this phrase may mean that we should interact with others, but also be discerning with how vocal we are with our faith. Too much salt will cause problems, and if salt is a symbol for our faith, than we should carry our faith inside of ourselves rather than letting it be dependent on others.

Overall, salt is an important metaphor when describing our spiritual lives, and it is one that has many different applications.

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