Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Giving to the Master: Luke 19:28-35

Published January 12, 2024 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 19:28-35 (NCV)

²⁸After Jesus said this, he went on toward Jerusalem. ²⁹As Jesus came near Bethphage and Bethany, towns near the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent out two of his followers. ³⁰He said, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here to me. ³¹If anyone asks you why you are untying it, say that the Master needs it.”

³²The two followers went into town and found the colt just as Jesus had told them. ³³As they were untying it, its owners came out and asked the followers, “Why are you untying our colt?”

³⁴The followers answered, “The Master needs it.” ³⁵So they brought it to Jesus, threw their coats on the colt’s back, and put Jesus on it.

Read Luke 19:28-35 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

When reading about the disciples preparation for Jesus’ trip into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt, a phrase jumped off the page at me. While it is a very simple phrase, it has truly limitless applications for our lives.

This phrase is found in Luke’s version of this event, and it is how the disciples answer the servants when they ask them what they are doing with the colt they are untying. According to Luke, the disciples simply say, “The Master needs it.” (v. 34)

While simple, this phrase is incredibly powerful. In essence, these disciples are drawing those present onto the idea that God can use what we have for His purposes. It also points us to the ultimate truth that nothing that we call “ours” is truly ours. Everything belongs to God – including the air we are breathing, and the elements and compounds that make up our bodies.

By saying “the Master needs it”, we see everyone present coming to the understanding that God has something in mind with this specific colt, and it shows us a glimpse of the character of these servants and/or the master of the colt on earth.

Nothing that we own is truly ours. God may call on us to use what we have to help someone else, or to further His message/mission in some other way. It is not up to us to know what God’s plans are, but to simply be ready, willing, and generous when He offers us the chance to be included – whether it is through our actions or through our donations to His cause!

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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Focusing on Mission: John 1:19-34

Published January 11, 2024 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we continue our journey into John’s gospel, John the author of this gospel turns his attention onto John the Baptist, who was Jesus’ forerunner in ministry. While the other gospel writers include details about John the Baptist, John the author includes some unique details we don’t see in the other gospels.

In my mind’s eye, the passage we will look at happens after Jesus was baptized, tempted in the wilderness, and as He is returning to society. However, I suspect that this passage begins during the time when Jesus was at the end of fasting in the wilderness and actively being tempted by Satan.

Let’s read about what happened. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 1, and we will read from the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 19, John the author tells us about John the Baptist, saying:

¹⁹ This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” ²¹ They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²² Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” ²³ He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

²⁴ Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. ²⁷ It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸ These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Pausing our reading briefly, I want to draw our attention onto a couple of details before continuing.

While in other gospels, we read about Jesus saying that John the Baptist fulfilled the role of Elijah who was to come before Him, John the Baptist himself denies that title or role. Only a misquoted, out-of-context verse could make people believe John the Baptist was literally Elijah back from heaven. I have seen people claim that Jesus supported reincarnation because of one misquoted, out-of-context verse, but ironically, the claim is about someone returning who never actually died. Second Kings, chapter 2 tells us the story of Elijah being taken to heaven in a chariot of fire and a whirlwind.

But regardless of all of this, John the Baptist makes no claim about being Elijah, even if others make that claim for him. Instead, John the Baptist focuses on a mission that was foreshadowed by Isaiah. John the Baptist didn’t focus on who he was; he focused on the mission he was sent to accomplish.

John the Baptist’s mission was pointing people to Jesus, and he does so very clearly in this passage.

Let’s continue reading and discover what John the author tells us next. Picking back up in verse 29:

²⁹ The next day he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ³¹ I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” ³² John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. ³³ I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

In my mind, I suspect that this was when Jesus was coming back from being tempted. It is also possible that after Jesus returned from the wilderness, that he spent a few days listening to John the Baptist’s teaching before John openly declares the truth about Him.

John the Baptist doesn’t proclaim who Jesus is with any unclear language. He declares that Jesus is the Son of God in verse 34 by saying, “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

John the Baptist focused on what happened during Jesus’ baptism for the evidence to firmly proclaim Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. It was at Jesus’ baptism when Heaven opened and the Spirit descended onto Jesus. I suspect this was more a sign for John the Baptist’s benefit than for Jesus. I am confident that Jesus had the Holy Spirit before this point, but that Jesus and the Spirit knew that the time wasn’t right before that point.

We can learn a lot from John the Baptist in this event. Not only can we learn that John did not see himself as Elijah or as a prophet, we see through how John described himself that he was focused on mission rather than on role. It’s possible John the Baptist could have known or claimed the roles of Elijah or the Prophet, since other people were likely speculating this. John the Baptist might have known he was fulfilling the role of Elijah, but he also knew that it is better to focus on mission than on roles. If John the Baptist focused on the role of Elijah, the focus would have been placed on himself. By placing the focus on the mission, John the Baptist is clearly directing the attention onto Jesus who would come after him.

Not only that, but we also discover that John the Baptist clearly tells those present who Jesus was in no uncertain terms. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and the only One who is able to redeem us from sin.

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, continue seeking God first in your life and choose to focus on the mission God has called you to instead of any role or position He may have placed you in. If you are uncertain of what God’s mission for your life is, the best mission to fall back on is simply telling people about Jesus. Choose to proclaim Jesus to those God brings into your life and tell others what Jesus has done for you personally.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and discover more about Jesus and God in your own life. While pastors, speakers, authors, or even podcasters can give you ideas to think about, filter everything you read, hear, or see through the pages and truth of the Bible to discover how the world’s ideas fit within God’s plan. You may be surprised to discover how much of the worlds ideas are simply not compatible with God’s ideal. When faced with the choice, always lean on God, because His way leads 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 avoid where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Year in John – Episode 2: When John’s gospel turns the focus onto the ministry of John the Baptist, discover several big things we can learn from Jesus’ forerunner in ministry, and the focus of John the Baptist had for his life.

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What My Father Has Given: John 10:22-42

Published January 10, 2024 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 10:22-42 (GNT)

²²It was winter, and the Festival of the Dedication of the Temple was being celebrated in Jerusalem. ²³Jesus was walking in Solomon’s Porch in the Temple, ²⁴when the people gathered around him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? Tell us the plain truth: are you the Messiah?”

²⁵Jesus answered, “I have already told you, but you would not believe me. The deeds I do by my Father’s authority speak on my behalf; ²⁶but you will not believe, for you are not my sheep. ²⁷My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸I give them eternal life, and they shall never die. No one can snatch them away from me. ²⁹What my Father has given me is greater than everything, and no one can snatch them away from the Father’s care. ³⁰The Father and I are one.”

³¹Then the people again picked up stones to throw at him. ³²Jesus said to them, “I have done many good deeds in your presence which the Father gave me to do; for which one of these do you want to stone me?”

³³They answered, “We do not want to stone you because of any good deeds, but because of your blasphemy! You are only a man, but you are trying to make yourself God!”

³⁴Jesus answered, “It is written in your own Law that God said, ‘You are gods.’ ³⁵We know that what the scripture says is true forever; and God called those people gods, the people to whom his message was given. ³⁶As for me, the Father chose me and sent me into the world. How, then, can you say that I blaspheme because I said that I am the Son of God? ³⁷Do not believe me, then, if I am not doing the things my Father wants me to do. ³⁸But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, you should at least believe my deeds, in order that you may know once and for all that the Father is in me and that I am in the Father.”

³⁹Once more they tried to seize Jesus, but he slipped out of their hands.

⁴⁰Jesus then went back again across the Jordan River to the place where John had been baptizing, and he stayed there. ⁴¹Many people came to him. “John performed no miracles,” they said, “but everything he said about this man was true.” ⁴²And many people there believed in him.

Read John 10:22-42 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Have you ever read something multiple times, and perhaps on the fifth time you see something new?

It is this way for me with this passage. I have read it numerous times, but just today, I noticed a phrase that I’ve not seen or paid attention to before.

When Jesus is sharing His first response, before the people respond in anger, He says the following sentence: “What my Father has given me is greater than everything, and no one can snatch them away from the Father’s care.” (v. 29)

This is a summary statement for what Jesus was saying, but when reading it this time, a phrase and idea jumped off the page: “What my Father has given me . . .”

The subject matter is Jesus’ followers, and how they are drawn to Him, and in this statement, Jesus says that God is the One who brings people to Him.

This has two huge implications:

First, Jesus didn’t come to earth to draw attention to Himself – He came for other reasons. The miracles, the healing, and the cross was not Jesus saying “Look at Me.” If anything, through these events and miracles Jesus was saying, “Pay attention to what God is doing in your midst.”

Jesus didn’t come to build a band of spiritual-giant disciples – He came and picked ordinary and somewhat dysfunctional people, and equipped them for service. That means that there is hope for you and I in God’s plan. He doesn’t need people to be perfect before drawing them to Him, He draws people and those who choose to come are then equipped.
Secondly, people don’t lead people to Jesus, God does. Yep, you’re off the hook!

Jesus demonstrated this in His own life because when crowds came, He started preaching about difficult to accept things. In this passage and others, it is almost like Jesus is assessing the group and then pushing the hot-button topics – in this case, He pushes the button of who the Messiah really is and on the identity of the true people of God.

In our lives today, we should never place the focus on leading people to Jesus. Jesus stated that God does this. Instead, we should have a clear reason why we follow Jesus and put our faith in Him. Jesus called us to love people, not convert them. He does the conversion part – we do the loving part (or at least that was the intent).

Both these ideas have huge implications for us today!

God draws people to Jesus. We might be a small part of someone’s testimony, but it will be because of our love – not anything else.
God keeps His people safe. Don’t stress out about past mistakes and times when we have messed up and/or said something we regretted. God is bigger than our mistakes.
God gives us the role of loving each other. We are not the judge and we are definitely not the prosecuting attorney! We are either the defendant, or a witness standing up in defense for the defendant. Satan is the prosecuting attorney, and when we judge or condemn someone, we are siding with him.

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Loved By the Father: John 16:16-33

Published January 9, 2024 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 16:16-33 (NIV)

¹⁶Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”

¹⁷At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

¹⁹Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? ²⁰Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. ²¹A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. ²²So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. ²³In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ²⁴Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

²⁵“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. ²⁶In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. ²⁷No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. ²⁸I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

²⁹Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. ³⁰Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”

³¹“Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. ³²“A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.

³³“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Read John 16:16-33 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

One of the biggest misconceptions in the whole Bible is that God the Father is a mean Deity, and Jesus came to protect us from His wrath. This is a complete distortion of God’s character and not only is it opposite of what the Bible actually teaches, it also doesn’t make logical sense when we look deeper at the implication of this idea.

The Bible teaches that God is One, and He is unified in love and purpose. The clearest, simplest description of God is simply the word “Love”. All parts of God operate through the filter of love; every member of the Godhead has Love as the foundation of His character.

Believing that Jesus came to protect us from God separates the unity of love in God’s character that the Bible teaches because it essentially says that Jesus stands opposite of God and that they both will debate over our salvation-worthiness. Jesus doesn’t even come close to teaching this. At several places in the gospels, Jesus shares what God the Father thinks of us.

In the last conversation Jesus had with His disciples prior to His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus clearly tells His followers that “The Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” (v. 27)

Jesus doesn’t stand opposite of God. He doesn’t need to. They both stand on the side of love towards those who have chosen to love Him.

While this doesn’t answer all the challenges that critics have for God and His actions, it reemphasizes unity in the Godhead. This also emphasizes Jesus’ mission to come for those looking for help and for those needing a Savior.

God the Father loves each of us because we have loved, trusted, and believed in His Son. This is about as simple and clear as it could be, and that means that God is just as trustworthy as Jesus when it comes down to our salvation!

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