Spiritual Disciplines

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (John 5:39-40)

Religious leaders continually argued with Jesus over the Bible. They thought that He was wrong and they were right. As silly as this sounds, we do the same thing every time we disagree with the Word of God.

Jesus teaches that the point of the Old Testament was to learn about Him and have a relationship with Him forever. Part of what Jesus is talking about is prophecy. Roughly a quarter of the Bible was prophecy when written–predicting future events in advance.

Here are just a few examples of the amazing Word of God:

   1.   The Bible predicted that Jesus would be born of a virgin and be Immanuel “God with us”

Isaiah 7:14 (700 B.C.) “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

   2.   The Bible predicted that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem

Micah 5:2 (700 B.C.) “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times [eternity].”

   3.   The Bible predicted that Jesus would come to the Temple before it was destroyed in 70 A.D.

Malachi 3:1 (400 B.C.) “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.

   4.   The Bible predicted that though sinless Jesus would be buried in the tomb of the rich man Joseph of Arimathea

Isaiah 53:9 (700 B.C.) He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

   5.   The Bible predicted that Jesus would rise from death

Psalm16:10 (1000 B.C.) …you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

This list is only a small example of the kinds of prophecy that the Bible gives about Jesus Christ. They reveal that the Bible is unlike any other book because it is the book that God wrote. And, the Bible is all about Jesus!

Which of the prophecies above do you find most amazing? Why?

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (John 5:39-40)

When I was a kid, I will never forget transferring to a new school. In our small class, there was one boy who was a giant. He towered over the rest of us, with his head in the place that the Apostle Paul referred to as the “third heaven”. He played on our basketball team, and my plan was very simple–pass the ball to the giant kid and let him score.

After our first game, his parents and siblings came up to congratulate him on a demonstration of complete domination. Everyone in his family was a giant. His mom was even taller than he was. His sister was about the same height. They had an obvious family resemblance.

In the Bible, the family of God also has some curious resemblances. Many Old Testament characters bear resemblance to Jesus, who is of their family line.

In the first Adam we see a lot of resemblances to Jesus, who Paul calls the “last Adam”. The first Adam sinned in a garden, sinned at a tree, was naked and unashamed, brought thorns, and unleashed condemnation on the world. The last Adam bled for sin in a garden, atoned for sin on a tree, was stripped nearly naked and bore our shame, wore a crown of thorns, and brought salvation to the world.

Like Abel, Jesus was godly and killed by an ungodly “brother”. Like Abraham, Jesus left His father’s home and ventured to a new land. Like Isaac, Jesus carried his own wood to lay down his life for His father. Like Jacob, Jesus wrestled with God in Gethsemane. Like Joseph, Jesus was betrayed by his brothers, thrown in a hole, wrongly arrested, and chosen as King to save a multitude. Like Moses, Jesus was a prophet of God who led the people of God to deliverance from a hellish kingdom. Like Job, Jesus was innocent and suffered while his friends were of no help. Like David, Jesus is a King who rules a Kingdom with the heart of a shepherd to care for people who are like sheep. Like Jonah, Jesus spent three days and nights in the darkness of death only to come forth and preach a message of salvation so that enemies might be saved. Like Boaz, Jesus redeemed for himself a bride that was battered and broken (Ruth and the Church, respectively). Like Nehemiah, Jesus is building an eternal home for His people (Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem). And, like Hosea, Jesus remains devoted to His unfaithful bride (the Church) continually forgiving and restoring her to relationship in love.

What is your favorite Old Testament image of Jesus? Why?

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (John 5:39-40)

There are two basic ways in which most people read the Bible.

One, moralism is where you read the Bible and only look for good things to do and bad things to avoid. This leads to what is called “works” theology where you work hard to both do the good things and not do the bad things. The hope is that you do enough good and avoid enough bad that God will be pleased with you and accept you. Moralism is not a Christian way of reading the Bible.

Two, a Christ centered reading of the Bible tries to connect the stories, themes, and details to the person and work of Jesus. This leads to what is called “grace” theology where Jesus accomplishes salvation for us by his works–namely his sinless life, substitutionary death, and bodily resurrection. Faith in what Jesus has done for us gives us assurance that God accepts us because of Jesus Christ. Christ centered Bible reading is a distinctively Christian way of reading the Bible, and it is the way that Jesus teaches us to read it.

Religious leaders who came to argue with Jesus did not understand the numerous actions that point to Him in the Old Testament. For example, when a Priest offers a sacrifice for sinners in the Temple, it points to Jesus as our High Priest who offers Himself as a sacrifice for sinners on the cross in His body, which is the Temple of God’s perfect presence on the earth. When Jacob saw a ladder come down from heaven with the angels ascending and descending upon it between heaven and earth, it pointed to Jesus who would come down from heaven to take us up to heaven.

Practically speaking, there are many Old Testament leadership roles that Jesus fulfils. Priests point to Jesus our Great High Priest. Prophets point to Jesus as the Word of God. Kings point to Jesus as King of Kings. Shepherds point to Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Judges point to Jesus as the Judge of the living and dead. Teachers point to Jesus as our Rabbi teacher.

 How do you view your Bible reading? Do you look for Jesus in every passage?

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (John 5:39-40)

I will never forget one of the strangest conversations of my entire ministry career. Many years ago, a group of young pastors was invited to spend an hour with one of the leading Christian theologians of his generation.

Most of us young pastors did not know each other and met for the first time as we grabbed lunch and took a seat around a large conference table. The elderly theologian was a giant in the faith to each of us, and as he prayed over our meal the room suddenly felt like sacred ground.

The theologian welcomed us, said a few encouraging things, and was promptly interrupted by one of the young guys who hijacked the conversation. He was determined to air his opinions about a wide assortment of secondary issues and impress us with his insights. This went on for what felt like an eternity when another one of the young pastors tried to redirect the conversation so that we could learn from the theologian. Sadly, his effort was in vain. This foolish young man wasted the entire hour, wasting our time together and opportunity to learn.

This same sort of thing happened when religious leaders kept showing up to argue with Jesus rather than learn from Jesus. Jesus clearly and kindly tried to teach them that the Bible cannot be properly understood unless He is viewed as its center.

In fact, Jesus simply came down from heaven and showed up numerous times in the Old Testament in what are called “Christophanies”. Here are some examples:

Jesus walked with Abraham (Genesis 18)
Jesus wrestled with Jacob (Genesis 32:30)
Jesus appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:2-6, John 8:58)
Jesus joined Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:24-25)
Jesus called Isaiah into ministry (Isaiah 6:1-5, John 12:41)
It is commonly believed that Jesus never appeared on the earth until He was born of the virgin Mary, but that is not the case. The Old Testament is just as much about Jesus as the New Testament.

How is your Bible reading going? How can it be improved?

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? (John 5:39-40)

Jesus healed a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. You would think that everyone who saw him walking around carrying his mat would be happy, but that was not the case. Jesus did not break any of the commands of Scripture, but He did break the rules of religious leaders by healing on the Sabbath and having the man carry his mat.

Upset with Jesus, a debate breaks out among the religious leaders. In their exchange, we learn five things about the Bible.

One, if you know the Scriptures but don’t have the Spirit, you can end up like Satan. Satan knows the Bible, but he does not have the Holy Spirit or love the Lord. So, he twists the Scriptures to harm rather than help people. The religious leaders fighting with Jesus are a lot like him.

Two, the Bible is for you, not about you. The Bible is for you and about Jesus. The religious leaders did not accept these truths, and when Jesus showed up they argued with Him about the Bible rather than learn from Him. Why? Because they thought the Bible was about them, not Jesus.

Three, knowledge puffs you up while loves builds others up. The religious leaders had Bible knowledge, but they were arrogant enough to try and correct Jesus as if He were wrong and they were right. As Jesus was building others up, the religious leaders were beating Jesus up. This is what happens when someone wrongly uses the Bible to enhance their pride rather than expand God’s purposes.

Four, Scripture not a window to look at. Scripture is a window to look through in order to see Jesus. These religious leaders failed to look through the Scriptures and see Jesus, so they tragically missed the entire point of the Bible.

Five, Jesus is not a spoke in the Bible. Jesus is the hub for all the spokes in the Bible. Jesus is not one of many subjects, but rather the place that all subjects connect and are held together.

How about you, do any of these explain your current use or abuse of the Bible?
What is the most amazing feat you have ever witnessed? Was it an athlete in a sporting event? Was it a first responder saving a life?

When Jesus walked the earth, people were constantly amazed by his deeds. In John 5, for example, Jesus healed a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

As the buzz grew about this feat, Jesus informed the crowds that something even more amazing was coming. Better than healing one person for a lifetime, Jesus would raise all people for all time. In this way, the miracles or signs that Jesus did were like road signs along the highway in our day pointing to a final destination called the Kingdom of God.

Well-meaning people often say that the deceased, “went to a better place”. The sentiment is often well intended, but ill constructed. Jesus speaks of hell more than anyone else in the Bible. And, in the text above, he speaks of heaven as the “resurrection of life”, and hell as the “resurrection of judgment”.

Furthermore, in the eternal state there will be varying degrees of blessing in heaven and varying degrees of punishment in hell. Why? Because God is fully just. Jesus’ explains it this way in Matthew 16:27, “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.”

If you are a believer, this should be a great encouragement. When life is hard and you continue in fidelity to the Lord, you are storing up your treasures in heaven as Jesus promised. In this way, faithfulness in this life is like making deposits in an account that will not bear dividends until eternity but also pay dividends for eternity

What is the most difficult season you have endured? How might God use that for your eternal rewards?

“Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed. (John 4:50)

Perhaps the saddest place to visit is a children’s hospital. The sight of adorable little faces fighting to live is overwhelming. Their devoted parents sleep at the hospital, shedding their tears, saying their prayers, and seeking to do anything they can to have their child healed.

In Jesus’ first miracle in John’s Gospel, a scared father begs Jesus to heal his dying child. Without making the 18-mile journey to the child, Jesus instead chooses to heal from a distance by the sheer power of His Word.

Unable to see or know that his child was well, the father simply trusted the words of Jesus. This is faith: trusting in the Word of God until it becomes a reality that we see. Romans 10:17 (NKJV) says it this way, “Faith comes by hearing… the word of God.”

Faith is an internal conviction that leads to external action. This father demonstrates his internal faith by walking away from Jesus and heading home fully believing that Jesus had healed his sick child. We learn from his example that faith is not just what you know, but acting on what you know and trusting it to be true.

In many ways, we are in the same position as this father. The Bible promises that there is a future coming when all sickness and death are banished forever. But, we are not yet to our Home. Instead, like the father, we are away from Home, trusting in the Word of God, and journeying ahead until our faith becomes sight.

How is your time in God’s Word going? What things has God already told you that you need to act upon?