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Many seek to use him for their own cause, but few want to embrace his total commitment to Christ. Previous Christian Faith Articles Next Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Discipleship, Responsibility, Transformation Many seek to use him for their own cause, but few want to embrace his total commitment to Christ. “Dietrich Bonhoeffer Stained Glass.” St Johannes Basilikum, Berlin, Germany. Sludge G. Photo taken 30 Aug. 2009, https://www.flickr.com/photos/sludgeulper/3904027037 . Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dietrich_Bonhoeffer_.jpg . Tom Faletti December 26, 2024 What does it mean to be a fully committed follower of Jesus Christ? Dietrich Bonhoeffer devoted his life to that question. Although his answer shifted over time, his devotion to Christ never wavered and he ultimately gave up his life because of his faith. A new movie, Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin. (Angel Studios, 2024), tells a gripping tale of Bonhoeffer’s life and execution in a Nazi concentration camp on April 9, 1945, but it provides little illumination of the faith this German pastor expressed so powerfully in his writings and his teaching. At the core of Bonhoeffer’s life was a commitment to the whole gospel and a radical desire to live fully for Christ. Who was Dietrich Bonhoeffer? Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran minister in Germany when the Nazi dictatorship took power in the 1930s and began to eliminate those it hated. Hitler wanted total allegiance, and that demand is necessarily a problem for Christians, for whom only God is worthy of total allegiance. Most Christians in Germany at the time did not recognize how incompatible the Christian faith was with Hitler’s hatreds, goals, and methods. Bonhoeffer saw the problem from the start and sought to keep Christ at the core of the church’s identity. Bonhoeffer’s life and teachings come in three parts: discipleship, responsibility, and transformation. In each phase of his story, he challenges us to put our faith at the center of our lives. Part 1 Discipleship: Total commitment to every word of Christ Bonhoeffer started out as a pastor, theologian, and college professor, but he shifted course when the Nazis launched their brutal dictatorship in 1933. He left Germany and worked through ecumenical circles to try to warn the church around the world that Hitler was not just a political or military threat; he was a spiritual threat because his demands raised him up as an idol in opposition to God. Bonhoeffer argued that the Nazi regime’s insistence on allegiance to Hitler’s agenda even over conscience and faith was a threat to the very existence of genuine Christianity. In 1935, Bonhoeffer returned to Germany to begin training pastors in what was called the Confessing Church – those who resisted the Nazi regime’s efforts to unite all Protestant churches behind its persecution of Jews and pursuit of transnational domination. His seminary was eventually declared illegal and shut down by the Nazi government. In 1937, he published a book that captured the content of the lectures he gave as he prepared pastors to serve in the Confessing Church. The book never specifically mentions Hitler or what was going on in Germany at the time, but it speaks clearly of the coming persecution and explains what living a life that is fully committed to Christ must look like. The book was titled Nachfolge , German for “Discipleship,” but the English translation was called The Cost of Discipleship . It is most famous for its analysis of the difference between “cheap grace” and “costly grace.” Cheap grace is the belief that, because Jesus died for our sins, it doesn’t matter whether we obey His commandments since we have already been forgiven and justified by His death. Cheap grace is “grace without discipleship, grace without the cross” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship , originally published in 1937 in German as Nachfolge ; English revised and unabridged edition published by The Macmillan Company, 1963, p. 47). Costly grace calls us to take up our cross and follow in the way of Christ. Costly grace means we accept and embrace a “single-minded obedience to the word of Christ” (p. 88). Costly grace places the teachings of Jesus first in every aspect of life. When any part of the Church expects little of its members other than an hour on Sunday and a statement of faith — whether that statement is a creed or a “sinner’s prayer” – it has fallen sway to “cheap grace.” But there is far more in Bonhoeffer’s book, and even people who take their faith seriously might be uncomfortable with the severity and absolutism of his approach. For example, according to Bonhoeffer, Jesus’s directive to the rich young man to sell everything and give the money to the poor applies to all of us. When Jesus says that the person who calls someone a fool is in danger of going to hell (Matthew 5:22), Bonhoeffer says Jesus means it literally. When Jesus tells us to love our enemies, that means we must do good to them, not just pray for them, because love is not love if it does not take action. When we are mistreated, Bonhoeffer echoes Jesus in saying we are to relinquish our personal rights by turning the other cheek and must never respond to violence with violence. All of Jesus’s teachings are to be taken literally, Bonhoeffer tells us. If we take Jesus’s commands figuratively – as commands intended only for a limited number of people or as aspirational goals that we don’t think God expects us to fully obey – we risk falling into the cheap grace that is no real commitment to Jesus at all. Bonhoeffer argues that, since Christ became one with us in the Incarnation, He is intimately involved in every aspect of our lives. In every interaction we have with other people, Christ is there. He “stands in the center between my neighbor and myself” (p. 112). Since all of our dealings with other people also include Christ, we must embrace the way of the cross, the way of reconciliation, the way of love even for our enemy, in every interaction. That is what it means to love others as He loves us. That is why “any attack even on the least of men is an attack on Christ, who took the form of man, and in his own Person, restored the image of God in all that bears a human form” (p. 341). Since every person is made in the image of God, we must treat every person with love. We “recover our true humanity” when we “retrieve our solidarity with the whole human race” (p. 341). We are called to recognize the connection we have with all other people because that is what Christ did. This call to be like Christ does not apply only to saints or pastors. This discipleship, Bonhoeffer insists, is for all of us. All are called to obey. Reflecting on Bonhoeffer’s call to discipleship Bonhoeffer’s teachings raise many challenging questions. We might ask ourselves: Is the church too willing to let people slide by with cheap grace rather than confronting them with a gospel that demands total commitment? When are the teachings of Jesus (for example, to sell all you have, don’t insult others, turn the other cheek, love your enemy, etc.) meant to be taken literally as absolute commands? Does Jesus want all of us to do all of these things all the time? How are we to respond to these teachings of Jesus? How would our lives be different if we lived them in “solidarity with the whole human race,” as Jesus chose to live in solidarity with us? Who would we need to embrace or include as one of “us” if we were to adopt this solidarity with others as a guiding principle? Part 2 The movie Bonhoeffer (Angel Studios, 2024) tells us that the pacifist Dietrich Bonhoeffer chose to get involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler, but it does little to explore the conflicting feelings Bonhoeffer had. He saw clear spiritual risks in this decision and sought to stay true to the suffering Christ. Responsibility: Free people face difficult choices in this world Bonhoeffer sought to train pastors in an underground seminary as Hitler was consolidating and extending his power in the 1930s. Bonhoeffer’s book The Cost of Discipleship , which is based on his lectures at that time, insists that a life of total dedication to Christ will be resisted by those opposed to Christ and will be met with persecution. To be persecuted is to share in the cross of Christ. Those who suffer martyrdom enter fully into the cross of Christ and live with Him forever in glory. When Bonhoeffer’s safety appeared to be in jeopardy, his friends abroad convinced him to leave Germany. But he soon decided that if he did not join in the suffering of his fellow Christians in Germany, he could not legitimately be part of the rebuilding that he knew would be necessary once Hitler was gone. So he returned to Germany. He was arrested in 1943, imprisoned for two years, and ultimately was hanged shortly before the Allies defeated the Third Reich. The reason why Bonhoeffer was arrested is surprising. For a while, Bonhoeffer worked as a double agent, ostensibly working for German intelligence while also working for the German Resistance. Some of his family members were part of a unit in the Resistance that developed a plot to assassinate Hitler. Bonhoeffer supported that effort. The plot failed, but Bonhoeffer’s role in the Resistance was discovered and he was arrested on April 5, 1943. In 1937, Bonhoeffer had taught that violence was never acceptable for a Christian. He had written: “If I am assailed, I am not to condone or justify aggression. . . . Suffering willingly endured is stronger than evil. . . . There is no deed on earth so outrageous as to justify a different attitude. The worse the evil, the readier must the Christian be to suffer; he must let the evil person fall into Jesus’ hands [i.e., leave the response to Jesus and not take matters into one’s own hands]” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship , originally published in 1937 in German as Nachfolge ; English revised and unabridged edition published by The Macmillan Company, 1963, p. 158-159). But as he saw the enormity of the evil being done under the Third Reich – which was killing millions of Jews and other innocent people and undermining the basic tenets of Christianity by not allowing seminaries or churches to operate if they resisted Hitler’s program – he gradually became convinced that violence was necessary in order to rid Germany of Hitler. I asked Kurt Kreibohm, a retired pastor and tour guide at the Dietrich Bonhoeffer House in Berlin about this seeming contradiction. He acknowledged the contradiction and said that Bonhoeffer agonized over it. Bonhoeffer struggled with the idea that what he was doing was a sin (indicating that he still believed what he had written previously); yet he believed the assassination attempt was necessary to prevent the killing of millions of additional people. He put himself in the hands of God, believing that his participation in the plot was worthy of God’s judgment against him even though he believed it was necessary. In 1942, a few months before he was arrested, Bonhoeffer wrote a Christmas letter to his co-conspirators. In that letter, he discusses the need for Germans to exercise “the free responsibility of the free man,” a responsibility that is “founded in a God who calls for the free venture of faith to responsible action and who promises forgiveness and consolation to the one who on account of such action becomes a sinner” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison , Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works – Reader’s Edition, Fortress Press, 2015, pp. 7-8). Bonhoeffer’s thinking has evolved in the five years since he wrote The Cost of Discipleship . Now, he sees that the need to make concrete decisions in difficult situations presents ethical challenges, and he underscores our responsibility for the actions we choose. He does not take lightly the possibility that he will make wrong choices as he exercises the free responsibility God has given him. At the same time, he believes that God will extend forgiveness and grace to him when he falls short. But it is not cheap grace. The hope of grace comes with an understanding that we are not making decisions merely to suit our own desires; we are accountable to God because God has made us “co-responsible for the shaping of history” (p. 8). He goes on to say: “I believe that even our mistakes and shortcomings are not in vain and that it is no more difficult for God to deal with them than with our supposedly good deeds. I believe that God . . . waits for and responds to simple prayer and responsible actions” (p. 13). We are still called to live our lives fully for God. While he is in prison, Bonhoeffer writes to his best friend Eberhard Bethge about “the profound this-worldliness of Christianity” ( Letters and Papers from Prison , p. 471). Looking back on his life, he writes: I thought I myself could learn to have faith by trying to live something like a saintly life. I suppose I wrote Discipleship at the end of this path. Today I clearly see the dangers of that book, though I stand by it. Later on I discovered, and am still discovering to this day, that one only learns to have faith by living in the full this-worldliness of life. . . . [O]ne throws oneself completely into the arms of God, and this is what I call this-worldliness: living fully in the midst of life’s tasks, questions, successes and failures, experiences, and perplexities – then one takes seriously no longer one’s own sufferings but rather the suffering of God in the world. Then one stays awake with Christ in Gethsemane. And I think this is faith; this is metanoia. ( Letters and Papers from Prison , p. 472) Bonhoeffer’s understanding of faith shifted over time, from seeking to avoid evil to seeking to embrace Christ in the complexities of life in the real world. But he remained focused on pursuing a life wholly identified with the suffering Christ. Reflecting on Bonhoeffer’s call to take the risk of engaging in this world Bonhoeffer is not the only person of faith who has sensed a call to move from saintly separation to a riskier involvement in the world. The challenges Bonhoeffer faced remain relevant to us today: In what ways are we called to embrace difficult choices in a messy world, rather than staying in our safe and saintly enclaves? How can we maintain our commitment to total discipleship to the suffering Christ – to a life lived wholly for God – as we grapple with difficult situations that challenge our previous understandings of how to live the life of faith? How do we embrace the “this-worldliness” of life, as Jesus did while He was on earth, yet stay focused on God? Part 3 The movie Bonhoeffer (Angel Studios, 2024) fails to capture the depth of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s faith. His commitment to live fully for Christ is much clearer in his real life than in the film. Transformation: Living “as Christ” in all circumstances Dietrich Bonhoeffer began his pastoral life with zeal in the 1930s, calling all people to a severe adherence to every word of Christ – the life of “costly grace.” Confronted with the enormity of evil in the agenda of Hitler and the Third Reich, Bonhoeffer joined the German Resistance, which led to his arrest and the final phase of his remarkable life. In prison, Bonhoeffer was an enormous force for good. Fellow prisoners found strength and hope because of his encouragement. Even prison guards were impressed by him and helped in the effort to smuggle his prison writings out to the world. Some of the prayers he wrote in prison have circulated widely in the decades since then. Bonhoeffer’s 1937 book The Cost of Discipleship spells out his rigorous commitment to following every teaching of Christ: sell all, turn the other cheek, love your enemy. He urges us to recognize that in every interaction with every other person, Christ is standing between us and them, so we must love every other person. This is what it means to live as a disciple of Christ. Late in the book, Bonhoeffer takes another step. He suggests that in Romans 8:29, where Saint Paul calls us to be “conformed to the image of [God’s] Son,” he is calling us to become “as Christ” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship , originally published in 1937 in German as Nachfolge ; English revised and unabridged edition published by The Macmillan Company, 1963, p. 337). “That image,” Bonhoeffer explains, “has the power to transform our lives, and if we surrender ourselves utterly to him, we cannot help bearing his image ourselves. We become sons of God, we stand side by side with Christ, our unseen Brother, bearing like him the image of God” (p. 337). In prison, Bonhoeffer presented a living example of what he had taught in his book. To those around him, he became a living image of Christ. He had called us to live “as Christ.” He had tried to live wholly for Christ in the jaws of the Third Reich. Now, he brought the presence of Christ into each of the four prisons and concentration camps he was detained in before his execution. In his 1942 Christmas letter to members of the Resistance with whom he worked, Bonhoeffer had described the perspective he had gained as he worked to put his faith into action in the real world: “It remains an experience of incomparable value that we have for once learned to see the great events of world history from below, from the perspective of the outcasts, the suspects, the maltreated, the powerless, the oppressed and reviled, in short from the perspective of the suffering” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison , Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works – Reader’s Edition, Fortress Press, 2015, pp. 20). He asserts that “personal suffering is a more useful key, a more fruitful principle than personal happiness for exploring the meaning of the world in contemplation and action” (p.20). That solidarity with those who suffer prepared him to be a light of grace and hope to those in prison. Bonhoeffer ends The Cost of Discipleship with a description of the goal of discipleship. The goal, he says, is not to be a perfect rule-follower, even though obeying Christ is a primary mark of a disciple. Discipleship is not about rules for their own sake; it is about living in an intimate relationship with the One who showed us how to live. Bonhoeffer ends his book this way: “If we are conformed to his image in his Incarnation and crucifixion, we shall also share the glory of His resurrection. . . . “We shall be drawn into his image, and identified with his form, and become a reflection of him. That reflection of his glory will shine forth in us even in this life, even as we share his agony and bear his cross. . . . “This is what we mean when we speak of Christ dwelling in our hearts. His life is not finished yet, for he continues to live in the lives of his followers. . . . “The Holy Trinity himself has made his dwelling in the Christian heart, filling his whole being, and transforming him into the divine image” ( The Cost of Discipleship , p. 343). Discipleship means allowing God to live in us, fill us with Himself, and transform us into His image, an image that was placed in each of us before we were born. God gives us freedom and the responsibility to use it to the best of our ability to lives as images of Christ. We do this by embracing the cross of Christ and extending the love of Christ to all, including those who are maltreated and rejected by others – loving all as Jesus did. Our calling is to become wholly like Him. In his writings and in his life, Dietrich Bonhoeffer sought to present a life of total devotion to Christ. The same invitation is made to all of us, because Christ came so that He might dwell in the heart of every person who embraces Him. Reflecting on Bonhoeffer’s call to be transformed into the image of Christ Dietrich Bonhoeffer was not the first person to recognize God’s grand plan: to transform us into the image of Christ. We find his story valuable partly because the times in which he lived were not ideal for trying to live a life wholly devoted to Christ. He faced difficult choices. We honor him not because he necessarily always made the “right” choices, but because he always sought to put God first. How he responded to his times raises provocative questions for us in our own faith lives: If we live “as Christ,” who loves everyone else with the same love with which He loves us, how might that change how we view and interact with other people? In what ways does the idea of becoming a living image of Christ attract you? . . . intrigue you? . . . scare you? To what extent are you willing to say yes to becoming a living image of Christ? How might seeing events from below, from the perspective of those who are outcasts or suffering, help you live as a reflection of Christ in the world? What is the next step God is calling you to take, to help you be transformed into His image and to be a clearer reflection of Christ in your world? In every phase of his life, Dietrich Bonhoeffer sought to live in a manner that was totally committed to the suffering Christ and filled with concern for all who suffer. He encouraged everyone else to do the same. May his desire to fully live “as Christ” be our goal as well. Copyright © 2024, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Christian Faith Articles Next

Stand firm in what you have been taught and live an orderly life, doing your own work and not minding other people’s business. [2 Thessalonians 2:13-17; 3:1-5; 3:6-15; 3:16-18] Previous 2 Thess. List Next 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:18 Stand firm in what you have been taught and live an orderly life, doing your own work and not minding other people’s business. Image provided by Wix. Tom Faletti March 10, 2025 2 Thess. 2:13-17 How God sees the Thessalonians From God’s perspective, who are the Thessalonians? How does Paul describe them? In verse 13, Paul says that the Thessalonians are the “firstfruits.” Note: Some translations use an alternate translation that instead says, “from the beginning.” The uncertainty arises because at that time, Greek had no spaces between words and the letters in question form either two words meaning “from” and “the beginning” or the single word meaning “firstfruits.” (Similarly, if we did not use spaces, we might not know whether a report was being described as “information” or “in formation.”) “Firstfruits” is probably the better translation for several reasons: The term “firstfruits” is used repeatedly in the Old Testament. Paul had a deep knowledge of Jewish Scriptures. Paul uses the same term in other letters, for example, in Romans 8:23 and 11:16 and in 1 Corinthians 15:19-23 and 16:15. The word captures an important point that Paul makes in those other passages, which we will explore now. Read Leviticus 23:9-21 and Exodus 23:14-19a to understand the concept of the firstfruits. What are the firstfruits? Why might the Lord have wanted the people to offer the first sheaf of wheat that was harvested, the first pieces of fruit plucked from the vines and trees, the lamb born in the past year, etc.? What was the message or purpose hidden in this practice? Jeremiah 2:3 says that Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of the Lord’s harvest. How is it appropriate, then, for Paul to describe the Thessalonians as the firstfruits of salvation? Note: The idea of the “firstfruits” also appears in many other places in the Old Testament, including in Leviticus 2:14; Number 18:13; Deuteronomy 18:4; 26:1-3, 10; Nehemiah 10:36; and Proverbs 3:9-10. Now return to 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17. What is Paul’s point in saying that the Thessalonians are the “firstfruits” for salvation (verse 13)? If they are only the first fruits, that suggests that others are also “fruit.” What does that tell us about people who come after them? The firstfruits in the Old Testament were an offering to God, a choice gift set aside for God at the beginning of the harvest. In what ways are we, too, called to be an offering to God as part of his harvest? In verse 14, what does Paul say they are called for? You have the same calling. What does it mean to you, that you are called to have the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ? Given all of this, what does Paul call on them to do in verse 15? We can only “hold fast to the traditions” (verse 15) if we know what those traditions are. Are there things you could do to understand the “traditions” of your faith more fully? Early signs of the Church’s belief in the divinity of Jesus In verse 16, we see a sign that Paul believes in the divinity of Jesus – that Jesus is one with God the Father. Here, he is praying for the Thessalonians. The prayer starts by describing our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father as having given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace. He continues the sentence by saying, may he encourage your hearts and may he strengthen them. He uses the third personal singular he ; he does not say, may they encourage and strengthen your hearts. Again, as in 1 Thessalonians 3:11, Paul gives us an early indication that he sees the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father as one God. See my article When Did Christians First Recognize the Divinity of Jesus? for a more complete exposition of the early Church’s belief in the divinity of Jesus. How does Paul describe Christ/God the Father in verse 16? In what ways have you experienced God’s love and the encouragement that lasts forever? What can you do to more fully embrace God’s love and encouragement? In verse 17, what does Paul ask God to do for the Thessalonians? It is characteristic of Paul that he does not simply ask God to encourage them so that they can feel good. He asks God to strengthen them in every good thing they do and say . Paul wants to see faith in action. What is the good deed or good word that God might be calling you to, right now? What has Paul said in this letter that might encourage you that you can trust in God’s strength to enable you for every good deed and word? 2 Thess. 3:1-5 Paul asks for their prayers and continues to pray for them What does Paul ask them to pray for him? Paul also continues his prayer for them in this passage. Looking through the whole passage from verse 1 through verse 5, what does he name that you think you most need? 2 Thess. 3:6-15 Live an orderly life In verse 6, Paul criticizes those who live a “disorderly” life (NABRE) or live in “idleness” (NRSV). “Disorderly” is the better translation, as the word ( ataktos ) was used by Greek writers such as Herodotus and Thucydides to describe troops that were “not in battle-order,” with Thucydides also using it to mean “undisciplined” or “disorderly” (Liddell and Scott, p. 128). Therefore, we will talk about an “orderly” or “disorderly” life below; but if your translation talks about “idleness,” we are referring to the same word. What does an orderly life look like according to Paul? What are people who are living an orderly life doing , and what are they not doing ? Why did Paul work and earn his own keep when he was with them? In verse 10, Paul says that anyone who is not willing to work should not eat – i.e., should not eat at the community meals Christians were taking in common together. Notice that Paul does not say those who are not working should not eat. He says those who are unwilling to work should not eat. Why is that an important distinction? Why do people sometimes find themselves without work even though they are willing to work? The Catholic Church (and some other Christian bodies) have an understanding of work that includes several elements that build on each other, and all of the components are needed to have a full understanding of work from a Christian perspective: God intends for people to work. He built this feature built into humans from the very beginning. In the Garden of Eden, God gave the Garden to humans to cultivate and take care of (Gen. 2:15). Work is part of our design. We are called to contribute to the common good by working. Some people do this through volunteer work, but most people need to be paid for their work in order to meet their needs. All are called to participate in the work of God’s ongoing creation. It is part of being who we are meant to be. People have a right to productive work with decent wages and fair treatment. This follows from the first principle. Since we have a calling to work, we must have access to productive work to fulfill that calling. And since most people need to work to meet their needs, they have a right to be treated fairly in that work so that their need for work is not abused. (See USCCB’s “ The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers ” and Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church , pars. 288 and 291-293, pp. 127-128, for more on this right). God did not create people to meet the needs of the economy; rather, the economy was made for people. The economy is a necessary structure to benefit the common good . As the U.S. bishops put it, “The economy must serve people, not the other way around” (USCCB, “ The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers ”). Since people have a need and a right to work, governments have an obligation to ensure that their societies provide productive employment to all who need it and that they are treated fairly in their work. (This is also spelled out in the USCCB’s document and in the Compendium .) Since God has made it clear from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden that he wants people to work, the Catholic Church and some other Christian bodies teach that people have a right to productive work, and therefore that governments have an obligation to create the conditions where everyone who seeks employment can find productive work. How does that inform our reading of Paul’s statement? How do we balance the idea that those who are unwilling to work should not share in the church meal with the idea that governments should structure their economies so that everyone who is willing to work can find productive employment that treats them fairly? People who face health issues or other struggles that make it hard for them to find appropriate work or to keep a stable job sometimes feel that Christians are unduly harsh in trying to enforce work requirements against them while failing to follow Jesus’s Second Commandment – to love your neighbor as yourself. How can we balance the desire to promote good order with the demand of Christ to love your neighbor as yourself? What is a loving approach to those who struggle to work and need assistance? Reread verse 11. Paul’s concern goes beyond just that some people are not working. What is it that they are doing, that he is especially concerned about? We can be good workers and still fall into the trap of minding other people’s business. How might that be a danger for some in our day? They are minding other people’s business. How can you find an appropriate balance of encouraging others to do good without “minding other people’s business”? In verses 14-15, Paul sets forth an approach to people who refuse to follow the teachings of Christ and Christian leaders. What is his approach? Paul tells the Thessalonians not to associate with such people, but to treat them as a brother, not an enemy. This instruction to keep away from or not associate with people who do not follow the teachings of Christ is a theme that is common in Paul – besides 2 Thessalonians 3:6 and 3:14, we see it in Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 5:11; and Titus 3:10. Jesus says something similar in Matthew 18:15-17, and we also see it in 2 John 10. Why do you think Paul was so concerned about having the new Christians at Thessalonica avoid those who did not obey Paul’s teachings? Is it possible to disassociate from someone yet still avoid treating them as an enemy and instead actually treat them as a brother? What would that look like? Do you think busybodies are a problem in the church today? Paul is about to pray for the Lord’s peace for the Thessalonians in verse 16. What do you think is the best way to deal with people who are busybodies while maintaining the Lord’s peace? 2 Thess. 3:16-18 Paul adds final greetings and his unique signature What does verse 16 say to you? When you are in need of peace, do you think of God as “the God of peace”? How is that a helpful image? Why is Paul’s final greeting in verse 17 important? Looking over chapter 3, what do you think are the most important things to take with you for dealing with relations between people in the church? Take a step back and consider this: Throughout both of his letters to the Thessalonians, Paul has been praising them for how their faith is made manifest in love and endurance. How important is it for our faith to be manifested by our love and endurance? Can we have true faith if it does not show in these ways? How are they signs of faith? What is the greatest challenge for you in dealing with people in the church right now? How would Paul counsel you to deal with that challenge, and what can you do to put your faith, love, and endurance into action in that part of your life? Bibliography See 2 Thessalonians - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/2-thessalonians/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous 2 Thess. List Next

While the normal routines of life go on, Jesus knows that one of his disciples is in the process of betraying him. How do you keep going when bad things are happening? [Matthew 26:14-16; 26:17-19; 26:20-25] Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 26:14-25 While the normal routines of life go on, Jesus knows that one of his disciples is in the process of betraying him. How do you keep going when bad things are happening? Unidentified artist. Judas mottar de trettio silverpenningarna [Judas receives the silver pieces] . Circa 1425-1450. Chalk painting, Brönnestad Church, Hässleholm, Sweden. Photo by Lennart Karlsson. CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kalkm%C3%A5lning,_Judas_mottar_de_trettio_silverpenningarna_-_Br%C3%B6nnestads_kyrka,_H%C3%A4ssleholm_-_9017124.jpg . Tom Faletti September 15, 2025 Matthew 26:14-16 Judas betrays Jesus Why do you think Judas offers to betray Jesus? There are three ways that scholars commonly attempt to explain Judas’s betrayal: Judas might have been greedy. The Gospel of John supports this idea in John 12:6, where John says that Judas kept the money for Jesus and his companions and used to steal from it. This explanation is supported by the fact that in Matthew 26:15 Judas asks the chief priests how much money they would give him if he betrayed Jesus to them. Judas might have been disillusioned because Jesus was not showing any evidence that he was going to rise up against the Romans and establish an independent Jewish nation. Judas might have believed deeply in the cause he thought Jesus stood for and felt that Jesus was moving too slowly. He might have thought he was forcing Jesus’s hand in order to speed up the inauguration of the kingdom. What is the significance of 30 pieces of silver? Exodus 21:32 indicates that 30 shekels of silver was the value of a slave in ancient Israel – the amount of compensation that had to be paid if a man’s ox gored another man’s slave. The weights of various coins were not very standardized, but the shekel and the “silver pieces” in Judas’s time were close enough that it is reasonable to hear hints of Exodus 21:32 in Matthew 26:15. A story in Zechariah 11:7-13 about a rejected shepherd suggests that 30 shekels is 30 days’ wages, and the silver pieces Judas accepted may have had the value of 30 days’ wages. However, depending on the coin that was used, it may have been worth four times that much, or 120 days’ wages: a third of a year’s wages, which is comparable to $8,000 to $16,000 today ( The New Oxford Annotated Bible , Matthew 26:14 footnote, p. 1785). Judas is betraying Jesus for less than half of the cost of the ointment the woman used to anoint Jesus in the previous passage (Matt. 26:6-13). Why do you think Judas decided to betray Jesus? Do you think he really wanted to see Jesus killed? Explain. If we put the best face on Judas’s actions, he thought he knew better than Jesus how to bring God’s kingdom into its glory. How do people in our day try to force a greater manifestation of God’s kingdom? How does Judas contrast with the woman who anointed Jesus? How is Judas different than the other disciples? How might you sometimes be at risk of trying to force God’s hand rather than waiting for God’s timing and method of working in our lives? Matthew 26:17-19 Preparation for the Passover meal In this passage, Jesus prepares to celebrate his final Passover meal with his disciples. He has probably eaten the sacrificial Passover lamb in Jerusalem every year since he was a child (Luke 2:41 tells us that his parents went to Jerusalem every year for the Passover). What do you know about the Jewish celebration of the Passover? What were they commemorating and how did they commemorate it? Passover is the annual Jewish feast celebrating the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. It is also known as the feast of Unleavened Bread, because the Israelites were told to prepare unleavened bread to take on their exodus out of Egypt, because they would not have time for bread to rise as they left. Passover as the night when the Jews put the blood of a lamb on the lintels of their doors so that the angel of death would “pass over” their households when the death of the firstborns convinced Pharaoh to stop standing against God and allow the Israelites to leave Egypt. Passover is celebrated on the 15 th of Nissan (the Jewish month that, based on the lunar cycle, falls during our March/April). The “first day” referred to here is the day of preparation, the 14 th of Nissan. At sundown, the 15 th of Nissan would begin. The Passover meal was eaten on the first night of a week-long celebration of the salvation from slavery that God provided by bringing the Israelites out of Egypt. What preparations do Jesus and his disciples make for the Passover meal? It appears that Jesus had spoken with someone in advance about using his house to have the Passover meal. This is one of those little clues that remind us that the Bible gives us only a selected sample of everything Jesus did and said (see John 21:25, which suggests that if all the stories were told, the world could not hold all the books that would be written). Do you suppose there are things in your life that Jesus is also preparing in advance for? If the disciples had not done what Jesus directed them to do, the Passover meal might not have been as orderly: there might have been last-minute scrambling, etc. What does this tell you about the importance of listening for God’s guidance and following his direction? Matthew 26:20-25 Jesus acknowledges that he will be betrayed by an insider What does Jesus say he knows? Why do you think he is saying this, rather than keeping it to himself? How do the disciples feel about the possibility that someone might betray Jesus? Why would they ask, “Surely, not I?” Wouldn’t they know they are not going to betray him? Could they be clueless about just how big the betrayal is that Jesus is talking about, and think that Jesus is referring to some more minor way they might “betray” him due to foolishness or pettiness? Are there ways that we might “betray” Jesus in small ways, not by a dramatic denunciation but by our own mundane sinfulness? How might that be? What title for Jesus do the apostles use in v. 22? What title for Jesus does Judas use in v. 25? “Rabbi” is an Aramaic word meaning “teacher” or “master” that was used as a title of honor for teachers. The Jews of Jesus’s time spoke Aramaic, a language related to Hebrew. Matthew is writing his Gospel in Greek, so he almost always translates into Greek what the people would have said in Aramaic. Everywhere else, he uses the Greek word for teacher where Jews would have said “rabbi.” But not here. Here, Matthew preserves the fact that Judas called Jesus “rabbi.” What does it tell you about their relationship when a person calls someone else “Lord”? Does “Teacher” have the same connotation? Are our teachers seen as our lords? Does the fact that Judas uses the word for teacher, when the disciples usually refer to Jesus as Lord, give us a hint as to Judas’s attitude toward Jesus? Explain. In what ways do you see Jesus as “Lord”? In verse 25, when Judas says, “Surely, not I?”, Jesus replies, “You have said so” rather than a simple “Yes.” Why might Jesus have phrased it this way? Jesus’s choice of words is significant here. If Jesus had said, “Yes,” rather than “You have said so,” it would have suggested that Judas was locked into a path of betrayal and no longer had any choice. By saying to Judas, you have said so, Jesus leaves room for Judas to decide to say otherwise, to change his mind, to retreat from the path he has started down. This shows that Jesus, to the end, loves Judas and is holding out hope that Judas will do the right thing. Note: The fact that Jesus’s death fulfills Scripture does not mean that Judas was forced to betray Jesus. Judas is not a puppet. Jesus ultimately would have died on a Roman cross even if Judas had changed his mind and not helped the Jewish leaders. God did not need Judas to be evil in order to accomplish his work of salvation. In Matthew 26:24, Jesus says, “It would have been better for him if he had not been born.” Some people find this troubling because it seems harsh. However, it is not as harsh as verse 25:41: “Depart from me, you accursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Jesus does not actually say that Judas is going to hell. Judas’s final judgment remains to be seen. He could still repent. Does God ever give up on the possibility that you, or any other person, might repent and move away from a path of sin or evil? How can you keep an open mind about others’ potential to turn around? Take a step back and consider this: In these passages, we see the normal routines of life going on – the ordinary preparation for an annual celebration – while the wheels are turning that will lead to Jesus’s crucifixion. And Jesus knows what is going on! How do you think Jesus handled the stress and inner turmoil that comes with knowing that bad things are happening? We face this same problem sometimes. Bad things may be happening in our lives, not necessarily life-or-death situations like Jesus is facing, but serious, potentially life-altering circumstances. Perhaps we are waiting for medical test results that could indicate we have a serious illness or disease. Perhaps we are watching an adult child or other loved one struggle with drugs or other serious impairments. Perhaps a business we are deeply involved in is failing. Perhaps a government is trying to find us and deport us even though we have never done anything wrong other than cross a border to find safety from a life-threatening situation. How do you deal with stress when bad things are happening around you or you are waiting for potentially bad news? Where do you turn for help in those difficult times? Do you see Jesus as someone who has gone through that kind of stress and can help you get through it? What could you do to reach out to him and draw strength from him? Jesus appears to have enjoyed spending time with his disciples. Other than going away to spend time in prayer with his Father, we never see him trying to avoid the disciples. Human beings are social creatures. Jesus was God, but he was also human, and as a human, he may have found encouragement in spending time with those he loved. Who around you might be experiencing the stress of living in a bad situation or waiting for potentially bad news? How could you be a help to them? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next

Blessed are the poor, the grieving, the meek. Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 5:1-5 Blessed are the poor, the grieving, the meek. Image provided by Wix. Tom Faletti April 20, 2024 Matthew 5:1-2 The setting for the “Sermon on the Mount” Matthew introduces his first compilation of Jesus’s teachings. He ultimately has 5 of these “discourses.” Why does Matthew set this scene on a mountain? We can compare this to Moses presenting the Law on Mount Sinai. Jesus was seated because that is how Jewish teachers taught. Although this says it is addressed to the disciples, Matt. 7:28 tells us that it is being heard by crowds of people. Matthew has compiled teachings that Jesus would not have presented all at once. Therefore, there is not a specific, single crowd envisioned by Matthew. We will see that Matthew frequently gathers together different things that Jesus said or did that might not all have happened in one time or place. He carefully organizes his material to help us understand what Jesus said and did. Matthew 5:3-12 The Sermon on the Mount – who is blessed in the kingdom of heaven? These statements of Jesus are known as the “Beatitudes,” from the Latin word for “blessed.” There are generally considered to be eight beatitudes in Matthew, whereas Luke only has four. Verse 3 What does “blessed” mean? What does “poor in spirit” mean? “Poor in spirit” does not mean spiritually poor. A person who is “poor in spirit” is actually spiritually rich. So what is the opposite of poor in spirit? What does a life look like that is not “poor in spirit”? How can a person become, or try to be, poor in spirit? Is “poor in spirit” different from “poor,” which is how Jesus says it in Luke’s account in Luke 6:20? It is possible that Jesus said it in different ways at different times, since he probably preached the same message many times in different places. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary argues that “the addition of ‘in spirit’ changes the emphasis from social-economic to personal-moral: humility, detachment from wealth, voluntary poverty” (Benedict T. Viviano, O.P., “The Gospel According to Matthew,” The New Jerome Biblical Commentary , par. 24, p. 640), but some commentators find no significant difference. Barclay tells us that the Greek word here is the word for “absolute and abject poverty” (William Barclay, Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1 , p. 85). He then walks through the development of the phrase “the poor” in the Old Testament, where it shifted from being simply a word for economic poverty to a word for lack of power and influence, to a word for being oppressed and downtrodden, to a word for putting one’s whole trust in God because one has no other resources. The Psalms repeatedly talk about “the poor” as people who trust in and rely on God (William Barclay, Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1 , p. 86). The Bible does not give any sign that God finds value in the life-destroying effects of abject poverty, so perhaps Matthew included the words “in spirit” to make it clear that Jesus was not praising abject poverty in itself but rather the attitude of trust in God that some poor people have because of their lack of anything else to put their trust in. Can a person be wealthy yet poor in spirit? If so, what would it look like? Can a person be educated yet poor in spirit? If so, what would it look like? Can a person be popular or famous and still be poor in spirit? What would it look like? Considering all that we have talked about, what is the attitude or approach to life of a person who is poor in spirit? One might say: People who are poor in spirit exhibit a fundamental dependency on God rather than on anything else, and treat people as all having an equal claim on the resources of the earth rather than focusing on their own right to own their own resources. In Luke, Jesus says, “ yours is the kingdom of God,” but in Matthew the poor in spirit are referred to in the third person (“ theirs is the kingdom of heaven”) (Matthew 5:3, NRSV). What might be the significance of the fact that in Luke the audience is included in the category of the poor? According to this verse, what do people get or have, if they are poor in spirit? What does it mean to have the kingdom of heaven? If you have the kingdom, that means you are where God is and have all that God wishes to give to you. Jesus said that, with his arrival, the kingdom of heaven is now at hand – i.e., right near you. The poor dwell (or will dwell, to the extent that this is a promise going forward rather than an immediate reality) in that place. And we understand from the Lord’s Prayer that where God’s kingdom has come, God’s will is done. So if the poor have that kingdom, they have citizenship in that place where God’s will is done – and is done for them as much as for everyone else, unlike in earthly kingdoms. Verse 4 What do you think this beatitude is envisioning that people are mourning about? People have seen many forms of mourning in this passage: They might be grieving due to their own losses or difficult lives: the death of a loved one, the effects of illness, mistreatment by others, the suffering that accompanies doing what is right. They might be deeply sorrowful for their sins, mourning their own failure to live up to what God has called them to be. They might be mourning the sufferings of others: grieving the injustices and evils that the world tolerates and the poor treatment of the lowly and needy. Is this beatitude only offering comfort when bad things inevitably happen or when we recognize our sinfulness? Or is it also calling us to take proactive action to choose to mourn situations that go beyond our own little world; and, if so, what should we be mourning? Why would the fact that you will be comforted (in the future) make you blessed that you are mourning now? Wouldn’t it be better to not have to be mourning in the first place? What do you think the nature of the “comfort” is? Verse 5 What does it mean, to be “meek”? What does it look like? Barclay says that the Greek word for meek, praus , had several meanings. Aristotle used one of its meanings to talk about the virtue of meekness. According to Barclay, Aristotle defined meekness as the happy medium between excessive anger and excessive angerlessness (William Barclay, Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1 , p. 91). When, if ever, might a meek person be angry and still be meek? Barclay highlights a second meaning in the Greek for the word “meek”: it is used to describe an animal that is domesticated and trained to obey the commands of its master (William Barclay, Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1 , p. 91-92). How is meekness related to being responsive to the leading of God? Barclay also notes a third meaning: the humility that is the opposite of pride and lofty-heartedness (William Barclay, Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1 , p. 92). Humility is sometimes described as living in recognition of one’s true place, with neither too high a view of oneself (puffed up) nor too low a view of oneself (groveling). This does not mean self-abasement, despite the extremes to which some people may take it. As people sometimes say, “God doesn’t make junk”; so we don’t need to debase or dishonor ourselves in order to be meek. Humility means having a right view of ourselves and our place, as God sees us, and acting accordingly. What is true humility? Can I do something to become meek? The Greek word for “earth” is used in the Bible in a variety of ways: for ground, earth, soil, etc.; and also for territory, as in “the land of Israel”; and also for the Earth or the physical realm of our existence, as in “heaven and earth” and “a new heaven and a new earth.” The promise that comes for the meek is that they will inherit the earth. What does it mean, that the meek shall inherit “the earth”? Psalm 37:11 says the meek shall inherit the land. That would have been understood as meaning the land of Israel. As Christians, perhaps we understand this as meaning that, for us, the meek shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. That is our true land. Take a step back and consider this: The poor, the meek, and those who are mourning are not the people at the top of the social ladder, and poverty, mourning, and meekness are not likely to move people to the top of the heap in society. But Jesus is beginning to develop a thread of teaching here that will continue throughout Matthew’s Gospel, telling us that God views things very differently than the typical society does. In Jesus’s downside-up view of the world, those who are seen as at the bottom from the world’s perspective are prominent in God’s perspective. Matthew will show us that a lot of Jesus’s teachings build on Old Testament themes. But here, Jesus has broken totally new ground. Nowhere in the Old Testament are we told that the poor are blessed. The people who help the poor are blessed, and God hears the cries of the poor, but never does the Old Testament suggest that there is any blessedness associated with being poor. Jesus is asking us to think differently. When you see a poor person, does your mind say, “The kingdom of heaven is theirs”? Do you think of those who are humble rather than grasping as being the ones who will inherit the earth? How might you treat the poor and the meek differently if you keep firmly in mind that Jesus declares them blessed and says that the earth and the kingdom of heaven belong to them? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next

John the Baptist: Repentance is not comfortable but is part of our calling. Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 3:1-12 John the Baptist: Repentance is not comfortable but is part of our calling. Image provided by Wix. Tom Faletti March 15, 2024 Matthew 3:1-12 John prepares the way by calling for repentance, baptizing those who respond John is in a place east of Jerusalem, perhaps 6 miles north of the Dead Sea. It is not an easy place to live. The Greek word used to describe that place is translated as the “wilderness” (NRSV) or “desert” (NABRE). People had to make an intentional decision to go there. In the West, Christians call this man John the Baptist. If we want to clarify that we don’t mean he was a member of the Baptist denomination, we might say John the Baptizer. In the Eastern Orthodox Churches, Christians call him “John the Forerunner,” because he came before and announced the coming of Christ. Let’s look first at what is going on in this passage, and then we will look at what his message of repentance means. What is happening in this passage? Who is involved? How would you describe John the Baptist’s character traits or personality? What is John’s central message? Is there significance in his being in a wilderness/desert? Matthew makes explicit Old Testament connections everywhere he sees them, and he sees John in the Old Testament: In verse 3, Matthew quotes Isaiah 40:3. What does that quote from Isaiah suggest to us about John? Why do you think it is important to Matthew that John fulfills that Old Testament passage? In verse 4, Matthew describes John’s clothing and food. What do you picture as you read this? Why is this image of John important? In 2 Kings 1:7-8, the prophet Elijah wore a hairy garment and a leather belt. Zechariah 13:4 tells us that prophets, include false prophets, wore a hairy mantle. John is baptizing not far from the place traditionally identified as the place where Elijah was taken up into heaven, and the Jews expected Elijah’s return before the coming of the Messiah. Why might John’s mannerisms and language have heightened interest in him? The Jews were concerned that there had not been a prophet, a voice of God, in their midst for several centuries. The connections between him and the Old Testament heightened the significance with which they saw him. John uses the word “repent” in verse 2. What does it mean to “repent”? The Hebrew word teshubah comes from the verb shub , meaning to turn (William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1 , p. 45), leading to the idea that repentance means turning around. The Greek word for “repentance” is metanoia , which means to think differently or have a change of mind. These concepts are often combined to create the concept that to repentance is to change your mind and turn away from sin and to God. Why should the people repent, according to John? What is “the kingdom of heaven”? What does that phrase mean to you? Matthew is the only Gospel writer to use the term “kingdom of heaven” rather than “kingdom of God.” The two different phrases are often used in the same statements and stories in the different Gospels, so it is hard to argue that they have different meanings. However, they have different connotations. Matthew might have decided to avoid the word “God” out of deference to the Jews, who were hesitant to speak the name of God (H. L. Ellison, “Matthew,” The International Bible Commentary , p. 1123), but there is a further point. In Jesus’s time, the Jews expected a messiah who would free them from political oppression. Referring to the kingdom “of heaven” might have allowed Matthew “to distinguish the kingdom proclaimed by John (3:2) and Jesus (4:17) from popular hopes for a literal restoration of Israel’s political empire” ( Ignatius Catholic Study Bible , p.11). The kingdom Jesus preached is not an earthly political kingdom; it is a kingdom that encompasses far more, a realm that transcends temporal political arrangements. In verses 7-8, John makes it clear that baptism is not free. It demands a change. What is the “price” of being baptized? What does John expect people to do to show that their repentance is genuine? What would that evidence look like? Is it genuine repentance if you decide you are doing something wrong but don’t actually do something else instead? Explain. In verses 9-10, what does John warn that God is going to do? In verses 11-12, John makes a prophecy about what is coming. What does he say is coming? What will the one who is coming do? Considering John’s overall message and what you know happened later, was John right about how things were going to play out or did his vision need to be corrected/tweaked? Read the passage again, but this time, pick a character and see it through that person’s eyes, thinking their thoughts, and asking several questions that I will give you below. (If you are studying this passage with a small group, have different people take different characters so that the whole list is covered by someone.) The characters to consider are: John. A “perfect 10” Pharisee (devoted to honoring God by strict observance of the entire law – including the Pentateuch (the written Torah), the rest of the Hebrew Bible, and also the oral legal traditions (sometimes called the oral Torah). An ordinary “5-6” Jew (The “5-6” Jews are the ones described in verses 5-6, who are trying to live a reasonably religious life but are probably not zealous about it and would not be rated a “10” like the Pharisees). A Sadducee (from the priestly aristocratic party, committed only to the written Torah/Pentateuch rather than the whole Old Testament and more politically savvy). Jesus (not having started your public ministry yet). God in heaven (whose kingdom and actions John is talking about). With regard to the character you chose: Why are you there? What do you think about John (or about what John is doing)? What does John’s preaching lead you to do or make you think you should do? Now fast-forward 2000 years. Where would you be in this scene? If you did not already know about John the Baptist, what would you think about him? Knowing all that you know, in what ways might you respond to John? What repentance do you need to consider? In what ways does God want you to think differently? What is God asking you to change right now? What good fruit (v. 8) do you think you need to be showing? Scholars disagree about whether the baptism with “the holy Spirit and fire” is talking about one thing or two. Is there a baptism of the Holy Spirit for the repentant and a baptism of fire for the unrepentant? Or are the terms synonymous, with the one baptism producing either purification (for the repentant) or destruction (for the unrepentant)? (This issue is raised, for example, in the NABRE in a footnote to 3:11.) Does it matter? Or is this just a good way to segue to: When John was preaching, no one would have known what being “baptized with the Holy Spirit” means. But we know more. How is this baptism of the Holy Spirit different from John’s baptism of repentance? Among other things, it is transformational in a way that the baptism of repentance was not. What does it mean to you to be baptized with the Holy Spirit? And what is the meaning of the baptism with fire and the burning of the chaff? If this is a baptism of fire in a positive sense, which later New Testament descriptions support, it is a purification that, again, changes us in ways that a simple repentance and confession of sin may not. Does it provide some encouragement that Matthew connects repentance and the Holy Spirit? How does the Holy Spirit get involved in our lives to help us repent and produce good fruit? Take a step back and consider this: Repentance is necessary for spiritual growth, but it is usually not a comfortable process. To repent requires us to recognize where we are falling short. Furthermore, it requires us to act on that recognition and actually make a change. The change comes in two parts: a change of mind – thinking differently than we used to think – and a change of action to conform our lives to the new thinking we are doing. If we were going to write the equation of repentance, we might write it this way: Repentance = Recognizing what’s wrong + thinking differently + acting differently Thinking differently is often uncomfortable. Acting differently can also be uncomfortable – we are creatures of habit and relinquishing old habits in order to take on new habits can be hard. Fortunately, we are not alone in the repentance process. God is trying to work the character of Jesus into us and then let that character guide all we say and do. He does not leave us alone in that process. He is always trying to help us. He has sent his Holy Spirit into our hearts, to guide and empower us. We are constantly invited to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can make the changes that allow Jesus to radiate in us and through us. For Christians, we are not asked to “tough it out” on our own. Repentance is something God is doing in us, with our cooperation – if we are willing. And the fruit of repentance is not something we need to dream up and then carry out on our own. God wants to work through us to change the world around us, to advance the work of the kingdom of heaven through our lives. So the fundamental question is: Am I willing to let God show me where I need to change my thinking? Am I wiling to put his thinking into action in my life? Am I willing to let the Holy Spirit empower me to produce good fruit? If the answer is “Yes,” then I need to stay in close contact with God. What am I doing to stay tuned in to God, so that my thinking and actions reflect his character and desires? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next

Jesus gets in trouble for healing a man on the Sabbath. No one seems to care that God has done a marvelous deed. In what ways do we miss what God is doing by being too focused on rules and protocol? Previous Next John List John 5:8-18 Jesus gets in trouble for healing a man on the Sabbath. No one seems to care that God has done a marvelous deed. In what ways do we miss what God is doing by being too focused on rules and protocol? Image provided by Wix. Tom Faletti January 17, 2026 We are in the middle of the story of the paralytic man Jesus healed on the Sabbath (John 5:1-18). Read John 5:8-18 Jesus is criticized for healing a man on the Sabbath This is the first passage in John’s Gospel where Jesus encounters strong opposition from what John calls “the Jews.” We need to understand what the phrase “the Jews” means. When John refers to “the Jews,” he means the Jewish religious leaders Read John 1:19 , which is the first time that John uses the phrase “the Jews.” In 1:19, John says that “the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites” to question John the Baptist. (Some translations put the words in a different order, but the Greek clearly says that these men are “Jews from Jerusalem.” The Temple was in Jerusalem. The priests performed the sacrifices in the Temple, and the Levites had other duties in the Temple. If someone has the power to send priests and Levites, what does that tell you about their position or power? The “Jews in Jerusalem” who are doing the sending must be the religious leaders, for they are the only people who would have had the authority to send priests and Levites. So John is referring to the high priest and the other religious leaders in Jerusalem. Throughout his Gospel, John uses the phrase “the Jews” as a shorthand for what he said more fully in chapter 1: that he is referring to the Jewish religious leaders based in Jerusalem (and their followers). When he uses the phrase “the Jews” in this way, he is never talking about the Jewish people as a whole. Whenever there is a conflict, “the Jews” means the Jewish religious leaders. Why is this an important thing to understand as we read and interpret the Bible? The man Jesus healed picks up his mat and walks away, as Jesus told him to do. He runs into some men who are under the leadership of the Jewish religious leaders. That is not surprising since the pool of Bethesda was near the Temple. They don’t like what they see. In verse 10, what is their objection? John assumes we know why it would be unlawful for a Jew to carry a mat (or mattress or pallet) on the Sabbath. Why was that forbidden? God rested on the 7 th day of creation and told the Israelites to honor the Sabbath by doing no work on that day. Over the centuries, the Jewish scholars developed a detailed interpretation of what counts as “work” that encompassed almost any exertion. The prophet Jeremiah, 600 years before the time of Jesus, issues a prophecy saying that no burden shall be carried into Jerusalem on the Sabbath (Jer. 17:19-27). So now it is not just work for pay that is prohibited, but any exertion. But what is a “burden”? By the time of Jesus, the Torah was interpreted so severely that carrying even small items, even your bed-mat, crossed the line and was prohibited. Sometimes, when we “Arise, take up our mat, and walk” in response to God, we run into trouble from people who don’t like what God is doing. Have you ever seen or experienced that? What do you think Jesus would say to you about how to handle it? Notice what happens in verses 11-12. The man tells the Jewish leaders two things: a man healed me, and he told me to pick up my mat and walk. The religious leaders could have asked for more information about either half of his story. They picked the wrong part to focus on. Why didn’t they ask more about the unusual fact that the man was healed? Are we ever like those men, missing something good because we are so focused on the rules? How does that happen in our day? Jesus then finds the man. In verse 14, what does Jesus say to him? Jesus is not linking all suffering to sin – in John 9:3, he rejects that idea. But it is possible that Jesus knew that this man had a particular area of sin that he needed to resist or it might lead him to a worse outcome (perhaps he had become disabled in an injury caused by anger, for example, and another incident like that could get him killed). Or Jesus could be referring to the final judgment of a life lived in rejection to God, since that would be a “worse” situation than simply being disabled. This may be what John has in mind. In every age, Jesus says to all people: “Sin no more.” For your own self-examination, consider this: With regard to sin, what is your point of vulnerability? How does Jesus guide you and help you to avoid sin? This man has not thanked or honored Jesus for healing him. What does he do in verse 15 that makes life more difficult for Jesus? Now that the man has spoken again with Jesus, he knows who healed him and he reports Jesus’s name to the Jewish religious leaders. Some scholars see in this the “sin” Jesus warns about in verse 14 when he tells the man not to sin anymore. This man may be a symbol of people who don’t believe in Jesus (Perkins, p. 959, par. 75): he never indicates any faith and acts in a way that undermines Jesus, whereas the man born blind whom Jesus heals in chapter 9 puts his faith in Jesus and defends Jesus when challenged by the authorities. For this reason, the New Oxford Annotated Bible goes so far as to call this healing “The sign that failed” (5:1-18 fn.). Both the religious authorities and the man who was healed, miss the significance of the fact that God is working in their lives. How might people in our day fail to notice the way that God is at work in their lives? In what ways are you most likely to forget to thank God or to notice what God is doing in your life? How do the Jewish religious leaders respond in verse 16 when they learn who healed the man? How does Jesus respond in verse 17? Jesus says that, as his Father is at work, so too, he is at work. This statement seems unrelated, but there is a connection. Jewish rabbis debated what kind of work God still did even while he rested on the Sabbath: for example, he still sustains the universe, gives life to newborn babies, judges those who die, etc. ( New American Bible, revised edition , John 5:17 fn.). Jesus is saying that they shouldn’t be criticizing him, because he is just doing what his Father does. His Father (God) works on the Sabbath, and he does too. When Jesus refers to God as his “Father” in verse 18, this further enrages the religious leaders. Why? For the next 8 chapters, every single chapter will include at least one instance where Jesus or one of his followers is threatened. In this story, there is not a single hint that the religious leaders care at all that a man who was paralyzed now walks free and can live an independent and productive life. Are there situations where your leaders seem to be so focused on following the letter of the law that they miss opportunities to help people live free, independent, and productive lives? Explain. How can you be more focused on healing and opportunity, and not just on protocol? Take a step back and consider this: In some ways, the fundamental question about Jesus, which becomes a central issue in this passage, is this: Is Jesus God’s Son, the Second Person of the Trinity? Is Jesus God? Throughout history, non-religious people have usually been able to tolerate the Jesus of moral philosophy (“Blessed are the poor in spirit,” etc.). Some find it much harder to tolerate his claim to be one with God, because it interferes with their own absolutes (or their rejection of absolutes). Do you believe that Jesus and God are essentially one – that Jesus is God? If so, why? If not, why not? If you aren’t sure, what would you like to explore more in order to answer your questions? What different does this question make in your faith? Bibliography See John - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/john/bibliography . Copyright © 2026, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous John List Next

The disciples don’t understand the Resurrection at first. Why is it so central to the Christian faith? [John 20:1-9; 20:11-18] Previous Next John List John 20:1-18 The disciples don’t understand the Resurrection at first. Why is it so central to the Christian faith? Titian (1488/1490-1576). Noli me Tangere (Do Not Touch Me). Around 1514. The National Gallery, London, UK. Photo by Tom Faletti, 28 May 2025. Tom Faletti March 27, 2026 Read John 20:1-18 Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter, and the Beloved Disciple find that the tomb is empty Verses 1-10 The empty tomb Why do you think Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb on the first day after the Sabbath rest while it is still dark? Mary finds that the tomb open – the stone has been removed. John does not say whether she saw that there was no body inside; but based on verse 2, what does Mary think has happened? In verse 2, Mary says, “we” don’t know where they have laid him. In the other Gospels, she goes to the tomb with one or more other women. The “we” here suggests that John is simplifying his telling of the story to focus on the key moments he wants to tell us, while recognizing that the story has also been handed down with several women at the tomb. Mary runs and tells Peter and “the discipled whom Jesus loved” (scholars call him the “Beloved Disciple”). The simplest explanation is that he is the apostle John, but many scholars have other views. Some think that the Beloved Disciple was another follower of Jesus, not one of the twelve apostles (see Introduction to John ). And some think that the Gospel writer is inserting an anonymous person as a stand in for his readers – including us – as a challenge to us to have the level of faith that the Beloved Disciple has. We will keep things simple by calling him John in the following questions, but you are free to interpret it along the lines of the other hypotheses. Although Luke mentions only Peter going to the tomb in Luke 24:12, he indicates in Luke 24:24 that, in the full story that was passed on to him, more than one man went to the tomb. It is quite common for different people to tell the same story in different ways, depending on their perspective. And since the Gospels stories were circulating for decades before they were written down, different Gospels writers had access to different tellings of the story. The Gospel of John indicates that it includes eyewitness testimony (19:35; 21:24) from the Beloved Disciple that many not have been as accessible to the writers of the other Gospels. When Peter and John hear what Mary says, they run to the tomb. Why do you think they run? John is faster and gets there first. What does he see, and what does he not do (verses 4-5)? When Peter arrives, what does he do, and what does see (verse 6-7)? What do you think is going through their minds? John’s Gospel is very specific about the appearance of the linen burial cloths (verse 7). Why are these details important? If someone had come to steal away the body, they would not have removed the body wrappings, which would have kept the limbs close to the body and made it easier to carry the body. If they were in the act of stealing the body, they would not have taken the time to roll up the head cloth. Also, some people think that John’s description fits what it would look like if Jesus’s body simply disappeared from within the burial cloths: the cloth around the head would be separate from the strips of cloth that went around the body, and the head cloth would appear folded as it settled in place when there was no longer a head holding it up. Jews had strict rules about not being made unclean by contact with a tomb. Why do you think Peter and John go into the tomb? In verse 8, we are told that John went into the tomb and he “saw and believed” – meaning that he believed that Jesus had risen from the dead. What do you think convinced him at that moment? What makes you believe that Jesus rose from the dead? In verse 9, John’s Gospel tells us that the disciples didn’t yet understand that it was necessary that Jesus rise from the dead. Why do you think they didn’t understand that? John uses the word “scriptures” here, which for him would be the Old Testament, but it isn’t clear that he has any particular passages in mind. Christians later saw resurrection images in various Old Testament passages such as Moses’s lifting up of the serpent to heal the people (Num. 21:9; quoted in John 3:14); the experience of Isaac when his father was preparing to sacrifice him and it was on the third day that he was saved (Gen. 22:4-13); Jonah being saved after 3 days in the belly of the great fish (Jonah 2:1); Hosea’s reference to God saving Israel on the third day (Hos. 6:2); Psalm 22, which has descriptions very similar to Jesus’s suffering on the cross; and Psalm 16:10-11, where the psalmist says that God will not abandon his soul to Sheol (the realm of the dead). What do you think are the biggest reasons why people today have trouble believing that Jesus rose from the dead? Verse 9 says that it was necessary that Jesus rise from the dead: that he “had to” or “must.” Why do you think it was so important that Jesus rise from the dead? Why is that so central to the Christian faith? What difference does it make in your life that Jesus rose from the dead – that he is still alive? Verses 11-18 Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene While Peter and John go home, Mary stays at the tomb, weeping. What does she see as she looks in the tomb? Then, in verse 14, she turns around. What does she see, and who does she think it is? In verse 16, Jesus says, “Mary,” and suddenly she knows. Think back to our study of chapter 10 , where Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd,” and tells us that the sheep follow the shepherd “because they know his voice” (10:4). Mary knew Jesus’s voice. How did she come to know Jesus’s voice? She spent time with him. She paid attention when he was speaking. She nurtured her love for him so that she was attuned to his voice. How can we imitate Mary in knowing Jesus’s voice? In verse 17, Jesus says he has not yet ascended to the Father. We have noted before that, for John, Jesus’s Passion, crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension into glory are all part of one great action by which Jesus fulfills the work for which he has been sent (for example, John 2:4; 12:32-33; 13:1). John compresses the resurrection and ascension into one day; he is focused on the spiritual significance of what is happening, not the literal timeline. In what ways do Jesus’s death, resurrection and ascension fit together as one, coordinated event? In verse 17, Jesus tells Mary, “Go to my brothers....” This is the first time Jesus has explicitly called the disciples his “brothers” (he uses the word “brothers” in a similar way right after his resurrection in Matthew 28:10). Jesus has previously called them “friends” in John 15:15, and he has said generically that whoever does the will of his Father is his brother or sister (Matthew 12:50; Mark 3:35), but here he explicitly calls them his brothers. Why is it significant that he calls them his “brothers”? We, too, have become brothers and sisters of Jesus, adopted into his family by faith. What effect might it have on your faith to know that Jesus calls you his brother or sister? Also in verse 17, Jesus calls God “my Father and your Father.” John told us at the beginning of this Gospel (1:12) that Jesus gives to those who accept him the power to become children of God. We have the same Father Jesus has. How is our relationship with the one Father similar to Jesus’s relationship with his Father, and how is our relationship different than his? What questions does this exploration of the early events after the Resurrection raise for you? How does this part of John 20 offer answers to questions that you or others might have about the Resurrection? How can you let the wonder of the Resurrection strengthen your faith? Take a step back and consider this: The disciples lived with Jesus for 3 years, yet they did not understand that he would rise from the dead. We have a better understanding of it because of the many years of reflection that followers of Jesus have devoted to it through the centuries. How is the disciples’ confusion a caution for us to be careful about thinking we understand everything about Jesus? What is the role of devoted followers of Jesus in helping us to understand Jesus better, and how can we stay connected to those who can help us understand our faith better? Bibliography See John - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/john/bibliography . Copyright © 2026, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous John List Next

Do you struggle with the Christian teaching that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully human? Three apostles had a visible experience of this truth. Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 17:1-13 Do you struggle with the Christian teaching that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully human? Three apostles had a visible experience of this truth. Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). The Transfiguration of Christ . Part of The Gonzaga Family in Adoration of the Holy Trinity . 1605. Cropped. The Museum of Fine Arts of Nancy, Nancy, France. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Transfiguration-Rubens.JPG . Tom Faletti June 18, 2025 Matthew 17:1-8 The Transfiguration What happens to Jesus here? There are some interesting similarities between this passage and God’s revelation of himself to Moses on Mt. Sinai, where God appeared on the seventh day in the midst of a cloud (Ex. 24) This passage follows Peter’s identification of Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah. Why does it happen now, after Peter’s declaration? How does this passage reflect who Jesus is? Is this who Jesus always has been, but it is usually hidden from us? Explain. Why does God usually not manifest himself in his glory? What is the significance of Moses and Elijah appearing with Jesus? Moses symbolizes the Law and Elijah symbolizes the prophets. The phrase “the law and the prophets” is shorthand for the whole Hebrew Scriptures (our Old Testament). Jesus has already used that phrase 3 times in Matthew (in 5:17; 7:12; and 11:13), and he will use it again in 22:40. A separate point of significance is that at the end of Elijah’s life he was taken to heaven, and therefore he was thought to be still alive, not dead in Sheol (which is why people thought he could return before the Messiah comes). Why do you think that Peter, James, and John are given this experience? What does God’s voice say from the cloud in verse 5? This voice is similar to the voice in Matthew 3:17 when Jesus is baptized. The church also came to connect it to Deuteronomy 18:15, where Moses commanded the Israelites to listen to the prophet God would raise up in the days to come. In what ways is God saying, “Listen to him” to us and the people of our time? Experiencing this miracle doesn’t protect the apostles from denying or forsaking Jesus later. The power of the moment slowly fades. Similarly, although Moses’s face shone after his encounters with God on the mountain (Ex. 34:29-35), the shine slowly faded (2 Cor. 3:12-13). Have you ever experienced the overwhelming presence of God and then later had it “wear off”? Why does this happen to us? Is it something we should expect and accept, or is there something we should do about it? Peter swings from one extreme to another – from so comfortable that he offers to make 3 tents to so overwhelmed that he cowers in fear. Is this a sign of his weakness or a sign of his amazing ability to change as he gains new knowledge? What can we learn from Peter in this story? Where would you be in this story? In verse 7, Jesus comes to them and touches them – a very down-to-earth, human gesture – and says, “Get up; don’t be afraid.” Is he telling them not to cower before God? Is there a distinction between the kind of fear of God that seemed more common in Moses’s time and the relationship Jesus wants his disciples to have with God? Read 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 , focusing particularly on verse 18. How does Paul describe us as we gaze on the glory of the Lord? How should we see ourselves in the presence of God? What is the appropriate “fear of the Lord” that is at ease with God and embraces his glory, rather than cowering before him? In what ways is Jesus saying to you, “Get up; do not be afraid?” Matthew 17:9-13 The coming of Elijah In verse 9, Jesus tells the apostles not to tell people about this vision until he is raised from the dead. Are there special moments in our experience of God that we should not try to explain to people who haven’t yet become believers in Jesus? How does Jesus connect John the Baptist to Elijah? The Jews believed that Elijah had to return before the Messiah would come. This discussion may have been important to Matthew and his community as an answer to Jews who argued that Jesus couldn’t be the Messiah because Elijah had not yet returned. In verse 12, Jesus again says he is going to suffer. This is a thread throughout the second half of Matthew, starting in chapter 16. How is the fact that Jesus suffered a thread in your life? Take a step back and consider this: There can be a tendency to focus either on Christ in his glory or Jesus in his humanity, and to lose sight of the fact that he is the one, same Lord. There are many aspects of our faith where people who doubt want to see it as a series of either-or choices that we see it as both-and: Is God all-just or all-merciful? Does our faith come from God or by our own will and choice? Is Jesus fully God or fully man? Often, as in these cases, the answer is, “Both.” The challenge for (and the invitation we have from God) is to hold seemingly contradictory truths together and to seek God’s wisdom so that he can show us how they are complementary, not contradictory. For many people, it is too easy to say, “It can’t be so,” and to fail to probe deeply enough to see how God does things that go beyond our human instincts as to what is possible. Is there any part of the idea that Jesus Christ is both our glorious God and our human brother that you struggle with? Think about Jesus as he is manifested in this passage, as one person who is both the divinely transfigured, beloved Son of God and the down-to-earth, “Don’t be afraid” human teacher. Share your uncertainties with him, and “listen to him.” What does Jesus say to you about your uncertainties? How can we train our hearts and minds to not settle for simple answers that focus on one part of the faith to the exclusion of other parts, but instead to grow to maturity in our understanding (1 Cor. 2:16; 14:20; Eph. 4:13; Rom. 12:2)? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next

A righteous man, Zechariah, has a supernatural experience that begins the story of Jesus. Previous Next Luke List Luke 1:5-24 A righteous man, Zechariah, has a supernatural experience that begins the story of Jesus. Image by Julian Hanslmaier, provided by Unsplash via Wix. Tom Faletti Luke 1:5-14 In this passage, a priest has an overwhelming, spiritual experience in the Temple in Jerusalem. How is Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth described? What kind of people are they? What kind of life do they live? If someone were summarizing your life in a couple of sentences, could they say that about you? What would they say about your faith life? (to be continued) Bibliography See Luke - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/luke/bibliography . Copyright © 2026, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Next Luke List

Luke provides an orderly account of the life and teachings of Jesus, explaining the significance of Jesus for all nations. His Gospel places a special emphasis on the lowly, outcast, and marginalized, and God's concern for them. Previous Next Luke List Introduction to Luke Luke provides an orderly account of the life and teachings of Jesus, explaining the significance of Jesus for all nations. His Gospel places a special emphasis on the lowly, outcast, and marginalized, and God's concern for them. Image by James Coleman, provided by Unsplash via Wix. Tom Faletti This article will provide an introduction to the Gospel of Luke, including what we know about its author, when it was written, who the intended audience was, Luke's purposes/goals, etc. Bibliography See Luke - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/luke/bibliography . Copyright © 2026, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Next Luke List

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