Outside the timeline. Previous Next Table of Contents Where is God? - Part 1 Outside the timeline. Tom Faletti (to be continued) 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 Table of Contents Next

What does God want us to see? And once we see the real world as he sees it, how would he like us to respond? Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 20:29-34 What does God want us to see? And once we see the real world as he sees it, how would he like us to respond? Artist unknown. Kristus helbreder de to blinde ved Jericho [The Healing of the Two Blind Men at Jericho] . 16th century. Cropped. Statens Museum for Kunst (National Gallery of Denmark), Copenhagen, Denmark. Public domain, SMK, https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMSsp689?q=Kristus%20helbreder%20de%20to%20blinde%20ved%20Jericho&page=0 . Tom Faletti July 5, 2025 Matthew 20:29-34 Two blind men call on Jesus as the “Son of David” Matthew now returns to his narrative about Jesus’s walk to Jerusalem. We are now around 15 miles or so from Jerusalem. The city of Jericho was more than 800 feet below sea level, in the Rift Valley that includes the Dead Sea (the Salt Sea). Jerusalem is approximately 2,500 feet above sea level. So, from Jericho, it is climb of more than half a mile in altitude, through canyons and hills, over a 15-mile walk. The road they are walking on is the road that was famous for robbers – the road Jesus talked about in the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). Jesus is leaving Jericho, embarking on the climb to Jerusalem, when this incident happens. The story was probably told frequently: it appears in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Mark tells us the name of one of the men: Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46), which suggests that Bartimaeus may have become a well-known member of the church. Matthew has already told us a similar story in 9:27-31. Some scholars suggest that they are the same story told in different ways, but the details of the stories are very different. Who is walking with Jesus? Who starts shouting, and what do they say? What is the reaction of the crowd? When the blind men keep shouting, what does Jesus do? What does he ask them? When the blind men tell Jesus they want to see, what is Jesus’s emotional reaction? What does Jesus do? What do the men’s actions tell us about them? Are they mild-mannered and easily pushed around? Are they easily discouraged? Does their blindness cause them to be ignorant of what is going on in their town? What do these things tell us about them? This is the one chance these men will ever have to be healed of their blindness, and they are not willing to let anything stand in the way of seeking the One who can make a difference in their lives. Are we so committed to seeking out the Lord? What does the example of these men say to us about our own approach to God? The blind men call him “Son of David.” In Matthew’s Gospel, that term is used by people seeking healing – see, for example, 9:27 and 15:22. In the next scene, where Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey, Matthew’s is the only Gospel where that phrase is used by the crowds, who call Jesus the “Son of David.” What does “Son of David” mean? David was the great king of Israel, and the Jews always expected that one day a descendant of David would once again rule them. King Solomon was the immediate son of David, according to the flesh. At the time of Jesus, some people believed that Solomon had powers (verse 7:20 in the apocryphal book of Wisdom, which was written in the voice of Solomon, claimed he had knowledge of nature-based healing methods). Jesus is the “son” of David in the sense that he is a descendant of David, and Christians understand him to be the “Son of David” messianically. The fact that the blind men call Jesus “Lord” and “Son of David” suggests that they recognize that Jesus is the Messiah. Although Jesus previously told evil spirits not to tell that to anyone, Jesus does not tell them to be quiet. Perhaps now that he is so near to his crucifixion it no longer matters. Commentators have always seen this story as about more than a physical healing: it speaks to the issue of spiritual blindness and sight. What do you think this story might suggest about spiritual blindness? Though these men are physically blind, they are closer to the truth than many “seeing” people, who are spiritually blind. How can we avoid spiritual blindness? Jesus doesn’t heal the men immediately. Although their need was probably very obvious, he first asks them what they want and waits for them to give him an answer. Do you think that is true in general in our relationship with God – that God waits for us to ask specifically before he answers? Why? Notice that they don’t say, “We want to see.” They specify what they hope Jesus will do: “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” They are specifically asking Jesus to do something specific. They are not expressing vague hope or a general desire – they are specific. Does this tell us anything about how we should approach God in prayer? What does the fact that Jesus was “moved with compassion” (verse 34) say to you? When Jesus heals the men, what do they do in response? They immediately follow Jesus on the road toward Jerusalem. Thomas Aquinas quotes the early Christian scholar Origen as writing: “We also now sitting by the wayside of the Scriptures, and understanding wherein we are blind, if we ask with desire, He will touch the eyes of our souls, and the gloom of ignorance shall depart from our minds, that in the light of knowledge we may follow Him, who gave us power to see to no other end than that we should follow Him” (Aquinas. “Commentary on Matthew 20” ). In what way might God be calling you to embrace a new ability to see, and follow him? What message do you take from this story for yourself? What does the example of these blind men say to us about how to respond to Jesus? Take a step back and consider this: “Lord, let our eyes be opened” (Matt. 20:34). These blind men wanted their eyes to be opened to see what is going on in the real world. We rightly lay a spiritual gloss on this story as we pray: “Lord, let our eyes be opened to your grace. . . . to your love. . . . to your wisdom.” We would do well to pray that prayer more literally: “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the beauty in your creation that we miss every day.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the beauty in our family members.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the ways our co-workers do wonderful things.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the not-so-random acts of kindness that our neighbors perform.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the beauty in the members of our community who quietly work to address the needs of the people we fail to see.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the suffering of those around us.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the hungry children desperate for food.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the immigrants who want nothing more than a chance to start at the bottom of a new society so they can stop living in constant fear.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the people who are denied health coverage and cannot afford to see a doctor.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the victims of war who fear every airplane that flies overhead, because it might carry the bomb that kills them.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the people who are threatened, doxed, flamed, fired, arrested, silenced, intimidated, or abused for trying to stand up for justice and the truth.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the people you see, whom others do not want us to see.” The blind men asked that their eyes be opened to see, and then they followed Jesus on the road toward his Cross. May that be our prayer too, and may their response be ours as well. What might you already sense that God wants you to “see” – things that you may be missing because you are too busy, or too insulated, or too distracted? What might God want you to “see” that you are not currently focusing on because it makes you too uncomfortable? Once you see, what might God want you to do – the thing that would be your act of following him on the road? 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

Faith, charity, and hope; life everlasting; death; happiness. (Paragraphs 18-21 of Spes Non Confundit) Previous Next Jubilee Year 2025: Embrace God’s Hope and Extend It to All Session 6: A life anchored in hope, part 1 Faith, charity, and hope; life everlasting; death; happiness. (Read paragraphs 18-21) Link to S pes Non Confundit Photo by Tom Faletti, Washington, DC, July 26, 2020. Tom Faletti November 13, 2024 When you complete this study, please give us feedback using this feedback form . Hope extends beyond the grave! It walks with us through even sin, death, and final judgment, as it accompanies us to our ultimate destination of everlasting life with God. That is the message of Pope Francis’s final section of Spes Non Confundit , which we begin to explore in this session. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, we can remain anchored in hope and have confidence in our future. Our study guide questions will help us explore simple ways we can demonstrate our hope as we go through our everyday lives. We will also explore what eternal life is like, the reasons we can have hope of eternal life, and how life is a pilgrimage toward eternal life where death is not the final destination. Read paragraphs 18-21 in preparation for this session. (Section 5) Anchored in hope In this section, Pope Francis explores reasons why we can live a life anchored in hope. Paragraph 18 (hope gives direction and purpose to life) 🔗 Read Romans 15:13 In Romans 15:13, Paul describes God as a “God of hope.” In what ways is God a God of hope? According to Paul, what does God fill us with, that enables us to abound in hope? How does the Holy Spirit play a role in our ability to abound in hope? In paragraph 18 of Spes Non Confundit , Pope Francis says that when we abound in hope, “we may bear credible and attractive witness to the faith and love that dwell in our hearts.” What does this mean? Pope Francis shows a keen awareness that we can serve God in the most mundane parts of our everyday lives. God is present in the so-called “secular” spaces of our lives as well as the “sacred” spaces. What are some specific examples Pope Francis suggests for how we can demonstrate our hope in our ordinary, everyday interactions with others? Pope Francis’s examples show how simple actions can bear witness to our faith and the love of God. What are some simple actions you could adopt or make more habitual that would bear witness to the love of God even if you did not have an opportunity to say a word? Read 1 Peter 3:15 How can the little ways that we live our lives open up opportunities for us to share the reasons why we have hope? How can you let your hope show more clearly to the people around you? Suggested Activities: Pay attention to the little things that some people do that bring life, joy, and hope into their interactions with other people. Then considers ways that you can be a similar vehicle of God’s hope and joy. Make a point of looking up at and smiling at your children and loved ones when they come in the door of your house. Make eye contact and smile when people walk by you at work. Look for the little things you can do that might make other people’s loads a little lighter, and do those things without calling attention to yourself. Start each conversation with something positive rather than something negative. Make saying “thank you” a habit. Paragraph 19 (life everlasting) 🔗 Read John 11:21-27 What does Jesus mean when he says that believers who die will live? What does this teaching mean to you? How does it give you hope or comfort? Pope Francis says that we can have hope because we know that in the end we will encounter the Lord of glory. How does knowing that in the end you will see and be with Jesus affect how you live your life? Suggested Activity: Spend some time by yourself, contemplating what it will be like when you have left this world and are present with Jesus. Open your heart to His presence now. See the love in His welcoming face and soak up His love. Talk to Him. Listen to what He says to you. Then carry that awareness of the presence of Jesus back into your everyday life. Paragraph 20 (death, and Jesus’s resurrection) 🔗 Read 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 In paragraph 20, Pope Francis confronts the fact that, although we have hope of eternal life, we still have to deal with the reality of death. He quotes 1 Corinthians 15:3-5. What does Paul say in that passage? Pope Francis calls attention to four verbs that apply to Jesus: He died , was buried , was raised , and appeared . Why are these verbs so important? In paragraph 20, Pope Francis quotes from one of the prefaces that can be prayed in the Mass of the dead used for funeral Masses, which states that when a person dies, “life is changed, not ended.” What does this mean and how does it offer hope? In the second part of paragraph 20, Pope Francis says that we have “a life capable of transfiguring death’s drama.” What does that mean? How does the life we have in God take some of the drama out of death? If life is a pilgrimage toward life everlasting, as Pope Francis says at the end of the second part of paragraph 20, then what role does death play in what is to come? How do you want to live your life now, knowing that in the end you will be with your loving Father and His Son Jesus? The third and fourth parts of paragraph 20 focus on the example of the martyrs. How do they provide insight into the image of life as a pilgrimage? How do they provide support for the hope we have that transcends death? Suggested Activity: Pick a martyr whose story speaks to your heart and learn more about them. Go beyond the obituary facts. Learn about their thinking, their spiritual life, how they related to God during their life, how they communicated the love of God to others as they lived. Try to emulate something you find attractive in the way they lived. Paragraph 21 (happiness) 🔗 In paragraph 21, Pope Francis discusses what life after death is like. Our human understanding of heaven is limited, but God has revealed some things about what heaven will be like. What are some of the things we will experience in eternal life? “Happiness” is a term often used to describe what life is like for those who live in full communion with God in heaven. The second part of paragraph 21 tries to describe that happiness. What will the happiness of heaven include? Read Romans 8:38-39 Pope Francis quotes from the apostle Paul as he discusses the love of God that we will ultimately experience. What does Romans 8:38-39 tell us about the love of God? If none of the things that Paul mentions in Romans 8:38-39 can keep us from God’s love, what does that tell us about God? How does this understanding of eternal life give you hope? How does knowing that we can live forever in full communion with God free us to do more, rather than less, to extend the love of God to the least among us who struggle so much in our present world? Suggested Activity: Think about people who are facing grave trials in our world today (Romans 8:35 provides examples such as war, persecution, and famine). Place yourself in their shoes and feel their agony. See them as God, who loves them dearly, sees them. Pray for them. Pray that they will experience the love of God in the midst of their trials. Pray that God’s people will work to ease their suffering. Closing question: Look over the questions we have considered in this session. What especially gives you hope or stands out as especially important from this week's material, and why? When you complete this study, please give us feedback using this feedback form . You can also share your thoughts using the Contact Form at the bottom of this page. Bibliography See Jubilee Year 2025 - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/jubilee-2025/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 Jubilee 2025 Contents Next

Jesus’s word was enough for the royal official. How much faith do you place in Jesus’s word? Previous Next John List John 4:43-54 Jesus’s word was enough for the royal official. How much faith do you place in Jesus’s word? James Tissot (1836-1902). The Healing of the Officer's Son (La guérison du fils de l'officier) . 1886–1894. Cropped. Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY. Public domain, Creative Commons License: CC BY-NC-SA , via Brooklyn Museum, https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/objects/13404 . Tom Faletti January 13, 2026 Read John 4:43-54 Jesus returns to Galilee and heals a royal official’s son – the second “sign” The first sign and the stories that followed it helps us think about Jesus’s role as living water . The next set of stories explores how Jesus’s word has the power to give life. The 7 signs John focuses on are not the only miracles Jesus performs. They are not even the only “signs” Jesus performs (John tells us in 2:11 that he performed other signs in Jerusalem). But John gives special attention to these 7 signs that point beyond the miracle to who Jesus is. Here are the Gospel of John’s 7 signs: Jesus turns water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana (John 2:1-12). Followed by the discussion with the Samaritan woman, Jesus shows he is the living water. Jesus heals the official’s son (John 4:46-54). Jesus shows his power over illness and ability to heal even at a distance. Jesus heals the paralytic on the Sabbath (John 5:1-47). Jesus shows he is Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus feeds the 5,000 by the multiplication of loaves and fish (John 6:1-14). Jesus is the Bread of Life. Jesus walks on water (John 6:16-24). Jesus has power over nature and overcomes fear. Jesus heals the man born blind (John 9:1-41). This sign is preceded by Jesus’s declaration that he is the Light of the World (John 8:12). It shows that Jesus offers spiritual insight so that we can see clearly. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-44). Jesus shows his power even over death, after declaring that he is the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25). What does Jesus say in verse 44, and what does it mean? Some people see a contradiction between verses 44 and 45. In the short run, verse 45 tells us that the Galileans welcomed him because the people who had gone to the feast in Jerusalem reported the good things that Jesus had done. But John cautions us that this did not last in the long run, warning us in verse 44 that the proverb is true that says that a prophet is not honored in his native place. What happens in this story about the royal official in Cana? Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10 have a similar but not identical story. In Matthew and Luke, the one asking for help is a centurion – a military officer with 100 soldiers under him, and therefore a Gentile. In John, it is a “royal official,” meaning someone in the court of Herod Antipas, who was the ruler of Galilee, and therefore probably someone who is a Jew. In Matthew and John, the sick person is the centurion’s pais , a Greek word that can mean either one’s boy or girl child or one’s slave. Luke uses the word doulos , which only means slave (although it is often translated as servant). We needn’t be troubled by these minor discrepancies in people’s memory of what Jesus did. However, the television series The Chosen suggests a solution to part of the possible discrepancy: in their storyline, the boy is the illegitimate son of the official and of a servant/slave under him, and the boy was raised as a servant/slave. In all of the versions, the man is from Capernaum, suggesting that there is a common core event, even if there was uncertainty about exactly who Jesus healed from miles away. How is the official feeling in the beginning? Jesus responds in verse 48 by expressing concern that people only believe because of they see his signs and wonders. What is wrong with that? John warns in verses 44-45 that people might not believe in Jesus in the end, when the signs people expected don’t come to pass, even though they might believe for a time. John previously warned in 2:23-24 that there is a difference between initially “believing” because of Jesus’s signs and truly believing in a way that permanently changes your life. Why do you think the official persists when Jesus makes that comment? What can we learn from him? In verse 49, the official asks Jesus to come “down” to Capernaum. Capernaum was a port city on the Sea of Galilee (a lake, actually), which is east of Galilee. Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee are around 700 feet below sea level. Archaeologists have identified 2 possible sites for Cana. Both are up in the hilly part of Galilee, at least 700 feet above sea level, so there is a 1,400-foot difference in elevation between the two towns. Capernaum was perhaps a 20-mile walk down from Cana, which would have taken a whole day. To walk from Capernaum to Cana, as the royal official had done, would have taken longer, because it required a climb of 1,400 feet in elevation. The official asks Jesus to come to Capernaum. Why do you think Jesus chose to heal the man’s son at a distance rather than going to Capernaum? Verse 50 tells us that the man “believed the word that Jesus said to him” and left. Why was Jesus’s word enough for him? The man chose to believe the word of Jesus. Have you had an experience like that, where you needed to believe the word of God before it was clear that he would do something? What happened? What can we learn from this about the power of Jesus’s word? When we are desperate, as this man was, we might be tempted to believe anyone who says they can help us. How do you discern which words are truly from God and which are not, in order to avoid being fooled by false prophets? If you had been that official, would you have needed something more than just a word from Jesus before you left? More generally, what kinds of “signs and wonders” (verse 48) do you need before you are ready to believe a word from Jesus? What is Jesus saying to you in this passage? Take a step back and consider this: Verse 53 says that the man (and his whole household) believed. What sort of belief do you think he had when it says he believed in verse 53 (believed what)? How might this belief have been greater or different than the belief he had in verse 50 where it says he believed when Jesus said his son would live? Initially, the man at least believed that Jesus has the power to heal. In verse 53, he probably believes that Jesus is sent from God and that what he teaches is true, and perhaps even that he is the Messiah. “Belief” can have many levels. One can believe merely that God exists, or also that Jesus has power from God, or that Jesus is God. One can stop with head knowledge, or one can act on it and become a follower and disciple of Jesus. One can make Jesus part of their life, or they can be “all in” and try to let Jesus shape every aspect of who they are. When you say you “believe” in God or in Jesus, what does it mean for you? What do you mean when you say you have put your faith in God? 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

People sometimes speak as though God only loves those who love him and wills the evil that happens in our lives. These are misunderstandings of the nature of God. God loves everyone and never causes evil, even though he allows evil in his pursuit of a greater good. Previous Christian Faith Articles Next God Loves All People and Never Wills Evil Even Though He Allows It People sometimes speak as though God only loves those who love him and wills the evil that happens in our lives. These are misunderstandings of the nature of God. God loves everyone and never causes evil, even though he allows evil in his pursuit of a greater good. Image by Dámaris Azócar, provided by Unsplash via Wix. Cropped. Tom Faletti August 3, 2026 God loves everyone, even those who reject him. He allows evil things to happen, but he does not desire that evil things happen and he does not cause evil. The Bible is very clear about this: God loves all people No one stands outside of the love of God. John uses the biggest word he can – “world” – when he says that God loves the whole “world” (John 3:16) and that Jesus came to deal with the sins of the whole “world” (1 John 2:2). John captures the extreme nature of God’s love in the simple statement that “God is love” (1 John 4:8-10). Paul tells us that God’s love is so great that absolutely nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:37-39). Love is not love if it is willing to do evil to the other. God love all people. God loves even those who do evil Jesus tells us that God provides his sun and rain to the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:44-45), and that God is kind and merciful even to those who are ungrateful and those who are evil (Luke 6:35-36). Jesus, who was and is God, taught us to love our enemies (Luke 6:28-28) and to love others as he loved us. Jesus forgave those who crucified him, as he hung on the cross (Luke 23:34). So we can be sure that God loves even his enemies. The Old Testament affirms that God is good to all and compassionate toward all in Psalm 145:9. Peter tells us that, far from seeking to hastily punish those who oppose him, God waits patiently, not wishing that anyone would perish (2 Pet. 3:9). In these passages, we can see that God does not desire or cause evil towards others. Sometimes, from our limited perspective, it may feel like there are situations where God is causing evil, but the evil is the product of our free will and natural forces, not God’s desire. Similarly, God does not tempt or entice people to do evil, and he does not override free will or force people to do evil when they might otherwise do good: God does not tempt anyone to sin James is very clear that God does not tempt anyone. Instead, it is our own desires that entice us and lead us to do sinful and evil things (James 1:13-14). Paul similarly tells us that God is always offering us a way to overcome temptation (1 Cor. 10:13). God never has as his goal that a human being do evil or sin in any way. God gives humans free will, with which we can choose to do evil or good, to follow God or to reject him Although there are a few places in the Bible where the language seems to say that God is forcing or directing that evil be done, we need to interpret those passages in the light of the other half of the story – that God gives all people the freedom to choose to do good or to do evil. The Jews in the Old Testament believed that everything that happened was of God and, at the same time, everything that humans did was by their own free choice. We must not leave out the element of free will. In the Old Testament, God tells the Israelites through Moses, “I have set before you life and death.... Choose life” (Deut. 30:19-20). The choice is in their hands, not dictated by God. When they enter the promise land, God tells them again through Joshua, “If it is displeasing to you to serve the Lord, choose today whom you will serve” (Josh. 24:15). They are given free will, to choose whom they will follow. Exodus describes how the people can make voluntary offerings to God (Ex. 35:29), underscoring the reality of free will. The books of Kings describe how each king chose to do good or evil (for example, 2 Kings 13:1-7; 2 Kings 22-23). The prophets constantly exhort the leaders, the priests, and the people to respond to the words of the Lord and change their ways. These words from God would be meaningless if the people did not actually have the free will to choose to obey God or reject him. The deuterocanonical book of Sirach, written roughly 200 years before Jesus was born, includes a whole section that talks explicitly about free will (Sir. 15:11-20), showing how important that concept was for the Jews in the final centuries before Jesus walked the earth. Jesus constantly affirms the reality of free will in the way he invites people to follow him (John 1:39) and allows them to reject him (Matt. 19:22; 23:37; John 7:17). See John 12:36-50 for an analysis of the Gospel passage most commonly misinterpreted to claim that God prevented some people from believing in Jesus hardening their heart. God did not will that anyone’s heart be hardened against Jesus, but he allowed people to make the choice to reject him, which hardened their hearts against him. Our world is filled with free but imperfect people living in a universe that follow the morally indifferent laws of nature. Because of free will and the laws of nature, evil and painful things happen. God allows it to happen by sustaining the universe, but he lets people choose how they will respond to him, each other, and the circumstances they encounter in their lives. God does this for a reason. If he dictated everything so that only good things happen, there would be no freedom to choose good, no freedom to choose God, no freedom to truly love others, no freedom to sacrifice ourselves for the good of others, no freedom to give people a glimpse of God by the way we treat them, no freedom to embrace with their whole heart a personal encounter with God, no freedom to choose to become like Jesus. When we freely choose to follow God in the midst of suffering, God brings good out of evil (Romans 8:28; Gen. 50:19-21). The question isn’t whether God loves us and gives us free will; the question is what we will do with it. Will we embrace God’s love and work with him to bring good out of evil? Or will we go our own way and blame him for the evil that happens? 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 Christian Faith Articles Next

To follow Jesus, we need to make some choices. Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 8:18-34 To follow Jesus, we need to make some choices. Rembrandt (1606-1669). Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee . 1633. Detail. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_Christ_in_the_Storm_on_the_Lake_of_Galilee.jpg . The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/experience/collection/10953 , stolen in 1990. Tom Faletti July 31, 2024 Matthew 8:18-22 Jesus cautions people who claim they want to follow him There are two stories here. The first story involves a scribe. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus undermined the common understanding of many Old Testament passages by his novel interpretation of the Scriptures. Yet now a scribe, a scholar trained in analyzing the Law, comes to him and says he will follow Jesus. Why is it significant that a scribe expresses interest in following Jesus? Jesus’s response if rather cryptic. What is the meaning of his reply to the scribe (verse 20)? What is Matthew hoping we will take from this story about the scribe? In verse 21, another man approaches Jesus. This man is a “disciple” – in other words, someone who has already been following Jesus around. What does he say? Scholars suggest that when he says, “Let me go and bury my father,” he probably doesn’t mean that his father just died. Rather, he is saying: I will follow you after my father dies. This might be meant literally, but it also might be meant figuratively: When I am no longer under his authority, or when I no longer have any obligations to him, or when I won’t have to deal with his disapproval of my following you. In any of these cases, it might be years before this “disciple” could actually envision following Jesus with his whole self. When or how do we sometimes put off following Jesus, or put off getting more serious in our commitment to him? What is the meaning of Jesus’s reply? Some scholars think that “let the dead” means let those who are unresponsive to the new life Jesus is proclaiming. If so, what is Jesus saying? Sometimes people are unresponsive to new ideas because they don’t want to question what they already believe – they’re too embedded in their comfortable mental ruts. My high school drama teacher Tom Beagle, the teacher who had the greatest impact on my life, was fond of saying, “People who stop thinking are as good as dead. They haven’t lain down yet, but they sure do stink up the place.” What is Jesus implying in calling some people “dead”? The key to this passage may be the word "first" in verse 21, which involves the issue of priorities. Matthew is trying to make a point about discipleship – about being a follower of Jesus. What is he trying to tell us? How important is it to be a 100%, all-in follower of Jesus? What do these two interactions with Jesus say to you about your own level of discipleship? Do these passages make you more or less eager to be a follower of Jesus? Explain. In the next set of 3 miracles, Jesus expands beyond the narrow realm of physical healing. Matthew 8:23-27 Jesus rebukes the storm There are anecdotal stories of sudden, fierce storms on Lake Kinneret, the modern name for the Sea of Galilee. The lake is nearly 700 feet below sea level, in a valley surrounded by rugged and arid terrain, and it is affected by Mediterranean sea breezes as well as the temperature dynamics in the valley. What is the disciples’ reaction to the storm in verse 25? What is Jesus’s response in verse 26? What does his rebuke say to them and to us? Note that Jesus doesn't say they have "no" faith – just "little" faith. How might this be an encouragement to us? What does Jesus do? What is the meaning behind the question the disciples ask in verse 27? What are they really wondering? In Jesus’s time, how might this kind of miracle – calming a storm – have been considered a sign of even greater power than physical healings? What does this miracle tell us about Jesus? People often see this incident as metaphor for how we deal with the storms of life. What does it say to you personally as a metaphor for life? Matthew 8:28-34 Jesus, men, demons, and pigs There is uncertainty about the location of this event, because Mark 5:1 says it is in the land of the Gerasenes, whereas Matthew says Gadarenes. Gerasa was 35 miles from the Sea of Galilee. Gadara is a more likely location. It was a predominantly Gentile town (one of the 10 cities of the Decapolis) just 6 miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee ( Ignatius Catholic Study Bible , Matthew 8:28 fn., p. 21) . However, the early church father Origen believed it happened in Gergesa, a town that was directly on the shore (Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1 , p. 326), and that name appears in some of the later manuscripts ( New American Bible, revised edition , Matt. 8:28 fn. ) and ended up in the King James version of the Bible. It was common for Jews in Jesus’s time to think that demons were everywhere and were behind every bad thing that happened. This incident happens in a town that had many Gentiles. We know this because Jews would not have had a herd of pigs, since it was forbidden to eat pork – even dealing with live pigs was considered unclean. This is the second miracle (the first involved the centurion) where Matthew shows that Jesus is for all people – Gentiles as well as Jews. How do you think the people in this town felt about the two demon-possessed men, as they approached Jesus? What do they shout at him in verse 29, and what does it mean? In Jesus’s time, many Jews expected that the Messiah, when he came, would vanquish demons as well as earthly powers. The demons are implicitly recognizing Jesus as the Messiah and suggesting that he is acting before his appointed time. What do the demons ask of Jesus? Why do you think Jesus agreed to do this? People sometimes object to the possibility that Jesus might have caused the death of these innocent pigs. Those of us who eat pork and do not have a religious objection to pigs might be more sympathetic to the pigs than a Jewish audience would have been. Barclay has an interesting response. In Jesus’s time, many people believed that legions of demons were all around them everywhere they went in their daily lives. Jesus might have realized that it would be hard for the two men to believe that they had been freed from their demonic tormentors without some visible sign. The stampeding of the pigs served as physical evidence that the demons were no longer in the men. And since it was believed that demons are killed by water, it would be clear that these demons are now dead and could no longer torment them or anyone else. In this view, a herd of swine is not too high a price to pay to save two men ((Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1 , pp. 329-330). How do you think that Jews observing this would have felt about what happened? Why would Jesus’s power over demons have been seen as a greater power than even power over the storm? What does Matthew want his readers to understand about Jesus? The swineherds run off and tell the whole town what happened, and the people come out to Jesus. But whereas the people who heard about Jesus from the woman at the well in the Gospel of John came out to learn from him and ultimately believed in him, the people of this town had a different reaction. How do the people of the town react? What do the ask Jesus to do? Why do you think that is their reaction? They probably were concerned about the economic impact of the loss of the swine. They may also have had other fears. Isn’t it sad that the people of this town, when given an opportunity to spend time with the Messiah, ask him to leave? Compare this tragedy to the loss of the swine. Are there ways in which we ask Jesus to stay at a distance from us because of fear that he might ask us to do things that would affect our pocketbooks or finances? How might it be true that we don’t even see the choices we are making, small and large, that keep Jesus from being an integral part of our lives? If you were God, how would you respond to the fact that some people don’t want quite such a powerful, active, and personal God? Take a step back and consider this: Previously, Jesus healed people, showing his power over illness and therefore, in a sense, his power of the human body. In these two miracles – the calming of the storm and the freeing of the demon-possessed men – we see Jesus revealing his power over nature and over the demons in the unseen spiritual world around us. This is monumental power he is showing. And since how power comes from his Father in heaven, he is showing that he has been given authority over all of creation – both visible and invisible, seen and unseen. Most Christians do not see God working in such dramatic, physical ways. But to tell the truth, most Christians would be uncomfortable if God did act in such dramatic, physical ways. Is it possible that we don’t often see God working in dramatic ways because, deep down inside, we’re not sure we want to be quite so close to such a powerful, active, personal God? What might hold us back? Are there ways in which you might be afraid of the uncertainty of living with a God who acts so powerfully? Are there ways in which you might be afraid that you might have to give up too much of what you own, if you give your life totally to this kind of God? Are there ways in which you might be afraid of the level of discipleship and commitment this powerful and active God might want of you? How would Jesus respond to your concerns? As he got in the boat and left that town, he probably did so reluctantly, with deep sadness in his heart. He would have wanted to stay, and teach them, and share with them the love of his Father. He wants to be with us and teach us, and love us, and work through us. What is Jesus saying to you as you consider this story? 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

Two responses to Jesus: total opposition and extravagant devotion. How can you show how you feel about Jesus? [Matthew 26:1-5; 26:6-13] Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 26:1-13 Two responses to Jesus: total opposition and extravagant devotion. How can you show how you feel about Jesus? Maître François (fl. 1460-1480). Anointing of Jesus , from an illuminated manuscript of Augustine's “ La Cite de Dieu ,” book I-X. Circa 1475-80. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anointing_La_Cite_de_Dieu.jpg . Tom Faletti September 15, 2025 In Matthew 26, we begin Jesus’s “Passion”: the events immediately surrounding his suffering and death on the cross. These are his final 48 hours on earth before he gives up his life for humanity. In the course of his mistreatment, he will be called “Messiah,” “Son of God,” and “King of the Jews.” In Matthew 26:1-13, we see 2 extreme reactions to Jesus: extreme hatred and extreme love. Matthew 26:1-5 Extreme hatred: the chief priests and elders plot Jesus’s death At this time, the high priest was appointed by the Roman rulers. Caiaphas was high priest from A.D. 18 to 36, an unusually long time considering that the average tenure of a high priest was around 4 years at this point in Jewish history. This suggests that Caiaphas was very good at navigating the politics of dealing with the Romans and keeping the peace (Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2 , pp. 361-362). In his book Mere Christianity , C.S. Lewis said that Jesus hasn’t given us the option of being neutral about him: I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. (Lewis, pp. 55-56, at the end of the chapter entitled “The Shocking Alternative”) The chief priests and elder have made their choice. What does Jesus say is going to happen to happen? Jesus again states the specific manner by which they will kill him – crucifixion – and says that he will be “handed over” – a passive phrase that suggests that no one is truly in control of him; rather, God is in ultimate control and allowing all of it to happen ( The New Jerome Biblical Commentary , par. 147, p. 669). This term “handed over” will appears frequently in the passages ahead. Jesus has already used it in 17:22 and 20:18 to describe what is about to happen to him. He will be “handed over” multiple times before his death: he will be handed over to the chief priests in 26:45 and to Pilate in 27:2; he will be handed over to be crucified in 27:26; and his body will be handed over to Joseph of Arimathea in 27:58). What is this “Passover” that was about to be celebrated? This is the annual Jewish festival celebrating God’s saving action in the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. Who is involved in the conspiracy against Jesus? The chief priests and the elders are the parties to this plot. They are the religious and political leaders and powerbrokers of the society. Notice that the people who seek Jesus’s death are not the Pharisees and scribes , even though they frequently clashed with him. Jesus’s death was not an act of “the Jews” as some amorphous collective. The Pharisees – the Jews most focused on a living a holy life – were not part of this plot except those Pharisees and scribes who also were leaders. Jesus was executed by the scheming of the political and religious leaders, who saw him as too great a threat to their fragile hold on all they held dear. What do the chief priests and elders want to do, and what holds them back? How can a person reach a such an extreme stage of hate that they want to have Jesus killed? When you get focused on protecting what you have, what holds you back from doing wrong? Matthew 26:6-13 Extreme devotion: the anointing of Jesus at Bethany Where is Jesus when this happens? Recall that Bethany is a village on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, where Jesus has been staying each night. Luke and John tell us that Bethany is where Martha, Mary, and Lazarus lived. In John 11:45-53, the man is Lazarus and the woman is his sister Mary. Here in Matthew and also in Mark 14:3-9 the woman is not named. Luke 7:36-56 tells the story of a penitent woman who anointed Jesus’s feet at the home of Simon the leper. In the other accounts she is not identified as a penitient woman. In Luke and John, the woman anoints Jesus’s feet, but in Matthew and Mark she anoints his head. The differences in details suggest that there may have been 2 events where Jesus was anointed – probably Matthew, Mark, and John describing one event and Luke describing the other – but that some of the details may have become blurred or merged as the Christian community recalled the stories. The word for leprosy could refer to any of a variety of skin diseases, but having any of those diseases required that a person be separated from the rest of society to protect against the spread of the disease. Therefore, Simon was probably healed by Jesus at some earlier time. What does the woman do? Mark 14:5 says that the ointment could have been sold for more than 300 days’ wages – in our day that might be $18,000 to $36,000. She used costly ointment and spread it extravagantly. Why do you think she does this? How does the woman’s action affirm Jesus’s identity as the Messiah? “Messiah” means “Anointed One.” In the Bible, anointing was a way of signifying that God had chosen someone – for example, to be a king as when Samuel anointed Saul and later David. The woman may not have been making an intentional statement about Jesus’s identity as the Messiah – she may have just been expressing her extreme appreciation of him by giving him the most precious thing she owned – but the action does have messianic overtones. How do the disciples react to what the woman did? Notice that the disciples seem to be responding reasonably to Jesus’s clear and repeated concern for the poor. Jesus addresses that concern. How does Jesus describe the woman’s action in verse 10? She has done a good thing for him. We will talk about Jesus’s comment about the poor in a few minutes. Stay focused on the woman for now. What is the significant of Jesus saying that she did it “for me”? Does Jesus’s reaction give you any guidance in trying to judge when an extravagant action might be appropriate? The woman’s action was an act of love, coming from her heart. The disciples’ reaction was an act of practicality, coming from reason. How can we choose wisely in trying to decide when to listen to the heart and when to listen to practical reason? Don’t settle for a glib “always listen to your heart.” Listening to your heart always seems to work out in Disney movies, but in real life people’s lives have sometimes been shipwrecked by uncritically listening to their heart: rash marriages, bankruptcy, unnecessary dangers, and even death have followed those who fail to tame and guide the yearnings of their heart. Yet, excessive reliance on reason can sometimes lead to loneliness, missed opportunities, and a cold and joyless existence. How can we choose wisely when to listen to our extravagant hearts and when to listen to our practical and utilitarian minds? How does a person reach a stage of such extravagant love toward Jesus? The woman proactively seized the opportunity to honor Jesus while she could. If she had waited, the opportunity would have been lost. Are there times when we need to act while we can, to do some service for God, because we might not have the chance later? What does this tell you? Have you ever had a time where, out of love for God, you took an action that was extravagant or exceptionally generous or unusually self-giving? How did it feel to be doing that, and what happened? Is there anything you feel God calling you to do right now, out of love for him, that might be beyond the norm? How might you test that feeling to see if it is genuinely from God? Now let’s focus on verse 11. What does Jesus say in verse 11? The actual phrasing in the Greek does not say that you will always have the poor with you. Some translations get this wrong. The Greek word “have” is in the present tense – you [currently] always have the poor with you (the NRSV gets this translation right). It is not a prediction about the future, nor is it an excuse for not trying to reduce poverty. Why do you think it was true in Jesus’s time that they always had poor people among them? What kinds of societal structures were common in Jesus’s time that contributed to the fact that poverty was common? Why do you think it is true in our present time that we always have poor people among us? Are there societal structures in our time that contribute to the presence of poverty in our midst? Jesus is drawing on Deuteronomy 15:11, which commands God’s people to help the poor: “Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.’” (NRSV). How important is it to God that we care for the needy, and why do you think he cares? This passage does not support the view that poverty is inevitable and therefore we should accept it. First, Deuteronomy tells us to do more than just accept it – it tells us to open our hand to the poor and needy. Second, the Gospel of Mark has an additional sentence that Matthew left out when he shortened the story. In Mark 14:7, Jesus tells us that we can do good to the poor whenever we want. In Mark 14:7, Jesus says that you can do good to the poor whenever you want. How much of a priority do you think we should place on meeting the needs of the poor? Do you think Jesus would be comfortable with a world where Christians just accepted the existence of poverty and didn’t do much about it? Explain. What do you think we should be doing about poverty in our time – individually, through nonprofit organizations, through governments, and in other ways? In Matthew 26:12, what does Jesus say the woman has done for him? What do you think this means? What does Jesus say about the woman in verse 13? What does the example of this woman say to you about your interactions with Jesus? Can you draw any additional conclusions about this passage when you recall that in the previous passage Jesus said that what we do for the “least” among us we do for him? If what we do to those in need we do to Jesus, how might we “anoint” Jesus by the way we treat the least among us? Throughout history, women’s stories have seldom received as much attention as men’s stories and often have not been preserved at all. How does Jesus affirm/elevate women in verse 13 and throughout this story? How might we help affirm the value of what women do in our society? Take a step back and consider this: Jesus affirms that this particular act by this particular woman has lasting value. Not all acts of extravagance have such value. What matters is what has value in God’s eyes, not the world’s eyes. What can you do because of your love for Jesus that will have lasting value in the eyes of God? 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 tells us to eat his flesh and drink his blood. How does your celebration of the Lord’s Supper/Eucharist/Holy Communion reflect this teaching? [John 6:51-59] Previous Next John List John 6:48-59 Jesus tells us to eat his flesh and drink his blood. How does your celebration of the Lord’s Supper/Eucharist/Holy Communion reflect this teaching? Image by Sylvain Brison, provided by Unsplash via Wix. Tom Faletti February 22, 2026 Read John 6:48-59 Jesus calls us to eat his flesh and drink his blood In verse 48, Jesus repeats, “I am the bread of life,” which he said in verse 35. In verse 35, it marks a transition to new material, and it may be a transition in verse 48 also. However, before turning to that new material where he commands us to eat his flesh and drink his blood, Jesus bridges the two sections by summarizing what he said in the previous passage. What does Jesus say in verses 49, 50, and the first half of 51 that he has already said in verses 27-47? Why does he emphasize these things? Why are they so important? Up to this point (through the first half of verse 51), most of Christendom is in general agreement about what Jesu is saying in this chapter. The various denominations within Christianity all see verses 35-47 as an invitation to believe in Jesus, who was sent down from heaven by the Father, and to receive eternal life through him. The major disagreements begin with the second half of verse 51 (John 6:51b) and what follows it. Different Interpretations of John 6:51-59 The Christian churches diverge on how to interpret verses 51-59. Is this passage merely saying in a different way what Jesus said in the previous passage, or is Jesus making a new point about what we call the Lord’s Supper/Holy Communion/the Eucharist? More specifically, is this just another way of calling us to believe in Jesus, or is it calling us to embrace the real, literal presence of the risen Christ in the Eucharist/Holy Communion? There is a wide range of views: The Roman Catholic Church teaches that in this passage Jesus is speaking literally and spelling out the nature of the Eucharist/Holy Communion: namely, that what is received in communion in a Catholic Mass is literally the flesh and blood of the risen and glorified Christ, even though they remain under the appearances of bread and wine. Catholics call this “transubstantiation.” The Orthodox Churches teach that the consecrated bread and wine in our Eucharistic celebrations become the body and blood of Christ and that there is a literal transformation of the bread and wine, but they do not try to define in dogma the mystery of that transformation and they do not accept the Roman Catholic doctrine of “transubstantiation.” Lutherans believe that the body and blood of Christ are “truly and substantially present” in the consecrated bread and wine but that it is still bread and wine. Episcopalians believe that Christ’s body and blood become “really present,” without any need for the consecrated elements to stop being bread and wine. Most evangelical churches reject the idea that the bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Christ. They see the communion service as purely memorial in nature and interpret John 6:51-59 as figurative or symbolic language that calls us to be united to Christ spiritually by faith. Evangelicals say that Jesus is telling us to feed on him in a spiritual sense and incorporate him spiritually into all we are. They start with John 6:35, which is a metaphorical statement about believing in Jesus, not a literal statement about physical hunger. They argue that the rest of the chapter is also to be interpreted metaphorically despite Jesus’s shift in language, and that in John 6:63 Jesus signals that he wasn’t speaking of literal flesh and blood. Those who say that Jesus is speaking literally about flesh and blood argue that this is a new teaching, separate from the teaching about himself as the bread of life. The crowds (verse 52) and the disciples (verse 60) do not hear his words about eating his flesh and drinking his blood as being metaphorical: the disciples say this is a very difficult teaching to accept because they believe he is speaking literally, and Jesus allows many disciples to leave (verse 66) rather than clarify that it was a metaphor. There is also a debate over how this passage relates to other passages in the Bible. To many scholars, there is a clear connection between (1) what Jesus teaches in John 6:51-59, (2) the Last Supper as described in the Synoptic Gospels, (3) what the apostle Paul describes uses similar language in 1 Corinthians 10:16, and (4) what we celebrate in our time as the Eucharist/Holy Communion/Lord’s Supper. Some evangelical scholars say that John 6 is not related to the Last Supper, which hasn’t happened yet when Jesus says these things. Other evangelicals do think these passages are related. For example: In the International Bible Commentary , David J. Ellis says that the connection to the Lord’s Supper is “inescapable” and that “the teaching of the Lord Jesus” in this passage “can only be fully understood in the light of the feast which He inaugurated” – although Ellis says the flesh and blood language is only “metaphorical” (Ellis, p. 1244). In Dr. Lloyd J. Ogilvie’s Communicator’s Commentary Series , Dr. Roger L. Fredrickson argues that although the “primary purpose of these verses is to teach us how to feed on the Son of Man, to take Him into our innermost being by faith,” this teaching is also about “the meaning of the Lord’s Supper.” He suggests that there is “a particular sense in which Christ’s presence is made real among His people when we eat the bread and drink the wine” and that it “goes beyond a remembrance of Christ and His sacrifice” (Fredrickson, p. 138). For those who would like to explore this further, some brief background reading might be useful. In around AD 155, Justin Martyr summarized the thinking in the early church about the practice of the Lord’s Supper (which he called the “Eucharist”) in his First Apology , where he described the Eucharist as “the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus” (Justin, read paragraphs 65-66). Evangelicals, Protestants, and even Catholics who wonder why Catholics don’t consider this a form of cannibalism might find this article helpful: “ Are Catholics Cannibals? ” (Staples). An example of how evangelicals present their disagreement with transubstantiation can be found here: “ What Did Jesus Mean in John 6:54 ”. Notice that this entire debate is over what cannot be seen with our physical eyes. Protestants and Catholics agree that the elements at communion have the appearance of bread and wine and that if you examined them under a microscope with the most advanced scientific instruments, you would see the molecules and cell structures that constitute bread and wine. Evangelicals and Catholics agree that the bread and wine (or grape juice) used in an evangelical church is only bread and wine. The disagreement is over whether the bread and wine used in a Catholic Mass literally becomes the body and blood of the glorified Christ even though it retains the appearance of bread and wine – and whether that transubstantiation is what Jesus meant by what he said in John 6:51-59 and desires to give us in our services. What is your experience of communion? Without judging anyone else’s views, what does it mean to you when Jesus says, “The bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (verse 51)? What do you think Jesus is saying in the rest of this passage (verses 52-59), and how does it relate to your celebration of the Eucharist/Holy Communion? In verse 52, the Jewish religious leaders object to what Jesus is saying. Why would this be objectionable to them? It sounds like nonsense or cannibalism to them. Moreover, in a moment, Jesus is going to add that we are called to drink his blood, and the drinking of blood was prohibited under Jewish Law. Jesus knows that they are troubled by his words and that it sounds to them like cannibalism. Yet he doesn’t soften his language. Instead, he restates his point 4 more times, even more intensely and explicitly, in verses 43, 44, 45, and 46. For those who do not interpret these words literally: Why do you think Jesus does not rephrase it, if he isn’t actually saying that we are called to eat his flesh and drink his blood? For those who read this passage literally: Why do you think Jesus makes such a big point about this? In verse 54, Jesus says that those who eat his flesh and drink his blood have eternal life, and he will raise them up on the last day. In verse 56, Jesus says that those who eat his flesh and drink his blood remain in him, and he remains in them. In verse 57, he says that they will have life because of him. In verse 58, he says they will live forever. Which of these ways that he describes it is the most meaningful to you, and why? Eating and drinking are essential to our physical life. Jesus is essential to our spiritual life. Jesus wants us to be as dependent on him and connected to him as we are to our physical food and drink. How can we live our lives in a manner that is as dependent on Jesus as our bodies are dependent on food and drink? How can your celebration of communion help you to become more fully united with Christ so that you can live a life more fully dedicated to serving him and him alone? John begins the chapter about the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus as the Bread of Life by saying, “The Passover feast was near” (John 6:4). Why would he choose to make that point? How does this chapter about Jesus as the Bread of Life connect to the Passover? At the Last Supper, Jesus made the connection between himself and the unleavened bread of the Passover when he blessed the bread, said: “Take, eat; this is my body” (Matt. 26:26), and shared it with his disciples. The Jewish celebration of Passover recalled that the Israelites were “passed over” when the angel of death saw the blood of lambs on the lintels of their doors. The Jewish celebration of Passover was immediately followed by the 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread, which celebrated the Israelites’ hasty journey out of Egypt. Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice for us. John notes in verse 59 that this dialogue took place in the synagogue in Capernaum. What stands out in your mind as you envision Jesus having this discussion in the synagogue with scribes and Pharisees who worshiped God there? Take a step back and consider this: People on all sides of the transubstantiation debate call attention to two sermons given by Augustine in the early 400s. In what is now known as his Sermon 227, he spoke on Easter morning to newly initiated Christians who had been baptized the night before. Here is how he began that sermon: I had promised those of you who have just been baptized a sermon to explain the sacrament of the Lord’s table, which you can see right now, and which you shared in last night. You ought to know what you have received, what you are about to receive, what you ought to receive every day. That bread which you can see on the altar, sanctified by the word of God, is the body of Christ. That cup, or rather what the cup contains, sanctified by the word of God, is the blood of Christ. It was by means of these things that the Lord Christ wished to present us with his body and blood, which he shed for our sake for the forgiveness of sins. If you receive them well, you are yourselves what you receive. You see, the apostle [Paul] says, We, being many, are one loaf, one body (1 Cor 10: 17). That’s how he explained the sacrament of the Lord’s table; one loaf, one body, is what we all are, many though we be. (Augustine, Volume 6, p. 254 ) Augustine says that if you receive the body of Christ well (i.e., worthily), “you are . . . what you receive”; that is, when you receive the body of Christ, you are the body of Christ. Similarly, in his Sermon 272, which he delivered on Pentecost to newly initiated Christians, Augustine says: What you can see on the altar, you also saw last night; but what it was, what it meant, of what great reality it contained the sacrament, you had not yet heard. So what you can see, then, is bread and a cup; that’s what even your eyes tell you; but as for what your faith asks to be instructed about, the bread is the body of Christ, the cup the blood of Christ.... [Somebody might ask,] “How can bread be his body? And the cup, or what the cup contains, how can it be his blood?” The reason these things, brothers and sisters, are called sacraments is that in them one thing is seen, another is to be understood. What can be seen has a bodily appearance, what is to be understood provides spiritual fruit. So if you want to understand the body of Christ, listen to the apostle telling the faithful, You, though, are the body of Christ and its members (1 Cor 12:27). So if it’s you that are the body of Christ and its members, it’s the mystery meaning you that has been placed on the Lord’s table; what you receive is the mystery that means you. It is to what you are that you reply Amen , and by so replying you express your assent. What you hear, you see, is The body of Christ ? and you answer, Amen . So be a member of the body of Christ, in order to make that Amen true. (Augustine, Volume 7, p. 300 ) Augustine sees the consecratedbread on the communion table as the body of Christ and also sees us at the communion table as the body of Christ. This teaching of Augustine is sometimes paraphrased as: Be what you receive; receive what you are; that is: Be the body of Christ that you receive; receive the body of Christ that you are. In both sermons, Augustine goes on to urge his listeners to live in unity with one another. He argues that, as the bread is made from many grains that have become one loaf, and as the wine is made from many grapes that have become one cup, so too we must be one united body. It is a sad irony that the Eucharistic celebration that Augustine saw as a sacrament of unity has become a central point of division among the Christian denominations. How can you embrace the unity of the body of Christ in your celebration of communion? How can we strive for some level of unity with those who do not agree with us about the meaning and application of John 6:51-59? 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

Members of Faith Explored can post comments and questions on the Faith Explored blog. Subscribing (free) gives you an email notification when new posts are added. Thank You for Being a Member! We appreciate you! Members can comment on posts and asks questions, which can help you and others grow in their faith. If you have not already subscribed to receive email notifications when we post new articles, please do so. Receiving notice of new material will help you get the most out of our website . Subscribe to receive email notifications of new posts What Would You Like to Do Now? Explore a Bible study to grow in your faith: Matthew Philemon John Hope 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians Mary Read an article on how to apply the Bible to everyday life: The Claim That All Religions Are Basically the Same is False Hinduism and Christianity have core differences regarding who we are and where we are going. Are all people equal, or are we consigned to a system of higher and lower castes and worse? When we die, do we live on in a spiritual realm or are we forced to return to earth for additional cycles of life? These differences are central, not trivial. We Don’t Want Regulations, Which is Why We Need Them To fulfill our mandate from God to cultivate and care for the natural world, we need regulations. Why? Because without them we tend to seek what is best for ourselves in the short run, which can hurt ourselves, others, and the planet in the long run. September 11th Courage, Political Courage, and the National Debt On 9/11, we honor the courage of many people, including passengers and crew of Flight 93. Our government leaders need political courage today to deal with crushing deficits. Here is an example of political courage, and some devastating examples of its opposite. Workers Have Been Devalued Since Long Before AI People wonder how AI will affect workers. Even without AI, we have failed to treat workers fairly. Corporations and governments already have been devaluing humans in the workplace for centuries. They are violating these principles, which are based in the Bible. Back to School with the Greatest Teacher of All It’s Back to School time for all of us, no matter how young or old we are. Everyone is invited to learn in the classroom of the greatest teacher the world has ever known: Jesus. How do we do that? His lesson plan is ready. We just need to show up. God is Not Appeased by Our Sacrifices There is no sacrifice you can make that will appease God. Fortunately, unlike the Greek gods, that’s not what God wants. The Bible has a much more surprising view of sacrifice. Will you join in, unite with God, and be a member of his team? Image at top  Mateus Campos Felipe, provided by Unsplash via Wix. Oher images provided by Wix.

The temptation of Jesus shows how to respond to our own temptations. Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 4:1-11 The temptation of Jesus shows how to respond to our own temptations. Image provided by Wix. Tom Faletti March 22, 2024 Matthew 4:1-11 Jesus is tempted by the devil In Matthew 4:1, the Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the desert. Jesus needs some alone time to prepare for his ministry. The 40 days parallels the 40 years the Israelites were in the desert. In v. 1, where some translations say the Spirit led Jesus out to be “tempted,” the word can also be translated “tested.” “Tested” is the better translation because God does not tempt people. God does not lure people toward sin, nor does he dangle the thought of sin in front of people to see if they will succumb. James is very clear about this: “No one, when tempted, should say, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one” (James 1:13, NRSV). However, while God does not tempt people, he does allow people to be tested by temptation. He does not preserve us from temptation, but instead gives us ways to resist (see 1 Cor. 10:13). The word “tested” conveys better the reality of what is going on: the temptation may come from the devil or from our own weaknesses, and God allows it to happen; but God does not cause temptation and he always stands beside us, urging us to resist sin and offering us the strength to overcome the temptation. What happens in this passage? What is the value of being tested? Explain. Why does this take place in the wilderness/desert? On a human level, in the desert people have no support system and no distractions. On a figurative level, Jesus’s testing parallels the testing of the Israelites in the desert after they were delivered out of Egypt. Jesus is identifying with humanity in being tempted. What are some similarities between the testing of Jesus in the desert here and the testing of the Israelites in the desert before they entered the Promised Land? In what ways are they different, including in how well they handled the temptations they faced? No disciples of Jesus were present for Jesus’s temptation. They could have known about it only if Jesus told them about it. Why do you think Jesus would have told his disciples about what happened to him in the desert? Throughout Christian history, theologians and commentators have seen the three temptations of Jesus as representing the three types of sins that all humans face : sins of the flesh , sins of the world , and sins of the devil . (You can easily find more about this, from a variety of denominational perspectives; for example: Fr. Dwight Longenecker, “Fighting the Un-Holy Trinity: The World, the Flesh and the Devil,” Catholic Online , 14 Feb. 2010, https://www.catholic.org/news/national/story.php?id=35421 ; “The World, the Flesh, and the Devil,” Ligonier Ministries (founded by Dr. R. C. Sproul), 23 May 2011, https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/world-flesh-and-devil ; and nicely summarized by Wikipedia with examples from scholars who wrote centuries ago here: “The world, the flesh, and the devil,” 31 March 2024, Wikipedia , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_world,_the_flesh,_and_the_devil .) Temptation #1 : Bread, sins of the flesh, putting our own wants ahead of what God wants for us. On the surface, there would not seem to be anything immoral about Jesus turning stones into bread. What is the root of the potential sin in doing so? How might this have been a misuse of his powers? Some of the reasons why this is a temptation to sin include the following: He would be using his power for his own sake rather than using it for its intended purpose: to serve others. He would be failing to identify with the human race he came to identify with. There many also be a battle going on here regarding how Jesus would carry out his mission. Should he entice people to follow him by giving them food to eat? What would have been wrong with that as his primary method of spreading the Gospel? How does this temptation apply to us? How might we be at risk of the temptation to put our own wants ahead of what God might have for us? Throughout the life of the church, going back many centuries, this temptation has been described as involving sins of the flesh, including gluttony, drunkenness, and sexual immorality, but also laziness, covetousness, etc. A personal question, not necessarily for sharing if you are discussing this passage in a small group: Which sins of the flesh do you tend to struggle with and why? What Scripture passage does Jesus quote in response to this temptation? How does this Scripture passage provide guidance for us for how to think about and resist this kind of sin? Temptation #2 : Spectacle, attention, sins of the world, telling God what to do. Jesus could have jumped from the top io the Temple and survived, if he chose to. What would have been wrong with that? What is the potential sin in this temptation? There are several issues here: Some see it as a matter of tactics: Should I use spectacle and razzle-dazzle to try to draw people to God by attracting them to me? Others see it as a matter of authority: Will I assert leadership over God by putting him in a position where he has to do what I want him to do? Others see it as a matter of abdicating our responsibility to do God’s work, leaving things to God that he expects us to be doing as part of our calling.) Jesus could have used spectacle as a way of attracting the attention of people. What would have been wrong with that? Note that Jesus did perform miracles, but they were miracles of service, to help others – not for show. The devil is implying that Jesus could force God to do things his way by doing things that would only work out if God steps in. But Jesus was God, so what would have been wrong with that? An alternate view is that the temptation here was to abdicate responsibility for how to do the work of God and just leave it to God and his angels to make it work. Are there times when “God will take care of things” is not an act of faith but instead an act of laziness? How does this temptation apply to us? How might we be tempted to draw attention to ourselves or wow others rather than doing God’s work humbly? How might we be tempted to force God’s hand by doing things that will only work out if God steps in? (“If God doesn’t want me to do that, he’ll stop me.”) What’s wrong with that approach to life? How might we be tempted to leave everything to God and not do the work he calls us to do? What Scripture passage does Jesus quote in response to this temptation? How does this Scripture passage provide guidance for us for how to think about and resist these kinds of “sins of the world”? Temptation #3 : Allegiance, power, sins of the devil, compromising our commitment to God. What is the nature of the third temptation? It involves a temptation to submit to the devil in order to gain power. What is wrong with the devil’s offer? The devil is asking for a compromise. What are some ways Jesus might have faced this temptation throughout his ministry on Earth? How does this temptation apply to us? How might we be at risk of the temptation to seek power or control of our circumstances even at the price of a bit of spiritual compromise? What Scripture passage does Jesus quote in response to this temptation? How does this Scripture passage provide guidance for us for how to think about and resist this kind of sin? In what ways did the devil misuse Scripture? In your life, how valuable is it to know Scripture? Is it an aid to avoiding or resisting temptation? To what extent do you turn to Scripture for specific guidance in difficult moments or times of temptation? How might the Bible be a greater help to you in dealing with temptation, if you knew the Bible better? Is there anything you could be doing to strengthen your ability to rely on the Word of God? The devil leaves Jesus at this point. What kinds of opportunities do you think the devil will be looking for, to return and tempt Jesus again? When are you at risk of temptation? Silently, unless you are comfortable sharing, which temptation is the greatest risk for you: Inappropriately fulfilling your own wants? Seeking recognition or attention in inappropriate ways? Trying to get God to do things your way in order to make your efforts successful? Making inappropriate compromises to gain more power or control over your circumstances? What can you do to avoid or respond successfully to these temptations? What are your best strategies? Here are some strategies to consider: First we need to step back and not dash headlong into the temptation. Then we have many things we can do: Pray. Think about what is really going on, both inside of you and in the situation around you. Try to see the situation from God’s perspective. Get help from Scripture. Open your heart to the Holy Spirit’s influence. Get counsel from wise and godly people around you. Take a step back and consider this: The first temptation is a temptation to put our own wants ahead of the ways God wants us to deal with our lives. The second temptation is a temptation to draw attention to ourselves or to get God to do things our way. The third temptation is a temptation to compromise our commitments to God in order to gain some power or control. All three temptations, at root, are temptations to put ourselves ahead of God. When we are facing temptation we often forget that God is not looking down from on high with a frown, just waiting to catch us in a sin. Most of us grow up with that kind of image of God, but it doesn’t match the reality of God as presented in the Gospels. Jesus is always standing right next to you, loving you and urging you to do what you and he know is right. His Spirit lives in you, reminding you of who you are in Christ and empowering you to be what you are called to be. If the root of temptation is our desire to put ourselves – our plans, our ideas, our desires, our wants – ahead of God, and yet we know, when we are not in the middle of the temptation, that our greatest happiness and greatest fulfillment comes in putting God first, then in the time of temptation we need to remember who we really are in Christ. Our most desperate need in those times is to see things from the perspective of the God we have given our lives to, and to receive his power to act on who we are. When you are not in the middle of a temptation, where are your allegiances? Have you decided that your goal is to put God first in everything? Or are there still parts of your life that you have not been ready to give to him? Temptations will never go away, but some temptations fade after that fundamental question has been resolved. Have you really given your life to God? If not, now would be a good time to talk with God about it. There is nothing more important that you can do. Talk to God about where you stand with him right now. Jesus’s example tells us something important: Scripture is the first line of defense in times of temptation. Is there anything you can do to embed the Word of God more deeply into your heart, mind, and deepest self, so that you can call it forth when you need it? 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

In the days surrounding Jesus’s birth, uncertainty is a fact of life for his mother Mary. She responds by pondering and treasuring everything that happens. How can we embrace her trusting attitude? [Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 2:1-7; 2:8-20; 2:21; Luke 2:22-24] Previous Mary List Next Session 2: Jesus’s birth causes uncertainty as well as joy In the days surrounding Jesus’s birth, uncertainty is a fact of life for his mother Mary. She responds by pondering and treasuring everything that happens. How can we embrace her trusting attitude? [Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 2:1-7; 2:8-20; 2:21; Luke 2:22-24] Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665). The Adoration of the Shepherds . Around 1633-4. Detail. The National Gallery, London, UK. Photo by Tom Faletti, 28 May 2025. Tom Faletti July 13, 2025 As we explore the birth and infancy of Jesus, we are going to look at what happens from Mary’s perspective. We begin with a story that is partly about Mary but not told from Mary’s perspective. It is Joseph’s side of the story as Mary and Joseph grapple with the virginal conception and birth of Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25 The birth of Jesus from Joseph’s perspective What dilemma does Joseph face? How do you think Mary felt as Joseph was considering what to do about the fact that she was pregnant? How do you think Mary felt when Joseph told her about her dream and took her into his house to live their married life together? Mary bears a lot of uncertainty throughout her life. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about what she is thinking or how she deals with the anxiety of not knowing what will happen. How do you think Mary dealt with anxiety? We have no words from Mary in this story. What can learn from this “silent Mary” who endures all things quietly and stays faithful? Luke 2:1-7 Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem, where Jesus is born Why do Joesph and Mary travel to Bethlehem? Traveling from Nazareth to Bethlehem would require walking around 90 miles, which would take 4-7 days, depending on how fast Joseph wanted to push his pregnant wife and perhaps a donkey. Donkeys walk at roughly the same speed as humans, so a donkey helps carry a burden and can carry a human, but it doesn’t speed up the journey. Note: In Luke 2:4, Jesus is referred to as Mary’s “firstborn son.” Some have tried to argue that this is a clear signal that Mary had more children later. That would be a misreading of the text. This passage does not provide any guidance regarding the debate between Protestants and Catholics over whether Mary had additional children or was a perpetual virgin. For Jews, the phrase “firstborn son” had a special meaning that applied regardless of whether the mother had more children later. They were commanded to redeem their firstborn son through a special offering. We will see this when we look at Luke 2:22-24. This offering was required regardless of whether they ever had additional children. So the only thing Luke is clearly stating here is that Jesus is subject to the requirements that applied to a “firstborn son.” How do you think Mary felt when she learned that she and Joseph needed to walk or travel by donkey to Bethlehem? How comfortable do you think Mary and Joseph are with each other at this point? If you have had a newborn child, think back to those early days. Now add to your mental image the extra challenges Mary faces: staying in a cave or barn, or more likely, staying in a stranger’s house on the first floor where the animals live, while the residents sleep upstairs. What do you think it would have been like for Mary in those first days in Bethlehem with a newborn baby? If you were Mary, how would you try to make sense of the contrast between the prophecies that this child would be great and the gritty reality of life with the animals? Luke 2:8-20 Shepherds suddenly pop in and tell Mary that her son is special We usually start looking at this story from the perspective of the shepherds, who see angels. Consider it from the perspective of Mary, who does not see these angels (though she has seen an angel before) but first encounters the shepherds when they barge into the cave or barn or house and tell her they have seen angels. Focus on verses 16-17 for a moment. How do you think Mary feels? According to verse 11, What did the angels tell the shepherds about Jesus? In verse 11, the angels tell the shepherds that this is good news for all people. What do you think this reference to “all people” means to them and to Mary? Verse 18 tells us that everyone who heard the shepherds’ story was amazed. Do you think this includes Mary? What do you think her initial reaction is? Verse 19 tells us that Mary hung onto these events long after they happened, keeping them and reflecting on them (NABRE) or treasuring them and pondering them (NRSV) in her heart. There are two parts to this. First, she keeps or treasures the memories. What do you think these memories mean to Mary as the years go by during Jesus’s childhood? Second, she ponders or reflects on what has happened. How does pondering and reflecting what has happened in the past help prepare us or strengthen us for what may lie ahead in our life? How does looking back on what God has done help us discern what God is trying to do in our lives now? Do you think these memories meant something different to Mary after Jesus began his public ministry? How might these memories have taken on a different or enhanced meaning after Jesus died and rose from the dead? What Mary was, we are called to be. How can the habit of treasuring and pondering what God has done in our lives help us be the kind of people God is calling us to be? What Mary did, we are called to do. How can we act on what God shows us as we treasure and ponder what he has done previously in our lives? Luke 2:21 Jesus is circumcised and named What is the significance of the fact that Jesus is circumcised? If you go back and look at the accounts of the appearance of the angel to Mary and the angel in Joseph’s dream, both angels tell them to name the child Jesus. This would be the Hebrew name Joshua, which means “God saves,” or “Yahweh saves.” What do you think the assignment of this name to Jesus meant to them? Luke 2:22-24 Mary offers sacrifice for purification and Jesus is consecrated to God Starting in verse 22, Luke describes rites that occurred 40 days after Jesus’s birth. There are two things going on here: According to the Law of Moses, a woman who gave birth was considered unclean – i.e., ritually impure – for 40 days after the birth of a son (80 days after the birth of a daughter). At the end of that period, she was supposed to make an offering to God of a year-old lamb and either a pigeon or a turtledove. If she could not afford a lamb, she could offer a second pigeon or turtledove. Read Leviticus 12:1-8 to see the purification rule in the Old Testament. What strikes you as significant in Leviticus 12:1-8? What does the fact that they offered two pigeons or turtledoves, and not a lamb, tell you about them? Also, according to the Law of Moses, every firstborn son belongs to God and must be consecrated to him. The firstborn son is ransomed by the offering of a sheep, in remembrance of the death of the firstborns in Egypt when the Israelites were rescued from bondage. Jews were not required to make this offering at the Temple, but that is where Mary and Joseph did it. Read Exodus 13: 1-2, 11-16 to see the rules regarding the firstborn in the Old Testament. What does the fact that Mary and Joseph brought these offerings to the Temple tell you about them in terms of their faith? How do you think Mary and Joseph’s dedication to following the Law affected Jesus as he was growing up? As Mary was, so we are called to be. What does this passage say to you about your approach to your faith? Sometimes, when we face unexpected developments in our lives, it is easy to fall away from the regular routines that we might otherwise stick with, including church attendance and religious observances. How is Mary’s approach toward these practices an example to us of how to live out our faith in uncertain times? Take a step back and consider this: Mary faces a great deal of uncertainty as she ponders what the angels are saying about her son. The angel she encountered directly, at the Annunciation, told her that her son would be given the throne of David and would rule over the house of Jacob forever (Luke 1:32-33), yet his birth did not look like a royal birth in an earthly sense: no palace, no royal attendants, no heralds proclaiming the birth to the people in the countryside. Angels declared to nearby shepherds that he was a savior and Messiah, but no one cared enough to provide them a proper room for the delivery. We face uncertainties too. We might ask in faith for something we know is a good thing, and not receive it. We might pray for someone for decades and not see the outcome we desire. We might seek to be freed from a habitual sin and find it still lurking years later. And yet God has assured us that he never forsakes us. We might summarize this experience of life by saying that life is not always easy, but God says things are not always as they seem. There is more going on than we can see. Mary lives with the uncertainty and keeps doing what people of faith do, while keeps pondering, and treasuring, and trusting. How can you, like Mary, keep trusting God for what lies ahead, even when what is happening now is not what you might have liked? What attitudes and practices can you embrace that Mary has shown? Bibliography See Mary - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/mary/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 Mary List Next