Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Blinded By Grief: John 20:11-18

Published February 18, 2026 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 20:11-18 (GNT)

¹¹Mary stood crying outside the tomb. While she was still crying, she bent over and looked in the tomb ¹²and saw two angels there dressed in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head and the other at the feet. ¹³“Woman, why are you crying?” they asked her.

She answered, “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him!”

¹⁴Then she turned around and saw Jesus standing there; but she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵“Woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who is it that you are looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener, so she said to him, “If you took him away, sir, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”

¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

She turned toward him and said in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (This means “Teacher.”)

¹⁷“Do not hold on to me,” Jesus told her, “because I have not yet gone back up to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them that I am returning to him who is my Father and their Father, my God and their God.”

¹⁸So Mary Magdalene went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and related to them what he had told her.

Read John 20:11-18 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

During the weekend of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, we find an interesting event in John’s gospel that centers on Mary Magdalene looking for Jesus. Early on resurrection morning, she had come to the tomb, saw the stone rolled away, ran to get the disciples, and had come back with the disciples to confirm the empty tomb. However, after the disciples see for themselves that the tomb was empty, they leave to confirm Mary’s story to the rest of the disciples.

But Mary stayed in the garden crying. “While she was still crying, she bent over and looked in the tomb and saw two angels there dressed in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head and the other at the feet. “Woman, why are you crying?” they asked her.” (v. 11-13a)

To those who know the whole story of what happened, the reality that any of Jesus’ followers cried is amazing. The angels know that Jesus had risen from the dead, and on several occasions, Jesus even tried to tell the disciples what was going to happen.

But all the predictions Jesus tried to give His followers fell on deaf ears. His followers were not able to understand what Jesus was trying to tell them.

Mary was among those who believed Jesus was dead. She responds to the angels by saying, “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him!” (v. 13b)

Then looking up, she sees a person standing near her. This person asks the exact same question as the angels, “Woman, why are you crying?” (v. 15a)

John tells us that while Mary believes this person is the gardener, she is actually talking to Jesus Himself. Part of me wonders if Jesus’ appearance had changed significantly enough that she couldn’t recognize Him, or perhaps Jesus looked the same, but Mary’s belief that Jesus had died blinded her from recognizing Him at first.

It is only after Jesus says her name that He breaks through her grief. If this person was the gardener, there would be no way he could have known her name. But perhaps the way Jesus says her name is familiar enough for her to open her mind to the possibility that Jesus is standing there in front of her.

This event is amazing to me because it tells us that even when we are in our darkest moments of sorrow, and even when we cannot recognize it at first, Jesus is right there with us in our grief. We might not recognize Him, but if we are open to letting Him speak to us, He will bring life back into our hearts.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Making Our Worship Useful: Mark 7:1-23

Published February 17, 2026 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Mark 7:1-23 (CEV)

¹Some Pharisees and several teachers of the Law of Moses from Jerusalem came and gathered around Jesus. ²They noticed that some of his disciples ate without first washing their hands.

³The Pharisees and many other Jewish people obey the teachings of their ancestors. They always wash their hands in the proper way before eating. ⁴None of them will eat anything they buy in the market until it is washed. They also follow a lot of other teachings, such as washing cups, pitchers, and bowls.

⁵The Pharisees and teachers asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples obey what our ancestors taught us to do? Why do they eat without washing their hands?”

⁶Jesus replied:

You are nothing but show-offs! The prophet Isaiah was right when he wrote that God had said,

“All of you praise me
    with your words,
but you never really
    think about me.
⁷It is useless for you
    to worship me,
when you teach rules
    made up by humans.”

⁸You disobey God’s commands in order to obey what humans have taught. ⁹You are good at rejecting God’s commands so that you can follow your own teachings! ¹⁰Didn’t Moses command you to respect your father and mother? Didn’t he tell you to put to death all who curse their parents? ¹¹But you let people get by without helping their parents when they should. You let them say that what they own has been offered to God. ¹²You won’t let those people help their parents. ¹³And you ignore God’s commands in order to follow your own teaching. You do a lot of other things that are just as bad.

¹⁴Jesus called the crowd together again and said, “Pay attention and try to understand what I mean. ^15-16The food that you put into your mouth doesn’t make you unclean and unfit to worship God. The bad words that come out of your mouth are what make you unclean.”

¹⁷After Jesus and his disciples had left the crowd and had gone into the house, they asked him what these sayings meant. ¹⁸He answered, “Don’t you know what I am talking about by now? You surely know that the food you put into your mouth cannot make you unclean. ¹⁹It doesn’t go into your heart, but into your stomach, and then out of your body.” By saying this, Jesus meant that all foods were fit to eat.

²⁰Then Jesus said:

What comes from your heart is what makes you unclean. ²¹Out of your heart come evil thoughts, vulgar deeds, stealing, murder, ²²unfaithfulness in marriage, greed, meanness, deceit, indecency, envy, insults, pride, and foolishness. ²³All of these come from your heart, and they are what make you unfit to worship God.

Read Mark 7:1-23 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Part of me wonders if Jesus ever got tired of the Pharisees and other religious leaders challenging Him about things He and His followers did or did not do. While many times, the Pharisees are upset for something that is done that they don’t feel is right, we can learn something powerful in Jesus’ response during one of the times they challenged Jesus’ disciples over what they did not do.

In this event, the Pharisees challenge Jesus’ followers over not washing their hands before they eat. While a rule about washing one’s hands seems very petty while also being sanitary, the Pharisees had taken this health instruction and made it into a spiritual requirement.

Jesus’ response to their challenge may seem to go overboard, but instead of simply answering the question that is on the surface, Jesus challenges the foundation that had prompted the question. He even quotes from the prophet Isaiah who said:

“All of you praise me
    with your words,
but you never really
    think about me.
It is useless for you
    to worship me,
when you teach rules
    made up by humans.” (v. 6-7 [Isaiah 29:13])

Jesus then goes on to describe some of the ways these religious people had elevated their rules over God’s laws. However, Isaiah’s words, and his description of the people, are what stand out to me.

Isaiah describes a group of people who praise God with their words, but they really don’t think about what they are doing. While Jesus takes Isaiah’s description and applies it to people in the first century, I wonder if the same could be said for many of those living today.

The phrase that stands out in Isaiah’s description is when He quotes God saying, “It is useless for you to worship me”. When we look at how this quote is structured the uselessness of these people’s worship is connected to the fact that they are not thinking about God.

Why is this?

The opening and closing phrases tell us. The people talk a good talk, but their actions tell a different message. Their thoughts are on things that are not aligned with God, which makes their worship useless.

This passage emphasizes and reminds me that talk is cheap, but when our thoughts, words, and actions are aligned together, then our worship to God will be useful, meaningful, and beneficial for both God and us.

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Flashback Episode — Avoiding Apathy: John 3:23-36

Published February 16, 2026 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we continue moving further into John’s gospel, John the author turns His attention back onto John the Baptist, Jesus’ forerunner in ministry. In this short event, John the Baptist says some amazing things about his ministry pointing people to Jesus, and he gives a profound summary statement regarding eternal life that is worth paying attention to.

Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 3, and we will be reading from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 23, John tells us in his gospel that:

²³John [the Baptist] was also baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People were going there to be baptized. ²⁴(This was before John was put into prison.)

²⁵Some of John’s followers had an argument with a Jew about religious washing. ²⁶So they came to John and said, “Teacher, remember the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you spoke about so much? He is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

²⁷John answered, “A man can get only what God gives him. ²⁸You yourselves heard me say, ‘I am not the Christ, but I am the one sent to prepare the way for him.’ ²⁹The bride belongs only to the bridegroom. But the friend who helps the bridegroom stands by and listens to him. He is thrilled that he gets to hear the bridegroom’s voice. In the same way, I am really happy. ³⁰He must become greater, and I must become less important.

³¹“The One who comes from above is greater than all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and talks about things on the earth. But the One who comes from heaven is greater than all. ³²He tells what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts what he says. ³³Whoever accepts what he says has proven that God is true. ³⁴The One whom God sent speaks the words of God, because God gives him the Spirit fully. ³⁵The Father loves the Son and has given him power over everything. ³⁶Those who believe in the Son have eternal life, but those who do not obey the Son will never have life. God’s anger stays on them.”

In this passage, as we read it together, a couple of ideas jumped out of these verses at me.

First, the way John the Baptist opens his reply about Jesus taking his followers is amazing. The way John the Baptist frames his ministry in relation to Jesus’ ministry is powerful. John knows that his ministry is entirely preparing people for Jesus, and when Jesus steps into the public eye, John wants people to pay more attention to Jesus than to him. In the first portion of his reply, John says: “A man can get only what God gives him. You yourselves heard me say, ‘I am not the Christ, but I am the one sent to prepare the way for him.’ … He must become greater, and I must become less important.” (verses 27-28, 30)

This is powerful in my mind because it tells me John knew His ministry and influence would shrink as Jesus’ ministry and influence grew. John understood His role as forerunner for Jesus, and he humbly accepts that his time in the spotlight would fade as Jesus becomes more famous. It is also interesting to note that we read about a brief period of time when Jesus and John the Baptist were both baptizing people, and that this happened prior to John the Baptist being thrown into jail.

Part of me wonders if God let John be thrown in jail to symbolize or simply mark the end of John’s ministry in an attempt to help push John’s followers over to Jesus. From how John describes his ministry, John is clear that he is not the Messiah, or the Christ, but that he was sent to point people to the Messiah. Even while not saying it directly in this passage, John focuses attention onto the detail that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, who God had sent into the world.

However, in the second portion of John’s response, another idea jumped off the page at me. In verse 36, John tells all his followers, “Those who believe in the Son have eternal life, but those who do not obey the Son will never have life. God’s anger stays on them.” This is a powerful statement. We discover that belief in Jesus brings eternal life, but lack of obedience forfeits eternal life.

Some might be quick to say that their preferred Bible translation does not say the word “obey”. Instead, their translation says something along the lines of: “he who does not believe the Son shall not see life”.

However, before our discussion dives into a debate about translations, the original Greek word in the first portion of this passage is different from the Greek word that is given later. The first word in our passage that is translated as “believe” has a similar but different meaning than the second word, which our passage translated as “obey”.

The first word, which is translated as “believe”, means “to be persuaded of” or “to place confidence in” which we could say is similar to trust. Trusting Jesus leads to having eternal life!

However, the second word, which our passage translated as “do not obey” has a slightly different meaning. While belief is part of its definition, it means not being persuaded, and there is a strong emphasis on the lack of belief leading to a lack of obedience. In my mind, this idea might be similar to apathy. If we are apathetic towards Jesus, and we don’t let the truth of the gospel affect our lives in visible ways, then we will never have life, much less eternal life.

Apathy towards Jesus is probably the worst thing we can do. If we say we believe Jesus, but we are apathetic towards Him, we will forfeit our salvation. Obeying Jesus does not give us eternal life, because when we obey Jesus, the focus can easily turn off of Jesus and onto how well we are obeying Him. Our salvation is not based on anything we can do or have done. We are only saved because of what Jesus accomplished for us.

When we accept Jesus’ gift and we let Him into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, we begin the process of life transformation, or as some religious people describe it: “sanctification”. When we actively move towards Jesus, we are also moving away from sin and away from disobedience. It is our change in direction that prompts us to be saved because we are trusting and believing in Jesus! We are saved when our focus and the direction of our lives is towards Jesus. We lose our salvation when we are apathetic towards Jesus or we outright reject Him.

John the Baptist understood this amazing truth before Jesus had fully stepped into the public spotlight, and his declaration about Jesus, regardless of how popular or unpopular it is, forms the foundation for Jesus’ ministry, Jesus’ life, and Jesus’ death on behalf of you and me!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and intentionally place your hope, faith, trust, and belief in Jesus and in what Jesus accomplished for us during His time here on earth. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we are offered a gift we do not deserve and a gift we cannot earn, and it is up to us whether we will accept this gift, even if it is unpopular, or be apathetic towards both the gift and the Gift-Giver.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and discover who Jesus is, who God is, and why this matters to us living over 2,000 years after these events happened. Through the pages of the Bible, discover God’s story and let God’s story define your story as we move forward towards eternity!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or be apathetic towards where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Flashback Episode: Year in John – Episode 7: Before John’s gospel fully shifts over onto focusing on Jesus’ public ministry, John briefly touches on something John the Baptist, Jesus’ forerunner in ministry, says about the Messiah who would come after him. Discover how John’s message is powerful and why it might not be very popular, even if it is ultimately true.

The Ignorant Farmer: Mark 4:26-29

Published February 13, 2026 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Mark 4:26-29 (NIrV)

²⁶Jesus also said, “Here is what God’s kingdom is like. A farmer scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷Night and day the seed comes up and grows. It happens whether the farmer sleeps or gets up. He doesn’t know how it happens. ²⁸All by itself the soil produces grain. First the stalk comes up. Then the head appears. Finally, the full grain appears in the head. ²⁹Before long the grain ripens. So the farmer cuts it down, because the harvest is ready.”

Read Mark 4:26-29 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

One of the topics Jesus seemed to like using for parables was the topic of farming. In a number of places in the gospels, we can read Jesus using this occupation to help teach the crowds about spiritual truths. In Mark’s gospel, we read a parable about farming that sounds similar to other farming parables, but is also pretty unique.

In this parable, Jesus begins in verse 26 by saying, “Here is what God’s kingdom is like.” This preface tells me that everything that is about to be described will symbolically relate to God’s kingdom. A good percentage of Jesus’ parables begin this way, so we can conclude that this subject is something that Jesus wants us to understand.

Jesus then continues by sharing the illustration. “A farmer scatters seed on the ground. Night and day the seed comes up and grows. It happens whether the farmer sleeps or gets up. He doesn’t know how it happens. All by itself the soil produces grain. First the stalk comes up. Then the head appears. Finally, the full grain appears in the head. Before long the grain ripens. So the farmer cuts it down, because the harvest is ready.” (v. 26b-29)

What strikes me as odd in this parable is that in almost every other parable were God’s kingdom is represented, God shows up as one of the characters. In this parable, the most likely character to represent God is the farmer, but Jesus describes the farmer has being ignorant about how grain grows – and since God knows everything, this doesn’t seem to fit.

But perhaps there is an element of mystery in a being created with free will. While God can step outside of time and see the future and the past, when He is within time, in the moment we are experiencing right now, I wonder if He experiences surprise or excitement when we do something unexpected.

In this parable, God plants seeds in our hearts, and He tries to give the right set of circumstances to help these seeds grow. At the end of our lives, when we have fully “ripened”, God will harvest us. This is because our current life is simply a preparation stage for the life to come.

I wonder if the farmer’s ignorance is because God has chosen to allow us the freedom of choice regarding salvation. I wonder if God has purposely limited Himself to allow us to choose whether we will grow the seeds He has planted in our hearts. If we grow the grain He planted, and produce “fruits of the spirit”, then when we are ripe, we will be harvested and brought into the future life in heaven to live with Him forever!

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