Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

One Sin Stands Apart: Matthew 12:22-37

Published October 27, 2026 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 12:22-37 (CEV)

²²Some people brought to Jesus a man who was blind and could not talk because he had a demon in him. Jesus healed the man, and then he was able to talk and see. ²³The crowds were so amazed that they asked, “Could Jesus be the Son of David?”

²⁴When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “He forces out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons!”

²⁵Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said to them:

Any kingdom where people fight each other will end up ruined. And a town or family that fights will soon destroy itself. ²⁶So if Satan fights against himself, how can his kingdom last? ²⁷If I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons, whose power do your own followers use to force them out? Your followers are the ones who will judge you. ²⁸But when I force out demons by the power of God’s Spirit, it proves that God’s kingdom has already come to you. ²⁹How can anyone break into a strong man’s house and steal his things, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can take everything.

³⁰If you are not on my side, you are against me. If you don’t gather in the harvest with me, you scatter it. ^31-32I tell you that any sinful thing you do or say can be forgiven. Even if you speak against the Son of Man, you can be forgiven. But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven, either in this life or in the life to come.

³³A good tree produces only good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. You can tell what a tree is like by the fruit it produces. ³⁴You are a bunch of evil snakes, so how can you say anything good? Your words show what is in your hearts. ³⁵Good people bring good things out of their hearts, but evil people bring evil things out of their hearts. ³⁶I promise you that on the day of judgment, everyone will have to account for every careless word they have spoken. ³⁷On that day they will be told that they are either innocent or guilty because of the things they have said.

Read Matthew 12:22-37 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Of all the challenging concepts we can look at in Jesus’ teaching, one concept stands out in my mind as probably the most challenging of all. Of all the warnings Jesus ever gave, one seems to top the list of being the most significant. And this concept and warning are included in this passage.

In this passage, Jesus shares something we can never be forgiven for, and this seems very odd or backwards for a God who loves each of us so much that He would come and die for us while we were actively sinning against Him.

But in three verses of our passage, Jesus shares a startling truth about something that we cannot be forgiven for. Jesus says, “If you are not on my side, you are against me. If you don’t gather in the harvest with me, you scatter it. I tell you that any sinful thing you do or say can be forgiven. Even if you speak against the Son of Man, you can be forgiven. But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven, either in this life or in the life to come.” (v. 30-32)

Like I opened by saying, the extreme nature of this warning makes it one that we all should pay attention to. If there is something we can do that we will never be forgiven for, it would be worth us discovering what it is so that we can avoid even coming close to it.

In this passage, we see two clear sides: Those who are on Jesus’ side, gathering in the harvest; and those who are against Him, who are not gathering the harvest – making them part of a group that scatters it.

And immediately after setting the stage Jesus says, “any sinful thing you do or say can be forgiven. Even if you speak against the Son of Man, you can be forgiven.” The side we are on is not set in stone. We are free to choose to move away from Jesus like we are free to move towards Him. Jesus starts by saying that there is nothing we can do or say that cannot be forgiven. Even the Pilate, the crowd demanding crucifixion, the chief priests, and everyone else involved in Jesus’ death is eligible to be forgiven.

But Mark’s gospel shares with us why Jesus said this: “Jesus said this because the people were saying that he had an evil spirit in him.” (Mark 3:30)

Mark helps us frame Jesus’ statement, and it gives a clear direction for us to understand what Jesus is warning here. Jesus is pointing us to be careful about discounting what God is doing in people’s lives. Sure we can discount Jesus, and many people do, but if we are skeptical of the Holy Spirit and how He is moving in people’s lives, we are unlikely to accept Him moving in our own life. Without the Holy Spirit to draw us to Jesus, we can never be saved.

Any word we say or action we do can be forgiven, but if we place ourselves on the opposite side of the Holy Spirit, we can never be forgiven because we will have ultimately rejected God and His Spirit drawing us to repent. By rejecting the Holy Spirit, we are rejecting the only thing that can draw us to realize our need for God.

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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Flashback Episode — The Gift of a Son: John 19:25-27

Published October 26, 2026 in Audio Journal Entries

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As John describes the time Jesus spent on the cross, he includes a unique detail that draws our attention onto a situation that none of us would want to face. While Jesus is hanging on the cross, John draws our attention onto some women standing near the cross who were close to Jesus, including Jesus’ own mother.

While I believe other gospel writers might include this detail in passing, John draws attention onto it in his gospel because he focuses on a message Jesus shares with His mother, and a disciple who was standing there as well. While the gospel does not name this disciple as John, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that this disciple was John, James’ brother, and one of Jesus’ inner circle of three disciples.

Let’s read these few verses and draw out some things we can learn from what happened. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 19, and we will read it using the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 25, John tells us that:

²⁵Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” ²⁷and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

In these few verses, we discover an amazing picture of Jesus. In these verses, we discover that while Jesus is in unimaginable pain, the focus He has is not on Himself, but on those who are around Him.

In this particular case, Jesus looks down from the cross and He sees His mother, and a disciple that Jesus knows will live longer than Mary. I suspect that Mary would have been at least 25 years older than John, and with life expectancies in that era being shorter than they are today, I suspect that Mary may have passed away within a decade or two following Jesus’ return to heaven.

While we don’t know the details surrounding how long John cared for Mary in his home, I don’t have any reason to doubt that John protected Mary after Jesus was gone.

Reading this event prompts me to ask the question about why Mary wouldn’t have been cared for by Jesus’ brothers or sisters. Earlier in John’s gospel, we see Jesus spending time with His brothers before they leave for a festival without Jesus, and other gospels have Jesus’ mother, brothers, and sisters arriving one day with a message for Jesus while He is preaching.

There is no doubt that Jesus had siblings, but this detail in John’s gospel makes me wonder why John would need to adopt Mary. We might not ever have answers for this question on this side of heaven, but I suspect that Jesus knew what He was asking, and John accepted Jesus’ request to care for Mary.

I wonder too if this request was for Mary as well. I cannot begin to imagine what it would be like to lose one of my children, or to watch them die while I cannot stop it. I also do not want to ever experience this or anything even remotely like this. In Jesus’ death, Mary experiences more pain than most people ever would, and I wonder if Jesus connecting Mary with John was a way Mary could continue forward in life with someone who was close to Jesus and who may have been able to remind her of Him.

In Jesus’ death, the prophecy that Simeon shared with Mary came to pass as well. In Luke’s gospel, chapter 2, verses 34 and 35, Simeon tells Mary, “This child [referring to Jesus] is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel. And to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

That last phrase in Simeon’s prophecy came true when Jesus hung on the cross. I wouldn’t doubt that Mary felt like a sword had pierced her soul as she looked up at the face of her Son dying on the cross. I wonder if Jesus’ gift of John was able to help her move forward following this event.

While Jesus would be raised to life the following Sunday, Jesus’ resurrection didn’t really return Jesus to Mary. Instead, Jesus’ resurrection simply was a precursor to Jesus ascending to heaven and not being seen any more. Jesus connecting Mary and John while hanging on the cross was significant because Jesus would no longer be around even if He wasn’t to remain dead.

Regardless of how John and Mary moved forward after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, I am amazed at the darkest part of history, while Jesus was hanging on the cross, He focused on others. While both criminals hanging on crosses with Jesus focused on themselves, and while the soldiers focused on what they could get or win from the death of these three men, Jesus cleanly focused on others till His last breath. Jesus offered forgiveness, and Jesus kept His mind focused on accomplishing the mission that was set before Him.

The cross demonstrates God’s love for us, and everything Jesus does while on the cross helps show this love. Jesus faced the cross for you and for me, and because Jesus faced the cross, paying a debt He did not owe, we can experience a life we don’t deserve when we accept His gift of His perfect life in exchange for ours. When we accept Jesus’ life, we must give up our sinful, sin-stained lives, and step forward with the new life that God gives us. Accepting Jesus’ gift can be done in an instant, but the effects of this decision are seen for the rest of our lives on this earth, and for the rest of eternity with God!

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 choose to place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus. Accept the gift of Jesus’ life in exchange for yours and live each day with Jesus’ life shining through the experiences you face as we move together towards eternity.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Through prayer and Bible study, discover just how much God loves you and what He was willing to go through to make a way available for you to be saved!

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 abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Flashback Episode: Year in John – Episode 43: While Jesus is hanging on the cross, John’s gospel draws our attention onto an interesting conversation Jesus has with His mother, and one of His disciples. While this conversation is short, it is amazingly powerful when we stop to look closer at it.

Ignoring the Critics: Luke 7:18-35

Published October 23, 2026 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 7:18-35 (NCV)

¹⁸John’s followers told him about all these things. He called for two of his followers ¹⁹and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the One who is to come, or should we wait for someone else?”

²⁰When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you with this question: ‘Are you the One who is to come, or should we wait for someone else?’”

²¹At that time, Jesus healed many people of their sicknesses, diseases, and evil spirits, and he gave sight to many blind people. ²²Then Jesus answered John’s followers, “Go tell John what you saw and heard here. The blind can see, the crippled can walk, and people with skin diseases are healed. The deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor. ²³Those who do not stumble in their faith because of me are blessed!”

²⁴When John’s followers left, Jesus began talking to the people about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed blown by the wind? ²⁵What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, people who have fine clothes and much wealth live in kings’ palaces. ²⁶But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, and I tell you, John is more than a prophet. ²⁷This was written about him:

‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare the way for you.’

²⁸I tell you, John is greater than any other person ever born, but even the least important person in the kingdom of God is greater than John.”

²⁹(When the people, including the tax collectors, heard this, they all agreed that God’s teaching was good, because they had been baptized by John. ³⁰But the Pharisees and experts on the law refused to accept God’s plan for themselves; they did not let John baptize them.)

³¹Then Jesus said, “What shall I say about the people of this time? What are they like? ³²They are like children sitting in the marketplace, calling to one another and saying,

‘We played music for you, but you did not dance;
we sang a sad song, but you did not cry.’

³³John the Baptist came and did not eat bread or drink wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon in him.’ ³⁴The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! He eats too much and drinks too much wine, and he is a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵But wisdom is proved to be right by what it does.”

Read Luke 7:18-35 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

At the close of Jesus sharing His thoughts on John the Baptist, He makes an interesting observation that is surprisingly relevant for us living today.

Verses 31-35 share Jesus big idea:

Then Jesus said, “What shall I say about the people of this time? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace, calling to one another and saying,

‘We played music for you, but you did not dance;
we sang a sad song, but you did not cry.’

John the Baptist came and did not eat bread or drink wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon in him.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! He eats too much and drinks too much wine, and he is a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is proved to be right by what it does.”

In these verses, Jesus basically describes a group of people who are engaged with what is happening around them who are getting no reaction from others who are too busy to pay attention to the world around them. If there is reason to celebrate, these people ignore or discount the celebration and don’t join in; and if there is reason to be sad, these people ignore that as well, and simply go on with their lives.

This is strikingly similar to today. In today’s connected culture, there are people who are giving reasons to celebrate and reasons to cry all the time. It has gotten to the point that many people give up and simply disconnect – which in many ways is not a bad thing.

However, disconnecting from the superficial relationships online is not the same as disconnecting from the real relationships offline, and while offline, we should remain connected with others.

Jesus shares His big point immediately following this that says there will always be people who discount someone based on what they do or don’t do. People discounted John because he lived apart from society, while these same people discounted Jesus because He lived incorporated into society. For some people, there is no happy middle. For some people, they will always find something negative to say.

Jesus didn’t come for those people. He came to help the people who were willing to accept Him. If Jesus lived in such a way that not everyone agreed with His decisions and ministry, who are we to think that our ministries should be relevant and/or agree with everyone? If Jesus couldn’t please everyone, there is no way you or I will be able to.

Instead, like Jesus, we should focus on the people God brings our way, and ignore those who are going to ignore or discount us.

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Clothing Fit for a King: Matthew 22:1-14

Published October 22, 2026 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we are nearing the end of Jesus’ parables, we come to one of His most challenging parables, which He shared during the week leading up to His crucifixion. In this two-part parable, the first part contains great news, while the second part contains a pretty significant warning. Most Christians living today would prefer to focus only on the first portion of this parable and skim or skip over the second half, but the downside to ignoring the second half of Jesus’ parable is that we might end up missing out on the benefits we see included in the first half.

The parable we are talking about in this episode is the parable of the wedding banquet. We can find this parable in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 22, and we will read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, Matthew tells us that:

¹Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ²“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁵“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

⁸“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

Let’s pause reading here because we just finished the first half of the parable. In many ways, this is a great place to end this parable, because the wedding hall is now full of guests, and the king has people to celebrate with him at the wedding of his son.

The big theme in this first half of Jesus’ parable is that regardless of your past, you are invited to the God’s wedding banquet. The king’s servants gathered anyone and everyone willing to come, and all that is necessary to gain entrance into this wedding feast is for us to accept the invitation.

This is incredible news, because it means that our past, regardless of how bad it is, does not exclude us from being given an invitation. We can thank the original invitees and their refusal to accept their invitation for this amazing opportunity and gift.

However, while it is very tempting to stop reading here, Jesus continues sharing the second half of this parable, and this second half of the parable sounds almost the exact opposite of the first half.

Continuing in verse 11, Jesus then told those present:

¹¹“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹²He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

¹³“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

¹⁴“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

In the last verses of this parable, what had been an open invitation to everyone becomes an opportunity for the king to throw someone out who wasn’t dressed appropriately. On the surface, this sounds incredibly harsh and it runs completely opposite of the loving God we see pictured in the first half of this parable.

However, when we begin looking a little closer at this parable’s details, an interesting secondary gift begins to come into view, and this secondary gift is probably more important than the first gift of an invitation.

Here’s the details we should pay attention to in order to discover this second gift.

First, the wedding banquet is fully ready. The king had invited and reminded the original invitees at least twice of the banquet’s readiness. The food was already prepared and there wasn’t much time left before the food would start becoming dry and/or stale before going bad.

This all sets the stage for the last minute invitees. Those who the king’s servants invite at the last minute don’t have time to go home to get ready for the banquet. The banquet is already ready and waiting, and any delay doesn’t benefit anyone involved.

The second detail we should pay attention to is that none of the last minute invitees would have woken up that morning thinking they would be receiving an invitation for a banquet. None of the last minute invitees began their day preparing to be invited to the king’s banquet. They all would have gotten dressed for a normal day’s set of activities and unless going to banquets was what they normally would have done each day, which is unlikely, any wedding clothing they had would have stayed in their closets.

These details together form the interesting truth that none of those who were invited at the last minute would have had wedding clothing when they received the invitation. However, when the king comes in for the second half of the parable, everyone except for one person is wearing wedding clothing.

The only way for the two halves of this parable to fit together is if when the last minute invitees arrived, they were given a second gift of wedding clothing. The first gift is the invitation when they had done nothing to deserve it. The second gift is wedding clothing fit for the king.

If the king has given everyone present two gifts, specifically an invitation into the banquet and clothing to wear while present at the banquet, then the king can arrive for the second half of the event and get upset at someone who obviously accepted the first gift of an invitation, but who declined the second gift of clothing.

In this parable, we see two gifts being offered freely to people who do not deserve them. We love focusing on the invitation, because it is inclusive and available to everyone. However, we should not neglect the second gift of the king’s wedding clothing, because without it, we will lose out on the rewards that come from accepting the invitation because we will be thrown out.

What do the wedding clothes in this parable represent?

In my own study, I believe the wedding clothes represent the righteous deeds that God’s people do. More specifically, I believe the wedding clothes represent the singular righteous deed that Christ did on our behalf. When we accept the gift of wedding clothing, we are accepting Jesus into our hearts and we ask Him to transform our lives into being a reflection of His.

Accepting the invitation can be done in an instant, but letting Jesus put His wedding clothing on you in order to transform your character into His takes closer to a lifetime. We don’t earn salvation when we put on Jesus’ character. Instead, we acknowledge that we need His character in our hearts and lives in order to be the people God created us to be!

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

As I always challenge you to do, continue seeking God first in your life and choose to accept both free gifts. Accept God’s invitation to the wedding banquet and also accept God’s gift of wedding clothing that represents Jesus’ character. Don’t accept one gift while believing the other one is not necessary. Both gifts are needed to enjoy the King’s banquet.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself because prayer and study are the best ways that I have found to open my heart to God and let Him transform me with the gift of wedding clothing. In order to fully have Jesus’ character in our hearts and lives, it helps if we actually know what Jesus was like and how Jesus lived. Prayer-filled Bible study helps us learn who Jesus really is!

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 walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Year of Parables – Episode 43: In one of His most ominous parables, Jesus shares two gifts that His people need to be able to fully enjoy the wedding banquet He is planning. The first gift gets us in, while the second gift keeps us from being thrown out. Discover what these two gifts are and how we can accept both of them, so we can enjoy the wedding feast!

Join the discussion. Share your thoughts on this passage.