Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Remember the Past: Matthew 15:32-39

Published October 28, 2026 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 15:32-39 (NLT)

³² Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”

³³ The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”

³⁴ Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”

They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”

³⁵ So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.

³⁷ They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. ³⁸ There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. ³⁹ Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.

Read Matthew 15:32-39 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

In this journal entry, we will be looking at a significant miracle that Jesus performed, but in a slightly different way than how it is usually looked at. Matthew 15:32-39 tells us of the parable where Jesus fed the crowd with seven loaves of bread and some small fish. What is amazing to me is how the disciples respond to Jesus after this event had happened before (Matthew 14:13-21), by saying “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?” (v. 33)

This frames the big thought I had while reading this passage: Too often, our past successes and victories are minimized or forgotten in light of today’s problems.

Jesus previously performed the miracle that was even more miraculous (5 loaves + 2 fish = 5000 men vs. 7 loaves + a few fish = 4000 men), but for some reason, the disciples had minimized the past miracles in light of the present problem.

Do we fall into this trap in our own lives today? Are we forgetting everything that God has brought us through and doubt that he has a plan leading us forward?

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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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.

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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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