Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Seize Your Opportunity: Mark 6:14-29

Published October 16, 2026 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Mark 6:14-29 (NCV)

¹⁴King Herod heard about Jesus, because he was now well known. Some people said, “He is John the Baptist, who has risen from the dead. That is why he can work these miracles.”

¹⁵Others said, “He is Elijah.”

Other people said, “Jesus is a prophet, like the prophets who lived long ago.”

¹⁶When Herod heard this, he said, “I killed John by cutting off his head. Now he has risen from the dead!”

¹⁷Herod himself had ordered his soldiers to arrest John and put him in prison in order to please his wife, Herodias. She had been the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother, but then Herod had married her. ¹⁸John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to be married to your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹So Herodias hated John and wanted to kill him. But she couldn’t, ²⁰because Herod was afraid of John and protected him. He knew John was a good and holy man. Also, though John’s preaching always bothered him, he enjoyed listening to John.

²¹Then the perfect time came for Herodias to cause John’s death. On Herod’s birthday, he gave a dinner party for the most important government leaders, the commanders of his army, and the most important people in Galilee. ²²When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and the people eating with him.

So King Herod said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I will give it to you.” ²³He promised her, “Anything you ask for I will give to you—up to half of my kingdom.”

²⁴The girl went to her mother and asked, “What should I ask for?”

Her mother answered, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist.”

²⁵At once the girl went back to the king and said to him, “I want the head of John the Baptist right now on a platter.”

²⁶Although the king was very sad, he had made a promise, and his dinner guests had heard it. So he did not want to refuse what she asked. ²⁷Immediately the king sent a soldier to bring John’s head. The soldier went and cut off John’s head in the prison ²⁸and brought it back on a platter. He gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹When John’s followers heard this, they came and got John’s body and put it in a tomb.

Read Mark 6:14-29 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Perhaps there is a little bit of skepticism in me when I read about certain events in the Bible. This skepticism is not about whether these events actually happened, and it is not skepticism that affects my belief in Jesus. It is skepticism related to how circumstantial a number of the events are in the Bible. It is wondering, “Was this a coincidence, or was God or a group of people behind setting up the details of this event to happen just like it did?”

The event in our passage is one such place. In this passage we learn about how John the Baptist’s life ends: Herod has a party and his wife’s daughter comes in and dances for the guests. The dance is so well received that Herod makes the daughter a huge, open-ended promise. The daughter consults with her mother about what to ask for before then asking for John the Baptist’s head on a platter. Herod has to keep his word in the moment over his earlier desire to not kill John.

That is a broad summary of what this passage covers, and it is a perfect place for my imagination to run wild with questions about what was going on behind the scenes. Did Herodias teach her daughter to dance in a certain way to prompt such a positive response? Did Herodias slip something into Herod’s drink to lower his judgment? Was God behind this event, or would He have preferred that John die of old age in prison?

Or was this just a set of circumstantial events that Herodias was able to see an opportunity in to get her way?

While there is no way for me to know on this side of heaven, there is something we can learn from Herodias’ actions in this passage: Whether you helped set the stage or whether circumstances create the perfect opportunity, be ready to act when the opportunity arises. But in our case, we should seize opportunities that help the lives of those around us instead of Herodias’ opportunity that resulted in a life that ended because of her.

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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Being Righteous Tenants: Mark 12:1-12

Published October 15, 2026 in Audio Journal Entries

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Coming immediately following the parable Jesus shared in our last episode about two sons, Jesus continued sharing, and Jesus keeps the vineyard theme with the next parable He shares. Similar also to the last parable is the theme that this parable was spoken as a challenge to the religious leaders.

Let’s read what Jesus shared. Our parable and passage are found in three of the four gospels, but for this episode, let’s read it from Mark’s gospel, chapter 12, using the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 1, Mark tells us:

¹Then Jesus spoke to them in parables: “Once there was a man who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to tenants and left home on a trip. ²When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent a slave to the tenants to receive from them his share of the harvest. ³The tenants grabbed the slave, beat him, and sent him back without a thing. ⁴Then the owner sent another slave; the tenants beat him over the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵The owner sent another slave, and they killed him; and they treated many others the same way, beating some and killing others. ⁶The only one left to send was the man’s own dear son. Last of all, then, he sent his son to the tenants. ‘I am sure they will respect my son,’ he said. ⁷But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the owner’s son. Come on, let’s kill him, and his property will be ours!’ ⁸So they grabbed the son and killed him and threw his body out of the vineyard.

⁹“What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do?” asked Jesus. “He will come and kill those tenants and turn the vineyard over to others. ¹⁰Surely you have read this scripture?

‘The stone which the builders rejected as worthless
turned out to be the most important of all.
¹¹This was done by the Lord;
what a wonderful sight it is!’”

¹²The Jewish leaders tried to arrest Jesus, because they knew that he had told this parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.

In this parable, as I read it now, several phrases stood out to me within Jesus’ words to those present.

The first phrase is in verse 2, where Jesus tells us that the owner sent someone to “receive from them his share of the harvest”. This phrase stands out because the owner simply is looking for his share of the harvest, because this is his vineyard. The owner is the one who planted the vineyard, and the one who built all the surrounding structures that a vineyard needs. All the tenants are asked to do is keep what the owner has already started going smoothly.

In this scenario, the owner has every right to a share of the harvest. Technically, the owner could demand all the harvest, and then simply pay the tenants for their time, and this would be completely legal because the owner is simply the owner, even if other people did every single piece of work building the vineyard and planting the grapes.

However, the way this parable is framed, the owner is a key part of starting this vineyard, and all he asks is for his portion, which is a very reasonable, rational request. But the tenants managing this vineyard don’t have any respect for the owner, because they refuse to return the owner’s portion of the harvest.

Slave after slave is sent to ask for the owner’s portion, and the managers refuse the owner’s request, abusing some and even killing others. The owner even sends his own son believing that his son will be respected, but when the tenants see the son, they decide to kill him believing that they would then become the new owners.

This leads to the second phrase that stood out in my mind. This phrase is the rhetorical question Jesus asks then answers in verse 9. Jesus asks those present: “What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and turn the vineyard over to others.”

The one thing that the tenants don’t anticipate is the owner coming and removing them by force, but that is the only option left when those who were supposed to manage what was not theirs believe and act as though the owner has given up his rights. The managers might believe they can do what they want with the owner gone, and they might believe that the owner is never returning, but both beliefs are wrong. The beliefs are shown to be wrong when the owner does show up.

When the owner shows up, he doesn’t assume management of the vineyard, but he chooses new people to manage it after the former tenants have been removed. The assumption in this parable is that the new tenants will return the owner’s portion to him unlike the previous tenants, but this is assumed and not stated. It is very rational to conclude that if the new tenants began behaving like the prior tenants, refusing to return the owner’s portion of the harvest, then the owner would remove them and move to a third, fourth, fifth, or more group of tenants.

I have heard this parable used to support the idea that after Jesus, no more prophets will be sent to God’s people. After all, the sending of slaves ends with the sending of the owner’s son. I can understand this logical conclusion, but a more accurate conclusion is that after God’s Son came and was killed, no more prophets would be sent to the Jewish nation. The whole context of this parable centers on the Jewish nation rejecting Jesus, and if we understand the slaves that the owner sent as prophets that God sent to the nation of Israel, then all this parable says is that after the nation of Israel is no longer the tenants, God will have no reason to send prophets to them.

Prophecy continuing past Jesus is also confirmed most clearly in Paul’s letters to the early churches, when he talks about spiritual gifts. Paul expected to see prophets continue, and in every list of spiritual gifts Paul shares, the gift of prophets and prophecy are included.

This parable does not state anywhere that God stops sending messengers to His people. It simply says that the messengers God sends in the future will be to those who are managing God’s vineyard.

The last phrase that stands out in my mind is the first part of Jesus’ quotation from the Old Testament. Jesus reminds those present in verse 10 that: “The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all.”

In first century culture, the two big messengers God sent were rejected as worthless by the Jewish leaders. These two big messengers were John the Baptist and Jesus. Both John and Jesus’ ministry pointed people back to God, and both of their ministries had value in God’s eyes because they both gave God the glory. However, both John and Jesus were rejected by the spiritual leaders.

Reading the reaction the Jewish leaders had to Jesus’ parable and teaching tells us that they knew exactly what Jesus meant. They knew Jesus had told the parable against them, and regardless of whether they understood all the nuances involved in the message, these leaders continued down the path of rejecting Jesus over letting the message challenge them to change their ways.

We face the same type of challenge today: Will we reject Jesus like the leaders of the first century and try to live without acknowledging God as the rightful owner of everything, or will we accept Jesus into our lives and return to God what is rightfully His?

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 and choose to acknowledge His ownership of everything in this world. Decide today to see yourself as a manager and choose to return God’s portion to Him. Returning God’s portion means more than simply returning a tithe of the money we earn. Returning God’s portion relates not only to money, but to time and talents as well.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself. Don’t take my word for anything you learn from the gospels without studying it out for yourself. While what I share are things that I have learned while studying, I would rather you discover these truths directly from the Bible, because when you open your heart and mind to God through studying the Bible, you are strengthening your relationship with Him.

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

Year of Parables – Episode 42: In the Parable of the Evil Tenants, discover what God desires from those He has entrusted to manage His vineyard, and how what God asks us to return to Him is very reasonable when compared with what He could demand and with what is actually His to begin with.

Join the discussion. Share your thoughts on this passage.

Increasing Faith: Luke 17:1-10

Published October 14, 2026 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 17:1-10 (NIV)

¹Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. ²It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. ³So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. ⁴Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

⁵The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

⁶He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

⁷“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? ⁹Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

Read Luke 17:1-10 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Coming right after Jesus talks about challenges and forgiveness, the disciples make their request. Jesus’ “answer” doesn’t really appear to be about faith at all. He initially gives a statement that a seemingly insignificant amount of faith can cause a massive impact, but then moves the focus onto obedience. Jesus doesn’t say, “Here are three steps to increase your faith,” because faith cannot be broken up into steps and milestones.

Instead growing faith moves through stages based on our obedience. The more obedient we are, the stronger our faith can become, and the more opportunity and responsibility will come our way, leading us further up the stages of faith.

“Mustard-seed-sized-faith” might begin with a declaration—a milestone moment at the beginning—but according to Jesus’ response, for our faith to grow we must be obedient to what Jesus has called us to. Obeying is much more difficult than simply thinking or talking about obeying. Obeying with our actions grows our faith!

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The Godhead in a Spiritual Challenge: Matthew 23:1-36

Published October 13, 2026 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 23:1-36 (NASB)

¹ Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; ³ therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. ⁴ They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. ⁵ But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their *I.e. small cases containing Scripture texts worn on the left arm and forehead for religious purposesphylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. ⁶ They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. ⁸ But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. ¹¹ But the greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹² Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ¹⁴ [*This v not found in early mssWoe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ ¹⁷ You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? ¹⁸ And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’ ¹⁹ You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? ²⁰ Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. ²¹ And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. ²² And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. ³³ You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

³⁴ “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Read Matthew 23:1-36 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

While we can find Jesus warning the crowds regarding the scribes and Pharisees in three of the four gospels, only Matthew’s gospel really expands on what Jesus disliked about this group of people. Matthew dedicates almost an entire chapter to sharing Jesus’ strong words towards those who claimed to represent God.

Early on in this section full of cautions, Jesus sets up a contrast between the religious leaders, and what He wants from His followers. Jesus describes the scribes and Pharisees to the people by saying, “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” (v. 6-12)

In this section, Jesus describes the hierarchy that the religious leaders had set up to elevate themselves over the rest of the people, and He dismantles it by comparing it to what God truly wants from us.

But in these few verses, we see each member of the Godhead represented.

“But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.” – This section points us towards the Holy Spirit, who will teach and guide us into God’s truth.
“Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.” – This section points us towards God the Father, who is our Creator and Provider.
“Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.” – This section points us towards Jesus Himself, who is our Leader and our perfect Example.

To wrap up this section, Jesus describes what our response should be when we see others setting up a hierarchy. Instead of focusing on climbing upwards, Jesus says, “But the greatest among you shall be your servant.” (v. 11)

Jesus then shares a broad principle that we should remember, “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” (v. 12)

In these verses, we are challenged to place each member of the Godhead in the appropriate place of our lives, and we are taught that humility is God’s path towards greatness. Jesus lived this truth during His years on earth, and He challenges us to live as He lived – humbly placing God first and walking with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

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