Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Faithful Servants for God: Matthew 24:45-51

Published November 5, 2026 in Audio Journal Entries

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As Jesus shares the final group of parables leading up to His betrayal and arrest, He decides to focus a good portion of the time on challenging the disciples, and really all of His followers who would come afterwards, to stay faithful and to be wise. To help illustrate this, Jesus shares a brief parable that describes what it looks like to be a faithful and wise servant, and Jesus contrasts this with a servant who would be considered evil.

Let’s read this parable and focus in on some things we can learn from it. Our parable and passage are found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 24, and we will read from the Contemporary English Version. Starting in verse 45, Jesus asks His followers the question:

⁴⁵Who are faithful and wise servants? Who are the ones the master will put in charge of giving the other servants their food supplies at the proper time? ⁴⁶Servants are fortunate if their master comes and finds them doing their job. ⁴⁷You may be sure that a servant who is always faithful will be put in charge of everything the master owns. ⁴⁸But suppose one of the servants thinks that the master won’t return until late. ⁴⁹Suppose that evil servant starts beating the other servants and eats and drinks with people who are drunk. ⁵⁰If that happens, the master will surely come on a day and at a time when the servant least expects him. ⁵¹That servant will then be punished and thrown out with the ones who only pretended to serve their master. There they will cry and grit their teeth in pain.

In this parable, we see a clear contrast between the faithful, wise servants and the evil servant.

This parable points out that the faithful servants are the ones who do their jobs when the master is present and when the master is away. A servant who the master can count on to do the tasks set before them is one the master sees as faithful and wise. A servant who the master can trust is a servant who is ultimately given more responsibilities.

In contrast, evil servants are those who neglect their responsibilities and they pull other servants down to their level. The passage lists abuse and drinking among the behaviors of these evil servants. While I don’t believe drinking is a sin, I also don’t believe drinking is necessarily a wise activity. While drinking has research indicating there may be a little health benefit to doing so, that benefit is grossly outweighed by the risks involved. Wisdom involves weighing the benefits and the risks and making the best, long-term choice possible.

We could summarize the distinction between the wise and evil servants by saying that wise, faithful servants help the other servants, while evil servants hurt the other servants. The wise servants build the other servants up, while the evil servants pull the other servants down.

However, while this parable makes this distinction between the wise and evil servants, the biggest distinction between the wise and the foolish servants has to do with what the servant believes about the master.

In this parable, the key determining factor for a servant who is evil is one that assumes they know when the master will arrive, and they decide to try to get away with what they think they can while the master is not present. This would be like children behaving badly while their parents are not around. If a servant’s attitude is one that only behaves a certain way when the master is present, that servant is on the wrong path, because sooner or later, the truth will come to light and the servant will be caught doing wrong.

With the details Jesus shares in this parable, the wise, faithful servants cannot be caught off guard by the master’s arrival, because everything they are doing is exactly what they would want to be doing when the master arrives. The only servant in this parable who can be surprised by the master’s arrival is the evil servant who assumed the master would return much later than he did.

In this parable, we discover an amazing metaphor and contrast that describes how people living today view God’s return. In the world today, there are many people who believe Jesus is returning, many people who believe that God doesn’t exist, many people who believe that God has abandoned us, and many people who are too distracted or busy to think one way or another.

Those who believe Jesus is returning have two choices: They can live in a way that they would be happy to be caught doing when Jesus arrives, or they can assume Jesus’ return is at a distant point in the future and they can live as they please today.

When reading this parable, I don’t believe that this was geared at everyone on the planet as much as it is geared towards God’s own followers. People who don’t care about God or who don’t think He exists or cares about us are not going to consider themselves as His servants. Instead, God’s servants are those who call themselves Christians, followers of Jesus, believers, or any of the dozens of names that we use to set ourselves apart from those who do not care about God.

With the understanding that Jesus is speaking to His followers, will we trust that He is returning and live our lives in a way that we would be pleased to be caught doing? Or will we live in a way that sees what we can get away with since Jesus it is most likely that Jesus’ return is not today, or even tomorrow?

The choice is ours. However, remember that only those who live in a way that assumes Jesus’ return a long ways away will be surprised when He arrives. Those who live obedient lives will welcome Jesus’ return when it ultimately does happen. Those living obediently even want Jesus’ return to be that much sooner. We are ready to go home, and we are ready to live in a world without sin!

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

As always, continue to seek God first in your life and choose to live in a way that you know God would be proud of. Choose to live your life in a way that you would be pleased to be caught living, because when Jesus does return, the only people who are caught off guard will be those who believed Jesus’ return would be much later.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow personally closer to God each and every day. A close, personal relationship with God will keep your life grounded and aligned with God’s will and a personal relationship with God is the best way to know you are living for God and being a great representative of His. Prayer and Bible study are the best tools to use when building a foundation for a great spiritual walk with God.

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

Year of Parables – Episode 45: In what seems like a dark parable that contrasts wise, faithful servants, with evil ones, discover how Jesus has challenged His followers to live, and how we can live in a way we would be happy being caught living when Jesus does return!

Join the discussion. Share your thoughts on this passage.

Not All Are Equal: Luke 19:11-27

Published November 4, 2026 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 19:11-27 (NIrV)

¹¹ While the people were listening to these things, Jesus told them a story. He was near Jerusalem. The people thought that God’s kingdom was going to appear right away.

¹² Jesus said, “A man from an important family went to a country far away. He went there to be made king and then return home. ¹³ So he sent for ten of his servants. He gave them each about three months’ pay. ‘Put this money to work until I come back,’ he said.

¹⁴ “But those he ruled over hated him. They sent some messengers after him. They were sent to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

¹⁵ “But he was made king and returned home. Then he sent for the servants he had given the money to. He wanted to find out what they had earned with it.

¹⁶ “The first one came to him. He said, ‘Sir, your money has earned ten times as much.’

¹⁷ “ ‘You have done well, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘You have been faithful in a very small matter. So I will put you in charge of ten towns.’

¹⁸ “The second servant came to his master. He said, ‘Sir, your money has earned five times as much.’

¹⁹ “His master answered, ‘I will put you in charge of five towns.’

²⁰ “Then another servant came. He said, ‘Sir, here is your money. I have kept it hidden in a piece of cloth. ²¹ I was afraid of you. You are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in. You harvest what you did not plant.’

²² “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you evil servant! So you knew that I am a hard man? You knew that I take out what I did not put in? You knew that I harvest what I did not plant? ²³ Then why didn’t you put my money in the bank? When I came back, I could have collected it with interest.’

²⁴ “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his money away from him. Give it to the one who has ten times as much.’

²⁵ “ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten times as much!’

²⁶ “He replied, ‘I tell you that everyone who has will be given more. But here is what will happen to anyone who has nothing. Even what he has will be taken away from him. ²⁷ And what about my enemies who did not want me to be king over them? Bring them here! Kill them in front of me!’ ”

Read Luke 19:11-27 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

For those of you who enjoy analytics and numbers, this journal entry will be most enjoyable and interesting for you. Luke 19:11-27 shares a lesser known version of a parable that Matthew includes, but enough details are unique that make me think that Jesus shared this parable separately to a different group of people. Most of the time, we hear Matthew’s parable, but I want to share some interesting observations from Luke’s version, specifically about the money amounts:

The master gives ten servants three months of pay each.

Cost: 10 servants x 3 months = 30 months of pay

The first servant increases his three months of pay ten times.

Return 1: 3 months pay x 10 = 30 months pay

The second servant increases his three months of pay five times.

Return 2: 3 months pay x 5 = 15 months pay

The third servant returns his three months of pay untouched.

Return 3: 3 months pay untouched = 3 months pay.

The other seven servants return nothing.

The total cost of the investment is 30 months of pay, while the total return of the investment is 48 months of pay—and the knowledge of two especially resourceful servants.

This leads us to our big idea for this entry: We should be using what God has given us to grow His kingdom, while not comparing ourselves to others.

The first two servants went about growing the money they had been given, and they are both rewarded. Perhaps they made it a competition, but maybe not. What stands out about this is the third servant’s response to the master. In it he reveals that he has compared himself with the master (and the successful servants who are like the master) and has determined that he cannot measure up, which leads him to not even try. Competition is good if it pushes all parties forward, but it is bad if it discourages people from even getting involved.

God has given us all opportunity, but he doesn’t expect equal results/increase from everyone. God does expect us to increase what He has given us, but the amount of the increase isn’t important.

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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Teaching the Outcast: John 4:1-45

Published November 3, 2026 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 4:1-45 (HCSB)

¹When Jesus knew that the Pharisees heard He was making and baptizing more disciples than John ²(though Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), ³He left Judea and went again to Galilee. ⁴He had to travel through Samaria, ⁵so He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the property that Jacob had given his son Joseph. ⁶Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, worn out from His journey, sat down at the well. It was about six in the evening.

⁷A woman of Samaria came to draw water.

“Give Me a drink,” Jesus said to her, ⁸for His disciples had gone into town to buy food.

⁹“How is it that You, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” she asked Him. For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.

¹⁰Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would ask Him, and He would give you living water.”

¹¹“Sir,” said the woman, “You don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. So where do You get this ‘living water’? ¹²You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are You? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock.”

¹³Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. ¹⁴But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again—ever! In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up within him for eternal life.”

¹⁵“Sir,” the woman said to Him, “give me this water so I won’t get thirsty and come here to draw water.”

¹⁶“Go call your husband,” He told her, “and come back here.”

¹⁷“I don’t have a husband,” she answered.

“You have correctly said, ‘I don’t have a husband,’” Jesus said. ¹⁸“For you’ve had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

¹⁹“Sir,” the woman replied, “I see that You are a prophet. ²⁰Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, yet you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”

²¹Jesus told her, “Believe Me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²²You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. ²³But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. ²⁴God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

²⁵The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”

²⁶“I am He,” Jesus told her, “the One speaking to you.”

²⁷Just then His disciples arrived, and they were amazed that He was talking with a woman. Yet no one said, “What do You want?” or “Why are You talking with her?”

²⁸Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the men, ²⁹“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could this be the Messiah?” ³⁰They left the town and made their way to Him.

³¹In the meantime the disciples kept urging Him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

³²But He said, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.”

³³The disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought Him something to eat?”

³⁴“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work,” Jesus told them. ³⁵“Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, then comes the harvest’? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ready for harvest. ³⁶The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life, so the sower and reaper can rejoice together. ³⁷For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from their labor.”

³⁹Now many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me everything I ever did.” ⁴⁰Therefore, when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed there two days. ⁴¹Many more believed because of what He said. ⁴²And they told the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.”

⁴³After two days He left there for Galilee. ⁴⁴Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. ⁴⁵When they entered Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him because they had seen everything He did in Jerusalem during the festival. For they also had gone to the festival.

Read John 4:1-45 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Probably one of the most unexpected conversations from Jesus’ life is included in John’s gospel. During a trip from Jerusalem to Galilee, Jesus and His disciples travel through Samaria, and while the disciples are running errands for Jesus, He strikes up a conversation with a Samaritan woman.

It is near the end of this conversation that I am the most surprised. After talking about the woman’s past, and about worship, the woman tells Jesus, “‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When He comes, He will explain everything to us.’” (v. 25)

Perhaps what Jesus was telling her seemed a little too unbelievable, or maybe it was simply too countercultural. So in my mind, the woman tries to shift the conversation again, and focus the conversation on her hope in the Messiah when He comes.

And to her (and my) surprise, Jesus responds, “I am He, the One speaking to you.’” (v. 26)

While Jesus can do anything He wanted to do, it seems strange for Him to come out and directly tell this Samaritan woman who He was. After all, there are numerous times in the gospels where Jesus avoids the question, where He silences demons who want to make this claim, and where He changes the subject away from focusing on that.

However, in this conversation, Jesus comes clean and tells this woman directly that He is the Messiah.

Perhaps this is just like Jesus. When He was born, the grand announcement was made to the lowest people around: the night-shift shepherds who were outside of an unassuming and crowded town. It is the elite in a foreign society (the wise men) who observed the signs and who made the trip.

In the previous chapter of John’s gospel, an elite leader named Nicodemus seeks out Jesus to talk to Him, but in this following chapter, Jesus seeks out this social outcast from a rejected society, and He shares who He is with her.

This tells me that God/Jesus likes sharing truth with the outcast in society – perhaps because they are the only ones open to paying attention. Jesus came to help the outcast and the hurting, and it seems as though He is drawn to find them wherever they are.

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Flashback Episode — Clearing God’s Character: John 19:28-30

Published November 2, 2026 in Audio Journal Entries

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For the last few episodes, we have been focusing on the time Jesus spent on the cross. In this episode, we will look at how John’s gospel describes Jesus’ last moments before His death, and what we can learn from what happened.

Our passage for this episode is found in John’s gospel, chapter 19, and we will read it using the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 28, John tells us that:

²⁸After this, when Jesus knew that everything had now been finished, he said, “I’m thirsty.” He said this so that Scripture could finally be concluded.

²⁹A jar filled with vinegar was there. So the soldiers put a sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick and held it to his mouth.

³⁰After Jesus had taken the vinegar, he said, “It is finished!”

Then he bowed his head and died.

At the end of our passage, we come to the darkest point in all of history. This is the point when Jesus gives up His Spirit.

However, before we focus in on this part of our passage, I am fascinated at the earlier portion of this passage, and a phrase John includes in his gospel. In verse 28, John opened this passage by writing: “When Jesus knew that everything had now been finished, he said, “I’m thirsty.” He said this so that Scripture could finally be concluded.”

This phrase and idea jumped out at me, because what about the phrase “I’m thirsty” was significant so that Scripture could finally be concluded.

After doing a little bit of research, I found the answer in an inconspicuous part of the book of Psalms. In Psalm 69, which was written by David, we find the answer. Let’s begin reading a couple verses before our key verse to give this message some context. Starting in verse 19, David writes:

¹⁹You know that I have been insulted, put to shame, and humiliated.
    All my opponents are in front of you.
²⁰Insults have broken my heart, and I am sick.
   I looked for sympathy, but there was none.
   I looked for people to comfort me, but I found no one.
²¹They poisoned my food,
   and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.

In verse 21, which is the last verse we read, David describes being given poisoned food and vinegar to drink. This verse is significant because while this translation describes this as poisoned food, the literal reading we find in several other translations is that this food was mixed with gall, which was a specific type of poison.

This is significant because Matthew’s gospel describes the wine being given to Jesus as containing gall, and here in John’s gospel we discover the second half of this verse being fulfilled as well. When Jesus cries out that He is thirsty, He receives vinegar to drink. Within the gospels record of Jesus’ time on the cross, we have two clear prophecies being fulfilled.

I have no idea if David wrote this psalm in a way that would predict what Jesus would face while on the cross, or if God directed David to face some similar experiences and write them down. Regardless of whether David understood that this psalm was prophetic, John draws our attention to the detail that those in the first century believed that Jesus’ words and experience here on the cross were fulfillments of David’s writing.

However, it is amazing to look at how David describes the situation in the verses leading up to this prophecy. I wouldn’t be surprised if the verses leading up to our key idea are also prophetic to Jesus’ time on the cross. In verses 19 and 20, David describes the situation as “You know that I have been insulted, put to shame, and humiliated. All my opponents are in front of you. Insults have broken my heart, and I am sick. I looked for sympathy, but there was none. I looked for people to comfort me, but I found no one.”

While David may have experienced this, I see Jesus also facing this exact same situation on the cross. While hanging on the cross, Jesus was insulted, put to shame, and humiliated. Jesus faced ridicule from all of His opponents.

I don’t know if insults broke Jesus’ heart or if Jesus felt sick, I know that if Jesus looked for sympathy or comfort while hanging there, He would not find any from those present. While there were people at the cross who were followers of Jesus, and a criminal who had a change of heart, there isn’t much comfort or sympathy present for someone who is being publicly executed. I would suspect that Jesus’ enemies outnumbered Jesus’ allies by a wide margin while Jesus was hanging on the cross.

However, Jesus did not face the cross looking for sympathy or comfort. Jesus had a much bigger reason for facing death that day. Jesus’ big reason for facing death included fulfilling scripture, demonstrating to the universe just how much God loves humanity who had fallen into sin and rebellion, and opening the way for salvation of sinners.

Many people living today do not understand why Jesus died. Many people living today discount Jesus’ death because He was resurrected less than 48 hours later. Many people living today simply do not understand why God could not just forgive and wipe a sinner’s slate clean without having to face death.

I will be the first to say that my knowledge is limited, and there are most certainly other reasons for Jesus’ death than what I will briefly describe. However, let me paint Jesus’ death in a way that you might not have seen before.

Before the beginning of this world, when the Godhead and the angels were living peacefully in heaven, we understand that Lucifer decided to break away from this peace. Lucifer, who had been created perfect, became prideful and unhappy with his position. Lucifer began a rebellion in heaven that centered on the claim that God is not just, God cannot be trusted, and that God’s standard cannot be kept.

Lucifer’s claim, which had not been seen prior to this point in heaven’s history, caused one third of the angels to doubt God and to side with Lucifer.

Lucifer was kicked out of heaven, and for some reason we likely will only fully understand once we reach heaven, Lucifer was allowed to come to earth. Lucifer, tricked Eve into eating the fruit and this started the chain reaction of sin in this world.

According to the Biblical record, sin on Planet Earth is not our responsibility or even our choice. We have our ancestors to blame for its presence. In several places in both the Old and New Testaments, the Bible writers make it clear that sin’s punishment is death.

A fully just God must execute judgment on sinners in order to remain just. However, if God executes sinners at the moment they sin, He cannot be trusted, because those left would be left fearing God instead of loving Him. A completely just God ultimately would be feared rather than loved, and God wouldn’t be trustworthy.

However, if God simply wipes the slate clean for all who have sinned, then He would lose respect because He would not be just. God’s word that sin’s punishment is death would lose all value. Lucifer’s claim against God would stand as valid if God simply forgave all who have sinned, because anyone who God forgives would appear like a favorite when compared with those who God would punish.

Through Lucifer’s multiple angles of accusation, God is left in an almost impossible situation, because He both cannot let sin slide while He also cannot punish sin. God’s solution for sin is to take the punishment for sin on Himself. Through the death of a member of the Godhead who had not sinned, and who did not deserve the punishment, a way is opened for God to still be just, since a penalty was paid for sin, while also being loving and trustworthy, because someone born into sin with no other options is given a second chance.

This is where God’s law is tricky. God’s law demands death for all who have sinned, but God’s law does not specify the duration of the death. Jesus describes the effects of God’s punishment as lasting forever, but this is contrasted with the effects of God’s rewards also lasting forever. While some people believe that an eternity in torment is God’s way of punishing sinners, nothing like that is specified in God’s law.

God’s character is one that takes the punishment for sin on Himself because God loves us. Jesus died for us in order to make the way possible for a sinner to be saved while also allowing God to remain just. Through Jesus’ death, God’s character is proved as just and also loving because He punishes sin while also demonstrating His love for sinners.

This means that at the darkest point in history, when Jesus gives up His spirit, while it looked on the surface like evil won, I suspect that a celebration was going on in heaven, because God’s character was proved as both just and loving, and God demonstrated to all the universe that He is trustworthy.

While I don’t know all the reasons why God has allowed sin to persist until this point in history, I do know that because God is delaying the end of history, we all have the opportunity to make a choice to accept Jesus’ death in place of ours. When we accept Jesus’ life, His death stands in the place of the death we deserve, and we receive His life in place of ours. And when we have Jesus’ life in place of ours, we have eternal life that lasts forever!

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 accept Jesus’ gift of His life in exchange for yours. Understand that Jesus’ death exposes Lucifer’s lies and it proves God is both just and trustworthy when faced with the problem of sin.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow closer to God. Through prayer and personal Bible study, develop a personal relationship with God, and discover how the relationship we can have with God starting today can extend into 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 tricked out of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Flashback Episode: Year in John – Episode 44: In what appeared to be the darkest point in history, when it looked like evil had won, discover why I believe that a celebration may have been taking place in heaven, and one big thing God accomplished when Jesus gave up His Spirit.