Reflective Bible Study

¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

²⁸ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Read Luke 15:11-32 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

¹ “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

² Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.

⁵ As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. ⁶ But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 

⁷ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 

⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’

¹⁰ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 

¹¹ Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’

¹² But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 

¹³ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Read Matthew 25:1-13 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

²⁴ When Jesus and the others arrived in Capernaum, the collectors for the temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your teacher pay the temple tax?”

²⁵ “Yes, he does,” Peter answered.

After they had returned home, Jesus went up to Peter and asked him, “Simon, what do you think? Do the kings of this earth collect taxes and fees from their own people or from foreigners?”

²⁶ Peter answered, “From foreigners.”

Jesus replied, “Then their own people don’t have to pay. ²⁷ But we don’t want to cause trouble. So go cast a line into the lake and pull out the first fish you hook. Open its mouth, and you will find a coin. Use it to pay your taxes and mine.”

Read Matthew 17:24-27 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

¹⁵ The Lord God put the man in the Garden of Eden. He put him there to work its ground and to take care of it.

¹⁶ The Lord God gave the man a command. He said, “You can eat the fruit of any tree that is in the garden. ¹⁷ But you must not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you do, you can be sure that you will die.”

^3:1 The serpent was more clever than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. The serpent said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat the fruit of any tree that is in the garden’?”

² The woman said to the serpent, “We can eat the fruit of the trees that are in the garden. ³ But God did say, ‘You must not eat the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden. Do not even touch it. If you do, you will die.’”

⁴ “You can be sure that you won’t die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “God knows that when you eat the fruit of that tree, you will know things you have never known before. You will be able to tell the difference between good and evil. You will be like God.”

⁶ The woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good to eat. It was also pleasing to look at. And it would make a person wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. And he ate it.

⁷ Then both of them knew things they had never known before. They realized they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made clothes for themselves.

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking in the garden. It was the coolest time of the day. They hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

⁹ But the Lord God called out to the man. “Where are you?” he asked.

¹⁰ “I heard you in the garden,” the man answered. “I was afraid. I was naked, so I hid.”

¹¹ The Lord God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten the fruit of the tree I commanded you not to eat?”

¹² The man said, “It was the woman you put here with me. She gave me some fruit from the tree. And I ate it.”

¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?”

The woman said, “The serpent tricked me. That’s why I ate the fruit.”

¹⁴ So the Lord God spoke to the serpent. He said, “Because you have done this,

¹⁶ The Lord God said to the woman,

¹⁷ The Lord God said to Adam, “You listened to your wife. You ate the fruit of the tree that I commanded you about. I said, ‘You must not eat its fruit.’

²⁰ Adam named his wife Eve. She would become the mother of every living person.

²¹ The Lord God made clothes out of animal skins for Adam and his wife to wear. ²² The Lord God said, “The man has become like one of us. He can now tell the difference between good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and pick fruit from the tree of life and eat it. If he does, he will live forever.”

Read Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-22 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!