Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Pursuing God’s Kingdom: Luke 17:20-37

Published August 12, 2026 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 17:20-37 (NIrV)

²⁰ Once the Pharisees asked Jesus when God’s kingdom would come. He replied, “The coming of God’s kingdom is not something you can see just by watching for it carefully. ²¹ People will not say, ‘Here it is.’ Or, ‘There it is.’ God’s kingdom is among you.”

²² Then Jesus spoke to his disciples. “The time is coming,” he said, “when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man. But you won’t see it. ²³ People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ Or, ‘Here he is!’ Don’t go running off after them.

²⁴ “When the Son of Man comes, he will be like the lightning. It flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. ²⁵ But first the Son of Man must suffer many things. He will not be accepted by the people of today.

²⁶ “Remember how it was in the days of Noah. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. ²⁷ People were eating and drinking. They were getting married. They were giving their daughters to be married. They did all those things right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

²⁸ “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking. They were buying and selling. They were planting and building. ²⁹ But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven. And all the people were destroyed.

³⁰ “It will be just like that on the day the Son of Man is shown to the world. ³¹ Suppose someone is on the roof of his house on that day. And suppose his goods are inside the house. He should not go down to get them. No one in the field should go back for anything either. ³² Remember Lot’s wife! ³³ Anyone who tries to keep his life will lose it. Anyone who loses his life will keep it.

³⁴ “I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed. One person will be taken and the other left. ^35-36 Two women will be grinding grain together. One will be taken and the other left.”

³⁷ “Where, Lord?” his disciples asked.

He replied, “The vultures will gather where there is a dead body.”

Read Luke 17:20-37 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

There are a lot of great ideas in this passage that we could choose to highlight, but for this journal entry, I will focus on an idea that is a little baffling to me. It is found in Jesus’ words as this passage opens:

Once the Pharisees asked Jesus when God’s kingdom would come. He replied, “The coming of God’s kingdom is not something you can see just by watching for it carefully. People will not say, ‘Here it is.’ Or, ‘There it is.’ God’s kingdom is among you.” (v. 20-21)

“God’s kingdom is among you.” This phrase can be baffling if we think about it long enough. The Pharisees are expecting a coming kingdom, but instead they are faced with an already present kingdom – one that they don’t see.

In other places, John the Baptist, Jesus’ disciples, and even Jesus preach that God’s kingdom is “coming”, but here we read in Jesus’ response that it is already here. At least to me, this makes me wonder if one way of defining God’s kingdom is simply anywhere where “Jesus” is. Perhaps we could broaden it to be anywhere that “God” is – so that it includes God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

We also could broaden this approach even further, since Paul calls the church “the Body of Christ”. (1 Corinthians 12:27)

With this framework, I could easily wonder: Do I miss seeing God’s kingdom around me as I live life? Do I ever miss opportunities to be a part of God’s kingdom because I am not paying attention to what God is doing? Would I live any differently knowing that I can be a part of God’s kingdom today?

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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Discovering the Truth: Matthew 16:13-20

Published August 11, 2026 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 16:13-20 (NIV)

¹³When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Read Matthew 16:13-20 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

During one of the many trips Jesus took with His disciples, one stands out as significant because of something Jesus asked the disciples. While Jesus leads with a question about who the crowd believes Him to be, I think this question is more of a setup question for what He really wants to ask the disciples.

After the disciples respond to Jesus’ first question by sharing all the rumors about Him, Jesus then draws them into His real question: “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” (v. 15)

Jesus had just received what the general belief about Him was, and now He wants to know what His closest followers think. Do they believe similarly to the crowd, or are they closer to the truth?

I would love to know if there was a long awkward pause before Peter speaks up or if Peter’s reply was instant and without hesitation. My imagination could go either way with this one, and I don’t see any clues given in the passage to help point me to how quickly Peter responded.

But when Peter does respond, he answers by saying, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (v. 16)

This response appears to be the one Jesus is looking for, because Jesus replies to Peter saying, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” (v. 17)

While Jesus continues with a thought provoking teaching, it is easy to miss the profoundness of this first statement in His response. Jesus tells Peter and all of us that only God the Father in heaven can reveal who Jesus is to someone. While the truth about Jesus can be shared (which is something Jesus tells the disciples not to do yet), the only way for Simon Peter to have known the correct answer is because God the Father, through the Holy Spirit, revealed this truth to him.

It is the same with us today. While we can share with others what Jesus has done for us and who we believe Him to be, only God and the Holy Spirit can take the knowledge about Jesus and turn it into real faith. Only the Holy Spirit can take Jesus from being a significant historical figure in one’s mind and turn Him into the Personal Saviour who lives in our hearts.

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Flashback Episode — The Choice: John 13:1-30

Published August 10, 2026 in Audio Journal Entries

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As John’s gospel shifts to looking at the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, John shares some amazing details included in a special meal Jesus shares with His followers. This meal was the Passover meal, and from this point forward in history, this meal has been called the Last Supper.

However, during this meal, John draws our attention onto several powerful ideas, the first of which is found in the first few verses of our passage. With that said, let’s begin reading our passage for this episode.

Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 13, and we will read it from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹It was almost time for the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that it was time for him to leave this world and go back to the Father. He had always loved those who were his own in the world, and he loved them all the way to the end.

²Jesus and his followers were at the evening meal. The devil had already persuaded Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to turn against Jesus. ³Jesus knew that the Father had given him power over everything and that he had come from God and was going back to God. ⁴So during the meal Jesus stood up and took off his outer clothing. Taking a towel, he wrapped it around his waist. ⁵Then he poured water into a bowl and began to wash the followers’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

While most of those who have been Christians for any significant length of time know what happens next, I want to pause here to draw out two huge truths that are found in these first few verses of our passage.

The first truth is that Jesus intentionally loved the people God sent Him into the world to love, and Jesus intentionally loved them all the way to the end. In other words, Jesus faced the cross because He loves you, me, and all of those who God wants to redeem for eternity!

Following sharing about Jesus’ love, John then tells us in verse 3 that at this meal: “Jesus knew that the Father had given him power over everything and that he had come from God and was going back to God.”

Everything that happens in Jesus’ life and ministry following this point is 100% within Jesus’ control, and that means clearly that Jesus chose the cross. God the Father did not force Jesus onto the cross. Jesus chose the cross willingly.

Immediately after sharing that Jesus had been given power over everything, the first thing Jesus does is step into the lowest role in that society and move around the room washing the disciples’ feet. While the next part of our passage focuses on Jesus washing Peter’s feet, it is also amazing to realize that, since this was early on in the evening, Jesus would have washed Judas Iscariot’s feet as well.

Let’s continue reading. As Jesus was washing each of His disciples’ feet, in verse 6 we read:

⁶Jesus came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later.”

⁸Peter said, “No, you will never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “If I don’t wash your feet, you are not one of my people.”

⁹Simon Peter answered, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but wash my hands and my head, too!”

¹⁰Jesus said, “After a person has had a bath, his whole body is clean. He needs only to wash his feet. And you men are clean, but not all of you.” ¹¹Jesus knew who would turn against him, and that is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹²When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and sat down again. He asked, “Do you understand what I have just done for you? ¹³You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that is what I am. ¹⁴If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash each other’s feet. ¹⁵I did this as an example so that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶I tell you the truth, a servant is not greater than his master. A messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

¹⁸“I am not talking about all of you. I know those I have chosen. But this is to bring about what the Scripture said: ‘The man who ate at my table has turned against me.’ ¹⁹I am telling you this now before it happens so that when it happens, you will believe that I am he. ²⁰I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send also accepts me. And whoever accepts me also accepts the One who sent me.”

²¹After Jesus said this, he was very troubled. He said openly, “I tell you the truth, one of you will turn against me.”

²²The followers all looked at each other, because they did not know whom Jesus was talking about. ²³One of the followers sitting next to Jesus was the follower Jesus loved. ²⁴Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus whom he was talking about.

²⁵That follower leaned closer to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?”

²⁶Jesus answered, “I will dip this bread into the dish. The man I give it to is the man who will turn against me.” So Jesus took a piece of bread, dipped it, and gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. ²⁷As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered him. Jesus said to him, “The thing that you will do—do it quickly.” ²⁸No one at the table understood why Jesus said this to Judas. ²⁹Since he was the one who kept the money box, some of the followers thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the feast or to give something to the poor.

³⁰Judas took the bread Jesus gave him and immediately went out. It was night.

In this passage, I was tempted to stop several times, but I resisted, because I wanted to help draw our attention onto the entire context of Jesus’ message. All too often, when reading or hearing this passage, we only hear a small section and not the whole passage in context.

While John’s gospel doesn’t focus in on Jesus sharing the wine or the bread and the symbolism that Jesus gives to each, John’s gospel does focus on the teaching Jesus shares, and on the detail that Jesus fully knew who would betray Him.

This passage contains a bunch of powerful spiritual truths and ideas, and unfortunately there isn’t enough time left to cover them all.

However, one big truth worth paying attention to is that nothing about that night caught Jesus by surprise and Jesus was more aware of everything that would happen than even Judas Iscariot was.

This idea becomes the foundation for the biggest truth this passage emphasized, and this truth is simply that Jesus willingly chose the cross, and that He chose it because He loves you and He loves me!

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 to seek God first in your life and choose to accept Jesus’ gift of His sacrifice on our behalf. Jesus chose the cross for you and for me. Let’s not take Jesus’ sacrifice for granted or belittle it through the way we live or act.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself in order to grow closer to Jesus each and every day. As we grow closer to Jesus through prayer and study, discover how much Jesus loves you personally, and how much Jesus was willing to face so that you could be forgiven of your sin! Jesus faced death for you and me, and this is something that was entirely His choice!

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 32: As John shares about special supper Jesus had with His disciples on the night He was betrayed and arrested, discover in the details how this event frames Jesus’ personal choice to face the cross, and how His choice opens up the way for our choice about whether we will choose God or not!

Responding with Apathy: Matthew 27:1-10

Published August 7, 2026 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 27:1-10 (GW)

¹Early in the morning all the chief priests and the leaders of the people decided to execute Jesus. ²They tied him up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

³Then Judas, who had betrayed Jesus, regretted what had happened when he saw that Jesus was condemned. He brought the 30 silver coins back to the chief priests and leaders. ⁴He said, “I’ve sinned by betraying an innocent man.”

They replied, “What do we care? That’s your problem.”

⁵So he threw the money into the temple, went away, and hanged himself.

⁶The chief priests took the money and said, “It’s not right to put it into the temple treasury, because it’s blood money.” ⁷So they decided to use it to buy a potter’s field for the burial of strangers. ⁸That’s why that field has been called the Field of Blood ever since. ⁹Then what the prophet Jeremiah had said came true, “They took the 30 silver coins, the price the people of Israel had placed on him, ¹⁰and used the coins to buy a potter’s field, as the Lord had directed me.”

Read Matthew 27:1-10 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

When reading in Matthew’s gospel about the fate of Judas Iscariot, I am startled by what actually happens. Only Matthew includes the fate of Jesus’ betrayer and in what Matthew tells us is a brief, but also amazing, conversation between Judas Iscariot and the chief priests and religious leaders.

Matthew transitions onto Judas’ story by telling us: “Then Judas, who had betrayed Jesus, regretted what had happened when he saw that Jesus was condemned. He brought the 30 silver coins back to the chief priests and leaders. He said, ‘I’ve sinned by betraying an innocent man.’” (v. 3-4a)

On realizing that he had sinned, Judas tries to undo what had been done. However, the response he receives is amazing. The chief priests and leaders replied, “What do we care? That’s your problem.” (v. 4b)

In the end, Judas Iscariot realized what he did was wrong and he regretted what happened. In contrast, the chief priests and leaders – who were at least just as guilty as Judas was – are completely indifferent to the fact that they have sent an innocent man to die.

These people were supposed to be God’s representatives on earth, but while God’s character is one of love, nothing in the chief priests’ and leaders’ actions demonstrate a God that loves humanity. The chief priests and leaders statement of apathy towards Jesus’ condemnation reveals how far they had fallen away from knowing God.

In contrast, every action Jesus did throughout His ministry demonstrated God’s love. Even through the events surrounding the crucifixion, Jesus demonstrated God’s character more accurately than any of the religious leaders did.

Jesus chose to enter the world during a time when God’s character was the most misrepresented in all of history. He chose to enter the world at a time when He would ultimately be rejected and condemned without committing a crime. He chose to enter the world when the world needed to really see a clear picture of God in a time of apathy and indifference.

Jesus entered the world when He did for you and for me! His sacrifice opens the way for our salvation – even if the leaders that weekend were apathetic towards the life they had condemned to die.

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