Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Praying Together with Jesus: Matthew 18:15-35

Published August 8, 2025 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 18:15-35 (NCV)

¹⁵ “If your fellow believer sins against you, go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again. ¹⁶ But if he refuses to listen, go to him again and take one or two other people with you. ‘Every case may be proved by two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a person who does not believe in God or like a tax collector.

¹⁸ “I tell you the truth, the things you don’t allow on earth will be the things God does not allow. And the things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.

¹⁹ “Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them.”

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, when my fellow believer sins against me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he wrongs you seventy times seven.

²³ “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him. ²⁴ When the king began to collect his money, a servant who owed him several million dollars was brought to him. ²⁵ But the servant did not have enough money to pay his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant’s wife and children. Then the money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed.

²⁶ “But the servant fell on his knees and begged, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’ ²⁷ The master felt sorry for his servant and told him he did not have to pay it back. Then he let the servant go free.

²⁸ “Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a few dollars. The servant grabbed him around the neck and said, ‘Pay me the money you owe me!’

²⁹ “The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’

³⁰ “But the first servant refused to be patient. He threw the other servant into prison until he could pay everything he owed. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very sorry. So they went and told their master all that had happened.

³² “Then the master called his servant in and said, ‘You evil servant! Because you begged me to forget what you owed, I told you that you did not have to pay anything. ³³ You should have showed mercy to that other servant, just as I showed mercy to you.’ ³⁴ The master was very angry and put the servant in prison to be punished until he could pay everything he owed.

³⁵ “This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Read Matthew 18:15-35 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

While Jesus was teaching the disciples about prayer, forgiveness, and conflict resolution, He shares a powerful promise that relates directly to prayer. However, I believe this promise has been pulled out of context in many situations, and because of this, it might appear as though God does not answer us as quickly. But when we claim the promise Jesus shares with the disciples in our prayer experience, there is no telling how many answers we will discover.

Matthew’s gospel shares Jesus’ promise to His followers: “Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them.” (v. 19-20)

These two verses contain what might appear like a blank check from God. Jesus’ promise sounds like all we must do is find one other person who agrees with us that something must happen, and then pray with them for God to step into the situation in a specific way. But in many cases I can think of, it seems as though all the steps have been followed and an answer does not come – and it may be because we are missing the context and details of this promise.

First, verse 19 begins with the word “Also”. This means that the message/promise Jesus is about to share hinges on what He had just finished saying. Jesus’ earlier statement focuses on God letting His followers determine where they will stand in what we could call “the gray areas of faith”.

This detail is important because it is unlikely that a prayer going to God that contradicts His character or plan will be answered according to our wishes. But this does mean that in the gray areas of His plan and history, our prayers will make a huge difference in directing God and inviting Him into the situations we have on our hearts.
Next, within these two verses is the secondary promise that if two or three (or more) people come together in Jesus’ name, Jesus will be there with them. The second big detail to remember is that the purpose of the group we form to pray must be unified under Jesus’ name, and we should invite Jesus to pray with us (however odd this might sound). If Jesus says He is with us when we gather together in His name, perhaps we should invite Him to pray with us.
The third detail for us to pay attention to is the focus and context of the verses that immediately follow this. While it might appear like this is a transition in Matthew’s narrative where he finishes one event and then begins another, what follows next is Peter asking Jesus about forgiveness, and even if this is a completely separate event, Matthew intentionally places it right next to Jesus’ promise to be with us when we gather in His name.

This third detail is important because if we are holding pain in our hearts with an unforgiving spirit, then our hearts are closed off to God and it may keep our prayers from being heard or answered. God wants our hearts above everything else, and forgiveness is the key to freeing our hearts in preparation for our gift to Him.

Together, these details form the best context we can for claiming Jesus’ promise. We must be asking for things within God’s will and plan – and/or within that gray area of faith; we must be united with Jesus while praying together; and we must have a forgiving heart and a humble spirit when we pray together. When we have done all these things, we can pray together in confidence that God will answer our prayers – even if His answer is “wait and see” or “no, but here is something better for you.”

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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Never Backing Down: Isaiah 50:4-6

Published August 7, 2025 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we move through some of the darkest parts of Biblical prophecy, we arrive at a prophecy related to how Jesus would be treated during the trial leading to His crucifixion. While the crucifixion would be the climax of this torturous 24 hours of Jesus’ time on earth, leading up to being nailed to the cross was not much better.

To predict what would take place, and also what the Messiah’s response would be, we can turn to the Old Testament book of Isaiah for a brief description of what would happen. In Isaiah, chapter 50, and reading from the New American Standard Bible translation, Isaiah writes starting in verse 4:

⁴The Lord God has given Me the tongue of disciples,
That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.
He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.
⁵The Lord God has opened My ear;
And I was not disobedient
Nor did I turn back.
⁶I gave My back to those who strike Me,
And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;
I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.

In this prophecy, we discover that the Messiah would not turn back from His mission, and that He would let Himself be beaten on the back, let His beard be ripped from His face, and that He would not cover His face from being humiliated or spat on.

While the gospel writers don’t include all the details present in this prophecy in their account of Jesus’ treatment leading up to His death, we get the picture from what is included that Jesus’ path to the cross does fulfill what Isaiah wrote.

In Matthew, chapter 26, starting in verse 65, we learn that near the end of Jesus’ trial before the religious leaders:

⁶⁵[Then] the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; ⁶⁶what do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death!”

⁶⁷Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, ⁶⁸and said, “Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?”

Moving forward into Matthew, chapter 27, and starting in verse 27, when describing Jesus’ punishment at the hands of the Romans prior to being led to the site of His crucifixion, Matthew tells us:

²⁷Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. ²⁸They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. ²⁹And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. ³¹After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

Throughout all that the gospels tell us about Jesus’ time in the hands of the religious leaders and the Romans, the most amazing detail that is tucked under the surface of this event is that Jesus did not turn back. While some might say that what happened to Jesus was out of His control, that thought does not acknowledge the divine power Jesus had available to Him, as well as a clear historical record of escaping death and entrapment likely more times than the gospel writers had room to include. There is a clear precedent set for us to conclude that Jesus could have escaped this torture and death if He wanted to.

However, the prophecy we just read states that the Messiah would not turn back from His mission. When Jesus faced some of the worst torture ever imagined by the human race, He did not back down, buckle, or cave with the intention of avoiding pain. Jesus spent close to 24 hours in pain and agony that would be unimaginable for someone living today. Starting with the emotional torment that He faced in the garden, moving through the abuse of the religious leaders and the Romans, and culminating with His time hanging on the cross, Jesus’ time on earth leading up to His crucifixion is nothing short of remarkable.

Within Isaiah’s prophecy, we find the description that the Messiah’s beard would be given to those who pluck out the beard. While none of the gospel writers draw attention to that detail of the prophecy being fulfilled, I don’t think I could imagine many feelings worse than facial hair being ripped off my face. This is one reason I don’t have any desire to have parts of my body waxed.

However, if we are to understand this detail of the prophecy being fulfilled, even if it isn’t expressly stated, Jesus subjected Himself to the pain of having His beard ripped off of His face, in addition to all the other beating, abuse, and torture those in the first century had imagined and implemented.

And all this Jesus chose to do because Jesus’ mission was bigger than the pain He faced during that moment. While there is the cliché saying for those who exercise regularly that no pain equals no gain, in Jesus’ mission to this world, this saying takes on a new meaning. The pain Jesus experienced ultimately resulted in the gain of salvation for God’s people. Jesus paid the punishment we deserved which allowed us to take part in the life He deserved.

While this is a theme that the next several podcast episodes will also include, I don’t know of a better, more relevant, theme for Jesus’ life. Jesus offers to trade lives with us. Trading lives with Jesus allows Him to take our punishment, while we receive His reward. This is the great news of the gospel, and it is the essence of God’s love for His people. Will we accept Jesus’ gift, and the rewards He offers us?

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

As I always open by challenging you, intentionally seek God first in your life and accept the gift Jesus made possible for us through His death on the cross. Thank Jesus for facing some of the worst torture imaginable and for not backing down from His mission when life became difficult.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself, to discover just how much God loves you and just how much Jesus was willing to go through to redeem you and me from sin. While technically we are not responsible for our world being infected with sin, we also are not the place where a solution was provided. Jesus provided the solution for sin, and it is up to us to accept His sacrifice as our ultimate way out of sin. Through what Jesus did for us, we can outlive pain, disease, sin, and even death when we place our faith, hope, belief, and trust in Jesus.

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 back down from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Year of Prophecy – Episode 32: When Isaiah describes some of the torture Jesus would face at the hands of humanity, he includes a detail that none of the gospel writers include. Is the detail that Isaiah shares irrelevant, or is it one more extra element of pain that Jesus likely faced for you and me on His journey to the cross?

Join the discussion. Share your thoughts on this passage.

A Bigger Vision: Matthew 15:21-28

Published August 6, 2025 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 15:21-28 (NIrV)

²¹ Jesus left Galilee and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon. ²² A woman from Canaan lived near Tyre and Sidon. She came to him and cried out, “Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on me! A demon controls my daughter. She is suffering terribly.”

²³ Jesus did not say a word. So his disciples came to him. They begged him, “Send her away. She keeps crying out after us.”

²⁴ Jesus answered, “I was sent only to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep.”

²⁵ Then the woman fell to her knees in front of him. “Lord! Help me!” she said.

²⁶ He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to their dogs.”

²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she said. “But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their owners’ table.”

²⁸ Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! You will be given what you are asking for.” And her daughter was healed at that very moment.

Read Matthew 15:21-28 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

The dialog in this journal entry’s passage is one that has challenged many Bible students. While we are given a picture of an always kind and caring Jesus, it seems that in this case, Jesus was quite rude and insulting. First He ignores, then He dismisses, thirdly He insults, before finally granting the request.

Perhaps this was just as much of an object lesson for the disciples and teaching them about prejudice as it was about helping this woman with her request. After all, the disciples are the ones who prompt Jesus to stop ignoring the woman and move to dismissing her.

In His statement, Jesus states a piece of His mission, but it seems as though He chooses the most generic and popular way to describe it. In verse 24, Jesus responds to the woman, “I was sent only to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep.”

Now while this statement was the common perspective of the Messiah at that time, I find it difficult to truly think Jesus felt His mission was exclusively to Israel – except that I also do not think that Jesus would lie to the woman. This means that Jesus really was “sent” to the people of Israel. When Jesus says, “They are like lost sheep”, I can completely understand what He is saying.

But this idea also makes me wonder a little. If “God’s people” living at that time were “like lost sheep”, does that tell us anything about our lives today? Could this same phrase be used to describe the Christian church today – with hundreds, if not thousands, of groups claiming different beliefs, traditions, doctrines, and methods?

I also wonder about Jesus’ initial statement: “I was sent only to the people of Israel.”

Does this mean that Jesus is only the Messiah for the Jews? On the surface, it might look like that, but take this phrase and apply it spiritually, and in the role of Messiah, only those who see their sin and need of a Savior will actively seek out Jesus.

The Greeks were not looking for a Savior or a Messiah, so they would not have understood the real reason Jesus came.

But Jesus helps this non-Jewish woman, which tells me that Jesus saw His mission as being broader than just the people of Israel. This woman needed help that only Jesus could supply, and He grants her request. If Jesus came to help “spiritual Israel”, who is everyone who seeks to follow the God of the Jews who know they need a Savior to bridge the gap sin has caused, then Jesus can fill that role. This also means Jesus is a stumbling block for those who think they can do it themselves.

Jesus was sent only to the people of Israel, but it seems He saw His mission as helping people of all nationalities who realized their need of a Savior.

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Seeing the Father: John 14:1-14

Published August 5, 2025 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 14:1-14 (CEV)

¹Jesus said to his disciples, “Don’t be worried! Have faith in God and have faith in me. ²There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I wouldn’t tell you this, unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you. ³After I have done this, I will come back and take you with me. Then we will be together. ⁴You know the way to where I am going.”

⁵Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t even know where you are going! How can we know the way?”

⁶“I am the way, the truth, and the life!” Jesus answered. “Without me, no one can go to the Father. ⁷If you had known me, you would have known the Father. But from now on, you do know him, and you have seen him.”

⁸Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need.”

⁹Jesus replied:

Philip, I have been with you for a long time. Don’t you know who I am? If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. How can you ask me to show you the Father? ¹⁰Don’t you believe that I am one with the Father and that the Father is one with me? What I say isn’t said on my own. The Father who lives in me does these things.

¹¹Have faith in me when I say that the Father is one with me and that I am one with the Father. Or else have faith in me simply because of the things I do. ¹²I tell you for certain that if you have faith in me, you will do the same things that I am doing. You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father. ¹³Ask me, and I will do whatever you ask. This way the Son will bring honor to the Father. ¹⁴I will do whatever you ask me to do.

Read John 14:1-14 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

On the night Jesus was arrested leading up to His trial and crucifixion less than 24 hours later, John’s gospel tells us about a profound conversation He has with His closest remaining disciples. In this conversation, Jesus promises His followers that while He is leaving and returning to heaven, He will come back to earth to bring them home with Him.

In this conversation, Jesus tells His followers, “If you had known me, you would have known the Father. But from now on, you do know him, and you have seen him.” (v. 7)

One of the disciples, Philip, speaks up and asks Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need.” (v. 8)

Jesus responds to this request by simply saying, “Philip, I have been with you for a long time. Don’t you know who I am? If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. How can you ask me to show you the Father? Don’t you believe that I am one with the Father and that the Father is one with me?” (v. 9-10a)

Jesus tells Philip and this whole group of disciples that by knowing Jesus, they now know the Father. Jesus tells them that He is one with the Father and the Father is one with Him. In some ways, if Jesus were to answer Philip’s request, all we might see is a mirror reflecting light back onto Jesus.

But Philip’s request is a request that many of us have. Philip wanted certainty to back up His belief and Philip wanted to know the Father like he knew Jesus. Many of us living today desire a face-to-face level of certainty that God exists and that He loves us like we believe Jesus loves us.

Plenty of people living today have a picture in their minds of a cruel God the Father and a friendly Jesus. They imagine the Father and Son of the Godhead are the good and bad cops when the judgment comes.

However, this is not at all how Jesus describes the Father to Philip and the rest of the disciples. Jesus answers Philip’s request by letting Philip know that the Father and Him are identical. This doesn’t mean that they are the same person, but that they have the exact same character, focus, love, and compassion towards humanity. While I don’t fully understand the roles of each of the members of the Godhead, Jesus’ role included becoming human so we could better understand who God is and what He is like.

Jesus came and gave us a picture of God the Father, and everything Jesus shares about the Father speaks to a King who is kind, loving, and merciful towards those He rules, and since God is the King of the universe, we are included among His subjects. This means that God the Father loves us just like Jesus loves us – and Jesus loves us enough that He gave His life to save us from sin!

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