Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

A Place for Prayer: Matthew 21:12-17

Published November 12, 2025 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 21:12-17 (GW)

¹²Jesus went into the temple courtyard and threw out everyone who was buying and selling there. He overturned the moneychangers’ tables and the chairs of those who sold pigeons. ¹³He told them, “Scripture says, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you’re turning it into a gathering place for thieves!”

¹⁴Blind and lame people came to him in the temple courtyard, and he healed them.

¹⁵When the chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings saw the amazing miracles he performed and the children shouting in the temple courtyard, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were irritated. ¹⁶They said to him, “Do you hear what these children are saying?”

Jesus replied, “Yes, I do. Have you never read, ‘From the mouths of little children and infants, you have created praise’?”

¹⁷He left them and went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.

Read Matthew 21:12-17 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

In our event in this passage, Jesus arrives at the temple just days before He would be arrested and crucified. Upon entering the temple courtyard, Jesus sees it as a marketplace more than a place for worship, and it bothers Him.

He chases the moneychangers and everyone who is buying and selling out, before sitting down to teach, heal, and point people to God.

What I find incredibly interesting about this event is that this was during the week. With how legalistic and rule-following the religious leaders were on the Sabbath, we can easily assume there was no commerce happening on the Sabbath day of the week. However, the other six days were likely interpreted as being free days where the temple was just another gathering place.

While the “commerce” that was happening was loosely related to worship, it had fallen far from what God had intended. The people Jesus threw out of the temple saw church as a business, instead of seeing it as a place for people to worship God.

Jesus tells those present, “Scripture says, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you’re turning it into a gathering place for thieves!” (v. 13)

Looking at when Jesus says these words, I get the impression that our churches and the places we worship should be places of prayer – places where we can go to focus on God regardless of the day of the week. I wonder if we are limiting our idea of church to simply being a place we go once on the weekend, and maybe once during the week, when Jesus has something bigger in mind?

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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One Big Mistake: Mark 6:14-29

Published November 11, 2025 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!

The event we are focusing in on is really a side-note in several of the gospels. This side-note covers what ultimately happened to John the Baptist, and while this is a sad event in several ways, there are some key things we can learn from this event.

Probably one of the biggest things we can learn is from Herod’s mistake. While setting up what actually happened, we read the following about Herod and his thoughts towards John the Baptist: “Herod 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. John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to be married to your brother’s wife.” So Herodias hated John and wanted to kill him. But she couldn’t, because 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.” (v. 17-20)

So we have a husband and wife divided over whether this popular preacher should be allowed to live, and now we have the background information needed to move into the event that changed everything.

Herod had a birthday party and Herodias’ daughter comes in and dances for Herod and his guests. The dance is so well received that Herod gives the girl a blank check for anything up to half his kingdom. The girl consults with her mother, leading to the ultimate request of John the Baptist’s head being given on a platter.

We then read Herod’s reaction: “Although 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.” (v. 26)

The big thing we can learn from Herod’s big mistake is this: Be careful what you promise. You may end up being held to your word against your wishes. Herod’s reputation was on the line, and while he kept his promise, if he had known what the request would have been, chances are he would have framed his promise differently.

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Flashback Episode — Our Future Passover with God: Luke 22:7-23

Published November 10, 2025 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we continue through Luke’s gospel, we come to the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested. However, before this happened, Jesus wanted to eat the Passover meal with His disciples. However, they don’t have a place prepared beforehand to eat this meal.

While this is a problem from our human perspective, God had a plan. Let’s read what happened, and how Jesus solves this challenge.

Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 22, and we will read it from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 7, Luke tells us that:

⁷The Day of Unleavened Bread came when the Passover lambs had to be sacrificed. ⁸Jesus said to Peter and John, “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us to eat.”

⁹They asked, “Where do you want us to prepare it?” ¹⁰Jesus said to them, “After you go into the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters, ¹¹and tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says: “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover meal with my followers?”’ ¹²Then he will show you a large, furnished room upstairs. Prepare the Passover meal there.”

¹³So Peter and John left and found everything as Jesus had said. And they prepared the Passover meal.

Pausing reading briefly, I am amazed that when Peter and John have the dilemma of where to prepare this Passover meal, Jesus simply gives them a very random but specific set of instructions and they find everything exactly as Jesus had described.

This sort of detail tells me that Jesus clearly knew the events of that weekend better than any of the disciples did, and Jesus also knew Judas Iscariot’s betrayal even better than Judas did.

From this passage that draws our attention onto the preparation of Jesus’ last supper prior to His death, we can clearly learn the truth that Jesus knows the future. Jesus knows the future and He is not scared by it. Since Jesus knows the future and He is not scared by it, we can confidently move forward in our own lives with Jesus knowing that He has the solution to the problems we face.

Continuing reading in verse 14, Luke then tells us:

¹⁴When the time came, Jesus and the apostles were sitting at the table. ¹⁵He said to them, “I wanted very much to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer. ¹⁶I will not eat another Passover meal until it is given its true meaning in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷Then Jesus took a cup, gave thanks, and said, “Take this cup and share it among yourselves. ¹⁸I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until God’s kingdom comes.”

¹⁹Then Jesus took some bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to the apostles, saying, “This is my body, which I am giving for you. Do this to remember me.” ²⁰In the same way, after supper, Jesus took the cup and said, “This cup is the new agreement that God makes with his people. This new agreement begins with my blood which is poured out for you.

²¹“But one of you will turn against me, and his hand is with mine on the table. ²²What God has planned for the Son of Man will happen, but how terrible it will be for that one who turns against the Son of Man.”

²³Then the apostles asked each other which one of them would do that.

In Luke’s passage describing this portion of Jesus’ Last Supper with His disciples, two big things stand out to me. While it is tempting to focus on the bread Jesus breaks and on the grape juice that Jesus shares, let’s save looking at those details for another time.

Instead, two different phrases stood out to me. In these two phrases are a promise and a warning. However, even within the warning is a powerful promise that is worth remembering.

The first phrase is a clear promise. Verse 16 records Jesus telling the disciples “I will not eat another Passover meal until it is given its true meaning in the kingdom of God.” This is a promise that we can hold on to because this means that Jesus is waiting in heaven for our arrival before He eats another Passover meal.

Also, while many people believe that the Passover was fulfilled that weekend when Jesus gave up His life, Jesus describes the Passover meal as having future significance. Reading this with you now prompts me to wonder if the great meal we all will eat with God in His kingdom following Jesus’ return will be a meal celebrating the big theme of the Passover. The great theme of the Passover is that God’s people were trapped in slavery, and that an Innocent Being gives up His life to redeem His people.

With this huge theme, we see that the entire story of history is contained within the great Passover truth. When we as Christians celebrate the Lord’s Supper, it seems small when compared with this grand, eternal message. While celebrating the Lord’s Supper is in no way wrong, let’s remember the big picture and what this event points forward to in our own future even while it pointed forward to Jesus’ death.

Also in this passage is a warning. In verse 22, immediately after Jesus reveals that this group of twelve disciples has a betrayer present, Jesus says, “What God has planned for the Son of Man will happen”.

As I read and think about this phrase, perhaps a warning is not the best way to frame it. While it sounds like a warning on one level, we also see the clear picture that Jesus was following God’s plan for His life. Jesus followed God’s plan which lead to and through death, and while there was pain involved in God’s plan for Jesus’ life, we ultimately wouldn’t want it any other way.

When we follow God’s plan, don’t be surprised if our lives include some level of pain. However, know that just like Jesus, when we look back on our lives, on the pain and on the joy, we ultimately would not want our lives to have gone any other way. While our lives on this earth are tainted by pain, sin, and death, the ultimate plan God has for our lives is eternal life with Him in a sinless recreated new heaven and new earth.

Our brand new life with God can start today, and when Jesus returns to bring us home, we will all celebrate the ultimate Passover meal together with God and all of God’s people who He has redeemed!

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 in your life and choose to let God lead you on His plan. Place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus and what He accomplished for us on the cross and look forward to the day when we will enter God’s kingdom and eat the ultimate Passover meal with Him and all of God’s people together.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Through prayer and personal study, discover a God who gives up everything to redeem His people out of sin and a God who loves us more than we can even imagine!

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 Luke – Episode 45: While Luke describes Jesus eating the Last Supper before His betrayal, arrest, and death, we read about Jesus foreshadowing a future meal we will have with God, and how Jesus was willing to follow God’s plan for His life.

Closed-Minded Reasoning: Luke 22:66-71

Published November 7, 2025 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Luke 22:66-71 (GW)

⁶⁶In the morning the council of the people’s leaders, the chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings, gathered together. They brought Jesus in front of their highest court and asked him, ⁶⁷“Tell us, are you the Messiah?”

Jesus said to them, “If I tell you, you won’t believe me. ⁶⁸And if I ask you, you won’t answer. ⁶⁹But from now on, the Son of Man will be in the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne.”

⁷⁰Then all of them said, “So you’re the Son of God?”

Jesus answered them, “You’re right to say that I am.”

⁷¹Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We’ve heard him say it ourselves.”

Read Luke 22:66-71 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

In Luke’s gospel, during Jesus’ questioning on the night He is arrested, we learn that Jesus makes a very interesting statement. This statement helps us understand why several of the other gospels have Jesus simply staying silent during most of this questioning and accusing.

In response to the leaders asking Jesus whether He is the Messiah, Jesus opens His response by saying, “If I tell you, you won’t believe me. And if I ask you, you won’t answer.” (v. 67b-68)

With these words, Jesus basically tells everyone present that they are all closed-minded, and that their questioning is not to determine guilt or innocence, but to dig for evidence worthy of death. They are not calling Jesus in to ask Him questions about whether He is the Messiah, or questions that would lead to any of them placing their faith and trust in Him.

This questioning had only one purpose, and that was to prove Jesus had sin, and therefore was worthy of death – and this goal closed the minds of everyone present to even being open to the idea that Jesus was the Messiah God had promised long ago.

Jesus knew an important truth about human nature, and in His response here, we can learn this truth for ourselves as well: A mind that is already made up cannot be reasoned with. Only new evidence that is received in an open-minded way can break through an “almost-closed” mind. Jesus shares a prediction that would present new evidence to these leaders, but when the time Jesus predicts comes, it will be too late for any of them to change their minds about Him.

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