Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

The Contents of Your Heart: Matthew 12:22-37

Published December 10, 2025 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 12:22-37 (CEV)

²²Some people brought to Jesus a man who was blind and could not talk because he had a demon in him. Jesus healed the man, and then he was able to talk and see. ²³The crowds were so amazed that they asked, “Could Jesus be the Son of David?”

²⁴When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “He forces out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons!”

²⁵Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said to them:

Any kingdom where people fight each other will end up ruined. And a town or family that fights will soon destroy itself. ²⁶So if Satan fights against himself, how can his kingdom last? ²⁷If I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons, whose power do your own followers use to force them out? Your followers are the ones who will judge you. ²⁸But when I force out demons by the power of God’s Spirit, it proves that God’s kingdom has already come to you. ²⁹How can anyone break into a strong man’s house and steal his things, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can take everything.

³⁰If you are not on my side, you are against me. If you don’t gather in the harvest with me, you scatter it. ^31-32I tell you that any sinful thing you do or say can be forgiven. Even if you speak against the Son of Man, you can be forgiven. But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven, either in this life or in the life to come.

³³A good tree produces only good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. You can tell what a tree is like by the fruit it produces. ³⁴You are a bunch of evil snakes, so how can you say anything good? Your words show what is in your hearts. ³⁵Good people bring good things out of their hearts, but evil people bring evil things out of their hearts. ³⁶I promise you that on the day of judgment, everyone will have to account for every careless word they have spoken. ³⁷On that day they will be told that they are either innocent or guilty because of the things they have said.

Read Matthew 12:22-37 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

I am not sure what it is, but often when I read passages from the gospels, and specifically passages that share what Jesus taught, any sections of the passage that relate to faith, trust, belief, and obedience will stand out in my mind. Perhaps this is because I am looking for examples of each, or maybe these areas stand out because there are plenty of examples.

However, after reading this passage, I get to add another topic to this list: speech, specifically focusing on the words we say. As Jesus is wrapping up this discussion, He shares some profound ideas. One of these ideas is this: “Your words show what is in your hearts.” (v. 34b)

Oftentimes, we will compare talk with action and say things like, “Talk is cheap.” When comparing what we do verses what we say, what we do will often carry more weight than our words alone.

But in this passage, Jesus draws our attention to the importance and significance of our words. He continues by saying, “Good people bring good things out of their hearts, but evil people bring evil things out of their hearts. I promise you that on the day of judgment, everyone will have to account for every careless word they have spoken. On that day they will be told that they are either innocent or guilty because of the things they have said.” (v. 35-37)

It seems as though Jesus is elevating what we say into being a salvation issue. If on the day we are all judged, we will be called to answer for every careless word we have said, there are some of us who will have a lot to answer for (myself included). Jesus even tells us that our words will determine our innocence or our guilt. That is a pretty heavy statement.

But perhaps, this statement is one more reason we should accept Jesus into our lives. If we bring Jesus/God into our hearts, then Jesus’ statement tells us that others will be able to see it through our words: “Your words show what is in your hearts.” (v. 34b)

This is a statement that is as positive as it is negative. Our words can show us as being selfless or selfish; our words can point people to our value as children of God, or they can point people to a past ruled by survival of the fittest; our words can help lift each other up, or they can tear others down.

Jesus came to help lift us up by showing us God’s opinion of us. If God loves you so much to send Jesus to redeem you, why put anything but thankfulness and gratitude in your heart for Him!

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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Starting Where We Are: Matthew 4:12-17

Published December 9, 2025 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 4:12-17 (NIrV)

¹²John had been put in prison. When Jesus heard about this, he returned to Galilee. ¹³Jesus left Nazareth and went to live in the city of Capernaum. It was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴In that way, what the prophet Isaiah had said came true. He had said,

¹⁵“Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali!
    Galilee, where Gentiles live!
    Land along the Mediterranean Sea! Territory east of the Jordan River!
¹⁶The people who are now living in darkness
    have seen a great light.
They are now living in a very dark land.
    But a light has shined on them.”

¹⁷From that time on Jesus began to preach. “Turn away from your sins!” he said. “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Read Matthew 4:12-17 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

When reading this passage, I am amazed at what Jesus does when He starts His ministry. Not only does He move to what seems like it would be the most secular part of Israel, but He also has a very specific message that He chooses to share.

As our passage closes, we read how Jesus began His ministry, “From that time on Jesus began to preach. ‘Turn away from your sins!’ he said. ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’” (v. 17)

Not only does this message echo the preaching of John the Baptist, it actually picks up exactly where John left off. Our passage opens by saying, “John had been put in prison. When Jesus heard about this, he returned to Galilee.” (v. 12)

In many ways, we could immediately jump from verse 12 and skip down to verse 17. Verses 13-16 contain additional information that is interesting, but doesn’t really advance the narrative significantly.

But in the opening and closing verses of our passage, we see an interesting side of Jesus: Jesus picks up exactly where John’s ministry and message left off. In this way, I believe Jesus is subtly saying that John’s ministry was leading up into His ministry, and that His ministry is a continuation of what John was preaching.

Why is this information important for us today?

This helps emphasize the idea that Jesus is willing to start from where we are currently in our lives, and from wherever that point is, lead us from it to God. Jesus starts at the place where John the Baptist’s ministry ended so that those who were following John could transition their interest and focus onto Him.

Jesus wants to meet us where we are right now, because it is the perfect place for Him to begin His work in our lives.

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Flashback Episode — A Hidden Message from the Cross: Luke 23:33-49

Published December 8, 2025 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we come to the climax of Luke’s gospel, and the event Jesus’ life has been moving forward to from His birth, we discover several powerful details that are easily overlooked when reading this event, and a powerful promise Jesus makes that is easy to spend too much time focusing on.

For the past several episodes, we have been moving through key points in the twelve hours leading up to His death, and we now come to the point in Luke’s gospel that Jesus is hung on the cross to die. Let’s read what Luke tells us happened during the time Jesus was hanging on the cross, and what we can learn from this event.

Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 23, and we will read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 33, Luke tells us:

³³When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

³⁵The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

³⁶The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

³⁸There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.

³⁹One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

⁴⁰But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

⁴³Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

⁴⁴It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ⁴⁵for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

⁴⁷The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” ⁴⁸When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. ⁴⁹But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

In the darkest part of human history, we discover an amazing truth: God loved us through Jesus to and through the point of death.

Through how Jesus responds in each part of this event, we discover a powerful set of truths that form the foundation of Jesus’ life. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus speaks three different times. When we put these three times together, we discover something amazing. Verses 34, 43, and 46 include Jesus’ three individual messages: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” And lastly, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Placing these three statements together builds a powerful truth: Jesus lived a life of forgiveness. Jesus offers sinners paradise, and Jesus’ spirit belongs to the Father. These themes even form a subtle progression that says: Forgiveness leads to salvation, and salvation leads us to the Father!

However, this isn’t the only amazing thing we can learn when focusing on the words spoken during Jesus’ time on the cross.

When we look at all other statements made in this event, we discover a powerful, chiastic-like progression that hinges on the words of two criminals.

This progression begins in verse 45, which tells us that the people and rulers mocked Jesus saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

The next step in this progression is the soldiers, who also mocked Jesus saying in verse 36, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

The third step in this progression is found in verse 39, when one of the criminals hanging next to Jesus challenges Him by saying, “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

All three of these statements challenge Jesus regarding His divinity, and His role as the Messiah.

However, since a chiastic structure progresses one way before walking back in reverse order, we start the second half of this pattern looking at the other criminal. The other criminal hanging with Jesus first rebukes the first criminal, before stating Jesus’ innocence and a request in verses 40 through 42. Speaking to the other criminal, this second criminal says “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then to Jesus, this second criminal makes the request, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

This second criminal completely reverses the tone of the entire crucifixion. While all the statements hurled at Jesus up to this point challenge Jesus regarding His role as the Messiah and His divinity, this criminal reverses the tone by acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah and affirming His divinity.

Regardless of the immediate or not immediate sounding nature of Jesus’ reply, what this criminal says might be even more powerful than Jesus’ response.

Next, we move to what Luke records immediately following Jesus taking His last breath. In verse 47, we read a centurion, representing the soldiers who mocked Jesus not long before saying, “Surely this was a righteous man.” We discover the soldiers turn their attitude around and acknowledge Jesus’ righteousness.

But what about the crowd? While the crowd doesn’t have a representative to say something to finish out this chiasm, verse 48 summarizes the crowd’s response to Jesus’ death saying, “When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.”

While the phrase beating their breasts doesn’t mean much to us today, this was a sign of sorrow, of morning, and of humility. The crowd’s response, after mocking Jesus while He was alive, realized that His death was more significant than they could ever have realized.

When we look at the statements people make during Jesus’ crucifixion we are able to see a powerful truth: Jesus came to die for each of us, to forgive our sins, to offer us the gift of paradise, and to show us God’s love and His character. While Jesus was misunderstood throughout His entire ministry, including during the first portion of His time on the cross, starting with the words of a criminal, those present for the crucifixion began to realize who exactly Jesus was and the ultimate Messiah He came to be!

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 choose to place your hope, your faith, your trust, and your belief in Jesus. Trust in the sacrifice Jesus made for each of us on the cross and what this ultimately means for each of us when we accept God’s forgiveness for our sins!

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Through the pages of the Bible, discover a God who loves you more than you can even imagine, and a God who is willing to go farther than we can imagine to redeem us from sin! Learn to fall in love with Jesus through the truth the Bible teaches!

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 49: While Luke describes Jesus’ time hanging on the cross, we discover through the words that are spoken a powerful truth and an amazing theme that is foundational for every follower of Jesus in the world living at every point in history!

Remembering the Big Picture: Matthew 6:25-34

Published December 5, 2025 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 6:25-34 (NCV)

²⁵“So I tell you, don’t worry about the food or drink you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your body. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. ²⁶Look at the birds in the air. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds. ²⁷You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.

²⁸“And why do you worry about clothes? Look at how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves. ²⁹But I tell you that even Solomon with his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. ³⁰God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire. So you can be even more sure that God will clothe you. Don’t have so little faith! ³¹Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³²The people who don’t know God keep trying to get these things, and your Father in heaven knows you need them. ³³Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well. ³⁴So don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Read Matthew 6:25-34 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Right in the middle of Jesus talking to His followers about money, He shifts His focus onto talking about worry. Right at the beginning of this transition, we find something fascinating in Jesus’ words.

Jesus opens this discussion on worry by saying, “So I tell you, don’t worry about the food or drink you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your body. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes.” (v. 25)

What I find amazing in this verse is Jesus’ key point: “Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes.” Intuitively, we know this, but if we were to look at culture today, too much of our lives are consumed by what we will eat and what we should wear. Intriguingly enough, these are probably the two biggest areas of life that cost money that we spend time thinking about. Things like our mortgage, car payments, other debt, and utility bills will easily cost more, but as a general rule, we spend much less time thinking about these big cost items then the smaller cost items of food and clothes.

Well, I guess I should put quotes around “smaller cost items”. With the way trends are going, food and clothing can get really expensive if you wanted it to. If one eats out (doesn’t matter where) for the majority of their meals each week, they will end up spending a lot more money than if they were to prepare all their meals at home. The same is true for clothing. There are some “designer” items that are outrageously priced, but I guess there are people who buy them because they carry a specific brand or a label.

But here at the heart of Jesus’ words is a big truth we should remember when facing the craziness of life: “Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes.” What we eat and what we wear are minor issues when looking at our lives from the big picture. Who we will be, and how we will be remembered are pretty big issues we should answer during our respective lifetimes. Where we spend eternity – now that may be the biggest issue we each must decide over the course of our life.

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