Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

How God Sees “Them”: Matthew 19:1-12

Published June 10, 2026 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 19:1-12 (NCV)

¹ After Jesus said all these things, he left Galilee and went into the area of Judea on the other side of the Jordan River. ² Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³ Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trick him. They asked, “Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for any reason he chooses?”

⁴ Jesus answered, “Surely you have read in the Scriptures: When God made the world, ‘he made them male and female.’ ⁵ And God said, ‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body.’ ⁶ So there are not two, but one. God has joined the two together, so no one should separate them.”

⁷ The Pharisees asked, “Why then did Moses give a command for a man to divorce his wife by giving her divorce papers?”

⁸ Jesus answered, “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because you refused to accept God’s teaching, but divorce was not allowed in the beginning. ⁹ I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of adultery. The only reason for a man to divorce his wife is if his wife has sexual relations with another man.”

¹⁰ The followers said to him, “If that is the only reason a man can divorce his wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but God has made some able to accept it. ¹² There are different reasons why some men cannot marry. Some men were born without the ability to become fathers. Others were made that way later in life by other people. And some men have given up marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. But the person who can marry should accept this teaching about marriage.”

Read Matthew 19:1-12 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Before diving into this passage and the one big idea I want to focus on, I want to emphasize that this is a challenging passage for many people. A lot of people who have experienced divorce in their lives can look on this passage as God condemning them for their actions. I don’t have much to say about this – since this is something that everyone must work out with God personally/individually. I may write my thoughts on how I see this passage relating to divorce in a future post, but instead, this post will focus on a big idea for those who are married or are currently in a long-term relationship.

In verse 6, we read the following phrase, “God has joined the two together”. I know there are countless things that have happened and choices that were made that directed me to moving to Idaho where I would meet my bride-to-be. It seems as though God is working behind the scenes to direct people together. I could make my head spin trying to think of what may have happened had I made different choices regarding my schooling, major, and direction after college, but whatever the case is – whether there is only one match or several great candidates along a variety of different paths, the passage states that God is present in the relationships that I have – especially in my marriage.

Here’s the big idea, stated in the form of a question: If I believe that God brought people into my life for a reason (including my spouse), would I treat them differently?

And an equally challenging follow-up question: If I believe that God loves my wife enough to die for her and that it hurts Him when I hurt her, would I treat her differently? (Feel free to swap genders if you need to.)

God brings people into our lives, and in many cases, not all of them are pleasant. Some might be downright annoying at best, and one (hopefully not more) of these you might have ended up marrying. (Disclaimer: This is not my marital situation, but it seems to be a common theme in culture.)

However, have you ever stopped to think that Jesus loves – and He died for – those annoying people too? It isn’t just the pleasant people that Jesus loves, but the unpleasant ones too. If we are really being honest with ourselves, we might be that annoying person to our spouse. We might be closed off to them when they are looking for love, or harsh with them when we are really upset about something unrelated in our own lives.

We can only change ourselves, and our actions. We cannot change others. However, with the thought that God brings people into our lives, and that He loves them enough to have died for them, would that be enough to change my attitude and actions towards them?

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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The Gift of the Spirit: John 7:37-52

Published June 9, 2026 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 7:37-52 (NIV)

³⁷On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

⁴⁰On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

⁴¹Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? ⁴²Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” ⁴³Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. ⁴⁴Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

⁴⁵Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

⁴⁶“No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.

⁴⁷“You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. ⁴⁸“Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? ⁴⁹No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”

⁵⁰Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, ⁵¹“Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”

⁵²They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”

Read John 7:37-52 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Part way through Jesus’ ministry on earth, on the last day of a festival Jesus was attending in Jerusalem, Jesus stood up and proclaimed a message in a loud voice. This happened in the temple and with guards present who were looking for an opportunity to arrest Jesus.

But while there were guards present, Jesus’ final words in this event are powerful, and potentially confusing. John tells us, “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’” (v. 37-38)

John knows that some of his readers may misunderstand or not pick up on the spiritual symbolism Jesus is using in this statement. Perhaps at this point in the young Christian church movement, there were people who had already misunderstood or misinterpreted Jesus’ words here, or maybe there were those who had written Jesus off because of this statement. Whatever the reason, John breaks from the story here to insert a side-note about this statement. John tells us, “By this he [Jesus] meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” (v. 39)

The truth John wants us to grasp from this concluding statement is that the only way we can receive the Holy Spirit is by believing in Jesus. Jesus shares the results of this belief. He describes it as “rivers of living water will flow from within them”. (v. 38b)

Jesus is not speaking literally here in a physical sense. Jesus is sharing a metaphor for how the Holy Spirit draws people into spiritual truth. The Holy Spirit prompts people with a spiritual “thirst” (desire) to learn more, and Jesus provides the truth. When someone believes in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes and lives within them. And when the Holy Spirit is living in someone, they will have a self-sustaining spiritual life while the Spirit is within them.

When I read Jesus’ words here, I cannot avoid realizing my dependence on the Holy Spirit when I open up my Bible to read and study. The only way I can learn spiritual truth is through paying attention to the Holy Spirit and one of the best tools the Holy Spirit uses is the Bible. The truth I believe Jesus is sharing here is that by coming to Him, we all can receive true spiritual life through the Spirit, and this life will flow outward – being visible towards those around us.

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Flashback Episode — Jesus, the Shepherd: John 10:1-21

Published June 8, 2026 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we continue reading John’s gospel, we ultimately discover how Jesus divided people. If we only had Jesus’ words to go on with no miracles, no fulfilled prophecy, and no resurrection, we could rightly conclude that Jesus was the most deluded speaker or preacher in the history of the world.

However, because Jesus could perform miracles, because the Old Testament clearly prophesied about His arrival and His life, and because we have the resurrection that He personally predicted on multiple occasions, we are challenged with the truth that none of this could have happened without God’s leading and blessing.

In our passage, similar to our last episode’s passage, we see Jesus divide people. While our last passage had religious leaders being challenged and divided over the healing of a blind man, our passage for this episode focuses on a teaching Jesus shared that challenged those present.

Let’s read what happened. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 10, and we will read it from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹Jesus said:

I tell you for certain that only thieves and robbers climb over the fence instead of going in through the gate to the sheep pen. ^2-3But the gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and he goes in through it. The sheep know their shepherd’s voice. He calls each of them by name and leads them out.

⁴When he has led out all of his sheep, he walks in front of them, and they follow, because they know his voice. ⁵The sheep will not follow strangers. They don’t recognize a stranger’s voice, and they run away.

⁶Jesus told the people this story. But they did not understand what he was talking about.

⁷Jesus said:

I tell you for certain that I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸Everyone who came before me was a thief or a robber, and the sheep did not listen to any of them. ⁹I am the gate. All who come in through me will be saved. Through me they will come and go and find pasture.

¹⁰A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest. ¹¹I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep. ¹²Hired workers are not like the shepherd. They don’t own the sheep, and when they see a wolf coming, they run off and leave the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock. ¹³Hired workers run away because they don’t care about the sheep.

¹⁴I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and they know me. ¹⁵Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father, and I give up my life for my sheep. ¹⁶I have other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them together too, when they hear my voice. Then there will be one flock of sheep and one shepherd.

¹⁷The Father loves me, because I give up my life, so that I may receive it back again. ¹⁸No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly! I have the power to give it up and the power to receive it back again, just as my Father commanded me to do.

¹⁹The people took sides because of what Jesus had told them. ²⁰Many of them said, “He has a demon in him! He is crazy! Why listen to him?”

²¹But others said, “How could anyone with a demon in him say these things? No one like that could give sight to a blind person!”

In this passage, we see Jesus dividing another crowd. It is likely that this event happened not long after the miracle we read about in our last episode, where Jesus healed the man who was born blind. I suspect this because our passage in this episode ends with the crowd being torn over Jesus having given sight to a blind person.

However, in this passage, we are presented with several challenging statements.

The first challenging statement in my mind is at the end of verse 14. Right in the middle of Jesus explaining this parable, Jesus tells those present “I give up my life for my sheep.” This is one of the craziest things for anyone to say. From the most literal way of understanding this idea, if a shepherd gives up his life for his sheep, his sheep would be left defenseless when the next predator comes. On the surface, this sounds crazy.

However, while this sounds crazy, this is one more clear example of Jesus predicting His death, and the ultimate reason Jesus gives up His life.

The second challenging statement is connected with the first and it is when Jesus says in verses 17 and 18: “The Father loves me, because I give up my life, so that I may receive it back again. No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly! I have the power to give it up and the power to receive it back again, just as my Father commanded me to do.”

While the truth in these two verses is difficult, or perhaps even impossible for us to fully understand, Jesus has the power to give His life up and the power to receive it back again. This means that Jesus essentially has the power to resurrect Himself, and if I were to hear someone claim this today, I would be just as confused as the people listening to Jesus in the first century.

This outlandish claim leaves only two options: Either Jesus was ridiculously deluded and overstepped His bounds, or Jesus spoke the truth and He has more power than any of us can even begin to comprehend.

The way we reconcile this claim is by testing it against what happened, and all evidence tells us that Jesus did die, and that He did rise again, just as He predicted. Even though this event happened thousands of years ago, it is the most preserved truth in all of history.

This leads us to the third challenging statement. This one is found between our other two statements. In verse 16, Jesus tells those present: “I have other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them together too, when they hear my voice. Then there will be one flock of sheep and one shepherd.”

While on the surface this doesn’t sound all that crazy, especially when compared with the other two statements we have already looked at, the craziness in this statement is that Jesus has people who are part of other groups of people. While we might limit the other groups of people to other believing Christians who are part of different denominations or churches, I suspect Jesus’ statement is even broader than this, including other belief systems and other worldviews. It is possible that God has called someone from a group you could not possibly think could be saved or savable.

However, while this is a challenging truth, it is worth noting that Jesus is the one responsible for uniting people. It is not our responsibility to change other people’s minds. Instead, in a subtle twist, our responsibility is to live in a way that doesn’t push other people away. We are to live a visible faith, we are to love and help others, but we should not be abrasive, pushy, arrogant, prideful, or hostile towards people who are not like us.

Jesus came into a world to save people who were nothing like Him. Jesus loved people who were nothing like Him. We are called to love those who Jesus loves, and that includes people who are nothing like us, people who stand for the opposite things as we do, and people who are even openly hostile towards us. We are called to be loving, and Jesus is called to be the one uniting!

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 and choose to be loving to those He brings into your life. While this includes strangers and acquaintances, this also includes your friends and your family – both your immediate family and your extended family as well. God has brought everyone into your life for a reason, and regardless of whether you understand the reason, we are called to be loving towards everyone God has brought into our life.

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 just how much God loves you and I and how much He was willing to give to redeem us from sin.

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 23: When Jesus decides to share an illustration about being a shepherd, discover in Jesus’ words several powerful truths about Jesus’ character, His love, and His mission to this world of sinners. Discover just how much God loves each of us through what Jesus says in these few verses.

Like Father, Like Son: John 5:16-47

Published June 5, 2026 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 5:16-47 (NIV)

¹⁶So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. ¹⁷In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” ¹⁸For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

¹⁹Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. ²⁰For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. ²¹For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. ²²Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, ²³that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

²⁴“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

²⁸“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. ³⁰By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

³¹“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. ³²There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.

³³“You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. ³⁴Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. ³⁵John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

³⁶“I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. ³⁷And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, ³⁸nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. ³⁹You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, ⁴⁰yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

⁴¹“I do not accept glory from human beings, ⁴²but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. ⁴³I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. ⁴⁴How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

⁴⁵“But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. ⁴⁶If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. ⁴⁷But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”

Read John 5:16-47 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

In one of the earlier conflicts Jesus had with the Jewish leaders, we find Jesus sharing some pretty amazing things. Following Jesus healing a paraplegic man at a pool, John shares how the Jewish leaders were upset at the reality that this miracle happened on the Sabbath day.

John tells us that “because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him.” (v. 16)

It would seem that had it not been for extreme Sabbath regulations that they had put in place, the Jewish leaders might not have had any issue with Jesus – at least until they became jealous of His popularity. John tells us that in Jesus’ defense, He replied to them saying, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” (v. 17)

Had the Jewish leaders not had this confrontation with Jesus over Sabbath observance, they wouldn’t have had another reason to stand against Him. Because of this response, the Jewish leaders “tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” (v. 18)

The interesting thing in my mind about the initial stages of this confrontation with the Jewish leaders is that Jesus never denies the claim about working on the Sabbath. Perhaps this is because Jesus didn’t believe His actions to be work, or maybe it is because He wanted to draw their attention onto something greater that was happening at that moment in time. If Jesus had gone down the path of trying to redefine the concept of “work” with these Jewish leaders, it would have been a lost cause, because defining “work” was what these Jewish leaders were experts at doing.

Instead, Jesus draws in someone else who works on the Sabbath, and by placing God in the position of His Father, Jesus simply has to lean on the cultural cliché that says “like father, like son”.

Jesus drew the attention of everyone present onto the idea that there is something bigger at “work” regarding Sabbath rest. Jesus did not claim that He wasn’t working, but He also didn’t sweep the commandment aside either. In other places, Jesus elevates the Sabbath away from a list of restrictions for the day, and He instead frames it as a day where we are free to do good deeds and help others.

Blending that idea with this one, the message I see in Jesus’ initial response to the Jewish leaders is that the Sabbath was intended to be a blessing, not a burden and the Sabbath should be more about worship than about avoiding work.

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