Welcome to Cam’s Reflective Bible Study Journal

Cam’s Reflective Bible Study Journal is a blog/podcast where Cam, one of Reflective Bible Study's founders, shares things he has discovered from his time studying the Bible (usually from one or more of the four gospels).

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Pointing Upward: John 8:31-59

Published May 27, 2026 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: John 8:31-59 (NIV)

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Read John 8:31-59 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

There are a lot of strong points in this passage, but one really big idea stood out to me as I read through this passage: Jesus did not come to give glory to Himself, but to point people to the Father (verses 49-50, 54). This is one of the biggest, mind bending ideas that I have seen shared about Jesus in the gospels: Jesus’ character does not strive to honor or bring glory to Himself.

However, there is another being who desperately wants to take Jesus’ place of honor (Isaiah 14:12-15). By the very nature of wanting to take Jesus’ place, Lucifer’s character runs completely contrary to this idea. He wants the glory to point to himself, because he wants to be the greatest.

Lucifer (Satan) wants to replace Jesus Christ. He tried in heaven, which caused him to be thrown out. I don’t doubt that he will try again here on earth. However, one of the easiest distinctions we can use to determine the true Christ from any false “christ” is this character trait. Boiled down to a simple question, we can ask: “Is this individual seeking glory for themselves, or are they uplifting God, Jesus as is written in the Bible, and not taking credit for their kindness?”

God often spreads our spiritual growth among many teachers (1 Corinthians 3:5-9). This is also uncharacteristic of someone who is seeking all the glory. Someone who wants all the glory is going to want to fill all the stages of growth, because they want to be recognized and honored. Another equally telling trait of a true Christ from a false “christ” is whether they are open to allow God to use a different individual to continue helping someone grow spiritually. Someone seeking their own glory is going to be interested in managing (and/or micromanaging) the growth process and this is counter to the character of Christ.

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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Planting Doubt: Matthew 9:9-13

Published May 26, 2026 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: Matthew 9:9-13 (NCV)

9 When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s booth. Jesus said to him, “Follow me,” and he stood up and followed Jesus.

10 As Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with Jesus and his followers. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked Jesus’ followers, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

12 When Jesus heard them, he said, “It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I want kindness more than I want animal sacrifices.’ I did not come to invite good people but to invite sinners.”

Read Matthew 9:9-13 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Part way through Jesus’ ministry, immediately after inviting Matthew (also known as Levi) to follow Him, Matthew invites Jesus to his home for a big dinner. It’s uncertain how many disciples Jesus had at this point, but regardless of the size of Jesus’ group, Matthew invited many of his tax collector friends over to eat and to meet Jesus.

When reading Matthew’s gospel, specifically about this event, a subtle detail stands out to me as strange, and maybe even a little underhanded. While the supper was going on, Pharisees saw what was going on and “they asked Jesus’ followers, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’” (v. 11)

Perhaps at this point, the Pharisees had been stumped enough by Jesus that they decide to take aim at His disciples instead, or maybe they simply wanted to plant seeds of division among Jesus’ group of followers. Whatever the reason for singling out Jesus’ followers, the motive was almost certainly negative.

Luke’s gospel describes it a little differently. Luke records the Pharisees and teachers of the law “complaining” to Jesus’ followers: “But the Pharisees and the men who taught the law for the Pharisees began to complain to Jesus’ followers, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’” (Luke 5:30)

While Jesus overhears them and responds to their question, when we instead focus on the tactic these men use, we see something that is incredibly effective at sabotaging a movement. If they can get the disciples talking and taking sides over Jesus’ unconventional actions, then their group will be weakened and less effective.

It seems as though Jesus was well aware of this, and before the disciples even have a chance to respond, Jesus speaks up with an answer. The answer Jesus gave both validates the decision each of Jesus’ followers made when choosing to follow Jesus and Jesus’ answer defuses the Pharisee’s subtle attack.

Satan knows he can win if he can simply plant enough seeds of doubt in a person’s mind. Plant the right seeds that question God and undermine His character, and Satan has succeeded in closing that person’s heart away from God. Some of the seeds Satan plants are questions that cannot be answered before we reach heaven, but many of them can.

The remedy for doubt is by testing the challenges themselves. Look at both sides of the challenge and then make a decision. If Satan is attacking God’s loving character, take a look at God’s unloving actions included in the Bible, but instead of stopping there, also look at God’s loving actions. Only after looking at both sides of an issue can we truly be informed enough to make a decision.

Satan wants each of us to doubt God to the point we are unwilling to even claim His promises. If Satan can succeed with his seeds of doubt, we won’t even bother thinking God has something better for us. The best way of answering Satan’s doubt is by bringing the challenge to Jesus. Jesus does have an answer to Satan’s challenges and His answer will validate our faith while also undermining Satan’s challenge.

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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Flashback Episode — The Path to Life and Freedom: John 8:31-59

Published May 25, 2026 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we continue in John’s gospel, and in the debate that Jesus was having with the Jews, we discover some amazing truths within Jesus’ response, we discover a powerful challenge Jesus shares about an important subject, and we also find one of my favorite Bible passages. Since this is a longer passage, let’s dive right in.

Our passage for this episode is found in John’s gospel, chapter 8, and we will read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 31, John writes:

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Pausing briefly, I want to point out one of my favorite verses, and this is the message Jesus shares as our passage opens. If we were to ask the question about what makes us true disciples of Jesus, Jesus’ first words in this passage gives us the answer. Jesus tells us, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” This is one of my favorite Bible passages, because it clarifies the path to the truth, and the benefit we get from knowing the truth. The way to the truth is becoming a disciple of Jesus, and the way to become a disciple of Jesus is holding onto Jesus’ teaching. When we apply Jesus’ teachings into our lives, we walk the path of a disciple, and on the path of being a disciple, we discover the truth and are ultimately set free.

However, the Jews present took offense to the idea of being set free. Continuing reading in verse 33:

33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

In this passage, we have a lot we could unpack, and simply not enough time to do so with the format of these shorter episodes.

However, one truth that I want to draw out of this passage is very significant. This truth is that the idea of dying and death in this passage use two different Greek words, and while these words are similar, the way Jesus uses these two words in this passage help to frame a huge truth that is easily missed, or perhaps intentionally ignored.

In this passage, specifically in verse 51, Jesus shares the promise that “whoever obeys my word will never see death.” This promise is repeated with a likely mocking tone of voice by the Jews responding to Jesus in verse 52.

However, it is interesting to note that in this entire passage, these are the only times this Greek word for death is used. Instead, when describing how the prophets and significant people from the past died, a different Greek word was used.

This is a very significant detail, because when we look at how Jesus frames these two words for death in the four gospels, we quickly discover that Jesus used one of these words to describe an eternal death, and the other to describe a death that will be cut short with a resurrection. This truth is made a little more complicated, because the Greek term used for sentencing someone to death, is the one that describes an eternal death, which makes historical sense, because the Greek’s dualistic beliefs stood entirely opposed to the concept of resurrection as something that their gods would do, or that would even be desirable to experience.

To arrive at this conclusion, I looked at all the places in the gospels where Jesus used these two Greek words, and not simply at all the places they appear. Looking at all the places they appear in the gospels prompts us to conclude that these might be very interchangeable terms.

However, when we look at Jesus’ own words, Jesus uses the term “death”, specifically the one we see only mentioned a couple times in this passage, to describe a death that lasts forever, and when He describes the types of death that people were sentenced to. When being sentenced to die, I know of no court that would include the context of a future resurrection. Being sentenced to death is being sentenced to having one’s life removed with no expectation of it returning.

The other Greek word for dying has a future resurrection implied. This is easily seen when Jesus is talking with Martha about Lazarus dying, which is an event we will look at in a future episode. Both Martha and Jesus frame this type of death as one that looks forward to a resurrection. Jesus just helps Martha discover that resurrection can happen sooner than Jesus’ return.

As we are running out of time, let me draw this powerful truth out into the open: Jesus promises us that everyone who obeys His Words will never see eternal death. This is powerful for us to remember, because it makes the truth about believing Jesus relevant. A truth we reject is one that we don’t apply into our lives, while a truth we believe is one that we will obey. By not obeying Jesus’ truth, we reject Him, and we step off of the path of discipleship.

When we reject Jesus’ teachings, we lose out on not just discovering God’s truth and the freedom that comes with it, as we looked at in the beginning of this passage, but we also lose out on the promise of never tasting eternal death as well.

Instead of falling into Satan’s trap, let’s hold onto Jesus’ teaching, apply it into our own lives, and let the Holy Spirit lead us into God’s truth, specifically the truth that brings us resurrection and eternal life.

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 today to apply Jesus’ truth and teachings into your life. Choose to obey, not simply because Jesus has challenged us to, but because obeying leads us to discovering God’s truth and obedience is the best way to make your belief known. A hidden, secret faith does not have value if it stays hidden.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and discover God’s truth for your life. We can look to the Bible, specifically to the four gospels, to discover Jesus’ teachings, and by following Jesus’ teachings, we step onto the path of discipleship. Never let anyone get in the way of you following Jesus and applying His truths into your life.

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 21: While debating with religious leaders about truth, freedom, and life, discover a powerful truth Jesus shares about how to become a disciple, and how being a disciple leads us to having not only freedom from sin, but a future eternal life as well.

Breaking the Mold: Mark 8:31-9:1

Published May 22, 2026 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: Mark 8:31-9:1 (GNT)

31 Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will rise to life.” 32 He made this very clear to them. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But Jesus turned around, looked at his disciples, and rebuked Peter. “Get away from me, Satan,” he said. “Your thoughts don’t come from God but from human nature!”

34 Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him. “If any of you want to come with me,” he told them, “you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. 35 For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for me and for the gospel, you will save it. 36 Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! 37 There is nothing you can give to regain your life. 38 If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching in this godless and wicked day, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

9:1 And he went on to say, “I tell you, there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power.”

Read Mark 8:31-9:1 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Throughout all the gospels, we see Jesus trying to warn His disciples of His upcoming death on the cross. Not only that, He also tried to get them to understand that within three days after His death, He would be back alive with them.

However, it always strikes me as a little odd that the disciples never really ask any follow-up questions to when Jesus tells them this. Perhaps they were confused about it, or maybe they were not ready to believe it to be true. But another reason for their silence could be because of what happened during one of the first times Jesus shared this information plainly with His followers.

Mark tells us that “Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: ‘The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will rise to life.’ He made this very clear to them. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But Jesus turned around, looked at his disciples, and rebuked Peter. ‘Get away from me, Satan,’ he said. ‘Your thoughts don’t come from God but from human nature!’” (v. 31-33)

Matthew’s gospel includes what Peter said to Jesus. Matthew tells us that Peter rebuked Jesus by saying, “God forbid it, Lord! That must never happen to you!” (Matthew 16:22)

All the disciples believed the Messiah would last forever, and they believed Jesus to be the Messiah. Because of these two beliefs, the logical conclusion was that the Messiah could not die. Jesus teaching of His rejection and death didn’t fit with their picture of the Messiah, but instead of reframing their view of the Messiah’s role and ministry, or rejecting Jesus as the Messiah, they simply try to discount Jesus’ clear words to them. Mark includes the statement, “[Jesus] made this [His upcoming death] very clear to them.” (v. 32a)

What Jesus was saying didn’t fit into the mold that culture had created for the Messiah to fit into, and that mold was something that the devil created as a trap for Jesus. While Jesus’ response sounds over the top when He rebukes Peter, Jesus wanted to break free from the mold that first-century society had created for Him. The first place He needed to break it was from His followers.

Two thousand years later, our picture of Jesus looks different. We have 20 centuries of history to look back on and back through when developing our picture of Jesus. However we are just as capable of building a mold of who He is today as His disciples were back then. And just like Jesus broke the mold of the first century, He will break the mold we have for Him in the 21st century.

Jesus doesn’t like being restricted to a box or a role that humanity has created. Instead, He submitted to the role that God the Father had set before Him and He walked with the Holy Spirit through His ministry on earth. While we may not understand everything that God is doing, or everything that He has done, our job is not to understand it. Instead, we are called to follow Jesus’ example and submit to the role that God has set before us, and walk with the Holy Spirit leading us throughout our lives here on earth.

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!

Subscribe to this blog and never miss an insight.