Podcasts about Caesarea

Pastor John Ryan Cantu brings this week's message, “Mission in the Desert.” Acts 8:26-36, 38-40 ESV: “Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.” If you enjoyed the podcast, please subscribe and share it with your friends on social media. For more information about PNEUMA Church, visit our website at mypneumachurch.org.Connect with Us: Instagram: https://instagram.com/mypneumachurch YouTube: https://youtube.com/mypneumachurch Facebook: https://facebook.com/mypneumachurch Time Stamps: 00:00 - Introduction 00:30 - Welcome 02:05 - Acts 8:26-36, 38-40 ESV 04:00 - Mission in the Desert

When Religion Gets in the WayActs 11:1-18Teacher: Pastor Tom YarbroughDate: June 14, 2026As we continue the narrative of the conversion of Cornelius the Gentile and his household, the final scene takes place back in Jerusalem, where not everyone in the church is pleased with Peter's mission to Caesarea. We are introduced to a group of strict Jewish believers, known as the ”circumcision party”, who take exception with Peter's fellowship with Gentiles, whom they consider unclean. This group identifies themselves primarily through their own adherence to Jewish custom rather than their new life in Christ. Peter's response is to give a reasonable and orderly defense that not only shares the new spiritual vision he has been given but also leaves no room for doubt that this movement is the work of the Holy Spirit as confirmed by the words of Jesus himself. How can this passage encourage us today when we too may be tempted to cling to any identity other than a gospel identity? Join Pastor Tom Yarbrough as we study through Acts 11:1-18 together.Support the showTo find more resources like these, follow us:Website: https://thevillagechapel.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQVTzDbaiXVUAm_mUBDCTJAInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/tvcnashville/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tvcnashvilleX: https://twitter.com/tvcnashvilleTo support the ongoing mission of The Village Chapel go to https://thevillagechapel.com/give/. If you are a regular giver, thank you for your continued faithfulness and generosity!

Trinity Anglican Seminary is built on the same daily prayer rhythms you practice every time you hit play. Morning Prayer. Evening Prayer. Weekly Eucharist. It's a place where chapel and classroom aren't two separate worlds, they're one. Whether you're pursuing a degree or exploring a certificate in Anglican studies, come experience being formed in community around study and prayer at Trinity. Registration is now open for their fall classes at tas.edu/dailyoffice.Evening Prayer for Sunday, June 14, 2026 (Proper 5; Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesarea and Teacher of the Faith, 379).Psalm and Scripture readings (60-day Psalter):Psalm 107:23-43Ezekiel 33:1-23, 30-33Acts 15:1-21Click here to support The Daily Office Podcast with a one-time gift or a recurring donation.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to access the text for the Daily Office at DailyOffice2019.com.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Trinity Anglican Seminary is built on the same daily prayer rhythms you practice every time you hit play. Morning Prayer. Evening Prayer. Weekly Eucharist. It's a place where chapel and classroom aren't two separate worlds, they're one. Whether you're pursuing a degree or exploring a certificate in Anglican studies, come experience being formed in community around study and prayer at Trinity. Registration is now open for their fall classes at tas.edu/dailyoffice.Morning Prayer for Sunday, June 14, 2026 (Proper 5; Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesarea and Teacher of the Faith, 379).Psalm and Scripture readings (60-day Psalter):Psalm 107:1-22Joshua 14:5-15Luke 23:50-24:12Click here to support The Daily Office Podcast with a one-time gift or a recurring donation.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to access the text for the Daily Office at DailyOffice2019.com.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Although it is not among the older cities in the Bible, it is one of the most important. Caesarea Maritima is the harbor gateway into Israel. Built by Herod the Great, it is also a tribute to Rome. Later, it would become the base of Pontius Pilate and other Roman officials. But later, God would redeem this city and turn it into an intellectual center for the early church. Cole and Terry discuss the redemption story and impactful history of Caesarea.

Important Links:Dad Tired Annual RetreatHost A Dad Tired Conference at your churchJoin the FREE Family Leadership ProgramShop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gearWhen your soul feels anxious, restless, angry, or worn down, what do you do?In this episode of Dad Tired, Pastor Kaleb points men back to one of the most overlooked gifts God has given us for caring for our souls: the Psalms. The Psalms give language to the deepest parts of us — our fear, sorrow, repentance, betrayal, joy, gratitude, and hope.If you've ever thought, “I don't even know what's going on inside of me,” this episode will help you see the Psalms as God's invitation to pray when you don't know how to pray.Kaleb walks through how Jesus, the apostles, and the early church leaned on the Psalms in moments of suffering, anxiety, worship, and spiritual battle. You'll be encouraged to stop treating the Psalms as ancient poetry only, and start using them as daily prayers for your soul.In this episode, you'll learn:How the Psalms help diagnose and shepherd your soulWhy Jesus prayed the Psalms in His sufferingHow the early church used the Psalms in moments of fear and persecutionWhy the Psalms give language to anxiety, repentance, grief, and worshipA simple practice for praying through the Psalms each weekWhether you're anxious, tired, tempted, grateful, or grieving, the Psalms give you words to bring your whole heart before God.Mentioned in this episode:Psalm 22, Psalm 23, Psalm 42, Psalm 51, Psalm 63, Psalm 88, Psalm 91, Psalm 103, Psalm 116, Matthew 26, Acts 4, John Calvin, Athanasius, Basil of Caesarea. Important Links:Dad Tired Annual RetreatHost A Dad Tired Conference at your churchJoin the FREE Family Leadership ProgramShop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear

What is the default assumption regarding a gentile's intent when an animal is slaughtered? The rabbis hold that we do not automatically assume a gentile intends it for idol worship unless he explicitly says so, while Rabbi Eliezer holds a gentile's default intent is for idol worship. Rabbi Yosi argues that even if he does intend it for idol worship, we do not say that one person's intent affects another person's act of slaughter. The Gemara presents two ways to explain this dispute and whether the principle of one person intending and another performing the action applies outside the Temple just as it does inside. What is the status of an animal if the slaughter was performed with the intent to perform a later part of the service, like throwing the blood or burning the fat, for idol worship? Rabbi Yochanan rules that the animal is disqualified because we can transfer intent from one action to another, and we learn the laws outside the Temple from the laws inside. Reish Lakish rules that it is permitted because we do not transfer intent from one action to another outside the Temple. The Gemara notes they hold the same argument regarding internal Temple sacrifices and l'shma intent, and then explains why it was necessary to state that they argue in both cases. A difficulty is raised against Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish from Rabbi Yosi's position in the Mishna, but is resolved. A braita is then brought to support Rabbi Yochanan's position. What is the law if someone performs shechita and only thinks about sprinkling the blood for idol worship after the slaughter is finished? The Gemara cites a case in Caesarea where the Sages did not rule whether it was forbidden or permitted. The issue is whether or not a later action or statement retroactively proves the initial intent. After attempting to connect their ruling with the rabbis' and Rabbi Eliezer's positions, that suggestion is rejected and they say it connects with Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel's ruling. However, the Gemara tries to figure out which ruling of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel it connects to. Rav Yehuda says in the name of Shmuel that the halakha follows Rabbi Yosi, meaning the gentile's intent does not disqualify the Jew's shechita. The Gemara brings a story where gentiles gave animals to a Jewish butcher and stated the blood and fat were for them, and it was permitted. Rav Ashi qualifies that if a gentile gives money to a Jewish butcher under Rabbi Eliezer's view, it is only forbidden if the gentile is powerful enough that the butcher cannot refuse his intent.

The Council of Constantinople as part of Sam and Hank's church Fathers series.00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:45 - Fourth Century Review00:16:00 - The Council begins00:20:20 - The Macedonians00:23:00 - Meletius of Antioch00:28:30 - Gregory of Nazianzus00:38:40 - Nectarius of Constantinople00:44:40 - The Canons of Constantinople00:49:20 - Aftermath00:55:30 - The Creed, or lack thereofRoman EmperorsConstantine the Great (Emperor who convened the Council of Nicaea)Constans (Son of Constantine, ruler of the West)Constantius II (Son of Constantine, ruler of the East)Julian the Apostate (Nephew of Constantine who rejected Christianity)Jovian (Imperial bodyguard commander who briefly succeeded Julian)Valentinian I (Western Emperor who appointed his brother Valens)Valens (Pro-Arian Eastern Emperor killed at Adrianople)Theodosius the Great (Spanish general made Emperor who convened the Council of 381)The Cappadocian Fathers & Allied TheologiansGregory of Nazianzus (Theologian, short-lived chairman of the Council, and Bishop of Constantinople)Basil the Great (Bishop of Caesarea who orchestrated the pro-Nicene strategy)Gregory of Nyssa (Brother of Basil, theologian who delivered Meletius's funeral oration)Meletius of Antioch (Initial chairman of the Council of Constantinople whose sudden death caused turmoil)Other Historical Church FiguresAmbrose of Milan (Influential Western bishop and advisor to emperors)Nectarius of Constantinople (The unbaptized Senator suddenly elected as Bishop and Council chairman)Paulinus of Antioch (Rival pro-Nicene bishop of Antioch backed by Rome and Alexandria)Euzoius of Antioch (Arian bishop appointed to replace Meletius)Maximus the Cynic (Rival candidate whose claim to the see of Constantinople was invalidated by Canon 4)Augustine of Hippo (Prolific Western Church Father referenced in the aftermath)Jerome (Translator of the Vulgate, referenced in the 4th-century timeline)Theological Figures (Eponymous Heresiarchs Mentioned)Arius (Originator of the Arian controversy regarding the Son's divinity)Macedonius I of Constantinople (Pneumatomachian leader whose followers denied the divinity of the Spirit)Eunomius of Cyzicus (Leader of the radical "Anomoean" or hardcore Arian faction)Photinus of Sirmium (4th-century bishop who taught a form of Biblical Unitarianism/Dynamic Monarchianism)Paul of Samosata (3rd-century adoptionist Bishop of Antioch)Apollinaris of Laodicea (Taught that Jesus had a human body but a divine mind instead of a human soul)Sabellius (3rd-century theologian who taught Modalism/Sabellianism)Marcellus of Ancyra (Strict Monarchian theologian condemned for his views on the lifespan of Christ's kingdom)Eudoxius of Constantinople (Prominent Arian bishop referenced in Canon 1)

What is the default assumption regarding a gentile's intent when an animal is slaughtered? The rabbis hold that we do not automatically assume a gentile intends it for idol worship unless he explicitly says so, while Rabbi Eliezer holds a gentile's default intent is for idol worship. Rabbi Yosi argues that even if he does intend it for idol worship, we do not say that one person's intent affects another person's act of slaughter. The Gemara presents two ways to explain this dispute and whether the principle of one person intending and another performing the action applies outside the Temple just as it does inside. What is the status of an animal if the slaughter was performed with the intent to perform a later part of the service, like throwing the blood or burning the fat, for idol worship? Rabbi Yochanan rules that the animal is disqualified because we can transfer intent from one action to another, and we learn the laws outside the Temple from the laws inside. Reish Lakish rules that it is permitted because we do not transfer intent from one action to another outside the Temple. The Gemara notes they hold the same argument regarding internal Temple sacrifices and l'shma intent, and then explains why it was necessary to state that they argue in both cases. A difficulty is raised against Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish from Rabbi Yosi's position in the Mishna, but is resolved. A braita is then brought to support Rabbi Yochanan's position. What is the law if someone performs shechita and only thinks about sprinkling the blood for idol worship after the slaughter is finished? The Gemara cites a case in Caesarea where the Sages did not rule whether it was forbidden or permitted. The issue is whether or not a later action or statement retroactively proves the initial intent. After attempting to connect their ruling with the rabbis' and Rabbi Eliezer's positions, that suggestion is rejected and they say it connects with Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel's ruling. However, the Gemara tries to figure out which ruling of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel it connects to. Rav Yehuda says in the name of Shmuel that the halakha follows Rabbi Yosi, meaning the gentile's intent does not disqualify the Jew's shechita. The Gemara brings a story where gentiles gave animals to a Jewish butcher and stated the blood and fat were for them, and it was permitted. Rav Ashi qualifies that if a gentile gives money to a Jewish butcher under Rabbi Eliezer's view, it is only forbidden if the gentile is powerful enough that the butcher cannot refuse his intent.

Pastor Matt opens by setting the stage with Acts 1:8, the last recorded words of Jesus before his ascension, where he commands his followers to be witnesses "to the ends of the earth." For the first nine chapters of Acts, the gospel had been spreading rapidly — but almost exclusively among Jewish people. The burning question hanging over the early church was this: What about the Gentiles? Could people who were not ethnically Jewish truly become part of God's family? Acts 10–11 answers that question decisively, Marking one of the greatest turning points in the entire book. Through a pair of divine visions — one given to Cornelius, a Roman centurion and God-fearer stationed in Caesarea, and one given to Peter involving a sheet full of unclean animals — God begins dismantling centuries of cultural, ethnic, and religious walls. When Peter steps into the home of Cornelius and shares the gospel, the Holy Spirit falls on the Gentiles just as he had on the Jews at Pentecost. Peter's response says it all: "Who was I that I could stand in God's way?" Back in Jerusalem, the church initially pushes back, but when they hear the full account, they fall silent and glorify God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life" (Acts 11:18). Pastor Matt brings the message home with three practical takeaways: God is pursuing people we might tend to overlook; following Jesus means letting him reshape our perspectives and assumptions; and the Holy Spirit directs and confirms God's mission to all people. The call to action is clear — just as someone once crossed out of their comfort zone so the gospel could reach us, it is now our turn to step into uncomfortable obedience and move toward the people God is already pursuing.

Verse by verse study through the book of Acts Chapter Ten and Verse Twenty Four

During the persecutions of the Emperor Maximian, the virgin Theodosia came to comfort a group of Christians who were standing before the governor of Caesarea in Palestine. When she encouraged them not to shun martyrdom, she too was brought before the judge, who ordered that a stone be tied around her neck and that she be thrown into the sea; but angels carried her to shore unharmed. The judge then ordered that she be beheaded. The night that the sentence was carried out, Theodosia appeared to her parents, surrounded by heavenly light and accompanied by other virgin martyrs, and said, 'Do you see how great is the glory and grace of my Christ, of which you wished to deprive me?' (Her parents, wishing to preserve her from martyrdom, had tried to prevent her from confessing Christ).

The last chapter in Acts details Paul's trip to Rome and his house arrest. He had already been in prison for two years in Caesarea, but he refused to quit spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is what got him in trouble with the Jews in the first place. Grab your Bible, turn to Acts 28, and follow along with Pastor Mike.

Welcome to "The PLOT Against You Just Got INTERCEPTED — Acts 23." Today, Pastor Sean Pinder invites you to receive a word about divine protection, spiritual warfare, and how God exposes and cancels every secret plot, every conspiracy, and every plan the enemy has formed against your life — because the plot against you has already FAILED.More than forty men made a vow. They swore an oath that they would not eat or drink until they had killed the Apostle Paul. Forty people. One target. A secret conspiracy. And God already knew about every word of it."But Paul's nephew heard about the plot and went to the barracks and told Paul. Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, 'Take this young man to the commander. He has something important to tell him.'" — Acts 23:16-17 (NLT)Let these words resonate within your heart today. God used a young boy — Paul's nephew — to expose a plot that forty armed men had sworn in secret. The enemy thought the plan was hidden. The enemy thought no one knew. Take comfort in this truth — there is no plot formed against you in darkness that God cannot expose in the light. He sees every conspiracy. He hears every secret meeting. And He will always send the right person at the right moment to cancel what the enemy planned against your life."The commander called two of his officers and ordered, 'Get 200 soldiers ready to leave for Caesarea at nine o'clock tonight. Also take 200 spearmen and 70 mounted horsemen.'" — Acts 23:23 (NLT)Understand this — God sent 470 soldiers to escort one man. Forty men made a vow to kill Paul. God mobilized 470 soldiers in response. That is the God we serve. He does not match the enemy's resources — He OVERWHELMS them. Every plot against your life will be met with a divine response that is disproportionately greater than anything the enemy deployed against you.May this teaching from Acts 23:12-24 fill your heart with peace and remind you that no secret plot formed against you shall prosper. Remember — it is only when we trust in God's protection that we discover He has already been cancelling assignments against us that we never even knew existed. Thank you for joining me today. Subscribe for daily teachings, morning prayer broadcasts, and live services.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode we start Acts, chapter 10. Specifically, we look at verses 1-18. In Acts 10:1-18, we see God doing something unexpected. A high-ranking soldier named Cornelius—a Roman captain n in command of 100 soldiers—receives a vision from an angel at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Peter, one of Jesus' original disciples, receives a confusing vision about clean and unclean animals. And within hours, these two men—normally natural enemies—are about to meet.Here's what happens: Cornelius is stationed in Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast. He's a devout man who prays regularly and gives generously to the poor. An angel appears to him and tells him to send men to Joppa to find Simon Peter, who is staying with another Simon—a tanner.At the same time, Peter is on a rooftop in Joppa, hungry and praying at noon. He falls into a trance and sees the sky open. A sheet comes down filled with animals—some clean by Jewish law, some unclean. God tells Peter to kill and eat them. Peter refuses because Jewish law forbids eating unclean animals. God tells him three times: "Do not call unclean what I have made clean."God is showing Peter that the rules Peter lived by his whole life—the boundaries between clean and unclean, Jew and Gentile—have changed because of Jesus.Listen now at renewyourmindministries.orgYou can listen to past and future episodes of this podcast and The God Revelation Podcast and the Holy Spirit Podcast on our website   https://renewyourmindministries.org/, or on any podcast platform such as Amazon Alexa, Audible, Apple/Itunes Podcasts, Spotify, iheart, Youtube Podcasts, & etc.

Touring The Land Of Israel  -  Caesarea Part 6:  What's New In Caesarea?  -  English only.  Caesarea is home to many incredible ancient archaeological remains. But Caesarea's harbor has recently yielded some additional finds that are both stunning and more modern.  Recorded January 20, 2026.

What do we/you reason about? This question is prompted by verses in today's 24th chapter of Acts. The arrest of Paul which had been predicted by the prophets in the early church possessed by the gifts of the Spirit, had now taken place in Jerusalem.Paul is brought to Caesarea and kept in custody by the Roman Governor Felix who has a Jewish wife and “having a rather accurate knowledge of the Way” [v.22] (‘the way' being the earliest phrase used to describe followers of Christ), the Governor is not willing to aid Paul's accusers, instead he arranged for him “to have some liberty” [v.23] and then, when his wife came, “he sent for Paul and heard him speak about the faith in Christ Jesus. And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgement Felix was alarmed …” [v.24,25]If someone like Paul was alive today and we heard them reasoning about such things – would they alarm us? Or would we welcome such reasoning? Would we make it part of our reasoning and reason for living? Don't we make our answer rather obvious by the extent to which we read the Bible – and put what we read into practice.

Welcome to Day 2856 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom – When Death Becomes Policy: How Christians Must Respond to a Dehumanizing System. Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2856 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps!   I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2856 of our Trek.   The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Our current series of Theology Thursday lessons is written by theologian and teacher John Daniels. I have found that his lessons are short, easy to understand, doctrinally sound, and applicable to all who desire to learn more of God's Word. John's lessons can be found on his website   theologyinfive.com.   Today's lesson is titled:  When Death Becomes Policy: How Christians Must Respond to a Dehumanizing System. The biblical view of human life begins with the most foundational truth in Scripture: “God created man in His own image” (Genesis 1 verse twenty-seven). Unlike the surrounding cultures of the ancient Near East, where only kings reflected divinity, Israel declared that every human being bore the image of Yahweh. This principle shaped the covenant people's moral and legal systems. The Law commanded care for the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner. It forbade the sacrifice of children. Justice was not a privilege for the strong. It was a duty toward the weak. The prophets reinforced this ethic repeatedly. Isaiah, Amos, Jeremiah, and Micah rebuked rulers not merely for idol worship, but for oppressing the poor, neglecting the sick, and perverting justice. Human life was sacred not because of economic output, but because it belonged to the Creator. The first segment is: Jesus and the Early Church Jesus expanded and embodied this ethic perfectly. He healed the sick, welcomed the outcast, and affirmed the dignity of the forgotten. He did not divide people by status or function. He saw them as lost sheep, image-bearers in need of restoration. This was not sentiment. It was theology in action. The early Church followed His example with startling results. In a Roman culture where the disabled were abandoned, the elderly discarded, and infants exposed to die, Christians responded with radical mercy. They rescued infants from trash heaps. They nursed the sick during plagues, often at the cost of their own lives. And most notably, they created something the world had never seen before: the hospital. The first true hospital was founded in the late fourth century by St. Basil the Great in Caesarea, Cappadocia. The Basilias was a large complex that included housing for the poor, medical treatment for the sick, and care for lepers. It was not a tool of state power or military strategy, but a direct expression of Christian love for those society rejected. Basil believed that if Christ healed the broken, then His followers must do the same. Other Christians followed his lead. St. Fabiola in Rome founded one of the first hospitals in the West. Monasteries across Europe established infirmaries, not only for monks, but for pilgrims, travelers, beggars, and the dying. The very word hospital comes from hospitalis, Latin for “guest,” reflecting the belief that in caring for the sick, Christians were receiving Christ Himself. This was revolutionary. The Greco-Roman world had temples for the healthy and private physicians for the elite, but no institutions devoted to caring for the poor and dying until Christians built them. Their actions were not driven by utility. They were driven by conviction: life matters because it is made by God, seen by Christ, and destined for eternity. That is the root. That is the legacy. And when modern systems again begin to measure lives by what they cost instead of what they are, Christians must not be silent. They must remember who they are. The second segment is: Hospice Is Not the Enemy It is important to be clear: this is not an argument against hospice or genuine palliative care. Hospice reflects the biblical ethic of compassion. It affirms that life has value even in suffering, and that dignity is preserved not by hastening death, but by honoring a person's final days with comfort and presence. The danger arises when that sacred view of life is replaced by a cold calculation. Instead of seeing the end of life as a transition, society begins to treat it as a solution to systemic and financial problems. When the vulnerable are seen as obstacles, death becomes a policy tool, and compassion is used to justify elimination. The third segment is: A Troubling Shift in Canada Nowhere is this more visible than in Canada. What began as Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) for those suffering from unbearable physical pain has quickly expanded into something far broader. In 2016, just over 1,000 Canadians ended their lives through MAiD. By 2022, that number had surged to over 13,000. It is now reportedly the sixth leading cause of death in the country. Even more troubling is who is now eligible. Increasingly, MAiD is offered not to those with terminal illness, but to those who are poor, mentally ill, or socially isolated. Some have requested euthanasia because they cannot afford housing or support services. Others have been told that medical treatment is not available, but MAiD is. Doctors have reported being pressured to bring up euthanasia as an option, even in cases where it would never have been considered before. And some policy experts have openly acknowledged that the healthcare system is overloaded and needs a centralized solution. Quietly, and without ever officially declaring it, death is being presented as that solution. The fourth segment is: Death as an Economic Decision One of the most disturbing elements of Canada's MAiD system is how these deaths are recorded. In several provinces, including British Columbia and Ontario, official guidance instructs physicians to list the person's underlying illness or condition as the cause of death, even when the immediate act involved a medically administered lethal substance. This is not a clerical oversight. In British Columbia, the College of Physicians and Surgeons directs providers to list MAiD in Part I(a) of the Medical Certificate of Death, but the manner of death is still to be recorded as “natural.” The underlying illness remains the official cause. In Ontario, physicians providing MAiD are required to notify the Office of the Chief Coroner, and the death certificate process generally follows similar lines, emphasizing the condition rather than the procedure. At the federal level, Health Canada's monitoring and reporting system collects MAiD data separately, but the death certificates provided to families and registered in provincial statistics are shaped by these regional protocols. In public datasets and vital statistics, a MAiD death may appear indistinguishable from a natural death. The effect is not only statistical. It reframes euthanasia as a quiet extension of medical care, rather than a deliberate, policy-driven act of ending life. This framing can soften moral and public resistance, making it easier to expand eligibility without backlash. The fifth segment is: When Consent Looks Like Coercion While MAiD is legally defined as voluntary, the real-world conditions under which many of these decisions are made raise serious ethical concerns. Patients have increasingly reported seeking MAiD due to poverty, homelessness, mental illness, or chronic but non-terminal suffering. When essential care is delayed or denied, and when death is positioned as the one guaranteed option, consent begins to look less like a choice and more like surrender. In 2022, a Canadian Forces veteran suffering from PTSD and a traumatic brain injury approached Veterans Affairs for help. Instead of receiving mental health support, he was offered MAiD. A woman named Denise, suffering from multiple chemical sensitivities, chose MAiD because she could not find safe housing. She was not terminally ill, but her pleas for accommodation went unanswered. A man with a degenerative brain condition applied for MAiD after struggling to get the in-home care he needed. His doctor admitted that with proper support, he would not have sought death. A 51-year-old woman with long COVID applied due to unrelenting pain and fatigue. She said she would have preferred to live, but her condition had become intolerable without treatment options. Roger Foley, a man with a neurological condition, recorded hospital staff suggesting assisted death would cost less than long-term care. A woman with scoliosis and fibromyalgia applied after she could no longer afford her medications. Poverty, not disease, drove her request. A homeless man in Ontario with schizophrenia requested MAiD, saying he could not bear another...

Have you ever felt like your background, your past, or your social status might limit your access to God's presence or favor? In this episode, we dive into Acts 10 to explore how Peter's encounter with Cornelius reveals God's radical lack of partiality and what that means for your identity in Christ today. Our original discussion on the book of Acts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRTXTb-ULMZrO-r2psoaDN7Zx7FQkZ_98  Best Bible Translation: https://youtu.be/EcqNQE0MC7c How to pick a good Study Bible: https://youtu.be/_QNrjbiAYfM  More Bible discussions: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRTXTb-ULMZoT6IBeyHQ6zNL01gVX38sR    Questions or Prayer Requests? Email us at Mediahub@Thpshreveport.com  Learn more about The Healing Place at www.thpshreveport.com Check out the THP Youtube Channel:  ⁨@THPMediaProductions⁩   Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction: Why Acts 10 Matters Today   01:56 – Analyzing the Players: Who was Cornelius?   03:16 – The History of the "Cornelius" Name and Roman Liberation   04:37 – Seeking the One True God: The Character of a Devout Man   05:19 – Why the Details Matter: Simon the Tanner and Biblical Accuracy   07:14 – Peter's Vision and the Arrival at Caesarea   07:55 – "I Too Am a Man": Peter's Rejection of Worship   09:34 – Breaking Jewish Law: The Significance of the Gentile Visit   11:18 – Neither Common Nor Unclean: A Liberating Revelation   12:47 – God Shows No Partiality: The Core Message of Acts 10   15:30 – The Holy Spirit Falls on the Gentiles   17:42 – Final Takeaways: Looking at Others Through the Lens of Grace   21:02 – Practical Application: Stepping Out of Your Social Norms   23:16 – Closing and Invitation to The Healing Place    

If you enjoy this episode, we're sure you will enjoy more content like this on The Occult Rejects.  In fact, we have curated playlists on occult topics like grimoires, esoteric concepts and phenomena, occult history, analyzing true crime and cults with an occult lens, Para politics, and occultism in music. Whether you enjoy consuming your content visually or via audio, we've got you covered - and it will always be provided free of charge.  So, if you enjoy what we do and want to support our work of providing accessible, free content on various platforms, please consider making a donation to the links provided below.  Thank you and enjoy the episode!Links For The Occult Rejectshttps://linktr.ee/theoccultrejectsOccult Research Institutehttps://www.occultresearchinstitute.org/Cash Apphttps://cash.app/$theoccultrejectsVenmo@TheOccultRejectsBuy Me A Coffeebuymeacoffee.com/TheOccultRejectsPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/TheOccultRejectsPrimary sourcesIrenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies — especially Books 1 and 3, for Valentinus in Rome, Valentinian cosmology, and the four-gospel argument. (New Advent)Clement of Alexandria, Stromata — especially 7.17, for the report that Valentinus was a hearer of Theudas and Theudas a pupil of Paul. (New Advent)Tertullian, Against the Valentinians — for the hostile tradition about Valentinus, the branching of the school, “two schools / two chairs,” and Axionicus at Antioch. (New Advent)Hippolytus of Rome, Refutation of All Heresies — for Valentinus traditions, including the visionary material and the poem usually called “Summer Harvest.” (New Advent)Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History — for Irenaeus' letters to Blastus and Florinus, and the notice about On the Ogdoad. (New Advent)Origen, Commentary on John — the major witness preserving Heracleon's interpretations through quotation and paraphrase. (DIVA Portal)The Gospel of Truth (Nag Hammadi Codex I) — for the inner Valentinian preaching voice and the line “The gospel of truth is joy.” (Gnosis)The Treatise on the Resurrection / Letter to Rheginos (Nag Hammadi Codex I) — for realized resurrection theology and the line that the world is illusion rather than the resurrection. (Gnosis)The Tripartite Tractate (Nag Hammadi Codex I) — for the great Valentinian theological blueprint and the threefold anthropology of spiritual, psychic, and material humanity. (Early Christian Writings)The Gospel of Philip — for bridal-chamber language, sacramental symbolism, and later Valentinian ritual interpretation. (Gnosis)Valentinian Liturgical Readings / A Valentinian Exposition (Nag Hammadi Codex XI) — for anointing, baptism, and eucharistic ritual language in Valentinian circles. (Gnosis)Modern scholarshipEinar Thomassen, The Spiritual Seed: The Church of the “Valentinians” — the major modern study of Valentinianism as a real Christian movement with institutional and historical development. (Gnosis Study)Ismo Dunderberg, Beyond Gnosticism: Myth, Lifestyle, and Society in the School of Valentinus — for the social world, ethics, and lifestyle dimensions of Valentinian Christianity. (Columbia University Press)Philip L. Tite, Valentinian Ethics and Paraenetic Discourse: Determining the Social Function of Moral Exhortation in Valentinian Christianity — for exhortation, identity formation, and ethics in Valentinian communities. (Gnosis Study)Paul Linjamaa, The Ethics of The Tripartite Tractate (NHC I, 5): A Study of Determinism and Early Christian Philosophy of Ethics — for determinism, responsibility, and ethics in the Tripartite Tractate. (OAPEN)Carl Johan Berglund, Origen's References to Heracleon: A Quotation-Analytical Study — for the reconstruction of Heracleon through Origen and the count of verbatim quotations and summaries. (Google Books)Geoffrey S. Smith, Valentinian Christianity: Texts and Translations — for a balanced modern collection of extant Valentinian writings and the broader psalm-book / fragment tradition. (Amazon)Gregory Snyder, “A Second-Century Christian Inscription from the Via Latina” — for NCE 156, the Via Latina context, and the Roman funerary evidence. (Academia)Gregory Snyder, “The Discovery and Interpretation of the Flavia Sophe Inscription: New Results” — for Flavia Sophe, second-century dating arguments, and nuptial funerary imagery. (ResearchGate)Gregory Snyder, “Bed, Bath, and Burial: NCE 156 Revisited” — for the funerary reading of NCE 156 and the bridal-chamber / mortuary interpretation. (Academia)Gražina Kelmelytė, “The Concept of Bridal Chamber in the Valentinian Inscriptions” — for the bridal chamber as a polysemous symbol in Flavia Sophe and NCE 156. (ResearchGate)M. David Litwa, “Deification and Defecation: Valentinus Fragment 3 and the Physiology of Jesus's Digestion” — for the ancient physiological background of Valentinus' saying about Christ's incorrupt digestion. (ResearchGate)M. David Litwa, “A Newly Identified Letter of Valentinus on Jesus's Digestive System” — for the argument that the digestion fragment may belong to a wider Valentinian epistolary context. (Academia)Studies on the Nag Hammadi codices and their readers — for codicology, scribal overlap, provenance, and the late-antique material context of Codex I and related manuscripts. (Gnosis)Modern reception and afterlivesEcclesia Gnostica — for modern sacramental Gnostic Christian practice and public continuation of Gnostic liturgy. (Gnosis)Aleister Crowley, Liber XV: Ecclesiae Gnosticae Catholicae Canon Missae — for Valentinus in the saint-roll of the Gnostic Mass. (University of California Press)C. G. Jung, Seven Sermons to the Dead — for the modern psychological afterlife of terms like pleroma. (Gnosis)Modern philosophical readings of The Matrix using Valentinian questions and structure — for the contemporary survival of the awakening / false-world / return pattern. (Academia)Also want to remind people about the website, if you're into reading we have tons of information by multiple contributors, and we got t-shirts up on the site if you're interested. Fun fact, the art is all based on the eyeball. Now let me introduce the rest of the panel and guests.

These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel.— Matthew 10:5-6Scottish Declaration of Arbroath 1320:“Most Holy Father and Lord, we know and from the chronicles and books of the ancients we find that among other famous nations our own, the Scots, has been graced with widespread renown. They journeyed from Greater Scythia (Just North of Assyria as well as the Black and Caspian Sea) by way of the Tyrrhenian Sea (the Northwestern portion of the Mediterranean) and the Pillars of Hercules (the passage connecting the Mediterranean to the Atlantic), and dwelt for a long course of time in Spain among the most savage tribes, but nowhere could they be subdued by any race, however barbarous.Thence they came, twelve hundred years after the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea, to their home in the west where they still live today. The Britons they first drove out, the Picts they utterly destroyed, and, even though very often assailed by the Norwegians, the Danes and the English, they took possession of that home with many victories and untold efforts; and, as the historians of old time bear witness, they have held it free of all bondage ever since. In their kingdom there have reigned one hundred and thirteen kings of their own royal stock, the line unbroken a single foreigner. The high qualities and deserts of these people, were they not otherwise manifest, gain glory enough from this: that the King of kings and Lord of lords, our Lord Jesus Christ, after His Passion and Resurrection, called them, even though settled in the uttermost parts of the earth, almost the first to His most holy faith. Nor would He have them confirmed in that faith by merely anyone but by the first of His Apostles— by calling, though second or third in rank— the most gentle Saint Andrew, the Blessed Peter's brother, and desired him to keep them under his protection as their patron forever.”Src: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/medieval/arbroath_1320.aspTertullian's Record:Tertullian (c. 155-c. 220 AD), the early Christian writer from Carthage, made this statement in his work Adversus Judaeos (Against the Jews), specifically in chapter 7 (section 4 or 8 in some numberings). roger-pearse.comThe relevant Latin phrase is: "et Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca Christo vero subdita" (and the places of the Britons inaccessible to the Romans but truly subjected to Christ).Common English translations render it as:* "the haunts of the Britons—inaccessible to the Romans, but subjugated to Christ"Roman Occupation of British Isles:Camulodunum (or modern day Colchester) was the home of the first permanent Roman fortress to be built in Britain in AD 43.Other Records:Eusebius, Historian and Bishop of Caesarea (c. 260–340 AD), in his Demonstratio Evangelica (Book 3, Chapter 5), speaking of the Apostles and earliest disciples of the first century states “…some have crossed the Ocean and reached the Isles of Britain, all this I for my part will not admit to be the work of mere men, far less of poor and ignorant men, certainly not of deceivers and wizards.” Gildas (6th-century British monk), in De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain), claims Christianity reached Britain “in the last years of the emperor Tiberius” (i.e., before 37 AD).“Steppe-Pulse” (Haplogroup R) in Levant:* Lazaridis et al. (2016) showed that Steppe ancestry (R1b/R1a) moved into the Levant from the north.* Haber et al. (2017) - Steppe Pulse (R1a / R1b) between 1800 BC and 200 BC.* Haber et al. (2020) - Revealed a population level impact in 1000 BC (Davidic Kingdom) as well as circa 300 BC (about 150 years before the Maccabean revolt). * Rootsi et al. (2013) and Behar (2017) have definitively placed the origin of the Ashkenazi Levite R1a-M582 subclade in the Near East.

If you enjoy this episode, we're sure you will enjoy more content like this on The Occult Rejects.  In fact, we have curated playlists on occult topics like grimoires, esoteric concepts and phenomena, occult history, analyzing true crime and cults with an occult lens, Para politics, and occultism in music. Whether you enjoy consuming your content visually or via audio, we've got you covered - and it will always be provided free of charge.  So, if you enjoy what we do and want to support our work of providing accessible, free content on various platforms, please consider making a donation to the links provided below.  Thank you and enjoy the episode!Links For The Occult Rejectshttps://linktr.ee/theoccultrejectsOccult Research Institutehttps://www.occultresearchinstitute.org/Cash Apphttps://cash.app/$theoccultrejectsVenmo@TheOccultRejectsBuy Me A Coffeebuymeacoffee.com/TheOccultRejectsPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/TheOccultRejectsPrimary sourcesIrenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies — especially Books 1 and 3, for Valentinus in Rome, Valentinian cosmology, and the four-gospel argument. (New Advent)Clement of Alexandria, Stromata — especially 7.17, for the report that Valentinus was a hearer of Theudas and Theudas a pupil of Paul. (New Advent)Tertullian, Against the Valentinians — for the hostile tradition about Valentinus, the branching of the school, “two schools / two chairs,” and Axionicus at Antioch. (New Advent)Hippolytus of Rome, Refutation of All Heresies — for Valentinus traditions, including the visionary material and the poem usually called “Summer Harvest.” (New Advent)Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History — for Irenaeus' letters to Blastus and Florinus, and the notice about On the Ogdoad. (New Advent)Origen, Commentary on John — the major witness preserving Heracleon's interpretations through quotation and paraphrase. (DIVA Portal)The Gospel of Truth (Nag Hammadi Codex I) — for the inner Valentinian preaching voice and the line “The gospel of truth is joy.” (Gnosis)The Treatise on the Resurrection / Letter to Rheginos (Nag Hammadi Codex I) — for realized resurrection theology and the line that the world is illusion rather than the resurrection. (Gnosis)The Tripartite Tractate (Nag Hammadi Codex I) — for the great Valentinian theological blueprint and the threefold anthropology of spiritual, psychic, and material humanity. (Early Christian Writings)The Gospel of Philip — for bridal-chamber language, sacramental symbolism, and later Valentinian ritual interpretation. (Gnosis)Valentinian Liturgical Readings / A Valentinian Exposition (Nag Hammadi Codex XI) — for anointing, baptism, and eucharistic ritual language in Valentinian circles. (Gnosis)Modern scholarshipEinar Thomassen, The Spiritual Seed: The Church of the “Valentinians” — the major modern study of Valentinianism as a real Christian movement with institutional and historical development. (Gnosis Study)Ismo Dunderberg, Beyond Gnosticism: Myth, Lifestyle, and Society in the School of Valentinus — for the social world, ethics, and lifestyle dimensions of Valentinian Christianity. (Columbia University Press)Philip L. Tite, Valentinian Ethics and Paraenetic Discourse: Determining the Social Function of Moral Exhortation in Valentinian Christianity — for exhortation, identity formation, and ethics in Valentinian communities. (Gnosis Study)Paul Linjamaa, The Ethics of The Tripartite Tractate (NHC I, 5): A Study of Determinism and Early Christian Philosophy of Ethics — for determinism, responsibility, and ethics in the Tripartite Tractate. (OAPEN)Carl Johan Berglund, Origen's References to Heracleon: A Quotation-Analytical Study — for the reconstruction of Heracleon through Origen and the count of verbatim quotations and summaries. (Google Books)Geoffrey S. Smith, Valentinian Christianity: Texts and Translations — for a balanced modern collection of extant Valentinian writings and the broader psalm-book / fragment tradition. (Amazon)Gregory Snyder, “A Second-Century Christian Inscription from the Via Latina” — for NCE 156, the Via Latina context, and the Roman funerary evidence. (Academia)Gregory Snyder, “The Discovery and Interpretation of the Flavia Sophe Inscription: New Results” — for Flavia Sophe, second-century dating arguments, and nuptial funerary imagery. (ResearchGate)Gregory Snyder, “Bed, Bath, and Burial: NCE 156 Revisited” — for the funerary reading of NCE 156 and the bridal-chamber / mortuary interpretation. (Academia)Gražina Kelmelytė, “The Concept of Bridal Chamber in the Valentinian Inscriptions” — for the bridal chamber as a polysemous symbol in Flavia Sophe and NCE 156. (ResearchGate)M. David Litwa, “Deification and Defecation: Valentinus Fragment 3 and the Physiology of Jesus's Digestion” — for the ancient physiological background of Valentinus' saying about Christ's incorrupt digestion. (ResearchGate)M. David Litwa, “A Newly Identified Letter of Valentinus on Jesus's Digestive System” — for the argument that the digestion fragment may belong to a wider Valentinian epistolary context. (Academia)Studies on the Nag Hammadi codices and their readers — for codicology, scribal overlap, provenance, and the late-antique material context of Codex I and related manuscripts. (Gnosis)Modern reception and afterlivesEcclesia Gnostica — for modern sacramental Gnostic Christian practice and public continuation of Gnostic liturgy. (Gnosis)Aleister Crowley, Liber XV: Ecclesiae Gnosticae Catholicae Canon Missae — for Valentinus in the saint-roll of the Gnostic Mass. (University of California Press)C. G. Jung, Seven Sermons to the Dead — for the modern psychological afterlife of terms like pleroma. (Gnosis)Modern philosophical readings of The Matrix using Valentinian questions and structure — for the contemporary survival of the awakening / false-world / return pattern. (Academia)Also want to remind people about the website, if you're into reading we have tons of information by multiple contributors, and we got t-shirts up on the site if you're interested. Fun fact, the art is all based on the eyeball. Now let me introduce the rest of the panel and guests.

Verse by verse study through the book of Acts Chapter Nine and Verse Thirty

This holy martyr was a married man, living in Cappadocia. During the reign of Julian the Apostate he, along with some other Christians, destroyed the pagan temple to the goddess Fortuna. (The Prologue says that it was his wedding day). For this he and his companions were cruelly tortured, then beheaded.   At that time St Basil the Great governed the Church in that part of Cappadocia. When the apostate Emperor, going to fight the Persians, came to the town in which Eupsychius was martyred, St Basil went to meet him, bringing three barley loaves as a sign of honor and welcome. The Emperor, ever hostile to Christians, ordered that the bishop be given a fistful of hay in return. Saint Basil said to the Emperor 'You ridicule us now, O King; we bring you bread, by which we are fed, and you give us miserable food that you, with all your power, are unable to turn into nourishment for men.' The Emperor perished in the Persian campaign.

Acts 10:19-4419And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 20Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.” 21And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” 22And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” 23So he invited them in to be his guests.The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. 24And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.” 27And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. 28And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. 29So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”30And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing 31and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.' 33So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”34So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), 37you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”44While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.

If you enjoy this episode, we're sure you will enjoy more content like this on The Occult Rejects.  In fact, we have curated playlists on occult topics like grimoires, esoteric concepts and phenomena, occult history, analyzing true crime and cults with an occult lens, Para politics, and occultism in music. Whether you enjoy consuming your content visually or via audio, we've got you covered - and it will always be provided free of charge.  So, if you enjoy what we do and want to support our work of providing accessible, free content on various platforms, please consider making a donation to the links provided below.  Thank you and enjoy the episode!Links For The Occult Rejectshttps://linktr.ee/theoccultrejectsOccult Research Institutehttps://www.occultresearchinstitute.org/Cash Apphttps://cash.app/$theoccultrejectsVenmo@TheOccultRejectsBuy Me A Coffeebuymeacoffee.com/TheOccultRejectsPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/TheOccultRejectsPrimary sourcesJustin Martyr. Dialogue with Trypho, ch. 35. Best for the earliest surviving mention of the Saturnilians as a named rival Christian group.Irenaeus of Lyons. Against Heresies 1.24. Main doctrinal source for Saturninus: the unknown Father, seven angels, spark of life, docetic Christology, the God of the Jews as one of the angels, anti-marriage teaching, and abstinence from animal food.Irenaeus of Lyons. Against Heresies 1.28. Useful for the later Encratite connection and the afterlife of Saturninian-style asceticism.Hippolytus of Rome. Refutation of All Heresies 7.16. Important corroborating witness for the Saturnilian system.Eusebius of Caesarea. Ecclesiastical History 4.7. Best for the later church-historical placement of Saturninus in a lineage of error.Josephus. Against Apion 2.39. Useful for the civic standing of Jews in Antioch.Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews 12.119–124. Useful for Antiochene Jewish privileges under Seleucid and Roman rule.Modern and background sourcesEncyclopaedia Britannica. “Antioch.” Good concise background for Antioch as a major Seleucid and Roman city and early Christian center.Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Irenaeus.” Good background on Irenaeus' life, dates, and role in anti-heretical theology.Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Saint Justin Martyr.” Good background on Justin's life and philosophical/apologetic role.Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Eusebius of Caesarea.” Good background on Eusebius as historian and bishop.Michael A. Williams. “Gnosticism.” In The Cambridge Companion to Christian Heresy, edited by Richard Flower. Cambridge University Press, 2025. Best for the modern scholarly caution about using the label “Gnosticism.”Richard Flower, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Christian Heresy. Cambridge University Press, 2025. Useful for the broader scholarly framing of heresy as discourse, classification, and boundary-making.On Saturday, April 25th, 2026, the 2026 Southeastern Masonic Symposium is happening in person at the Asheville Masonic Temple (80 Broadway St., Asheville, NC)I'll be there in person, so, come down and meet me and the rest of the crew.John Michael Greer — prolific occult and esoteric historian with 70+ books, including Circles of Power and the award-winning New Encyclopedia of the Occult; an initiate across Hermetic, Masonic, and Druidic lineages, and former Grand Archdruid (AODA).Collin Conkwright (American Esoteric) — creator behind American Esoteric, focused on ancient philosophy & comparative religion and serious work around universalism and the Western tradition; also publicly listed as a Master Mason and writer.Ike Baker — independent scholar & esoteric instructor, a practicing ceremonialist and initiatic Mason (Blue Lodge + York Rite), also connected with Martinism and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn; host of the ARCANVM podcast; author of A Formless Fire and Aetheric Magic.Thom Carter — a Brother out of Mt. Hermon Lodge No. 118 (Asheville, NC) and part of the presenting lineup for the symposium.https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-asheville-masonic-symposium-tickets-1980822909645?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

In the final message in our “Mapping Israel: Building Muscle & Momentum” series, “Caesarea Maritime” calls us to live as a resurrected people who carry the life and power of Jesus into the world “as you go.” Drawing from the history of Caesarea Maritime and the examples of Philip, Peter, and Paul, it shows that God forms us through intentional seasons of preparation so we can rise, go, and minister with conviction in places that often resist the gospel. At its core, the sermon reminds us that we are not meant to admire the resurrection from afar but to participate in it daily—moving beyond comfort, obeying the Spirit, and witnessing boldly in every circumstance. As we go, God works with us, confirming His message through transformed lives and the power of the Holy Spirit.

"And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and he had called together his kinsmen and near friends. And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man. And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together. And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me? And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee. Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God. Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days." Acts 10:24-48

He expected Petra, Wadi Rum, and the Dead Sea to be unforgettable. He knew Capernaum, Caesarea, and Jerusalem would leave him in awe. But what he didn't expect? That this would be the trip he not only wanted but deeply needed. That walking the Land would feel like reading a “fifth Gospel.” And that the friendships and sense of community—*not in the brochure—would become one of the most meaningful parts of the journey. In this episode, Matt Olson of Laurel, Mississippi shares his experience from the Pastors' Trip to Jordan & Israel with Rich Ferreira (Jan. 11–23, 2026), reflecting on how this trip was far more than a tour—it was a transformative encounter with Scripture, impactful places, and most importantly, the Person of Christ. Read their trip blog: https://gtitours.org/tour-journal/israelfam26 Dancing on the Galilee boat ride: https://vimeo.com/1155614132?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci More about the pastors' discounted tour: https://gtitours.org/discipleshipincontext Video podcast: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcitijwd7YQpy-2gjQn9DrMXJWRpGEEq&si=FP5SWjoy5rzAOFc_  

Matthew 21:1-11When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, “The Lord needs them.” And he will send them immediately.' This took place to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,‘Tell the daughter of Zion,Look, your king is coming to you,humble, and mounted on a donkey,and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,‘Hosanna to the Son of David!Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!Hosanna in the highest heaven!'When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?' The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.' What's your favorite parade? From the Macy's Day Parade to Mardi Gras, St. Patrick's Day, and countless Independence Day celebrations, we Americans love parades. Some of my favorite childhood memories are from attending or marching in one. Growing up in Anderson, we had the Midnight Parade. It was on the night of July 3rd, but it started at midnight, claiming to be the first July 4th parade in all the land. I loved watching the civic groups march along the route, many I would have never known existed had it not been for the parade. I remember the joy of little kids getting so excited about terrible candy thrown at their feet. Who knew Tootsie Rolls and Airheads could make someone so happy?Most special of all was when we surprised my mom with tickets to the Rose Parade in Pasadena. Every New Year's Day it was on in our house growing up. As we watched, she always said, “Can't you just smell it? I bet the smell is amazing.” And the parade did not disappoint. The floats were extraordinary, the bands terrific, and the smell indeed was amazing.Every parade tells a story — a story of identity, values, and heritage. Mardi Gras tells a story of joy, indulgence, and fun. Pride tells a story of celebration, love, and identity. The Rose Parade tells a story of creation and beauty.And what makes a parade good is that it draws you in. You don't want to just watch it. You want to be part of it, not just a spectator. The people of Jesus' time were no strangers to parades. Because if one ancient people can be credited with the culture of parades, it's the Romans. They were known for their grand displays of power. One example was called the Adventus. That's when a Roman governor or emperor entered a city under Roman control. First came the golden eagle — the symbol of Rome. Then banners and battle flags with Roman gods on them. Then the trumpeters announcing their arrival. Then the display of power: cavalry and foot soldiers dressed in full armor. And then finally came the governor or emperor himself, riding a war horse or chariot. And behind him, chained prisoners — living proof of Rome's power.The Adventus parade told a story that was very clear: Rome is in charge. Rome has power. Rome wins. The Jews of Judea, including Jesus, were familiar with Adventus, because that's how Pontius Pilate would have entered Jerusalem for Passover. Pilate didn't actually live in Jerusalem. He lived in a Roman city near the coast. But every year, during Passover, he would come to Jerusalem.Because Passover made Roman officials nervous. It was a celebration of liberation from oppression under Pharaoh. And Pilate knew people might take that opportunity to protest their oppression under Caesar. So to remind everyone who was in charge, who had the power, Pilate would hold an Adventus. Coming from Caesarea, this huge procession would have entered Jerusalem from the west, quelling even the idea of an uprising.But there was another parade into Jerusalem, this one coming from the East. Jesus and his disciples were in Bethphage when he made an unusual request: Go into the next little town and bring me a donkey and her colt. Matthew even tells us Jesus somehow sits on both of them, which is a little odd and maybe even a little funny to picture. But that's not really the point.Matthew tells us this happened to fulfill the words of the prophet Zechariah: “Look, your king is coming to you, humble and riding on a donkey.” Jesus isn't just finding a ride into town. He is making a statement. He is telling the people exactly who he is. He is the one they have been waiting for.And thus begins the parade. With no flags or banners to wave, they take off their cloaks and line the street with them. There are no drums, just the sound of branches snapping off trees and being spread along the road. And the only music is the crowd shouting, “Save us, Son of David! Save us!” That's what Hosanna means: save us, please. This was a crowd of poor peasants, hurting under the occupation of Rome. And finally here comes their hope — the one they call Son of the king, the rightful heir to the throne; coming to overthrow Rome and restore the kingdom of David, just like his ancestor talked about, like his own mother sang about.Now that's a story. That's a parade that draws you in, one you want to be a part of, not just a spectator. I guess that's why we reenact this parade with palms of our own every year. We find ourselves in that crowd. We may not be poor peasants under Roman occupation, but we still know things are not as they should be. We need a change. We too want to crown Jesus. We too shout Hosanna — save us, O God.Save us from war and division.Save us from hatred and injustice.Save us from everything that keeps this world from being what you created it to be.I wonder when the crowd realized that their parade was not what they thought it was. When did it register that what they wanted Jesus to do and what Jesus was about to do were two very different things? At some point in the week ahead, the crowd is going to realize that their hope isn't going to play out like they thought it would. I imagine at some point they wandered over to the west side of town. Maybe they saw the Adventus, Pilate with all his power entering the city. Or maybe they just heard about it — the horses, the soldiers, the brute force. That parade lured them in. It told them a story, veiled in threats, about how the world works: a world governed by strength and power.Pretty soon after that parade of branches and cloaks, the crowd remembered Jesus on a donkey and compared that to Pilate's parade, Rome's parade, and realized he didn't stand a chance.They weren't in a parade on the east side of Jerusalem that day. They were in a funeral procession, following the hearse the whole time.So they switch sides. And in just a few short days they will go from “Save us!” to “Kill him,” from hail him to nail him.We are still in that same crowd. It's tempting to think we would have stayed by Jesus' side, that we would have understood, that we would have been different. But we are the same crowd. We want a savior who fixes things, who wins, who makes life easier, who proves we are right and our side is right. We want a powerful king, not a crucified rebel. We want victory, not sacrifice. We want resurrection, but we would really prefer to skip Good Friday.And when Jesus doesn't do what we want, we start looking for another parade to join. But Jesus never wanted to be king, at least not the way the world understands kings. His goal was never to display power, but to redefine it; passing on the crown so that he could pick up a cross instead. So this Holy Week, stay in the crowd. You've already started in the parade. You're already a participant in this story. So go a bit deeper. Gather with Jesus and the disciples around the table as we remember the Last Supper and celebrate First Communion with some young partners in mission. Walk all the way to Golgotha on Good Friday. Hear the chants of “Crucify him.” See how the same people who shouted Hosanna put Jesus on a cross.But the parade doesn't stop there. If we follow Jesus all the way, we will find ourselves at an empty tomb. And we will realize the parade wasn't just a funeral procession, but an inauguration, where Jesus is crowned not as a king, but as the savior; defeating sin and death not by power and force, but by obedience, humility, and above all, grace… Which he hands out like candy, freely to anyone who wants to grab it.That's my favorite parade. Not one of power. But one of grace.Amen.

A Sermon for Palm Sunday Philippians 2:1-11, St. Matthew 21:1-17, and St. Matthew 27:1-54 by William Klock One of the buildings that intrigued me the most when I studied architectural history is the Pantheon in Rome.  It's absolutely massive.  If you're not familiar with it: it's a magnificent round building covered by the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.  It's so impressive, that until I studied the Pantheon in architectural history, I'd always assumed it had been built during the Renaissance.  But no.  It was built by the Romans in the early Second Century, a testament to their engineering capabilities.  That's what the Pantheon is known for. What doesn't get nearly as much attention is the function of that massive building.  It was a temple for all the gods of Rome, hence the name “Pantheon”, meaning “all the gods”.  It was a temple, full of altars and statues of the gods to which they were dedicated.  And, in this, it came to represent the imperial power of Caesar and his empire, backed and supported by the power and authority gods.  When I read Paul writing about the “principalities and powers” of the present wicked age, I can't help but think of the Pantheon. But in the Year of Our Lord Six-hundred-and-nine, the Christian Emperor Phocas and Boniface IV, the Bishop of Rome, ordered the by then disused Pantheon stripped of its pagan idols and pagan altars.  Twenty-eight cartloads containing the bones Christian martyrs were exhumed from the catacombs and reburied there.  A Christian altar was erected.  And the building was dedicated as a church in honour of those martyrs whom the pagan Romans had murdered in the names of their gods.  To this day, over fourteen-hundred years later, the Church of St. Mary and the Martyrs remains there, a faithful witness to the conquest of Rome by the gospel and of the lordship of Jesus the Messiah.  A testimony to the power of the cross and the blood of Jesus, not only to purify us from our sins and to make us a dwelling place fit for God's Spirit, but to wash creation itself clean from our sins as well.  There is nothing in creation—whether sinful humans or the most pagan of pagan temples—that Jesus cannot purify and redeem and set right for the glory of the living God.  But the Pantheon is also a testimony of how, of the power of gospel virtue—humility, love, grace, mercy—over the raw power and violence of empire and human endeavour. Think back to the beginning of Lent.  We listened as St. Matthew told us the story of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness.  The devil took him off to a very high mountain and showed him all the magnificent kingdoms of the world.  Off on the horizon was Rome.  “I'll give the whole lot to you,” the devil said, “if you will fall down and worship me.” To rule creation was, after all what Jesus had come for.  He was creation's true Lord.  Caesar and all the other kings were pretenders, shams, parodies of who and what Jesus really is.  All of it, from Jerusalem to Rome and beyond belongs to him.  “There is not one square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” to quote Abraham Kuyper.  But this was not the way.  Jesus will not reclaim his creation without also setting it to rights, without dealing with the problems of sin and death.  Without purifying it from idolatry.  without dealing with the very problems that gave us kings in the first place.  To do that requires more than raw power. And so today we hear Matthew again as he tells us of Jesus' triumphal procession into Jerusalem.  When they came near to Jerusalem, and arrived at Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of the disciples on ahead.  Go into the village over there and at once you'll find a donkey tied and a foal beside it.  Untie them and bring them to me and if anyone says anything to you, say, “The Lord needs them and he'll send them back right away.”  He sent them off at once.   Jesus was about to act out another one of his prophecies.  This time it was to show and to remind the people what sort of king the Messiah was to be.  They did want a king who would set all to rights, but in their heads, to their way of thinking, that meant leading a revolt against the Romans.  He would be like David, who defeated the Jebusites to take their city Jerusalem as his capital.  He would be like Judas Maccabeus, who defeated the Greeks and established an independent Jewish kingdom under the high priest.  The Messiah would be like that, only better, greater, more powerful, and his kingdom would last forever.  He would raise up Israel and put the gentile kings under their feet.  The day before or maybe even that same day, as Jesus came to Jerusalem from Bethphage, Caesar's governor, Pontius Pilate, was marching into the city from the opposite direction, from his base in Caesarea, at the front of a column of Roman soldiers.  They were there to represent Caesar's might and to keep the peace with threat of violence during Passover.  If Jesus was the Messiah, now was his time—or so a lot of people thought—now was Jesus' time to finally and really be the Messiah, raise up his army, and cast down Pilate and the Romans and take his throne. But violence wasn't the way to the throne any more than bowing down to the devil was.  Matthew says that Jesus did it his way to remind the people of what the Lord had said about the Messiah through the Prophet Zechariah: Tell this to Zion's daughter: Look now! Here comes your King.  He's humble, mounted on a donkey, yes, on a foal, it's young. The king they expected was going to ride into Jerusalem in a chariot or at least on a great warhorse.  But God's king is different.  A great warrior might take care of the Romans and even take his throne.  He could set things to rights in the way of earthly kings like Caesar, but the world would still be subject to sin and death.  So Jesus acted out the prophecy.  The disciples brought the donkey and Jesus humbly rode it into the city.  And the people cheered all along the way.  They spread their cloaks on the road.  Others cut branches form the trees and scattered them on the road.  The crowds who went ahead of him, and those who were following behind shouted, “Hosanna to the son of David!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!”  And the whole city was gripped with excitement when they came into Jerusalem.  “Who is this!” they were saying.  And the crowds replied, “This is the prophet, Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.   The humble king, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah.  But Jesus wasn't done with his acted-out prophecy.  Matthew says that on entering Jerusalem, Jesus went straight to the temple and when he got there he threw out the people who were buying and selling in the temple.  He upturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of the dove-sellers.  It is written, he said to them, “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a brigand's lair!”  The blind and lame came to him in the temple and he healed them.  But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the remarkable things he was doing, and the children shouting, “Hosanna to the son of David!” they were very angry.   The king was fulfilling the words of the prophets.  He came in humility.  And he came announcing that he really was going to set the world to rights.  He was going to set the world to rights in a way that would make the temple obsolete.  Jesus himself would bridge the gulf between God and sinful humans.  Jesus would offer himself as the once-for-all and perfect sacrifice for sin, a sacrifice that would finally purify his people so that in the Spirit, the living God could dwell within them and make them his temple.  So that he could finally give them new hearts full of love for him and love for each other.  They didn't want to hear that.  It was his preaching about the temple that got him arrested. Our long Palm Sunday Gospel today—Matthew 27—vividly depicts the Messiah's humble way to his throne.  Betrayed by his friends, rejected by his people.  Standing humbly before the Roman governor so many people expected him to slay.  Facing trumped up charges made by lying men.  Left condemned to death as the people chose instead that Pilate should free a brutal, violent revolutionary—a man truly guilty of the trumped up charges against Jesus.  Standing humbly as the very people he came to save cried out to Pilate, “Crucify him!”  Standing humbly as he, the king, was rejected by his own people who cried out the unthinkable, “We have no king but Caesar!”  Standing humbly as Roman soldiers mocked him, beat him senseless and scourged him, ripping the skin from his body.  Humbly dragging the very cross on which he would be crucified through the city.  The king, nailed to a cross and hoisted to die between two violent thieves as his own people shouted blasphemies at him, as the chief priests and scribes mocked him shouting, “He rescued others, but he cannot rescue himself.  If he's the king of Israel, let him come down from the cross!  He trusts in God; let God deliver him now if he's really God's son!” For hours Jesus suffered: pulling on those nails driven through his wrists, pushing on the nails driven through his feet, lifting himself to gasp for breath through the pain, while the people gathered around: Jews, Romans, even the spiritual shepherds of his people who claimed to speak for God mocked him and shouted blasphemies.  And despite all that, Luke writes that Jesus prayed for them: Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.  And eventually his body could take no more and Jesus breathed his last breath.  Matthew says, the earth shook.  The great veil that guarded the holy of holies in the temple was torn in two.  And the Roman centurions standing guard, scared out of their wits, announced the very thing Jesus' own people would not: He really was the son of God!   Brothers and Sisters, there can be no Easter without Good Friday.  To set the world to rights—to really set it to rights—not just to take a throne, not just to defeat the Romans—but to defeat sin and death and to reconcile sinful men and women to God required a king willing to let evil rise up to its full height, to let evil concentrate itself all in one place, and to let it do its worst, crashing down on him all at once.  It required a king willing to throw himself into the gears of this fallen, broken, and sinful world to bring them to a stop.  It required a king willing to give his life for his own people even as they mocked and blasphemed him, so that he could rise from that humiliating death to overturn the verdict against him, rise victorious over sin and death and the absolute worst that they could do.  Only that humble king could defeat death and bring life—real and true life—back to God's creation and gather a people forgiven, cleansed by his blood, and filled with his Spirit to become a new temple, a new holy of holies where the nations would—where the nations now—enter the presence of God. It was in that humble king that those Roman centurions saw something they had never seen before.  Their Caesar called himself the son of God, but in Jesus they saw the God of Israel at work in all his glory, in all his love, in all his mercy, in all his faithfulness—like no god they'd ever known—completely unlike any god or goddess honoured in the Pantheon.  Whether they knew it or not, those centurions that first Good Friday announced the defeat of Jupiter and Mars, of Hera and Diana, of Neptune and Vesta and all the others.  And they announced the defeat of Caesar, too.  In less than three centuries, the Emperor of Rome himself would be captivated by the good news about Jesus, the son of God, the great King who was setting the world to rights. But Brothers and Sisters, the good news about Jesus, crucified and risen, didn't go out through the empire and to the nations all on its own.  It was carried, it was stewarded by a people—by a church—that, itself, took on the humility of the Saviour.  The bones of those martyrs buried in the Pantheon are a testimony to the faithful, humble, sacrificial witness of Jesus' people in those early centuries.  They didn't just proclaim a message.  They lived it out as a community—as the vanguard of God's new creation born that first Easter morning.  A people welling over with the humility of Jesus and the love of the Spirit.  In the midst of a world of darkness, of false gods and idolatry, of brutality and immorality hard for us to imagine today, they gave the pagans a glimpse of God's future.  By the way they lived, they lifted the veil and showed the world God's new creation.  It was not only the proclamation of the church, but the very life of the church that showed the world a better way, a way no one before had ever known. Here's the truth of it: The people of the humble king must be humble too or it's all for nought.  This is why Paul, writing to the Philippians, says to them, If our shared life in the king brings any comfort; if love still has the power to make you cheerful; if we really do have a partnership in the Spirit; if your hearts are at all moved with affection and sympathy—then make my joy complete!  Bring your thinking into line with one another.  In other words, if you're going to be a gospel community for all the world to see: Have this mind amongst yourselves!  Here's how to do it.  Hold on to the same love; bring your innermost lives into harmony; fix your minds on the same object.  Never act out of selfish ambition or vanity; instead, regard everyone else as your superior.  Look after each other's best interests, not your own.   And I can hear them asking Pau, “But how?  It seems impossible to be that kind of people.”  And Paul knew that, too.  And so he takes them back to the cross.  Brothers and Sisters, everything goes back to Jesus and the cross!  The cross is the only way a gospel people can be a gospel people.  He writes: This is how you should think amongst yourselves, with the mind that you have because you belong to Jesus the Messiah.  And what does that look like?  Paul quotes what looks like song lyrics—maybe a hymn they sang regularly in their churches—a hymn full of gospel truth that maybe they'd got just a little too used to over the years, truth they needed to be reminded of, to think through, to incorporate into their own lives.  Paul writes: Who, though in God's form, did not regard his equality with God as something he ought to exploit.  Instead, he emptied himself, and received the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men.  And then, having human appearance, he humbled himself, and became obedient even to death, yes, even death on a cross.  And so God has greatly exalted him, and to him in his favour has given the name which is over all names.  That now at the name of Jesus every knee within heaven shall bow—on earth, too, and under the earth.  And every tongue shall confess that Messiah Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.   Paul reminds them of the humble king, the son of God who not only took on our flesh, but who gave his life in the most painful and humiliating way possible so that on his way to his throne he might take us with him. Brothers and Sisters, the only way we will ever be faithful in being the people Jesus has called us to be, the only way we will ever be faithful in being the new creation people the Spirit has made us, the only way will ever be faithful stewards of the gospel is to keep the cross of Jesus always before us.  There's a reason why we confess our sins before we come to the Lord's Table.  There is a reason that we repeatedly recall our unworthiness to enter the presence of God on our own merit.  There is a reason why, as we rise in the morning and as we go to bed at night, we confess our sins.  It's so that as we hear the absolution and as we come to the Table, we will remember just how gracious and merciful and loving God has been to us.  It's why we sing songs like “Amazing Grace”.  Amazing grace is such a sweet, sweet sounds, because apart from grace we are such sinful wretches.  And it is inevitable that when we forget this, when we start to think of ourselves as deserving of the gifts God has poured out on us, when we forget the sinfulness of our sin, when we forget that we are the ones who have broken his beloved creation, dear Friends, that's when we forget the true power of the gospel and the true mercy of the cross and the great depth of the love of God for sinners.  When we forget the sinfulness of our sin, we lose sight of the amazingness of God's grace.  Eventually we lose the mind of Jesus the Messiah and we cease to be the community of humble servants that he has made us.  We turn, instead, to self-righteousness, to pride, to violence, to politics, to money, to power to further the kingdom of God.  And our light grows dim.  Our witness fails. We see it happening all around us in the West.  We've stopped talking about sin and we've thought more highly of ourselves than we ought.  We preach a doctrine of cheap grace.  And our light has gone dim.  Our churches have emptied and the culture has claimed them for its own.  In some they preach false gospels of prosperity or the divinity of man or the goodness of sexual immorality.  We setup idols to politics and earthly power in them.  Some are literally gutted, becoming theatres or bars.  Others are little more than tourist attractions: testimonies to the power of the gospel in the days we proclaimed it, but now empty, dead shells.  The culture removes the cross and sets up altars to its idols.  Brothers and Sisters, before it is too late, let us kneel before the cross of Jesus and look up.  Let it fill our vision.  Let us remember that he—the sinless son of God—died the death we deserve.  And let us meditate on the depth and power of his grace that we might share the humble mind of our humble king, that we might be the people he has called us to be, the people he has given his Spirit to make us, the people who will steward his gospel of grace until every knee bows and every tongues confesses that Jesus the Messiah is Lord and gives glory to God the Father. Let's pray: Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for mankind you sent your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility:  Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

"And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea." Acts 8:26-40

Paul has spent two years under house arrest by command of Felix, the governor, who has postponed a verdict in his trial. As referenced at the end of our last chapter, Felix has been succeeded by Porcius Festus, but Paul remains in custody. Today, when Festus travels to Jerusalem, the Jews ask for a favor against Paul. Festus, on the other hand, encourages them to come to Caesarea and make their case against him. The Jews don't have a case against Paul, and the charges they bring are false. When asked if he would like to travel to Jerusalem for a trial, Paul instead appeals to Caesar. Our reading ends with Festus presenting Paul to two visiting dignitaries, but we won't hear from Paul until our next episode. :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION“It should be a contest among Christians to neither give offense nor take offense. The best men are harder on themselves than they are to others.”~Richard Sibbes (1577-1635), Puritan theologian in The Bruised Reed (text modernized) Question 33: What is justification? Answer: Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed [credited] to us, and received by faith alone.~Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647) “We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for our own works…”~The 39 Articles (1571), originally drafted by Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) “This is perfect and pure boasting in God, when one is not proud on account of his own righteousness but knows that he is indeed unworthy of the true righteousness and is justified solely by faith in Christ.”~Basil of Caesarea (330-379), bishop in Cappadocia in Homilies on Humility “[Paul] shows clearly that righteousness depends not on the merit of man, but on the grace of God, who accepts the faith of those who believe, without the works or the Law.”~Jerome (c.342-420), church leader and theologian “[God] has justified our race not by right actions, not by toils, not by barter and exchange, but by grace alone…. But the justice of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ and not through any labor and suffering.”~John Chrysostom (c.347-407), prolific author and preacher “My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. …I was taken prisoner. I was about sixteen at the time. At that time, I did not know the true God. I was taken into captivity to Ireland, along with thousands of others. We deserved this, because we had gone away from God, and did not keep his commandments. We would not listen to our elders [i.e., presbyters], who advised us about how we could be saved. The Lord brought his strong anger upon us, and scattered us among many nations even to the ends of the earth. It was among foreigners that it was seen how little I was. It was there that the Lord opened up my awareness of my lack of faith. Even though it came about late, I recognized my failings. So I turned with all my heart to the Lord my God, and he looked down on my lowliness and had mercy on my youthful ignorance.”~Saint Patrick, 5th century Roman-British missionary to Ireland in his “Confession”SERMON PASSAGE Romans 3:21-31 (ESV)Romans 3 (ESV) 9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.”  “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. Romans 1 (ESV) 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Exodus 34 (ESV) 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” Romans 3:21, 25-26 (First Nations Version: An Indigenous Bible Translation of the New Testament)21 But there is a way to be in good standing with the Great Spirit that does not depend on us keeping tribal law!… 25 The Great Spirit sent Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to show through him the full meaning and purpose of the ancient mercy-seat ceremony, where our broken ways are washed clean when we trust in what the shedding of his lifeblood has accomplished. The Great Spirit did this to prove that he was in the right when he released people from their bad hearts and broken ways in the ages past. 26 He also did this to show people in this present age that he has the right to put people in good standing with himself because they trust in what Creator Sets Free (Jesus) has done.

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Cyril of Jerusalem; Fourth Century bishop; 24 of his catechetical instructions survive; he spent 16 of his 35 years as bishop in exile, the first inflicted by Acacius, Bishop of Caesarea, an ardent Arian who claimed jurisdiction over Jerusalem Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/18/26 Gospel: John 5:17-30

Full Text of Readings Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent Lectionary: 246 The Saint of the day is Saint Cyril of Jerusalem Saint Cyril of Jerusalem's Story The crises that the Church faces today may seem minor when compared with the threat posed by the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ and almost overcame Christianity in the fourth century. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem was to be caught up in the controversy, accused of Arianism by Saint Jerome, and ultimately vindicated both by the men of his own time and by being declared a Doctor of the Church in 1822. Raised in Jerusalem and well-educated, especially in the Scriptures, he was ordained a priest by the bishop of Jerusalem and given the task during Lent of catechizing those preparing for Baptism and catechizing the newly baptized during the Easter season. His Catecheses remain valuable as examples of the ritual and theology of the Church in the mid-fourth century. There are conflicting reports about the circumstances of his becoming bishop of Jerusalem. It is certain that he was validly consecrated by bishops of the province. Since one of them was an Arian, Acacius, it may have been expected that his “cooperation” would follow. Conflict soon rose between Saint Cyril of Jerusalem and Acacius, bishop of the rival nearby see of Caesarea. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem was summoned to a council, accused of insubordination and of selling Church property to relieve the poor. Probably, however, a theological difference was also involved. He was condemned, driven from Jerusalem, and later vindicated, not without some association with and help from Semi-Arians. Half his episcopate was spent in exile; his first experience was repeated twice. He finally returned to find Jerusalem torn with heresy, schism and strife, and wracked with crime. Even Saint Gregory of Nyssa, who was sent to help, left in despair. They both went to the Council of Constantinople, where the amended form of the Nicene Creed was promulgated in 381. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem accepted the word consubstantial—that is, Christ is of the same substance or nature as the Father. Some said it was an act of repentance, but the bishops of the Council praised him as a champion of orthodoxy against the Arians. Though not friendly with the greatest defender of orthodoxy against the Arians, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem may be counted among those whom Athanasius called “brothers, who mean what we mean, and differ only about the word consubstantial.” Reflection Those who imagine that the lives of saints are simple and placid, untouched by the vulgar breath of controversy, are rudely shocked by history. Yet, it should be no surprise that saints, indeed all Christians, will experience the same difficulties as their Master. The definition of truth is an endless, complex pursuit, and good men and women have suffered the pain of both controversy and error. Intellectual, emotional, and political roadblocks may slow up people like Cyril for a time. But their lives taken as a whole are monuments to honesty and courage.Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Send a textIn this episode, we share a striking story from Catholic tradition connected to St. Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea and one of the great Doctors of the Church.A servant desperate to marry his master's daughter turns to an enchanter and writes a pact renouncing Christ and his baptism. But when the truth comes to light, the man seeks help from St. Basil, believing the written contract still binds him.What follows is a powerful account of spiritual warfare, repentance, and the authority Christ gave to His Church. Through prayer and perseverance, St. Basil confronts the demonic claim — and before a gathered crowd, the contract itself appears.This story reminds us of the seriousness of turning away from God, but also of the hope found in repentance and the mercy of Christ.Support the showSupport this show and get all future episodes by email atwww.kenandjanelle.com

The Land of Israel - Caesarea Part 6:  Peter's Vision And Acts Chapter 10  -  English and Spanish.  Peter was sent to Caesarea by divine direction. Some people believe that Peter's vision of unclean animals permitted him to eat any food including animals that were not classified as kosher in the Torah. Peter, however, had a very different interpretation of the vision. Understanding Judaism's traditions about tanners sheds light on the meaning of the vision!  This is a rebroadcast of a sermon from our archives, originally posted on Oct 28, 2020.  La Tierra de Israel - Cesarea Parte 6:  La visión de Pedro y el capítulo 10 de los Hechos  -  Inglés y español.  Pedro fue enviado a Cesarea por indicación divina. Algunas personas creen que la visión de Pedro sobre los animales impuros le permitía comer cualquier alimento, incluidos los animales que no estaban clasificados como kosher en la Torá. Sin embargo, Pedro tenía una interpretación muy diferente de la visión. ¡Comprender las tradiciones del judaísmo sobre los curtidores arroja luz sobre el significado de la visión!  Esta es una retransmisión de un sermón de nuestros archivos, publicado originalmente el 28 de octubre de 2020.

Ephesians 3:1-13 (ESV)Andrew and Edwin consider Paul's concern that the Ephesian Christians might lose heart over his imprisonment and discuss his first reason they should not.Read the written devo that goes along with this episode by clicking here.    Let us know what you are learning or any questions you have. Email us at TextTalk@ChristiansMeetHere.org.    Join the Facebook community and join the conversation by clicking here. We'd love to meet you. Be a guest among the Christians who meet on Livingston Avenue. Click here to find out more. Michael Eldridge sang all four parts of our theme song. Find more from him by clicking here.   Thanks for talking about the text with us today.________________________________________________If the hyperlinks do not work, copy the following addresses and paste them into the URL bar of your web browser: Daily Written Devo: https://readthebiblemakedisciples.wordpress.com/?p=24812The Christians Who Meet on Livingston Avenue: http://www.christiansmeethere.org/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TalkAboutTheTextFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/texttalkMichael Eldridge: https://acapeldridge.com/ 

In our last episode, Peter received a vision from the Lord in which he was instructed to partake in food that was considered unclean by God's law. He received this vision three times, thus meaning it was sure, holy, and trustworthy. When he came out of the vision, he was instructed by the Spirit to accompany men from Caesarea. In today's text, Peter recounts this vision to men from the circumcision party who are upset that he would eat with men who were considered unclean. The good news of gospel continues to spread to the Greeks, and many believe, turning to the Lord for salvation. :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

Paul has been given the floor — and he knows exactly what to do with it. Standing before King Agrippa, military tribunes, and the leading men of Caesarea, he doesn't just defend his actions. He defends his faith. Dr. John walks us through the opening of Paul's remarkable speech and lands on the question at the heart of it all: why is it so hard to believe that God raises the dead?Jesus Goes Global: A Prisoner of Christ: When we read the book of Acts, we tend to give primary attention to the formation and growth of the Church in the early chapters. We then highlight the three mission trips of Paul. But some of the most profound lessons lie in the final chapters of Acts 25-28. Dr. John will show God extending His Kingdom through the personal struggle and imprisonment of Paul. The world's worst cannot impede God's best.

Jesus asked His disciples the most crucial question anyone will ever face: Who do you say that I am? At Caesarea Philippi, surrounded by temples to false gods, Peter gave the perfect answer: You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. This wasn't just human wisdom but divine revelation. Your answer to this question determines your eternal destiny and transforms how you live. Many people acknowledge Jesus existed or admire His teachings, but Christ requires allegiance, not just acknowledgment. The church is built on this foundational truth, and neither death nor hell can prevail against it.

Paul is in prison — but who really put him there? In this introduction to the final four chapters of Acts, Dr. John explores how God's providence works through injustice, inconvenience, and interrupted plans. From Paul's unjust imprisonment in Caesarea to Luther translating the Bible in a castle basement, discover how our greatest setbacks can become our greatest assignments — and what it means to call yourself a prisoner of Christ Jesus.Jesus Goes Global: A Prisoner of Christ: When we read the book of Acts, we tend to give primary attention to the formation and growth of the Church in the early chapters. We then highlight the three mission trips of Paul. But some of the most profound lessons lie in the final chapters of Acts 25-28. Dr. John will show God extending His Kingdom through the personal struggle and imprisonment of Paul. The world's worst cannot impede God's best.

These twelve holy Martyrs suffered in the reign of Diocletian.   "The first of these, Pamphilius, was priest in the church at Caesarea in Palestine; a learned and devout man, he corrected the mistakes of various copiers in the text of the New Testament. He himself copied this saving Book and gave it to any who desired it. The second was a deacon, Valentine, old in years and white with wisdom. He was a great expert in the Holy Scriptures, knowing them by heart. The third was Paul, a respected and eminent man, who had on a previous occasion been cast into the fire for the sake of Christ. With them were five Egyptians, brothers both in blood and soul, who were returning to their native land from serving a sentence in the mines of Cilicia. As they reached the gate of the town of Caesarea they said that they were Christians, and were therefore brought to trial. When asked their names, they replied: 'We have cast away the pagan names given us by our mother, and are called Elias, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Samuel and Daniel.' when asked where they were from, they replied: 'From Jerusalem that is above.' They were all beheaded, and a young man called Porphyrius, who had searched for their bodies to give them burial, suffered soon afterwards. Him they burned. An officer, Seleucus, who had come up to the martyrs and embraced them before the sword descended on their heads, was also burned, and an old man, Theodulus, a servant of the Roman judge, who had embraced one of the martyrs while they were under escort. Lastly Julian, who had kissed the dead bodies of the martyrs and honoured them, followed them in death. So they exchanged the small for the greater, the tawdry for the precious and death for immortality, and went to the Lord in 308." (Prologue)   The Synaxarion concludes, "After the martyrdom of Pamphilius, the leader of the glorious cohort, the impious governor gave orders that his body and those of his companions should be left where they lay as food for carnivorous animals. However by God's Providence, no animal came near their holy relics, which the Christians were able to lay to rest with due honour." The account of these Martyrs was written by Eusebius of Caeserea, Pamphilius' disciple.

***We encountered some technical difficulties with this audio so we apologize for the lower quality on this particular sermon.QUOTES FOR REFLECTION“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge.”~Stephen Hawking (1942-2018), theoretical astrophysicist and cosmologist “It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when they have lost their way.”~Rollo May (1909-1994), psychologist and author “When man subverted order he did a great deal more than merely fall away from the rationality of his nature…; he brought disorder into the divine order, and presents the unhappy spectacle of a being in revolt against Being. [...] Every time a man sins he renews this act of revolt and prefers himself to God; in thus preferring himself, he separates himself from God; and in separating himself, he deprives himself of the sole end in which he can find beatitude and by that very fact condemns himself to misery.”~Étienne Gilson (1884-1978), French philosopher and scholar “Human beings are not self-referential. You don't make yourself feel loved by telling yourself ‘I love you.' We are relational beings, and so we need something outside of ourselves to tell us we have value and worth.” “What the heart loves, the will chooses, and the mind justifies.”~Dr. John Ashley Null, theologian and Anglican Bishop of North Africa “If you want your own way, God will let you have it. Hell is the enjoyment of one's own way forever.”~Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957), English novelist, playwright, and critic “The concept of substitution may be said, then, to lie at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be. God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives which belong to God alone. God accepts penalties which belong to man alone.”~ John R. W. Stott (1921-2011) in The Cross of Christ “This is perfect and pure boasting in God, when one is not proud on account of his own righteousness but knows that he is indeed unworthy of the true righteousness and is justified solely by faith in Christ.”~Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on Humility, 20.3SERMON PASSAGERomans 1:16-32 (ESV)Romans 116 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. Romans 21 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. Proverbs 17 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of   knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Psalm 191 The heavens declare the glory of God,  and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.2 Day to day pours out speech,   and night to night reveals knowledge. Psalm 10619 They made a calf in Horeb   and worshiped a metal image.20 They exchanged the glory of God   for the image of an ox that eats grass.21 They forgot God, their Savior,   who had done great things in Egypt,22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,   and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.23 Therefore he said he would destroy them—   had not Moses, his chosen one,   stood in the breach before him,   to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

Saturday, 14 February 2026   Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” Matthew 16:28   “Amen! I say to you that they are some of those having stood here who not they should taste death until if they should see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus told His disciples that the Son of Man is about to come in His kingdom, and then He will give each according to his practice. He next says, “Amen! I say to you that they are some of those having stood here.”   The Greek verb is a perfect participle. As can be seen, the NKJV fails to properly elucidate this, saying, “some standing here.” In fact, one would be hard-pressed to find a translation that accurately translates the verb. Instead, they rely on a present tense or present participle rendering. But Jesus' words indicate a completed action, the results of which are still present or relevant, “having stood here.” The same perfect participle is found in the same context in Mark 9:1. Combined with the words, “some...here,” this limits the scope of what is said to those present. Of those referred to, Jesus next says they are those “who not they should taste death.”   A new word is seen, geuomai, to taste. It is used figuratively here to indicate experiencing. It is aorist subjunctive, viewing the whole as a single completed event. In other words, these will not experience death, “until if they should see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”   The meaning of this is widely debated. Is this referring to the transfiguration? Does this speak of the resurrection? Is it the beginning of the church at Pentecost? Is it the destruction of the temple in AD70? Is it referring to the millennial kingdom? And so on. Each of these has its supporters. For example, some believe that Jesus' words in John 21:22 mean that John is still alive and he will be one of the two witnesses. One of several problems with that is that the two witnesses will be killed before the Son of Man returns. Further, Jesus' words in Matthew 16:28 are plural, indicating more than one person. One of many problems with the destruction of the temple view is that Jesus didn't return in AD70. If He did, other words of Jesus would be a complete failure, such as Matthew 24:27.   There is no record of such an event, something that would not be lacking. That is an unbiblical attempt by preterists to dismiss any future prophecy, including the restoration of national Israel as a literal, historical event.   The problem with the Pentecost view is that it was the Holy Spirit, not Jesus, who came upon the people in Acts 2. To conflate the meaning of one with the other is stretching the text like a rubber band, which will eventually snap. As for the resurrection view, as Jesus was not in a glorified state at the resurrection, that also seems to be a stretch of the intent.   The account that is noted next at the beginning of Matthew 17 follows in the same manner in all three synoptic gospels, which is a strong hint that tells us that the transfiguration is what Jesus is referring to. It is a kingdom foretaste for the benefit of the disciples. As it is recorded in the word, it is thus provided as a benefit for all.   This glorified state was then viewed by John when he received the book of Revelation, including Jesus' return in Revelation 19. For a fuller and more complete explanation of the details of Matthew 16, please continue reading the life application section of this commentary.   Life application: Chapter 16 of Matthew is a passage that petitions the Jews of the end times to consider who Jesus is based on their own history, comparing it to how He is portrayed in Scripture.   In verse 1, Jesus was approached by the Pharisees and Sadducees, who asked for a sign from heaven. As in Chapter 15, these types of men represent the same thinking and paradigm as the rabbis of Israel today. Jesus told them that they could read the signs in the sky, but they could not discern the signs of the times.   With the coming of the end times, the Jews of Israel would naturally be expected to understand the situation they are in, but they will be clueless about the matter. In verse 4, Jesus said that the generation was wicked and adulterous, something akin to what Peter calls the Jews who rejected Jesus in Acts 2:40. Jesus continued that no sign would be given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah.   As explained, the sign of the prophet Jonah is the destruction of the temple, it being a year for a day based on Jonah's proclamation, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”   In the end times, the Jews will have to look to their Scriptures, understand that their temple was destroyed and they were exiled for rejecting Jesus, internalize this truth, and then have faith in Him based on that.   As an explanation of the doctrine of faith in the Messiah, in verse 5, the disciples went across the Sea of Galilee. As such, they crossed the Jordan because the Jordan runs through the sea. Being on the other (east) side signifies those who have not come through Christ to be saved. Jesus told them in verse 6 to take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. They thought He was talking about bread. But He corrected them by recapping the miracles of feeding the five thousand and the four thousand.   These miracles, anticipating the salvation of Jews and Gentiles, testify to His being the Messiah. What He was warning them about was the doctrine of those false teachers, not about bread. Their doctrine is to be equated with the false doctrine of the rabbis and other law teachers of the end times who have returned to law observance, temple worship, etc. It is a warning that the end times Jews are not to follow those Satan-led examples. Faith in Jesus, as represented by the feeding of the masses, is what brings restoration with God.   In verse 13, it is noted that Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi. Caesarea is derived from Caesar. The idea of being a Caesar is the deification of the individual. He is attributed a god-like status. Philippi is from Philip, a lover of horses. But in Scripture, a horse is metaphorically used as a source of military pride –   “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” Psalm 20:7   Abarim rightly defines Philippi with the lengthy paraphrase, They Who Lean On Their Military Complex. It is exactly the source of pride that Israel of today is heading towards. Their military superiority is their source of pride and is exalted to god-like status. This will only increase after the battle of Gogd/Magog.   It is in this prefigured end-times state that Jesus asks them who He is. The various answers are answers you could expect from Jews. Jesus was a prophet (or false prophet) or whatever. However, Simon Peter proclaims Him the Christ. What was Jesus' response? “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah.”   The same name that was acknowledged as the sign in verse 4 is now noted by Jesus. He is Simon (Hearer) Son of Jonah. In other words, he represents the Jews who have understood (heard) the sign of Jonah. To be a son signifies identity. The end times Jews who acknowledge Jesus as the Christ are “sons of Jonah,” because they have made the connection by understanding the sign. In essence, “We missed Him when He came, but we know now who He is.”   It is on this proclamation that Jesus will build His out-calling of those in the end times. They will receive the keys to the kingdom of the heavens, entering into the millennial reign of Christ. In verse 21, Jesus spoke of His destiny to suffer and die. Peter's words of admonishment stirred Jesus to turn His back on him, call him Satan, and tell him he was not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.   It is a warning to the end times Jews that they are to accept a crucified Savior as the role of the Messiah. Israel looked, and still looks, for a conquering Messiah, but His role as the crucified Messiah is what God highlights in Him more than all else.   From there, Jesus told the disciples the words about denying themselves and losing their souls in order to save their souls. The thought is "losing their souls (meaning their lives) in order to save their souls."  It is exactly what is seen in Revelation –   “Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.” Revelation 14:9, 10  &   “And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.” Revelation 15:2   In verse 27, it said, “For the Son of Man is about to come in His Father's glory with His messengers.” This is exactingly described in Revelation 19:11 –   “And I saw the heaven having been opened. And you behold! Horse, white! And the ‘sitting upon it' being called ‘Faithful and True,' and in righteousness He judges, and He battles” (CG).   Jesus is coming in His Father's glory. In Matthew 24, it notes that in the end times, He will send out His angels (Greek: messengers) to gather His elect.   The final verse of the chapter then said, “Amen! I say to you, that they are some of those having stood here who not they will taste death until if they should see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” Again, this is exactly what occurs in Revelation. Some of the end times Jews will make it through the entire tribulation, not seeing death until they behold Jesus coming in His kingdom.   These things are gleaned from Matthew 16, forming a picture of what is coming in the future for Israel.   Lord God, how precious it is to know that You will not reject Israel, even when the whole world is imploding, You will be with them and carry them as a people through the tribulation and into the time promised to them so long ago. Thank You for Your covenant faithfulness, even to those of us who fail You constantly. Amen. Matthew 16   16 And having approached, the Pharisees and Sadducees, testing, they queried Him to show them a sign from heaven. 2And answering, He said to them, “Evening having come, you say, ‘Good weather!', for the heaven, it is red, 3and early, ‘This day... inclemency!', for glowering, the heaven, it reddens. Hypocrites! Indeed, you know to discern the face of the heaven, and the seasons' signs, not you can. 4Generation – evil and adulteress – it seeks a sign, and a sign – not it will be given it – if not the sign of Jonah the prophet.” And having left them, He departed.   5And His disciples, having come to the beyond, they overlooked to take bread. 6And Jesus, He said to them, “You behold, and you caution from the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”   7And they deliberated in themselves, saying, “Because not we took bread!” 8And Jesus, having known, said to them, “Why – you deliberate in yourselves, little-faithed? Because you took no bread? 9You grasp, not yet, nor you recollect the five loaves – the five thousand, and how many handbaskets you took? 10Nor the seven loaves – the four thousand, and how many hampers you took? 11How not you recollect that I spoke not concerning bread to you! Caution from the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12Then they comprehended that not He said to caution from the leaven – the bread, but from the teaching – the Pharisees and Sadducees.   13And Jesus, having come to the allotments – Caesarea, the Phillipi, He entreated His disciples, saying, “Whom they say, the men, Me to be, the Son of Man?”   14And they said, “These, indeed, John the Immerser, and others Elijah, and others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”   15He says to them, “And you, whom you say Me to be?”   16And answering, Simon Peter, he said, “You, You are the Christ, the Son of God, the living.”   17And Jesus, answering, He said to him, “Blessed you are, Simon, Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood not it revealed to you, but My Father, the ‘in the heavens'.” 18And I also, I say to you that you, you are Peter, and upon this – the Rock – I will build My out-calling, and Hades' gates, not they will overpower her. 19And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens. And whatever, if you may bind upon the earth, it will be ‘having been bound' in the heavens. And whatever, if you may loosen upon the earth, it will be ‘having been loosed' in the heavens.” 20Then He enjoined His disciples that they should say to none that He, He is Jesus the Christ.   21From then He began, Jesus, to show His disciples that it necessitates Him to depart to Jerusalem and to suffer many from the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be roused.   22And Peter, having clutched Him, he began to admonish Him, saying, “Propitious, to You, Lord! No, not it will be, this to You!”   23And, having turned, He said to Peter, “You withdraw behind Me, Satan! Snare, you are, to Me. For you think not these of God but these of men.”   24The Jesus, He said to His disciples, “If any, he desires to come after Me, let him disown himself, and he took his cross, and he follows Me. 25For whoever, if he may desire to save his soul, he will lose it. And whoever, if he may lose his soul because of Me, he will find it. 26For what it benefits a man if he may gain the whole world and he may lose his soul? Or what will he give, man, equivalent his soul? 27For the Son of Man is about to come in His Father's glory with His messengers. And then He will give each according to his practice. 28Amen! I say to you, that they are some of those having stood here who not they will taste death until if they should see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

"The life of this saint is wonderful beyond measure and is worth reading in full. What did he not endure to fulfil the Law of God? At the age of eighteen, he went off into a mountain in Cappadocia called the Ark and spent 25 years in fasting, vigils and prayer, and struggling with manifold temptations. When a woman came to tempt him and he saw that he would fall into sin with her, he leapt barefoot into the fire and stood in it until the pain brought forth tears from his eyes and he had killed all lust within himself. When other temptations arose, he fled to a lonely rock in the sea and lived there. When, though, in a shipwreck, a woman swam to the rock, he leapt into the sea intending to drown himself. But a dolphin took him upon its back and brought him, by God's providence, to the shore. He then decided to make nowhere his permanent home but to travel incessantly. Thus he passed through 164 towns in two years, exhorting and advising the people. He finally arrived in Athens, where he died in 422." (Prologue)

This light of the Church is one of only three holy Fathers whom the Church has honored with the name "the Theologian" (the others are St John the Evangelist and Theologian, and St Symeon the New Theologian).   He was born in 329 in Arianzus in Cappadocia to a pious and holy family: his father Gregory, mother Nonna, brother Caesarius and sister Gorgonia are all counted among the Saints of the Church. His father later became Bishop of Nazianzus. He studied in Palestine, then in Alexandria, then in Athens. On the way to Athens, his ship was almost sunk in a violent storm; Gregory, who had not yet been baptized, prayed to the Lord to preserve him, and promised that henceforth he would dedicate his entire life to God. Immediately the storm ceased.   In Athens, Gregory's fellow students included St Basil the Great and the future Emperor Julian the Apostate. The friendship between Gregory and Basil blossomed into a true spiritual friendship; they were loving brothers in Christ for the rest of their lives. After completing their studies, Sts Gregory and Basil lived together as monks in hermitage at Pontus. Much against St Gregory's will, his father ordained him a priest, and St Basil consecrated him Bishop of Sasima (in the Archdiocese of Caesarea, over which St Basil was Archbishop).   In 381 the Second Ecumenical Council condemned Macedonius, Archbishop of Constantinople, and appointed St Gregory in his place. When he arrived in the City, he found that the Arians controlled all the churches, and he was forced to "rule" from a small house chapel. From there he preached his five great sermons on the Trinity, the Triadika; these were so powerfully influential that when he left Constantinople two years later, every church in the City had been restored to the Orthodox.   St Gregory was always a theologian and a contemplative, not an administrator, and the duties of Archbishop were agonizing to him. In 382 he received permission from a council of his fellow-bishops and the Emperor to retire from the see of Constantinople. He returned to Nazianzus (for which reason he is sometimes called St Gregory of Nazianzus). There he reposed in peace in 391 at the age of sixty-two.   His writings show a theological depth and a sublimity of expression perhaps unsurpassed in the Church. His teaching on the Holy Trinity is a great bastion of Orthodox Faith; in almost every one of his published homilies he preaches the Trinity undivided and of one essence.

As the crow flies, Caesarea was around 47 miles from Jerusalem. But because of terrain and available roads, it was around 65 miles to travel. Paul in Roman custody down in Caesarea was out of the reach of the Jews. But he was not far enough away to be out of their thinking. Two years later, he was still very much on their minds.