Podcasts about Jerusalem

Dave Rubin of "The Rubin Report" gives a first look at the stories you need to know to start your day, including New York Assistant Attorney General Daniel Wiesenfeld accusing a supervisor in Letitia James' office of directing him to hunt for crimes involving President Donald Trump, Truth Social, and other predetermined targets without a credible basis—before his agency-wide email was deleted and he was placed on leave; Border Czar Tom Homan explaining why ICE swiftly deported British provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos after he overstayed his visa, skipped his immigration hearing, and received a final removal order; and archaeologists uncovering an ancient quarry, garden, and rock-cut tombs beneath Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre that match the biblical description of the landscape surrounding Jesus Christ's burial place; and much more.  #rubinreport #miloYiannopoulos #tomhoman #letitiajames #whistleblower #jesuschrist #jesustomb #daverubin

Barry Strauss, author of Jews vs. Rome, Part One: Strauss covers the First Jewish-Roman War, focusing on the defense and subsequent fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Relying heavily on the historian Josephus—who surrendered at Jotapataand prophesied Vespasian's rise to secure his own survival—Strauss examines the siege led by Vespasian's son, Titus. Despite Jerusalem's robust, thick fortifications, internal factional infighting among Jewish rebel leaders John, Simon, and Eleazar doomed the defense by destroying the city's critical grain supply. This culminated in the devastating destruction of the Second Temple and Jerusalem's absolute leveling. (1)

Barry Strauss, Part Two: Strauss examines subsequent Jewish rebellions across the Roman Empire, beginning with the coordinated Diaspora Revolt during Trajan's Parthian campaign. The revolt severely disrupted Rome but led to the destruction of Alexandria's large Jewish community. To assert dominance, Emperor Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as the pagan city Aelia Capitolina, banning the Jewish temple. This provoked the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–136 AD) under Simon bar Kokhba. Using asymmetrical guerrilla warfare and tunnels, the rebels fought bitterly before their defeat at Betar. Strauss concludes with the 4th-century Gallus Revolt and 7th-century Sasanian campaign. (3)

As we began to see our last episode, the governors who oversee region west of the Euphrates, which includes Judah and Jerusalem, are unhappy that Nehemiah has been sent to help rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Feeling threatened, Sanballat and other officials create false rumors and even bribe others to attempt to deceive Nehemiah. They make every attempt to stop or delay the work, but in just 52 days' time, Nehemiah and the diligent remnant Israel rebuild the wall and restore the gates. Once the gates are up and guards are established, Nehemiah begins to sort out families so that they can build houses and settle in the land. Nehemiah 5 - 1:08 . Nehemiah 6 - 5:34 . Nehemiah 7 - 10:29 . Isaiah 19 - 18:46 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

Fr. Patrick preached this homily on August 30, 2026. The readings are from Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29, Psalm 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11, Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a, Luke 14:1, 7-14 (Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time). Connect with us! Website: https://slakingthirsts.com/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@SlakingThirsts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/SlakingThirsts/

What if the holiest things in your life are built not through noise and attention, but through quiet faithfulness? 1 Kings 6 brings us to one of the most important moments in the entire Bible: the building of the First Temple in Jerusalem. Four hundred and eighty years after the Exodus, Israel finally builds the House of God and in the process, Scripture reveals profound lessons about holiness, peace, faithfulness, and where God truly dwells. In this chapter of Prophets of Israel Daily, Ari Abramowitz and Jeremy Gimpel explore the building of Solomon's Temple and the deeper meaning behind its design and construction: -The First Temple in Jerusalem and why the Tanakh connects its construction directly to the Exodus. -Why no hammer, axe, or iron tool was heard at the Temple site and what the silence teaches us about holiness and peace. -God's message to Solomon: the Temple itself is not the point; faithfulness to God is what brings His presence among His people. -The breathtaking Holy of Holies, the golden sanctuary, and the cherubim carved throughout the Temple. -Building a sacred life quietly, faithfully, and in relationship with God. What the chapter means for Israel today and the hope of seeing God's House rise again in Jerusalem.

Jesus passes through Jericho as He nears Jerusalem. There, two blind men beg for mercy from Jesus because they see Him truly as the Son of David. When the crowd tries to silence the men, their prayers grow louder. Jesus asks the two men the same question He had asked the mother of the sons of Zebedee, and these two blind men ask for something Jesus has come to grant. He grants them physical sight, matching their spiritual sight. Unlike a previous healing, after this miracle, Jesus does not tell the men to be silent. As Holy Week draws near, the time has come for the world to see what it means that Jesus is the Son of David.  Rev. Dr. Martin Dressler, pastor at Salem Lutheran Church and School in Black Jack, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Matthew 20:29-34.  “The Reign of Heaven Stands Near” is a series on Sharper Iron that studies the Gospel according to St. Matthew. The first evangelist proclaims that God has fulfilled His Old Testament promises by sending Jesus to bring the reign of the heavens among us. As the Son of David, Jesus is the gracious King we need, and as the Son of Abraham, Jesus is the blessing to all the families of the earth.  Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God's Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Pastor Appel serves at Faith Lutheran Church in Godfrey, IL. Learn more at flcgodfrey.org. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org

Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah/Rosh Hashanah) dates 2026: Begins sunset Friday, September 11 Ends nightfall Sunday, September 13 ********************************************** From the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Rabbi Schneider teaches about Yeshua's return, the deception of the end times, and the urgent call to be spiritually ready. As Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets, points us toward awakening and preparation, Rabbi challenges viewers to keep their lamps burning for the coming King.

He knocks after midnight with his head wet with dew and asks her to open the door. She is already in bed and does not want to get up. By the time she does, hands dripping with myrrh, he is gone. She goes out looking for him, and the watchmen who are supposed to guard the city beat her instead and take her veil. When the daughters of Jerusalem ask what makes this man worth all that, she answers by describing her groom from head to foot: gold, ivory, alabaster, hair black as a raven, lips dripping with myrrh, altogether desirable. She says, "This is my beloved, and this is my friend." The Rev. Shawn Ethridge, pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Fulda, Minnesota, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Song of Solomon 5:1–16.  To learn more about St. Paul's in Fulda, visit stpaulsfulda.org. The Song of Solomon is a book of love poetry, a bride and her bridegroom singing to each other across eight chapters. God's people have sung it since Solomon's day, and Jewish congregations still read it at Passover. The Church has heard in it the voice of Christ and His bride, and Luther quoted the Song in The Freedom of a Christian to describe what happens when Christ takes a sinner as His own. Paul was working the same ground in Ephesians five, where he set marriage beside Christ and the Church and called it a great mystery.

In Days 195–196 of Orchot Tzaddikim, The Ways of the Righteous, Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe continues the Gate of Fear of Heaven by developing the idea that the human being is a microcosm of the entire world. Just as creation contains trees, herbs, fruits, waters, rivers, stones, mountains, winds, and countless other systems, the human body contains parallel structures and functions. The author uses these comparisons to awaken awe at the complexity and wisdom Hashem embedded within us.The lesson moves through a series of physical parallels: the digestive system is compared to the depths of the earth, arteries to rivers, bones to the foundations of the world, kidneys and bodily ducts to waterways, and the various fluids of the body to the different waters found throughout creation. The message is not merely anatomical. It is that the human body itself reflects a larger Divine pattern and should inspire a deeper appreciation of the Creator.Day 196 expands the comparison further. The Orchot Tzaddikim parallels hot and cold winds with human breath, thunder with the human voice, lightning with the brightness of the face, mountains with the body's joints and structures, stones with teeth and bones, soil with flesh and skin, vegetation with human hair, and even the zodiac with the spinal column and its attached structures. The author also describes ancient forms of wisdom through which sages were said to discern future events from natural signs, bodily features, vegetation, and other aspects of creation.Rabbi Wolbe concludes by emphasizing the wonder of the human body. The same wisdom Hashem placed throughout the cosmos is, in miniature, embedded within each person. The point is not to become distracted by speculative worlds beyond us, but to recognize the extraordinary miracle already present within our own bodies. The more carefully we contemplate ourselves, the more opportunities we have to develop Yirat Shamayim—awareness, reverence, and awe of Hashem._____________This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by Peter & Becky BotvinRecorded at TORCH Centre in the Levin Family Studios (B) to a live audience on March 23, 2026, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on August 31, 2026_____________This series on Orchos Tzadikim/Ways of the Righteous is produced in partnership with Hachzek.Join the revolution of daily Mussar study at hachzek.com.We are using the Treasure of Life edition of the Orchos Tzadikkim (Published by Feldheim)_____________Listen, Subscribe & Share: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jewish-inspiration-podcast-rabbi-aryeh-wolbe/id1476610783Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4r0KfjMzmCNQbiNaZBCSU7) to stay inspired! Share your questions at aw@torchweb.org or visit torchweb.org for more Torah content.  _____________About the Host:Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH in Houston, brings decades of Torah scholarship to guide listeners in applying Jewish wisdom to daily life.  To directly send your questions, comments, and feedback, please email: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Support Our Mission:Our Mission is Connecting Jews & Judaism. Help us spread Judaism globally by sponsoring an episode at torchweb.org.Your support makes a HUGE difference!_____________Listen MoreOther podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Hey Rabbi! Podcast: https://heyrabbi.transistor.fm/episodesPrayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at http://podcast.torchweb.orgv_____________Keywords:#JewishInspiration, #Mussar, #MasterClass, #FearOfHeaven, #YiratShamayim,  #HumanBody, #Creation, #Microcosm, #Wonder, #BodyAndSoul, #MiraclesEverywhere  ★ Support this podcast ★

This week we're discussing some classic hymns and all round total anthems through history. We'll discuss a favourite on the UK football terraces: The Battle Hymn of the Republic. The true story of that absolute banger ‘Jerusalem'. And from down under, we'll have that Aussie smash hit ‘Advance Australia Fair'.Elsewhere, there's a Greggs on Pudding Mill Lane.. Which other areas have stayed true to their origins? If you've got anything on this or anything else, do get in touch! hello@ohwhatatime.comAnd if you want more Oh What A Time and both parts at once, you should sign up for our Patreon! On there you'll now find:•The full archive of bonus episodes•Brand new bonus episodes each month•OWAT subscriber group chats•Loads of extra perks for supporters of the show•PLUS ad-free episodes earlier than everyone elseJoin us at

What do you do when you find yourself in a "strange land"—feeling spiritually homesick, weary from the climb, or wondering if you've wandered too far from the presence of God? In Psalms 101–150, the Psalter reaches its majestic, final crescendo, providing an unbroken anthem of mercy, divine guidance, and transcendent praise. Summary: In this concluding study of the Book of Psalms (Chapters 101–150), we explore the sacred culmination of ancient Israel's worship. From David's personal covenant to walk with integrity within his own home, to the grand 176-verse acrostic ode to the scriptures in Psalm 119, these chapters teach us how to transform every trial into "one more strain of praise." The King's Standard: We analyze Psalm 101, looking at David's 12-part pledge to set "no wicked thing" before his eyes and create a sanctuary of righteousness within his home. As Far as the East Is from the West: We dive into Psalm 103, examining the infinite reach of God's tender mercies and His divine understanding that "we are dust". The Cornerstone and the Hosanna: We unpack the Messianic majesty of Psalms 110 and 118, discovering how the rejected stone became the head of the corner and exploring the ancient background of the Triumphal Entry. The A-to-Z of Scripture Study: We deconstruct Psalm 119, the ultimate 22-stanza Hebrew acrostic, uncovering how hiding God's word in our hearts creates an internal lamp that keeps us from stumbling in the dark. The Songs of Ascent: We journey through Psalms 120–134, the ancient pilgrimage hymns sung as travelers ascended toward the temple in Jerusalem, discovering how to find peace in times of war and reap in joy after sowing in tears. The Final Doxology: We finish with Psalms 145–150, exploring the final five Hallelujah psalms and learning why Psalm 150 calls on every single instrument, element of creation, and "every thing that hath breath" to praise the Lord. Call-to-Action: Psalm 139 reminds us that whether we ascend to heaven or make our bed in hell, the hand of the Lord is still there to lead and hold us. What verse from this final collection of psalms speaks most directly to your current season of life? Share your favorite lines in the comments below. To keep your gospel foundation centered and "Unshaken," please like, subscribe, and share this video! Chapter Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 5:36 Commitment, Complaint, & the Set Time (101-102) 17:29 A Masterpiece of Mercy (103) 34:14 Praise for Creating & Covenanting (104-105) 41:55 Forgiveness & Thanksgiving (106-107) 57:22 Victory & vindication (108-110) 1:10:33 Acrostics & Hallelujahs (111-117) 1:29:31 Building on the Rock You Rejected (118) 1:43:13 Rejoicing in God's Word (119) 2:26:56 Psalms of Ascent (120-126) 2:41:40 The Blessing of Children (127-128) 2:49:53 Completing the Climb (129-136) 3:01:10 By the Rivers of Babylon (137) 3:12:02 Davidic Psalms (138-144) 3:29:31 Praise & a Final Doxology (145-149) 3:40:32 One More Strain of Praise (150) 3:49:07 Conclusion

In this conclusion to Daniel 11, Matt Freeman examines the “willful king,” his rise through deception and false peace, his attempt to establish a worldwide religious system, the wars that erupt against his kingdom, Israel's flight into the wilderness and his final attempt to establish his rule from Jerusalem.

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Ezekiel 8–11; Revelation 4 Click HERE to give! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on the Daily Radio Bible, a daily Bible‑in‑a‑year podcast with 20‑minute Scripture readings, Christ‑centered devotion, and guided prayer.This daily Bible reading and devotional invites you to live as a citizen of Jesus' kingdom, reconciled, renewed, and deeply loved. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible! On this August 30th episode, Hunter guides us through Ezekiel 8–11 and Revelation 4. In Ezekiel, the prophet is given a troubling vision of what is happening within the temple in Jerusalem. The place intended for the worship of God has become filled with idolatry, corruption, and hidden practices. Ezekiel witnesses the glory of God departing from the temple as the people continue to place other things at the center of their lives. Yet even in the midst of judgment and exile, God offers a promise of restoration. He promises to gather his scattered people, give them an undivided heart, and place a new spirit within them. Hearts of stone will be replaced with tender and responsive hearts. Then, in Revelation 4, John is invited through an open door into the throne room of heaven. There he sees the true center of all reality. Around the throne are living beings, elders, flashes of lightning, and ceaseless worship. Everything is ordered around the One who sits upon the throne. Today's devotion invites us to see what heaven sees. Christ is at the center of all things. When our lives become centered on lesser things, they drift toward confusion, anxiety, and disorder. But when Christ takes his rightful place at the center of our hearts, our priorities, and our affections, life begins to align with what is ultimately true. TODAY'S DEVOTION: He is at the center. Do you see it? The vision given to John in Revelation places the throne of God at the very heart of heaven. Everything surrounds it. The living beings, the elders, the sea of glass, and the great chorus of worship are all arranged around the One who sits upon the throne. At the center of what is, what has been, and what will forever be is God. The problem is that we often lack the eyes to see what is truly real. We live off-center. Our lives begin to orbit around lesser things. We place our work, possessions, fears, ambitions, relationships, politics, pain, or need for approval at the center. These things may be important, but they were never intended to bear the weight of becoming the center of our lives. When something other than Christ occupies the center, everything begins to feel disordered. We become anxious. We become confused. We lose our sense of proportion and purpose. Ezekiel sees this happening in the temple. The place that had been set apart for the worship of God had become crowded with idols. The people continued to participate in religious activity, but their hearts had moved far away. Other things had taken the center. But John is shown another vision. He sees heaven as it truly is. Everything is properly ordered around the throne. Worship breaks out because all of creation recognizes the One at the center. The living beings are covered with eyes. They see what is real. They see God in his beauty, holiness, goodness, and glory. Because they see, they worship. John writes his vision so that we might see too. Christ is at the center. He is the center of creation. He is the center of history. He is the center of salvation. He is the center of the life that God is restoring within us. We do not make Christ the center by our effort or devotion. He already is the center. Our invitation is to awaken to what is true and allow our lives to become aligned with that reality. When Christ is at the center of our hearts, affections, and priorities, worship begins to arise here and now. Life starts to find its proper order. Our fears no longer occupy the throne. Our failures no longer define us. Our ambitions no longer control us. Our circumstances no longer determine whether God is near. Christ is at the center, and we begin to participate in the joy, strength, and purpose of his life. Ezekiel also gives us a promise. God will gather his people and give them an undivided heart. He will remove their stony and stubborn hearts and give them tender, responsive hearts. That is what we need. We need hearts that are no longer divided among a thousand competing centers. We need hearts made tender and whole by the Spirit, hearts that are able to see Jesus and respond to his love. So today, may God give us eyes to see. May we see Christ at the center of all things. May our lives become aligned with heaven's true focus. And may worship break out in our hearts, our homes, our relationships, and everything we do. That's the prayer I have for my own soul. That's the prayer I have for my family, for my wife, my daughters, and my son. And that's the prayer I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO OF THIS REFLECTIONMatthew 16:21-27Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay all according to his conduct."

Pastor Chad Veach from Zoe Church in Los Angeles is bringing a timely message to Awakening Church, The Time Is Here.

Friends of the Rosary,In today's Gospel, from Matthew 16:21-27, we learn that because sin entered into the world before the Incarnation took place, the Son of God in his human nature had to suffer the violent death of the cross at the hands of sinners."Jesus began to show his disciplesthat he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatlyfrom the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,and be killed and on the third day be raised."From all eternity, this was God's plan for mankind. Jesus came to die in the Cross. In this very suffering, the Lord became the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world, as the Second Isaiah had foretold in his "suffering servant" prophecies (Is. 53: 1-7; 42: 1-9, etc).His death, because he was God as well as man, was a sacrifice, an atonement, to obtain forgiveness from the Father for all the sins of the human race.In today's reading, we see how Christ intends to prepare his disciples and other followers for what he knew would be a severe crisis of faith for them.He also told them — and through them, all of us — what their attitude to suffering and death should be."Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,take up his cross, and follow me.For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• ⁠August 30, 2026, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Matthew 16:21-28   Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? “For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Building God's Way According to Ezra & Nehemiah, Pt. 3God Has a PriorityEzra 3:1-13 | King's Chapel Live StreamAs God's people return to Jerusalem in Ezra 3, they have a lot to rebuild. But before they rebuild the temple, they build an altar.Why?Because God's priority is His worship and His glory.In this message from *Building God's Way According to Ezra & Nehemiah*, we see how Ezra 3 points us to a greater reality: worship isn't something we fit into our lives after everything else is taken care of. God Himself is our priority.The altar points us to the sacrifice God provided through Jesus. The temple points us to God's desire to dwell with His people, ultimately fulfilled through Christ and the Holy Spirit. And the joyful shouts and weeping of God's people remind us that our worship exists in the tension of the "now and not yet," as we look forward to the day when God will dwell with His people forever.If we're going to build our lives, our church, and our community God's way, we have to begin with what matters most: **God's glory and our worship of Him.**Connect with King's Chapel in Longwood, FL - ▶️ www.kingschapelfl.com▶️ https://www.facebook.com/KingsChapelfl▶️ https://www.instagram.com/kingschapelfl/For the GLORY of our Great GodFor the GOOD of our NeighborEzra 3 sermon, Ezra 3, Building God's Way, God has a priority, worship comes first, worship sermon, God's glory, Ezra and Nehemiah sermon series, Christian worship, Jesus sacrifice, Holy Spirit temple, God's presence, King's Chapel Longwood

Read OnlineA Stark Contrast“Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Matthew 16:23This scene likely unfolds in or near Caesarea Philippi, a Gentile region steeped in pagan worship. There, at the mouth of a cave long associated with the entrance to the netherworld—believed by some pagans to be the very gate of Hades—Jesus had just questioned His disciples: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” and then more directly, “But who do you say that I am?” (cf. Matthew 16:13–15). Peter, speaking with conviction on behalf of the Twelve, boldly proclaimed, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus responded by declaring him “Peter,” the rock upon which He would build His Church, promising that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”Just moments later, Jesus issues one of the strongest rebukes recorded in the Gospels: “Get behind me, Satan!” The same Peter who had just spoken divine truth now speaks human fear and shortsightedness. In trying to dissuade Jesus from His suffering and death, Peter unknowingly opposes the very mission of the Messiah. Jesus calls this mindset not merely a mistake, but a diabolical temptation—echoing the same temptation He faced in the desert, when satan sought to lure Him away from the Cross with promises of worldly glory.What a stark contrast. Peter goes from being the rock of faith to an obstacle in the Lord's path. But why was Jesus so severe in His response?Because the stakes were eternal. The Cross is not optional. It is the means of salvation—not just for Jesus, but for all who would follow Him. To think otherwise, even with good intention, is to prefer human comfort over divine wisdom. Peter's protest reflects a natural aversion to suffering, but Jesus exposes it for what it truly is: a stumbling block to the will of the Father.This dramatic Gospel scene is recorded for a reason. By calling Peter “Satan,” Jesus wanted to warn him, and us, of the real and ever-present danger of rejecting the way of the Cross. Like Peter, we can easily fall into the trap of wishful thinking and misguided compassion by saying about ourselves or those close to us, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen…” We are saying, in essence: “Lord, please make sure that neither I nor anyone I love ever has to suffer!” But such a prayer, though well-meaning, is clearly mistaken, and Jesus wants that point to be clearly understood.Peter was troubled because “Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” But all that Jesus revealed about His suffering was good—very good. Though His suffering was inflicted by the sins of others, His free and loving embrace of that suffering was the greatest act of love the world has ever known. Peter was blinded to this truth. He could not yet see beyond the horror of suffering to the divine good that would come through Jesus' sacrificial embrace of it.Reflect today on Peter's and Jesus' words: “God forbid, Lord!” and “Get behind me, Satan!” In this exchange, Jesus is also speaking to each of us, saying, “Never run from the Cross!” We must never flee from a selfless and sacrificial embrace of suffering, even when that suffering is unjust. God can and will transform all freely embraced suffering into a means of His eternal glory and our sanctification. With our Lord, reject the evil one's false empathy. Reject the lie that suffering is meaningless. Choose instead to lay down your life in love with Christ, and in doing so, you will rise with Him, victorious over every sin and diabolical lie, overcoming even the sufferings of this life through your free and faithful embrace.My compassionate Lord, Your firm rebuke of Peter was direct, powerful, and loving. Rather than offering false comfort or misleading empathy, You spoke a hard truth to awaken Peter—and all of us—to the spiritual necessity of the Cross. Grant me the grace, dear Lord, to say “Yes” to the suffering I must face. May I embrace it not with fear or resistance, but with a heart filled with Your love and unwavering courage. Jesus, I trust in You.Image: Wilfredor, CC0, via Wikimedia CommonsSource: Free RSS feed from catholic-daily-reflections.com — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Ezekiel 4–7; Revelation 3 Click HERE to give! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on the Daily Radio Bible, a daily Bible‑in‑a‑year podcast with 20‑minute Scripture readings, Christ‑centered devotion, and guided prayer.This daily Bible reading and devotional invites you to live as a citizen of Jesus' kingdom, reconciled, renewed, and deeply loved. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible! On this August 29th episode, Hunter guides us through Ezekiel 4–7 and Revelation 3. In Ezekiel, we encounter vivid and sobering signs of the judgment coming upon Jerusalem. Ezekiel acts out the siege of the city, revealing the consequences of violence, idolatry, injustice, and a people who have placed their confidence in something other than God. The warnings are difficult, but they call God's people to wake up and see the truth about the path they have chosen. Then, in Revelation 3, Jesus speaks to the churches in Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. He calls the sleeping to awaken, encourages the faithful to persevere, and confronts those who have become comfortable and self-sufficient. The church in Laodicea believes it is rich and needs nothing, yet Jesus tells them that they cannot see their true condition. Still, Jesus does not abandon them. He stands outside the door and knocks, inviting them to open their lives to him and share a meal as friends. Today's devotion asks us to consider whether success, comfort, possessions, or self-reliance have quietly pushed Jesus to the margins of our lives. His knocking is not the sound of condemnation. It is the persistent invitation of love, calling us back into communion and the true riches of his presence. TODAY'S DEVOTION: He stands at the door and knocks. In the vision given to John, we meet Jesus outside the door of the church in Laodicea. The door has been closed from the inside by people who have become content with their own wealth and self-sufficiency. They say, "I am rich. I have everything I want. I don't need a thing." They believe they are thriving. They imagine that their success and resources are evidence that everything is well. But Jesus sees what they cannot see. They are poor. They are blind. They are exposed. Their wealth has blinded them to their need. Success and comfort have taken the place of communion with Christ. They have become so confident in what they possess that they no longer recognize the One standing outside the door. It is a sobering picture. This is not only a warning for churches. It is a warning for each one of us. The seduction of self-reliance can quietly push Jesus away from the center of our lives. We begin to trust our own resources, abilities, achievements, intelligence, or reputation. We may even confuse outward success with inward health. We imagine that we are living fully, while slowly exchanging the life of Christ for something far smaller. But the beautiful thing in this passage is the persistence of Jesus. He does not abandon the church. He does not walk away in disgust. He does not stop loving those who have pushed him outside. He stands at the door and knocks. Jesus continues to invite them into fellowship. He says that if anyone hears his voice and opens the door, he will come in and share a meal with that person as friends. This is not the voice of rejection. It is the voice of love. Jesus wants to open our eyes. He wants us to see the depth of our need and the greatness of his grace. He wants to free us from the illusion that we can create life for ourselves. The true riches are not found in what we possess. The true riches are found in him. In Christ, we are invited into communion, friendship, belonging, and the fullness of the life he shares with the Father and the Spirit. Maybe there is a door in your life that has been closed to Jesus. Maybe there is an ambition, fear, resentment, possession, relationship, or sense of self-sufficiency that has taken his place at the center. Listen today. He is still knocking. His knocking is not an angry demand. It is a gracious invitation to return, to open the door, and to receive the life that only he can give. Let him in. Sit with him. Receive the true riches of his presence. That's the prayer I have for my own soul. That's the prayer I have for my family, for my wife, my daughters, and my son. And that's the prayer I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260829dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” Matthew 16:21-25 Following Jesus We put value on everything. How much we value someone, or something affects the decisions we make. If we value a certain piece of meat enough to pay thirteen dollars a pound for it, we buy it. If we value our pet enough to pay a thousand dollars for the surgery needed, we tell the vet to schedule the surgery. Jesus values you more than anyone has ever valued anything. He wants to spend his eternity with you. He knew that the only way he could do this was to go to the cross and spill his blood as payment for your sins. As Jesus said, he would have to “suffer many things.” But, for Jesus it was a simple equation. Lose his life or lose you. He chose to lose his life. And now, because of what Jesus did, all his followers will live eternally with him. Those who do not follow him will suffer separation from him forever. So, what are you willing to suffer in order to follow him? It is a simple equation. Lose him and you lose everything. Follow him at all costs. Carry whatever burden you must. Put up with whatever ridicule you must. Pass by whatever temporary pleasure you must. Follow him. Because when Jesus leads you to the glory of heaven you will exclaim, “It was worth it!” Prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank you that you valued me enough to suffer so much to save me. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Arieh King, אריה קינג, Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem and Chairman of the "United" faction in the Jerusalem City Council, joins Seth live in-studio to discuss his trip to North America and advocacy for the Israel Land Fund. You can learn more about the fund at https://www.israellandfund.com/. Arieh also gives his predictions on the results of the coming Israeli legislative elections, and explores the intricacies of Jerusalem's history, the importance of the city's significance to Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and the challenges of maintaining a secure and welcoming place.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are modern earthquakes, wars, and global chaos signs that Jesus is about to return?In this episode of Richard Reacts, Richard Henry responds to popular end-times claims surrounding Matthew 24 and the tendency to interpret every earthquake, war, or disaster as evidence that the end is near.Richard examines Jesus’ words about wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, persecution, and the “end of the age” in their original context. Were these warnings primarily about events thousands of years in the future—or about the judgment coming upon Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70?Instead of reading today’s headlines back into biblical prophecy, Richard challenges Christians to read Matthew 24 in context, abandon sensational “newspaper exegesis,” and recover a more confident view of Christ’s kingdom and its advance throughout history.What do you think? Are modern earthquakes signs of the end—or have Christians been reading Matthew 24 incorrectly? Let us know in the comments.Reference video: • Why Are So Many EARTHQUAKES Happening Arou...

By the spring of 1948, three armed Jewish militias had been fighting and working towards the birth of modern Israel. There was the Haganah, under David Ben-Gurion, which would become the core of the new Israel Defense Forces. There was the Irgun, led by Menachem Begin, and a smaller group, the Lehi. Begin agreed to dissolve the Irgun units operating in Israel into the new army, a decision he made in the name of national unity and cohesion even though tensions between the Irgun and the Haganah were deep, and Haganah operatives had previously informed on their counterparts in the Irgun to British officials. Even so, the Irgun had pledged to become a part of the IDF in the newly formed state of Israel. A month after Ben-Gurion declared independence, a ship named the Altalena set sail from France under the auspices of the Irgun, carrying rifles and some 900 immigrants, many of them survivors of the Shoah. The ship left port the same day a United Nations cease-fire took effect, a truce that barred the importation of any new arms or combatants into the country. When it reached the coast at Kfar Vitkin just north of Tel Aviv, a dispute broke out over how the weapons would be distributed, and in particular over Begin's insistence that a share go to an Irgun battalion in Jerusalem, which he argued stood outside the truce's terms since Jerusalem's status remained unsettled under the UN partition plan. The standoff turned violent onshore, and Begin ordered the ship to sail south, to Tel Aviv, in full view of the city and the international press. Near what is today Frishman Beach, Ben-Gurion gave the order to open fire on the ship, and by this time, with Begin aboard, on his main political rival. Two officers refused before a third accepted the command. Sixteen Irgun men and three IDF soldiers were killed. And Begin, standing on the burning deck with comrades dying around him, ordered his own men not to fire back. He would repeat that order over the radio that night: never, he said, could he condone a war between brothers. The specter of the Altalena has haunted Israeli politics ever since. It plays a potent and mythological role in the imagination of the political right as one of the earliest examples of a centralized government dominated by the political left that uses the power of the state against its domestic opponents. Now, six weeks before an Israeli election, the wreckage of the Altalena has been discovered. To discuss the ship's sinking and the significance of its recovery, Jonathan Silver, the host of the Tikvah podcast and the editor of Mosaic, is joined by the historian, educator, and writer Avi Shilon. Shilon is the author of, among other works of scholarship, the definitive biography of Menachem Begin, published in 2012 by Yale University Press.

Nehemiah, an exile who lived in Persia's capital and served King Artaxerxes as his royal cupbearer, hears news that Jerusalem has been laid waste. The wall surrounding the city had been greatly compromised and the gates that would have maintained a secure entrance had been burned down. In great dismay, Nehemiah asks the king if he can return to help restore the city. With the king's approval and with papers in hand, Nehemiah goes back to Jerusalem, but the local governors are not happy that he has come. Nehemiah surveys the damage under cover of night, then urges Israel to join him in the work of rebuilding the wall and gates. Nehemiah 1 - 1:10 .  Nehemiah 2 - 3:43 .  Nehemiah 3 - 9:41 .  Nehemiah 4 - 15:45 .  Isaiah 18 - 20:58 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Ezekiel 1–3; Revelation 2 Click HERE to give! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on the Daily Radio Bible, a daily Bible‑in‑a‑year podcast with 20‑minute Scripture readings, Christ‑centered devotion, and guided prayer.This daily Bible reading and devotional invites you to live as a citizen of Jesus' kingdom, reconciled, renewed, and deeply loved. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible! On this August 28th episode, Hunter guides us through Ezekiel 1–3 and Revelation 2. In Ezekiel, we encounter an awe-inspiring vision of God's glory beside the Kebar River. Ezekiel sees living beings, wheels within wheels, flashes of fire, and a throne above the heavens. In the midst of exile, far from Jerusalem and everything familiar, God reveals that his presence has not abandoned his people. Ezekiel is then called to speak God's Word to a stubborn and rebellious nation. His task is not to control how people respond, but to listen, receive the Word for himself, and faithfully speak what he has been given. Then, in Revelation 2, Jesus walks among the seven golden lampstands, which represent the churches. He is present among his people, offering encouragement, correction, warning, and hope. Today's devotion invites us to look for Jesus where he has promised to be found: among his people. Even when the church is imperfect, messy, or difficult, Christ has not abandoned it. He continues to walk among us, speak through his Word, and invite anyone with ears to hear what the Spirit is saying. TODAY'S DEVOTION: Where do we find Jesus? John gives us a clear answer in Revelation. Jesus is standing and walking among the seven golden lampstands, and the lampstands represent the seven churches. Jesus is right in the midst of his people. He is not confined to the walls of a building. He is not hidden in some far-off, unreachable place. He is here, among those who belong to him, even when that gathering is messy, imperfect, and complicated. Seven is often the biblical number of wholeness and completion. So when John describes Jesus walking among the seven lampstands, we are being shown something larger than seven individual congregations in Asia Minor. Jesus is present among the whole church. He is present among all his people. These churches are not perfect. Some have lost their first love. Some are enduring persecution. Some have compromised with the surrounding culture. Some are tolerating destructive teaching and behavior. And yet Jesus is among them. He has not walked away. He comes with words of comfort, correction, warning, and promise. His presence is not passive. He speaks because he loves his people and desires their healing, faithfulness, and renewal. Again and again, John tells us, "Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches." That means more than simply hearing words. It means tuning our hearts toward God. It means allowing his Word to address us, challenge us, correct us, and reshape the way we live. This podcast is not simply about reading the Scriptures. It is about allowing the Scriptures to read us. As we gather around God's Word, Christ is present. He meets us in the ordinary circumstances of our lives. He speaks into our fears, failures, hopes, relationships, and communities. We do not have to work ourselves into a spiritual frenzy to find him. He is exactly where we would expect him to be. He is among his people. He is present when we gather, when we listen, when we pray, and when we open ourselves to the transforming work of the Spirit. Sometimes we may be tempted to withdraw from imperfect community. We may become disillusioned by the failures of the church or frustrated by the people around us. But Jesus has not abandoned his people. He walks among the lampstands. He is present within the mess, offering comfort, strength, protection, loving correction, and joy. So today, let us have ears to hear. Let us look for Jesus among his people, not only among the polished and impressive, but among ordinary, wounded, complicated human beings who are learning to follow him. Let us allow Christ to read us through his Word. Let us receive his encouragement, correction, and love. Jesus is here. He walks among us. That's the prayer I have for my own soul. That's the prayer I have for my family, for my wife, my daughters, and my son. And that's the prayer I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

In episode 503 of The Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb conclude their deep dive into Luke 10:25–37 — the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Far from a simple morality tale about helping strangers, this episode unpacks the parable's confrontational legal context, its reversal of expectation, and its profound Christological undertones. Tony and Jesse examine why the lawyer's question about self-justification was always destined to be unanswerable on his own terms, how the priest and Levite serve as a damning mirror for religious professionals, and why the Samaritan's lavish, costly mercy points beyond mere ethics to the gospel itself. The episode also explores the Mary and Martha account that immediately follows, arguing it cannot be read in isolation. Closing with Matthew Henry, the hosts land the discussion squarely on gratitude for Christ, the supreme Good Neighbor. Key Takeaways The parable is fundamentally about self-justification, not mercy ministry. The lawyer's question — "Who is my neighbor?" — is a legal maneuver, and Jesus' answer exposes the impossibility of fulfilling the law through self-effort rather than merely defining the scope of neighborly obligation. Jesus reverses the expected identification of "the neighbor." The listener naturally assumes the beaten man is the neighbor to be loved, but the punchline identifies the Samaritan — the one who showed mercy — as the neighbor, redirecting the question from who must I love to what does love actually look like. The Samaritan's mercy is deliberately, impossibly lavish. His actions — binding wounds, providing transport, paying an open-ended debt for a stranger and likely an enemy — exceed anything a reasonable person would do, pointing to a mercy that transcends mere human virtue. The priest and Levite indict religious professionalism. Their failure is not incidental; it demonstrates that meticulous law observance and ceremonial religiosity can actually obstruct the very love the law commands, hollowing out its spirit while preserving its form. The parable functions under all three uses of the law. For the unregenerate, it terrifies and condemns. For the regenerate, it is a third-use call to Spirit-empowered, grateful obedience. As civil law, it commends a society of compassion over indifference. Christ is the typological Good Neighbor. The Samaritan's actions — pouring oil and wine, bearing the cost, promising to return and settle all debts — carry genuine Christological resonance without requiring a full allegorical reading of every detail. The immediately following Mary and Martha account is thematically inseparable. Luke's editorial placement of that narrative directly after the parable creates a deliberate counterpoint: the one thing necessary is not anxious service but sitting at the feet of Jesus. Key Concepts The Lawyer's Question Was Never Going to Work The lawyer who approaches Jesus in Luke 10 is not a neutral inquirer — he is, as Luke tells us, seeking to justify himself. Tony and Jesse explore what this means with precision: the desire to be justified is not inherently wrong, but the mechanism the lawyer employs — the law — is catastrophically insufficient for the task. When Jesus responds with the parable, he does not sidestep the legal framework; he weaponizes it. The Samaritan's mercy is so extravagant, so far beyond ordinary moral expectation, that it functions not as an achievable standard but as a devastating exposure of how far short every human attempt at law-keeping falls. The command "go and do likewise" is not an encouraging send-off — it is, for the self-justifying lawyer, a door slamming shut. The Samaritan's Mercy Is Intentionally Beyond Reach One of the most important contributions this episode makes is resisting the domestication of the Samaritan's actions into a feel-good story about helping those in need. Tony reframes the scenario in contemporary terms: finding a gravely injured stranger from a hostile ethnic group, providing emergency first aid, transporting them to care, and writing a blank check for all future medical expenses — with no personal obligation to do so. No reasonable person would do this, and that is exactly the point. The mercy described is not aspirationally difficult; it is humanly inconceivable at scale. This is what Christ-like love looks like, and it is precisely what the law demands. The gap between the demand and human capacity is the gospel's entry point. The Mary and Martha Account Cannot Be Separated from the Parable Tony raises a hermeneutical observation that deserves more attention than it typically receives: Luke chose to place the Mary and Martha account immediately after the Good Samaritan parable, and that editorial decision is not accidental. Martha — busy with hospitality and service — looks, on the surface, like the practical application of everything the Samaritan modeled. Yet she is gently rebuked, and Mary, who sits at Jesus' feet, is commended for choosing "the one thing necessary." This creates a stunning theological counterweight: the parable exposes the impossibility of self-justifying law-keeping, and the very next story shows that even well-intentioned merciful activity, when it crowds out receiving from Christ, misses the point. The one thing necessary is always Christ himself. Memorable Quotes If you think you're the good Samaritan, if you think you're the one that's gonna come and rescue people — you're much more likely to see this as a sort of law beat-down. Where those of us who are regenerated and in Christ, this is third-use law. This is us seeing what it means to be holy, and going and doing likewise, trying in our power, recognizing that we can't, and trusting the Lord to accept our feeble attempts. - Tony Arsenal This text is not really to be preached or applied as some kind of bare moral exhortation. It's not 'try harder to be like the Samaritan.' That's totally disconnected from the gospel. It should be preached in a manner that exposes the impossibility of self-justification... and then of course it does point us to Christ as the one whose perfect, costly, self-giving mercy alone satisfies the law's demand on our behalf. - Jesse Schwamb If this parable and our conversation about it does nothing except stirring you to gratitude for the fact that our supreme good neighbor threw us on his donkey and carried us to the public house, and bound up our wounds, and paid for our debt — if it does nothing but drive you to gratitude and thankfulness and wonder, then we've succeeded in our task and we've left you with the Gospel. - Tony Arsenal Full Transcript Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 503 of the Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse.  Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony, and this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey, brother.  Jesse Schwamb: Hey, brother. Well, at this point, there's one thing that we know for certain, and that is if you're gonna come at the law giver, the one who's composed and written the law, with a legal question to try to entrap the one who has given you the law, you better not miss. And it turns out, in Luke 10 where we've been hanging out, the lawyer who poses Jesus with the question of, "Who is my neighbor?" is a big swing and a miss. Yeah. And we're finally gonna get to all the characters that are part of this amazing parable in this conversation. But of course, there's something we gotta do first. Affirmations And Denials Jesse Schwamb: It, it's everybody's, what I'm led to believe everybody's favorite segment of this entire show. I mean, the crowds out there say, "Why even have a full podcast? Just do affirmations and denials for the entire time." And we, we hear you, because we're borrowing from that beautiful confessional format of the dead reformers to settle all the much not confessional [00:02:00] disputes. So in the great tradition of the Westminster Divines, who of course cannot just simply say, "We like grace," without also clarifying 17 things that grace is not- ... we're now again going to bring you our own binding, authoritative, and entirely unneeded but very official statement of affirmations and denials. It's affirming the things we love and denying things we don't. So Tony, as is our own custom, are you affirming with something or are you denying against something on this episode?  Tony Arsenal: Um, I'm denying something. Uh, it's a sort of a weird situation that has cropped up, uh, online. And I, I try not to use this segment too often to sort of wade into, um, I don't know, the, like, latest social controversy in the Reformed world. But every once in a while I come across something that I feel like you just need to sort of talk about. And, um, many of our listeners are probably already [00:03:00] aware of the situation that I'm gonna talk about, and it's very well-publicized and, and very public. Um, but I'm denying the sort of weirdness that has happened with the G3 Conference. Um, I'm not sure how familiar with G3 you are, Jesse, but for the, the listener who may not be, G3 is a conference, um, primarily run by Baptists, and is, in my understanding, is primarily attended by sort of Reformed-ish Baptists. And I don't, I don't say Reformed-ish to be pejorative necessarily. Um, but it, it's sort of like predominantly, um Non-confessional but not anti-confessional Calvinistic Baptists, sort of think more like covenant framework MacArthur-style Baptists maybe is, is a way to look at it. Um, and a few years ago, one of their main figures, I don't remember exactly what position he held, but it was a relatively high position in, in [00:04:00] the conference. Uh, his name was Josh Boyce. He, uh, w- was caught/confessed to maintaining, like, multiple anonymous or pseudonymous, uh, Twitter accounts and publishing several s- like pseudonym-based Substacks, um, that he used to basically attack the character of not only anyone online that seemed to cross him, but, like, people that he shared an office with. Like, anyone and everyone was targeted by him. And at the time it was a big hullabaloo. He, uh, he resigned. As far as I can tell, he's faded into obscurity and has not sought to come back, although that's always, you know, yet to be seen. But at the time there was very firm statements by the r- remaining sort of board members, leadership of G3, at how inappropriate this was, and how acting anonymously requi- you know, sort of evacuates accountability and, [00:05:00]and all these different things. And it's come out recently, um, just over the last week, that four of the members of the G3 board, um, who are all elders at the same church, had assembled a sort of anonymous dossier of accusations against, um, a- another pastor, uh, that he had been sort of serially plagiarizing sermons. Um, and when nothing really happened when they sent their anonymous dossier, they started distributing this to other, other, like, platforms and other church and m- parachurch ministries, kind of encouraging people to do their own investigation. Um, one such, uh, outlet was ... It's a, it's a, I don't know, sort of a news discernment blogger kind of a thing, um, has done some pretty decent reporting work I think in, in the recent past, although it has sort of a s- storied beginning, um, called Protestia They did just [00:06:00] that. They did an investigation, and in the course of their investigation, they identified who these anonymous, uh, the anonymous reporters were, and it was the same, the very same people who a few years ago, uh, pontificated, uh, at, at length about the importance of accountability and how anonymity has, uh, taken that away. Uh, people that accepted Josh Boyce's resi- resignation for acting anonymously have now done the same thing. They have since, uh, resigned from their church eldership, um, which is gonna be awkward because they haven't resigned from the board of G3, which, uh, the offices of G3 are in the same building as the church that they've now resigned at. Uh, and I guess where, where my denial comes in and the reason that I feel like it, it might be worthwhile for us just to Even reflect on it a little bit is there is an element in the Reformed world that seeks a platform and seeks an audience and seeks notoriety, and I, I was musing [00:07:00] today a little bit on my own Twitter that th- there was a time in my life where that was very much what I wanted. I wanted to be a, a very public, well-known theological voice, and, um, a- and I just have sort of like drifted away from that. And the, the reason I think it's worth mentioning on our show is that we do have an audience. We have a, a modest audience. It's not huge. It's not nothing. Um, but th- there is a real temptation to seek fame and notoriety that is absolutely destructive and really antithetical to, uh, to Christian principles of what it means to serve those around you, to serve with humility, to r- you know, redound any glory that might come to you for your actions to, to the fact that it is Christ who empowers all things and brings all good blessings. So I don't know that I have much more commentary on it. It's just a weird... It's a very weird situation, but it, it seems like it very much has come from a [00:08:00] place of feeling as though minor slights by people you associate with warrant sort of a, a nuclear option like this because, uh... and I don't wanna read too much into motives, but, but it seems like because your reputation and your notoriety is so great that any offense to it needs to be responded to in kind, and that's just not, that's just not the Christian way. So again, I don't know that I have any more commentary or thoughts on it. It just was a weird situation that I'm, I'm like, "Why do we gotta do this to each other, folks?" Like, why are we, why are we biting at each other all the time? Why are we doing these things except from a place of sinful pride? So I'm denying that. I'm denying sinful pride. I'm denying my own tendencies to seek glory in a spotlight. Um, I'm very thankful that God did not, uh, see fit to grant me that desire 'cause it probably would've been even more destructive for me than it has been for these guys. So I'm very happy to live in obscurity, [00:09:00] to serve the local church, to share our voices in this very modest, tiny platform that we have, and perhaps the Lord will see fit to change that one direction or the other, and I'll, I'll be happy to serve at His, uh, at His will. But I'm glad for now that, uh, the, the temptation of international fame has not been something that I even have the opportunity to lay hold of. Um, I'm very thankful for that, that, uh, grace from the Lord.  Jesse Schwamb: I had that light, sarcastic, some might say somewhat humorous opening and affirmations and denials, and you, you just brought the heaviness, which is okay. Sometimes that's, sometimes that's what happens.  Lament Devotional Spotlight Jesse Schwamb: And- Yeah ... I- fortunately, I have an affirmation, but it's, uh, of, like, a weird, heavy kind now that I think about it. So, um, I'm trying to, I'm trying to get everybody on the cusp of good books that I think are coming out. And so here's another one where it's not even gonna be released until September 30th, and so you have plenty of time to go out and find this thing. So P&R Publishing, many may be [00:10:00] familiar, does this whole series, topical series, which are called 31-Day Devotionals for Life, and there's a new one being released by Christine Chappell. It's called Lament: Crying Out in Faith. So I'm affirming with this piece because I've had the joy of been working through some of this stuff, and I think this is some of the best treatment I've ever read, been able to practice, been coached into for lamenting. We've talked before at length about how Christians, especially in the West, often because we just have great lives, we aren't familiar with lament. We don't practice it well. We hardly sing any songs of lament. We're unfamiliar with it. It's like a foreign land to us. And then sometimes when we're, we get convicted we should lament, we kind of interpret that as, "Well, yeah, I, I know I can blow up at God. I can get angry with him and, and that's okay." David does it too, and it's okay to express all your feelings with God. What I like about this work is it cultivates more of a prayer language. It gives voice to pain and grief so that there can be a real healing. It's not just a complaining. It's not just [00:11:00] throwing your voice out into the ether to, you know, wildly pontificate or self-aggrandize about how hurt or upset you are. It enables us to cry out to God in such a way that it promotes emotional authenticity, but at the same time maintains reverence. I think that is, uh, at least what I need. The beauty of this book is somebody you know or yourself need to lament something. Actually, I think we all have something to lament, even as it's getting older or things changing in our lives. So I highly, highly, highly affirm with this book. It's Lament: Crying Out in Faith. P&R does a lot of great publishing in this way. It's just the year of the devotionals, Tony. I don't know why. Yeah. I mean, I even hate to use devotional. It's the year of good resources for daily praise and worship- Yeah ... and lament should be part of our praise and worship. Yeah. So, but doing it in the right way is something I'm learning. I had mixed understanding of it. So this will clarify, encourage, edify in all the ways that I think we need.  Tony Arsenal: That sounds great. I, I do agree with you. I think, um- [00:12:00] Although I think it may be a little bit less so in, in the sort of confessional Reformed tradition just because the Psalms in general play such a prominent role in Reformed worship. Um, I do agree with you that broadly, like, we, we in the Western evangelical w- world don't, we don't know how to do laments. Um, I'm not one of those people that would say im- imprecatory prayers are inappropriate. I know there are some even within the Reformed world that would say im- imprecatory prayers are not appropriate for God's people in, in the new covenant. Um, I don't know that I agree with that, but, but that's another example of, like, that's in the prayer and hymnbook of our people- Right ... and we don't really know how to do it. Yes. So, and, and imprecation and lament are very closely related to each other. They're, they're very similar, um, ways of thinking and they're, they're both kind of modes of prayer that, uh, we don't, we don't really engage in. And so when we do have- when the occasion arises, we're, like, out of practice. So that's a great, uh, a great [00:13:00]affirmation and yeah, a little, a little weirdly heavy. Maybe this is gonna be a, a weirdly heavy episode. Who knows?  Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, it very well could be.  Good Samaritan Deep Dive Jesse Schwamb: I mean, listen, it was no doubt heavy for the lawyer who stood up- True who was  Tony Arsenal: like- Nicely done ...  Jesse Schwamb: I'd like to justify myself, so Jesus, let me ask you, we took our question, "Who is my neighbor?" I do all these things. I'm down with the law. Yeah. I know all this stuff. And I think we had some really great conversation last time. I'm biased, but I think we had some really fantastic unpacking of the first part of this, and if you haven't heard that yet, you should go back and listen to episode 502. But in this episode, we're really getting into all of these wonderful and somewhat colorful characters. So I'm gonna pick us back up in Luke chapter 10, starting in verse 25. So I'm going back a little bit just to set that proper context for this amazing parable that Jesus tells us. So he says, "And behold, a scholar of the law stood up and was putting him," that is Jesus, "to the test, saying, 'Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' And he said to him, 'What is written in the law? How do you [00:14:00] read it?' And he answered and said, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.' And he said to him, 'You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.' But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?' And Jesus replied and said, 'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. And a priest happened to be going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him, and when he saw him, he felt compassion.'" And he came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them, and he put them on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And on the [00:15:00] next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, "Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you." Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands? And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."  Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, this is one of those parables we, we mentioned, uh, I guess we've invented a new classification of parables called the Big Daddy parables. That's right. Um, uh, this is one of those parables that is so ubiquitous and well-known, uh, that word there, choice there was a little hat tip to my Lutheran friends. Um, so ubiquitous and well-known that I think we actually can, can rush into a common understanding and not, not be right at all about it. And I think the, the way this, uh, uh, the way I've seen this commonly done in, in circles I've run in in the past is this [00:16:00] becomes a parable about mercy ministry. Um, and, and the primary point is about how we serve our neighbors. And I think there certainly is, um, there certainly is an element of that that we can glean from this, that Christ is making a commentary on the fact that, um, the, the, the right way to not only serve your neighbor but to even identify your neighbor, uh, and it's funny because I think this is, this is where I think people go wrong. The, the Samar- or the, um, the, the lawyer is asking, "Who is my neighbor?" Right. And I think we commonly read this, and we read it to say, well, the Samaritan, uh, or the, the guy who got beat up is the neighbor. Right. And so we have to serve our neighbor like the Samaritan did. But the, the, the punchline, whatever, of the story is that the Samaritan is the g- is the neighbor, right? We, we call this the Parable of the Good Samaritan, but we might wanna call it the [00:17:00] Parable of the Good Neighbor. And so it says more about what it means to be a good neighbor than it does to, um, to say about who, who our neighbor necessarily is, right? The, the s- uh, the lawyer was asking, "Who's my neighbor?" And the answer was the one who shows mercy. And there's kind of a weird, there's kind of a weird paradox there, and this is something Jesus commonly does, where, like, He doesn't really answer the question. Um, the, the lawyer is like, "Well, who is it that I have to love," right? "The, I have to love my neighbor as myself, and who is it that I have to love?" And Jesus' answer basically is like, "Well, the good neighbor is the one who showed mercy." Well, that doesn't answer- Right ... His question. So I think we have to be careful when we, uh, we work through this not to just sort of default and jump to what might be called, like, the lowest common denominator interpretation, right? These are things that, yes, um, there is something to say about, uh, mercy ministry and how important it is to serve the, [00:18:00] serve those around us who are in need, right? That's, that's the command that comes out of this or the outcome that comes out of this is Christ is commanding this, um, this lawyer to go and be merciful to others. Um- But if we, if we move too quickly to that, we miss a lot of what this has to say about the nature of justification- Right ... the nature of Christ as, as the capital T good neighbor, right? The, the good neighbor who, who takes care of our sin and pays the debt for us to be restored, right? I don't, like I said last week, I don't think that that is too on the nose. Um, I think we miss the fact that the question, uh, the question is coming from a place, and we talked about this a little bit last week, but and maybe we'll get into it a little more. The question is coming from a place, um, whether you view this negatively, like I think most do, and there's warrant for that, or whether you view it a, a little bit more neutrally or maybe even positively, which is where I land, the desire to justify or to be [00:19:00] justified is not a bad desire. And the, the text doesn't seem to offer a lot of commentary on the fact that the, the, um, lawyer is desiring to justify himself, other than the implied commentary o- of what the parable says about salvation in that someone else needs to save you, so you can't do it yourself in the first place. So I'm excited to get through this. Um, I, I think we're probably gonna be here, we're gonna camp out here for at least another week after this, 'cause there's just so much to this parable. Who knows? Maybe we'll fly through it and it'll be a quick conversation, but I, I don't... That's not really our jam. Um- That's not really what we do But yeah, it, it's, it's a big daddy parable. There's a lot here to unpack.  Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. You're right about that. Interestingly, as always, Jesus flips the law, but here the law flipping, like, ends up smacking you in the face because it does start with this inquiry about just identify for me who my neighbors are. If you give me these discrete instructions like the law has given me to do all these things, which by the way, I mean, even that when we have this lawyer saying, [00:20:00] "I've done all these things. I've identified just for instance that the law includes loving the Lord God with everything, every part of who I am." He says like, "Yeah, I've done all these things." This is, I've already accomplished that. So now let me get, become self-justified in confirming I've done all these things. If you just tell me who the neighbors are, I'll be able to say to you, "Yep, I've already done that." Instead, what happens is Christ says, "Here's what neighborly love looks like. And what it's gonna look like is so dramatic and so shocking that you ought to take pity and have concern and show compassion for those not just who are unlike you, but are, like, abhorrent, those who you would even never identify with in the parable of the story I'm about to tell you." So I think there's all of that, like you said, to move away from just kind of categorizing this as a nice homily about how we ought to behave. However, there might be, like, some kind of moralistic theme in this that directs us toward actions of love and generosity, which by the way, could just be common grace. Those exist outside of strict belief and adherence to the gospel, and certainly can be far afield from actually loving Christ. [00:21:00] The other thing that I think sometimes happens with this, and I'm gonna be unpopular on this one, I'm afraid, but is that I think there is often a lot of allegorical excess. And certainly there are people more intelligent than I who really embrace that. So I'm looking at you, Patristic Fathers. Like, you know, if you wanna read some interesting stuff, everybody can go look up Origen or Augustine on this. Yeah. And they allegorize this parable in New England what we would call wicked fine detail. I mean, down, down to everything. So the oil and the- Yeah ... wine, the soil, each of the persons here representing something that in itself, like, everything. And I think that that is okay. What I struggle with on that is, and this is where I'm unpopular, I think, is that- There are a lot of other exegetes, I don't think I'm alone, that would look at this and say, "Yes, there is something about this that draws us into, like, just general typological resonance. I'm not gonna reject that." There are these, like, broader canonical themes of, like, helpless [00:22:00] humanity, like you said, and undeserved mercy. Those all legitimately, I think, echo the gospel truths. But I'm kind of resisting, or I'm prone to resist, treating every narrative detail in this as some kind of, like, independent cipher. Yeah. And so I think I want to come a little bit in criticizing, like, the allegorical method here, that instead what happens when we do that is we're, we're... I think we're obscuring a little bit Christ's actual didactic purpose, which is fundamentally ethical and legal, 'cause that's the question he's answering. He's trying to answer this question, "Who's my neighbor?" And he's gonna do it- Right ... with this definition-shattering example. And so I think, like, the most responsible hermeneutic here affirms that, like we said before, a parable should have a single main point, and it's determined in this context by that punchline, like you said. Um, at the same time, I think we can legitimately, like, permit some restrained theological reflection on, like, that broader resonance with the gospel. I'm not denying that. But without multiplying, like, allegorical [00:23:00] correspondences like the text itself doesn't even make. Even, even coming down to, like, who we see as Christ in the story, while that can be useful and helpful, it's not the same identification that we've seen in other parables. Yeah. So that's what makes this, like you're right, Tony, like, really unique and very interesting because we can draw lots and lots of parallels, and perhaps we should. But at the same time, it's always good to remember what is it that Jesus is on about here? What is it that the hearers were really being prone to understand and mull over and meditate on? And that's, like, this first principle of neighborly love, like you already called out.  Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, and I, I agree with you, too, is I, I think, um- We can sort of fall into a trap or a pit of assuming that all of the parables are meant to explain the same thing. Sure. And I think, like, within Matthew maybe that's a little bit more, uh, accurate because m- I think all, if not [00:24:00] most of, of the Matthean parables, you know, the Kingdom of God is like, the Kingdom of God is like. So th- like, that repeated f- refrain of, like, the Kingdom of God is... In, in Matthew, Christ is using parables to teach about the mysterious hidden reality of the kingdom in a way that people can understand. Um, this is different, right? This is not a Kingdom of God is like. There is no, um, clear this is like that, uh, introduction to this parable. Right. I, I've actually even read some commentaries that would question the assignment of the title parable to this, because they want to restrict what a parable is to those sort of kingdom, like, explicit simile- Good point ... things. Yeah. So- Right ... but I, I do think, um, w- we, we have to be careful not to run down that road, because this parable is not really... Again, like, it's not explaining what the Kingdom of God is like. This is trying to, um, not trying to, Christ is [00:25:00]articulating a reality that is baked into the law, um, and he's flipping the question on its head, and this is what I think is so, um, so wrong about the allegorical approach, right? Is that the allegorical approach seeks to find symbolism in every discrete character or element of the, of the parable, or of the, the allegory if you wanna, we wanna distinguish it. This really is, is trying to just get at that one point. And what- Mm-hmm ... I think is so, what must have been really just infuriating for this lawyer, um, regardless of what happened after this, right? We don't, we don't get commentary like we do with the rich, young ruler, and the stories are in many ways are very much the same. Like, it's the same basic setup. But we don't get commentary that, like, he went away sad, like we do with the rich, young ruler. We don't know what happened with this guy. We don't know what his reaction... But I, I'm sitting there putting myself in his place, and I'm, I'm thinking through this, and this is one of those things that it's actually hard even to mentally get yourself there. The, [00:26:00] the, each character that is introduced here, um, is a candidate for the neighbor. Right. But the most obvious candidate based on, um, the way we commonly interpret this, is that the dude who gets beat up and left stripped naked is, is the neighbor that we're supposed to love Right? So the lawyer, as he's hearing this parable, as it's being told, and the, the people who are there listening, right, the, the other people that are around, there's this character introduced, "Who is my neighbor? Well, a man was going down to Jerusalem. He fell among roggers, Roger, robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead." Like, the obvious answer is that Christ is introducing this poor, destitute, beat-up, naked dude, uh, as the neighbor that needs to be loved. And so he goes through the whole parable, and you're like, oh, well, like, the, you know, the, the priest and the Levite, they didn't love this guy. Uh, the Samaritan, you know, I think an audience of Jews probably would've been thinking like, "Well, the Samaritan can't be..." You know, the Samaritan [00:27:00] is just a dude. Like, none of these people are loving the, the, the beat-up dude like a neighbor should. Right. And then all of a sudden, Christ flips the script, and the neighbor is not the dude who's laying there naked, half dead, who's been rescued and, and, you know, restored and is being healed. It's actually the Samaritan. And so there's this... We have to... Part of the reason, I think, I mean, I, I, I guess I don't know for sure, but part of the reason I think s- that parables have this, like, reversal of expectation baked into many of them is that it is there to challenge our assumptions, and th- that sort of whiplash effect when you get to the end of it, you're like, "Whoa, that was like he was talking about totally, something totally different than what it seemed like he was talking about." I think that's actually a teaching tool here as well. Right. That the, the whole time you're thinking like, "Oh, this dude is the neighbor, and I've gotta figure out how to love him best," and that's what plays into these mercy ministry interpretations, is thinking that the, the point of the parable is to show us how to take [00:28:00] care of the, the people who need help, when really the point of the parable is the good neighbor. And, uh, we might butt heads a little bit on this, 'cause I think I take probably more of a Christological, uh, topological, typological interpretation than you do. I, I think that the point of the parable is that you can't justify yourself, and the only one who can justify you is the one who's kept the law perfectly. And what does it mean to keep the law perfectly? Well, love the Lord your God, but also love your neighbor as yourself. Well, who's the only person in the story who's loved the neighbor as himself? The one who s- rescues and heals and pays for this poor man who's been, you know, waylaid by robbers. He's the good neighbor who fulfills the law. He's the one who's justified himself. Now, yes, "Go do likewise," there's some echoes there of, of the go and sin no more language that we see in other places, too. So I, I think this parable is more, is more about- A, and this is where it shares some affinity with the rich young ruler, [00:29:00] right? The rich young ruler is told to go and to, to sell everything he has and donate it to the poor and to come and follow Christ. And he says, you know, he, he can't do that. He walks away sad. In this instance, it's the same kind of situation. It's an, a question about how do I fulfill the law? What do I need to do to be saved, to inherit eternal life, to obtain eternal life, whatever the phrasing is. And the answer is, "Obey the law perfectly." And the guy goes, "Well, hey, I did that." And he said, "Well, let me show you how much you didn't do that." And the reality is the only one who did that is Christ, the good teacher, right? I mean, there, there's so many parallels between these two accounts. It, it's almost the same, it's almost the same story. This one just in sort of parable answer form versus a more direct form, which we see with the rich young ruler. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, what I find really fascinating about these is that whereas, like you said, the, some of the other parables, they come under the volitional teaching of Christ. That is, He is presenting forward the topic at hand. So usually it's in the context of conversation, but He essentially makes [00:30:00] the segue. He presents and opens up this new kind of vista to explore. In this case, or in both those cases you talked about, the confrontation really comes from the outside. Of course, God, through Christ, predestined all of these things to pass, so I'm not saying that Christ was caught off guard, of course, by this line of questioning. And presumably He understands that when the lawyer asks this question, He knows that it's from a position of self-justification. So I don't disagree that that might be there, some of that at play, and that really the ultimate end of this would bring, to bring one's self to the realization that you can't do this. At the same time, though, I think almost, especially in this one, I think, uh, it's not that Jesus withholds that, but I read that do, go and do likewise is this is what you said you wanted. You asked me for an answer, and I gave you the answer. You asked for the law- Yeah ... I will give you the law. So I actually don't know how this ended. It doesn't strike me that it ended well, and I think, I don't know if there was some kind of massive realization there, but it's almost as if there is some [00:31:00] obscuring of this. This is like typical parable, parable language where I think if you're there and you're listening, and you're trying to just track with the question and track how that compounds and corresponds with the law, that you would leave more destitute, more confused, and perhaps more angry than before, and certainly not in a position of understanding, "Well, th- this one before me is the Christ." But that's exactly what parables do. So again, I, I think to me- Right ... I see this more as certainly, again, there are these wonderful themes These kind of overtures of the gospel within, but they are dark and very obscured because the man asks a question about the law, and Jesus comes with a message about the law. And like you said, that law is- Yeah ... like, there's almost no grace in his tone as I read it because, not that he is not graceful or full of grace and gracious, but this guy asks for justification under the law. And so it ends with saying, it ends with this really phenomenal phrase, of course, of the lawyer realizing he's got himself [00:32:00] caught in having to respond truthfully in answering the question of who is the neighbor, but of course doesn't identify the neighbor except to say, "Oh, the one who has compassion," as if like he himself couldn't bring himself- Right to say these words. And then for Jesus to say, "Yeah, go do it," is, is kind of like the ultimate nail in the coffin.  Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and to tell a first century Jew to go and do, to be- Yes ... like a Samaritan is- Yes ... you know, e- even, even though that's not, like, highlighted in the text, you're right. Like, the, the lawyer probably couldn't bring himself to say the Samaritan was, right? And I, I think, um, you know, whether you take, uh, and maybe I'm novel on this. I guess I haven't really read, read a lot of people that take a, a more optimistic approach of this. But whether you take a more optimistic outcome approach or a more pessimistic or neutral, whatever, the, the actual outcome is the same, right? The, the lawyer is asking about self-justification under the law, like you said. Right. And Christ gives him [00:33:00] that. He tells him exactly what that means and what that looks like. And I think the, the impossibility of being the good neighbor as is described in the parable is exactly the sort of beat down of the law that, that, you know, we've talked about in the past is it's not as though, um, the, the, the actions of the Samaritan are not, uh, outwardly impossible, right? We- Right ... it's not unreasonable to think that someone could rescue someone from the side of the road and bring them to ... And like, the scenario itself is not that crazy. But the, the overall complex of the scenario, right? The fact that this man, um, was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, right? The, the ... All of this points to sort of like an impossible circumstance, an impossible situation. And, and the idea that even [00:34:00] within that impossible situation you're still expected to take care of the person who is your enemy, right? The Samaritan seeing a Jewish man beaten by the side of the road- That's right ... and although the parable doesn't specifically call out that he's Jewish, if he's going from Jerusalem to Jericho, there's an implication that he may actually also have been a priest. Um, we, we don't need to get into all the details on that, but there's, there's some good, uh, some good research out there that would point to the fact that the road from Jerusalem to Jericho is, uh, was actually a very common pathway traveled by either priests or Levites. And further evidence is that a priest and a Levite are also on this same road. And so the idea that the Samaritan would, um, would- Sacrifice of himself to take care of someone who very likely considers him to be an enemy, and sacrifices in a pretty significant way. Um, I, I'll, I'll pause and now as you're [00:35:00]talking I'll do all the, the background scrambling to make it look like I know exactly how much- a denari is supposed to, to be, and I know we've talked about it before, it's just not there.  Lavish Impossible Mercy Tony Arsenal: But, but it's not a- Yeah ... it's not a trivial amount of money. That's right. We're not talking about checking this guy into, like, a Motel 6 and, and dropping a couple hundred dollars. We're, we're talking about a substantial amount of money and, and we're talking about a commitment to pay whatever is required. Okay. An unknown amount of money for this man who has been left for dead. We're not talking about a minor injury. The, the robbers beat him up, they took his clothes, and they expected him to die in the desert. He needed to be carried on a donkey. He needed to have immediate first aid attention. We're talking about a, a relatively long-term recovery. So the scenario would be more like, we think of it like, "Oh yeah, I dropped him off at the local hotel for him to sleep it off." The scenario would be more like, "I found a guy on the side of the road. I didn't know who he was. He's, he's of a group of people that would consider me to be their enemy, and he's been shot 100 times, and I'm gonna patch up his [00:36:00] wounds. I'm gonna take him to the hospital. I'm gonna not only pay and say, 'Here, I, I've already used some supplies. Let me pay for that,' but I'm gonna pay for all of his medical bills until he's healed." Like, that's the scenario we're talking about. So it's not, it's not just, like, a good deed that has been done that is maybe, like, a really, really good deed, like it's a really nice thing to do. It's a, it's an outlandishly almost impossible to conceive of doing good deed. N- I don't know anyone, um, who would... And, and I know a lot of really great people. This is not a slam. I don't know anyone who would find a stranger on the road and who is, who's gravely injured and commit to pay for all of their medical care until they're healed. I just don't know anybody who would do that. Right. Um, some might say there's actually some wisdom in that, and, uh, we've talked about how sometimes the parables present a situation where maybe, like, this isn't actually the best practical knowledge. It's there to prove a point. Right. But I don't know anybody who, I don't know anybody who would do that, who, who would even think about doing that. Um, so the, the scenario here is one [00:37:00] of impossible lavish goodness being extended to those who you have no reason to be good to, and probably have reason to not be good to. That's what we're talking about. And so the, when the, the lawyer is told to go and do likewise, he's being told to do something that is impossible to fulfill, or even to conceive of fulfilling. And so there is this element of, like, "You think you can obey the law? Well, let me tell you how much you can't  Jesse Schwamb: obey  Tony Arsenal: the law."  Jesse Schwamb: Right. By the way, this episode is brought to you by State Farm. Like a good Samaritan, State Farm is there. Every time we've been saying good neighbor, I've been just been trying to avoid thinking about- Yeah Jake from State Farm. That's what I've been doing most of this time.  Tony Arsenal: Jake from State Farm?  Jesse Schwamb: Um, I totally agree, of course.  Priest Levite And The Law Jesse Schwamb: Like, what strikes me here is that it's, like you said, there is all this emphasis on what it means to show neighborly love, but the setup is also in those who basically should be showing it but aren't, and that's where we get, can get into this lovely... It's, [00:38:00] it's okay to kinda think through some of these characters. You know, for this priest and the Levite here, and what we know about them is that they, at first it sounds like there, there's almost this sense in the language like the priest falls ab- upon this, this, you know, bloodied man by chance, and that kinda heightens the drama, I think. The priest's confrontation is a little bit unplanned, but it's immediate and unavoidable, and he chooses to cross on the other side of the road, which is of course a deliberate act of avoidance. It's not mere obliviousness. And then the Levi almost goes further, or he came to the place, he saw him closer inspection, you know, greater culpability, and yet he still passes by. I really do wish I could hear this, like, in real time, like be among, because I have to- Yeah ... wonder that there'd be this kind of sense of building in the story. And the people might be kind of getting the sense that the characters that they know and love or should love as the heroes are not gonna be performing that way. And so I think even they're curious. They might be hoping against hope that it's gonna turn out well, but knowing the question and maybe something about Jesus, [00:39:00] they might anticipate that he's gonna go in a different direction. And so again, I think we have to stick with the text here. Like, Jesus doesn't explicitly state the motives of these gentlemen, but it's truthful. What's true- Right ... is that, like, these boys should have known better. You know, a lot of people have speculated that it was for ritual purity concerns or the, another ambush or social distance or just callousness. And I think that ambiguity might be deliberate because, again, what cuts against the lawyer here is whatever the specific excuse, the point is that these, like this kind of professional religiosity and even, like, meticulous law observance are of course not identical with, and probably can even distract or obstruct the love of neighbor that the law itself commands, which is wild, right? Because we talked about how, again, this just shows the law doesn't empower you to do the thing, and in fact, here- Right ... you could essentially abuse the law so that you suck the spirit right out of it and therefore do not do the very thing that it was intended to accomplish. So even this by itself, you just stop the parable here, it's kind of condemning because it's really this [00:40:00] potent warning against some kind of merely external ceremonial, professionalized religiosity that fails to produce, I guess, what Matthew calls, like, the weightier matters of law, like justice and mercy and faithfulness. And, you know, we should understand this because I think those that are from tradition have a certain affinity for the third use of the law as a guide for the grateful Christian living, and that's, you know, kind of what we're talking about here. But it insists that true law keeping is never merely ritual or notional, but it must issue in love, like costly love. Love outside of being inconvenienced is not genuine. I, I guess we'll get there. But, you know, I don't wanna harp on the characters as some are prone to do, but that is, I think, why the characters are here. It's both to set up and show, like, you're about to see that you really do not wanna identify by your own persuasion, by your own presuppositions with the one who's gonna be the hero, that is the, the one that shows neighborly love. At the same time, I'm gonna show you by way of condemnation that those who should exercise the greater love, [00:41:00] that do know better, that should know better, that should emblem- be emblematic of the spirit of the law, have done the exact same thing. Which I can only, uh, hope but believe is what this lawyer heard as well was that he was hearing that he was being stuck into this place before he was even given the question, well, who was the neighbor here? Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, and I, I think, um- There is a real sense in some of the parables that are sort of spoken against people. Um, this one doesn't specifically use that language, but it, it is a targeted, kind of a targeted response. There is a sense that throughout the course of the parable being told, they start to recognize midway through that they're like- Right you are the man. Like, this is one- Right, right ... of those Nathan and David kind of parables where, like, at some point the realization must have dawned on this guy that, like, "I've gotta be somebody in this parable." And I think that's where, where the, the challenging part is, is it's not clear, um, [00:42:00] it's not really clear even at the end of the parable who Christ is intending this guy to be, right? Right. Is he the lawyer or is he the, uh, is he the, the dead man on the side of the road, right? Is he... Or the dying man. Is, is he the l- the priest and Levite who pass by? Is he supposed to be the Samaritan, which would just be wildly offensive. Um, he's not necessarily, like, supposed to be anyone except for the fact that now at th- the punchline of the, the encounter here, Christ says, "Go and be like the Samaritan." And it's kind of like y- you know, if you were really following God's law, you would be the Samaritan in this one- Yeah, that's right ... but you're not. That's right. You're not and you can't be. Um, and so go, go ahead and do likewise.  Christ As True Neighbor Tony Arsenal: Um, I, I do think, too, there is some elements here where, um, I- Again, I, I think I take a little bit more of a typological, Christological-centered approach on this, but I, I don't think they're incompatible. But I do think there's an element here where Christ is also [00:43:00] unveiling, uh, sort of what he would do, like what, what his own plan of salvation is as the good, as the capital G, capital N good neighbor. Um, he is the one who does pour oil and wine on our wounds, right? A- and I don't wanna ... I don't think we need to fly off the allegorical deep end of reading oil and wine to be a reference to the Holy Spirit and t- Right but sometimes those things are evocative, indirect things that should, we should call our mind to those things. Like, I think, um, you know, when Melchizedek comes to bless Abraham and he, he presents him with bread and wine, right? I, I think, like, it's okay for us to go, "Wow, the Holy Spirit really made a point there that's subtle." And I think those little things within this parable drive me to look at this a little bit more along the lines of not only is there this sort of, like, law beat down, you [00:44:00] know, John Bunyan or not, um, Bunyan style, like the, "Moses just beat the crap out of me," kind of a- Right ... kind of a thing from Pilgrim's Progress. There's that, and I think it's really there. But it's also, uh, it's also sort of like this, uh, you know, "Blessed is the one who has ears to hear" side of it of, like, for those who are regenerated and can see the parable, can see the figures in the parable, it is now this beautiful picture of what it is that Christ does for those who cannot do it for themselves, right? And it's almost like the parable becomes a litmus test. If you look at the parable, and as you're reading through it, you sit there and you go, "Yeah, man, I'm like that guy who got beat up and left for dead. That, that really describes me," um, you're gonna get to the end of this and you're gonna be sort of, like, sitting in awe of, like, "Man, I have such a great savior who threw me on his donkey and, and promised to take care of all of my, all of my wounds, and promised to pay whatever it, whatever it cost." Um, y- you know, and all of these elements of, [00:45:00] like, oil and wine and, and all of these things be- kind of become alive to you in a way that someone who sees themselves as the, the good Samaritan, who thinks they're the one who's gonna come and rescue people, or I think increasingly in our day, and it's, it's weird to even say this, I think there are people who would look at this and resonate with the priest and lawyer and actually say, like, "Yeah, they shoulda, they shoulda crossed to the other side of the room." Mm-hmm. I've heard defenses of that in trying to argue that- The priest and the Levite, if they had, if this person was dead, they had touched the dead body, then, you know, they would've been ceremonially unclean. Uh, all of that is, I think, worth speculating about. But the reality is, um, who you see yourself in the parable actually says a lot, I think, about how you see Christ in light of either our ability to fulfill the law or our inability to fulfill the law, and therefore have our need for Christ. If you think you're the good Samaritan, if you think you're the one that's gonna come and [00:46:00] rescue people, that you're gonna be, you're gonna be the good neighbor, you're much more likely to see, uh, to, to be needing this as a sort of a law beat-down. Where those of us who, maybe this is the way you wanna parse it out, right? There's those of us who are, uh, regenerated and in Christ, and this is third-use law, right? This is, this is us- Right ... seeing what it means to be holy, and going and doing likewise, trying in our power, in our, our best to go and do likewise, empowered by the Holy Spirit, recognizing that we can't, and trusting the Lord to accept our feeble attempts- Right and be pleased by them. Right. Um, or maybe if you're not regenerated, this is f- this is first use, right? Right. And, and, and this is actually there to terrify you and to show you your condemnation and to serve as your condemnation. And, and there's even, and I didn't really intend to go all the way with this, but there's, there is also an element in here, and this is where, like, the mercy ministry interpretation comes in, where this is civil, this is civil law, where this is the, the, the, um, you know, the civil use of the law [00:47:00] to restrain evil, to show society what it is to be good, to, to restrain sin. Right. Yes, we want to be, uh, we, I would rather live in a society where people stop and help someone who's stranded or injured on the side of the road than, than a society where people pass by. Um, so I, I think all of those elements are in play here, and we do have to be careful not to take the full-on, like, never go full allegory approach to this, 'cause y- you can really... That's just a good general wisdom for all of, all of the Bible, but especially the parables and other figurative stuff. You can really just go totally far afield of what actually the point of the parable is- Right ... if you're not grounding it in the purpose that Christ is teaching it for, and, and the stated outcome of the parable, right? No one in the Bible makes c- I don't know that anyone in the Bible makes specific commentary on this within scripture, but the, the idea that, like, there's all these hidden meanings, well, if those are the hidden meanings, then why doesn't Christ talk about it? Why doesn't he come back- Right ... and [00:48:00] interpret those symbols later on like he does, like the Parable of the Sower or the Parable of the Seeds or Soils. Um, that one is much more directly allegorical in that the different seeds, the different soils represent specific people with specific s- scenarios. Christ comes and, and does that allegorical interpretation later on in the passage. There's nothing like that here. So I think we have to be really careful not to slip down that road. Jesse Schwamb: I think that it could be all those things. I, I totally agree with you on that. I think it could be all the use cases of the law. I think what makes this so wonderfully complex and a little bit tricky is that when I read this, I actually don't necessarily find myself gravitating toward putting myself in one place or the other. It almost depends on where I am or what's going on in my life. So for example, I think any time that any one of us, and we've all done this as Christians, have quenched the spirit, especially with respect to helping, serving, or loving others as my, our neighbor, then we're firmly in this parable in the place [00:49:00] of the priest and the Levite. Sometimes I think we are the one on the side of the road. We look to the church, to our brothers and sisters to help us, and what do they help us with? Like you were saying, Tony, they help us with that blood and oil. They help us with this, the power of the Holy Spirit, which is given to each one to help and to serve, to identify, to comfort with the comfort we ourselves have been received. And then I do think, and this might be unpopular, that, that sometimes by the grace of God, He empowers us to be the Samaritan, but only through His empowerment. Not, of course, because we're trying to just self-justify or because we're overtly generous in our own merit, but in fact, this is the way we ought to live, and that we ought to commend that kind of behavior to, again, acknowledge it as God-given and to promulgate it, especially among the body of believers. So I do think all three forms of the law are present there, but I do think I tend to, for whatever reason, right or wrong, I tend to tilt a little bit toward that third use here, just to see this as it's not wrong to, of course, to, I think, uh, lay over all of this, all these delightful variables and [00:50:00] details. Again, this idea of blood and oil, n- normative things, normal things, standard things that are being used to address- Yeah ... wounds. They're, they're... Of course, that would've been the practical way which you would've provided some kind of medicinal care to somebody in both that extreme circumstance, but also generally, because nobody's, like, keeping gauze or popping Advil to help this, this poor guy. And so it is- Right ... like this beautiful complexion of, I think, everything that we just talked about, that there is the law present, and depending on where you are, both in terms of your ingrafting into eternity, into the Kingdom of God, and then where you are in life, you- we should read ourselves probably, or l- let me say it this way, not so it's like eisegesis, but, like, that we should see ourselves often at different pli- times maybe playing or being tempted to play the parts of these different characters. And in that we find, I think, ultimately, of course, as you're saying, that Christ is over all, and that He is the one that, of course, perfectly emphasizes all of what it means to be the Savior, the [00:51:00] true loving neighbor who cares and binds and heals completely full stop. And yet there is something instructive here, I think, as well about going and bringing that compassion. I was just thinking, like, as we were talking, that there's such a difference, isn't there, like, in our world between these days, like, pity and compassion? Like, pity often is like, "Yeah, I feel sorry for you," but it strikes me as kind of like the James, is it James 1 or James 2, where it's kind of like, "Oh, you're... I, I'm so sorry that, like, you're, you're hungry and cold. You know what? Go, be warm, and be well-fed." You know, that's like pity. Like, "Yeah, I just- Yeah ... I feel a little bad. I identified with your emotions." Sending  Tony Arsenal: good vibes.  Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. I've got- Yeah. Yeah. That's right, right? Sending good thoughts and good vibes your way. I wanna say, like, keep those to yourself 'cause they're probably not all that- Yeah ... good. Um- I  Tony Arsenal: don't want your vibes.  Jesse Schwamb: I don't want your vibes. Get your vibes out of here. What I need is that power of God himself, uh, to bring compassion, and compassion is always wrapped in action. It identifies- Right ... and then goes. It, it's, it [00:52:00] is not self-promoting, it's self-sacrificing. And so that rule of law, which is like the good rule of law, the good teaching, the kind that brings life because it's the Decalogue wrapped in skin perfectly performed by the power of the Holy Spirit through the one who is perfect again in his passive obedience and active obedience. Yes, yes, we need, we need all of that. It's modeled here, I think, to a certain extent, but I think the go and do likewise is actually for all of us, but it's not the kind like we would say, "Well, like, good luck." It's more the- Yeah ... you know the one from whose side the blood flowed. You know the one who is pressed in the garden as if olives under the press leaking oil. You know who that one was, and that one is His spirit resides in you. So now go and do these acts- Yeah ... of mercy. Again, not s- for some kind of meritorious reward, but because you were made for good works, which were set apart for you to do, and part of those good works are [00:53:00] just always being a good neighbor. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, and, and maybe to, to close out, I, I, I think maybe we actually did it. I don't know that we're gonna have to do another episode on this. I guess we'll see after we do- Who would've guessed? ... our postmortem here.  Mary Martha And Final Charge Tony Arsenal: But I, I think part, part of, um, part of what we need to at least acknowledge is that what, what follows this parable, right? This, this goes from a parable of a lawyer seeking to justify himself to now the account of Mary and Martha, and the fact that, uh, that, um, M- Martha, you know, is busy with much work, and Mary is sitting and listening to, to Jesus and is said to have chosen the better part. And I think, like- Mm ... this is something that I think because of the way, like, Bibles are formatted, the way that certain things are sort of, like, extracted out as discrete teaching units, this parable is pulled out and separated from this next part. And I, I think we can [00:54:00] really run into problems when we do that because- You know, even if we, even if we were to sort of treat the scripture as, like, a purely human book, right? Luke chose to put this account of Mary and Martha after this, right? And, and- Right ... probably not just because, like, it happened chronologically. There's no real, um, there's no real necessity that this account of Mary and Martha in this particular story had to happen immediately afterwards. Like, there's no organic link in, in the chronology of the story to drive that, right? And the two aren't related in terms of, like, historical cause and effect or, uh, proximity. There's none of those things. So the only answer as to why this was selected to follow the parable of the Good Samaritan is that there's some thematic connection that drove Luke as an author to put this, put this right following that. And so I think even that should drive us to thinking about, all [00:55:00] right, we've got this statement of go and do likewise, show mercy. Now there's almost this foil that the, the, the person in, in the account in the, the narrative here, and a, a true narrative, right? We're not in parable land anymore, but the person in the narrative that seems to be showing mercy, seems to be taking care of people the most, is actually the one who's chastised a little bit for, for being- Right overly zealous about m- mercy ministry, hospitality ministry- Right ... is what you might call it. She's the one who's like, "Tell my sister to help me with this." And she said, like, "You know, you're always gonna have time to do this, but, like, I'

Trusting that God will provide, Ignatius begs and travels through Rome and Venice before finally reaching Jerusalem. He longs to remain in the Holy Land and help souls, but the Franciscan authorities order him to leave — forcing him to surrender even this deeply cherished desire. About the Series We are bringing you the entire text of “The Autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola” in podcast form. Over 12 episodes, join our pilgrimage guides Fr. Jack Bentz, SJ, and Cameron Bellm as we make our way through this spiritual classic. The series premiered on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, with episode 2 dropping Friday, July 31 — the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola. These first two episodes and the remaining 10 episodes (dropping on subsequent Fridays) will all appear here on the AMDG podcast feed. The series is edited by Frank Tuson, who also composed all the music you hear on the podcast. The podcast uses a translation of the “Autobiography” by Fr. Parmananda Divarkar, SJ. The text is read by Fr. George Drance, SJ. Produced by Mike Jordan Laskey. "The Autobiography of Saint Ignatius Loyola Podcast," a special-edition series of AMDG, is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

In Day 194 of Orchot Tzaddikim, The Ways of the Righteous, Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe continues the Gate of Fear of Heaven with a fascinating comparison between the human being and the universe itself. If mankind reflects Hashem in a tiny and limited way, then the structure of the human body can likewise be understood as a miniature reflection of the greater world.The Orchot Tzaddikim draws parallels between the heavens and the human body: the skull resembles the heavenly firmament; the palate creates divisions within the body just as the firmament separates the waters; and the life-giving soul resides within and directs the body. Just as the universe is governed by the One Creator, the many organs and systems of the human body are unified and directed by one life-force.The author continues this imagery by comparing the seven openings of the head—two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and the mouth—to the heavenly luminaries and planets. The larger message is that the human being is a remarkable microcosm of Hashem's creation. The more carefully we contemplate ourselves and the world around us, the more opportunities we have to recognize the wisdom embedded throughout creation.Rabbi Wolbe then turns from anatomy to character. Just as the animal kingdom contains gentle creatures as well as predators, human beings can develop very different qualities. Some live peacefully and compassionately, while others behave like predatory animals—using their strength to hurt or take advantage of others.The crucial difference is that we can choose. Hashem created the abilities and forces within creation, but human beings decide how those powers will be expressed. We can use what Hashem has given us constructively or destructively. Fear of Heaven therefore means not merely marveling at creation, but recognizing our responsibility within it and consciously choosing what kind of person we wish to become._____________This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by Peter & Becky BotvinRecorded at TORCH Centre in the Levin Family Studios (B) to a live audience on March 23, 2026, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on August 28, 2026_____________This series on Orchos Tzadikim/Ways of the Righteous is produced in partnership with Hachzek.Join the revolution of daily Mussar study at hachzek.com.We are using the Treasure of Life edition of the Orchos Tzadikkim (Published by Feldheim)_____________Listen, Subscribe & Share: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jewish-inspiration-podcast-rabbi-aryeh-wolbe/id1476610783Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4r0KfjMzmCNQbiNaZBCSU7) to stay inspired! Share your questions at aw@torchweb.org or visit torchweb.org for more Torah content.  _____________About the Host:Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH in Houston, brings decades of Torah scholarship to guide listeners in applying Jewish wisdom to daily life.  To directly send your questions, comments, and feedback, please email: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Support Our Mission:Our Mission is Connecting Jews & Judaism. Help us spread Judaism globally by sponsoring an episode at torchweb.org.Your support makes a HUGE difference!_____________Listen MoreOther podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Hey Rabbi! Podcast: https://heyrabbi.transistor.fm/episodesPrayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at http://podcast.torchweb.orgv_____________Keywords:#JewishInspiration, #Mussar, #MasterClass, #FearOfHeaven, #YiratShamayim,  #HumanBody, #Creation ★ Support this podcast ★

The purpose of the church is to spread the message of the gospel and to make learners. We have a record of the disciples proclaiming that message first to Jerusalem, then to Judaea and Samaria, and then to the world. Those who heard it would then go back to their homelands and tell what they heard. Colossians 1:18 VF-2270 Watch, Listen and Learn 24x7 at PastorMelissaScott.com Pastor Melissa Scott teaches from Faith Center in Glendale. Call 1-800-338-3030 24x7 to leave a message for Pastor Scott. You may make reservations to attend a live service, leave a prayer request or make a commitment. Pastor Scott appreciates messages and reads them often during live broadcasts. Follow @Pastor_Scott on Twitter and visit her official Facebook page @Pastor.M.Scott. Download Pastor Scott's "Understand the Bible" app for iPhone, iPad and iPod at the Apple App Store and for Android devices in the Google Store. Pastor Scott can also be seen 24x7 on Roku and Amazon Fire on the "Understand the Bible?" channel. ©2026 Pastor Melissa Scott, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved

Jewish prayer is expanding on the Temple Mount. International pressure over Judea and Samaria is intensifying. And Muslim nations are increasingly coordinating their response to Jerusalem.  Could these separate developments eventually become part of one larger agreement involving land, worship… and even the Third Temple? Today, we're asking whether the Temple Mount status quo is beginning to crumble. 🇺🇸: Only 88 Collections Remain. Discover God's providential hand throughout America's history and what Scripture reveals about America's role in Bible prophecy.: https://store.endtime.com/products/the-wings-of-a-great-eagle-pre-order-collection  ⭐️: True Gold Republic: Get The Endtime Show special on precious metals at https://www.endtimegold.com 🚰: Sentry H2O: You prepare for everything else. Why not your water? Use code ENDTIME for 10% OFF at https://www.sentryh2o.com/endtime 📱: It's never been easier to understand. Stream Only Source Network and access exclusive content: https://watch.osn.tv/browse 📚: Check out Jerusalem Prophecy College Online for less than $60 per course: https://jerusalemprophecycollege.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our last episode, we were introduced to Ezra, a scribe in exile who had been trained in the law of Moses and who had “determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach it's statutes and ordinances in Israel.” King Artaxerxes has expressly commanded Ezra to do just that. After we review some of the family heads who accompanied Ezra for the journey back to Jerusalem, we discover that even the leaders of those who had returned from exile had disobeyed the commands of the Lord by marrying foreign women. This was forbidden under the law of Moses, and can be cited as one of the reasons Israel abandoned the Lord and pursued other gods. Ezra 8 - 1:07 .  Ezra 9 - 7:46 .  Ezra 10 - 13:13 .  Isaiah 17 - 20:35 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 52; Revelation 1; Psalms 143–144 Click HERE to give! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on the Daily Radio Bible, a daily Bible‑in‑a‑year podcast with 20‑minute Scripture readings, Christ‑centered devotion, and guided prayer.This daily Bible reading and devotional invites you to live as a citizen of Jesus' kingdom, reconciled, renewed, and deeply loved. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible! On this August 27th episode, Hunter guides us through Jeremiah 52, Revelation 1, and Psalms 143–144. Jeremiah closes with the tragic fall of Jerusalem. The city is burned, the temple is destroyed, King Zedekiah is blinded, and God's people are carried into exile. It is a devastating picture of a king and kingdom brought low. But our reading does not end in the ruins. Revelation opens with John's vision of Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. This King has eyes like flames of fire, feet like polished bronze, and a voice like mighty ocean waves. Today's devotion reminds us that Christ enters the ruins of our lives, gathers the exiles, and leads us home. The story does not end in captivity, fear, or defeat. Because of Jesus, it will end with a song of deliverance, freedom, joy, and love. TODAY'S DEVOTION: It will end with a song. Today, for the first time this year, we finished a book of the Bible. And Jeremiah ends with a song of exile and judgment. We read of a king and a kingdom brought low. Zedekiah is blinded. Jerusalem is reduced to rubble. The temple is burned, and the people are sent away from their home. But the story does not end in ruin. From the ruins of Jeremiah, we move into John's vision in Revelation. And in that vision, we see hope rising from the ashes. Someone like the Son of Man emerges. He is a King far greater than Zedekiah. His eyes are like flames of fire. A gold sash crosses his chest. His feet are like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice is as mighty as ocean waves. This is our King. This is Jesus. And this King gathers all the exiles. He gathers the broken, the fearful, the defeated, and those who have known captivity in body, soul, or spirit. He seeks out those who have been crushed beneath the weight of ruins, those who have been scattered and long to find their way home. To every exile, he offers a new kingdom and a new song. It is not a song of despair, but a song of deliverance and hope. The psalmist gives us the words: "May there be no enemy breaking through our walls, no going into captivity, no cries of alarm in our town squares. Yes, joyful are those who live like this! Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord." This is not simply the ending of today's Scripture reading. It is the ending of our story too. Our lives, no matter how marked by ruin or exile, will end with a song that leads us forward into eternal life. Our King has come, and there is none like him. So let this song, the song of his love and freedom, take root in your heart. Grow more convinced and more devoted to its message. His love sets us free. And this love is not only for us. It is for the world. For God so loved the world. Whatever ruins you see today, do not mistake them for the end of the story. Whatever exile you are experiencing, do not believe that you have been forgotten. The risen King is gathering his people. He walks among us. His voice is like mighty waters, and his word to the frightened and fallen is still the same: "Don't be afraid." The story will end with a song. That's the prayer I have for my own soul today. That's the prayer I have for my family, for my wife, my daughters, and my son. And that's the prayer I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a hindrance to Me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what He has done.” (Matthew 16:21-27)

She wakes to an empty bed, hunts the dark streets for the one her soul loves, and refuses to let go once she finds him, then charges the daughters of Jerusalem by the gazelles and the does of the field not to stir up love before it pleases. The scene shifts to Solomon's wedding procession coming up out of the wilderness in myrrh and frankincense, sixty armed men ringing the carriage, the king wearing the crown his mother set on him the day his heart was glad. Marriage is worth guarding and worth a parade, and the Church knows a Bridegroom who came up out of the wilderness, wore a crown on His wedding day, and takes hold of His bride so she is never left searching in the dark. The Rev. Scott MacDonald, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Meriden, Connecticut, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Song of Solomon 3:1–11.  To learn more about St. John in Connecticut, visit saintjohnmeriden.org. The Song of Solomon is a book of love poetry, a bride and her bridegroom singing to each other across eight chapters. God's people have sung it since Solomon's day, and Jewish congregations still read it at Passover. The Church has heard in it the voice of Christ and His bride, and Luther quoted the Song in The Freedom of a Christian to describe what happens when Christ takes a sinner as His own. Paul was working the same ground in Ephesians five, where he set marriage beside Christ and the Church and called it a great mystery.  This series works through the whole book verse by verse, from the kiss in chapter one to the seal on the heart in chapter eight. We hear what it says about the body, about desire, and about the marriage God instituted in the garden. We also ask where Christ is in it, since the Church has long heard in these songs the voice of the Bridegroom who gave His life for His bride. Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

This chapter highlights Jerusalem's coming punishment because of their hypocritical worship.

This week's episode demonstrates how God shares his divine name (YHWH) with his authorized agents. These agents include heavenly angelic beings, the human Messiah, and even the physical city of Jerusalem. We also explore how other Jewish texts express their acceptance and agreement with the principle of agency. Jesus can be called Yahweh in his role as Yahweh's agent, without being identified as Yahweh himself. To view the video version of this episode, go here: https://youtu.be/e49CxtPklWw            Link to information about my Fall 2026 Intro to New Testament Greek Online course:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pTvcdofRw7SmF49rKfjlwQAgQY31xMAYrQIii5klqL8/edit?usp=sharing             Visit Amazon to buy your copy of A Systematic Theology of the Early Church: https://amzn.to/47jldOc    Visit Amazon to buy your copy of Wisdom Christology in the Gospel of John: https://amzn.to/3JBflHb     Visit Amazon to buy your copy of The Son of God: Three Views of the Identity of Jesus: https://amzn.to/43DPYey    To support this podcast, donate here: https://www.paypal.me/10mintruthtalks    Episode notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Sg0z3NwtugQazpVqJfYm4s5fdsalBW77BVQ5zbcBkGM/edit?usp=sharing        Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BiblicalUnitarianPodcast        Follow on Instagram: https://Instagram.com/biblicalunitarianpodcast  Follow on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/OneGodPodcast     

Follow Saul's journey from feared persecutor to fervent missionary as he navigates the dangers of Jerusalem and embraces his new mission for Christ.In this episode, Saul returns to Jerusalem as an outcast, seeking acceptance from the believers he once persecuted. As he faces rejection and a plot to take his life, Saul finds an ally in Barnabas and begins to understand his mission in Christ more clearly.Today's Bible verse is Galatians 2:20, from the King James Version.Download the ⁠Pray.com⁠ app for more Christian content including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Pray.com is the digital destination for faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Israel and the United States may be allies, but when it comes to Syria and Turkey, a potentially dangerous divide is opening up. Mark Regev and Ruthie Blum unpack Washington's decision to remove Syria from its state-sponsor-of-terrorism list despite its new president's jihadist past before addressing the controversy surrounding U.S. envoy Tom Barrack's comments on the Golan Heights. Then they turn to an even bigger potential flashpoint: Turkey's expanding influence in Syria and Israel's determination to prevent Turkish military forces from establishing themselves closer to its borders. Viewers will learn why Jerusalem and Washington increasingly see Syria and Erdogan through very different lenses, why Israel has already demonstrated that Turkish military expansion could cross a red line and how Prime Minister Netanyahu must navigate those disagreements without jeopardizing Israel's crucial relationship with President Trump.

Fr. Mike walks us through the fall of Jerusalem, and the intense lament of Jeremiah as he watches the people of Israel fall into captivity. He also introduces us to the Prophet Daniel, and his incredible gift of discerning dreams and proclaiming God's Word. Today's readings are Jeremiah 20-21, Daniel 1-2, and Proverbs 15:25-28. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

In this Bible Story, we learn of another hero sent by God, Nehemiah. Nehemiah oversees the rebuilding of Jerusalem's temple. He gives them hope, and encourages them to trust in the protection of God. Yet no wall could truly protect them from their real enemy. This story is inspired by Nehemiah 1-13. Go to https://www.BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is Nehemiah 5:19 from the King James Version.Episode 171: As the sun was shining on the Persian Empire, Nehemiah, a servant from the Jewish exiles was serving the King as his cupbearer. When Nehemiah, heard of the return of the exiles and the current state of his homeland, he wept. King Artaxerxes noticed a sadness in Nehemiah and asked him what was troubling him. When it was revealed that Nehemiah wanted to go and help his people, the King gave him leave and sent a team of workers with him. Yet the project was not without opposition, Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, and the Ammonites all did their best to demoralize the people. But God was with them and 52 days later, the wall was rebuilt!Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the ⁠Pray.com⁠ app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Continuing the series on the Second Coming, Dr. William Lane Craig examines the Preterist view, the position, defended by scholars including G. B. Caird, R. T. France, and N. T. Wright, that the coming of the Son of Man predicted in Jesus' Olivet Discourse already happened in AD 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem. On this reading, the Great Tribulation was the horror of the Roman siege of Jerusalem, and the apocalyptic imagery of Mark 13 (e.g., darkened sun, falling stars) is symbolic language paralleled in Isaiah 13, Ezekiel 32, and Peter's Pentecost sermon in Acts 2, not a literal description of the end. Dr. Craig walks through the Preterist case, including its appeal to Daniel 7 for the Son of Man's heavenly enthronement rather than an earthly return, and explains why Mark 13:30, "this generation will not pass away," is really what drives the view. He finds it initially attractive for solving that verse, but ultimately unpersuasive: like the Rapture view, Preterism ends up requiring an invisible coming of Christ before his final return.

What do you really want?According to the Gospel of John, that's the first question Jesus asks His would-be disciples:“What do you want?”In this reflection on Psalm 1, John Ortberg explores why that may be one of the most important questions we ever answer.Our lives have a way of organizing themselves around our deepest desires.How do you spend your time?Your money?What makes you angry?What are you willing to sacrifice for?Those things often reveal what we want more accurately than our words do.Psalm 1 gives us a picture of a different kind of life: a flourishing person, like a tree planted beside streams of water, with roots sunk deeply into God.And John closes with the remarkable story of Natan Sharansky, who spent years imprisoned in the Soviet Union and memorized the entire Book of Psalms.When he was finally released, Sharansky refused to cross the bridge to freedom until his captors returned his copy of the Psalms.What we fill our minds with matters.Because what fills our minds helps shape what we desire.So today, ask yourself:What do I really want?And:What am I filling my mind with?In this episode:The first question Jesus asks in John's GospelHow our lives reveal what we actually wantPsalm 1 and the meaning of “blessed”What biblical flourishing looks likeThe tree planted beside streams of waterWhy invisible roots matterThe progression of walking, standing and sittingWhy Psalm 1 isn't a formula for easy circumstancesHow inner goodness crowds out envy and greedNatan Sharansky's remarkable storyHow the Psalms sustained him through Soviet imprisonmentWhy what we fill our minds with shapes our livesScriptures: John 1:35–38 • Psalm 1 • Acts 20:35 • Matthew 7:12#Psalm1 #JohnOrtberg #Psalms #Jesus #SpiritualFormation #Flourishing #BibleStudy #ChristianFaith #Prayer #NatanSharansky

We explore the Davidic Covenant. King David, after unifying Israel and establishing Jerusalem as the capital, desires to build a temple for God. Instead, God makes a profound promise to David, establishing a covenant that shapes the future of Israel and points to the coming Messiah. We delve into the three key elements of this covenant: Throne, Dynasty and Everlasting King. Support the showRead along with us in the Bible Brief App! Try the Bible Brief book for an offline experience!Get your free Bible Timeline with the 10 Steps: Timeline LinkSupport the show: Tap here to become a monthly supporter!Review the show: Tap here!Want to go deeper?...Download the Bible Brief App!iPhone: App Store LinkAndroid: Play Store LinkWant a physical book? Check out "Bible Brief" by our founder!Amazon: Amazon LinkWebsite: biblebrief.orgInstagram: @realbiblebriefX: @biblebriefFacebook: @realbiblebriefEmail the Show: biblebrief@biblelit.orgWant to learn the Bible languages (Greek & Hebrew)? Check out our partner Biblingo (and use our link/code for a discount!): https://biblin...

She calls herself a common wildflower; her beloved calls her a lily among the thorns. Scripture is not embarrassed to celebrate what God gave in marriage: a banner of love over the banqueting house, apples and raisins for a woman sick with love, a young stag leaping over the hills to call his bride out into the spring. The chapter also guards what it celebrates, warning about the little foxes that spoil vineyards in bloom and charging the daughters of Jerusalem twice not to stir up love before it pleases. Every husband and wife who has heard "arise, my love, and come away" knows the ache in it. So does the Church, whose Bridegroom washed her, called her beautiful, and made her so, and who will one day come over the mountains to bring her home for good. The Rev. David Boisclair, senior pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Overland, Missouri, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Song of Solomon 2:1–17.  To learn more about Our Redeemer in Overland, visit ourredeemerstl.org. The Song of Solomon is a book of love poetry, a bride and her bridegroom singing to each other across eight chapters. God's people have sung it since Solomon's day, and Jewish congregations still read it at Passover. The Church has heard in it the voice of Christ and His bride, and Luther quoted the Song in The Freedom of a Christian to describe what happens when Christ takes a sinner as His own. Paul was working the same ground in Ephesians five, where he set marriage beside Christ and the Church and called it a great mystery.  This series works through the whole book verse by verse, from the kiss in chapter one to the seal on the heart in chapter eight. We hear what it says about the body, about desire, and about the marriage God instituted in the garden. We also ask where Christ is in it, since the Church has long heard in these songs the voice of the Bridegroom who gave His life for His bride. Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

This series is sponsored by Mira and Daniel Stokar.Join Talmud Daily! A new free program from 18Forty. Ten-minute episodes a day (video + audio). Plain English. No prior knowledge assumed. No Hebrew required. Join here: Talmuddaily.org.In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Ben and Yael de Toledo, founders of Pnima Jerusalem, a soulful community in Jerusalem, about doing teshuva by returning to community.In this episode we discuss:—What are the ingredients necessary for finding and building a community?—How does one emotionally handle integrating into the Torah world without the benefit of a yeshiva background?—How should Torah-centered communities relate to the full spectrum of Jews?Interview begins at 6:16.Tune in to hear a conversation about letting go of barriers, having faith in oneself, and creating space for Jewish life to thrive.Rabbi Ben de Toledo is a Jewish educator and community builder, and a founder of Pnima Jerusalem. He and his wife, Yael, previously served as the founding rabbinic couple-in-residence at the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue at the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi.Yael de Toledo is a Jewish educator and musician who teaches Torah and music and studies at the Shirat HaLeviim Music Academy. She helped found Pnima Jerusalem with her husband, Rabbi Ben de Toledo.References:Listening to God: Inspirational Stories for My Grandchildren by Rabbi Shlomo RiskinNetivot ShalomThe Sabbath by Abraham Joshua HeschelFor more 18Forty:NEWSLETTER: 18forty.org/joinSign up for Talmud DailyCALL: (212) 582-1840EMAIL: info@18forty.orgWEBSITE: 18forty.orgIG: @18fortyX: @18_fortyWhatsApp: join hereBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

Seventeen nations just warned Israel to stop building in one small piece of territory. But this isn't really about 1,200 houses. It's about a Palestinian state, Judea and Samaria, and ultimately Jerusalem itself.  Why are so many nations drawing a line here, and what could it mean prophetically if Israel refuses to back down? Let's talk about it. 🇺🇸: Only 88 Collections Remain. Discover God's providential hand throughout America's history and what Scripture reveals about America's role in Bible prophecy.: https://store.endtime.com/products/the-wings-of-a-great-eagle-pre-order-collection  ⭐️: True Gold Republic: Get The Endtime Show special on precious metals at https://www.endtimegold.com 🚰: Sentry H2O: You prepare for everything else. Why not your water? Use code ENDTIME for 10% OFF at https://www.sentryh2o.com/endtime 📱: It's never been easier to understand. Stream Only Source Network and access exclusive content: https://watch.osn.tv/browse 📚: Check out Jerusalem Prophecy College Online for less than $60 per course: https://jerusalemprophecycollege.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Read OnlineJesus' Final Public SermonJesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.” Matthew 23:27–28For the third day in a row, we read from Jesus' fierce denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. His words are exactly what these religious leaders needed to hear—strong medicine meant to awaken them from their self-righteousness, so that they might repent and receive the superabundant grace that would soon pour forth from His Cross. Though His rebukes may sound shocking—especially to those who heard them for the first time—we must receive them not with shock, but with humility and openness, applying them to our own spiritual journey.Immediately after this lengthy denunciation, Jesus turns inward and offers a heart-wrenching lament over Jerusalem, especially over the hardened hearts of the very leaders He had just addressed. Though not included in today's Gospel, the very next verse reveals His sorrow: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but you were unwilling!” (Matthew 23:37). This tender image opens a window into Jesus' Sacred Heart—the same heart that had just delivered such relentless rebukes. Consider that image: a hen gathering her young under her wings. By natural instinct, a mother hen shields her chicks, even risking her life to protect them. In placing that instinct within creation, God reveals something of His own divine love. He, too, longs to gather, shield, and save us from eternal harm. Nothing—not even the hardness of our hearts—can stop Him from extending His merciful embrace. Yet just as a chick that strays from its mother forfeits her protection, so do we when we resist Christ's call. His lament is not rooted in anger, but in grief over those who are unwilling to be gathered and saved. Even His fiercest rebukes flow from a heart burning with love. Though these words were originally addressed to the scribes and Pharisees, they apply to each of us. God will stop at nothing to bring us safely into His care. If gentle compassion moves our hearts, that is what He offers. If firm rebuke is what we need, He offers that too. Whether He draws us with tenderness or corrects us with firmness, His purpose is always the same: to keep us safe from sin and eternal separation, and to draw us into the Kingdom of grace. Interestingly, this rebuke was Jesus' final public sermon in Matthew's Gospel. If we were writing the script for His final week, we might envision a message of consolation or encouragement to close His public ministry. But instead, He ends with a sobering warning. Why? Because it was a final act of mercy. His last words to the crowds were meant to awaken hearts before it was too late. It was love speaking its final appeal, a shepherd crying out for His wandering sheep. Reflect today on Jesus delivering this final sermon to you. Heed His warning and receive it in the way it was delivered: with love. Feel His urgency and His desire to do whatever it takes to draw you closer to Himself. Respond to this sermon, and do not remain among the unwilling. Let these final words of Jesus pierce your heart, so that you may be gathered under the shelter of His wings and never stray again.Most merciful Lord, You will go to any length to draw us back to Yourself when we stray. You long to gather us under the wings of Your loving protection, keeping us safe from all sin that leads to death. Open my heart, dear Lord, and grant me the grace I need to respond to Your cry for my soul. May I never stray but always remain firmly under the shelter of Your wings of grace. Jesus, I trust in You.Image: Woe unto You, Scribes and Pharisees, by James Tissot Source: Free RSS feed from catholic-daily-reflections.com — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.