Podcasts about Markan

In episode 501, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb dig into the parable of the watchful doorkeeper in Mark 13:32–37 — four tightly packed verses that Jesus uses to call his servants to alertness before his return. But this isn't a passage about spiritual caffeine and white-knuckling your way through the Christian life. Tony and Jesse unpack what "stay awake" actually means through the lens of Reformed theology: active, differentiated stewardship in the ordinary means of grace, faithful vocation in every sphere of life, and a corporate ecclesial readiness that belongs to the whole church, not just the individual. This episode reorients the familiar language of watchfulness away from anxiety and date-setting toward the sturdy, quiet confidence of a believer who knows who they are, whose house they serve in, and why that identity drives everything. Key Takeaways "Stay awake" is a command about identity, not performance. The doorkeeper doesn't do what he does to become the doorkeeper — he's already the doorkeeper. Christians are watchful because of who they already are in Christ, not to earn or secure that status. Vocation is not optional waiting — it's active, differentiated stewardship. Christ's ascension corresponds to the master's departure, and the interim period is characterized by each servant being given his own work, reflecting Calvin's doctrine of vocation and the Reformed insistence that the Christian life between the ascension and the Parousia is not passive. Watchfulness is corporate, not merely individual. The church, as the pillar and buttress of truth, is called to a collective readiness. In Presbyterian polity, every act of a valid church jurisdiction is an act of the whole church — meaning each member has a genuine stake in the faithfulness of the whole body. The ordinary means of grace are the means of watchfulness. Prayer, the Word, the sacraments, fellowship, and sitting under preaching are not supplementary to vigilance — they are the very instruments by which God preserves and prepares his people. Two errors must be avoided: speculative date-setting and practical indifference. Uncertainty about the hour of Christ's return is neither an invitation to calculate nor an excuse for carelessness. It is the very grounds for sustained, ordinary faithfulness. The warnings of Scripture are themselves a means of grace. Following Westminster Confession of Faith 17, the sobering warning of verse 36 is not a threat to the elect's final security but a pastoral instrument by which God preserves his people in living, active faith. The rooster-crowing language of Mark 13 anticipates the Passion narrative. The clustering of watchfulness, the night watches, and the crowing rooster in this chapter echoes the Garden of Gethsemane and Peter's denial — a connection particularly resonant given Mark's traditional association with Peter's testimony. Explanatory Paragraphs Vocation and the Active Interim One of the most theologically rich observations in this episode is the way Jesse frames the master's departure as corresponding directly to the ascension of Christ. The key phrase in verse 34 — "each one his task" — is not incidental detail. It reflects the Reformed doctrine of vocation at full strength: every believer, in every sphere of influence, has been given particular work to do on behalf of the Lord during Christ's bodily absence. This is not a passive waiting room existence. It is an active, differentiated stewardship that is deeply personal and yet accountable to the master who owns the whole house. The ascension does not mean abandonment, and the parable makes that clear by the fact that the servants are left in charge — trusted, commissioned, and expected to be about their work when the master returns. The Church's Corporate Readiness A standout contribution of this episode is Tony's move from the individual to the ecclesial. Drawing directly from OPC Book of Church Order, Chapter 3, he argues that church power is not vested in officers alone but in the whole body of believers. This means that when any legitimate church jurisdiction acts — whether in discipline, instruction, or governance — it is the whole church acting. The parable's doorkeeper is therefore not just a figure for personal piety; he is a figure for the corporate watchfulness that belongs to every member of the household. Tony's point is that a Christian who is disconnected from his local church, indifferent to what is being taught and decided elsewhere in the visible church, is not simply failing at individual holiness — he is failing to be awake in the fullest sense the parable intends. The Ordinary Means of Grace as Watchfulness Itself Perhaps the most pastorally stabilizing insight of the episode is Jesse's observation that watchfulness is not some extraordinary spiritual heroism layered on top of normal Christian life — it is normal Christian life. The ordinary means of grace are ordinary precisely because they are the regular, appointed instruments through which God delivers his grace to his people. Prayer, the Word, the sacraments, and fellowship are not preparatory disciplines that get you ready for the real work of being watchful. They are the work. Tony reinforces this by noting that a person who persistently refuses the ordinary means of grace is not simply being unwise — they are declining the offer of God's grace, which is a far more serious matter than mere spiritual lethargy. Memorable Quotes The doorkeeper doesn't do what he does to become the doorkeeper in this parable. He's already the doorkeeper, and the fact that he's the doorkeeper explains why he's given certain responsibilities and certain commands. That's the way it is for us as Christians. - Tony Arsenal The warnings of Scripture are themselves among the ordinary means by which God preserves His people... the sobering possibility of being found asleep functions pastorally not to threaten the loss of the elect, but to press home the seriousness of watchfulness as the fruit and evidence of genuine faith." - Jesse Schwamb When I go into a patient encounter at the hospital, or when I pull up to a red light, or when I order a sandwich at McDonald's and they get it wrong — I bring with me the fact that I am a Christian, the fact that I am a servant of Christ, that I am a doorkeeper in the house of the living God. - Tony Arsenal Full Transcript Jesse Schwamb: [00:01:00] Welcome to episode 501 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, we've got some more kingdom teaching on tap right from the mouth of Jesus. We're going through all the parables, if you haven't been tracking with us so far, and we're finding ourselves in Mark chapter 13. And as J- only Jesus can do, packs four verses with all kinds of rich, robust theology, and it's all in this kind of strange setting, actually. A guy heads out of town. He hands his servants the keys. He tells the doorman, "Hey, watch the place," with the same kind of e- enigmatic and vague energy that I imagine, like, your cable internet provider gives you when they give you an arrival time between now and Friday. And then Jesus lists literally, like, every possible hour He might show up, evening, midnight, rooster clock, dawn. And all of this is for His glory and for our benefits. [00:02:00] And we're gonna somehow try to see if we can take all of these four verses, which are so jam-packed, and fit them into our conversation. That's our challenge, and it's gonna be yours to listen to. So welcome to this episode.  Affirm or Deny Segment Jesse Schwamb: But before we do all of that, it is everybody's favorite time. Well, except for Wicked Scriptures. That is really everybody's favorite time. Second favorite time is where we find something in our lives, Tony, that we either affirm with because it's awesome, it's exciting, want everybody to know about it, or conversely, we deny against something because it's just not that great. We don't like it. Don't waste your time with it. So everybody longs to know, in this conversation, are you affirming with or denying against?  Tony Affirms Psalm Music Tony Arsenal: I'm affirming something tonight. Uh, the listener might remember, I don't know, maybe a month and a half back, I affirmed a particular setting of Psalm 63 in the Trinity Psalter Hymnal. And as I was kind of, you know, looking around for, I wanted to find a track to sort of maybe add to the end of the episode just to sort of, [00:03:00] like, put a point on that. I stumbled on, um, a song, singer, I don't know if you'd call him a songwriter, 'cause he's mostly just writing song- psalms. But he's, he's arranging them. He's, you know, writing the guitar line for it or whatever. Uh, his name is Matthew David Montgomery. Uh, I don't know that you would know him from anywhere, but he's on, um- Apple Music, YouTube, Spotify, wherever. Uh, he does an arrangement of O God Show Mercy to Us, which is Psalm 63, uh, setting A, I believe, in the Trinity Psalter hymnal. But, um, it's, it's in other hymnals, other psalters, uh, under the same name with the same tune. Uh, he has a beautiful singing voice. He does a lot of, uh, what's typically called, like, finger style, uh, guitar picking, uh, which is just very melodious and very gentle and soft. Um, it would be a great addition to, like, your morning devotional time to just, like, pick a psalm that he sings, that he's, he's recorded. Um, you can get most of his stuff for free on, uh, YouTube, or again, if you have Apple [00:04:00] Music or Spotify, it's available there. Uh, again, his name is Matthew David Montgomery, and he's got several, uh, several albums. He has ones that specifically is psalms called Psalms for Singing. Um, and then he has a couple finger style hymn songs, uh, hymn albums that are like, you know, like I don't know, more modern hymns, He Will Hold Me Fast, Only Holy God- Right kinda like Getty, um, Getty-style and City Alight songs, those kinds of sort of that complex of modern hymnody. Um, but he's excellent, and it's excellent theologically rich sound music. Um, I haven't listened to everything, but he seems like he's in kind of that, uh, sort of vein of worship music production producer peoples, um, that are just putting out good, accessible music. I know, like, a lot of small churches, uh, have in the past have had to resort to using tracks like this actually to sort of lead their vocal music. Um, that would be something to think [00:05:00] about. It's simple. It's arranged in a straightforward fashion. Many times it's arranged according to the psalters, which are by, almost by definition are designed for congregational singing. So it's good. It's great. Use it for family worship, listen to in your car. I don't know, workout music. I don't know if you would work out to this, but I guess you could try. Um- I love it ... but yeah, I usually, I usually listen to, um, Oh God, Show Mercy To Us probably, like, once a day. I listen to it usually in the morning to kinda center my day and get my head in the right space. Um, but yeah, it's just good stuff. David, um, Mi- Matthew David Montgomery, uh, the specific one was Psalms for Singing, but, um, all of his stuff is really great.  Jesse Schwamb: All right.  Jesse Affirms Hymn Devotional Jesse Schwamb: People are gonna think we're totally conspiring now, but I promise we're not. This is just how our minds work in collective fashion, that we never speak about stuff together. So my affirmation is right in the same vein. So I'm actually excited about this one because it might just be the golden age of daily books about, like, theological meditation. It might be. And [00:06:00] so this one is really good, and I'm super stoked because I'm kind of on the cusp of this one because I got an advance copy of this book, and it's just out now. It's called Awake My Soul, and it's daily readings, 365 hymn texts taken throughout church history from the Middle Ages to 1900. And each hymn for the day includes s- a suggested tune and then, like, a short historical slash, like, theological meditation. The beauty of this- Wow One, I'm learning all kinds of new hymns that are not my favorite. Two, you can either read them or... There's no music included in this, except that in the back there's an index that will give you... There's, like, a little code every day. This is like a s- it's your own treasure hunt. There's a little code on each day, and if you take that code and go back to the end of the book, what you'll find there is names of popular hymns or songs that you do know the, the tune to, and then you can take that same tune and use the same poetic meter that the hymn is in that you don't know, and guess what? You can actually sing it. So you're prepared every day to sing [00:07:00] music and to sing brand-new music with great confidence and high conviction. So this is, like, the bridge here. Go listen to some good music. And I would say if you wanna buy this, because it is brand new, go to hymnworks.com. It's by P&R Publishing. That's where you'll find the best price. It's, like, 25 bucks. It's a beautiful clothbound, like, handsome two-color printing with a ribbon. And also Passion Week and Advent are clearly marked and can be adapted for use in any calendar year. So there you go. Like, it's the double-barreled affirmation for good singing, good hymns. By the way, for all the brothers and sisters of exclusive psalmody, we see you raising your hands in the back. Actually, if you're doing exclusive psalmody, you're in the front. So we see you in the front, and this- And you're  Tony Arsenal: probably not raising your hands.  Jesse Schwamb: You're definitely not raising your hand. We see your hands  Tony Arsenal: in your pockets. Jesse Schwamb: We see you standing there  Tony Arsenal: stoically.  Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. We see your hands in your pockets, never coming out. That's fine. Yeah. Uh, this book also is for you because so much of it is actually just, uh, the psalms adapted for kind of [00:08:00] more, when I say contemporary, between the Middle Ages and 1900 worship. So, uh, there you go. I think this is lovely. Uh, we didn't plan it, but you've got two great resources for daily living and daily singing.  Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  Building Daily Liturgy Tony Arsenal: And, you know, I think, um, there is sort of an element, and I'll be quick about this, where we are set up... We have such a, like, a dearth of riches in terms of accessibility to musical worship. And y- you know, used to think of it as, like, daily devotions, but I think the more, I think the more accurate and I think a, a more theologically rich term is a daily liturgy. Right. Um, you know, with books like Be Thou My Vision, um, by I think it's David Gibson, or, you know, he has, like, the Christmas version and the, um, I think there's an Easter version of it where it really walks you through a, a full daily liturg- liturgy with, like, a call to worship and a, a confession of sin. And, [00:09:00] um, and you could take these resources, whether it's an album like David, uh, or, like, um, David Michael Montgomery. That's a country singer, I think. Whatever the guy is that I recommend. I don't have his name in front of me. Uh, whether it's an album like that or whether it's- Right ... this resource Jesse's talking about, or like I've said before, like, just the trendy Psalter Hymnal app on your phone which will play the music for you and display the words. You can take this and there... I, I hate to say it this way because I know there's a lot of people that, that make good profitable use of sort of like evangelical, I would call it, like, fluffy devo kinda stuff. Uh, which ironically on my list of affirmations of things that are in the queue, there's, there's a devotional resource that even kinda falls into this category. Yeah, there is. But, um, there really is no good excuse for not having some sort of robust daily worship pattern. Right. Um, because you can, you can really make use of these resources to create a pretty cohesive, well put-together, pleasurable kind of [00:10:00] daily worship set or liturgy or experience, I don't know, whatever word you wanna slot in there. Um, a- and really get... Like, really just have an excellent experience out of it, really have good resources. So yeah, I'm, I'm on board. I think it's great. I would love to, I would love to be able to, uh, to take a look at that. So maybe next time we're in the same geographical location you'll have to show me. Jesse Schwamb: Oh, I'll bring it. We'll, we'll do it. It actually doubles as a hymnal because it's all indexed, so you can actually- Yeah ... just use it as a hymnal. I love books that give you two purposes. Oh, that's a double threat book right there. And that means, like, for the spaces taken up in your life and on your shelf it can do more than one thing. That's like having a kitchen appliance that, like, I don't know, is like an air fryer and it brews beer. Like, that's worth- Yeah ... the space all the time  Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I, I just recently found out that they make washers that are also dryers, and they're in the same machine, and- Wow.  Jesse Schwamb: That's transformative ... I  Tony Arsenal: would feel like a millionaire if I had one of those- Reading Mark 13 Parable Jesse Schwamb: 'cause- Well, speaking of [00:11:00] feeling like a millionaire, and I think what you challenge us with is settling in some patterns of daily worship and living for God, it just so happens that Jesus has some instruction for us in that same way- Nice ... in Mark chapter 13. So let me start beginning in verse 32. And if you're tracking along or keeping score at home and you've gone to this chapter, what you're probably gonna find is we're actually in the, the parable of the fig tree, or just at the end. But w- we're not gonna touch that one, not yet, so don't get too excited. We're actually coming right at the end of that. So picking up in verse 32: "But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." Now, this is Jesus speaking: "See to it, keep on the alert, for you do not know when the appointed time will come. It's like a man away on a journey who, leaving his house and giving authority to his slaves, each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake – for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the [00:12:00] evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning – lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake." Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  What Stay Awake Means Tony Arsenal: Yeah, it's a good, uh, it's a good parable. And, you know, this is covering a lot of the same ground as other parables that we've, uh, approached. I think what's a little bit, uh, unique or different about this one is that some of the, some of the cautions that we, um, brought out with the other parables, because they were actually longer and had more details, um, some of those cautions don't necessarily apply the same way here. Jesse Schwamb: Right.  Tony Arsenal: Right? We, we talked about the parable of the 10, of the 10 virgins, or the wise and foolish virgins, whatever you wanna call it, and we talked a lot about how this language of, like, stay awake seemed to be misapplied, uh, as, like, falling asleep is foolish. Because in that para- that particular parable, [00:13:00] um, both the wise and the foolish virgins fall asleep. It's not the falling asleep that was the problem, it was the being prepared, um, for the master's return. Uh, in that case, having the proper equipment, having your, you know, your lamps trimmed, your oil ready, all that stuff. In this parable, um, it really is about being awake. Like, being awake is the task. Yes. It's the specific command. That's right. And so our task tonight is to unpack a little bit about what it even means to be awake, what does this parable say to us about that. Um, but I, I think this one falls a little bit more in line with kind of what we maybe... I know this is weird to say. It falls a little bit more in line with what we've been talking about as a, sort of like a little bit of a legalistic approach to some of the parables. This one really does have, I th- I think, has more to do with, uh, the, the sort of production that Christians are expected to have.  Jesse Schwamb: Right.  Tony Arsenal: The, the, the holiness, the good works we're expected to have, and how [00:14:00] that plays into kind of our alertness, our, our fittedness for service, uh, and, and maybe ultimately even the way that we're rewarded in the last, the last times or in, in heaven. All of that kinda plays in here, and this is kind of like Mark's equivalent to sort of like the eschatological parables that we talked about at, at the end of Matthew in, you know, Matthew 25 and, and sort of that area  Jesse Schwamb: I totally agree.  Vocation and Stewardship Jesse Schwamb: I think this bad boy, even just the first verse, it's like a compact statement of the doctrine of vocation and providence all wrapped into one. And it's easy to read it and just kind of fly by that stuff and say, "Of course, I need to be aware of what's going on. I need to be aware of God's presence or seek Him in worship." All that's true, but there's a lot in this because, of course, the master's departure here corresponds clearly to Christ's ascension. There's like a real bodily absence that nonetheless does not amount to like abandonment. And then to your point, what I think starts to differentiate us from some of like the [00:15:00] other parables where we've been very careful about parsing this, has been this assignment, each his own work. It's reflecting like a really traditional like Reformed, I think, emphasis, even from like Calvin's doctrine of vocation, that the Christian life between the ascension and the Parousia is not one of like passive waiting, but there is like an active differentiated stewardship, and it's every believer. And even though it's just a sentence, there's like a lot of particularity in this to remind us that each one has a task, and that task is something that you should undertake on behalf and for the Lord  Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, and this, um, the other element of this, um, that I think is interesting is, you know, we don't wanna, um We wanna be careful not to try to build entire theological, like edifices, edifices. I'm not sure which word is right. Edifice. We don't wanna build huge theological structures on top of like slight variations in words. And, and I know that, um, that can [00:16:00] sometimes be very popular in our circles and, and I'm, I s- absolutely support the grammatical historical interpretive method. I don't think it's the only el- only, you know, hermeneutic we should think about. But I definitely agree with the words matter and the meanings of the words matter. Right. But we can also go too far in, like, making an entire theological point hang on the particular choice of a verb pars- like a verb tense or mood or whatever. But I think it's interesting, um, w- the sort of what we might call the parable proper starts in verse 34, but in verse 33 it says, "Be on guard, keep awake, for you do not know when the time will come." That's not the parable. That's Christ giving a command to his immediate audience, and then I think vicariously therefore for us. When we get into the parable and it, and it says, uh, that the command for the doorkeeper, right? So the, he, he takes his servants, he puts his servants in charge, and I s- I take that to mean, [00:17:00] like, he leaves the house to them. Like, he leaves them to their task. They're, they're not, they're not having to report to anybody. They just manage the household- Right ... autonomously or independently. Um, each with his work, so there's this idea that, like, each of the servant has their own proper sort of realm of the house that they manage, right? The gardener's managing the garden, the, the house, you know, the, the, um, the, the person who's in charge of the money is managing that. And the doorkeeper, which is a particular role, his task, his charge, his, he is commanded to stay awake. Now, the phrase, the word for stay awake in verse 30, uh, 34 is not the same word that's used in verse 33. Now, I, I have not done the word study on this or, or the c- commentary work to know how significant that is, but we do affirm that the Holy Spirit inspires each individual word.  Jesse Schwamb: That's right.  Tony Arsenal: And I think we could make an argument that sometimes a word is just used, um, at least on a, on a [00:18:00] human level. It, it's just you don't wanna use the same word multiple times. Like, just like anyone writing any sort of pi- piece of work, you don't use the same word repetitively. You vary the words. You use, use synonyms to, to spice it up and to give it some variety. But also, I think there may be some significance in the fact that within the story, within the parable, the command to stay awake is a particular word, and then a different word to stay awake and to be watchful, and there's this repetition, "Be on guard. Keep awake." Like, those are parallel statements. Um, those, that's a significant thing that that word is different  Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. It's a huge, I think, reminder that there's all... The- even, again, I can't believe how much is packed. Now that I think about this, we start talking about it into, like, a single sentence. But every believer, like every servant in this house, has been given some kind of task suited to his place. I believe that's what Jesus is trying to impress us with. And that idleness is not an option countenanced by the text because the doorkeeper's [00:19:00] particular charge to watch, like you were saying, functions to me, I think, almost like a synecdoche. Like, it's f- for the whole- Yeah ... household's duty. His vigilance stands for what is in fact required of every servant, since verse 37 will then extend this command to, like, everybody. So just- Yeah ... within, like, this little space of writing or this little space of teaching, I think what we have here is, like, it's realistic for us to say we've got the twin realities that ground really biblical ecclesiology in the interim period. We have Christ's real absence, but that's, like, against, I would say, any collapsing of the already into a fully realized eschatology. And then you have Christ's ongoing ownership and authority over his house, which is the church, against any notion that the church is left to autonomous self-governance. So the house, in other words, re- remains Christ's, and the servants remain accountable to him, not to themselves, like you've just said, and each one is accountable to God in a unique way according to the task that he's given them. So again, this beautiful marriage of [00:20:00] both the responsibility, the providence, and the responsibility that we have before God in being responsible to him, but also that he is governing all things for his good and for his glory.  Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  Doorkeeper Role Explained Tony Arsenal: And you know, I think, um, the word doorkeeper here too, uh, you know, as I peek at the Greek a little bit, the word doorkeeper is also a much broader term than, uh, it might seem. You know, like I think, you know, one of my kid's favorite shows is like Curious George, and there's a character in the, the story that's literally named Doorman, and he's just the guy that like opens the door in the apartment that- Right ... Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat. But the word doorkeeper in, uh, in the Greek here, when applied to a, a female, is understood to be like the janitor. So the doorkeeper might even be considered something more like the master of the house. Like think of like, um-  Jesse Schwamb: Lady's ...  Tony Arsenal: uh, like the, the head butler, right? In like if you think of like Downton Abbey, right? Right. The, the guy who actually like takes care of and like [00:21:00] runs, the house manager or something like that might be a better way to look at it. And I think you're right that his charge to stay awake, to keep alert, it does extend to the entire household, but it also is a particular command for that figure.  Jesse Schwamb: Right.  Tony Arsenal: Right? So yes, everybody is given their task. This, this person, this doorkeeper, he is, um, called out specifically, individually, right? It's not as though he's the only servant in the house. There's all these other servants, they each have their task, and they're all commanded to keep about their business. The doorkeeper, the master of the house, the, I don't know, head butler, the head ch- the chief janitor, I don't know what you would want, the head custodian of the house, um, and don't think of custodian or janitor in terms of like- Like the school janitor who like cleans the toilets and mops up after the kids throwing up and stuff. The, the janitor or the custodian of the house is really the person who kind of like runs the household, the sort of like head servant of the house. [00:22:00] His command to keep watchful, to be on guard or to be alert is because, um, the, the master's return is sudden and unexpected. Right. And so if the doorkeeper doesn't keep up with things, if he's not awake, if he's not running things, if he's not managing things, if he's not alert and awake, then not only does his task get, get, um, undone... And I think like we think of it like, "Oh yeah, be on guard." You sometimes hear this parable or, or variations of this parable taught as like you gotta keep the wolves out, like he's the guard at the door. Right. I don't think that's what this is getting at. It's really more like if this, if the doorkeeper s- falls asleep on the job, then the entire house falls into disarray, and you can't recover that when the master all of a sudden is at the gate. If you're just the guard, I guess you might be able to snap to attention and like, you know, pull your pole arm or whatever it is up. Like you might be able to snap to attention and kind of fake it. But if you're the guy who manages the entire household and the [00:23:00] whole household is in disarray because you've fallen asleep on the job, there's no recovering from that when the master taps you on the shoulder and says, "Please wake up, I'm home." You just can't recover from that. And so I think that's, that's the element of the story, the element of the parable that we probably need to think about a little bit more is, all right, w- no one of us is the doorkeeper of the church.  Jesse Schwamb: That's right.  Tony Arsenal: But also none of us are not the doorkeeper of the church. So like we all have a role and a responsibility in, in the church to sort of like be a part of, an active part of the church, an active part of God's kingdom, which is not, I'm not trying to say we're all gatekeepers, right? We're not all called to be r- to rule over the church. Like there's a particular office of ruling elder that I would say exists, uh, you know, that's codified in the OPC. But even within other kinds of s- setups, there's usually some sort of elder, you know, setup where there's elders that are not teaching elders. They're not there to like teach and minister and, and preach. They're there to [00:24:00] like govern the church and support the needs of the body spiritually. That's really, uh, you know, like a particular office, but that's also a task and a role that we all share as Christians is to, to sh- sort of, I almost said shepherd, but that doesn't feel right, but it also doesn't feel wrong. To sort of like manage the business of the congregation and the church- That's right ... and the, the invisible church as a whole. That's the task of every Christian, and that's really what this parable's getting at, I think.  Jesse Schwamb: I think so too. And I, I don't wanna, like, build too far a bridge away from that point. I think it's worth sitting there for a second because what occurs to me as you were saying that is I just happened to be reading Calvin's commentary this morning in 1 Corinthians 5, and he builds this whole theological argument around this idea that he, he basically is saying, "Why should the Corinthians mourn over one man's sin?" And he gives two reasons. First, as a consequence of the communion that exists among the members of the church, it's becoming that all should feel hurt at or so it's deadly if one of their members should fall. And the second is when such an erroneous sin is [00:25:00] perpetrated in a particular church, the perpetrator is an offender in such a manner that he pollutes the whole society. That is to say, I think it's kind of in line with what you're saying, that corruption in one place will affect the entire body. That is like falling asleep, pulling away from the mission Being found outside of the mission of God's, uh, for God's glory is something that hurts the church body. And we might ask, like if there is in our own lives a persistent sin, some kind of corruption, then we ought to ask, is there any form of corruption that we're contributing to the body of God? And I think those, these like real consequences of what it means to live in a way where we find ourselves, again, outside of what it means to worship whole heartedly, to worship with heart, soul, and mind, all of which we do imperfectly. Yet at the same time- Yeah ... are we being awake? Are we being made aware? Watchfulness and Rest Jesse Schwamb: I, I wonder if part of what's envisioned here and in view with Jesus' teaching is not just this idea... Almost like I think sometimes we, we say stay awake or we say be [00:26:00] watchful, and of course like I love that Jesus mentions like the four watches. Like that's, I think, like a distinctly kind of Roman division of the night into four three-hour segments. And of course it's gonna suggest to Mark's gentile audience that, and, and underscore this point, that it's not which watch, but that no watch may be presumed safe from the master's arrival. And so I think when we hear that stuff we think, "Well, this means like don't fall asleep." In other words, like there's going to be a test somewhere in your life or all of your life where you're going to be legitimately tempted to take a rest, and you can't take a rest. You gotta keep like just going thrust or no th- you, there's no other choice- Right ... but to give it your all. I think what's better here and what's in view is in all areas of life, are you awake to the reality that God has given you work to do in the spheres of influence that you have, in the particular place in which you live, among the church people whom He has given you to worship with? Are you aware that at all times you ought to be moving and working and for His glory, [00:27:00] even while you are literally sleeping in rest so that you might do those things for the next day? So I- Yeah ... I don't wanna get too hyped up on it's kind of like, again, what's the spiritual equivalent of always drinking Celsius and Red Bull and just like toughing it out- Yeah like with your eyes wide open. It's, it's way more than that.  Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, uh, this is gonna seem like a weird transition, but it's, it is but also isn't. Um, I, I saw an interesting video the other... I'm getting super nerdy here right now. But, um, I saw an interesting video on YouTube the other day that was talking about how strange it was that there is like a night shift on the Starship Enterprise on Star Trek Next Generation. But, but actually like- It, it demonstrated something to me that, like, even on a, you know, this is obviously a fictional television show, but, like, even on a spaceship where there is no sun, there is no actual reference- Right ... for what a day is, right? We think of a day, and, and rightfully so, it's locked into a 24-hour cycle because of the [00:28:00] way God has created the Earth to spin, and the sun, and the sunrise, sunset, et cetera. But in this fictionalized universe, in this fictionalized world, there's no sunset. There's no, uh, chronology, yet they still divide on, on this, they still divide the day into these three watches. And it's funny, 'cause they talk about how, like, well, there's, there's the day shift, there's the sort of like second shift, and there's the night shift. And they actually even, like, turn the lights down on the ship to simulate a day-night cycle. And, and what it got me thinking about, and I think in the parable, obviously, like, it's the four watches of the night. Um, I play a lot of Dungeons & Dragons, and, like, when you're gonna do what's called a long rest, you have to determine who's gonna set a watch. If you don't set a proper watch, then the dungeon master may make it so monsters show up and you don't get your long rest. This idea that- Even resting is an appropriate and necessary execution of- Right ... the task to be watchful. That's right. Like, I think that's important. If you are, um, i- if you think of like, uh, Lord of the [00:29:00] Rings, right? And they set a watch. Uh, the responsibility of the people who aren't on watch is to make every, every use of that time to sleep so that if something happens, they're alert. And then when also when it's time for them to take watch, they're able to be watchful. And, uh, the other thing I wanna, wanna just comment really quickly on, because I, I, I didn't do a lot of prep for this episode. Big shocker. We don't prep a lot for these episodes. And this is another Markan parable that I'm not super familiar with.  Church Alertness and Power Tony Arsenal: But one of the things that as we're talking through it I'm, I'm becoming more convinced of, is this really is about not just any one individual being alert, although there is implications for us. It's really about the whole church being alert.  Jesse Schwamb: That's  Tony Arsenal: right. Like, the church is the, uh... I, I think it's in, I wanna say it's in Timothy, I don't know where, but the Church is the buttress and pillar of truth, right? So that's not to say we're the, we're the arbiter of truth, but I wanna read this. The... I don't know any other podcasts, although in our circles there [00:30:00] probably are other podcasts that you might hear someone reading out of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church book of Church Order, Form of Government, chapter three, verse, uh, passage one here. Uh, but this is, this is, as I said, uh, BCO chapter three, Form of Government. Uh, and this is, the chapter is titled The Nature and Exercise of Church Power. And when I was coming into the OPC, I don't think I was surprised, uh, in terms of like I thought the theology was different. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this was articulated and how clearly it was articulated. So I'm just gonna read the whole section here. It says, "The power which Christ has committed to His Church is not vested in special officers alone, but in the whole body. All believers are endued with the Spirit & called of Christ to join in the worship, edification, and the witness of the Church which grows as the body of Christ, fitly framed and knit together through, uh, that which every joint supplies according to the working and due measure of each part." Sidebar commentary. The BCO doesn't [00:31:00] have proof text, but if they did, they would just be citing to Ephesians 5 here. Um, back to what the text says. "The power of believers in their general office includes the right to acknowledge and desire the exercise of the gifts and calling of the special officers. The regular exercise of oversight in a particular congregation is discharged by those who have been called to such work by the vote of the people." So just to summarize that, officers, at least in the OPC Um, ruling elders are nominated and voted into, into office and essentially, uh, given their powers, their official powers, their official responsibilities, not by the presbytery, uh, and not by some hierarchy, but by the congregation. They call from within.  Church Authority From Congregation Tony Arsenal: But that, that means that the power of the ruling elders, the, the authority of the ruling elders, is not derived from some hierarchy. It's derived from the [00:32:00] authority and the exercise of power of the whole church. And the other thing, I won't read this, but the other thing that I found, um, really interesting that I really like is in Presbyterianism, and, and I, I believe Presbyterianism is what the Bible teaches positively as a command. I know there are other church polities, and I know everybody is trying to figure it out, and we don't all agree. I think Presbyterianism is the right way.  Jurisdictions And Whole Church Acts Tony Arsenal: But either way, um Presbyterianism works on a s- sort of an idea of, uh, jurisdictions, right? And they're kinda concentric circles. They're not necessarily hierarchical, but it's, it's narrow jurisdictions and then broader jurisdictions. And the most narrow jurisdiction is the session of a local church over that congregation. But what's really interesting is that the, the Book of Church Order calls out that when any valid jurisdiction of the church is exercising its authority, it's not just that jurisdiction that's [00:33:00] acting. That's an act of the whole church, the entire Orthodox Presbyterian Church. So in a congregation where someone is in unrepentant sin and that, uh, session makes a decision, votes a decision to excommunicate that person, to remove them from the rolls, consider them to be an unbeliever, that's not just an act of that jurisdiction. I- i- as a member of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, when some church in Sacramento, California, I don't know if there's an OPC in Sacramento, I assume there probably is, but some church in Sacramento, California, the presbytery or the session excommunicates someone, I am e- I'm engaged in that act. That's an act of the whole church.  Watchfulness Beyond Personal Piety Tony Arsenal: And this, the, the only reason I go there and I bring, I kind of dive into that level of granularity is I actually think that this is kind of what this parable is teaching, is that as individuals, we need to be alert because the whole church acting is the whole church acting. So whether this takes the [00:34:00] form of me just being really un- un- like, locked into my local church and making sure that I'm active in my local church, or whether... And I think there are some of us who are called to this, um, and I think our, our podcast in some levels sort of takes this shape a little bit, are watching what other people in the church are doing and sometimes are offering corrections, right? It is not the case that an average blogger has ecclesiastical authority in the strictest sense, but when I see, or, or anyone who is sort of involved in online commentary, podcast, blogging or otherwise, I see someone in the church teaching something elsewhere and I call that out, that's me sort of fulfilling this command of Mark 13. I'm being watchful Because what that Christian says or does, if they're truly a Christian, actually does have something to do with what I believe. It actually does have something to do with me as a believer. That doesn't mean that you should get up in everybody else's business. That's not what I'm saying. Like, sometimes- Right ... the thing [00:35:00] that's going on in the church over there is just that thing that's going on over at the church there. But for example, there was a pretty high-profile, um, uh, ecclesiastical, I don't know if it was a trial, but like an ecclesiastical deposition, I guess, um, for a presbytery down in the Southwest, um, about some pretty gnarly things that were being said by an elder in the OPC church, and I wrote to that presbytery. They haven't sent it to me yet, but I wrote to that presbytery and said, "Hey, what you did at that meeting is an act of the whole church that I'm a part of. Can you send me the minutes?" And I have a right to do that, because I wanna see what's going on. I wanna understand what statements they're making on behalf of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church of America. Or, I just combined like 1,000 different denominations- Yes, you did. ... into one sentence. But I, I think the point is clear, like the, the parable of the watchful doorkeeper or the porter is not about exclusively, I do think there's an element of it, but it's not about our individual piety. It's about the sort of readiness state of the entire church for [00:36:00] Christ's return, if you really boil it all down  Avoid Date Setting And Indifference Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, so we, I think before we leave verse 35, we, we are at least contractually obligated to say, though we've said it before, that there are two errors here that we should definitely seek to avoid. And because we're talking about, again, this idea that we do not know when the master of the house will come, that is the reason why we wait, and we are watchful, like you just said. But it means that the first is any kind of, like, speculative date setting, which is a fool's errand. We've talked about that at length. Yeah. The second one, again, I think we're contractually obligated to say, is a practical indifference, maybe sometimes dressed as, like, pious agnosticism, like treating the uncertainty of that hour as grounds for some kind of spiritual carelessness rather than heightened attentiveness. So I think where all this wraps up with what you said about one representing all, that, that is the church's responsibility. Yes, you're right. In Timothy we get the command that this is the center and the pillar. So I... That obviously all this coheres with just straight-up biblical [00:37:00] doctrine of assurance and perseverance, because the elect are kept by God's power through faith. So what that means is watchfulness is not some kind of, like, anxious uncertainty about final salvation, but instead it is, like, this disciplined fidelity in the means God has appointed. Ordinary Means Of Grace Jesse Schwamb: And what are those means? Like, I feel like this is where everybody just shouts back, "Ordinary means." You know what I mean? When I say means- ... you say ordinary. Means- Or I should, I should say it the other way around. Ordinary. But this idea that, like, what are those things God has put into our lives, has appointed for us to use, has commanded us to up- obtain for ourselves by his power? It's prayer, it's the word, it's the sacraments. It's a mutual watchfulness within that visible church like you were just describing, and it's precisely because the timing of Christ's return has been sovereignly withheld from creaturely knowledge. So there's actually a lot in this that I think assuages that, that really sensitive Christian conscience, which is like, "Well, are you telling me I have to do more?" That's not what we're saying at all. We're, we're saying, "Do the things which God has empowered you to do." And guess what? Those things [00:38:00] are just very chill, very ordinary things that take on extraordinary influence and power in our lives by the work of the Holy Spirit. So again, it's like this whole thing of saying, like, when we work, we work. When we pray, God works. It's the same kind of thing here. There is work to be done. There is a watchfulness to undertake in all the activities of our lives. But it is not like whatever the, again, the equivalent, like, is of, like, spiritual, I don't know, like shots of espresso and, and Celsius to just try to, like, by all accounts, by your own power, somehow just not sleep. Uh- Yeah ... not sleeping is not what this text is about. It's actually about being aware, worshiping in awareness around all the things, and then devoting ourselves to all the stuff that we keep talking about, to praying, to studies in the scripture, to having family devotions and time of worship, to baptism, and to the Lord's Supper. That's what watchfulness is all about.  Tony Arsenal: Yeah. [00:39:00] Yeah, and I, I think, um, you know, this is again I do think this parable has more to do with the idea of kinda getting after it. I, I think that's how we usually talk about it, like getting after holiness. Yeah, it is. Um, I, I think this parable has more to do with that than some of the other parables with similar language that we've talked about. But I, I also think, um, as Reformed Christians, uh, we get the, we get the cart before the horse if we think that even though that's what it's about, that that somehow places the onus on us to do the good works, right? Right. The good works are prepared for us in advance that we might walk in them. And, uh, i- it's not even right to say, like, our responsibility is to walk in them. That's not even quite right theologically. Like, we are going to walk in them. Like, that's, that's the thing, is the doorkeeper is given this charge. He's commanded to stay awake, and in good Augustinian fashion, it's really more along the [00:40:00] lines es- of the doorkeeper is made to stay awake because he's been commanded to. Jesse Schwamb: Yes, that's right.  Tony Arsenal: And I think that's, that's really key.  Fruit Checking And Assurance Tony Arsenal: And yes, there is some- something to say for, uh, fruit checking. And I, I know that there are probably some in our audience that just, like, threw up in their mouth a little bit when I said that. Um, but the, the reality is, a lack of fruit, uh, i- in our life, and by fruit I'm talking about good works. Primarily I'm talking about the ordinary means of grace, like you said. A, a person who is refusing to avail themselves of the ordinary means of grace, right? Right on. Regular church attendance, prayer- Right ... the sacraments, Bible reading, um, sitting under the preaching of the Word, fellowship with other believers. Um, I would even say to some extent regular s- regular financial support of the Church. Mm-hmm. Um, and, and I... There, there are times where that may not be, uh, the most feasible thing, and so that's a decision between you and the Holy Spirit and for you to discuss with your pastor. [00:41:00] But, but the reality is God has given us these ordinary means of grace as a gift and as a way to nourish and support us. When we refuse to take part in those, and I use the word refuse intentionally, when a person refuses to attend church, for the most part most of us who have had a season where we don't, don't attend church, and I, I had a long season when I was in college where I just didn't attend church. There was no good reason for it. I just didn't do it. And if I'm being really honest, it was 'cause at that time in my life I had some sinful patterns that I didn't wanna face up to, right? That's usually what it boils down to.  Jesse Schwamb: Right.  Tony Arsenal: Um, but for those of us who d- who refuse to, uh, take part and to avail ourselves of the ordinary means of grace, that should really cause us to question our salvation. Not because the ordinary means of grace cause our salvation, but because the ordinary means of grace are exactly as they're called. Exactly. They're the ordinary means by which God delivers His grace to us. So if we're refusing to receive God's grace, it means we're refusing to receive God's grace. And the only people ultimately who are not forgiven are [00:42:00] those who receive to ref- you know, refuse to receive God's grace. So I think this, this passage has more to do with us in an indi- sort of on the individual level, us being actively engaged and partaking in the, uh, the administration of the covenant of grace, to use a more technical term, right? The administration of the covenant of the grace are the visible means of grace. If we refuse to be baptized, if we refuse to partake of the Lord's supper, if we refuse to attend church and to sit under the preaching of the word and to pray, then we are, we are turning down God's offer of grace. That's right. We're taking the gift that He desires to give us, and we're saying, "No thank you." Well, when we phrase it that way, it's a flat rejection of God's grace that we're engaged in.  Church Mission And Readiness Tony Arsenal: But on a, on a sort of like big picture scale I think it has to do also along with these lines that I'm talking about of the Church itself being ready. Well, how does the Church prepare itself for Christ's [00:43:00] return? Again, the ordinary means of grace, right? We prepare ourselves by teaching and ministering, right? C- I think it's Colossians 1:28. If I was on Reformed Forum, I'd have this memorized 'cause it's their, like, theme verse. But, like, equipping every person for the ministry of Christ, equipping every person, making sure every person is, uh, mature and ready. Like, all of those things come together as the primary mission of the Church. And I know this is gonna trigger some people, but, like, evangelism is not the primary mission of the Church. The primary mission of the Church is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, which takes place mostly on the Lord's day. I think all of that, the personal dimension, the corporate dimension, all of that coalesces in this command to be watchful, to stay awake, to be on guard, to s- be about the task, to be in charge of the commands you've been given. All of those different concepts come together in what Christ is talking about here in verse 37 when He says, "I say to you, I say to all, [00:44:00] stay awake." Like- Right ... that's what we're talking about. So it's not as simple as personal piety. It's probably not as complicated as some sort of, like, I don't know, least of these, feed-the-poor schema that happens sometimes. All of that happens. It really is just about the Church being the Church and doing the things the Church does, both on the individual level, but also on the corporate level. Perseverance And Scriptural Warnings Jesse Schwamb: And that's why, as loved ones of God, then we can come to verse 36, which is the full warning, and we actually read it as a great comfort. So it says, "Lest he come suddenly and find you asleep." And after all we're talking about here, the way I read this warning against complacency is entirely consistent with, instead of being contradictory to, the doctrine of perseverance of the saints. Because perseverance is not fatalism, and I'm just... I'm still learning this, loved ones. Like, and even here, what I marvel at is the warnings of scripture are themselves among the ordinary means by which God preserves His people. So I go back to the Westminster [00:45:00] Confession of Faith chapter 17, which notes that, "Believers may, through the temptations of Satan and of the world, fall into grievous sins, and so incur God's displeasure, even while never finally falling from grace." So that sobering possibility of, of quote-unquote being found asleep I think functions pastorally not to threaten the loss of the election, of the elect, but to press home I think, like, the seriousness of watchfulness as the fruit and evidence of genuine faith, which is what you're talking about. That, that's kind of like the Reformed theological jam in a sense, and that's why, where I think we'd anchor like James 2, Hebrews 3 and 4. There is, like, a call of the necessity of perseverance in the means as the mark of the true as opposed to be merely, of course, like some kind of profession of discipleship. The visible church, and we talked about this too, mixed as it is, is here warned that the formal membership in the household is no substitute for actual wakefulness. And so I hope we see that warning as not something [00:46:00] that's like, "Well, you gotta, you gotta check yourself every day 'cause if you just step out of line once, if you fall asleep at any little thing, then it just goes to show you that you weren't serious enough." Instead, it's like you said, Tony, like even the warning itself is proof positive that God will save, that He arrests, that He holds everything firm and secure, and that even the setting of the table or the preparing of the good works and then the way in which you walk in them, we might ask, how is it that you are even walking? Yeah. And so even this is all an act of God, whether we speak about that, uh, that justification, that initial positional sanctification, and even the progressive frame as well is all f- happens here because God is in fact doing that good work. So it's a good warning because it reminds us that what's, I think, the particular and special dispensation of the Christian is that in this falling asleep, as the Westminster Confession says, it may mean that we fall even into grievous sins. We're incurring God's displeasure. We're not disrupting our [00:47:00] identity in Christ, but we are disrupting our harmony with Christ. Yes. And so we always want to seek and to live in that kind of beautiful harmony where there is, I think, obedience for a word. There is a special fellowship that comes from being close to God in this way. We should always strive after that and want that very thing, but at no point does the Christian who even falls into grievous sins, as the Confession reminds us, fall outside of God's mercy and grace. Merely we fall outside of God's pleasure, and we r- we're finally returned to grace by His power in our lives, whi- which He Himself affects so that even in our fall, even in our death every day, there is a little bit of resurrection that restores us. Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  Rapture Ready Misreadings Tony Arsenal: Yeah, another way, um, another way to put this, um, and I, I don't mean to trugger, trig- to trigger, uh, our dispensationalist friends and family who are listening to the show, um, there are I will speak from my own experience coming out of a dispensationalist framework when I was in [00:48:00] high school and early college. Um, there was a lot of focus on being, quote, "Rapture ready." And I, I think sometimes we can read parables like this to think that stay awake means be Rapture ready. And what that means is, like, in some forms of dispensationalism, and I think probably many forms of dispensationalism, there's this idea that, like, if you're not right with God in, in this sense you're talking about, if, like, you're in disharmony with God when the Rapture comes, you may ultimately be saved, but you're not gonna be saved by the Rapture, which means you're gonna have to deal with the tribulation, and that's no good. So, like, if your piety's not on point when the Rapture happens, all your friends are gonna be taken away, and you're gonna be left behind, right? I don't think it's too much of a characteristic- a caricature to talk about Left Behind when there's an entire dispensational book series about this, right? Right. The whole concept behind the Left Behind novel is that it's populated by people who thought they were Christians who weren't. Uh, and some of [00:49:00] those are because they had a false profession of faith. Some of them were just back- what, what a lot of people would just call backslidden Baptists or backslidden Christians who, who had a genuine profession of faith but just weren't living in a holy fashion. I think we can sometimes read this, whether we're dispensationalists or not, we can read these kinds of parables in light of Rapture readiness. I think it's, it's both more assuring and also infinitely more severe than that. Right. It's not about Rapture ready. It's about whether you're saved or not. Right. Whether you are in the kingdom of God, whether you are among the household of believers. All of the people in view in this parable are members of the master's household, right? Uh, they're all his servants. So it's not as though there are some who are, um, outside of his family that are be given, being given a command to be watchful. There's also no consequence implied for the doorkeeper if somehow he's not watchful. It's more along the lines of if you're in the faith, if you are the doorkeeper or a [00:50:00] doorkeeper in the g- in the king's house, then you ought to be watchful because that's what you do. And so there's no, like, implied consequence. There's no assumption that the doorkeeper somehow won't be watchful. So I think if there's any sort of, like, gut check, status check that needs to happen, it's really more along the lines of are we in the Lord's household or are we not? That's right. That's right. And I think that's, that's what you're getting at. If we're in the Lord's household, if we're members of his house, if we're servants in his kingdom, then we will be awake when the time comes. We will be awake when he returns.  Rooster Crow And Passion Echoes Tony Arsenal: And the other thing, and I'll just throw this out there maybe as a tease. I don't, I don't think there's enough here for us to come back to it next week, uh, although I've been wrong before, and sometimes Jesse and I have conversations right after that turn into the next episode. I think it's really interesting- I don't know if you ran into this when you were reading it, but- Yeah ... verse 35: "Therefore stay awake, for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening or at [00:51:00] midnight or when the rooster crows," that's a very interesting phrase to me- It is, yeah ... "or in the morning." It's just another chapter or two when- Yeah ... we see the disciples fall asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane, right? Gethsemane. Um, the disciples fall asleep. We see language of the watches, right? The, the hours that Christ is alive and dies on the cross are associated with the watches. Right. And then of course the rooster crowing. And it's a very well-known, um, uh, I, I don't wanna call it a fact 'cause that might be too strong, but it's a pretty accepted, uh, theory in, in the sort of, uh, academic understanding of the, the authors of the Gospels that Mark, uh, Mark actually represents Peter's testimony. That the sort of a- apostolic imprimatur of the Gospel of Mark is actually that M- John Mark, probably while he was ministering with Peter, was being told these, this account, and he's collecting Peter's, Peter's [00:52:00] statements on the events of the Gospel It is very interesting to me that this phrase about the rooster crowing associated with being watchful and ready in the service of the master- Yep would appear particularly in the gospel that's asso- associated with Peter. Right. And I'll throw that out there just as maybe food for a discussion- ... in our Telegram chat, but I do think e- even that is sort of for our benefit, right? Right. We're not talking about, uh, this isn't a parable about what happens when you betray Jesus and hang yourself with a rope, right? This isn't, this isn't Judas who never was a believer. If we're drawing this peril- parallel, this is a parable about Peter, or related to Peter's experience, uh, who was restored, who ultimately had a moment of sleepiness, I guess, both physically and, you know, spiritually here. Had a moment of, of sleepiness, but ultimately was awake when the master came. That's right. And I think, like, there's something there for us to tease out, and, and again, [00:53:00] maybe we'll leave that for the Telegram chat. Maybe that's just for your own personal study. I've done zero commentary work, so maybe this is a connection that I feel- ... is super novel, but actually everyone else makes. Um, but I just thought it was really interesting how closely that language, that sequence of the watchfulness, the watch, sleepiness, awakefulness, and the rooster crows, how closely that lines up to the events that w- would be if we were going through Mark sequentially- Yep ... we would be encountering in just a couple chapters, right? In just chapter 15. They're coming up. Um, we're talking about this exact thing. So it's very interesting to me, is it... The Holy Spirit is amazing in how He has put together this. Yes. Even if, even if that is a super tenuous connection, it's still a connection. And- Agreed ... I have a tough time thinking anyone who's familiar with the, the passion accounts would read this and not go, "Woo." That's a lot of language from the passion account. It's a lot of- Yes ... language related to what happened in just a few chapters.  Jesse Schwamb: Yes. I'm with you. Like we said, there's so much that's within these couple of verses, and you'd have to think if you were reading this with brand-new eyes, [00:54:00] with eyes that never seen this text before, and you were just going straight through, you'd come in just a few short chapters to that whole narrative in Gethsemane and be like, "What? Did he, didn't he just, didn't this guy Jesus just say to them- Like be watchful, stay awake. And here they're... Isn't that ironic? Here they are in the garden, and he said- Yeah ... to them again, "Stay awake." They fall asleep. He comes back, he's like, "Could you not watch for one

Coming to Jerusalem, Jesus famously enters but with a certain anticlimax. Then we take part of a Markan sandwich and see if that helps make sense of cleansing temples and cursing fig trees. Read Mark 11:1-19 and thanks for listening! 

In their 500th episode, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb celebrate a decade of The Reformed Brotherhood by diving into one of Scripture's most overlooked parables — the Parable of the Growing Seed in Mark 4:26–29. Exclusive to Mark's Gospel, this four-verse passage packs a theological punch that is, as Tony and Jesse argue, unmistakably Reformed in its emphasis. The man scatters seed, goes about his life, and the earth produces — by itself — without his understanding or intervention. From this, the hosts draw out rich implications for evangelism, sanctification, ecclesiology, and eschatology. They argue that the kingdom of God advances by divine power alone, hidden from human sight, moving toward a certain consummation. The episode pairs deep theological reflection with the hosts' characteristic warmth, humor, and 10 years' worth of shared history. Key Takeaways Monergism is embedded in the parable itself. The growth of the seed is entirely God's doing. The man scatters and rests; the earth produces by itself — a picture of divine sovereignty that requires no human management or comprehension. The evangelist's only obligation is to scatter. This parable relieves believers of the anxious burden of producing spiritual fruit. Faithfulness in proclamation is the call; growth belongs to God. Sanctification is gradual, hidden, and God's work. The progression — blade, ear, full grain — mirrors the believer's sanctification, which proceeds by degrees imperceptible to the individual yet certain in God's design. The Kingdom of God is not dependent on any individual. Whether it's a ministry leader, a financial contributor, or a worship musician, no single human agent is load-bearing for the advance of God's kingdom. Primary and secondary causation work together without contradiction. God uses means — the farmer still sows, the earth still functions — but the means are instrumental, not efficient causes. God's providence encompasses and exceeds them. The harvest belongs to God, not the evangelist. Just as the man did not direct the growth, he is not the agent ultimately putting in the sickle. The consummation of the kingdom occurs in God's time and by God's initiative. This parable resists reduction. It cannot be flattened into a simple evangelism lesson or a single eschatological statement. It holds together personal sanctification, corporate ecclesiology, and cosmic eschatology within four verses. Key Concepts The Earth Produces By Itself: Monergism in the Parable The theological center of this parable is the Greek word automate — the earth produces "by itself," without external compulsion or human assistance. Tony and Jesse argue this is not incidental language but the thesis of the entire passage. The farmer is genuinely active — he scatters the seed — but his agency recedes almost immediately from view. He doesn't monitor the soil, apply nutrients, or trace the growth. He simply lives his life. This picture coheres precisely with the Reformed doctrine of monergism: that in regeneration and kingdom growth alike, the decisive cause lies entirely outside human capacity. As Jesse puts it, the mechanism of growth "belongs to God alone." The farmer's ignorance is not a failure — it is the point. We are not meant to understand the how; we are meant to trust the Who. Scatter, Then Rest: A Theology of Evangelism Without Anxiety One of the episode's most practically rich applications concerns the posture believers are called to adopt in evangelism. Tony observes that this parable is rarely preached as an encouragement to evangelists, yet that is precisely what it is. The sower's only active verb is scattering. After that, he sleeps and rises — the rhythms of ordinary life — while God does the work that no human strategy, method, or persistence can accomplish. This directly addresses what Tony calls the "anxiety around trying to ensure some sort of production." The Reformed vision of evangelism is not passive indifference but liberated faithfulness: scatter the seed of the gospel without bearing the impossible weight of manufactured outcomes. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:6–7, "Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." Blade, Then Ear, Then Grain: The Patience of Providence The threefold progression Jesus describes — blade, then ear, then full grain — is not decorative agricultural detail. It is a theological statement about the character of God's work in the world and in the soul. Growth is gradual, ordered, and unhurried. Jesse draws the direct application to sanctification: the believer cannot fully trace the work of grace in his own heart, yet it is real and it is God's doing. This ought to produce, as Jesse summarizes, "patient confidence rather than human striving or anxiety." The church, too, matures through stages. Neither impatience with slowness nor despair at imperceptibility is warranted — both misread the nature of divine providence. God is not behind schedule. He is, as always, working through means, in His time, toward a consummation He has already appointed. Memorable Quotes The earth produces by itself — we might even say the kingdom of God produces by itself. It's not dependent on anything except God's sovereign will and his sovereignty to execute all that he desires. - Tony Arsenal The mechanism of growth is strangely hidden from the human agent, and it belongs to God alone. - Jesse Schwamb The kingdom of God advances by God's own hidden power toward a certain appointed consummation — and this ought to produce patient confidence rather than human striving or anxiety. - Jesse Schwamb Full Transcript Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to the 10th Pentacost episode of the [00:01:00] Reformed Brotherhood. It's number 500. I'm Jesse Tony Arsenal: and I'm Tony, and this is the podcast that's been going for 10 years. Hey, brother.  Jesse Schwamb: Hey, brother. A happy 500th episode to you.  Tony Arsenal: I know, man. It's kinda crazy. It's kinda crazy, and we're not gonna do anything special 'cause we don't do that, but it is crazy that this is the 500th episode. That's a lot of podcasting.  Jesse Schwamb: It's absolutely wild.  Podcast Memories And Mishaps Jesse Schwamb: And as with any milestone, as I was thinking about this one occurring, it did draw my mind to all the crazy things that have happened on this podcast, some known, some unknown. Of course, there is the very infamous time that I spilled a whole bottle of kombucha on the desk while we were recording, but everybody knows about that. But I was, I was also thinking about the, the lesser-known ones, like the time you and I sat in the downstairs church, like so close to each other on the same side of the table- Yeah ... to record a episode, or the time [00:02:00] that a tow truck showed up while we were recording and I had to go run out and direct the tow truck 'cause I'd called it for the car. Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  Jesse Schwamb: And you paused the episode so that we could go do that, or the time that we had our favorite Lutherans on the podcast in what I think was, like, the hottest environment, and I just remember the sweat trickling down Chad Bird's beard. Like, like, like air being- Like the oil gloss ... mixed with oil. Yeah. It was so hot. So those are the ones that come to my mind. I don't know if there are any ones that come to you. We- we've had some great episodes, and by the way, they all live out for free in the world on reformedbrotherhood.com. So don't take our word for it. You can go all the way back to the beginning if you really want to, and you can hear this incredible journey that God has had us on these some 10 years. So I'm curious, like, do any episodes, topics, conversations, weird things come to your mind after all this time?  Tony Arsenal: Uh, the one I remember is when we recorded with Dad and we were waiting for the snow, the [00:03:00]snowplow- ... and we had to, like, wrap the episode up real quick because the snowplow was there and we had to go move cars. That's right. So there's been a fair amount of episodes where it's like something has interrupted us and we need to just get it over with real quick. That's right. Um, hopefully the listener doesn't hear that too much.  Patreon Support Check In Tony Arsenal: The other thing I was thinking about, you know, just as we're kinda thinking about the back catalog, we're not great at this. Uh, we tend to do our, what, what's they call the call to action. The experts call it the call to action. We do it at the very end of our podcast episodes, which is the worst place to do it. Uh, but we're gonna try to land it in the beginning here. So we, we've been supported by a number of, of people, uh, for basically the entire podcast. I don't remember exactly how early on it was that we started doing Patreon, but it's, it's been a long time. And what I noticed the other day, I went in to, to check on a couple things and make sure everything was working the way it's supposed to. There was some, like, account merge I had to do, and I've noticed that several people who've been supporting us, um, pretty much since the beginning- have their accounts listed in a declined status. [00:04:00] And what that means is that their, probably their credit card that they use, uh, has expired, and so now they're not, no longer supporting the show even though they think they are. So if you are a person who believes you're supporting the show, particularly if you've been supporting the show for a long time, and you wanna continue to support the show, uh, we would really appreciate if you took a minute to go into your Patreon account, double-check that the, you know, that you've been, um, contributing for the last couple months. Uh, double-check that the credit card you have on file is not, uh, expired or suspended or anything like that. Um, again, if you've made a decision that it's time to stop, uh, stop the show, or if this is the point where you realize, "I don't care enough to re-support to the show," um, that's fine. We love you. We've appreciated your support. We hope you keep listening. Uh, but if you do wanna continue to contribute, please do check that. And if you've never taken a chance to think through whether or not you want to support the show, uh, Jesse and I are so thankful for all the support we have.  Jesse Schwamb: Yes.  Tony Arsenal: Uh, but things are getting more expensive, and, um, you know, that's, that's [00:05:00] just a reality for all of us, and that includes things like podcasting hosting fees. Um, the cost of our, our editing software that we use has gone up. That's a subscription. Uh, the cost of hosting space has gone up. Um, all of that, uh, all of that has gone up, and so even though we've had steady supporters, it's kinda like we have lost supporters, um, financially because the money doesn't go quite as far. So if you've ever thought, "Maybe I should, uh, maybe I should contribute to the podcast," please do think about it. Even if just, uh, half of our audience went in and contributed $1 a month, um, that would be a substantial amount. That would really help us to keep the podcast going. And there's actually a number of projects and things Jesse have I, and I have wanted to do, um, that we would love to be able to, you know, to take a step on. Uh, we just don't have funding to do it, uh- Right ... because the funding we have is enough to keep the podcast going but not enough to stretch to something else. So I don't wanna, like, preload that too much, 'cause who knows if it's gonna happen, but there's some things that we wanna do [00:06:00] that would involve a little bit of upfront capital that we would need- Right to get some contrib- contributions on. So please do consider that. We appreciate you so much if you've been a supporter. We appreciate you so much if you've even considered it. Uh, and we appreciate you so much just for listening, uh, especially- Yes ... if you've been with us, you know, this is episode 500. That's a lot of podcasting- Yeah, it is ... directly in your ear hole. So thank you so much for that.  Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, we're so grateful.  Why We Keep Doing This Jesse Schwamb: It's fun just to think how many episodes we recorded, but also how many interesting conversations and topics, all the inside jokes. It really is a community. That's in part why we started this, is to sit down together and to bring other brothers and sisters into the fray, as it were, or maybe to bring us into your fray a little bit and to encourage and edify the church, the brothers and sisters, the saints around the world. And it is an around the world kinda podcast, which is remarkable too. So- Yes ... we're just gonna keep being here. As long as the Lord tarries and He allows us to do this, we'll just keep doing it. And again, we've recorded in closets, in cars on the way to things. We've done it at [00:07:00] the beach, and we've done it in cold environs, and we've done it in hot environs. And you're right, you reminded me of that time where we were desperately waiting as we were getting snowed in for the plow to come. And then it was all hands on deck, and we just dropped the recording equipment and said, "We gotta get out of here." And more often than not, the p- joy of this podcast is it just kinda finds its way into our normal rhythm of life. But it- Yeah ... comes out of our life, and out of a life that's been transformed by Christ. And so that's really what we come back to.  Mark Only Parable Preview Jesse Schwamb: In fact, that's the whole thing that we're in right now. We're going through all these parables. And this episode, we can't stop, won't stop. We're gonna continue to hit you with the content that we love, which is talking about Jesus. And so we're in one of the few... Well, it's a Markan parable that only appears in Mark. That's why I called it Markan, I guess. So extra bonus points to you, that's both extra and bonus, if you know which one it is before I say it. But there's a lot for us to talk about- ... because we're getting into this really, really short little story, but it's really chock-full, of course, as Jesus likes to do with all [00:08:00] kinds of spiritual truth. It's about a farmer chucking a seed on the ground, and then he goes about his business. He eats, he sleeps, he binge-watches the Jane equivalent of Netflix. He sleeps again, he wakes up. And while he does this, the seed is doing entirely its own thing without his help or understanding. He didn't make it grow. He can't explain how it grows. He just shows up at the end with a sickle to collect what God has already finished. Man, if there isn't a Reformed theological parable, I don't know what one is. Yeah. So we're gonna get to all of that on this 500th episode. I mean, it's something to be saying that even the US is only 250 years old, and- we've already recorded twice as many podcasts as there are years of experience in the US. But besides all of that, it wouldn't be- It's like- ... Reformed Brotherhood-  Tony Arsenal: I don't know if you've seen this. That reminds me of those things online where it's like, like, "Elon Musk is a billi- is a trillionaire. That means he could give every person on earth $1 billion- Oh, yeah and still would be a multi-billionaire." And you're like, "That's, that's not mathematically true." 'Cause when [00:09:00]you said that, I was like, "You mean the podcast is older than the country?"  Jesse Schwamb: Oh, math. I have a feeling we're gonna come back to that. Oh, math.  Tony Arsenal: Oh, math.  Affirm Or Deny Segment Jesse Schwamb: Now, of course, if you listen for any length of time, you know it wouldn't be an episode if we didn't have a time of affirming with or denying against. Of course, that is that time where we pick something that we like, we think everybody should be a part of, that we wanna recommend, and we affirm with it. Or on the opposite, instead we say, "We deny against this thing because it's just no good." So Tony, on this 500th episode, I'm just gonna keep saying it over and over again, so lest the listeners forget, what are you affirming with or denying against? Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  Scammer Payback Recommendation Tony Arsenal: I'm affirming, um, a little YouTube channel that I found. Uh, it takes a little bit of setup to explain it, but the, the channel is called Scammer Payback. Ooh. Um, and it's, it's a... I think most people have probably seen, like, the Gene Fieith- Gene Veith, um, like, where he, he gets a, some sort of scammer on the phone, and he sorta just, like, [00:10:00] trolls them and makes, kinda makes them sound dumb and, you know, pretends to play along just to see how long he can keep them on the phone. Those are really funny. These are funny, but they're on a whole different level of seriousness, which is a weird sentence. Um, basically what this is is a group of professional hackers, um, and there's, this is a serious kinda sting operation they have going. They don't use their real names on the channel. Um, there's one, there's one, um, where they interview, like, a social, um, a social engineer whose job is to... Her- she is a person who basically, uh, does social hacking, and she helps companies who, who their security people think, like, their executives are, um, susceptible to social engineering, social hacking. She'll actually call and, like, mess around with the CEOs and socially hack them. Um, they interviewed her, and the first thing she said when she sat down was the person she was talking to's first name, and the guy was just stunned. He's like, "I- we- we've never used my first name on the channel before." So they're very serious, and what they do is they identify [00:11:00] a scam or a g- usually a group of scammers, and they'll actually hack into and infiltrate the computer systems that they're using. And so they show you everything that they're doing. Um, they're, they're explaining the scam and how it's run. Um, and a lot of times they're actually actively intervening in, uh, in a scam, trying to stop a scam that's in progress because somebody is about to lose a lot of money. I mean, I think one of the things that's important about this is our audience, you know, mostly, mostly guys probably, like, age, I don't know, late 20s, early 30s, maybe early 40s, we kind of grew up and lived, lived in a world most of our adult lives or all of our adult lives where, like, fishing schemes and other kinds of, like, um, data s- data theft, like, that was just in the air. It was just normal. So we're... It's not like we're immune to it, but we're used to it, and we're ready for it, and we're looking for it. That means that most of us have parents that are in a generation who are particularly susceptible to this. [00:12:00] So I think it would be worth, worth people's time to take a look at this, uh, just as a educational piece, and then, yes, share it with your family members who are in this era. People get taken for a ton of money. Yeah. The reason that these older generation sort of bu- builder Boomer generations are targeted is not just because they're somewhat soft targets, but they also have the money. Um, most of, most of the wealth in our country is possessed by people in that generation. It's just an economic fact in a lot of places and a lot of areas, and so that's why they're targeted. So take a little bit of time, watch the show. It's... And it's entertaining. It's really well produced. It's funny. These are non-Christians, you know, who are, are being non-Christian, so there's a fair amount of salty language, especially when they're interacting directly with the scammers that they absolutely hate. Um, but it's, it's worth watching. And, and it... I think it'll... I think it's entertaining. Most of the time it's like a 15-minute video, so it's not too much of your time. Pop that on two times [00:13:00] speed on YouTube and, and you're all set.  Jesse Schwamb: And when you say salty you're not talking about Salty the Singing Songbook, right? Tony Arsenal: Correct. Yeah. Not P-S-A-L-T-Y. S-A-L-T-Y.  Jesse Schwamb: Just in case. I wouldn't want any of the loved ones to go and just be waiting for Salty to show up, like, in the mid- Which would be kind of epic in the midst of this, like, scamming shutdown, the sting operation. Like, Salty s- pops up and starts singing about restorative justice and- Yeah what it means that God restores all things. I mean, that would have a good place in this, but I just want that just to be clear. We don't, we don't want anybody to, to at us on that.  Tony Arsenal: Yeah, for sure. Well, Jesse, what are you affirming or denying tonight?  Jesse Loves Algebra Jesse Schwamb: I'm going to return to that beautiful intro you gave about mathematics and the whole Elon Musk thing. And so my affirmation is simply, like, just do... Just enjoy all the math you can. Use all the math that you know. So my wife and I were watching some kind of program on YouTube, and it was a program in which there are a couple [00:14:00]people competing in this kind of escape room situation, and as escape rooms are want to do, there came some kind of small math problem. And it goes something like this, is the best I can remember it. It was what number between one and nine when it is tripled and five is added to it is the same as that number being doubled and having one added to it? Now, as soon as that problem was read, we were watching intently, and I turned to my wife and I said, "Why do they need to say it's between, like, one and nine?" And she goes, "Well, how else would they know what the number was?" And I was like, "Well, like, this is a beautiful little algebra thing, like se- series of equations. Like, you have two equations here." And she's like... Just gave me a blank look. So I was like, "Oh, man." So she's like, "Okay. Do it then. Do it." So I was like, "Give me a piece of paper." So I, I was just like, this is gonna be such a beautiful thing. So I was like, "All this is, is, like, it's basically 3x minus five equals 2x plus one. You're solving for whatever this missing number is, and they've given you this beautiful setup, [00:15:00] which you rarely get in real life, but this beautiful setup is a system of equations. We have two things you know are gonna turn out to be the same. They've just been said in different ways, and that allows you enough space to figure out how to solve for them using a little bit of algebra." So I realized then this is why they said between one and nine, because the contestants then proceeded just to iteratively pick numbers until they found the answer, which is not a bad way. Like, that's a way to use, like, all the math you have. Certainly, that's a way. But I showed her how it was like, this is the answer, six, and you don't even need to know where to start because you don't need to start anywhere. You can actually figure this out. Still not really impressed. And then she said something to me that just, like, kind of rocked my world. I said, like, "Well, I'm sure this is familiar to, with, to you." And she's like, "Oh, yeah. Like, I learned algebra." And she goes, "Yeah, I, I know algebra. I just don't do it anymore. I just don't use it anymore." And I was like What, what I heard was, like, basically her saying to me, "I used to brush my teeth, but I just don't do it [00:16:00] anymore." 'Cause I was like, "This is such a beautiful thing." So then I got it in my head, well, well here's the problem. It's just a matter of seeing the results. So I was like, "Well, here's the amazing thing is yes, these are abstract concepts. Yes, it's like each of those is a function. It's, it's a representation of what he just said in the problem. But," and this is my grave mistake, Tony. But I was like, "Really, Descartes showed us that we can think about these not as abstractions, but we can plot them geometrically as lines on a Cartesian plane." And so I was like, "Really we can show that these are two lines and they have a relationship together." And then I was like, "Guess where they intersect? Guess where they intersect?" And she's like, "I w- that's impossible to even know. I have no idea where they intersect." I was like, "No, no. Just, just based on what we're saying, the beauty of this is they have a relationship. They're gonna come together at some point, like you and I in life. They're gonna, they're gonna come together. Guess where that would be?" And she's like, "That would be impossible to know." And I was like, "It's not, actually." So I showed her that, you know, left and right, up and down, X and Y, however you wanna speak [00:17:00] about it, those two lines are gonna intersect, at least on the X. The X spot is gonna be the number six. It's the same thing. Still nothing. So after all of that, I just appreciate my wife is such a brilliant lady, that she just doesn't need algebra. She goes through life just, like, crushing problems without... Like, because she'd like to do it, I think, just the, the more challenging, difficult, iterative way. And, uh, she doesn't use algebra anymore. Just no need for it. So in many ways I respect that. In other ways, again, the affirmation is like, use all the math you have available to you because it's a beautiful thing. I think basically at the end of that I ended up in, like, a very supreme place of doxology, and my wife was like, "Can we just go back to watching TV now?" So but I, I have to say, like, and I, I know you, you share my appreciation for math and stuff like this. Like, it's not even just puzzles. It's just the beauty that, like, we can do this, and that there's such a created order, like a supremely created order, that these rules of ma- mathematics aren't just impounded. They're like the fabric in which God has, [00:18:00] has basically woven all of reality such that we can do this kind of thing, and that even a simple problem in escape room can lead us to appreciate how intensely ordered and beautiful the world is, that we can go after knowledge and solve for explicit things that seem abstract beyond our comprehension and reason to begin with, but have been brought to a place we might understand them. That is, like, an insanely glorious thing to me. So algebra is great, loved ones. I've recommended before, but the side affirmation is go to Khan Academy if you wanna brush up on your algebra skills. I think algebra is, like, some of the most beautiful and intensely practical math ever. I love calculus, but calculus you don't get a lot of, like, use. You can use algebra to solve all kinds of things, whether it's like tips or... Like, it's gonna save you so much time. If you're ever in escape room, I'm just telling you, do not do this iteratively. Just get the, your system of equations down, and you will be, like, tearing out of that room, and then you'll look like a hero. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah.  Math In Everyday Life Tony Arsenal: I mean, I think, like, even the f- even the, the... How do I wanna say this delicately? Uh, [00:19:00] even the idea that we, quote, "don't use algebra" means people don't actually understand that we're using algebra all the  Jesse Schwamb: time.  Tony Arsenal: Exactly. Right. Like, I could buy I don't use calculus or I don't use trigonometry- Right or even I don't use geometry. Um, but to say I don't use algebra, like just basic. I mean, I know like basic equations are, I guess, technically arithmetic, but like how many times does someone have to, have to go, "All right, the tip, the, the bill is X number of dollars. The bill is-" Right ..."$100, and I wanna give a 15% tip, so what's the outcome?" Like, that's an algebraic equation, right? That's right. Um, or a more, I think a more common one would be like, "All right, the bill is this amount. I want my, uh, my final amount that I give billed to me to be an even number."  Jesse Schwamb: Right. " Tony Arsenal: And I also want to give at least 15%, 20%, whatever percent, so what's the number I need to use in order to get to a bill that is, or a [00:20:00] tip that is both 15% or higher and results..." Like, all of those things are algebraic equations.  Jesse Schwamb: Yes.  Tony Arsenal: So I think, yeah. I mean, even like, "I need to get to work by such and such a time. What time do I need to leave?" Right. "I know it takes-" Exactly. "... a certain amount of time." Right. So I think we, we all use algebra a lot more than we, we probably realize, and I think you're right. Like, when people say, "Well, I don't use my math anymore," what they're saying is like, "I don't use, I don't use the stuff that I had to show my work on anymore." Right. "I don't use the stuff that I have to do on paper anymore." But, um, it's funny, we had a, a conversation, by the way, Reformed Tele- Reformed Brotherhood Telegram chat is a thing. Uh, we had a conversation in the Reformed Brotherhood Telegram chat a little while ago. One of our members was trying to figure out some sort of, like- And it was a problem having to do with like a, an air conditioning throttle or whatever it's called. Some sort of like programming in an air conditioner. And we went through it, we figured out that one of the like relatively complex parts of the equation that he was trying to figure out actually no matter what values you [00:21:00] put in, uh, equated to one. And then the other one was like it was ti- and then it was times one. So it was like whatever you put in ended up to that times one was the rest of the equation. It was like a huge, or like a relatively large equation that resolved down to one. So it was like you're trying to figure out all this complicated math and really like that entire, uh, that entire complicated equation was doing nothing in the rest of the equation. Nice. It was doing absolutely nothing. Um, so we were able to sort of like figure out, all right, well now all we need to do is figure out what, what this relationship does. Right. Um, and even something like in that particular situation, there were some values that the equation couldn't possibly balance. Which again, you could plot that on a graph and see like there's a spot... I don't, I'm, I'm making this up, but I think this is probably not wrong. There's a spot where it's like this is a parabolic equation, and so at some point the parable, or the par- parable, I didn't even mean to do that. There we go. At some point the [00:22:00] parabola goes back up, and so like there is no point- Right ... when it reaches this number. So values that would be in that, in that zone or in that range- Right ... they, they don't work in the equation. So yeah, I think math, uh, algebra is, uh, you know, basic arithmetic obviously is, is relatively straightforward. Algebra's probably the most simple, uh, form of math that your average person uses on a regular basis.  Jesse Schwamb: For sure.  Trigonometry And Design Tony Arsenal: But it's funny, I remember the first time, um, the very first time that I realized trigonometry was not just some abstract thing that we would never use. And it's so funny, 'cause it's like the nerdiest, the nerdiest example. I was playing a tabletop RPG with my friends, we were in high school, and we were, we were learning trigonometry at the time. I was playing a tabletop RPG, and we were trying to figure out- Um, it was a, it was like a futuristic tabletop RPG, so we were using like, like laser guns or something like that that have a certain range. And we were trying to figure out if the thing that was flying in the air from us was within range or not.  Jesse Schwamb: Nice.  Tony Arsenal: And what we realized [00:23:00] is that's just a quadratic equation, right? Right, it is. I just need to calculate. I know how far away it is from me in a straight line, I know how high in the air it is, so I need to just- Right now I need to... Or not, not the quadratic. That's Pythagoras' theorem, right? Yep. I need to calculate the Pythag- or the, um, the hypotenuse.  Jesse Schwamb: I'm with you. I  Tony Arsenal: knew where you were going. Yeah. So, like, I remember distinctly, I, I mean, I remember where I was sitting in my friend's basement going, "Oh, my goodness, trigonometry actually has a practical application here." Um, you know, whether that's figuring out how much rope I need to be able to, to attach to a tree and still be able... Like, all of these different things ultimately are math, and, or as the, the Brits say, are maths. And, uh, the, it, it's just a beautiful thing. And I think you're right, like, this is evidence that the universe has a structure- And a designer because- Right you can describe the universe using this- Nice ... sort of universal numerical language that, um, in, for the most part, describes everything we can [00:24:00] see. I mean, obviously, like, they're still learning things. They're still figuring things out. But what we can see with our senses, we can also describe with math on some level. Even something like the colors that we see can be reduced to a, a number, a frequency, a wavelength. So yeah, I'm with you. Use your algebra. Find ways to use it.  Jesse Schwamb: Use it. It's the... I like what you said, that we're using it. We just don't realize it. There's a spiritual lesson in there, I think, as well, that it's, it's present all around us, and it's... I like what you said. It's, like, the, the most, like, grabbable. It's the thing that's pretty easy to grasp, yet has, like, some beautiful outworkings that are super complex. All the time I love to, like, mess with people, even people who are, like, say, like, "Oh, I'm not into math." I'm like, "That's okay." Like, it's... You're, you're living in a mathematical world, and you're certainly using it, but that, that's okay.  Imaginary Numbers Wonder Jesse Schwamb: But like, sometimes I'll just say to somebody, like, "How do you know, like actually know that, like a negative number times a negative number is a positive number?" Like, who came up with that, and how do you know? And why are we just trusting him? Why can't somebody just say, "You know what? For me, it's not. I'm gonna make that a [00:25:00] negative number"? And w- the reason is because algebra provides... There's a lot of proofs, but algebra provides the most simple, beautiful proof. And then once you, once you basically contravene that law, like, everything falls apart. I- it's... And the question we should be asking is why does everything fall apart if we contravene one simple law, wh- which is two negative numbers multiplied, the product of them has to be, must be, is always a positive number. And that's, like, not even getting into, like, the more crazy things. Like, everybody should go look up, like, what imaginary numbers are. That will kind of mess with your mind, but then we found ways to use imaginary numbers, which are exactly what they sound like- Yeah ... to solve, like, incredible problems. Where does that come from? It comes from the Lord. It comes from God's, like, creative ability that He's placed in mankind to go after and to take a dominion over the knowledge and the creative order in such a complex and creative way. It mimics and mirrors the creativity of our Heavenly Father, and it is altogether beautiful. So on this- Yeah ... 500 episode that has a lot of numbers associated with it, I [00:26:00] say go love the numbers. Go enjoy them. Wherever you are in life, whatever your enjoyment of math is, big or small, go try to find some way to enjoy it today. Tony Arsenal: Can I, can I throw in a, a weird relevant sub-affirmation to your affirmation? I  Jesse Schwamb: mean, please.  Tony Arsenal: This is our show, so I'll do what I want to. You can do what you want. First, when you say we live in a mathematical world, all I could think of was some Perry song of Material Girl. Material  Jesse Schwamb: World?  Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  Odd Squad Math Tony Arsenal: I am a mathematical boy, and I live in a ma- Anyway, um, there is a show that I watch with August, my son, who is almost five. Uh, he'll be five in March. And, um, it's called Odd Squad. And what Odd Squad is, is it's a sort of a s- like a spy-themed kids show with a touch of like, uh, almost like Twilight Zone. Like, there's so- It's they manage odd. Like, they're the Odd Squad because they, they respond to odd emergencies, so it's a lot of like weird monsters and aliens and like time travel paradoxes and strange stuff. But the answer [00:27:00] to the problem is always related somehow to a math principle. So they will talk about how like multiplication is just addition like many times over.  Jesse Schwamb: Sure.  Tony Arsenal: And that's actually why multiplying a negative number times a negative number is a positive number or, you know, like, or multiplying by a negative number is a negative number, right? And that's because like really what you're doing if you multiply two, uh, two times negative three is you're subjecting, you're subtracting two from two from two, which gives you, you know- Right ... a negative number. So it's, it's not, uh, it, it's for kids, but I actually have realized that I understand math better- because of watching the show.  Jesse Schwamb: I  Tony Arsenal: love it. And it's because they break it down in, you know, the, the audience- Yes ... the target audience is a little bit older than August. I think the target audience is probably like six to seven, maybe eight years old. Um, and so they're talking about math principles geared towards those groups. But they'll talk about things like [00:28:00] using a number line to be able to understand math, and so like visualizing it. Or they'll talk about how multiplication is really just groups of things. So yeah, check it out.  Why Math Matters Tony Arsenal: And again- Algebra is probably the most, uh, easy to grab of the disciplines, but that's because that's the one we are using every day all the time. Tony Arsenal: And we don't realize it. But again, like, calculus is a beautiful, a beautiful thing. Um, and there are some amazing things that exist in the world that can really only be understood and described in a certain sense by something like calculus or trigonometry. Um, my favorite, I, I wish I had, like, kept it up, but one of my favorites is geometry 'cause I think a lot of it is, that's, like, the closest to puzzles. Yes. Um, uh, so, like, I, I used to love doing proofs and axioms and stuff. So, and then of course logic is technically related to math. It's a related discipline to math- It is ... in that it, it's, it's actually, like, the language that underlies a lot of the mathematics is [00:29:00] logical formulas. So it's all relevant. It's all beautiful. It all describes God's creation, and it all redounds to His glory.  Jesse Schwamb: You got that right.  Mark Growing Seed Jesse Schwamb: And speaking of both His creation and His glory, and Jesus teaching of both of those things, we are, as we promised, hanging out in the Book of Mark, and we've got just four sentences. And what I love about this parable that we're about to read is it fits in so perfectly with something I think you and I have been saying from the very beginning, which is it's tempting when we think about the parables to consider, like, a single element or to distill them down to, like, a single word and say, "We hear the kingdom of God is this thing, this noun, this object, this person." But instead, the case we've been making is it's actually generally a series of verbs, or in this case, it's the whole four verses that Jesus is gonna give to us here. So let me just read Mark 4:26-29. That's all it is, loved ones. And it's a good thing because we're already knee-deep into this 500th episode. So this goes by various names. I've heard it called, [00:30:00] like, the Parable of the Growing Seed, or sometimes people call it, like, the Parable of the, The Secret Seed. I'm not sure that's really secret, but I suppose the increase is secret in a way, and that's really what Jesus is communicating to us in these verses. So Mark 4:26: "And Jesus was saying, 'The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil, and he sleeps and he rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, how he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself, first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, he immediately puts in the sickle because the harvest has come.'" Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, this is, um, an interesting parable, and I'll be the first to admit, like, when you said, "Well, why don't we do the king- the parable of the growth next?" I was like, "I don't actually know what Jesse's talking about." So if you're in the same boat as I am and [00:31:00] you, uh, you are like, "Wait, there's the... This is a parable? Like, this exists in the Bible?" Um, you're not alone, and I think part of the reason is that, one, it's so short, but it also sort of, like, connects into the next parable thematically. I don't know necessarily- Hmm ... about the content and the meaning, but thematically it sort of blends into the next parable, which is the parab- Mark's version of, um, of the parable of the mustard seed. So it's, it's hard to delineate unless you're really thinking about it, but I'm glad that we're talking about it because I think this is probably one of those parables that doesn't get a lot of attention because it's so short and because it is, um, it is sort of thematically in a spot where I think it does sort of, I don't know, like seep into the next- Right parable.  Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, there's a tendency because you're right, it's sandwiched between the Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Mustard Seed, both of which we've talked about from Matthew's perspective, that it seems like maybe the theme is redundant, but [00:32:00] it is altogether different with the emphasis. Uh, there, it's true I guess that all three of these parables are addressing that same underlying question the disciples in the early church were asking, which is, if Jesus truly inaugurates the Kingdom of God, then why does it seem so impressive? Why is it so slow or hidden in contrast to all the expectations that the Jews had for what they thought would be this dramatic, immediately visible rain? And so I like that there is a lot said within four verses. And again, from our perspective, this thing seems so distinctly reformed in its under- Yeah of course the whole Bible is that way, but maybe nothing more so than this, especially because we'll get to it, but the center of this parable being, and there's various translations, that this guy doesn't even know. He doesn't understand. He's totally ignorant to what is going on, and isn't that... I, I mean, I can only speak for my own test- that's the story of my life, uh, spiritually and otherwise. That again, if you wanna talk about God doing all the verbs, I guess Mark had it first. I thought maybe I coined that, but [00:33:00] turns out that Mark, well, actually Jesus, the Son of God himself, says it best here. So let, let's get into this because the beautiful thing is you and I can handle theoretically in the time allotted here, like three or four verses. That, that's theoretically possible for us to do, but we, we're only gonna h- see how far it goes. Um-  Tony Arsenal: Yeah ...  Hidden Kingdom Growth Jesse Schwamb: I think the first thing to say here is that we get that beautiful characteristic, like formula, like the controlling paradigm. It's that Kingdom of God again. And a- as I kinda set up, it's the Kingdom of God, though, launched into a bunch of, uh, verbs. Uh, this idea of like him casting, and then him sleeping, and then him waiting, and then him getting up, and then the growth happens, and then he comes again at the end, this character, this farmer, into kind of the consummation of that kingdom. And I think there's a lot here that's maybe to explain that tension. The kingdom is real and active. It's irresistibly moving towards some kind of fixed end, but it does not appear in its final glory, and that is something you kind of get with the other two parables. [00:34:00] But here it's just like so lovely. It's right in front of you. That, that's like the whole emphasis and thrust of what Jesus seems to be saying in this. Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and I think this one's interesting because, you know, generally in the parables, at least in, in... I, I would have to do a little bit more study to know if this is, like, distinctly Markan or whatnot. But in the, the, um, Matthew's parables, um, or Christ's parables reported in Matthew, um, primarily the main figure of the parable is, uh, is generally is God or, or more specifically is often Jesus himself. Jesse Schwamb: Right.  Tony Arsenal: Right? But in this parable, it wouldn't make sense for us to say that somehow g- you know, God or Jesus scatters seed, and then He doesn't know that it sprouts. Right. Right? So, so the, the parable implies that the one scattering seed, and again, we don't wanna over-interpret parables. Generally speaking, parables are teaching kind of a principle of some sort, a comparison of some sort, not, it's not an allegory. [00:35:00] In, in most cases it's not an allegory where each element has a direct representation of some sort. But it wouldn't make sense for this to be talking about God's perspective on scattering or Christ's perspective on scattering, 'cause obviously God and Jesus, even, even if we're talking about Jesus according to His humanity, um, has some sort of awareness of the workings of the Kingdom of God that is not the ignorance that the parable here seems- Right to present of the one scattering.  Scatter Then Rest Tony Arsenal: So I, I really do think this parable has more to say to us about- Our own perspectives on evangelism and on how the Kingdom of God will propagate. And I think, um, both in terms of, like, evangelism, there's an element here, an encouraging element of, you know, all your s- your job... And what's really funny is I, I don't recall this parable being used in my experience to sort of [00:36:00] encourage people that all, your own, your job is just to scatter. You don't need to worry about the growth. Mm-hmm. There's a, there's a passage in Paul about one person scatters, one person waters, and God brings the growth that is often used to sort of say, like, it's not your responsibility to make sure that the, the, the, um, the bud is, you know, c- comes to flowering and to fruiting. It's just your job to be faithful to scatter or to water or whatever step it's on. This, I think, has even more encouragement for us in that the one who scatters, um, i- is obviously God, but there's also this element that, like, we're scattering. The one scattering is not omniscient. But the one scattering, uh, he doesn't even know how or why or even that, I think, that the, um, that the f- the growth is occurring, and that's the most- Right remarkable part of this. Like, we're not talking about a normal farmer who is aware of how growth [00:37:00] occurs, is aware of the timing. He's constantly checking. He's making sure that he's checking the soil, that he's applying manure, that he's watering the crops. This is literally like some dude who just throws seed out, and then, then just goes back to his daily business of sleeping and rising and going about his day. And then all of the sudden, the earth, quote, "by itself produces." And I think that's the real key here is- There's something about the Kingdom of God and the seed that the Kingdom of God scatters. It's almost like the Kingdom of God itself is the one scattering here.  Jesse Schwamb: Right.  Tony Arsenal: Yep. The Kingdom of God and the seed that is scattered in and as a result of the Kingdom of God, it produces the outcome autonomously. It doesn't require us to input into it, at least in the context of this parable. Now, again, the Parable of the Talents would be very clear to us that we can't just rest on our loyals- laurels. God expects us to work and to be fruitful for the kingdom. [00:38:00] But there is this element here of, like, you are not the one responsible for the production of the seed and the fruiting and flowering of the seed. In fact, you're not even responsible for being aware that it occurs or how it occurs. Your only responsibility, the only active verb in this whole thing is... Well, there's a couple. The, the, the main active verb is the scattering. The other active verb is the sleeping. So, like- Right ... we, we scatter, and then we, we rest and we trust that God is going to do His work. Jesse Schwamb: Right. Even on the face, there's so much in this that does seem mysterious. Like, if you just take this parable and think about the act of agriculture, and I sometimes think about this because I do love plants, and we have a bunch of plants in our house, and I'm horrible at trying to get them to grow. And I think about what still a mystery it is. With all we know about science, just that you can still plant something, a seed, and water it, and the sugars will break down, and the seed will take root, and that something will grow and flower, and you think, "Oh, who is doing that?" And, and w- [00:39:00] I think we'll get into this, the first and second principles, first and second causes here, which are, I think, certainly something that Christ intends for us to consider here. But there is this idea that the man's action is simple and passive relative to what follows. He, like you said, just scatters the seed. And he's a real agent, but as the parable unfolds, it's almost like his entire agency recedes entirely from view. And that's what kind of sets for me, like this whole trajectory of the parable. It's that the mechanism of growth is strangely hidden from the human agent, and it belongs to God alone. And so you already stole it from me, but I'm gonna read 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, which is, coheres directly with what's happening, I think, in this parable. And this reads, or Paul writes, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." And so there is like an extension, I think, of that application inward though as well. Kind of like when you were speaking about that, what occurred to me is that we see in the [00:40:00] farmer's like day and night unawareness, this picture, I think, of this often gradual, imperceptible work of grace in our own hearts, in every believer's heart. Like that, that sanctification process, it proceeds by these degrees, and the Christian cannot fully trace even in himself, yet it is definitely real, and it's definitely God's doing. And then I think as well we might pull out a thread of this, you know, ecclesiological truth. You know, the church's growth is God's work, not the fruit of human strategy. And then by application even further into that, it's based upon a soteriological one, which is like the ordo salutis, which is maybe half of every episode we've recorded talks about the ordo salutis in some ways. That too is unfolding by this divine power, and it's hidden from the creature's full comprehension, and that's consistent in this parable and in all of Scripture, that this regeneration precedes and produces faith rather than the reverse. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, and I, I think too there's also an element in this passage, you know, when you think about... Uh, [00:41:00] I'm not a farmer, uh, and I, I don't know that many farmers, but when you think about how f- how modern farming works, it's very different than, uh, ancient farming, right? Historically, ancient farming was, uh, I think probably a lot of just trusting the world to do what the world does and, and trusting God to do what, what God does. A- and I think that's probably why a lot of like- When you look at, um, pagan religion, the, the fertility cults and the sort of goddesses and gods of the harvest were all related because there was this mystery to it. And so the reason that there's so much, uh, cultic worship around fertility and harvest is because it is so mysterious, and you just kinda have to, like, trust that it's gonna happen. Jesse Schwamb: Right.  Tony Arsenal: Right? You sow your seed in, you sow the seed of your field in, you know, the fall, uh, and, or in the, the, you know, the summer, and then you wait several [00:42:00] months and just hope that the crop comes in. And our modern agricultural world is not all that different. We have better tools and we can measure things that, like the soil, the nutrients in the soil. We can, you know, we can do all sorts of different imaging to see of what's happening underground. But at the end of the day, even with all of the advances we have, the farmer still can't make the crop come in.  Jesse Schwamb: That's right.  Tony Arsenal: Either the crop comes in or it doesn't. And I, I think there's this element of trust here that I think is really useful for us. And again, I think you're right. This is like, uh, it feels almost wrong to say it this way, but it's like this is a super distinctively Reformed parable. Like, of all, all of the parables in the, the Gospels, this one is like, on the face of it, a Calvinist parable. Yeah. Exactly. Like, it's like God just grows the kingdom- Yes and nobody does anything about it.  Jesse Schwamb: Amen.  Tony Arsenal: And I don't need to go into more details than that. But there is this element for us, I think, as, uh, as those [00:43:00] who want to share the gospel, there can be an anxiety around trying to ensure some sort of production, some sort of produce, uh, and productivity from that, that is just not healthy. And I think, you know, we, we have a responsibility as Christians, um, to be faithful and diligent in doing what God has called us to do. But if, if we read this parable as the one who scatters is sort of like the evangelist, then the only responsibility we have as evangelists, and all of us are evangelists, right, lowercase E evangelists, um, all of us, the only responsibility we have is to scatter the seed of the gospel. Jesse Schwamb: That's  Tony Arsenal: right. And we're not responsible for the growth. We're not responsible for even really understanding how growth happens, uh, or even, even doing much about it until it's time to harvest that growth. And I think that's, we need to talk about what that means too, because again, like [00:44:00] this is a parable that I think is maybe not as, as clean and clear as some of the, uh, Methanian parables where it really does seem like there's a pretty clear symbolic representation on some things. This one feels like it's maybe a little muddier in that, um, the main character and the role of the s- the one who's scattering seems to sort of almost shift throughout the parable, which is crazy to say because it's only like four verses long.  Tony Arsenal: But it, it does seem like at some points the scatterer is God, at other points it can't be God, and then it seems like, well, who's harvesting? It's not really us, so it's gotta be God. So I think it's, it's important for us to hold this parable as more of a general principle about the Kingdom of God than it is about any sort of like really direct one-to-one teaching on the, on the Kingdom of God.  Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. That's a interesting distinction.  Providence And Causes Jesse Schwamb: Here's what I would say about that, I think, is let's equate this to, like, coffee. You like a good cup of coffee. I do. I like a good cup of coffee. I think if we were to take, let's [00:45:00] say, the Parable of the Prodigal, that would be for me like a big Dunkin' Donuts coffee. Like, it's delicious, mild-bodied, maybe a little bit light. This parable is like two shots of espresso- Yeah ... 'cause there's a lot in there, and we could probably take a lot of time even t- speaking about, like you're saying, the more shadowy eschatological truths that appear in verse 29 because those, this idea of, like, a sickle in the harvest, I mean, that's imagery drawn from Old Testament eschatological judgment texts. So that could be pretty heavy in its own right. I think what's critical, before we get to that, is to, like, tease out something you said, which is there is a lot in here about this doctrine of providence, like, this spontaneous self-originating action apart from external human causation. And we've talked a lot, like, we distinguish between primary and second causation. You know, the Earth is genuinely or generally has second- secondary causes, like an ordinary means through which God's ordinary providence operates, but the ultimate primary [00:46:00] cause of growth is God himself. And so here we see that. Like, there's no exclusion of the farmer's agency as an explanatory cause. The soil does what it does because God has ordained the natural order to function in this way. That is his prerogative. And so that threefold progression then, blade, ear, full grain, which by the way I had to look up because my understanding of, like, all kinds of different types of grains is very thin and I'm out of my depth here. But- ... I'm led to believe That that development is gradual, and of course it's ordered, but it's not instantaneous. And so the application here, I think, has traditionally been applied in this corporate individual spiritual growth we're talking about. Like, the church advances through stages of maturity, and so does the individual believer's sanctification, without warranting either impatience or despair at the process's slowness. This is how God works. He does it in His gracious and kind way. And again, He's using this, all of this agriculture to illustrate that purpose. So there's, like, this buildup, I think, [00:47:00] in verse 28 about the incredible providence of God, both like corporatively, personally, in His world, how He is the primary cause, but also uses secondary causes, not in a disjointed or divorced way, but in a way that encapsulates and magnifies His glory. And that is then what leads to or will lead to the reemergence in verse 29 of this whole deal of, like, well, if farmer comes back in, and now he returns, but only at the point of consummation, not at the point of growth.  Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  Harvest And Timing Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and, you know, we won't go into all of the ways that this ties into the other parables, but it's worth, uh, it's worth mentioning that in, in both, uh, the parable of the mustard seed, which follows this, and then also the parable of the sort of sower or the seeds, um, there is this element of this, the one who is sowing seeds is not fully cognizant or aware or, and, and absolutely not in [00:48:00] control of the outcome, right? In the parable of the sower, um, he scatters the seed promiscuously, right? And the- Right ... the outcome depends on what kind of ground the seed falls on. And in the parable of the mustard seed, it, it's more of a, like, idea that the, uh, the sower sows a seed that seems so small, but it, the growth of the seed is explosive and expansive because of the nature of the seed, not because of the skill of the sower. Jesse Schwamb: That's  Tony Arsenal: right. Right? In this instance, um- The only thing, again, the only thing that initially the sower is responsible for is the sowing of the seed, the scattering of the seed. But what I also think is interesting is then there is a point where the one who scatters the seed is now responsible to act once he's observed the seed coming to fruition, right? Now, now what exactly that means and how exactly that applies, I think there's a lot of different things we could talk about. Um, but again, [00:49:00] this is a parable that we have to be careful not to, uh, not to restrict just sort of crassly to, like, evangelism. Right. Exactly. Or, or even just to sort of, like, the eschatological harvest. Right. That's what's tricky about this parable, I think, that bears ... And I don't think we'll do it, we'll do it necessarily on the show. It'd be worth having more conversations about. But for our own personal study, it bears deeper reflection because this parable cannot be simply reduced to an eschatology parable about what God does in the end. Jesse Schwamb: Right.  Tony Arsenal: And it can't be simply reduced to a parable about evangelism because strictly speaking, like, we're not really the ones that harvest when the harvest comes in, right? I've, I have heard this parable, um, preached, you know, like I said, although I acknowledge that I, um, like forgot that it existed. I have heard this parable preached as though, like, "Well, our responsibility is to scatter seed. We're not responsible for [00:50:00] making it grow or making it take root. But when we see that it's taking root, we're responsible for jumping in and harvesting at the right time." I don't think we should draw that conclusion here. Although the, the harvester does see that the ear is ripe, that the grain is ripe, and he harvests it, it would be a weird sort of like shift in the parable to go from the person who scattered seed isn't responsible for its growth, doesn't even know that the growth is happening, but is actually responsible for knowing exactly when to harvest the grain. Right. So we have to think about this again in gen- in terms of general principles of how the Kingdom of God functions. And w- how it functions is it's mysterious, it is, uh, consistent, it happens on a, a scale and on a predictable outcome that we as individuals don't understand and don't have visibility to, and the harvest will occur in its [00:51:00] time, and it will h- occur consistently and reliably. So again, like this is... I hope that maybe like the one or two non-Reformed people that listen to the show aren't terribly offended at this, but like this just is Reformed theology, right? There, there is a seed that is sown, God is responsible for the growth, and the harvest necessarily will help it happen when it's supposed to happen, right? When the r- when the fruit is ripe, it will be harvested. That doesn't mean I'm responsible as the one who sows seed or scatters or m- witnesses to people from making sure that the, quote, "sickle is put in at the right time," or anything like that.  Jesse Schwamb: Right.  Tony Arsenal: The fact is that the sickle will always come in at the right time. The person who has the final kinda piece of the puzzle in evangelism, I think that's how it often happens. Someone hears the gospel repeatedly from multiple places. They have contacts and relationships that tie into how they [00:52:00]ultimately come to accept the gospel and trust Christ. But ultimately it's the Holy Spirit who brings all that into some sort of coherent, um, execution and application of redemption That will happen in God's time. So I wanna be careful not to, like, put too much responsibility on us. Right. And again, this is just a parable that I think bears a lot more reflection, that I think because, um, I think Mark in general, because it's so short, uh, gets, it gets overlooked by Christians. I think we would all do well to spend a little bit more time in Mark. But especially some of these really short pericopes. I think we just read through it, and it's like we read a chapter of Mark, like Mark 4 comes up in our Bible reading plan. Right. And if we're reading the Bible in a year, like, Mark 4 is one of three or four chapters that we read, and this is four verses of that. Right. We just read over it quick and we c- we just, we don't appropriate any of it.  Jesse Schwamb: Right. It sounds like he's just reiterating a point or he's recapitulating something that he's already said or is about to say, and you're like, "Okay, get on with it." But I'm with [00:53:00] you. This parable, like all of them, is for us. It's for our joy. It's for our satisfaction and our comfort. And I think from this, there is, like, a single controlling point that's emerging from our conversation, which is the Kingdom of God advances by God's own hidden power toward a certain appointed consummation. And this ought to produce, like, patient confidence rather than human striving or a- anxiety. In order to give us a sense of calm, a reminder that God's providence is real in all areas of life. Remarkably, we've gotten this far in the conversation, and neither of us has just, has used the M word, which just came to me, and I think we're contractually obligated to say it as a Reformed podcast, and that is this is a prime example of monergism and the sovereignty of grace. And as in regeneration, the decisive cause of kingdom growth lies outside human capacity and comprehension. I think sometimes the latter part of that seems wrong to us. It makes us fearful because we don't understand it. But the former part should make us feel very happy and [00:54:00] relieved, that the capacity belongs to God and God alone. That doesn't depend on me or you or anybody else that we know. And this parable, I think, is often been paired with John's image of the wind blowing where it wishes as this picture of the Holy

Welcome to Madang.Madang is the outdoor living room of the world. Here, we invite you to sit and tune into unreserved, remarkable conversations with renowned authors, leaders, public figures, and scholars on religion, culture, and everything in between.This is the 62nd episode of Madang Podcast hosted by Baptist News Global featuring Drs. Sung Uk Lim and Amy Lindeman Allen. Sung Uk Lim is Associate Professor of New Testament at the United Graduate School of Theology, Yonsei University, South Korea. He is a research fellow in the Department of Old and New Testament Studies at the University of the Free State. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Biblical Literature, Horizons in Biblical Theology, and Political Theology and is chief editor of Korean New Testament Studies. He is the author of Otherness and Identity in the Gospel of John, Amy Lindeman Allen is Indiana Christian Church Associate Professor of New Testament at Christian Theological Seminary. She is on the editorial board of the Journal of Childhood and Religion. She is the author of For Theirs is the Kingdom, The Gifts They Bring, and coeditor of the forthcoming volume New Testament Families in Global Perspectives. They are the coauthor of Parenting Beyond Boundaries in Mark's Gospel. On this episode of Madang Podcast hosted by Baptist News Global, Lim, Allen and I talk about their new book, Parenting Beyond Boundaries in Mark's Gospel. We discuss Markan parenting, ethnoracial identity, collaborative parenting, othering, Syrophoenician mother, and so much more.Listen to Madang Podcast on Spotify, Apple, Facebook Reels, or wherever podcasts are streamed.I am grateful to the sponsors of this Madang Podcast episode.Eerdmans PublishingI am so grateful to Eerdmans for sponsoring this episode of Madang Podcast. Please get your copy of Parenting Beyond Boundaries in Mark's Gospel by Lim and Allen today. It is a part of Eerdmans' biblical studies program, which serves the academy, pastors, and churchgoers with the highest quality of scholarship. It is a wonderful read of Mark and parenting, and this book will open your eyes to the bible. Please check out other excellent books from Eerdmans by visiting www.eerdmans.com2. Please join me at the Wild Goose Festival. I will be giving a talk on When God Became White and Christian Nationalism, Lisa Sharon Harper and I will be discussing how race, gender, history, and power have shaped both the church and society. I will also do a live Madang Podcast with Thomas Jay Oord. Use discount code “A-GK” to get 50.00 off registration. Go to www.wildgoosefestival.org

Gestur minn þessa vikuna er Pétur G. Markan. Pétur er fyrrum knattspyrnumaður, guðfræðingur, hefur unnið sem biskupsritari og samskiptastjóri Biskupsstofu, fyrrum bæjarstjóri Hveragerðisbæjar og núverandi bæjarstjóri Grindavíkur. Hann er gjörsamlega frábær og magnaður. Við ræddum meðal annars um jákvæðni, áskoranir, hugrekki, guðfræði, sálgæslu, Grindavík, lífið og tilveruna. Þú ert frábær! Ást og friður.  Jákastið er í boði:  - Límtré vírnet  - Pizza Popolare - 15% afsláttur með kóðanum JAKASTID - Dressmann - Egils Kristall 

We conclude the four miracle stories about death and danger with our next Markan sandwich, with one story interrupting the other and each helping us understand each. Read Mark 5:21-43 and thanks for listening! 

Stil danışmanı, 130 bin takipçisini içerikleri deneyerek keşfederek emekle biriktirmiş bir influencer, dijital pazarlamacı, anne ve şimdi de Korja'nın kurucusu!Sinem Woodcraft samimiyetiyle motivasyonunu, devam etme gücünü ve yolunu anlattı.Bu bölümde hiçbir reklam, işbirliği yoktur.

Viðmælendur í Vikulokununm 25. apríl voru: Ágúst Bjarni Garðarsson, ráðgjafi og fyrrverandi þingmaður og bæjarfulltrúi Framsóknarflokksins í Hafnarfirði Áslaug Hulda Jónsdóttir, framkvæmdastjóri hjá Sjúkratryggingum og fyrrverandi bæjarfulltrúi Sjálfstæðisflokksins í Garðabæ Pétur Markan, bæjarstjóri í Hveragerði Umsjón: Ingvar Þór Björnsson

Öll viðtölin úr þætti dagsins ásamt símatíma: Óskar Finnsson matreiðslumeistari um grillráð sumarsins Inga Sæland mennta- og barnamálaráðherra um uppbyggingu hjúkrunarheimila Símatími Magnea Gná Jóhannsdóttir 2 sæti á lista Framsóknarflokksins í Reykjavík Fannar Jónasson bæjarstjóri í Grindavík og Pétur Markan bæjarstjóri Hveragerðis um skýrslur Veðurstofu um hraunflæði í byggð Björg Magnúsdóttir oddviti Viðreisnar í Reykjavík

Episode 2.89Mark's Sandwiches: How the Gospel of Mark Uses Interruptions to Teach TheologyIn this episode of Narrative Juxtaposition: How the Bible Speaks Through Story Placement, Michael and Zach examine one of the most distinctive literary techniques in the Gospel of Mark—often called the “Markan sandwich.”Readers frequently notice that Mark begins one story, suddenly interrupts it with another, and then returns to the original narrative. At first glance the structure can feel abrupt or even chaotic. But when read carefully, these interruptions reveal deliberate narrative design. Mark places one story inside another so that each interprets the other.We explore several of the clearest examples. In Mark 5, the healing of the bleeding woman interrupts the urgent mission to save Jairus's daughter, showing that faith remains meaningful even when God's timing includes delay. In Mark 11, the cursing of the fig tree frames the cleansing of the temple, revealing the fig tree as a symbolic judgment on fruitless religion. And in Mark 6, the joyful mission of the Twelve is interrupted by the execution of John the Baptist, reminding readers that faithful proclamation often leads to suffering.Throughout the episode we show how Mark communicates theology not primarily through explanation but through narrative placement. The Gospel's structure forces the reader to slow down and hold multiple scenes together, allowing the stories themselves to interpret one another.By paying attention to how the stories are arranged, readers begin to see that the interruptions are not distractions—they are the interpretation.Find our videocast here: https://youtu.be/MmElw3Zd0fAMerch here: https://take-2-podcast.printify.me/Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):⁠https://uppbeat.io/t/reakt-music/deep-stone⁠License code: 2QZOZ2YHZ5UTE7C8Find more Take 2 Theology content at http://www.take2theology.com

Cem Çatpınar'ın hazırlayıp sunduğu Cem Çatpınar ile Markanın Hikayesi programına Rasyonel İstanbul Kreatif Proje Uzmanı Hasan Muhsin Sargın konuk oldu.

Cem Çatpınar'ın hazırlayıp sunduğu Cem Çatpınar ile Markanın Hikayesi programına Rasyonel İstanbul Kreatif Proje Uzmanı Hasan Muhsin Sargın konuk oldu.

Cem Çatpınar'ın hazırlayıp sunduğu Cem Çatpınar ile Markanın Hikayesi programına Areda Survey - Genel Müdürü Yusuf Akın konuk oldu.

Cem Çatpınar'ın hazırlayıp sunduğu Cem Çatpınar ile Markanın Hikayesi programına Areda Survey - Genel Müdürü Yusuf Akın konuk oldu.

00:00 Karakterler her yerde, önce arketipini tanı03:20 Umut abinin konuşma korkusu ve yüzleşme06:20 NLP ve arketipleri pazarlamaya çevirme07:10 Hedef kitle var, karakter analizi yok12:40 Dost ve Ebedi Çocuk deneyim, özgünlük, eğlence14:00 Kampanya değil hikaye, ürün değil deneyim16:45 Amazon ve Savaşçı başarı, kanıt, sayılar18:30 Joykek örnekleri, karar verici neden sayı ister22:10 Filozof ve Mistik anlam, değer, neden sorusu24:20 İşe alım ve devir teslimde karakter uyumuBu bölümde pazarlamanın en çok gözden kaçırdığı ama dönüşümü doğrudan belirleyen bir gerçeği masaya yatırıyoruz. Herkese aynı reklamı göstererek satış yapmaya çalışıyoruz, ama herkes aynı sebeple satın almıyor. Umut abiyle birlikte arketipler ve karakter tipleri üzerinden şunu netleştiriyoruz: Ürününüz aynı kalsa bile mesajınız yanlış karaktere gidiyorsa reklamınız boşa gider.Sohbetin ilk kısmında Umut abinin topluluk önünde konuşma korkusunu nasıl fark ettiğini, bu korkunun arkasındaki reddedilme düşüncesini ve yüzleşmenin nasıl bir dönüşüm yarattığını konuşuyoruz. Buradan pazarlamaya geçiş yapıyoruz, çünkü korku ve belirsizlik sadece bireylerin değil, işletmelerin de kaderini belirliyor. Bir marka riskten kaçtığında, yeni bir şey denemediğinde ya da sürekli aynı dili konuştuğunda aslında görünmez bir fren çekmiş oluyor.Sonra karakter modelini pazarlama diliyle çerçeveliyoruz. Google ve Meta size yaş, cinsiyet, ilgi alanı verir ama karakter vermez. Peki markanız bunu nasıl çözer? Ürününüzü kullanan müşterileri dinleyerek, kısa görüşmeler yaparak, toplantılarda kullanılan kelimeleri yakalayarak ve satın alma motivasyonunu çözerek. Dost ve Ebedi Çocuk tarafında yeni deneyim, özgünlük ve eğlence beklentisini görüyoruz. Bu kitleye kampanya anlatmak yerine hikaye anlatmanız, ürün söylemek yerine deneyimi hissettirmeniz gerek…Amazon ve Savaşçı tarafında ise başarı, rekabet ve kanıt ihtiyacı öne çıkıyor. Bu kitleye romantik vaatler değil, net sonuçlar, sayı, referans ve başarı hikayeleri gerekir. Joykek müşteri toplantılarında karar vericilerin neden rakam istediğini, case study ile başlamanın neden oyunu değiştirdiğini ve sunumun ilk 3 dakikasında hangi verilerin masaya konması gerektiğini konuşuyoruz. Ne harcadık, ne kazandık, nereden nereye gideceğiz soruları bu karakterin doğal dili.Filozof ve Mistik çizgisinde ise neden sorusu var. Değer, vizyon, anlam ve derinlik arayan bir kitleye sadece indirim konuşursanız bağ kuramazsınız. Burada içerik, manifesto, marka hikayesi, uzmanlık ve uzun format anlatım devreye girer. Bu karaktere satış baskısı değil, düşünce liderliği ve güven veren bir anlatı gerekir.Bölümün sonunda bu bilginin sadece reklam metinlerinde değil, ekip kurulumunda, işe alımda, departman yerleşiminde ve devir teslim süreçlerinde nasıl kullanılabileceğine değiniyoruz. İstediğinize değil isteyene devredersiniz cümlesi bu bölümün işletme tarafındaki en kritik anahtarı. Doğru karakter doğru rolde olduğunda hem ekip huzuru hem performans hem de büyüme daha kolay olur.Dinlerken kendinize şu üç soruyu sorun: Markanız hangi karakter diliyle konuşuyor, müşteriniz hangi karakter diliyle dinliyor, reklamınız hangi karakteri hedefliyor? Bu üçü aynı hizaya geldiğinde dönüşümler hızlanır, yanlış hizadaysa bütçe yanar.

Cem Çatpınar'ın hazırlayıp sunduğu Cem Çatpınar ile Markanın Hikayesi programına Infostealern Tehdit Analisti & Kimlik Bilgisi Sızıntıları Uzmanı Teoman Demirtaş konuk oldu.

Cem Çatpınar'ın hazırlayıp sunduğu Cem Çatpınar ile Markanın Hikayesi programına Infostealern Tehdit Analisti & Kimlik Bilgisi Sızıntıları Uzmanı Teoman Demirtaş konuk oldu.

Cem Çatpınar'ın hazırlayıp sunduğu Cem Çatpınar ile Markanın Hikayesi programına Milletlerarası Eğitim Teknoloji ve ARGE Merkezi - METAM Başkanı Enes Güneyli konuk oldu.

Cem Çatpınar'ın hazırlayıp sunduğu Cem Çatpınar ile Markanın Hikayesi programına Milletlerarası Eğitim Teknoloji ve ARGE Merkezi - METAM Başkanı Enes Güneyli konuk oldu.

2026 yılına girerken dijital pazarlama artık bildiğimiz yerden konuşulmuyor. Algoritmalar değişti, kullanıcı değişti, rekabet sertleşti. Bu bölümde sana trend listesi değil, önümüzdeki dönemde pazarlamada ayakta kalanlarla silinenleri ayıracak gerçek kırılımları anlatıyorum.Bu bölümde 2026 yılında pazarlamayı baştan aşağıya değiştirecek 8 büyük kırılımı ele alıyoruz. Yapay zekanın sadece destekleyen bir araç olmaktan çıkıp karar veren sistemlere dönüşmesini, SEO ve arama davranışlarının linklerden cevaplara evrilmesini, privacy first dünyada veriyi doğru kullanan markaların nasıl öne çıkacağını detaylarıyla konuşuyoruz.Aynı zamanda içerik tarafında neden artık kusursuz metinlerin değil samimi ve gerçek anlatıların kazandığını, reklamların neden daha az reklam gibi olmak zorunda kaldığını, mikro toplulukların ve niş kitlelerin markalar için neden altın değerinde olduğunu bu bölümde net örneklerle aktarıyorum.Bu bölümde şunları duyacaksın:• Yapay zeka destekli otonom pazarlama sistemleri• Sesli ve zeki aramaların SEO'yu nasıl dönüştürdüğü• Çerezsiz dünyada akıllı veri kullanımı• Gerçek ve samimi içeriğin yükselişi• Yeni nesil reklam deneyimleri• Mikro toplulukların gücü• Davranışsal ölçümleme ve yeni performans metrikleri• Tüm bu sistemlerin ortasında insan faktörünün önemiEğer hâlâ 2023 refleksleriyle kampanya kuruyor, sadece tıklama ve dönüşüm sayarak ilerliyorsan bu bölüm senin için ciddi bir uyarı niteliğinde. Çünkü 2026'ya hazırlanmak yeni araçlar almak değil, zihniyeti değiştirmek demek.Bu bölümde amacım seni korkutmak değil, hazırlamak. Pazarlamayı otomasyonla ayakta tutan mı olacaksın, yoksa otomasyon sayesinde büyüyen marka mı, bu farkı net şekilde ortaya koyuyoruz.Dijital pazarlama, reklam, içerik, SEO, CRM ve büyüme stratejileriyle ilgileniyorsan bu bölümü mutlaka sonuna kadar dinle. Dinledikten sonra da kendine şu soruyu sor: Markan 2026'ya gerçekten hazır mı?Keyifli dinlemeler

Cem Çatpınar'ın hazırlayıp sunduğu Cem Çatpınar ile Markanın Hikayesi programına Yatırım ve İş Geliştirme Danışmanı (Broker, Owner) Endüstri Mühendisi Enis Göçer konuk oldu.

Cem Çatpınar'ın hazırlayıp sunduğu Cem Çatpınar ile Markanın Hikayesi programına Yatırım ve İş Geliştirme Danışmanı (Broker, Owner) Endüstri Mühendisi Enis Göçer konuk oldu.

Cem Çatpınar'ın hazırlayıp sunduğu Cem Çatpınar ile Markanın Hikayesi programına Bolero Çorap ve Çamaşır Yön. Kurulu Bşk. Mustafa Nazif Çelebi konuk oldu.

Cem Çatpınar'ın hazırlayıp sunduğu Cem Çatpınar ile Markanın Hikayesi programına Bolero Çorap ve Çamaşır Yön. Kurulu Bşk. Mustafa Nazif Çelebi konuk oldu.

Tazedirekt Sohbet'in bu bölümünde konuğum, Hayfene markasının 5. kuşak temsilcileri Bilge Kadıoğlu Özer ve Ahmet Kadıoğlu ile baharatın mutfaktaki yolculuğunu konuşuyoruz. Markanın kuruluş hikâyesini, baharatın Türkiye'deki kültürel yerini ve özel baharat karışımlarının nasıl ortaya çıktığını masaya yatırdık. Tavuktan ete, sandviçten kek ve pastaya uzanan kullanım alanlarında doğru eşleşmelerin neden bu kadar önemli olduğunu; uyumlu baharatları bir araya getirirken dengeyi kurmanın inceliklerini ve baharatları doğru saklama koşullarını bu sohbetle daha yakından keşfediyoruz. Mutfağın olmazsa olmazlarından baharatlara farklı bir gözle bakmanızı sağlayacak bir bölüm sizi bekliyor.

Dijital Dünyada Cinsiyet Farkı Neden Bu Kadar ÖnemliAynı internete bağlanıyoruz ama internette geçirdiğimiz zaman, izlediğimiz içerikler ve sosyal medyadaki davranışlarımız tamamen farklı. Özellikle kadınlar ve erkekler arasında oluşan bu dijital ayrım, bugün markanızın reklam performansından hedefleme stratejisine kadar her noktayı etkiliyor. Bu bölümde cinsiyete göre internet kullanım oranlarını, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp ve X gibi platformlardaki kadın erkek dağılımlarını, teknoloji kullanım alışkanlıklarını ve tüm bunların markanıza nasıl yansıdığını derinlemesine konuşuyoruz.Kadın ve Erkek İnterneti Nasıl Farklı KullanıyorDünya genelinde erkeklerin internet kullanım oranı biraz daha yüksek olsa da kadınlar dijitalde çok daha aktif. Daha fazla sosyal içerik tüketiyor, daha fazla etkileşim üretiyor ve mobilde çok daha yoğun zaman geçiriyorlar. Erkeklerde ise YouTube, oyun, finans ve teknoloji içerikleri ağırlıkta. Bu bile reklam tasarımından kreatif formatına kadar pek çok kararı etkiliyor.Platformlara Göre Cinsiyet DağılımıInstagram ve TikTok hafif kadın ağırlıklı bir yapıya sahipken YouTube ve X belirgin şekilde erkeklerin güçlü olduğu alanlar. Instagram ve TikTok keşif, estetik, ilham ve trend tüketiminin merkezi olurken YouTube daha çok bilgi, çözüm, inceleme ve uzun içerik odaklı bir platform olarak öne çıkıyor. WhatsApp ise günlük iletişim aracı olduğu için dengeli bir cinsiyet dağılımı sunuyor.Teknoloji Kullanımı Davranışı Nasıl DeğiştiriyorKadınlar internete en fazla mobil cihazdan bağlandığı için hız, tasarım ve görsel deneyim çok daha kritik hale geliyor. Erkekler ise cihaz kullanımında daha dengeli ve özellikle uzun videolarda bilgisayardan tüketim oranı yüksek. Bu fark reklam performansını doğrudan etkileyen güçlü bir içgörü.Markanız Bu Verilerle Ne YapmalıKadın odaklı reklamlar daha duygusal ve ilham veren içeriklerle başarıya ulaşırken erkek odaklı kampanyalar teknik anlatım ve problem çözme yaklaşımıyla daha iyi sonuç veriyor. Kadınlar keşfetmeye, erkekler çözüm bulmaya odaklanıyor. Dijital stratejinizi bu davranış kodlarına göre kurduğunuzda dönüşümler belirgin şekilde artıyor.Bu bölümde kısacası dijital dünyada cinsiyet farkının nasıl çalıştığını, markanıza nasıl yön verdiğini ve doğru hedeflemeyle nasıl yüksek performans elde edebileceğinizi tüm detaylarıyla anlattım. Dijital pazarlamada başarı artık bütçeden çok doğru içgörüye dayanıyor. Bu bölümü dinledikten sonra kampanyalarınıza farklı bir gözle bakacağınıza eminim. İyi dinlemeler.

This week Jeff and Dave continue their discussion of John Wenham's arguments against the hypothesis of Markan priority and the Q document as explaining the many similarities in the synoptic Gospels. Here they pick up with "external evidence" in chapter 5, after a concluding look at the internal evidence. Wenham argues in chapters 5 and following for the priority of Matthew, reestablishing the reliability of Papias and other church fathers like Irenaeus and Origen, in the overwhelming testimony that Matthew was first, and wrote Ἑβραΐδι διαλέκτῳ. Does this mean in a Semitic language like Hebrew or Aramaean – the traditional interpretation – or is the understanding commonly attributed to Eusebius correct, that Matthew wrote "in a Semitic style", but not necessarily in the Hebrew language? The arguments are complicated, and require very careful attention to sort the wheat from the chaff. Was Peter the inspiration for Mark's gospel? Was Peter in Rome, and if, so when? Come along for a careful look at a perennially interesting and pressing question, namely the relationship between the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Also, be sure to check out the giveaway of the brand-new collected works of Aristotle by Hackett publishing, our sponsor. You can find it at this link.

Are the Gospels historically reliable, or just late legends? Philosophers and top apologists Dr. Tim McGrew and Dr. Lydia McGrew join me to dismantle the biggest myths about Gospel authorship, dating, and accuracy. From undesigned coincidences that criss-cross all four Gospels, to Luke's stunning geographical and political precision in Acts, to the statistically perfect 1st-century Jewish names—the evidence is far stronger than mainstream scholarship admits.If you've ever wondered whether the New Testament can stand up to rigorous historical scrutiny, this episode will blow your mind.CHAPTERS:(00:00 Intro & Welcome to Tim and Lydia McGrew)(02:42 What mainstream New Testament scholars actually believe)(06:40 Why small differences between Gospels are evidence FOR reliability)(08:18 Markan priority: the harmless version vs. the skeptical version)(10:40 The criterion of embarrassment & heads-I-win-tails-you-lose arguments)(13:35 The astonishing match of 1st-century Jewish names in the Gospels)(19:30 Why everyone trusts Josephus but doubts the Gospels)(21:05 Oldest New Testament manuscripts & textual reliability)(25:09 Undesigned coincidences: the hidden interlocking details)(28:15 The feeding of the 5,000 – why Jesus asked Philip (John 6 + Luke 9))(29:00 Green grass in Mark + Passover timing in John)(29:50 Luke's insane accuracy in Acts (even Pliny the Elder got it wrong!))(36:50 Pointless but vivid details that scream eyewitness memory)(37:17 Peter puts his coat ON before jumping in the water (John 21))(41:25 The mysterious “dispute about purification” in John 3)(43:55 153 fish – fishermen gonna fish)(45:20 Recommended books by Tim & Lydia)TIM AND LYDIA MCGREW LINKS:

This powerful message takes us deep into Mark chapter 5, where we encounter two intertwined stories that reveal profound truths about Jesus and our relationship with Him. Through what scholars call a 'Markan sandwich'—a literary technique where one story interrupts another—we discover three transformative lessons: Jesus flourishes in our wasted space, seeing divine opportunities where we see interruptions; Jesus shows no partiality, caring equally for the powerful synagogue ruler and the unnamed, broken woman; and Jesus is the friend who sticks closer than a brother, never abandoning us in our deepest need. The woman who suffered for twelve years and Jairus, whose twelve-year-old daughter lay dying, both had to overcome significant barriers to reach Jesus—she pushed past her shame, he pushed past his pride. These twin lies of pride and shame still guard the gates of grace today, whispering that we're either too good to need Jesus or too broken to deserve Him. But the beautiful truth is that Jesus came 100% of the way for us, leaving heaven, taking the nails, moving in close. Our only responsibility is to surrender, to fall at His feet in humble faith, believing He can do something about our pain and problems. Every moment has the potential to be sacred space when we walk with open eyes and tender hearts, ready for divine interruption.

Bu bölümde, markaların ses ile kurduğu bağın gücünü ve Türkiye'de neden “duyulmanın” artık görselliğe eş değer hatta bazen daha da etkili olduğunu Sonic Minds'ın Türkiye Direktörü Konuğumuz Senar Toksöz ile tartışıyoruz. Audio branding nedir, audio logo ve müzikal kimlik nasıl oluşturulur, ses tasarımı ve kullanıcı deneyimi seslerinin (UI/UX sound) marka algısına katkıları neler gibi kritik sorulara derinlemesine bakıyoruz.Sonic Minds'ın:2004'ten bu yana audio logo, müzik stratejisi, UX/UI ses tasarımı ve oto-ses tasarımı gibi alanlarda markalara hizmet veriyor olması,Her sesin “duyulmakla kalmayıp hissedilmesi” için kullanıcı geri bildirimleriyle test edilmesi ve rafine edilmesi yaklaşımını benimsemesi,İskandinav tasarım mirasıyla hareket ederek; sesin fonksiyonel, duyarlı ve kullanıcı odaklı olmasına önem vermesi, Sadece yaratıcı olmaması, aynı zamanda stratejik düşünmesi — audio marka kimliğini marka hikâyesiyle bütünleştirmesi — Türkiye'deki ses pazarlaması yaklaşımlarına ışık tutuyor.Bu konuşmada ayrıca hem global hem yerel bakış açılarıyla; markalar için sesin sadece bir “ek” değil, temel kimlik öğesi haline gelme sürecini örneklerle ele alıyoruz. Ses, sessizliğin ötesine geçmeli; çünkü sessizliği bozmak yetmez, anlam yaratmalı.Hazırlayan ve Sunan: Mesut Uğurlu

In our second episode going deeper into the Gospel of Mark, Ben and Mitch sit down with Dr. Tim Gombis, a Markan scholar and author, to discuss themes of complacency in the Christian faith, contestation with the Pharisees, and the power of metaphor throughout Mark chapters 3 and 4.GO DEEPER IN MARK+ ⁠Entering the Kingdom Translation of Mark⁠+ ⁠A Journey Through Mark Study Devotional⁠+ ⁠A Journey Through Mark Family Companion Guide⁠+ ⁠⁠Video Teachings⁠⁠RESOURCES + Mark: The Story of God Bible Commentary + Power in Weakness+ The Drama of Ephesians + Faith Improvised | Podcast hosted by Dr. Gombis + Faith Improved | Blog by Dr. Gombis CONNECT+ Learn more about First Church Williamsport by checking out our ⁠website⁠+ ⁠Watch⁠ our services online every Sunday at 9 AM+ Follow us on social media: ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠, and ⁠TikTok⁠

Renkler Neden Sadece Bir Görsel Tercih Değil, Bir Strateji?Renkler hayatımızın her alanında bize bir şeyler fısıldar. Duygularımızı tetikler, kararlarımızı etkiler, güven verir ya da heyecanlandırır. Bu yüzden bir markanın rengi asla tesadüf olamaz. Bu bölümde, renklerin insan psikolojisi üzerindeki etkisinden başlayarak markaların neden ve nasıl bu kadar dikkatli şekilde renk stratejisi oluşturduğunu detaylıca konuşacağız.Renklerin İnsan Psikolojisi Üzerindeki EtkisiKırmızı neden iştah açar? Mavi neden güven verir? Yeşil neden huzurla eşleştirilir? Sarı neden dikkat çeker ama aynı zamanda neden rahatsız edici olabilir? Bu soruların yanıtı beynimizin derinliklerinde yatıyor. Renkler, bilinçaltımızla iletişim kuran en güçlü araçlardan biridir. Bu yüzden pazarlamada kullanıldığında, müşterinin karar verme sürecini doğrudan etkiler.Markaların Renk Seçimindeki Stratejik KararlarCoca-Cola'nın kırmızısı, Facebook'un mavisi, Starbucks'ın yeşili… Bunlar sadece estetik tercihler değil, marka kimliğiyle bütünleşmiş bilinçli seçimler. Bu bölümde, dünyaca ünlü markaların neden bu renklere yatırım yaptığını, bu renklerin markaya kattığı değerleri ve tüketiciyle kurduğu bağı detaylı örneklerle ele alıyoruz.Hedef Kitleye Göre Renklerin Anlamı Nasıl Değişir?Bir genç için canlı renkler heyecan vericiyken, bir profesyonel için koyu renkler daha güven verici olabilir. Kadın-erkek, yaş grubu, kültürel arka plan gibi demografik değişkenler renk algısını tamamen değiştirebilir. Bu yüzden renk seçerken sadece “güzel duruyor” demek büyük bir hata olur. Doğru renk, doğru kitleyle duygusal bağ kurar.Duygulara Dokunan Renk Stratejileri Nasıl Oluşturulur?Markanızın ruhunu, değerlerini ve vizyonunu yansıtan renkler seçmek, doğru bir iletişim kurmanın ilk adımıdır. Bu bölümde, sıfırdan bir marka yaratırken renk paletinin nasıl seçilmesi gerektiğini, mevcut bir markada nasıl dönüşüm yapılabileceğini ve sektörel farklılıklara göre hangi renklerin öne çıktığını anlatıyorum.Dönüşüm Odaklı Renk Kullanımı: Sadece Güzel Olması YetmezDijital pazarlamada renk, dönüşüm oranlarını doğrudan etkiler. Özellikle CTA butonlarında kırmızı, turuncu gibi dikkat çekici renkler dönüşümü artırırken; arka plan uyumu, kontrast kullanımı gibi detaylar da önemlidir. Bu bölümde A/B test örnekleriyle hangi sektör için hangi renk daha fazla dönüşüm getirmiş inceliyoruz.Kültürel Farklılıklar: Aynı Renk Her Yerde Aynı Etkiyi YaratmazBatı'da beyaz saflığı, doğu kültürlerinde yas'ı temsil edebilir. Bu yüzden global markalar, renk stratejilerini her ülke için yeniden düzenlemek zorundadır. Özellikle e-ihracat yapan markalar için kültürel renk kodlarını bilmek kritik önemdedir.Sonuç: Marka Kimliğinin Görsel Temsilcisi RenklerdirBu podcast bölümüyle birlikte, marka yaratımında ve dijital pazarlama stratejilerinde renklerin neden bu kadar önemli olduğunu ve nasıl daha bilinçli kullanılabileceğini kapsamlı bir şekilde öğrenmiş olacaksın.Bölümü Beğendiysen…Daha fazla içerik için joykek.com'u ziyaret edebilir, Instagram'da @frktprk hesabımdan beni takip edebilirsin.Sormak istediklerin varsa faruk@joykek.com üzerinden bana ulaşabilirsin.Ve unutma, renkleri doğru kullanan markalar sadece dikkat çekmekle kalmaz, zihinde de kalıcı olur.

In this episode of the Bible and Theology Matters podcast, Dr. Paul Weaver engages with Dr. David Allen Black to discuss the synoptic gospels, the synoptic problem, and the historical origins of the gospels. They explore the significance of external evidence, the role of the Church Fathers, and the implications of Markan priority. Dr. Black presents his fourfold gospel hypothesis, emphasizing the need for historical context in understanding the development of the gospels. The conversation also addresses common concerns regarding the reliability of the gospels and the importance of examining evidence critically.This video explores the **two source hypothesis** related to the origins of the Gospels in the Bible. The speaker explains how understanding this theory can impact the way people interpret biblical texts, and how it is related to the **synoptic problem**.-The term 'synoptic' means to view the gospels together.-The synoptic problem may not be a problem at all. -External evidence is often overlooked in gospel studies.-Markan priority is a dominant theory, but has its challenges. -The early church unanimously believed Matthew was the first gospel.-Historical context is crucial for understanding the gospels.-The Church Fathers provide valuable insights into gospel authorship.-The Q hypothesis is speculative and lacks concrete evidence.-The Christian faith is rooted in historical evidence.-Scholars should be approached with caution; personal investigation is essential.00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest01:31 Understanding the Synoptic Gospels04:59 Exploring the Synoptic Problem05:19 Three Lines of Evidence for Gospel Order 08:32 Questioning Markan Priority10:39 Historical Context of Gospel Development17:50 The Role of Early Church Fathers24:11 The Fourfold Gospel Hypothesis28:08 Unity in the Early Church 29:09 Historical Context of the Gospels30:32 Occasional Nature of New Testament Letters31:58 The Role of the Gospels in Addressing Needs33:13 Critique of Markan Priority35:30 Historical Perspectives on Gospel Origins 36:57 The Importance of Church History39:24 The Enlightenment's Impact on Gospel Scholarship41:09 The Interconnectedness of Biblical Studies43:26 The Role of Language in Understanding the Gospels45:56 Different Styles and Purposes of Gospel Writers52:13 Addressing Lay Concerns about Gospel Reliability

In this conversation, Dr. Will Varner discusses his extensive research on the Gospels, particularly focusing on the authorship of the Gospels and the his belief that Matthew was written first (Matthew Priority rather than Markan Priority) and then Luke, and finally Mark. He explores the historical context of Gospel writing, the influence of higher criticism on the New Testament, and the significance of early church fathers like Papias and Irenaeus. Varner argues for a reevaluation of the traditional views on Gospel authorship, emphasizing the Jewish context of Matthew and the implications of these findings for contemporary biblical scholarship and bible study as well as exegesis and hermeneutics. In this conversation, Dr. William Varner and Dr. Paul Weaver delve into the complexities of the Gospels, particularly focusing on the relationship between Matthew and Mark. They discuss the implications of the unique details found in Mark's Gospel. The conversation also touches on the role of the Holy Spirit in guiding the authors, the debate between Matthew Priority and Mark Priority, and the influence of modern scholarship on these views. Varner recommends several resources for those interested in exploring Matthew Priority further, emphasizing the importance of understanding the Gospels in their historical and theological context.0:00 Introduction02:21 - Dr. Varner's Journey and Insights on the Gospels07:15 - Debating Markan vs. Matthean Priority12:31 - The Role of Early Church Fathers in Establishing Priority19:00 - Understanding Papias and the "Hebrew Dialect" 24:52 - The Synoptic Problem and Mutual Dependence31:03 - Exploring the Influence of Academia on Gospel Studies38:07 - Recommended Resources for Further Study

Geleneksel influencer marketing stratejileri artık etkisini yitiriyor. Makro influencer'lara yapılan büyük bütçeli yatırımlar, düşük etkileşim oranları ve zayıf dönüşümlerle markaları hayal kırıklığına uğratıyor. Ancak bu alanda yeni bir yıldız yükseliyor: mikro-influencer'lar.Mikro-Influencer Nedir?Mikro-influencer'lar, genellikle 10.000 ila 100.000 takipçiye sahip, belirli bir konuda içerik üreten ve hedef kitlesiyle yüksek etkileşim kurabilen kişilerden oluşur. Takipçileriyle birebir, samimi bağ kurabildikleri için verdikleri mesajlar daha güvenilir ve etkili olur. Niş topluluklara hitap etmeleri sayesinde marka mesajını daha isabetli iletebilirler.Neden Mikro-Influencer'lar Yükselişte?Yüksek Etkileşim Oranı: Mikro-influencer'ların etkileşim oranları genellikle %4 ila %8 arasındadır. Bu oran, makro influencer'larda çoğu zaman %1'in altına düşer. Daha az takipçiyle daha fazla dönüşüm sağlamak mümkündür.Samimiyet ve Güven: Mikro-influencer'lar, takipçileri tarafından “bir arkadaş” gibi görülür. Bu da markalar adına yapılan paylaşımların daha içten algılanmasını sağlar.Düşük Maliyet, Yüksek Getiri: Mikro-influencer'larla yapılan işbirlikleri, büyük bütçeler gerektirmez. Aynı bütçeyle 10 mikro influencer'la çalışarak çok daha geniş ve hedefli bir kampanya yürütmek mümkündür.Niş Hedefleme: Vegan beslenme, minimalist yaşam, anne-bebek gibi özel alanlara hitap eden içerik üreticileri sayesinde markanız tam da ulaşmak istediğiniz kitleye seslenebilir.Gerçek Bir Kampanya ÖrneğiBir doğal kozmetik markası, 15 farklı mikro-influencer ile yürüttüğü bir kampanyada satışlarını %30, site trafiğini ise %48 artırdı. Etkili içerikler, organik paylaşım ve özgün anlatım sayesinde mikro influencer'lar kampanyayı başarıya ulaştırdı.Mikro-Influencer Seçerken Nelere Dikkat Etmeli?Takipçi Kalitesi: Bot oranı düşük, organik ve ilgi uyandıran kitleye sahip olmalı.Etkileşim Oranı: Paylaşımlara gelen beğeni, yorum ve mesajlar analiz edilmeli.İçerik Uyumu: Influencer'ın paylaşım tarzı ve dilinin markayla örtüşmesi önemli.Samimiyet: Influencer gerçekten markaya inanmalı, aksi halde etkileşim düşük kalır.Strateji ve İşbirliği SüreciBaşarılı bir kampanya için önce hedef kitle netleştirilmeli, ardından platform seçimi (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube) yapılmalı. Influencer'a bire bir ulaşarak kişiselleştirilmiş teklifler sunulmalı. Kampanya sonunda KPI'lar (etkileşim, satış, tıklama vb.) ölçülmeli ve işe yarayan işbirlikleri tekrar planlanmalıdır.Doğru Kişiye, Doğru Zamanda UlaşmakArtık mesele daha fazla kişiye görünmek değil, doğru kişiye doğru zamanda ulaşmak. Mikro-influencer'lar düşük bütçeyle yüksek verim sağlayan stratejik iş ortakları haline geldi. Markanız için etkili bir mikro-influencer planı oluşturmak istiyorsanız, size memnuniyetle destek olurum.Daha fazla bilgi için bana instagram'dan @frktprk ulaşabilirsin.

E-posta pazarlaması, dijital pazarlamanın en yüksek yatırım getirisi sağlayan kanallarından biri olmaya devam ediyor. Ancak klasik “herkese gönder” dönemi artık geride kaldı. Günümüzde başarılı kampanyaların temelinde kişiselleştirme ve otomasyon yer alıyor.Kişiselleştirmenin GücüKullanıcılar, kendilerine özel hissettiren markalara daha fazla sadakat gösteriyor. Adının geçtiği bir e-posta, daha önce incelediği ürünlere özel öneriler ya da doğum gününde gelen özel teklifler, küçük ama etkili dokunuşlardır. Araştırmalara göre kişiselleştirilmiş e-postalar, genel kampanyalara göre %26 daha fazla açılma oranı ve %760 daha fazla gelir artışı sağlıyor.Otomasyon ile Zaman KazanınE-posta pazarlamasında her şeyi manuel yapmak mümkün değil. Bu noktada otomasyon sistemleri devreye giriyor. Kullanıcı davranışlarına göre tetiklenen e-postalarla, hem doğru zamanda iletişim kurabilir hem de iş yükünüzü ciddi şekilde azaltabilirsiniz. Örneğin:Sepetini terk eden kullanıcıya 30 dakika sonra hatırlatma1 haftadır giriş yapmayanlara teşvik e-postasıAbonelik süresi yaklaşanlara yenileme teklifiDoğru Araçlarla Profesyonel ÇözümlerOtomasyon sistemleri için farklı araçlar mevcut:Klaviyo: Shopify veya WooCommerce ile entegre çalışır ve yüksek başarı oranı sunar.Mailchimp: Küçük işletmeler için kullanıcı dostu arayüz sağlar.Kommo CRM: WhatsApp entegrasyonuyla güçlü bir pazarlama ve CRM altyapısı sunar.Özellikle Türkiye'deki kullanıcılar için verilerin yurt içinde saklanması gerektiği unutulmamalı. Bu nedenle, yerli servis sağlayıcıları ve yasal uyumluluk kriterlerine dikkat edilmelidir.Segmentasyon ile Kişiselleştirmeyi DerinleştirinKullanıcıları ilgi alanı, yaş, cinsiyet, davranış ve satın alma geçmişine göre gruplandırarak daha nokta atışı kampanyalar kurgulamak mümkün. Örneğin, cep telefonu kategorisini inceleyen kullanıcıya anne-bebek ürünü göstermek yerine, ilgi duyduğu kategoriye özel öneriler sunmak çok daha etkili olacaktır.Başarılı Örneklerden İlham AlınAmazon'un “şunu da beğenebilirsin” önerileri, Netflix'in “yarım bıraktığın dizi seni bekliyor” hatırlatmaları ya da Trendyol'un “Favori'ne özel indirim” bildirimleri, kişiselleştirme ve otomasyonun en iyi örneklerindendir.Küçük ölçekli işletmeler için de bu stratejiler çalışır. Takı satan bir sitenin, kullanıcının ilgilendiği taş tipine göre öneri göndermesi gibi. Bu e-postalar, kullanıcıda “bu marka beni tanıyor” hissi uyandırır.Yatırım Getirisi (ROI) Çok YüksekDoğru strateji, segmentasyon ve otomasyon uygulamalarıyla e-posta pazarlamasında 40 katına kadar yatırım getirisi sağlamak mümkün. Örneğin, Klaviyo ile ayda 150 dolar yatırım yapan bir marka, 6000 dolarlık gelir elde edebiliyor. ROI'nin bu kadar yüksek olduğu başka bir kanal bulmak oldukça zor.Spam gibi görünen toplu e-postalar yerine, kişiselleştirilmiş ve zamanında ulaşan otomatik mesajlar artık çok daha etkili. Markanızı bu doğrultuda yapılandırırsanız, hem satış hem müşteri sadakati tarafında ciddi sonuçlar alabilirsiniz.Yeni nesil pazarlama için kişiselleştirme ve otomasyonu stratejinizin merkezine koyun!Daha fazla bilgi için beni instagram'da @frktprk takip edebilirsin.

Episode 127In Part 2 of our series on the Synoptic Problem, Zach presents the case for Markan priority—the view that Mark was the first Gospel written. We explore the literary, linguistic, and structural reasons many scholars believe Matthew and Luke used Mark as a source. The discussion also dives into the proposed existence of “Q,” a hypothetical sayings source that may explain the shared material between Matthew and Luke not found in Mark. How do these theories shape our understanding of the Gospel narratives—and why does it matter? Join us as we examine this influential view and continue our journey through the origins of the Gospels.Find our videocast here: https://youtu.be/G1bOibH5qe4Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):⁠https://uppbeat.io/t/reakt-music/deep-stone⁠License code: 2QZOZ2YHZ5UTE7C8Find more Take 2 Theology content at https://take2pod.wordpress.com/

Why does the Gospel of Mark make specific and repeated reference to the compassion of Jesus in the miracle stories? Compassion and the Characterization of the Markan Jesus (Brill, 2024) discusses the function that compassion has in the Markan characterization of Jesus, particularly in how the terminology employed depicts Jesus as entering the suffering of others. In doing so, it underscores how this portrayal is exceptional among the stories of miracle workers in ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish literature. In Mark, this compassion toward the suffering other is a central feature of the kingdom of God, an attribute the Markan audience is challenged to emulate. Jonathan W. Bryant, Ph.D (2023), Loyola University Chicago, is Senior Editor of Bibles and Bible reference works at Tyndale House Publishers and is an ordained minister of The Wesleyan Church. Jonathon Lookadoo is Associate Professor at the Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary in Seoul, South Korea. While his interests range widely over the world of early Christianity, he is the author of books on the Epistle of Barnabas, Ignatius of Antioch, and the Shepherd of Hermas, including The Christology of Ignatius of Antioch (Cascade, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Why does the Gospel of Mark make specific and repeated reference to the compassion of Jesus in the miracle stories? Compassion and the Characterization of the Markan Jesus (Brill, 2024) discusses the function that compassion has in the Markan characterization of Jesus, particularly in how the terminology employed depicts Jesus as entering the suffering of others. In doing so, it underscores how this portrayal is exceptional among the stories of miracle workers in ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish literature. In Mark, this compassion toward the suffering other is a central feature of the kingdom of God, an attribute the Markan audience is challenged to emulate. Jonathan W. Bryant, Ph.D (2023), Loyola University Chicago, is Senior Editor of Bibles and Bible reference works at Tyndale House Publishers and is an ordained minister of The Wesleyan Church. Jonathon Lookadoo is Associate Professor at the Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary in Seoul, South Korea. While his interests range widely over the world of early Christianity, he is the author of books on the Epistle of Barnabas, Ignatius of Antioch, and the Shepherd of Hermas, including The Christology of Ignatius of Antioch (Cascade, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biblical-studies

Why does the Gospel of Mark make specific and repeated reference to the compassion of Jesus in the miracle stories? Compassion and the Characterization of the Markan Jesus (Brill, 2024) discusses the function that compassion has in the Markan characterization of Jesus, particularly in how the terminology employed depicts Jesus as entering the suffering of others. In doing so, it underscores how this portrayal is exceptional among the stories of miracle workers in ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish literature. In Mark, this compassion toward the suffering other is a central feature of the kingdom of God, an attribute the Markan audience is challenged to emulate. Jonathan W. Bryant, Ph.D (2023), Loyola University Chicago, is Senior Editor of Bibles and Bible reference works at Tyndale House Publishers and is an ordained minister of The Wesleyan Church. Jonathon Lookadoo is Associate Professor at the Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary in Seoul, South Korea. While his interests range widely over the world of early Christianity, he is the author of books on the Epistle of Barnabas, Ignatius of Antioch, and the Shepherd of Hermas, including The Christology of Ignatius of Antioch (Cascade, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Türkiye'de Dijital Pazarlama podcast'inin bu bölümünde, son dönemde ülkemizde gündemi meşgul eden önemli bir konuyu ele alıyoruz: Espressolab'e yönelik boykot ve bu tür krizlerin markalar üzerindeki etkileri. Bu bölümde, boykotun arka planını, markanın tepkisini, yaşanan gelişmeleri ve genel olarak markaların kriz anlarında nasıl bir yol izlemeleri gerektiğini detaylı bir şekilde inceliyoruz.Espressolab Boykotunun Arka PlanıMart 2025'te, İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediye Başkanı Ekrem İmamoğlu'nun tutuklanmasının ardından, siyasi arenada tansiyon yükseldi. Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (CHP) Genel Başkanı Özgür Özel, bazı firmalara yönelik boykot çağrısında bulundu ve bu çağrıda Espressolab de hedef alınan markalar arasında yer aldı. Özel, konuşmasında, “Kahvenin her türlüsünü severim… Türk kahvesi, filtre kahve hepsini severim. Hangisini içerseniz için ama bunu sakın Espressolab'den içmeyin!” ifadelerini kullandı.Espressolab'in Tepkisi ve AçıklamasıBoykot çağrısının ardından Espressolab, bir açıklama yaparak neden boykot edildiklerini anlamadıklarını belirtti. Şirket, 2014 yılında bir üniversitenin içinde doğduklarını, herhangi bir siyasi bağlantıya sahip olmadıklarını ve devlet desteği ya da teşviki almadan 15 ülkede faaliyet gösteren bir marka haline geldiklerini ifade etti. Ayrıca, markalarının ardında görünmeyen ortaklar veya gizli destekçilerin olmadığını vurguladılar. Boykotun Markaya EtkisiBoykotların markalar üzerindeki etkisi, tüketicilerin tepkisinin büyüklüğüne ve medyanın ilgisine bağlı olarak değişebilir. Espressolab özelinde, boykotun finansal etkilerine dair net veriler mevcut değildir. Ancak, sosyal medyada ve basında geniş yankı bulduğu göz önüne alındığında, markanın itibarına yönelik olumsuz etkiler yaşanmış olabilir. Örneğin, Ekşi Sözlük'te kullanıcılar, bazı şubelerin boş olduğunu ve müşteri sayısında düşüş yaşandığını belirtmiştir. Markalar Boykot Durumunda Nasıl Hareket Etmeli?Bir markanın boykotla karşılaşması durumunda izleyebileceği stratejiler şunlardır: 1. Şeffaf ve Hızlı İletişim: Marka, boykotun nedenlerini anlamaya çalışmalı ve kamuoyuna şeffaf bir şekilde açıklamalıdır. Hızlı ve doğru bilgi akışı, spekülasyonların önüne geçer. 2. Tüketici Geri Bildirimlerini Dikkate Alma: Tüketicilerin endişelerini dinlemek ve onların değerlerine saygı göstermek, markanın güvenilirliğini artırır. 3. Sosyal Sorumluluk Projeleri: Toplumsal konulara duyarlılık gösteren projeler geliştirmek, markanın olumlu algısını güçlendirebilir. 4. Kriz İletişimi Planı: Olası kriz durumlarına karşı önceden hazırlıklı olmak, markanın hızlı ve etkili bir şekilde tepki vermesini sağlar. 5. Bağımsız Denetimler ve Sertifikalar: Ürün ve hizmetlerin belirli standartlara uygun olduğunu gösteren bağımsız sertifikalar, tüketicilerin güvenini kazanabilir.Espressolab'in Kuruluş Hikayesi ve Genel BilgilerEspressolab, 2014 yılında Esat Kocadağ tarafından İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi'nde ilk mağazasını açarak faaliyetlerine başlamıştır. Kocadağ ailesinin bir girişimi olan marka, Türkiye ve yurt dışında hızla büyüyerek 15 ülkede 360 mağazaya ulaşmıştır. Mağazalarının %93'ü franchise modeliyle işletilmektedir. Çalışan sayısına dair kesin bir bilgi bulunmamakla birlikte, geniş mağaza ağı göz önüne alındığında binlerce kişiye istihdam sağladığı tahmin edilmektedir.SonuçEspressolab'e yönelik boykot, markaların toplumsal ve siyasi olaylar karşısında nasıl konumlandıklarının ve iletişim stratejilerinin önemini bir kez daha göstermektedir. Markaların, tüketicilerle olan ilişkilerinde şeffaf, duyarlı ve proaktif bir yaklaşım sergilemeleri, olası krizlerin etkilerini minimize etmek açısından kritik öneme sahiptir.Bu bölümümüzde, Espressolab boykotu üzerinden markaların kriz yönetimi stratejilerini detaylı bir şekilde ele aldık. Umarız bu bilgiler, markaların benzer durumlarla karşılaştığında nasıl hareket etmeleri gerektiği konusunda faydalı olmuştur.

Nasıl Olunur'un 234'üncü bölümünde konu menopoz; konuğum Operatör Doktor Banu Çiftçi.Çiftçi, kadın hastalıkları ve doğum uzmanı. Mesleğinin ilk yıllarını da özellikle bu alanda başarılı çalışmalar yaparak, çocuk sahibi olamayan pek çok kişinin anne-baba olmasını sağlayarak geçiriyor. 34 yaşında aniden yaşadığı 'erken menopoz' süreciyle başka bir döneme giriyor. O dönemleri yayına bırakayım...Bugün sadece ve özellikle menopoz üzerine çalışan, sürekli araştıran biri Op. Dr. Banu Çiftçi.Belki konuğum hakkında çok özel bir bilgi verdim ama bu durum hem yayını başkalaştırdı hem de Banu Hanım'ın menopozu anlama, anlatma, kadınlara derman olma çabasının daha iyi anlaşılmasını sağlayacağını düşünüyorum. Bazı konu başlıkları da vereyim: ·      Menopoz nedir? Hastalık mıdır?·      Menopoza girmesek oluyor mu?·      Menopoz dönemleri, yaş aralıkları neler? Menopoz geciktirilebilir mi?·      ‘Aslında' östrojen nedir? Progesteron nedir? Vücutta ne işe yarar, yokluklarında ne gibi sıkıntılar yaratırlar?·      Hormon tedavisinin yeri ve önemi! Nedir, ne değildir?·      Menopoz döneminde devlet desteği·      Erken menopoz nedir?·      Erken menopozdan geri dönüş var mı?·      Menopoz dönemi belirtileri, yapılması gerekenler…·      Biyoeşdeğer hormon tedavisi nedir, ne değildir?·      Menopoz-hormon-kanser ilişkisi hangi dönemde nasıl kuruldu? Bugün neredeyiz?·      Menopoz ile ilgili doktor desteği ne zaman alınmalı, geç kalmak söz konusu mu?Ne mutlu ki, bu bölümde bir de destekçim var: Penti.Konuğum bile belli değildi. Markanın iki yıllık bir çalışma süreci sonunda ‘Benim Menopozum' isminde kolajen içerikli, serinleten, ultraviyole etkili iç çamaşırları, pijama ve atletleri içeren bir serisi olduğunu öğrenince ben aradım onları. Onların araştırmalarını, yaş almayı kucaklayan ‘pro-aging' kavramına yaklaşımlarını da aktarmak istedim. Özetle benim bir #işbirliğim var bu bölümde. Banu Hanım'ın bu durumla bir ilgisi yok ama incelik gösterdi.Bu defa "umarım seversiniz" demeyeceğim bölüm için, umarım "bu bölümden çok faydalanırsınız"; iyi gelsin! Gazeteci#Journalist ~ #Art- #Food- #Travel lover ~ #EnthusiastBooks:

We see in the "Markan sandwich" found in the story of the raising of Jairus' daughter, that Jesus makes us clean in a faith that keeps us. We remember that Jesus has completely saved us and leaves no work to be done. The work of the cross is finished and complete, so we continue in the faith that has us. 

Discussion Questions Sermon Overview: Jesus is pleased when we respond to his worth with extravagant love.1. Those who recognize Jesus' worth respond with extravagant love. (vv. 1-3, 10-11)2. Jesus is pleased by our responsive love. (vv. 4-7)3. Jesus' worth is particularly seen in his death out of love for us. (vv. 8-9)Digging Deeper:    Read Mark 14:1-11  1. Mark (the author of this gospel), frequently “sandwiches” one story into the middle of another (often referred to as a “Markan sandwich”). We see that here in 14:1-11 (vv. 1-2 and vv. 10-11 are “the bread”, vv. 3-9 are “the meat”). What are some of the contrasts this “sandwich” helps us see? 2. Mark goes out of his way to make sure we, his readers, see the extravagant nature of the woman's gift. What are some of the details he includes that help us see this? Why do you think Mark is so determined to help us see this? What does the value of the gift communicate about the worth of the one to whom it is given? 3. Those gathered around the table are scandalized by what in their eyes is the woman's “wastefulness.” (v. 4).  What accounts for this contrast in perspectives (between those grumbling about this “waste” and the woman)? What did the woman see that the others did not? 4. In order to respond (like the woman) to Jesus' worth with extravagant acts of love, we must first recognize his worth.  How does that happen? Are there things we can do to see Jesus' worth more clearly?     5. What gets in the way of you recognizing the worth of Jesus? (This could be other things you're drawn to more than Jesus, distractions, etc).6. While we don't have the opportunity to express a love for Jesus the exact same way the woman did, there are ways we can be extravagant in our outpouring of love for Christ. What are some examples of “extravagant love” for Jesus you have witnessed?  What might it look like for you to display extravagant love for your Savior?7. Why is it crucial that we distinguish between displays of love to Jesus because he loved us, and displays of love to Jesus so that he will love us?  What are some of the disastrous consequences that can result from failing to get this distinction right? 8. Because Jesus loved his people, he died for them (vv. 8-9), showing his worth. What are some ways we can seek to be regularly mindful of and grateful for Jesus' loving sacrifice for us?9. A life of extravagant love for Jesus is a life that will not look “normal”; it will be markedly different from the lives of those around us.  How might our acts of love for Christ (e.g. - extravagant uses of our time, energy, money) point those who don't know Jesus in our lives to the worth of Christ? Prayer

Reading Mark 16:14-20, finishing up our study of the Markan appendix, the longer ending of the gospel of Mark that wasn't included in the earliest manuscripts. Visit wwutt.com for all our videos!

Reading Mark 16:9-13 in the longer ending of Mark, also considering the different women who were at the resurrection, and where these extra passages came from. Visit wwutt.com for all our videos!

Mark interweaves 2 miracle stories which tell us about 2 forms of prayer.  (Chris Muglia - Lord, I Need You (Chris Tomlin) )The homilies of Msgr. Stephen J. AvilaPastor, St. Joseph, Guardian of the Holy Family Parish, Falmouth, MAThanks for listening! May God's Word find a home in you.

Just how many Herods threatened the life of Jesus? Dr. Jason Combs explores the many Herods, their effect on Jesus and especially on the life, and death of John the Baptist and the call to sacrifice for the Savior.00:00 Part 1–Dr. Jason Combs00:56 Introduction of Dr. Jason Combs04:19 How the Gospels relate to one another as testimonies07:18 Mark 6 and Jesus is the carpenter's son09:46 John the Baptist was killed15:34 Josephus's account of John the Baptist's death17:44 Mark and intercalation–Markan sandwich21:47 President Faust story about Rafael Monroy and Vincente Morales24:12 Jesus departed by ship after hearing of John's death26:47 Feeding of the 5000, Moses and Jesus's name in Hebrew32:43 Additional details remind us of Exodus and Jesus as a New Moses36:58 Messianic Banquet and the Essenes42:00 Gentile vs. servant leadership43:16 Jesus walks on the water47:41 Commandment to be of “good cheer”49:57 Matthew emphasizes they know who Jesus is52:50 Mark shows Jesus's divinity in subtle epiphanies55:17 Beliefs about ghosts in the First Century58:20 Matthew teaches us how Jesus is tutoring Peter1:00:26 Jesus and Peter walk on the water1:08:15 End of Part 1–Dr. Jason CombsShow Notes (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese): https://followhim.coFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/followhimpodcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FollowHimOfficialChannelThanks to the followHIM team:Shannon Sorensen: Executive Producer, SponsorDavid & Verla Sorensen: SponsorsDr. Hank Smith: Co-hostJohn Bytheway: Co-hostDavid Perry: ProducerKyle Nelson: Marketing, SponsorLisa Spice: Client Relations, Editor, Show NotesJamie Neilson: Social Media, Graphic DesignWill Stoughton: Video EditorKrystal Roberts: Translation Team, English & French Transcripts, WebsiteAriel Cuadra: Spanish Transcripts"Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" by Marshall McDonaldhttps://www.marshallmcdonaldmusic.com/products/let-zion-in-her-beauty-rise-piano

How can sharing personal testimony of healings, blessings, and testimony bless others? Dr. Ryan Sharp explores the many miracles of Jesus and the value of personal testimony amidst tribulation and persecution.00:00 Part 1–Dr. Ryan Sharp00:56 Introduction of Dr. Ryan Sharp02:34 Unique approaches of each gospel author04:11 Matthew's POV06:40 Inclusio14:35 Why miracles are shown18:01 Jesus heals man with leprosy19:29 Miracles in Matthew 921:01 Elder Wirthlin story of friendship 24:44 John story “Where Will Your Friends Take You?”27:27 Brother Arnold story “Strengthen Your Brethren”31:05 Matthew's call35:19 Jesus eats with sinners36:50 Fasting and joy39:10 Characteristics of Mark41:34 Messianic Secret46:59 Dr. Sharp shares a personal story about teaching and studying the New Testament49:25 Markan sandwich of Jarius and woman with issue of blood54:37 Hem of Jesus's garment1:01:11 End of Part 1–Dr. Ryan SharpShow Notes (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese): https://followhim.coFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/followhimpodcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FollowHimOfficialChannelThanks to the followHIM team:Shannon Sorensen: Executive Producer, SponsorDavid & Verla Sorensen: SponsorsDr. Hank Smith: Co-hostJohn Bytheway: Co-hostDavid Perry: ProducerKyle Nelson: Marketing, SponsorLisa Spice: Client Relations, Editor, Show NotesJamie Neilson: Social Media, Graphic DesignWill Stoughton: Video EditorKrystal Roberts: Translation Team, English & French Transcripts, WebsiteAriel Cuadra: Spanish Transcripts"Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" by Marshall McDonaldhttps://www.marshallmcdonaldmusic.com/products/let-zion-in-her-beauty-rise-piano