Podcasts about Patristics

What does it actually mean to persist in prayer? In episode 505 of the Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb conclude their study of Luke 11's "Parable of the Night Friend" — and the answer is far richer than most Christians expect. Rather than teaching a technique for wearing down a reluctant God, Jesus presents a contrasting image: a grudging friend who finally relents out of pure annoyance, set against a Father who overflows with delight to give His people the very best gift imaginable. Through careful exegetical attention to the parable's logic, covenantal structure, and Trinitarian movement, Tony and Jesse show that the ultimate object of persevering prayer is nothing less than the Holy Spirit Himself — the supreme covenant gift of the new covenant age, promised by the Father to the Son, and freely given to all who ask. Key Takeaways The parable operates by contrast, not direct comparison. The annoyed friend is not a picture of God — he is a foil. Everything about God's character is the opposite of this reluctant neighbor, and reading the parable correctly depends on recognizing this reversal. Persistence in prayer is appropriate, not impudent. The word translated "persistence" in verse 8 carries a sense of shameless, boundary-crossing boldness. But unlike the midnight knocker whose asking had become socially inappropriate, our asking of God never crosses a line. There is no point at which we have asked too much. The shift from "friend" to "father" is a deliberate relational and moral intensification. Jesus moves the argument from voluntary friendship (revocable, lateral) to fatherhood (covenantally obligated, vertical), and then from sinful human fathers to the holy divine Father — two axes that together magnify the certainty and character of God's giving. Total depravity and common grace are both present in verse 13. Jesus calls even his disciples "evil," grounding the argument in the doctrine of total depravity, while simultaneously appealing to the nearly universal parental instinct to give good things to children as evidence of common grace operative even in fallen humanity. The ultimate gift is the Holy Spirit, not general blessings. Luke's version of this teaching specifies what Matthew's leaves general: the supreme "good thing" the Father gives is the Holy Spirit Himself. This is not a second-blessing theology, but a call to pray explicitly and persistently for the subjective experience and fresh working of the Spirit already indwelling believers. God's giving is grounded in the Covenant of Redemption. The Father's obligation to give the Spirit to believers is not merely an expression of His general goodness — it flows first from His pretemporal covenant commitment to the Son, to grant Him a people marked, redeemed, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is on full display in Christ's earthly ministry. The Father sending the Holy Spirit is unavoidably Trinitarian language — and Jesus' disciples received it without confusion. The Old Testament had already furnished them with this framework, and the New Testament simply brings it into full light. Key Concepts The Parable Operates by Contrast, Not Direct Comparison One of the most common misreadings of Luke 11 is to identify the sleeping friend with God — as though Jesus is saying, "If you pester God long enough, He will eventually give in." Tony points out that this reading produces a deeply distorted picture of God: an annoyed deity who only answers prayer when sufficiently harassed. The actual logic of the parable is a contrast. The friend is reluctant where God is eager. The friend gives grudgingly where God gives joyfully. The friend is moved by annoyance where God is moved by covenant love. Jesus is not saying, "God is like this friend." He is saying, "Even this friend eventually gave what was needed — how infinitely more will your Father, who is nothing like this friend, give you everything you need?" The parable's force depends entirely on the distance between its human character and the divine reality it points toward. The Ultimate Gift Is the Holy Spirit Himself A comparison of Matthew 7 and Luke 11 reveals something significant. Where Matthew records Jesus promising "good things" to those who ask, Luke specifies: the Holy Spirit. This is not a contradiction — it is Luke's Spirit-guided theological clarification, shaped by his characteristic pneumatological emphasis and his post-Pentecost vantage point. The teaching closes where it must: not with general providential blessings, but with God's own personal presence and power. Tony is careful to distinguish this from two-stage salvation theology. The call to ask for the Holy Spirit is a call for what might be described as the subjective experience of the Spirit — fresh assurance, sanctifying power, gifts for ministry — not a second indwelling. The Christian who already possesses the Spirit objectively is nonetheless invited, even commanded, to ask persistently for His living and active presence. That invitation is itself grounded in covenant promise. God's Giving Is Grounded in the Covenant of Redemption Perhaps the most theologically profound moment in the episode comes when Tony traces God's obligation to give the Spirit beyond the Covenant of Grace and back to the Covenant of Redemption — the pretemporal, intra-Trinitarian covenant in which the Father promised the Son a redeemed people whose redemption would be applied by the Holy Spirit. This means that when believers ask the Father for the Holy Spirit, they are not merely appealing to His general benevolence. They are appealing to a promise the Father made to the Son before the foundation of the world — a promise sealed in the Son's obedient life, atoning death, and glorious resurrection. God's faithfulness in answering prayer for the Spirit is, at its deepest level, an expression of His covenant faithfulness to Christ. That is the ground of Christian boldness in prayer, and it is the ground that never shifts. Memorable Quote God has covenantally bound himself to grant us the Holy Spirit when we ask him... That covenantal obligation first and foremost is not primarily his covenant with us. It is his prior commitment and covenantal obligation to his Son to grant him a people who would be marked by and redeemed and have redemption applied by the Holy Spirit. - Tony Arsenal We could not petition him enough to be annoying to him. There is no boundary for when it is inappropriate to stop asking or seeking or knocking. - Tony Arsenal It doesn't teach a doctrine of prayer as a technique, somehow like wearing down a reluctant God, but a doctrine of prayer as a filial confidence grounded in the Father's revealed character, exercised through this persevering, believing, asking. - Jesse Schwamb Full Transcript [00:01:03] Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 505 of the Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse  [00:01:12] Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony, and this is the podcast With Ears to Hear. Hey, brother.  [00:01:16] Jesse Schwamb: Hey, brother. So I'm excited for this little conversation because I tried to tee all, all of this up for the culmination of this amazing parable, which I, I don't know if you coined it or if it comes from somewhere else or if it's what the Patristics called it- [00:01:32] the parable of the night friends, but I really loved that. Yeah. It sounds like an amazing movie as well, so maybe there's a drama that can unfold. I mean, this is, this is cinematic. And if you're wondering what we're even talking about, you know it. It's the parable in Luke 11, the one where Jesus tells a story about a guy pounding on his neighbor's door at midnight begging for bread because apparently first-century hospitality customs did not include 24/7 7-Eleven. [00:01:58] And so a lot of [00:02:00] us get this one wrong. We hear in this parable words like ask, seek, and knock, and we turn it into some kind of prayer vending machine where if we do the right things or we ask long or hard enough that God will give us exactly what we want. And it turns out the whole parable is about God giving us what we need, the best blessing, the best gift, the thing that is the best in all the world, which is His spirit, and that's what we're gonna talk about on this episode. [00:02:25] So it's all- Yeah ... been set up, loved ones. Now it's time for the good stuff. Tony's here. We're going after it hard. How about that?  [00:02:33] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, it should be good.  [00:02:34] Jesse Schwamb: It's gonna be, it's gonna be better than good, Tony. It's gonna be, like, amazing. I- I was hoping, like, the, the energy. I, I was just anticipating you were just gonna come in hard with me on that. [00:02:45] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. I, I, I wish I had the energy. I mean, we'll, we'll talk about this maybe a little bit in denials. It's just been a, it's been a long day.  [00:02:53] Jesse Schwamb: Well, speaking of-  [00:02:54] Tony Arsenal: But it's good. It's good ... speaking- I'm excited.  [00:02:57] Jesse Schwamb: I, I felt like you were just like that was, [00:03:00] like, your pretty excitement for me and you were like, "All right. [00:03:02] Move us along." Yeah. "Enough of this stuff." I get it. No, no. I, I'm totally down with that.  [00:03:06] Tony Arsenal: It's good.  [00:03:06] Jesse Schwamb: Honestly, that's as good a set of a segue as any. It is time before we get to the, the full excitement, we'll war- we'll both warm up a bit.  [00:03:14] Affirmations And Denials Segment [00:03:14] Jesse Schwamb: Let's take us to that segment where we take a page from the Reformed tradition of writing confessions, except these are ones that nobody asked for. [00:03:21] It's that time where we affirm with something that we really like or we deny against something that we don't like so much. So I can only wonder now, given that little preamble, that just short little nugget that you dropped there, I am really curious, more than ever, are you denying against something or are you actually affirming with something else? [00:03:40] Tony Arsenal: I'm gonna cheat a little bit and go back, go old school and do an affirmation and a denial.  [00:03:44] Tony Denies Sleep And Twitter Bait [00:03:44] Tony Arsenal: So- Oh, okay ... I guess my denial is just sleep deprivation. It's, it's just been, for whatever reason, it's been a couple nights in a row of, of sort of disruptive sleep with the kids and the dog. And this time of year in New Hampshire, the, the nights start to get a little bit chilly, which is, is great. [00:04:01] Um, but you start to get rodents and other animals moving around and- When you live in the, the kind of house that I do, there's a large crawl space underneath, so even if, even if the animals aren't making their way into the house itself, they move around under the, the house. And so when you have a terrier that has been bred over many generations to hunt those kinds of animals, uh, when they start hearing them moving around under the floors, they don't, they don't stay quiet about it. [00:04:27] So denying sleep deprivation. We've talked a lot about how important sleep is, and how it's a blessing from God, and it's a way to show that we're not in charge, and we're not necessary, that God's, you know, God's plan and God's world keeps spinning even when our brains are shut off for the night. So I'm denying sleep deprivation. [00:04:45] My affirmation, uh, actually it's a denial too. It's two denials. It's a double denial. Uh, my denial, I guess what I'm gonna call it is I'm, I'm denying taking the bait. So there's, there's been a, a rather high-profile, uh, [00:05:00]Christian figure that I honestly was not super familiar with. I don't need to get into the specifics, but I was not super familiar with, and when I was silly enough to ask the question online as to like why is everybody even paying attention to this person who has no theology training and is clearly not articulating things in a reasonable way? [00:05:17] The answer was like, "Well, he has 4.5 million followers." I was like, "Oh. O- okay." Uh, where I'm denying taking the bait is that this is a person who's been railing against Reformed theology, Calvinism, uh, for a, like a week now probably, week and a half. Uh, total straw man arguments, just totally misrepresenting things, not a good faith engagement effort, not really trying to understand the position they're critiquing. [00:05:41] Just sort of like painting really broad, inaccurate strokes and then s- sort of congratulating himself when he knocks down that straw man. And where I'm denying taking the bait is that in the same breath as me saying like, "Why are we bothering to engage this person?" Uh, I engaged the person. And, uh, you know, like it [00:06:00] just turns into what you, what it turns into. [00:06:02] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah.  [00:06:02] Tony Arsenal: It turns into both parties kind of screaming into the void and just feeling like the other person's not listening, and I don't have time for that. So, uh, I've, I've come up with a new policy for myself on Twitter. If someone is clearly not a good faith actor, uh, then I'm just gonna block them, and then I don't have to worry about it anymore. [00:06:18] Good  [00:06:18] Jesse Schwamb: for you.  [00:06:18] Tony Arsenal: Um, so there's plenty of people who wanna have good conversations, who are interested in dialogue, critical or otherwise, uh- [00:06:41] -fashion. Um, first of all, we should always be asking like, "Am I even the person that should be responding?" But i- if you, in God's providence and in wisdom and Christian prudence decide that you are, uh, then, you know, like is this a person worth responding to? Is Twitter the place to respond or, or is it a longer [00:07:00] format or something like that the best, um, best option? [00:07:03] So I'm denying taking the bait. It's like that, uh, like that GIF, like that's bait, and then I total- I totally took it. I totally took it, wasted a bunch of my time. Uh, and I used to think like, "Well, there's people watching, and they're reading what I'm..." But like nobody's reading what I'm saying. Nope, nobody  [00:07:17] Jesse Schwamb: cares. [00:07:17] Tony Arsenal: Nobody cares. Yeah. It's just a bunch of voices online. So there's ways to have influence and, and there are certainly people that have influence through Twitter, and I've had some really good conversations, and I think there is some value at times to engaging in that, uh, that media. But, uh, this was not one of them, so I'm denying taking the bait. [00:07:35] Jesse Schwamb: Would you look at us? I mean, would you look at us? How, how far God has brought us. Yes. I, I just wanna commend you for bringing that up and just kinda laying that all out in transparency. I, bully for you. I think that's right on. There's a... Everybody listen to that again, 'cause there was a lot of good stuff in that short little denial. [00:07:52] Very good.  [00:07:54] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. What about you, Jesse? What do you got for us tonight?  [00:07:57] Jesse Schwamb: I'm in that place now where, remember you and I [00:08:00] said we should create a list of our affirmations, Niles? I think you have been more faithful in that, uh, honestly, than I have. I, I have- ... coveted your, your faithfulness in doing that. So then I did it, and now I can't remember. [00:08:10] I'm not crossing them off, so now I can't remember if I've actually- ... given this. So everybody please have mercy on me if I've already said this before. I don't think I have, because, you know, I'm just burying a lead that doesn't need to be buried.  [00:08:23] Jesse Affirms Invictus EP [00:08:23] Jesse Schwamb: But I've got a affirmation, and it's more music, and it'll hur- hit a certain group I'm sure. [00:08:29] But I'm affirming with a band called Invictus. They have a new EP that's out this year. It's called Sealed and Sent, and I'll just give you... I, I don't, I'm not trying to make light of this, but, like, I'm not gonna tell you what the music... I mean, I have a pedigree I'm sure in history here. But let me just give you, there's six tracks. [00:08:46] I'm just gonna give you the names of the tracks. Maybe you might guess the style of music from these tracks. Um, it starts with Crush the Snake, then goes on to Heaven's Weapon, Hymn for the Fallen, which is acoustic, Retribution, Drive Them Out, and I Won't [00:09:00] Break. This is a great album. It is, I'm gonna go with their definition of their own sound. [00:09:04] They're a cinematic Christian metal project blending crushing riffs, melodic metalcore, and scripture-inspired themes of spiritual warfare, redemption, perseverance, and victory through Christ. Here's the thing. All of that's true, and you might say, as I did when I first came across them, "Uh, sounds a little cheesy. [00:09:22] Sounds a little kitsch." Turns out it's just awesome. And sometimes, like, you need this kind of music that's so spiritually rich in victory with Christ, that is so expressive of... 'Cause there is, as you heard, like a tint there toward the supernatural realm, toward the battles that are in that realm. But I, sometimes you need that. [00:09:43] This is fantastic. The only word of warning I have is that, so if you're not into that style, and there is, like, beautiful, it's very melodic. There's a lot of beautiful melodies in this. A lot of, like, the voices are really truly fantastic. So it's worth listening to for just for that But my warning is, um, [00:10:00] kind of strange. [00:10:01] This track three, it's acoustic, it's Hymn for the Fallen, is, uh, exactly what it is. It's almost like an anthem for those, uh, condemned to hell, and it is troublingly haunting. Uh, I think it's, like, exactly theologically precise, and it's beautiful in its own right. It's a strange song to listen to because it is beautiful in its expression. [00:10:22] The music is phenomenal, and again, the voice work from this, this single artist is incredible. His range is fantastic. I think it'll leave you at parts just almost breathless. And yet what they're singing about is not quite a celebration, but it is like a song of mourning. And every, uh, time I listen to it, and I wanna listen to it, and yet when you're done with it, you do feel this different sense and urgency for those around you. [00:10:46] So that's my only warning is it's a really complex little EP, but it's strong, and it's beautiful, and it's glorious, and it's a little bit haunting, and it's certainly convicting and challenging. So it turns out, I guess I do like... I [00:11:00]just love the word cinematic. Like, I'm not sure entirely all that it entails, but I think it's probably an, an accurate description. [00:11:07] So if you're looking for some new music or some different music, I highly recommend Invictus because I think you'll be blessed by them  [00:11:16] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. My, um, my musical, uh, I don't know, repertoire consists mostly of, like, kids worship bop music. Uh, so, uh, maybe I'll, maybe I'll put that on the next time I'm in the car by myself just to listen to some sort of, like- [00:11:34] I don't know, like grown-up music. 'Cause, 'cause I don't listen to a lot of grown-up music as it is now. I, if, if I'm lucky, I get a couple, uh, couple minutes on the bus or something like that to listen to some real, real adult music. But yeah, I'll, I'll have to check it out, and there's always a chance that this will be the screaming music or the heavy music that I like. [00:11:55] There's always a chance.  [00:11:57] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. It's more, it's more heavy than maybe screaming. There is a [00:12:00] little bit of that good rasp, but it brings me back to, you and I are of a certain age. I'm, I'm older than you, but I think back to, like, maybe that late '90s, early 2000s, kinda like Creed style. Mm. Like, almost like that, but a little bit deeper and richer and, and a little bit harder. [00:12:16] But it's, it's not, I think, so dissonant that the average ear wouldn't find great value in it. And again, that- Yeah ... third track, which is acoustic, is very beautiful in its own right. It's just a very strange song. Usually you don't hear a song like that, and it really caught me by surprise. And the more I listen to it, the more it does create some kind of mourning within you, and I've thought about it quite a bit, even as I interact with people around me, thinking about the essential emergency of what it means that souls are, are in play here, so to speak. [00:12:44] That, of course, they're all under the providence of God, but He used us as a means in which to preach that gospel message, and we ought to be about that gospel message. And I suppose- Yeah ... in point, that started the podcast as we talked about the gospel and became excited every time we spoke about the [00:13:00] gospel, and then it's, it flowed into this whole series we're doing on the parables. [00:13:04] Back To Luke 11 Reading [00:13:04] Jesse Schwamb: And now, of course, we find it again in Luke chapter 11 here And I was excited to speak with you because I tried to set up for everybody, ourselves included, just like all of the little prolegomena, all the, all the kinda like little fine, fun details of like the circumstance and the interaction that's happening in this parable. [00:13:23] But really the punchline comes in this, I would say, unexpected twist that one, we have this friend going to another, and the friend is reluctant when he really shouldn't be, and there's this incredible juxtaposition of, well, how much more so is God going to be less reluctant because He's our Father, and He delights to give us that which is good, the best of gifts. [00:13:43] And this sometimes gets turned around in that we ought to just really continually annoy God to the extent that He just gives us the very thing, and that somehow this is explained to us that we have to have enough perseverance, hope against hope, to continue to pray against all odds. And instead what we find [00:14:00] buried in this parable is something far better than that. [00:14:02] Actually, the gift that God gives us is something that we really could not conceive of apart from the gospel itself. So I'm gonna take us back- Yeah ... into Luke chapter 11. I'm gonna read the whole passage or the parable that we were just talking about, started it last week. But we're really gonna pick it up in this, so everybody can be listening, at this turning point where Jesus begins to speak about the role of the Father and what He desires to give us. [00:14:27] So this is Luke chapter 11, beginning verse one. "And it happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of the disciples said to Him, 'Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.' And He said to them, 'When you pray, say, "Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. [00:14:45] Give us each our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation."' Then He said to them, 'Which of you has a friend and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me [00:15:00] three loaves for a friend has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.' [00:15:05] And from the inside he answers, 'Do not bother me. The door has already been shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot rise up and give you anything.' I tell you, even though he will not rise up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as much as we needs. [00:15:23] So I say to you, ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who receives asks, and he who, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks will be opened. But what father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if his son asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? [00:15:45] If then you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give you the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?'"  [00:15:57] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah.  [00:15:59] Tony Unpacks The Parable Logic [00:15:59] Tony Arsenal: This is, um, one of those passages that I think... I think you're exactly right. We, we sort of fall into a very specific way of thinking because for some good reasons, right? [00:16:13] Like, this is a parable about prayer. It's couched, y- you know, it's, it's sort of sandwiched in different parts tea- teaching about prayer. And so I think we, we instinctively, kinda like we saw with the Parable of the Good Samaritan, we kind of instinctively assume who certain characters in the, in the analogy here are, right? [00:16:34] Sure. Just like in the, the Parable of the Good Samaritan, we kind of assume that, like, the neighbor that is being talked about is the guy who got beat up and left for dead, but in, in the s- the punchline, we find out it's actually the Samaritan. In this case, I think we assume the person who is being, um, who is being e- entreated upon must represent God, and the person who is doing the entreating, uh, is, you know, is us.[00:17:00] [00:17:00] And I'm not sure that the parable, a- and again, like, what even is a parable? Some people would say, "Well, this isn't a parable," but w- we're really just talking about kind of like the figures of speech ministry of Christ, the figures of the sayings of Jesus that sort of circulate around these analogies. Um, w- what even is a parable? [00:17:19] And in this case, like- We need to be careful not to just make those assumptions without-  [00:17:25] Jesse Schwamb: Right ...  [00:17:26] Tony Arsenal: justifying them in the text because it'll lead us to the wrong conclusion. Like, like you've said, like if we assume that the person in the text, in the, the, the parable here who is being entreated upon represents God the Father, well, what we've done now is we've made God sort of like this annoying or this annoyed figure who doesn't really wanna answer our prayers, but because we harass him so much, because we're so persistent. [00:17:51] Another translation of that word is impudence, right? It's a word that has to do with, like, almost like a shameless begging. Like, [00:18:00] it's, it's someone who is asking something that goes beyond the boundaries of appropriate.  [00:18:05] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:18:05] Tony Arsenal: Right? It's, it's impudence, it's persistence, but it's not just persistence in that, like, it's not just stick-to-it-iveness. [00:18:12] It's like persistence to the point of being, uh, inappropriate is really what this word is getting at. Well, now what we've done is we've made it so we have to inappropriately pursue God for prayer. Right. So I'm, I'm glad you set it up this way to sort of say, like, we need to think about this parable. Yes, there's something here about prayer, for sure. [00:18:29] There's more here about the fact that God desires to give us good gifts, but we really need to understand how it is that this teaching is functioning in almost like a, a, almost like a contrasting example kind of way compared to, like, a direct example. It, it's, it's not, it's not exactly an argument to the lesser, from the lesser to the greater. [00:18:51] I mean, it kind of is.  [00:18:52] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:18:52] Tony Arsenal: But it's, it's almost like a reverse argument from the lesser to the greater. Like, there's this lesser that's so much lesser that he's actually [00:19:00] sort of- Yes ... like an annoying, like not a super admirable, noble figure. Then how much more noble is God? It's kind of the, the sort of the force of this parable, the force of this teaching. [00:19:09] Jesse Schwamb: Yes. I like how you said that. It was... You crystallized something I've been thinking about, which was, it's almost like in this text, think of, like, these two different shores. On one shore is this function, the action, and the worship of, uh, through prayer. On the other shore is this g- great supreme gift of the Holy Spirit, and there's something about a bridge that's being built between these two things, and it starts with this really interesting analogy. [00:19:34] But then there's, like, this turning point from friend to father, and for me, what, like I mentioned last week, I'm seeing, I'm picking up, maybe too much so, all of this interesting covenantal shadows and language here. And so, like, in this shifting, specifically from this analogy to friend to fa- from friend to father, there's almost in my mind, like, an intensifying of the relational bond. [00:19:56] I mean, friendship being voluntary and revocable, fatherhood, [00:20:00] especially in ancient thought, bound by nature, and then that again, covenant obligation. It does strengthen this interesting logic that's unfolding for us. But it's as if the bridge that's being built here by Jesus is taking and uniting or bringing together this idea of good gifts of the Father, and the greatest gift being the Holy Spirit, and prayer and how that accomplishes or receives or invokes those gifts, and the bridge being the right way in which to think about prayer and the right mode in which to consider prayer so as to ask for the things in the name of Jesus according to God's will, that is the greatest of all gifts, which is the Holy Spirit. [00:20:36] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:20:36] Hospitality Context And Midnight Bread [00:20:36] Tony Arsenal: And I, I think it's interesting too because this teaching, this parable opens with y- you know, kind of a s- sort of standard format that Christ use, uses in some of these circumstances, where He's talking to an audience who may or may not be hostile. In some instances it's hostile. In this instance it was a friendly, a friendly audience. [00:20:57] It was His disciples. Um, He says, "Which of [00:21:00] you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say, 'Friend, lend me three loaves. For a friend of mine- Right ... has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.'" This is parallel similar language to, like, which of you having a sheep who falls into a- [00:21:22] not like everybody has experienced it, right? I think I, I've never had, like, livestock, but, like, I know my dog has gotten into stuff. Like, everybody who's had a pet is like, "Yeah, my animal has done something stupid at some point." Like, ate something stupid, got stuck in something, hurt itself. So, like, the, the, the way that this is set up is [00:21:53] Tony Arsenal: In a way where it's like the scenario is sort of insane and nobody would [00:22:00] be in that situation. Um, and then there are times where he says, "Which of you having a friend, which of you having a sheep who falls into a ditch?" [00:22:09] Um, and, and the assumption is on some level either the, it, it's such a common scenario that of course everyone would have understood it, right? Which of you... It's like, it's like a woman losing a coin who sweeps the house to look for the coin. Everybody who has a, a, a valuable piece of money that they lose is gonna spend time looking for it. [00:22:29] Jesse Schwamb: That's right.  [00:22:29] Tony Arsenal: This one I think is more like that second one, which feels weird to us. Again, like we're, like you kind of alluded to and kind of joking, but I think is, is a, is a per- serious point, we can just go to the store. Like I could go to a 24-hour supermarket and buy resources if a guest shows up unexpectedly. [00:22:46] It's not like that in the ancient world. So this statement of like, which of you Basically like which of you who has unexpected company show up would not go to your friend or neighbor and ask for something to serve them? And especially in the sort of [00:23:00] hospitality-driven culture that the 1st century was, it would've been deeply, deeply troubling for a guest, especially a, a guest who's coming on a l- from a long journey who's showing up at midnight. [00:23:10] That feels like in our culture we'd be like, "Yeah, it's understandable that I don't have anything on hand." It would be deeply troubling for someone in that scenario to not be able to provide hospitality. So I think that's the first hurdle we have to get over with this one is the scenario feels, at least to me, feels a little bit insane, but I actually think the assumption baked into the teaching is that this is an understandable, relatable situation with an obvious answer. [00:23:36] Of course, all of us would go beg a friend for a few loaves of bread to serve our guest who shows up unexpectedly.  [00:23:43] Jesse Schwamb: That's right. There is like a foil in all of this. Again, it's not like Jesus is not commending like wear God down with nagging as a technique, but there is a lot at stake here in this scenario that's been set forward because there's, there's honor, there's covenantal honor like I think I [00:24:00] mentioned p- last time. [00:24:00] Again, this is where I'm seeing that there is something to be said for like the petitioner is a little bit shameless here. That is, like he's bold. It's, it's socially inappropriate maybe, the persistence in the knocking, but that's what secures the loaves. And so on this view, verse 8 does teach like persevering bold prayer. [00:24:18] I think then what we're being lead to, try, led to try to understand is well, what kind of bold prayer here? Is it just like any kind of prayer, or is there something specific that Christ himself is directing these people to ask for in prayer? And to me, it, to like, you know, maybe preempt a little bit, it seems like, of course, like he's saying, "Ask for God, of God the only thing that God can give you. [00:24:39] Ask boldly for that thing. Ask shamelessly, unapologetically for that thing," because we're gonna be led again to this kind of reprisal of roles here and see that he's gonna speak about himself again as, as Father, as being this really good father over and against this really reluctant friend who only gets up really because he has been annoyed, and that's certainly the opposite of [00:25:00] God's stance towards us. [00:25:01] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:25:02] Persistence Without Impudence [00:25:02] Tony Arsenal: And you know, there is, um, you know, like we mentioned, there's this element of- The an- sort of annoyed friend, right? And, and we don't wanna be too quick to compare God directly to the annoyed friend, right? It is this foil. It's kind of like, it's almost like God is not, is like this in some ways, but not like this- Yes [00:25:23] in the most important ways. I actually think the asking itself falls into that category, right? In, in the context of the parable, the asking, m- maybe not the asking, but the persistence, the continuing to pound on the door when the answer no has already been delivered. That is, in the context of this teaching, is, is seen as inappropriate, right? [00:25:45] It's, it's impudent. It's disrespectful. It's, it's an- Right ... unrelenting persistence beyond the bounds of propriety. Not only is God not like the annoying friend, or the annoyed friend, or the annoying friend, I guess, not only is God [00:26:00] not annoyed, uh, so there's this sort of like argument to the, from the lesser to the greater opposite or the greater contrary But our asking itself and our persistence is not impudent. [00:26:13] And I think that's a really key thing here, and that's why it goes directly into the next verse. "Ask and you will g- give it given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock, it will be opened to you." He's not saying because you're so persistent, because you continue to wear God down, it's gonna be given to you. [00:26:29] It's almost like he's saying, like, look, in this context of this parable, not only is the friend, not only did the friend say no, and the, the seeker is seeking inappropriately, and the friend finally, not out of the goodness of his heart, not out of his loyalty to his friend, not out of his desire to serve a stranger, not out of any of those noble things, just because he's annoyed, he finally gives in. [00:26:51] Well, not only is that not what God is like, but your prayers are not like the persistent, annoying friend who won't give up when the answer is no. Right. [00:27:00] Your, your prayers are appropriate insofar as you persist. As you continue to persist, they are appropriate. And, you know, we could get into all of the Greek details about the, the participles and all of this stuff about it's, it's not just ask at one point. [00:27:15] It's, it's continue asking, it'll be given to you. Yes. Continue knocking, it'll be given to you. Like, we can, we can go into all that, and I'm sure we'll talk about a little bit. But the reality is the sort of like durable nature of prayer, the like ongoing, persistent nature of prayer here is not established by those participles. [00:27:32] It's established by the comparison to this inappropriate asking, this inappropriate persistence in the parable, but it's not inappropriate. And I think that's, again, like that's another sort of argument from the lesser to the greater contrary. I don't know if that's actually a term or if I invented that, but that seems like what's going on here. [00:27:49] There's this sort of like minimum situation, and then you flip it over a little bit and, and make it bigger, and that's what we're getting at here. It's, it's sort of a strange technique that, [00:28:00] um, again, like is it present in oth- a lot of other teaching? There's obviously like the parable of the widow and the unjust judge that's basically the same situation. [00:28:08] Right. And we're- I'm sure we'll get to that, but like it's the same basic situation. It's, it's this idea that like Christ is presenting this scenario that has this one touch point, and everything else is like flipped over. It's like everything else is sort of opposite day.  [00:28:24] Jesse Schwamb: And that is a little bit different than the stuff that we've covered so far, which is what makes this a little bit exceptional. [00:28:29] There are ones that mirror it, but this technique-  [00:28:31] Tony Arsenal: Right ...  [00:28:31] Jesse Schwamb: is something that we haven't really come across yet, of course, in our conversations.  [00:28:35] Covenantal Frame For Ask Seek Knock [00:28:35] Jesse Schwamb: And I would say, like, good Biblical hermeneutics, like you said, resolves all of that, what you just said, not by, like, weakening the promise, but by locating it within its covenantal frame again. [00:28:46] Yeah. This promise is spoken to disciples who have just been taught to pray, "Your kingdom come, give us, forgive us, lead us not." That is, all of this prayer needs to be conformed to God's revealed will and kingdom priorities. And so what's hard is I [00:29:00] hear this spoken about a lot, this parable, but it always gets cut, like, from the teaching that just preceded it. [00:29:06] Right.  [00:29:06] Why This Contrast [00:29:06] Jesse Schwamb: Like, a- as if, again, they're coming to Jesus saying, "John was really good at providing instruction to his disciples on how to pray, and you being the Son of God, like the ultimate teacher, teach us then. How do we see you pray? We know that you're a man of prayer. We know that you're Son of God. Teach us, instruct us in this way." [00:29:22] W- w- let's get it, as it were, the... These guys are like, "Boys, let's get it from the horse's mouth." And so it's interesting that Jesus gives the instruction, he gives the prayer, he gives some language and a framework, and then he's like, follows it immediately with this teaching. And this teaching, though, like you said, doesn't draw, like, often, like it's orthogonal. [00:29:39] There's no, like, parallel or linear lines here- Right ... so to speak. It's, it's all about creating this weird contrast. And you might ask, "Well, why do it this way?" And so it does beg the question of does that distinction, that almost like cognitive dissonance between these characters, and then again, like the comparison to God, does that draw out in different ways this character of God so that we might actually [00:30:00] see it more clearly in that juxtaposition? [00:30:02] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:30:03] Midnight Friend Parable [00:30:03] Tony Arsenal: And I think, y- you know, one of the other comparisons that I think's going on here, and, and again, I think this is basically the same teaching as the, the pa- the widow and the unjust judge. Like, she wears him down with her petitioning, and he finally gives her justice. Like, I think a big part of this, the idea here is when we look at this parable, everything in the parable is- uh, understandable and relatable, right? [00:30:28] To some extent. Um, again, we i- in our 21st century modern context, at least in the West here, we don't have a situation where we can't basically just drive to the store and get something, even, even in the middle of the night. I, I don't know m- many people personally who don't have access to some sort of 24-hour supermarket or convenience store, something where they could go and get something to present to a guest who shows up unexpected in the middle of the night. [00:30:57] Um, and even the idea of, like, someone showing up [00:31:00] unexpected in the middle of the night is kind of like, even then, like, what we think of as unexpected is, like, the person calls us and they're like, "Hey, I'm 35 minutes away. I'm gonna be there. Do you have a bed I can use?" What we're talking about here in the 1st century is literally like, I'm asleep, all of a sudden there's a pounding on my door, and my friend has come from a long journey. [00:31:18] There's no advance notice, there's no messenger that came. This is literally just someone who appears out of nowhere in the middle of the night, and so he has to go get something. That is actually a somewhat relatable situation, even to us What I think is interesting, what I, what I really love about these, this parable and the other one I referenced, is when you think about the way that the, the friend, the annoyed friend, the friend who's sleeping and gets woken up, the way he responds is still to provide the need. [00:31:49] But then look at how we are... Look at the language around how God gives us good gifts, right? Right.  [00:31:56] Ask Seek Knock [00:31:56] Tony Arsenal: He's not giving us... It, it's almost like the teaching is God gives us good gifts. We should ask, we should persevere in prayer. If you continue asking, it will be given to you. If you continue knocking, it, it will be opened to you. [00:32:07] If you continue seeking, you will find. Like, that's the, that's the positive teaching of this. But the contrast is not just, yeah, if you continue to be persistent enough, you're gonna get what you ask for. It's, look, God is going to give you what you need and what you ask for. He's going to give that to you joyfully and out of his own abundance and out of his own desire to bless you with good gifts. [00:32:30] Not like this worldly dude who just does it 'cause he's annoyed.  [00:32:34] Jesse Schwamb: Exactly.  [00:32:34] Tony Arsenal: So it's not just the argument of like, here's a picture of somebody who's persisting in prayer and gets what they want, and like, yeah, we have some language about the guy being annoyed and about inappropriate asking. God's not quite like that. [00:32:47] God Not Annoyed [00:32:47] Tony Arsenal: It's really designed to paint this picture of marveling at the goodness and, and graciousness of, of God in that not only does he grant us what we need, but he does so [00:33:00] joyfully. We could not petition him enough to be annoying to him. There is no boundary for when it is inappropriate to stop asking or seeking or knocking. [00:33:12] That's the real point of this, is not to just compare God to this annoyed friend who finally gives in, but to show us, like, this is what the world looks like. When you ask enough, you might get what you want, but you're going to annoy someone. That's what worldly pr- like, persistence in lateral prayer, if we wanna call it that, just to sort of keep the analogy going, right? [00:33:33] Lateral prayer, lateral petitioning, or lateral whatever. Like, lateral interceding, all of those things, however we wanna phrase it. That is real, and yes, if you do it long enough, you're probably gonna get what you want. You might burn a bridge in the process. You can never burn the bridge to God by being so annoying, because he's saying continue to ask, continue to seek- Right [00:33:55] continue to knock, and it will be given to you. And not only will it be given to you, but it will [00:34:00] be given to you out of the joy and goodness of my heart. That is really the big comparison that's going on here  [00:34:06] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, there's something that we just get to see about God's character here. It's grounds this perseverance not in doubt about God's willingness, but in confidence about it. [00:34:15] And that's what's so interesting here is it comes about by seeing this distinction. It is like a great mockery of saying like you're saying this friend who w- should've been a good friend and had all the reason to be reluctant, even though you pers- persevered with him, he relented and gave you that very thing. [00:34:32] Guess who will be the exact opposite of that? Yeah. Is God himself who lavishes love upon you. And so therefore because of that, you come before him and see he's nothing like this friend. And even a friend will do this in the worst of all circumstances. How much more so will God, where he's given you every spiritual blessing in Christ? [00:34:50] From Friend To Father [00:34:50] Jesse Schwamb: And that's, that's where he leads us, and that's why I think then it transitions to this different set of characters or comparisons by speaking about fathers. So in verse [00:35:00] 11, where we find written, "What father among you, if he has sons, asks for a fish will instead of a fish give him a serpent? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?" [00:35:09] And, and I've read that there's some commentators who will draw from these pairs being chosen for maybe, like, their potential visual tactile resemblance. Like, a, an eel-like fish might have resembled a snake, and generally there were, like, these whitish scorpions I, I guess that were common in Galilee that might have resembled an egg. [00:35:26] And perhaps even here there's a little bit of humor in the illustration just to show, like, just the extreme nonsensical nature of this thing. It's, it's- Yeah ... a really cruel bait and switch. It's deliberate. You know, Jesus is appealing certainly to this universally recognized parental instinct as evidence, again, like you're saying, Tony, for a still greater divine instinct which is present, and that's this love of God for us that we can't even imagine. [00:35:49] But we can comprehend by him saying, "Come, ask, seek, knock." And so, so to me, I think we've got these two axes kind of going on here which are really interesting and beautiful. We've got the reluctant friend [00:36:00] to the willing father. That's a kind of, like, I would say again, like, relational intensification. Like, we're firing it up. [00:36:05] Here, we're taking it to the next level. And then because we got... I gotta slip this in because we got a little, a little TD coming in here hot. From the second axis is from, like, the sinful human father to the holy divine Father, which I would say is, like, a moral intensification, and that's made explicit in verse 13. [00:36:24] Total Depravity Common Grace [00:36:24] Jesse Schwamb: And here's the TD. Like, lest anybody doubt this, to me, and I don't want to over-read, but that second axis is of course where Reformed theology's doctrine of total depravity becomes, like, exegetically significant here. Yeah. Because Jesus himself just calls it out in this verse, and that's part of the, the setup that he's gonna bring forward to explain just how loving God is. [00:36:44] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, and it's even, um... It's not only is it total depravity, it's also common grace, right? Yes. Even evil, even evil, wicked people. And again, like, evil is a, is in this instance is sort of a relative term, right? It's, it's, um- [00:37:00] The audience is the disciples, at least primarily the disciples. So it's not like he's talking to, he's talking to unregenerate people, right? [00:37:09] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:37:09] Tony Arsenal: Um, the, the disciples by all realistic assessment, I think, uh, were regenerate w- with the exception of Judas at this point. Um, you know, you could make some arguments that maybe some of them came to faith during the course of his ministry, but, uh, for the most part we should think of the disciples not as like coming to faith and becoming regenerate after Christ is raised. [00:37:31] Like, they're, they're believers, they're followers with the exception of Judas at this point in his ministry, and he's still calling them evil. But even Even an unregenerate father, for the most part. There are exceptions. There are, are, there are those who are so wicked that even their base parental instincts are messed up, right? [00:37:51] And that's reality. It's terribly sad, but that's, that's the vast exception. Even the worst parents in the world still love their [00:38:00] kids and wanna give them good, good gifts. Like, it's just baked into the genetics of wanting to do that. Even that still is, uh, is an act of common grace. But I, I think you're right, too, and actually, as I think about it, too, like, this isn't even just one parable. [00:38:14] Right. This is actually, if we're talking about the first one as a parable, this is actually, like, its own second parable, right? That's which of you, having a friend that shows up in the middle of the night, would not go- Yep ... and then there's, "Now what father among you?" And it's, again, it's that eminently understandable, relatable scenario where either it, it's so common that everyone has dealt with it, or it's so, like, obviously practical that even if you haven't dealt with it, you, you couldn't come to any other conclusion. [00:38:42] Right. What father among you, if your son asks for a fish, would give him a serpent, right? It's one of those, like, who does that? The answer is no- nobody. Right.  [00:38:53] Jesse Schwamb: Exactly. Right?  [00:38:53] Tony Arsenal: Who, who asks for an egg and gives a scorpion? Nobody. So we've got these two [00:39:00]scenarios where the assumption is there's a question that has an obvious outcome, and it drives us to this understanding of the, this image of God as the supremely good giver of gifts, father, faithful, gracious provider, who provides not just a good gift, but the ultimate perfect necessary gift. [00:39:22] Jesse Schwamb: Yes.  [00:39:22] Tony Arsenal: Right?  [00:39:22] How Much More Spirit [00:39:22] Tony Arsenal: And that's where we come to, uh, at the end of verse 13 is how much more, right, there's that argument from... This is truly an argument from the lesser to the greater, like in the purest sense. How much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? And I think there's all sorts of implications that we can come out of this, right? [00:39:42] Um, there are those, uh, in the Christian world who never ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit. And, and I'm not, um, I wanna be careful here because I'm not a two-stage salvation person. I'm not a second blessing person, right? We get the Holy Spirit as part of our [00:40:00] regeneration. Like, the Holy Spirit indwells us in regeneration and in, in, not in necessarily in regeneration, but when we are united to Christ, we're united to Christ by the, by the Spirit. [00:40:10] Right. And so there's never a point where we can be considered truly saved Christians- Those who are united to Christ, we cannot be united to Christ and not have His Spirit dwelling within us. But there is this element of the subjective experience of the Holy Spirit where we don't ask for the Holy Spirit, right? [00:40:31] Think of, like, Psalm 51, right? "Take not your Holy Spirit from me." David was not saying, uh, "I've lost the Holy Spirit." He was talking about the enjoyment of the presence of the Holy Spirit, the awareness of the gracious, loving presence of the Holy Spirit. That's what he was asking not to have taken away from him, and, and probably also there was elements of, like, anointing and office that were in there. [00:40:52] But there are lots of Christians who have the Holy Spirit in an objective sense- Right ... who don't take time [00:41:00] to ask the Father for the Holy Spirit in the subjective sense. I think that's the final sort of payout of this teaching, is that we need to continue to ask, continue to knock, and continue to seek, not for general gifts. [00:41:16] Yes, there's a general teaching about persevering in prayer for temporal blessings or spiritual protection, all of those things, all of those petitions that we have. Those are good things. It's good to be persistent in those. But the real point of this whole series of teachings here is that we need to persist in prayer to ask the Father for the Holy Spirit. [00:41:36] Like- Right ... full stop. That's the point  [00:41:40] Jesse Schwamb: Right. Wow, you just did a full stop right there. I thought there was gonna be more, but I, I was getting pumped as you were going on No, no.  [00:41:46] Tony Arsenal: It's all you. Full stop.  [00:41:49] Jesse Schwamb: Uh, yeah.  [00:41:50] Luke Versus Matthew [00:41:50] Jesse Schwamb: I mean, the comparison, of course, is not one of degree alongside, like, a single continuum where it's as though God is a better version of a human father, but it's a kind. [00:41:59] I mean, [00:42:00] God's fatherhood is the archetype of which human fatherhood is just this faint, fallen kind of analog. And so by the time you get to this payload, I like that. It's kinda like a nuclear bomb in a way. I mean, it's so theologically loaded here. Because I was just looking up Matthew's parallel passage here, and it reads, th- this is his punchline, "How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?" [00:42:26] So it strikes me that Luke, as we've been saying, writing to a largely Gentile audience after Pentecost, and with his kinda characteristic pneumatological emphasis, he emphasizes or specifies that the good things here are the Holy Spirit himself. And so we're gonna read this not as a contradiction between the Gospels, but as Luke's inspired Spirit-guided clarification/specification of what the good gifts ultimately are. [00:42:54] And while they're always pointing toward that even this temporal good gift from the Father is subordinate to and [00:43:00] finds, I guess it's like its telos in the supreme covenantal gift of God's own indwelling presence. That is a bomb. Like, that's incredible. Yeah. And so I like what you're saying here. I think it is a challenge for Christians to think about not just that we shouldn't, of course, go to God with the big and the small things, the concerns of all our lives, the anxieties and the cares which we cast before him. [00:43:20] This is all part and parcel of what real prayer means, what real communion with God is, and speaking with him and listening to his Word, uh, i- in our ear. At the same time, we shouldn't forsake the greater things that we ought to ask God with strong perseverance, knowing that he will give all those things to us. [00:43:38] I think, and you correct me if I'm wrong, I, I'm reading this as- All of this kind of momentum in Christ teaching about the Spirit coming and about where this passage had been placed in the whole kind of grand arc, and I, I think there's, like, all kinds of Ordo Salutis implications in here. But I love a good Ordo Salutis implication, so it's possible [00:44:00] I'm just coming in a little bit too hot. [00:44:01] But I think first it, it anchors this teaching within this broader Lucan narrative, narrative arc toward Pentecost, where the ascended, glorified Christ pours out the Spirit as the chief blessing of the new covenant. And so again, I'm reading this, I'm like, "Covenant, covenant, covenant." Like, only if you're watching this on YouTube can you actually see me do the, the point, like the g- the finger guns- [00:44:24] where really strongly emphasize that point. And so I just see so much covenant in this. I mean, how mu- how much covenant, how much covenant do you see in this, Tony?  [00:44:36] Covenant Obligations [00:44:36] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I mean, I, there, there is also this element, and this goes back to sort of the first parable or the first teaching in this little segment here, um- The friend is obligated in a certain sense. [00:44:48] Like- Yes ... there is, there is a, there's a sense, a real sense I think, and again, this is something I don't think we understand. If, if, um, if I show up at my neighbor's house, my n- I live in a [00:45:00] small community. My neighbor's house is like 25 feet away from me, and if I knocked on his door in the middle of the night and said, "Gus, I need a cup of sugar," he would give it to me with a smile. [00:45:11] But he's not obligated to do that. Right. He has every right, and no one would look sideways at him if he told me to pound sand and go back to bed, right? I think, um, in the 1st century, the answer from this other friend, "No, I'm already in bed," like that actually is sort of a scandalous answer in and of itself. [00:45:29] And so even within that little dynamic, there's covenant implications, right? The a- the continued asking is inappropriate, but it, the continued asking is almost only reasonably necessary because the annoyed friend already broke a social contract. Not quite a covenant- Right ... but we might call it a social contract, where there's an a- there's an assumed position in the 1st century that if someone comes to you asking for hospitality, you give it. [00:45:57] Like there's no exclu- And that's what's [00:46:00] driving this other friend to go talk to him in mid- at midnight in the first place, is I have to provide hospitality. I'm obligated to do so. So I think, yeah, there's all sorts of covenant implications here. And when we're talking about the, the earthly fathers, right? [00:46:14] There's a covenant, um, I'm, I'm careful to use the term covenant. So I'm gonna use it, but I'm not talking, maybe we'll say lowercase C covenant rather than like formal covenants. Right, right. There's a, there's a covenantal, lowercase C [00:46:28] covenantal obligation that fathers have to their children, right? I didn't make a covenant with August and Addie, but I have obligations to them in light of my station and my role related to them, right? And there's an obligation that if they ask me for something that is reasonable and is good for them, that I should give it to them, right? [00:46:46] I'm obligated to provide food, shelter, um, I would say things like education, love, um, you know, attention. Like the things that are necessary for the health and wellbeing of my children, as a father I'm obligated to give that to them. [00:47:00] [00:47:00] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:47:00] Tony Arsenal: Whether they ask me or not. When they ask me to, right, there are times it's funny. [00:47:05] I, I'll be the first to say, um, I maybe am a little bit on my phone more than I should be, just in general, right? There are times now Addie is old enough where she sees me on her ph- on my phone, and, and sometimes, like, it's fine. They're playing and I'm, I'm doing something on my phone. There are times where she'll come up to me and she'll say, "Daddy phone," and she'll tell me to put my phone down. [00:47:23] I'm obligated to do that. Like, there's a covenantal, lowercase C, covenantal obligation. When she asks me to play with her, if there's not a pressing reason I can't, I should play with her.  [00:47:33] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:47:33] Tony Arsenal: That is really what we have at play here, and this is, this is what I think is amazing. God has covenantally bound himself to grant us the Holy Spirit when we ask him, right? [00:47:42] Jesse Schwamb: That's  [00:47:43] Tony Arsenal: what I'm  [00:47:43] Jesse Schwamb: saying.  [00:47:43] Tony Arsenal: That, and that's, that's, um, that covenantal obligation first and foremost... Man, I didn't even think we were gonna get here. Who would've thought we would've gotten to pretemporal covenant of redemption here just- Would you  [00:47:53] Jesse Schwamb: look at us ...  [00:47:54] Tony Arsenal: uh, look at us.  [00:47:55] Covenant Of Redemption [00:47:55] Tony Arsenal: Um, that covenantal obligation that the Father has to give us the Holy Spirit when we ask is not primarily his covenant with us. [00:48:03] It is, right? It's the covenant of grace, but that only is, is necessary because of his prior commitment and covenantal obligation to his Son to grant him a people who would be marked by and redeemed and have redemption applied by the Holy Spirit. The Father has promised the Son to give the people of the Son the Holy Spirit when they ask. [00:48:26] That's, that's profound in a way that I think, um, really only Reformed theology can fully get at-  [00:48:33] Jesse Schwamb: Right  [00:48:34] Tony Arsenal: on ... is that there is a promise that God the Father made to God the Son to, to send the Holy Spirit to apply the redemption that the Son purchased to his people. That's really what we're getting at here. [00:48:46] I think that's really the, sort of the final outcome of this, is there's this covenantal obligation- That the Father is not just out of His own goodness, of course out of His own goodness- Right,  [00:48:57] Jesse Schwamb: right ...  [00:48:57] Tony Arsenal: but even maybe if it, maybe it's, [00:49:00] hopefully it's not blasphemous to say this, but like even more than just His own goodness is His covenant faithfulness to the promise He's made- Amen [00:49:07] first and foremost to His Son, and then to steal some language from the Westminster Larger Catechism, first and foremost to His Son, but then also to all the elect in Him who are His spiritual seed.  [00:49:17] Jesse Schwamb: That's right. That's right. That's, see that's the good stuff.  [00:49:20] Wrap Up Holy Spirit [00:49:20] Jesse Schwamb: And so what's crazy is then this beautiful wrap-up, which is brings us back to exactly where we started, but we find that we're on another level because the passage closes exactly as it began with this imperative of asking, but now the object of asking has been specified as God's own personal presence and power, not merely material provision. [00:49:41] And so it's everything you just said all wrapped up, and we can ground then like the practice of specifically and explicitly praying for the Spirit's fresh working, which is sanctification, assurance, gifts for ministry, as entirely a biblical form of prayer distinct from, though not opposed to, a prayer for providential [00:50:00] needs. [00:50:00] In other words, I think the disciples started in a place where they were saying, "Teach us to pray so that we might receive that what which we need." And it's almost as if God says, "I will do that and one better for you. Because not only will I just open your eyes to the thing that you need most, but I'm going to instruct you on how to ask for and then receive by way of these covenantal promises, by way of my own character, my faithful precis- provision, both in establishing the promise and then seeing it to fulfillment that you might have the Holy Spirit reside within you." [00:50:33] And that is mind-boggling. We've, we've talked before just what it is to even conceive that God's presence be with us, but then that God's presence it, uh, the Holy Spirit, one of the Trinity, would be residing within us is just inconceivable. Yeah. Even now with the words coming out of my mouth it just sounds wild. [00:50:51] And yet that is what we have to give credit to here is we have to take God at His word. This is the thing that He's, He said to us. His son, His Son Himself has given us this proper [00:51:00] instruction. And I think all, all the other things we talked about, what it means again to seek after gifts for ministry, to serve in our churches and congregations, to have grand assurance, which is the right and the purview and the blessing, the propriety of the Christian to, uh, want to go after sanctification, that all of this strikes me now is part of praying for, to receive the Holy Spirit, a fresh working of the Holy Spirit in that it's not just, it's both like a command and a gift and the greatest priv

In this solo episode, Jesse sets the stage for an upcoming conversation with Tony by diving into one of Jesus' most theologically rich parables — the Parable of the Midnight Friend in Luke 11. Rather than treating this as a simple lesson on prayer technique, Jesse unpacks the passage as a carefully constructed theological argument: a qal wahomer (lesser-to-greater) reasoning that ultimately reveals the character of God the Father. Set within Luke's central travel narrative, the parable is not free-floating wisdom — it is discipleship instruction delivered by the Messiah en route to Jerusalem and the cross. The episode challenges common misreadings that pit persistence against divine sovereignty and instead grounds persevering prayer in confidence in God's willing, lavish character. The culmination — the gift of the Holy Spirit — awaits next week. Key Takeaways The parable's literary structure is intentional and theological — the Lord's Prayer leads to the parable, which leads to a promise (ask, seek, knock), which is grounded in the Father's character and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The sleeping friend is not a type of God — he functions as the lesser pole in a lesser-to-greater argument; identifying him with God is a category error that compromises divine immutability and aseity. Persistence in prayer is grounded in confidence, not desperation — the point is not to wear God down, but to recognize that a God who is not reluctant, not asleep, and not inconvenienced will give all the more freely. The a fortiori (lesser-to-greater) structure is the interpretive key — Jesus deliberately invokes cognitive dissonance through an imperfect analogy so that the contrast reveals something about God's character that a direct statement could not. Ask, seek, knock are present-tense imperatives in Greek — they denote continuous action, matched by divine passives in the promises, meaning God himself is the subject acting behind every answer. The promise is absolute within its covenantal frame — "everyone who asks receives" is not a blank check, but a promise spoken to disciples praying according to God's revealed will, in the name of the Son, by the help of the Spirit. The passage has a redemptive-historical dimension — it sits within Luke's travel narrative where Jesus is forming the disciples' inner life as He moves toward the very cross that makes the Spirit gift of verse 13 possible. Key Concepts The Sleeping Friend Is Not God One of the most persistent misreadings of this parable is the identification of the reluctant, sleeping friend with God — as though Jesus were teaching that dogged repetition in prayer will eventually wear down a half-willing deity. Jesse is careful to reject this firmly on both exegetical and theological grounds. The sleeping friend functions as the lesser pole of a rabbinic a fortiori argument: a flawed, inconvenienced human who still yields to legitimate need. James 1:17 seals the case — the Father is one "with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." An immutable God cannot be represented by a changeable, reluctant figure. The friend's reluctance is not a window into God's character; it is a foil designed to make God's willing generosity shine all the brighter by contrast. Persevering Prayer Is Grounded in Confidence, Not Doubt A common application drawn from this parable is essentially motivational: don't give up, pray harder, keep going. While there is something right about that call to perseverance, Jesse argues it is being drawn from the wrong well. Biblical perseverance in prayer is not rooted in uncertainty about whether God might eventually come around. It is rooted in the certainty that He already has — that He is a Father who delights to give, who is not asleep, not inconvenienced, and not reluctant. This re-centers the entire posture of prayer. We are not beggars hoping against hope that a distant God notices us. We are covenant children running with confidence into the throne room of a Father who has already given us His Son and, supremely, His Spirit. The Covenantal Frame of the Promise The sweeping promise — "everyone who asks receives" — has tripped up many readers who take it as an unconditional divine guarantee for anything sincerely prayed. Jesse is careful to locate the promise within its literary and canonical context. It is spoken to disciples who have just been taught to pray "Your kingdom come... give us... forgive us... lead us not" — prayers shaped by God's revealed will and kingdom priorities. James 4 and John's Gospel reinforce the point: prayer that does not receive has asked wrongly or outside God's will. The Westminster Confession of Faith (Chapter 21) frames acceptable prayer as offered in the name of the Son, by the help of the Spirit, according to His will — a tripod of covenantal orientation that, far from weakening the promise, gives it its full and glorious force. Memorable Quotes We draw that persistence not out of our own willingness, not even because God might encourage us, but we should be drawn to it as a representation of His character — of in fact who He is. Jesus is not commending 'wear God down with nagging' as a technique. He's having established that even flawed human reluctance eventually yields to a legitimate need pressed persistently — and he pivots to make the positive direct application: how much more freely and immediately will the Father, who is not reluctant, not asleep, not inconvenienced, give? Even the seeking, even the knocking, even the opening that will be done for you and unto you and on your behalf is from God the Father himself. Full Transcript [00:01:03] Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 504 of The Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse, and this is the podcast for the persistent prayers Hey, brothers and sisters. We have got something a little bit different for you on this episode. Tony will be back with me next week, and we will be continuing our journey through the parables. [00:01:27] And I thought while we anxiously await for his return, that we would set up the next parable that we're gonna talk about so we can hit all the major points together. So we're gonna be hanging out in Luke chapter 11, and we're talking about the parable of persistent prayer, or as I think Tony described it, the parable of the midnight friend. [00:01:47] You can choose whichever one you like. But before you do that, if in fact you miss Tony, here's a good way to fill that need, and that is you should go to the Reformed Brotherhood website. That's reformedbrotherhood.com. And you will [00:02:00] find all of the other podcast episodes living out there. They're all searchable by topic. [00:02:05] Everything we've recorded is right there for you. These some 10 years of lovely conversations with my brother Tony are all available for you. And while you're there, you might be thinking, "How is it that all this is so freely given?" Well, as you've heard us say before, that's because so many lovely brothers and sisters come alongside with a little bit of financial support to make sure all of the hosting and editing and distribution fees are all covered so that this can all be made available to whoever, whoever is searching for it, whoever finds it, whoever wants to join in the conversation and follow closely along with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. [00:02:41] So I encourage you to go check that out and also listen along. This will be a quick episode just to help us get our bearings on this really amazing teaching that Jesus gives us about the character of God that comes about in really a kind of unexpected story. And in fact, even the message itself, [00:03:00] the context, I think, is going to sound at first like one thing, but Jesus uses it to describe something entirely different. [00:03:07] Even the literary device He's about to use for us invokes some kind of cognitive dissonance that actually draws us deeper into the character of God than I think if He had explained it more directly. I mean, this is what parables do, loved ones. So come hang out with me in Luke chapter 11 for just a couple minutes. [00:03:24] Wherever you are, join me in this. I'm gonna read from the beginning part of that chapter all the way through the parable, though we will get nowhere near the end, because I told you, I'm saving that for Tony. We're gonna get there next week. So join me in Luke chapter 11, beginning in verse one.  [00:03:39] Luke 11 Reading and Structure [00:03:39] Jesse Schwamb: "And it happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.' [00:03:51] And He said to them, 'When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread [00:04:00] and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'" Then he said to them, "Which of you has a friend and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.' [00:04:21] And from inside he answers and says, 'Do not bother me. The door has already been shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot rise up and give you anything.' I tell you, even though he will not arise and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. [00:04:40] So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened. But what father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of [00:05:00] a fish? [00:05:00] Or if his son asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" This amazing little pericope, you'll notice it follows upon the disciples' request, which is, "Lord, teach us to pray." [00:05:24] And the giving of this model prayer is the whole instruction, the whole, like outcropping of this entire little parable. And I think what we should look at first, that I wanna really hit on to set us up, is that Luke has this... It seems to me like a structure that's very deliberate. There's a pattern. The Lord's Prayer, which leads to this parable of encouragement. [00:05:45] Here's the friend at midnight. It leads then to a promise, ask, seek, knock, which then of course leads to this ground of confidence. Why? Because the Father's character, sealed in the gift of the Holy Spirit, has been given to His children. This whole thing [00:06:00] occurs within Luke's central, like quote-unquote, "travel narrative." [00:06:04] It's where Jesus is forming the disciples' inner life. He's teaching them in these really final moments of His life. It's prayer, dependence, kingdom priorities, as He literally moves toward Jerusalem and to the cross. And so I think the biblical exegesis here takes this placement really seriously, because this is not like free-floating wisdom teaching, but it's real discipleship. [00:06:28] It's real firm instruction given by the Messiah en route to accomplish the very redemption that makes the Spirit gift of verse 13 possible. All of this is wrapped up in this story. It is not just about what's being said, but I think literally where it's being said, the context in which it's being said, the very interactions that are taking place around the story itself. [00:06:50] And I cannot help but believe that, of course, God in His foreordaining wisdom is placing this all together. It's as if the experience of the disciples, their time with [00:07:00] Jesus, them literally walking en route to the place where He'll be crucified, all this gets distilled down into a single point in history, and the instruction that is on Jesus' lips is this story about the midnight friend I think we've talked about this before, but there's some principles here that I always go back to, and I think they're especially relevant for looking at this particular parable. [00:07:22] First, there's this understanding that this, there's an analogy of scripture. Like, this text should be read alongside its Matthean para- parallel, which we've talked about briefly, and the whole canon's teaching on prayer, on providence, on the Spirit. We can't look at this instance in complete isolation. We shouldn't. [00:07:39] It-- That wouldn't be proper understanding of the whole passage here, including its redemptive historical reading, which I think is important. It's the second piece here. The passage is suited and situated within this unfolding covenant of grace. This Father language is not like generic theism, but it is like the covenantal Trinitarian Christ-mediated, like all the [00:08:00] rich fullness of what God has done in the redemptive arc of salvation. [00:08:04] It's prayer offered in the name of the Son as we are sons or daughters in the Son. And so there's this light then to heavy inference. Like Jesus' argument, which I think we'll talk about with Tony, in verse eight is this kind of like rab- rabbinic like fortiori reasoning. It's, it's from like the lesser to the greater, or the, the lesser reluctant or flawed party that acts in one way, and how much more the greater than will the willing perfect party act. [00:08:36] And so, so many commentators have really flagged this as like the interpretive key to the unit. This is the thing that draws us in. It's actually this juxtaposition, this cognitive dissonance, this seeing one thing and recognizing that God is so much better than that one thing and so much far beyond it, that really draws us into understanding something about His character that would not be made manifest to us without that kind of comparison or [00:09:00] that setup. [00:09:01] And then, of course, we're Reformed, so we have to talk about the element of sola Scriptura here, that we really, we have to read this passage not as teaching either that God is manipulable by human persistence. I mean, that would com- compromise entirely the, the principles of divine aseity and His immutability. [00:09:20] Or B, that there's some kind of like bare Arminian conditionality here, as though prayer creates possibilities God otherwise lacks. Really, the Bible holds, biblical theology holds that prayer is to be a means that God has sovereignly ordained to accomplish His decreed ends. It's never a lever upon which, you know, otherwise an undecided God acts because we pull. [00:09:46] It's not that at all. So let's talk about just a couple of verses that I think will get us in the vibe here, in the jam, in the middle of this whole parable, and this will set us up for a conversation that we're gonna have next week, which is the culmination, the giving of the [00:10:00] Holy Spirit. That's really the end. [00:10:01] So it's interesting that we start with this whole idea of persistence, of a friend coming with, and it's gonna end with God giving to His children this incredible, unparalleled gift of the Holy Spirit. So let's start in verse five. We get this whole setup. "Which of you has a friend and will go to him at midnight?" [00:10:20] So of course, like, you-- we hear this, hear this in English, it's even more profound in the Greek. The construction here is like this rhetorical question. It's expecting, of course, the hearer, which is you and I, to place ourselves imaginatively in the position of the petitioner. And the scenario is, of course, like pregnant with cultural meaning. [00:10:38] Like, it's just loaded down because in Middle Eastern cultures, of course, like hospita- hospitality was a matter of covenantal honor. I say it that way because I think that's what's at play for us in the text. We're gonna get these, like, themes, this, like, little bit of shading or, like, this, this little taste on the back end of your tongue of the covenant, and it's represented [00:11:00] here even in, like, the situation here. [00:11:01] Because failing to feed an arrived guest was a social and religious disgrace, not merely to the host, but, like, to their entire community, to, like, their entire village And the petitioner has no bread, and he's looking for three loaves because that's what he needs to help feed these guests that have arrived at his house. [00:11:19] And so he comes to a friend. Notice it's not a stranger, so the relationship itself is somewhat covenantal. It's emphasized three times in the verses five through eight. And so we're establishing the premise upon which the argument from the lesser, this friendship, which is reluctantly acted upon, to the greater, which is fatherhood, gladly acted upon, will be built up so that it reaches the peak in verse thirteen I think we need to notice here that this is not some kind of isolated moral vignette, but it's like the first rung of a ladder that's being built for us here. [00:11:55] And the first rung on this, I think, is that Christ accommodates himself [00:12:00] to human experience, which is like a mind-boggling statement. I mean, we could spend all of eternity just contemplating what that means. It's certainly a la Philippians 2, but here in, especially we're seeing that there's the use of this imperfect analogy precisely because it's, its imperfection. [00:12:19] Again, a friend who is reluctant will be highlighted against in contrast to the perfection of the true referent, which is God the Father, a father who is not reluctant. And so this doctrine of accommodation is a standard, uh, that you see a lot in Reformed exeg- as a exegetical principle because it's Scripture speaks of God in creaturely terms, not because God is like the creature, but so that the creature may grasp, however inaccurately, the character of God. [00:12:50] That's what's really lovely about this parable. That's what I think kind of sits underneath the, the surface here. And so many of us wanna run to the action of the petitioner [00:13:00] here and try to equate or invoke something about that persistence as if God is saying to us like, "Please don't give up. Please keep on praying. [00:13:07] Please bend my ear." And while there is something important about that, we draw that persistence not out of our own willingness, not even because God might encourage us, but we should be drawn to it as a representation of his character, of in fact who he is. And so the friend who is reluctant responds very forthrightly with a, "Don't bother me." [00:13:28] And I find when I read this, I kind of chuckle a little bit because, loved ones, is that refusal not completely realistic? Like, it's not caricatured malice. In, in like a one-room peasant house, the door being barred and the family being bedded down on a single sleeping mat meant that practically speaking, rising would wake the entire household. [00:13:49] I mean, the friend's refusal is totally understandable, but still a refusal of a friend to a friend for a legitimate n-need. And so this is the negative pole of the entire analogy. [00:14:00] I also find this, like, totally relatable. Like, even in my own life when I'm serving my own needs and purposes, if I am on like the-- If I've descended, let's say, to like the first floor of my house, and I remember that after getting ready for the day, I've totally forgotten something on the second floor, I'm annoyed with myself. [00:14:17] Sometimes I literally have that thought of like, "How badly do I need that thing? I just don't want to go back upstairs again." And so I think this is totally identifiable I mean, how often have we been in a situation where we- we've just sat down and the phone rings, or we've just finished our day and something else pops up that we have to do, or we just shut down our computer and we've-- as we do that, we remember the one thing that we needed to do, and so we have to go back in. [00:14:40] Or you leave your office and realize that you've forgotten your car keys, now you have to walk all the way back in. I mean, I-- this makes total sense to me that in this, the context of this story, even a loving friend would be like, "Are you kidding me? Uh, we're all in bed. Please, can you just figure out another way to do this?" [00:14:59] I know [00:15:00] there's been a lot of commentators, and I think like a lot of popular preaching, that in my estimation here have mistakenly identified the sleeping friend with God, teaching that persistent prayer, like, wears God down. And that, I think, is a category error that the Reformed tradition and biblical theology generally has consistently rejected. [00:15:21] You know, that's why we read in James 1:17 that every good gift comes from the Father with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. The immutable God cannot be the referent or the reluctant changeable human host here, not according to James. The friend in the parable functions as the lesser term, and again, this argument moving from the lesser to the greater, not as a type of God. [00:15:45] I think that's important for us to keep in mind because there is, again, a temptation for us to want to say, "Well, really the person in the story who is represented by God is this other friend, and he just needs to be awoken," so to speak. And even if we don't feel that strongly, th- that's pressing us a little bit too [00:16:00] far, we, we know theologically that that's not accurate. [00:16:02] We still are prone to believe, "I need to pray harder." The point of this is to pick yourself up, pull up your praying socks, and just pray more and pray more consistently and pray harder. Don't stop. Now, there is, again, something about calling on God that is like the special benefit and privilege of the Christian to run confidently into the throne room of God as we read in Hebrews. [00:16:25] And yet at the same time here, we don't want to get this twisted. We have to set this up right so that by the time we get to, again, the pinnacle of this parable in th-- in Jesus giving the crown teaching of the giving of the Holy Spirit, that we understand it's because God is a good Father who delights to give, who is not reluctant at all. [00:16:46] And that if you ask, if you ask for His Holy, Holy, Holy Spirit, that He will in fact give His Holy Spirit to you. So verse eight: "I tell you, though, he will not get up and give him anything because he is his [00:17:00] friend. Yet because of his imprudence, he will rise and give him whatever he needs." Now, the crux of this question is the referent here. [00:17:11] So traditionally rendered, you know, inopportune or inopportunity or persistence. The word literally denotes like shamelessness or refusal to be governed by some kind of social propriety. And I think either way here, the theological payload in verses nine through thirteen is all about the main point of this passage being but a foil. [00:17:31] You know, Jesus is not commending wear God down with nagging as a technique. He's, he's having established that even flawed human reluctance eventually yields to a legitimate need pressed persistently. And so he pivots in this to make the positive direct application, how much more freely and immediately will the Father, who is not reluctant, not asleep, not inconvenienced, give? [00:17:57] And so this verse does [00:18:00] teach persevering in prayer, but it grounds that perseverance not in doubt about God's willingness, but in confidence about it. This to me is very similar to how we would understand evangelism or missional or missionary type works. There is a type of Christianity that is very thin, that is maybe like a, a mile wide and an inch deep, that essentially considers that when we pray for God to work among peoples, in our families, in our communities, across the land, and across the world, that we do so almost with fingers crossed, hoping against hope that God will show up and make a way. [00:18:38] And yet what the scripture says is it emboldens us knowing that God has already done these things, that we might pray ourselves, as it were, into them in faithfulness to what God has already in-- is accomplishing through his great work. And in this way, we pray with a great empowerment. We pray with persevering prayers because we know that God will make it so because he's a God who gives promises, [00:19:00] and he always fulfills those promises. [00:19:03] And that's why we get three of them, which are beautiful in this passage.  [00:19:07] Ask Seek Knock Explained [00:19:07] Jesse Schwamb: Ask, seek, knock. Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you, for everyone who asks, receives. Loved ones, are there more beautiful words than these from God the Father? This is how much he loves us that he says, "Test me on these promises. [00:19:28] In persevering prayer, come before me, ask, seek, and knock." These three present tense imperatives in the Greek, Greek. In other words, keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. The present tense is conveying this continuous action. They're matched by the three future passives here, and the passives are almost certainly divine passives. [00:19:51] In other words, like it's a Jer- Jewish circumlocution, avoiding the direct naming of God as subject out of reverence, which of course, is common in Jesus' [00:20:00] teaching. But what's being unstated here is the subject acting within them. It will be given. It will be opened. Who is doing all these things? God himself. [00:20:10] And so behind these beautiful words, this promise to you and to me, is God in filling them all, so that again, God does all the words. It's as if like he's saying to us, "Seek, knock, and open." And yet even the seeking, even the knocking, even the opening that will be done for you and unto you and on your behalf is from God, the Father himself. [00:20:32] And the escalation from asking to seeking to knocking, in my view, it intensifies this effort and this urgency. Like a beggar asks, one who has lost something seeks, one who shuts, is shut out knocks on the door. And it's, I think, denoting not necessarily like three distinct kinds of prayer, though there are certainly lots of people who have talked about that. [00:20:56] The Patristics in particular, uh, Augustine was very fond [00:21:00] of kind of delineating between these as different types of prayer. I think there, there may be some usefulness in that. But I think the dominant grammatical point is this cumulative intensity. It's reinforced in verse 10 by this chiastic restatement in universal terms. [00:21:14] Everyone who asks, the one who seeks, to the one who knocks, all of these things will be given. This is the beautiful setup that's before us. It's an incredible word from God for us, practical for daily living, to give strength for today and a hope for tomorrow, that our God is one who gives us this promise. [00:21:34] And then he says, in perseverance, with the power that the Holy Spirit enables all of us, seek, ask, seek, knock. What lovely verbs for us to participate in by the power of the Holy Spirit Everyone who asks receives. I, I don't think that can be read as an unconditional blank check. And this is, I think, what trips many people up. [00:21:57] And, and certainly you've had conversations, [00:22:00] I'm sure, with others who've said, "Well, this sounds like some kind of just open-ended promise. There's no closed end to this. And so if I pray for something that I want, maybe if I pray for the thing that I feel like I desperately need, if I put all of my effort into it and pray with all the emotion, and I have, and every concentrated effort of my mental being, and God does not give that to me, it, this proves this passage to be wrong or to be ineffective." [00:22:27] And I think this would contradict directly, again, what James tells us in chapter 4, "You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly." Or John in his gospel, "If we ask anything according to His will." And so I think proper hermeneutics here resolves this not by weakening the promise, but by locating it properly within, again, its covenantal frame. [00:22:53] This promise is spoken to disciples who have just been taught to pray, "Your kingdom come, give [00:23:00]us, forgive us, lead us not." That is, it's a prayer conformed to God's revealed, revealed will and kingdom priorities. I think the Westminster Confession of Faith is particularly strong on this in chapter 21. It qualifies acceptable prayer as being offered in the name of the Son, by the help of the Spirit, according to His will. [00:23:22] What again, like lovely things to help shape us even as we go into times of daily worship, that we might seek to pray to God in the name of the Son, by the help of the Spirit, according to His will. I find in my own prayer life, in my own journey of speaking with God, and of trying to listen to Him as well, that I am much better aligned, that start in the better places, that there is more compatibility, so to speak, when I consider, even before I pray literally, that I might do that in the name of the Son, by the help of the Spirit, according to His will. [00:23:56] By the way, I love that in Ruth- Luther's writing on prayer, [00:24:00] he speaks so highly of what it means to pray in the name of the Son. That that isn't something that we just, of course, put as a suffix onto our prayers to signal that they are concluded. For some reason, when I was younger, I remember thinking that when you said at the end of the prayer, "In Jesus' name," it was like you were talking to somebody on the phone, and that's how you hung up. [00:24:20] Because if you forgot to say that, then God might think you were, like, as you went about your life and you were talking to other people, that you were also talking to Him, and that would be confusing. And so of course, like I, since grown out of that and realized that this is not something just out of custom. [00:24:33] It's not even saying like, "Amen, agree with me." This is a way about an, an explicit, standing in the explicit covenantal promise of God that is bound in the work of, the finished work of His Son, Jesus Christ. And that when we invoke His name, we shouldn't do so even flippantly as we end a prayer. But knowing that that's not just like the grand kind of crescendo of everything that we're saying, but we are sealing it as it were, so that we might again pray in the name of the Son, [00:25:00] by the help of the Holy Spirit, according to His will. [00:25:03] And that promise of verse 10 is absolute within that frame. It's not an absolute, like, simplifier. You know, this is not special pleading, but simply reading the verse in its literary context. It's a unit that begins with the Lord's Prayer and ends with the gift of the Spirit. And its canonical context is according with the rest of the New Testament in this idea that this is what prayer really is. [00:25:29] It is praying in such a way that we are invoking God, not so that He would come and condescend to our needs or meet us where we're at. He's already done this very thing, which is why He's a good Father who gives us gifts. Instead, it is that we might l- meet the Lord in His purposes, according to His power, with His perspective. [00:25:49] And so this is the, the ladder that's being built for us. It starts with this idea of saying, you know, there's this universality qualifier, the Reformed [00:26:00] doctrinal caution, as it were, that not-- "You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly." That itself is a challenge that we should all take very, very seriously. [00:26:09] So I'm gonna stop us there, because what I'm really looking forward to speaking to Tony with next week is basically the, the rest of it, really coming into the second rung of this ladder, this human fathers and their children, which sets up a now... We're really transitioning into the setup on this reluctant friend, the lesser, to this great, loving, not reluctant at all, but lovishly la- Man, I just got two words at the same time in one mouth. [00:26:37] This loving Father who lavishes this love upon us, and proof in the pudding in that is the promises which He gives us. And so I wanna save that for next time. So now you've been warned. You yourself can go back and take a look at Luke chapter 11. You can join us there for the culmination and the conclusion of [00:27:00] this little parable. [00:27:01] And again, I encourage you, go check out reformedbrotherhood.com. Go find us on Telegram, which is just a messaging app, and we have a small little corner of the internet where there's a community of listeners who hang out, support one another, are very kind and loving toward one another, and you can be a part of that group too just by going to t.me/reformedbrotherhood. [00:27:21] Slap that bad boy into your browser of choice, t.me/reformedbrotherhood. And until next time, honor everyone and love the brotherhood. [00:28:00]

Fr Joseph looks at the bloody martyrdoms under Marcus Aurelius. In this episode of Patristic Pillars, Fr Joseph Hamilton takes us through Eusebius's account of the martyrs of Vienne and Lyons (AD 177) from his Ecclesiastical History (Book V), drawing upon an ancient letter widely attributed to Irenaeus of Lyons, detailing the excruciating tortures and steadfast faith of early believers like Blandina and Sanctus.Fr Joseph Hamilton is the Rector of the Domus Australia in Rome, and a priest of the Archdiocese of Sydney Australia. Prior to his appointment at Domus, he served as private secretary to George Cardinal Pell, until the Cardinal's untimely death. Fr Joseph completed his doctoral studies in Patristics at Christ Church, University of Oxford, and his license at the Patristic Institute “Augustinianum” in Rome. Prior to entering seminary he worked as an investment banker. Having left the economy of Mammon for that of Salvation, he studied at the Pontifical North American College. A native of Ireland, he is a keen but mediocre (his words) surfer, and enjoys reading and cooking.CREDO (currently hosting Patristic Pillars) is a programme that nourishes listeners in their Catholic faith. It airs live on Radio Maria every weekday at 4pm and is rebroadcast at 4am the following morning.Please consider supporting us with a one-off or monthly donation. It is only through the generosity of our listeners that we are able to be a Christian voice by your side. ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://radiomaria.uk/donations/⁠⁠⁠⁠

In episode 502 of The Reformed Brotherhood, Tony and Jesse begin what promises to be a multi-part deep dive into the Parable of the Good Samaritan — one of the most culturally embedded and theologically rich stories Jesus ever told. But before a single character hits the Jericho road, the hosts ground listeners in something easily overlooked: the charged context in which this parable is told. A lawyer — trained, confident, adversarial — steps forward not to learn but to test. What follows is a masterclass in how Jesus turns the law back on those who wield it as a weapon. This episode covers Luke 10:21–36, explores the covenant of works and covenant of grace, the noetic effects of sin, and why the Good Samaritan is far more than a lesson in being a helpful neighbor. Buckle up. Key Takeaways The lawyer's question is self-contradictory from the start. Asking "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" smuggles a works-righteousness assumption into the very grammar of the question. Inheritance by definition is received, not earned. Jesus does not give the lawyer a new paradigm — He reorients him to the true one. The covenant of grace is not a New Testament innovation. It runs through every Old Testament covenant administration. The lawyer should have already known this. "Do this and you will live" is not a Pelagian concession. Christ is holding out the law's own terms — perfect, total, unrelenting obedience — not to suggest it is achievable, but to expose its impossibility and drive the lawyer (and us) to the only alternative: mercy. "Desiring to justify himself" is more complex than it first appears. Tony argues that the desire to fulfill the covenant of works is not inherently wicked — it is the misguided belief that one can which is the problem. This distinction creates room for reading Christ's response as genuinely merciful instruction, not merely rebuke. The noetic effects of sin mean accurate theology can be deployed in service of self. The lawyer knows the right answers and still uses them to avoid repentance. Correct doctrine alone does not save. The fundamental human problem is not ignorance — it is the will's bondage and the heart's self-love. The parable is primarily Christological, not merely ethical. Jesus is the Good Samaritan. The story is not first about mercy ministry; it is about who binds up our wounds when we are left for dead on the road, unable to save ourselves. The priest and the Levite are not exonerated by their ritual obligations. Considerable ink has been spilled trying to justify their passing by on grounds of Levitical purity concerns. The parable refuses that exit. Everyone in the story — and everyone listening — already knows what the right thing to do was. Key Concepts The Covenant of Works Is Not a Black Box One of the more quietly important arguments Tony makes in this episode is that the covenant of works was never meant to be mysterious or inaccessible. When Jesus responds to the lawyer's question by asking, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" — He does so with a visible assumption: there is a clear, knowable answer, and the lawyer should be able to give it. And he does. Love God completely, love your neighbor as yourself. The covenant of works was always coherent and comprehensible. The problem has never been that its demands were obscure. The problem is that no one — save the Mediator — has ever kept them. Jesus is not introducing a new ethical framework. He is forcing the lawyer to confront a standard he has always known and has never met. The Lawyer as a Warning to Reformed Christians Jesse closes the episode's first movement with a pointed and personal application that cuts across theological self-satisfaction. The lawyer is not a caricature of ignorance — he is a portrait of someone with accurate, affirmed theological knowledge who instinctively deploys it in the service of self-justification the moment he senses conviction. Jesse names this directly as a danger particularly acute in Reformed circles, where doctrinal precision can become a subtle mechanism of self-defense rather than an occasion for repentance. The Reformation's great recovery of grace must not become a new form of the very disease it diagnosed. Knowing the right words about total depravity, the covenant of grace, and the mediator does not exempt anyone from the need to actually be humbled by them. Theology is not armor against repentance — it is, rightly received, the road toward it. Context Is Not Just Setup — It Is Part of the Lesson Tony and Jesse both emphasize that Luke 10:21–24 is not merely throat-clearing before the real content begins. The theological statement embedded there — that the Father has hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to little children, that no one knows the Son except the Father or the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him — is the hermeneutical key to everything that follows. The lawyer approaches Jesus as one rabbi testing another. But Luke has already told his readers that this is not a conversation between equals debating interpretive options. It is the Lawgiver being questioned by someone who does not recognize Him. The parable that follows is not just an answer to a legal question. It is a revelation — the kind that only happens when the Son chooses to give it. Memorable Quotes You do not want to pit the law against the one who has given the law, the one whose character is represented in the law — because you're always going to get owned, and you'll get owned before you realize you've just gotten owned on multiple levels. - Jesse Schwamb Jesus is trying to sort of reorient them back to the true paradigm of grace that is present under all of the Old Covenant administrations. It's not so much a matter of developing a new framework and imposing it on this guy. It's really trying to say, 'Listen — think about this for a second. Think about the fact that, yes, you know you have to love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength, your whole mind, and you have to love your neighbor as yourself. You've answered correctly. If you can do those things, you will live.' — with the subtext: and of course you cannot possibly do those things. - Tony Arsenal The fundamental human problem is not primarily ignorance, but the will's bondage and the heart's self-love. It's a problem no amount of correct discipline or doctrine alone can fix apart from some kind of regenerating grace — which is exactly what Jesus is going to illustrate for us in the mercy he's about to display in this parable. - Jesse Schwamb Full Transcript Tony Arsenal: [00:00:00] This parable is not primarily about us figuring out how to do mercy ministry. Like, that's important. It's probably an outcome of this. It's probably something for us to think about. But really, this is actually Christ saying, like, "Hold on a second here, dude." Like, "Let's just think about this." Do you need someone who is going to tell you to pick yourself up off your bootstraps and cross to the other side of the street and leave you to your own devices? Or do you need someone who's gonna throw you on their donkey, who's gonna bind up your wounds, who's gonna pay the innkeeper, and is gonna pledge to pay everything that is owed for your salvation? Right? That's not too on the nose here, I think. Welcome to episode 502 of The Reformed Brotherhood. I'm [00:01:00] Jesse  And I'm Tony, and this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey, brother.  Jesse Schwamb: Hey, brother. Well, we've got a big one to talk about on this episode. We're marching further and further into all of the glorious parables Jesus told as part of His teaching. And as you and I kind of joked before we began, I mean, what did you call it? Did you say this is, uh, the big daddy?  Tony Arsenal: It's the big daddy, one of the big daddy parables.  Jesse Schwamb: It's one of the big daddy parables. Now, this one is probably second maybe only to the prodigal son. Yeah But in terms of its ubiquity and its kind of just common knowledge in culture, this one ranks right up there. And before I reveal what it is, which you may already know, I was thinking how so many times we look at the Beatitudes as expression of a master class in Jesus teaching the law, and I think that's true. But as I was reading and thinking about this particular parable, I thought, "I don't know. I think this one is, uh, right up there," because [00:02:00] this is like law on law. It's double law. Yeah It's law coming back at the law giver who's trying to use the law to test Jesus, and then Jesus tests him with the law that He himself gave His people. It's... I'm already getting too excited- ... and we've got something to do before we get there. But we're talking about the parable of the Good Samaritan. And so I can't imagine, can I just make a prediction up front? I, you know where I'm going with this, and probably everybody else does. Uh, this is gonna be like two conversations-  Tony Arsenal: At least ...  Jesse Schwamb: probably.  Tony Arsenal: Yeah, at least two.  Jesse Schwamb: Is that fair? Because I realize we, of course, wanna get to the parable itself, and oh, my goodness, how much ink has been spilled. Even going back to, like, if you read, like, Augustine or, like, the early church, like the Patristics, the Church Fathers, there are so much that could be said, and maybe some stuff that just shouldn't be said about all the allegorical potential intent here about these characters. But [00:03:00] there's so much amazing stuff that happens in the opening of this, that's not just the setup, but it is its own lesson, and I'm real excited actually to talk about that with you before we even get into, like, all the good stuff that everybody expects that you wanna talk about. So we're gonna do it all. Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  Jesse Schwamb: We're gonna do it all, but it'll take time.  Tony Arsenal: Yeah. I'm interested to see if we're even on the same page about where to start reading, 'cause I, I think we might not be, and that's gonna be fun. So we'll, we'll let it fly and see what happens. It'll be our own little, uh, podcast game.  Jesse Schwamb: But, uh, I think- Well, I mean, we're gonna be in Luke chapter 10, but I guess to your point, we should be starting in Luke chapter one to get to this. Yeah.  Tony Arsenal: Exactly. But  Jesse Schwamb: we, we do have to back up quite a bit, and I was gonna ask you about that. Yeah. But I, apparently we're just gonna play that on the fly and see where we go.  Affirmations Denials Segment Jesse Schwamb: But of course, the Reformers had their five solos. Chalcedon had its, what, seven withouts. We've got opinions, and we're just as confident about ours, so of course it's time for affirmations, denials, where we affirm something that we think is good or awesome or [00:04:00] we wanna recommend, and we deny, again, something that is not so great or maybe just plain annoying. So before we talk about the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Tony, what do you got for us on this episode? Are you affirming with something, or are you gonna come in with a denial?  Tony Arsenal: Well, I've got two affirmations. That's fine. One is just- I will allow it ... a declaration of joy, and one is, like, a real affirmation. I, I just can't... It would be remiss of me not to share with our podcasting family that my son August and my daughter Adeline, uh, joined the visible church today as- Hear, hear ... uh, non-communicant members. Uh, Augie and Addie were baptized on the 16th of August of 2026, uh, into the visible church, into the name of Jesus Christ. Uh, was, it was just a great service. Um, it's funny because I've been- been talking with Augie. One of the thing with toddlers when you're doing something big like this is you kinda have to talk about it and practice and rehearse, rehearse it and, and get them ready for it. And up until maybe, like, I don't know, three days [00:05:00] ago, every time it would come up he would be saying, "I don't wanna be baptized. I don't wanna be baptized." And, um, you know, I, I, I, you know, I don't wanna force him to do something, but also, like, I make him eat vegetables. But, um- ... he, I, I think it was nerves, and I think something clicked in his head and all of a sudden he was very excited to be baptized. So, um, it was great. We've been talking about, you know, what baptism is, God's promise to you that if you trust him he'll save you. And so today he- Right ... he was like, "God's gonna make a promise to me to save me." So he was very excited. Nice. And he did a great job just standing quietly and listening to the pastor talk. Uh, and Addie was, was, was just a beautiful little girl, and she, um, she loved it as well. So that's just a bonus affirmation. I don't know that I could get through a podcast without gushing over that.  Glorify App and Devotionals Tony Arsenal: Uh, but the, the affirmation I have, uh, this is an, an app that I think some of our listeners may have heard of. Um, some may roll their eyes at it, to be honest with you. Um, I stumbled on this because, uh, you have an Oura Ring, don't you, Jesse? Jesse Schwamb: I do.  Tony Arsenal: You [00:06:00] do, yeah. So for those who don't know, an Oura Ring is like a little wearable ring that's like a, almost like a fitness tracker, but it tracks biometrics, pulse rate, temperature, all these different things, sleep. Um, there's a startup, uh, that has been doing a GoFundMe or a funding kind of thing for, uh, what they're calling like a Christian version of an Oura Ring. So it does a lot of the same things, sleep tracking, basic biometric tracking. Hmm. But it also has like alerts built in, and it's tied into an app that they use for devotionals. So it'll, it'll remind you to pray. It'll remind you, you know, bring you to an app to do a devotion. But the app it uses is a standalone app that I looked up, and it's called Glorify. Have you ever heard of this app before this evening? I have heard of  Jesse Schwamb: this, yeah.  Tony Arsenal: So Glorify is just a small devotional app. Uh, it's not much different than you would expect based on the name. It is connected to this, uh, to this Glorify ring, which again is, is sort of like an Oura Ring tied into this app. But this app basically is, is [00:07:00] designed to help you complete short daily devotional exercises, and they're usually very brief. They're based on a very brief, um, a very brief passage of scripture. Today's passage, uh, c- there's a quote. So today's quote is from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It says, "True love does not consist in finding the perfect person, but in faithfully loving an imperfect one." Not sure why this devotional app is using a romance, uh, quote from Bonhoeffer of all people. But that was today's. Um, and the passage is Proverbs 5:15-17. So it's a, it's a devotional based on two verses, which is fine. So you read the passage. There's a very brief devotional on that passage, and then sort of a guided prayer, and they have both premium and free models. The premium model includes like you can listen to the devotional, you can listen to the prayer. Um, but just for example, today's prayer, it, it's very simple. "Loving Father, thank you for, uh, thank you because you're faithful and unchanging. In a world [00:08:00] marked by broken promises, disposable relationships, you remain the same. Teach me to reflect that faithfulness in my relationships. Help me to love with perseverance, grace, and commitment following the example of Christ. Protect marriages, strengthen families, restore what needs healing. May every relationship be marked by respect, truth, and genuine love. Shape in me a heart of integrity that honors you in both the small and significant choices of life. In Jesus' name, amen." So I think what I love about this, and this, I mentioned last week that there was, this is kind of like, sort of like the fluffy evangelical devotions. Like- Right ... there's not a ton of like solid doctrinal meat- But like, it's still nourishing. And sometimes we need a little bit of help. Sometimes we don't know what to pray, we don't know what to read, we're not sure. Sometimes in, I think in our Reformed circles, we feel like if we're not reading large portions of scripture and reading deep theological treaties or long, complex devotionals, that we're really not doing anything, and that's just not the [00:09:00] truth. So I've been using this in addition to other devotional studies I'm doing. I don't do it every day. I mean, there's some like streak functionality, kinda like habit tracking type stuff that's built into it. Um, but it's nice. It's nice to be able to pick it up, read a very short scripture, a brief devotional thought, and then have some guided prayer. I know one of the reasons I don't pray as often as I ought to is because I struggle to know what and how to pray. So even having some written prayers, I mean, this is why the Psalms are good, things like the Valley of Visions are good. Um, having some pre-written prayers that you genuinely pray but you're not having to come up with in the moment can really help. Right. So the app is called Glorify. I know it's available on iPhone. I'm not sure about Android. I'm sure it probably is. I'm sure they wanna have a pretty broad ecosystem. Um, and, and it's good. Again, it's, it's not anything fancy. It's not anything like super technical. Uh, and as I kind of alluded, like some of it's a little weird. Um, I, I didn't read the proverb. I think maybe the proverb is about romantic relationships, why they're, why they're tying in that, um, Bonhoeffer quote in, in the prayer. [00:10:00] But, um, even that, like it's pretty innocuous. And the quotes, like you don't have to read the quotes. It's not like you have to have to do that. Um, you could jump in, just read the scripture or just read the devotion and just do the prayer and you would be fine. So check it out. It's called Glorify, available on iPhone for sure. I'm pretty sure it's on, on Android. And maybe it's something you add daily, you know, this kinda thing like you do when you're on the bus or you're waiting at the grocery store, something quick you can do when you might be wasting that time just sorta sitting around or scrolling Twitter. Again, Twitter's fine. You can use your leisure time as you see fit. But if you wanna fill it with something like this, something that is more spiritual, then this would be a good option to just add a little bit of, uh, a little bit of nourishment to your diet where you might not otherwise be getting it  Jesse Schwamb: I have no proof of this, but I just keep saying it anyway. It might be that we're living in the golden age of really great- ... daily worship resources. Like, something to actually cultivate, not just, like, a devotional nugget, but something that actually leads you into a pattern and a habit of [00:11:00]worship, giving your attentive focus on Jesus. And I love that. So, uh, uh, 'cause I was just thinking, like, I was trying to look back on some of our past affirmations here. We've talked about the book Walking in Faith. I just gave everybody Awake My Soul last week. You're coming in with the Glorify app. I- we've talked about Dwell, if not recently, we've talked about that for some time. It's like a great Bible reading app, and there's lots and lots of new features, by the way, coming out on that- Yeah that are fantastic. And then, yes, all these other great prayers. I, I see, like, these books on prayer, like, actually, I'm sorry, like, prayer books, I guess, as, like, a great way to kinda... It's like a jumper for your car. You know what I mean? Like, just gets you started. What a, what a lovely thing to come into a place and have a launching pad. And I've been using a lot of Into His Presence, which is a collection of Puritan prayers, sometimes because, for instance, this just happened, where I wanted to pray for someone who was just going through a rough time, a good friend of mine. And I went to that place to kinda start and frame, knowing that I was gonna sit down with him and pray, how I might be able to do that well and [00:12:00] effectively. And these things are just, like, really phenomenal resources. It's just an amazing time to have all these things at our disposal. So that's another great option. It's, it's really more about, like you and I have talked about, Tony, like, whatever gets us into that pattern, whatever gets us, like, authentically experiencing under our own volition, coming in the discipline of sitting before God in daily worship with that expression being pretty broad in its representation- Yeah is to really include something of devotional time in the scriptures, memorization, metabolation, metabolizing. Metabolation, I'm just gonna make that up as, like- ... what happens when you, when you take the scripture and metabolize it into your own life. Meditating on it and, you know, again, maybe looking through the confessions and creeds that have shaped our distilled understanding of what the scripture teaches so that we're enhancing and edifying our mind. We're also engaging the heart, and then we're engaging God and ourselves in communication with Him through prayer. I'm all for anything [00:13:00] that gets us into those rhythms, reminds us of the importance of them, and like we talked about last week, makes it so that when we think about what it means to be married to Christ, so to speak, it's not just about whipping out some kind of marriage certificate to prove that, but that we actually have a frame and a behavioral pattern that fits a married person, that- Yeah how they act, how they think, how they behave, how they communicate, they're never too far away from their lovely spouse in some way or another. And so I think that these tools are great ways to get us exactly into that kind of mindset and practice.  Tony Arsenal: Yeah, absolutely. And like I said, like, I think- In our Reformed circles, we can, you know, we, we tend to be maybe a little eggheaded, and we, we tend to be a little more intellectual and, and a little more, I don't know, studious. And there's nothing wrong with that. Um, but I think sometimes it can breed a sort of, uh, elitism and arrogance. Sure. Uh, this is a perfectly valid devotional tool. Yes. Mm-hmm. And, and I think, [00:14:00] you know, kinda like the old adage, like, well, what's the best translation of scripture? Well, whichever one you're gonna read. Exactly. Like, what's the best devotional tool? Whichever one you're gonna use, whichever one's actually gonna bring you into the Word, uh, on a, on a regular basis. Um, and again, like, two verses of the scripture is two verses of the scripture that you might- Right ... not have other spent time, otherwise spent time reading. And it really is short enough, and it saves your progress. Like, you can do, you can do the quote in the morning, and then you can check the scripture on the way to the, you know, the word work, on a stoplight or whatever. Um, if you have the, the paid subscription, you can listen to this stuff, you know, on the, the bus or whatever. Um, so check it out. Glorify app, they have a ring they're making. It's in funding, I guess, if you wanna check it out, you can check that out too. I am neither affirming nor denying whatever this Glory ring is, Glorify ring. But, um, but yeah, the app is great. The, the app is free, and it's, it's worth even just checking out and adding once in a while to your day  Jesse Schwamb: The glory ring or the glorify ring sounds like almost too Tolkien, even for me  Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. It's the one ring to rule all of your devotions. [00:15:00] Uh, and in the, and in the morning bind them. Jesse, save me from the trail I was about to go on, and, and I was gonna speak in the language of Mordor, I think, on accident. Uh, save us from this. What are you affirming or denying?  Jesse Schwamb: That's  Tony Arsenal: beautiful. Please tell me it's the language of Mordor. Elvish AI and Music Pick Jesse Schwamb: Uh, no, but can I just say at the risk of really taking us really far afield so early on, which is not necessarily off-brand for us, I have done this... I, I don't know if I should be ashamed by this or I should be excited by this. But- ... um, the Elvish tongue in the Tolkien universe-  Tony Arsenal: Oh, no. ...  Jesse Schwamb: is like, there's several... If you're super nerdy, you'll know there's like several different kind of iterations or formulas of it, and there's no, like, official language like Klingon, but there ha- it has been studied, and basically, like, it's kind of like the Eugene Peterson of the language. Like, there's, like, just kind of a dynamic equivalent or an expression of words. Anyway, all that to say- ... there's several languages that, uh, Microsoft Copilot will just not [00:16:00] translate because it says, like, "This one, this language doesn't actually exist. There's not enough for me to do anything." Let me tell you something. Tolkien Elvish is not one of those languages, and I actually built an agent, because I have a coworker who can, uh, who can appreciate all this stuff, that takes a text, translates it into this kind of academic high-level Elvish from Tolkien, and then translates it back to English. That makes anything you're saying way better and far more poetic and just absolutely amazing. So if you wanna have some fun, go and do that with whatever your favorite AI model is. Anyway, that's free of charge. Real quick, my affirmation is more music. It just turns out I've found this band, and I've been listening to them a lot. The band's name is Thronebreaker, which is just a phenomenal name, I think, for any group. Uh, it's amazing. Uh, th- this is... I'm gonna read you their description from Spotify. It just says, "Thronebreaker is Christian metalcore built for the bruised, the doubting, and the ones still fighting their way home." And what I've really been [00:17:00] loving about them is it is kind of like Wolves at the Gate adjacent. It's really lovely music. It is melodic, so it's, there's not just that there's that kind of hard edge, but that is present in it. But, uh, the music is really lovely and beautiful, and in part that's because they're going through this, like, drip of releasing music where they're taking, like, old hymns or maybe songs if you're of a certain age like I am of kind of childhood Sunday school- And they're taking the lyrics, not the melody, and they're reimagining them. So they have two versions of Jesus Loves Me that they just released. They have the old We're Gonna Cross, a song called Glory to the King Most High. These songs are just saturated with gospel. Like, they're just all power, all encouragement, and all authority represented in Jesus Christ. They're incredible, and I've j- where I've, what I've been really blessed by is these two versions of Jesus Love Me are just fantastic. Like, they're orchestral. There is a children's kind of chorus at one point, and it got me [00:18:00] singing that song again, and really, maybe to what you were saying before, Tony, like sitting in those three words, which are really phenomenal words to hear. And so I have been surprised at how moved I've been by what really I, I first understood, of course, as a children's song with simple truth that seems, you know, depending on how long you've known some part of the gospel, obvious. And yet I found them all new again, and a, a really lovely way of just sitting in the truth of God in music that I didn't expect to find. So if you're interested in any of that or maybe just curious of what it would sound like if a Christian metalcore band took Jesus Loves Me and turned it into their genre, then honestly you should just go check out Throne Breaker. I mean, you pretty much have to at this point.  Tony Arsenal: I, I don't ever have anything to add to your musical affirmations or denials, 'cause I, I just don't. What I do have to add is that Throne Breaker actually sounds like some sort of really [00:19:00] amazing, like, mace-type weapon in Lord of the Rings. Yes.  Jesse Schwamb: Yes,  Tony Arsenal: it does. Or like a big hammer that a dwarf carries. And I would also like to say that if you ask Google Gemini to translate something into Tolkien English, it not only will do it, it will tell you how to pronounce it.  Google Elf: A ava aini Ilai amel i trona se.  Tony Arsenal: What do you think that was, Jesse?  Jesse Schwamb: No idea.  Tony Arsenal: First of all, that was elevated Quenya, a Quenya. Yes.  Jesse Schwamb: Yes, that's  Tony Arsenal: the one. Classic Quenya.  Jesse Schwamb: Yes.  Google Elf: A leta Ilai amel aima.  Tony Arsenal: I would be willing to bet... Actually, let's do this.  Jesse Schwamb: Ugh.  Tony Arsenal: Uh, we don't give out prizes very often. Uh, I will say to anyone who can tell me what that is, the first person that emails, uh, or, or goes into the Telegram chat, we'll do this. We'll be professional podcasters and drive people to one of our channels. Here we  Jesse Schwamb: go.  Tony Arsenal: The first person who goes to our telephone, our Telegram chat and tells me what that [00:20:00] means, what that, uh, Elvish means, will get a Reformed Brotherhood T-shirt.  Jesse Schwamb: Oh, that is big.  Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  Jesse Schwamb: That-  Tony Arsenal: So I'm gonna, I'm gonna play it one more time.  Jesse Schwamb: Okay, here we go. Everybody listen. Every- All right, pull over. Stop your vehicles. Here we go.  Google Elf: A leta Ilai amel aima.  Tony Arsenal: There it is, everybody.  Jesse Schwamb: I'm not being a cry- I have a guess, but I, I, I wanna try to win the T-shirt, so I'm gonna- Yes ... wi- withhold. All right. Uh, yeah, that's, that's super fun. Did it, um... Did you also translate it back into English from that  Tony Arsenal: just to see- No, I'll do that later, 'cause that would give away the, that would  Jesse Schwamb: give away the prize. Yeah, it's, it's... We'll have to save that for next week, because that, that is the fun. It creates, like, what I was doing to, to have fun with this coworker is take very technical, like, work-related emails, and I would send it through. It would go through that iterative process, and I actually loved how it, it was talking. Like, it wa- this was an email about risk, and it, it gave, like, these beautiful grand metaphors that didn't sound corny or cheesy. That's the beautiful thing. That's amazing. It [00:21:00] was like true Elvish. Like, you were just like, "I wish I spoke that way all the time about, about risk." And it, like I said, it wasn't just like... You could, you could obviously throw something in and be like, "Make this Shakespearean," or, you know, "Make this, you know, sound like, you know, Milton." This is way better. This is way better, because it's not, like, actually trying to manipulate what you're saying. It's takes, like, the dynamic equivalent of what you said, then translates it back with way more kind of poetic infrastructure while maintaining, like, the essential meaning that you have. I'm, I'm selling this too hard. Everybody just has to go out and try it. So, all right, you know what's at stake here, but here's how you have to win this. If you want a chance, if you want a chance at winning this, you gotta go to t.me/reformedbrotherhood, t.me/reformedbrotherhood, and that link will take you to the Telegram app and our little corner of it, and you're gonna find there's a bunch of chats there. You gotta go to the affirmations or denials chat, and then you gotta put in what is the translation of what Tony just played.[00:22:00] I just love... Isn't it amazing, though, that, like, y- as you discovered, there's more than one version of Elvish available? Yeah. And they do differentiate between the various kinds. This is a big deal. I learned there are actually scholars who have, like, again, filled in kind of like the details of the language- Oh, yeah taking as a basis what Tolkien had there. Yeah. So I think that this is the best. We couldn't have conceived of this if we'd actually tried and planned for it, so-  Tony Arsenal: It's true ...  Jesse Schwamb: it's just better that it all happened in, in real time. It's true. And, and speaking of which, I think now we get to have the fun of figuring out, uh, where in Luke chapter 10 are we gonna begin? Or should we just start in Luke 1 and just let's see how far we can get reading  Tony Arsenal: in this- I could have, I could have Google Gemini read it in elevated Kenya, Quenya I did try to get it to put it in Sindarin, and it wouldn't do it for some reason. I'm not sure. Maybe this anti-Sindarin bias in Gemini,  Jesse Schwamb: man. Disappointing.  Tony Arsenal: It's disappointing.  Jesse Schwamb: Dis- disappointing. So let's kick off some Good Samaritan talk, which again, I think is gonna take us [00:23:00] through maybe in the next couple of conversations, in part because, like I said, we're not even gonna start at, uh, verse 25 because there is so much more that needs to be said, I think, before that. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. I, I think actually the proper place to start this, and I, I'm guessing Jesse probably, whether he was there or not, he probably figured out where I was going, uh, over the course of the last 20 minutes or whatever. Um, I actually think the proper place to start, at least one of the proper places to start, is in verse 21. Yeah. Um, and I- we'll talk about why that is. And I'll... I'm gonna read here, um, 21, uh, through the end of the parable. Uh, and this is Jesus talking. He says in this, uh... Well, it, this is, um... Yes, uh, I'll just read it here. "In the same hour He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, 'I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for such was Your gracious will. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one who knows who the Son is except... No, no one knows who the Son is [00:24:00] except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Himself.'" Then turning to the disciples, he said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see and did not see it, and hear what you hear and did not hear it." And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?" And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live." But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and he saw him and passed on the other side. So likewise a Levite, [00:25:00] when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. And he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take good care of him. Whatever you, whatever more you spend I will repay you when I come back.' Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" And he said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "You go and do likewise."  Jesse Schwamb: I think you're right, of course, to back us up into verse 21 because I don't want to keep saying it's always a setup, but Jesus is certainly giving us like the right context in which... Well, Luke of course is the author here and as he's explaining the teaching of Jesus, he does so well to start out with some irony that we don't realize is gonna be ironic until we get to the, to verse 25 [00:26:00] when we realize who's testing Jesus, who's setting this all up. So this idea that the Holy Spirit, everybody rejoicing in the Holy Spirit and the knowledge and the wisdom, the intelligence that's revealed through the Holy Spirit to all of these lesser people and in particular here emblematic the infants That here we have kings and rulers, and in this case, this beloved scholar of the law, who all have this adventure in missing the point. They think, in fact, they're looking for the one who is to set them free, and they can't even see that it's Him who is before him. And yet, incidentally, God has already revealed all these things to the lowest, to the ones who are the most humble, the meek, the mild, the down and outs, the ones who are weak by the view of everybody else. And so it's amazing that if we just kinda, again, like blow past it into, like, just all the characters, we don't see that the teaching starts actually well above this, that even everything we're about to understand, that unfolds in our lives, ev- every spiritual incarnation and insight that we have [00:27:00] first starts with God himself in his revealing it to us both in his general revelation, but of course, in the specific revelation of his teaching. So I like that you started us there, because I, I'm with you. That's where this whole thing launches off, right?  Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  Parables Reveal and Conceal Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and as we come into when we very, like very start of this, uh, series, the, the parable series, Jesus sort of embeds a theology of parables into this introduction, right? Or I should say Luke does. But this, uh, this is written a- as though all of this is occurring as sort of one event. Right. And likely it was, right? So sometimes, uh, in the Gospels, events are kind of, like, moved next to each other for thematic reasons. It's possible that that's the case. It seems like this may have actually just been one, one teaching, and I'll, I'll talk about why that is in a second here. Um, but at the very least, this is placed next to each other in the Gospel almost as, like a, "Here's the theology of parables. Now, here's actually that happening in real [00:28:00] time."  Jesse Schwamb: Yes.  Tony Arsenal: And then also, like, a parable kinda demonstrating it, right? So the theology of the parable here is that there are many prophets, kings who desire to see what it is that, that, uh, uh, the disciples are seeing, right? And all things have been handed over to the Father or to, to the Son, by the Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father. No one who knows who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal, right? So the, the theology of parables here presented in Luke is that the parable itself is being used as a way to reveal the Father and the Son to those whom the Son chooses to reveal it to. The Lawyer as the Fool Tony Arsenal: And that leaves us with this lawyer, um, sort of playing, playing the fool in almost like a dramatic sense, right? In a lot of drama, there's kind of like the fool character who's sort of like the foil or the idiot of the thing who's, who's unaware and is almost like made an example of, right? Um, I, I can't think of any examples off the top of my head, but there's often a character in a play who's like, uh, it's [00:29:00] almost like the opposite of the everyman, right? The everyman in a, in a play- Right ... or in a movie is sort of like the outsider who things gets explained to, and he's sort of the proxy for, for the audience. Um, I think like, um, Hawkeye in Avengers is kind of the everyman. He's sort of just like this regular dude swept up in this thing, and oftentimes he's the one that, uh, the big characters are explaining things to. And really what that is is the big characters are explaining that to the audience through this proxy. There's also this concept of the fool in a lot of these plays or movies who's sort of like the dummy, the idiot of the play, who things are explained to, and it's still a way to explain it to the audience, but the character doesn't get it. And so that's kind of, kind of the role that this lawyer is playing in this, this narrative here. He, he steps forward. He's like, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answers his question, and then in this like sort of like stunning moment of, like unawareness, he's trying to justify himself. He says, "Well, who is my neighbor?"[00:30:00] As though that's a question that needed to be asked, right? I think, like, we sort of think of it as like, "Oh, yeah, that's a valid question." I actually don't think it is. Like, it's pretty obvious, in the Old Testament at least, who your neighbor is. It's the people who live immediately with you. It's the other people of Israel. It's the people in your immediate concentric circles, the people you have direct access to. Um, and so then Jesus explains it through this parable, and whether or not he gets it at the end, I guess is maybe a little bit unclear. We can talk about that as we get there. But at least in the beginning, he's portrayed as this sort of, like, fool who doesn't understand what Jesus is saying, and then this parable is taught. So it's this theology of, um, revelation to those whom it is intended to, and further obscuring from those it's intended not to, not to illuminate, which is identical. Uh, maybe it's a different flavor of the same thing, but it's the same thing as what Matthew had and what Jesus taught- Right ... in Matthew with the parables. Jesse Schwamb: Right. It definitely is, again, illustrating, again, God's divine prerogative. I think you really have to do a lot of theological gymnastics [00:31:00] to try to work yourself out of a place here that says, like, "Well, this, this knowledge is accessible to all people."  Tony Arsenal: Right.  Jesse Schwamb: That if somehow we just work hard enough, study hard enough, come even before God with the right attitude or do the right things, that somehow all this will be made plain to us, and that's certainly not the truth here. In fact, again, the ironic setup is you have this lawyer asking this question, which creates this strange contrast because here's a man trained in the law, and he approaches the very wisdom of God to test him while the little children already perceive what this fool cannot. So it's irony upon irony, and then I, I like what you're saying. I think, and we'll get to this to anticipate a bit, I'm reading this as he's hoping that the answer to whom is my neighbor, just like he- he's received the affirmative from Jesus saying, "Yes, you understand. Go and do these things. This is life," and we'll get to all of what that means, I think, as well in terms of the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. But I think he's hoping that the definition of neighbor is gonna mean that he has [00:32:00] already accomplished the thing then, so that if there's somehow- Yeah ... he could just set the right boundaries. He could say, "Ah, yeah, I'm already good then, Jesus. I already, already did all that stuff." So- It's wild to me that it, it all starts with, of course, like some kind of scribal specialist in the Torah, of course, likely some kind of Pharisee by theological alignment. And as I'm looking at the notes here, what I find particularly stunning as we start this out is that Luke, of course, is able to speak several times in this parable to the intent. And so he says right away with great kind of fanfare and description that the intent here from this scribal Torah person was to test or to tempt, which is the same verb used of Satan's temptation of Christ and of Israel's testing of God in Deuteronomy 6, which of course Jesus is gonna quote here later on. So it's not, of course, like sincere inquiry, like you're saying. It, it is like adversarial probing. It is like really profound setup. It is dripping with like [00:33:00] ulterior motive. It's seeking to expose Jesus as either like heterodox or as diminishing the law's demands. And I think we've talked about this before, so Tony, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure in one of the previous parables we talked about sometimes how these get set up with this kind of weird like oxymoronic setting. Inherit Eternal Life Debate Jesse Schwamb: So like this question of se- uh, uh, itself, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?  Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  Jesse Schwamb: It's like more than just theologically revealing. Biblically it's self-contradictory, 'cause of course like we talked about inheritance, I think actually when we went through the, the parable of the prodigal. By definition, that's received, of course, on the ba- basis of relationship or promise. It's not earned by performance. And if the inheritance comes by a law, it no longer comes by promise, right? I think that's like Galatians. So the lawyer's question already portray- portrays like some kind of weird works righteous paradigm. E- even if you think he's really after trying to understand the true intent of God's heart [00:34:00] behind the law, he is assuming at least in this question that eternal life is some kind of wage that he can earn rather than a gift to be received by grace through faith. And that's a fundamental error that the entire subsequent exchange, including the parable, is designed to expose. It's both, like you're saying, Tony, he has not learned yet what it means to be in the kingdom of God. He's outside of that, and so he's trying... Now Jesus is bringing in this corrective action, as it were, set up in a story, but he's gonna turn the law on him, which, which I don't wanna get too excited about that yet. But he's... But essentially, here we have somebody who's the expert in the law trying to leverage the law by way of force against the one who he does not understand has all leverage and authority over him, and is in fact the law giver himself So he's gonna, Jesus is gonna drive him to see his own ability to keep the law that he claims to honor, and that's more than just brilliant. This is what the law does. You do not wanna pit the law against the one who has given the law, the [00:35:00] one whose character is represented in the law, because you're always going to get owned, and you'll get owned before you realize you've just gotten owned on multiple levels, and I think that's what basically unfolds here. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, I, I have a little bit of a different take on the, the word inherit here. Um, I don't think what you're saying is wrong, um, but I think there's a little different flavor here, and actually, I, I think it, it still sort of propels us forward to the conversation we have to have, um, about the law and the gospel and the covenant of works, the covenant of grace. The, the Greek that lays under this word is, uh, it's a compound word of the word for, like, lot or portion and the word for law. And so, so the, this force of the word is more along the lines of, like, what shall I do to have a legal right to eternal life? Like- Right ... inherit, I think we hear inherit, and we think of, like, um, like what you get when someone dies, and so, like, obviously there's nothing you do to earn it, and that's certainly an element of the way this [00:36:00] word is used in some instances. I think reading this and kind of how, how the rest of the text plays out, this lawyer is coming forward and he's like, "What do I need to do to have a rightful legal claim to eternal life?" Right? We might even be able, and this is where it comes into the covenant of grace, covenant of works k- kind of paradigm. We might even be able to say that what this lawyer or this person comes forward to ask Jesus is, how do I gain, how do I gain the benefits of the covenant of works, right?  Jesse Schwamb: Right.  Tony Arsenal: Yep. That's language that was developed later that's not, not, like, biblical language in terms of, like, the actual language within the text, but that's the force of what he's saying. What must I do to be a rightful legal... Uh, what must I do to have a rightful legal claim on all of the blessings of the covenant of works, is really the question that's here. And so Jesus' answer is so instructive- Right ... 'cause what he says is, "Well, what's written in the law?" Like, he, he basically says, like, "Well, you should be able to tell me, teacher- Exactly of [00:37:00] the law, like, what, what needs to happen there." And there's an assumption on Christ's part that, like, there is an answer. I think sometimes, sometimes we, we, uh, we make an error in thinking that the covenant of works was never attainable, that it's somehow this, like, um, it's almost like a black box. Like, nobody could know what we have to do to, like, obtain eternal life. That's absolutely not the assumption Jesus makes. Jesus not only knows that there's an answer, it's such a straightforward answer that he expects this scribe to be able to answer it, right? And the scribe can, right? The scribe says, "Well, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind, your strength, and your neighbor as yourself," right? The summary of the law. Just good old classic Westminster larger, shorter catechism. Where's the law summarily comprehended? Summarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments. And then, then again, I don't know the questions exactly, but then it also, like, says, like, "Where does Christ summarize this?" Well, you should love the Lord your God, and you should love your [00:38:00] neighbor as yourself, right? Covenant Works and Grace Tony Arsenal: So the, the lawyer comes forward and says, "What do I need to do to have a legal right to all of the blessings of the covenant of works?" Christ says, "Well, what do you think?" He says, "Well, you obey the entirety of the law." And he says, "You've answered correctly. Do this. Obey the entirety of the law and you will live." So the parable itself doesn't necessarily speak to this law, gospel, covenant of works, covenant of grace paradigm. The, the parable is used to show that not only does this lawyer know what is required of him, but that he won't do it.  Jesse Schwamb: Right.  Tony Arsenal: And I think that's really key, because even in the parable, within the parable itself, there are these figures that know what they should do, right? I, I think, um, we'll get into it, but there's a lot of ink spilled on almost like, um, explaining [00:39:00] why the priest and the Phar- phar- and the, the Levite almost like did the right thing by going to the other side of the room, and it points to like, well, their priestly and Levitical responsibilities, if they touch a dead body, like they can't do those things, and those things are so important. Like, there's a lot of ink spilled trying to almost explain why what they did is right, when the point of the parable is that actually we all know what the right thing to do in that sense was. And even the most righteous people in the mind of the hearers, the Levites and the priests, the most righteous people, even they don't do what they're supposed to do. Jesse Schwamb: Right.  Tony Arsenal: This, this paradigm, this gospel law paradigm, law gospel paradigm, this covenant of works, covenant of grace paradigm, is so baked into the very like fabric of, of human thought that it's just there. And Christ takes this time to point out to this lawyer, like, "You know what's expected of you." And so that's why the phrase desiring to justify himself is so key [00:40:00] here. I actually think that the, the, the I don't wanna go so far as to say, like, that this person was regenerated in the midst of this conversation, 'cause I don't know that. But I actually think that there's a forward movement of this lawyer as he interacts with Christ that is optimistic. I'm optimistic about it, right? Right. He starts out trying to test Jesus, then he star- then he moves to having a desire to justify himself. I think we hear that, we read that, desiring to justify himself, we automatically think that that's a negative thing. But if we think about justifying himself in terms of what he's talking about, how do I fulfill the obligations of the covenant of works, that's not a bad thing to wanna do. Right. It's not bad to wanna obey God's law and to lay claim to His promises. It's a misguided notion of something we can't accomplish, but in itself, desiring to justify himself is to desire to fulfill the obligations of the covenant of works. That's not necessarily a bad thing. And so I think this is a merciful, a merciful [00:41:00] teaching on Christ's part. He's trying to instruct this guy to say, "Look, you can't do it. And even if you could do it, you wouldn't do it. So let's, let's talk about mercy instead and what that looks like." And that's where we get to kind of the end of the, uh, the end of the parable.  Jesse Schwamb: And again, we have to remember that we know that the intent here is actually to test or try Jesus, so He's certainly being merciful by using this opportunity not to just put him on blast, but to actually provide true instruction. And of course, like, that was, to some degree, this turning the question back would've been, like, a rabbinic pedagogical technique, but theologically, this is what floors me, is from the jump, Jesus refuses to let this man treat Him merely as one more voice among competing rabbis. Yeah. Instead, He holds that lawyer to the standard of God's own revealed word by, like you said, asking not just what does it say, but how do you read it? Mm-hmm. He's pressing not just for, like, some kind of recitation, but for the lawyer's own understanding and application, and Jesus is gonna hold him [00:42:00] accountable to his own hermeneutic. So by, by the time we get the answer, we know as readers, and all those present would've understood, he already knows the right answer, and he's not ignorant to God's requirements. He already summarizes the whole moral law correctly, encompassing both tables of the Decalogue. And so I think that does lead us then to this statement that we probably should spend a little time on, like, do this and you will live, like you introduced for us. Like, what does that even mean? Because i- it's not, like, in my view It's not like a Pelagian or Arminian concession that law keeping actually saves. I mean, it is the covenant of works principle stated truly inexorably that the law as law does promise life to perfect obedience. But that's the exact problem. I, I like what you said that it's not as if we can't understand what it would be to comprehend or contemplate this perfect law and what it means to fall under the covenant of works. It's just that he also presents for us at the same time this covenant of grace in which life is [00:43:00] granted freely through faith in the mediator who alone fulfills all of these laws' demands. So it's wild in this back and forth that's happening here where it's... I don't even know if it's fair to say this is like the most incredible subtext ever. I'm imagining trying to process this in real time and realizing everything that's being said, not just listening to what's being said and like the technical answers going back and forth. But I think like you said, that the Spirit even here is at work, I would like to believe, in the life and at the heart and the mind of this lawyer who's bringing forward this question with nefarious intent first to test and to undermine, and then is being drawn in almost inexorably into this debate to more profound understanding about a covenant based on works that cannot be accomplished, uh, in perfect obedience except through the mediator who organizes and distributes liberally this covenant of grace to his children for whom he has accomplished at least passively and then actively in his obedience in life and death. And so Jesus' reply is, I [00:44:00] think, thus a very genuine like if that functions to expose an impossibility. I, I don't think he's teaching salvation by works here, of course. He is holding out the law's own terms so that the lawyer and everybody else listening, and even us as well, can discover through this narrative which is about to happen the impossibility of self-produced righteousness, which again is what this gentleman is theologically all about. He's trying to justify himself. And that is precisely the pedagogical strategy like Paul uses later when he systemizes all of this by saying that the law was our guardian or school master until Christ came in order that we might be justified by faith. I think- Yeah ... and it's only because God is good to us and we might sit in some of this teaching, I think this is all in play. So, so I ask you, like, have I gone too far with all this? Like, how much do you think in the real time was being processed? And maybe that's a horrible question to ask because we know the Spirit does this work of illumination and enlightenment, and we're on the other [00:45:00] side of this and have this time to sit and to kind of parse and to really kind of just be pickled in all of this. But there's so much happening here, right?  Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. Uh, maybe I'll answer the question a, a little bit of a different way. I think, um- We often can think about Old Testament religion, if we wanna kinda call it that. We think about Old Testament religion as though it was totally uniform and, um, entirely legalistic. Right. Uh, my- the, the listener is gonna panic a little bit when I say this, so please don't freak out, but I, I think N.T. Wright, uh, and some of the new perspective on Paul stuff is a, a little bit helpful in this, in that it gives us a foil to sorta push against. Yes. The new perspective on Paul is this idea that, um- Paul was not saying that Judaism was legalistic and Christianity is a grace-based religion, right? He, m- [00:46:00] um, N- NPP is not, is saying, um, Paul was not correcting New or Old Testament religion. And where they go wrong is that they say that Paul actually retains this concept of covenantal faithfulness, covenantal nomism fidelity. Uh, where I think, where I think they're right is that this idea that, like, the Old Testament religion is entirely legalistic and Paul was just sort of correcting that, I think that's way too simplistic. And the reason I say that is that the Mosaic Covenant for, you know, w- and predominantly this podcast is coming from a sort of Westminster Confession of Faith Presbyterian perspective, give or take, right? The, the broad Reformed tradition would say that the, the Mosaic, uh, covenant, the Davidic Covenant, all of the covenants of the Old Testament, and we can break them up in all sorts of different ways, but all of the covenants of the Old Testament, [00:47:00] um, with maybe the exception of the Noahic Covenant, and there's some debate about that, all of those are They're not just, like, supporting structures for the covenant of grace, but they actually are the covenant of grace in various administrations. If that's true, and of course we believe that it is, if that's true, then the people of those covenants understood that on some level. Right. Right? So to think that, like, people under the administration of the covenant of grace somehow thought that they were operating under a legalistic framework doesn't make any sense. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah,  Tony Arsenal: that's true. So, so where I think that applies here is I think this person coming forward, it's not as though the concept of the covenant of grace... Again, that's language that we would develop later, but the concept that God graciously saves His people by the counsel of His own will, apart from their works of righteousness, apart from their meritorious effort, that God [00:48:00] simply extends His grace and conveys the cov- the blessings of the covenant of works to those who trust in the mediator, those who trust in the one to come, the, the forthcoming serpent-crushing seed, right, if you wanna use- Right language from Genesis 3. The, the idea that God simply graciously conveys the blessings of the covenant of works to those people Um, that's not something that's alien to the Old Testament, right? It's not alien to the, even to the Mosaic economy. The most law-based of all of the Old Testament, um, covenants, even that starts with the concept that these people are God's people who he redeemed out of Egypt, right? Right. The redemption out of Egypt comes before the giving of the law, and the giving of the law is a result of the redemption out of Egypt. So to think that this lawyer comes forward, and again, this had been sort of corrupted and distorted and had become a very works-based, uh, [00:49:00] meritorious-based understanding. But the idea that this framework of a covenant of grace is totally alien to this guy just doesn't, it just doesn't, I think it doesn't play. And so I think rather than us read this as I think sometimes we do, of Christ as kind of like giving this guy, trying to give this guy an entirely new paradigm, or like the rich young ruler is very much a parallel kind of situation. We read this, this guy comes forward, he's like, "What do I gotta do to earn eternal life?" Christ is like, kinda basically says like, "Well, you dum-dum, you can't. And I'm gonna demonstrate for you that you can't by- Right ... taking sort of like this situation that you can't possibly believe that you fulfilled and telling you to fulfill it." That's the outcome of this. We'll get to that when we get to the end of the parable. Um, he's not trying to give them a new paradigm. He's trying, in my opinion, he's trying to sort of reorient them back to the true paradigm of grace that is present under all of the Old Covenant administrations. So it's not so much a matter of like [00:50:00] developing a new framework and impli- like imposing this new framework on this guy. It's really trying to say like, "Listen- Think about this for a second, dude. Think about this, right? Think about the fact that, yes, you know you have to love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength, your whole mind, and you have to love your neighbor as yourself, right? You've answered correctly. If you can do those things, you will live. With the subtext, which I think is what you're getting at, the subtext of, like, and of course you cannot possibly do those things. Right. Right. So what's the alternative, my friend? The alternative is not justifying yourself by somehow identifying who the person is that you have to love the most. The, the, the, um, the... Well, we'll get this when we get to the parable itself, but the, the alternative is... This will be interesting, 'cause I'm not sure that we... I don't know where you are on this, but, um, the alternative is that there's someone out there who shows us mercy. [00:51:00] Right. There's someone out there who takes care of our need despite our total inability to do so. Jesse Schwamb: That's right.  Tony Arsenal: That's the alternative to the covenant of works, is the covenant of grace. I m- maybe I'm, like, hinting at it too much, so I'll just say it. Like, Jesus is the Good Samaritan, right? Like, there's something for us to learn about our own justification here and our own- Right ... like, um, our own need to be merciful, to treat people as our neighbors. But just like we talked about when we talked about, like, what does the least of these mean, this parable, uh, I'm totally, like, burying the lede for next, next week, but that's fine. This parable is not primarily about us figuring out how to do mercy ministry. Right. Like, that's important. It's probably an outcome of this. It's probably something for us to think about. But really, this is actually Christ saying, like, "Hold on a second here, dude." Like, "Let's just think about this." Do you need someone who is going to tell you to pick yourself up off your bootstraps and cross to the other side of the street and leave you to [00:52:00] your own devices? Or do you need someone who's gonna throw you on their donkey, who's gonna bind up your wounds, who's gonna pay the innkeeper, and is gonna pledge to play- pay everything that is owed for your salvation? Right? That's not too on the nose here, I think. Right. And, and I really look forward to, like, unpacking that, although maybe we don't need to now, but I think, like, this parable is so much more about how salvation works than it is about, like, what it means to have a good neighbor and to be a good neighbor. I think we get bogged down in that, and I just am really excited to talk more about, like, what I think this parable actually gets at.  Jesse Schwamb: I agree, and it's happening in the contex

Fr Joseph Hamilton concludes his series on Irenaeus with an overview of why he is still so important and such valuable reading today.Fr Joseph Hamilton is the Rector of the Domus Australia in Rome, and a priest of the Archdiocese of Sydney Australia. Prior to his appointment at Domus, he served as private secretary to George Cardinal Pell, until the Cardinal's untimely death. Fr Joseph completed his doctoral studies in Patristics at Christ Church, University of Oxford, and his license at the Patristic Institute “Augustinianum” in Rome. Prior to entering seminary he worked as an investment banker. Having left the economy of Mammon for that of Salvation, he studied at the Pontifical North American College. A native of Ireland, he is a keen but mediocre (his words) surfer, and enjoys reading and cooking.CREDO (currently hosting Patristic Pillars) is a programme that nourishes listeners in their Catholic faith. It airs live on Radio Maria every weekday at 4pm and is rebroadcast at 4am the following morning.Please consider supporting us with a one-off or monthly donation. It is only through the generosity of our listeners that we are able to be a Christian voice by your side. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.radiomaria.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Fr Joseph Hamilton addresses the deeply incarnational nature of Christianity and the historical Jesus.Fr Joseph Hamilton is the Rector of the Domus Australia in Rome, and a priest of the Archdiocese of Sydney Australia. Prior to his appointment at Domus, he served as private secretary to George Cardinal Pell, until the Cardinal's untimely death. Fr Joseph completed his doctoral studies in Patristics at Christ Church, University of Oxford, and his license at the Patristic Institute “Augustinianum” in Rome. Prior to entering seminary he worked as an investment banker. Having left the economy of Mammon for that of Salvation, he studied at the Pontifical North American College. A native of Ireland, he is a keen but mediocre (his words) surfer, and enjoys reading and cooking.CREDO (currently hosting Patristic Pillars) is a programme that nourishes listeners in their Catholic faith. It airs live on Radio Maria every weekday at 4pm and is rebroadcast at 4am the following morning.Please consider supporting us with a one-off or monthly donation. It is only through the generosity of our listeners that we are able to be a Christian voice by your side. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.radiomaria.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Fr Joseph Hamilton continues his tour of the Fathers on patience, this week taking us through St Augustine's masterly treatise.Fr Joseph Hamilton is the Rector of the Domus Australia in Rome, and a priest of the Archdiocese of Sydney Australia. Prior to his appointment at Domus, he served as private secretary to George Cardinal Pell, until the Cardinal's untimely death. Fr Joseph completed his doctoral studies in Patristics at Christ Church, University of Oxford, and his license at the Patristic Institute “Augustinianum” in Rome. Prior to entering seminary he worked as an investment banker. Having left the economy of Mammon for that of Salvation, he studied at the Pontifical North American College. A native of Ireland, he is a keen but mediocre (his words) surfer, and enjoys reading and cooking.CREDO (currently hosting Patristic Pillars) is a programme that nourishes listeners in their Catholic faith. It airs live on Radio Maria every weekday at 4pm and is rebroadcast at 4am the following morning.Please consider supporting us with a one-off or monthly donation. It is only through the generosity of our listeners that we are able to be a Christian voice by your side. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.radiomaria.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Fr Joseph Hamilton takes listeners through a rousing Pentecost homily of Leontius of Byzantium.Fr Joseph Hamilton is the Rector of the Domus Australia in Rome, and a priest of the Archdiocese of Sydney Australia. Prior to his appointment at Domus, he served as private secretary to George Cardinal Pell, until the Cardinal's untimely death. Fr Joseph completed his doctoral studies in Patristics at Christ Church, University of Oxford, and his license at the Patristic Institute “Augustinianum” in Rome. Prior to entering seminary he worked as an investment banker. Having left the economy of Mammon for that of Salvation, he studied at the Pontifical North American College. A native of Ireland, he is a keen but mediocre (his words) surfer, and enjoys reading and cooking.CREDO (currently hosting Patristic Pillars) is a programme that nourishes listeners in their Catholic faith. It airs live on Radio Maria every weekday at 4pm and is rebroadcast at 4am the following morning.If you enjoyed this programme, please consider supporting us with a one-off or monthly donation. It is only through the generosity of our listeners that we are able to be a Christian voice by your side. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.radiomariaengland.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Fr Joseph takes us through one more of the provocative homilies of Leontius.Fr Joseph Hamilton is the Rector of the Domus Australia in Rome, and a priest of the Archdiocese of Sydney Australia. Prior to his appointment at Domus, he served as private secretary to George Cardinal Pell, until the Cardinal's untimely death. Fr Joseph completed his doctoral studies in Patristics at Christ Church, University of Oxford, and his license at the Patristic Institute “Augustinianum” in Rome. Prior to entering seminary he worked as an investment banker. Having left the economy of Mammon for that of Salvation, he studied at the Pontifical North American College. A native of Ireland, he is a keen but mediocre (his words) surfer, and enjoys reading and cooking.CREDO (currently hosting Patristic Pillars) is a programme that nourishes listeners in their Catholic faith. It airs live on Radio Maria every weekday at 4pm and is rebroadcast at 4am the following morning.If you enjoyed this programme, please consider supporting us with a one-off or monthly donation. It is only through the generosity of our listeners that we are able to be a Christian voice by your side. ⁠⁠www.radiomariaengland.uk⁠⁠ 

Fr Joseph continues looking at the Easter Homilies of Leontius of Byzantium.Fr Joseph Hamilton is the Rector of the Domus Australia in Rome, and a priest of the Archdiocese of Sydney Australia. Prior to his appointment at Domus, he served as private secretary to George Cardinal Pell, until the Cardinal's untimely death. Fr Joseph completed his doctoral studies in Patristics at Christ Church, University of Oxford, and his license at the Patristic Institute “Augustinianum” in Rome. Prior to entering seminary he worked as an investment banker. Having left the economy of Mammon for that of Salvation, he studied at the Pontifical North American College. A native of Ireland, he is a keen but mediocre (his words) surfer, and enjoys reading and cooking.CREDO (currently hosting Patristic Pillars) is a programme that nourishes listeners in their Catholic faith. It airs live on Radio Maria every weekday at 4pm and is rebroadcast at 4am the following morning.If you enjoyed this programme, please consider supporting us with a one-off or monthly donation. It is only through the generosity of our listeners that we are able to be a Christian voice by your side. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.radiomariaengland.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Fr. Ambrose Dobrozsi, Dr. Kevin Clarke, and Dr. Jane Peters discuss an overlooked work of St. Thomas Aquinas: His Catena Aurea. This commentary on the Gospels is a "golden chain" of patristic citations worked into a single commentary on the Gospels. How does St. Thomas handle when the Fathers he quotes disagree? How does the Catena relate to St. Thomas' other works and the study of his thought? Listen and find out!

Fr Joseph Hamilton introduces us to the second of two rousing Easter Homilies by Leontius of Byzantium.Fr Joseph Hamilton is the Rector of the Domus Australia in Rome, and a priest of the Archdiocese of Sydney Australia. Prior to his appointment at Domus, he served as private secretary to George Cardinal Pell, until the Cardinal's untimely death. Fr Joseph completed his doctoral studies in Patristics at Christ Church, University of Oxford, and his license at the Patristic Institute “Augustinianum” in Rome. Prior to entering seminary he worked as an investment banker. Having left the economy of Mammon for that of Salvation, he studied at the Pontifical North American College. A native of Ireland, he is a keen but mediocre (his words) surfer, and enjoys reading and cooking.CREDO (currently hosting Patristic Pillars) is a programme that nourishes listeners in their Catholic faith. It airs live on Radio Maria every weekday at 4pm and is rebroadcast at 4am the following morning.If you enjoyed this programme, please consider supporting us with a one-off or monthly donation. It is only through the generosity of our listeners that we are able to be a Christian voice by your side. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.radiomariaengland.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Fr Joseph Hamilton introduces us to the first of two rousing Easter Homilies by Leontius of Byzantium.Fr Joseph Hamilton is the Rector of the Domus Australia in Rome, and a priest of the Archdiocese of Sydney Australia. Prior to his appointment at Domus, he served as private secretary to George Cardinal Pell, until the Cardinal's untimely death. Fr Joseph completed his doctoral studies in Patristics at Christ Church, University of Oxford, and his license at the Patristic Institute “Augustinianum” in Rome. Prior to entering seminary he worked as an investment banker. Having left the economy of Mammon for that of Salvation, he studied at the Pontifical North American College. A native of Ireland, he is a keen but mediocre (his words) surfer, and enjoys reading and cooking.CREDO (currently hosting Patristic Pillars) is a programme that nourishes listeners in their Catholic faith. It airs live on Radio Maria every weekday at 4pm and is rebroadcast at 4am the following morning.If you enjoyed this programme, please consider supporting us with a one-off or monthly donation. It is only through the generosity of our listeners that we are able to be a Christian voice by your side. ⁠www.radiomariaengland.uk⁠ 

In this fifth episode of Season 5, I interview Professor Thomas C. Schmidt, a historian who focuses on the New Testament, Patristics, and Eastern Christianity. An Associate Professor at Fairfield University, he is currently a 2025-2026 Visiting Fellow at the James Madison Program at Princeton University. Drawing on his new book, Josephus and Jesus (OUP, 2025), we discuss […]

In this fifth episode of Season 5, I interview Professor Thomas C. Schmidt, a historian who focuses on the New Testament, Patristics, and Eastern Christianity. An Associate Professor at Fairfield University, he is currently a 2025-2026 Visiting Fellow at the James Madison Program at Princeton University. Drawing on his new book, Josephus and Jesus (OUP, 2025), we discuss in this Part II of a two-part series the writings of the ancient historian Josephus and what they reveal about the historical identity of Jesus of Nazareth as well as the events surrounding the rise of early Christianity. Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. The transcript for this interview is available on our new Substack page, “Madison's Footnotes.” 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

In this fifth episode of Season 5, I interview Professor Thomas C. Schmidt, a historian who focuses on the New Testament, Patristics, and Eastern Christianity. An Associate Professor at Fairfield University, he is currently a 2025-2026 Visiting Fellow at the James Madison Program at Princeton University. Drawing on his new book, Josephus and Jesus (OUP, 2025), we discuss in this Part II of a two-part series the writings of the ancient historian Josephus and what they reveal about the historical identity of Jesus of Nazareth as well as the events surrounding the rise of early Christianity. Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. The transcript for this interview is available on our new Substack page, “Madison's Footnotes.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

In this fifth episode of Season 5, I interview Professor Thomas C. Schmidt, a historian who focuses on the New Testament, Patristics, and Eastern Christianity. An Associate Professor at Fairfield University, he is currently a 2025-2026 Visiting Fellow at the James Madison Program at Princeton University. Drawing on his new book, Josephus and Jesus (OUP, 2025), we discuss in this Part II of a two-part series the writings of the ancient historian Josephus and what they reveal about the historical identity of Jesus of Nazareth as well as the events surrounding the rise of early Christianity. Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. The transcript for this interview is available on our new Substack page, “Madison's Footnotes.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biblical-studies

In this fifth episode of Season 5, I interview Professor Thomas C. Schmidt, a historian who focuses on the New Testament, Patristics, and Eastern Christianity. An Associate Professor at Fairfield University, he is currently a 2025-2026 Visiting Fellow at the James Madison Program at Princeton University. Drawing on his new book, Josephus and Jesus (OUP, 2025), we discuss in this Part II of a two-part series the writings of the ancient historian Josephus and what they reveal about the historical identity of Jesus of Nazareth as well as the events surrounding the rise of early Christianity. Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. The transcript for this interview is available on our new Substack page, “Madison's Footnotes.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

In this fourth episode of Season 5, I interview Professor Thomas C. Schmidt, a historian who focuses on the New Testament, Patristics, and Eastern Christianity. An Associate Professor at Fairfield University, he is currently a 2025-2026 Visiting Fellow at the James Madison Program at Princeton University. Drawing on his new book, Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for […]

In this fourth episode of Season 5, I interview Professor Thomas C. Schmidt, a historian who focuses on the New Testament, Patristics, and Eastern Christianity. An Associate Professor at Fairfield University, he is currently a 2025-2026 Visiting Fellow at the James Madison Program at Princeton University. Drawing on his new book, Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ (Oxford UP, 2025), we discuss in this Part I of a two-part series the stupendous life of Josephus, the ancient historian who lived in both elite Jewish and Roman circles his whole life, as well as the cultural, religious, and political world of the New Testament as found in his main works. Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. The transcript for this interview is available on our new Substack page, “Madison's Footnotes.” 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

In this fourth episode of Season 5, I interview Professor Thomas C. Schmidt, a historian who focuses on the New Testament, Patristics, and Eastern Christianity. An Associate Professor at Fairfield University, he is currently a 2025-2026 Visiting Fellow at the James Madison Program at Princeton University. Drawing on his new book, Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ (Oxford UP, 2025), we discuss in this Part I of a two-part series the stupendous life of Josephus, the ancient historian who lived in both elite Jewish and Roman circles his whole life, as well as the cultural, religious, and political world of the New Testament as found in his main works. Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. The transcript for this interview is available on our new Substack page, “Madison's Footnotes.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

In this fourth episode of Season 5, I interview Professor Thomas C. Schmidt, a historian who focuses on the New Testament, Patristics, and Eastern Christianity. An Associate Professor at Fairfield University, he is currently a 2025-2026 Visiting Fellow at the James Madison Program at Princeton University. Drawing on his new book, Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ (Oxford UP, 2025), we discuss in this Part I of a two-part series the stupendous life of Josephus, the ancient historian who lived in both elite Jewish and Roman circles his whole life, as well as the cultural, religious, and political world of the New Testament as found in his main works. Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. The transcript for this interview is available on our new Substack page, “Madison's Footnotes.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biblical-studies

In this fourth episode of Season 5, I interview Professor Thomas C. Schmidt, a historian who focuses on the New Testament, Patristics, and Eastern Christianity. An Associate Professor at Fairfield University, he is currently a 2025-2026 Visiting Fellow at the James Madison Program at Princeton University. Drawing on his new book, Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ (Oxford UP, 2025), we discuss in this Part I of a two-part series the stupendous life of Josephus, the ancient historian who lived in both elite Jewish and Roman circles his whole life, as well as the cultural, religious, and political world of the New Testament as found in his main works. Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. The transcript for this interview is available on our new Substack page, “Madison's Footnotes.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

In this special episode featuring friends of Lutheran Reflections, we discuss patristic and Medieval perspectives on the use of instruments in worship, as well as provide a Lutheran evaluation of the church fathers' teachings.

Send a textThis is the second of two talks given by Archpriest Joseph Lucas at our 2026 Lenten retreat. Contemporary society constantly speaks about "love" but does not understand what it means to say that "God is love." Father Joseph Lucas will take you on a journey, from the creation of the universe to the end of history, to explore the meaning of divine love and to reveal that a life of self-denial is the only proper response. Archpriest Joseph Lucas is an Orthodox priest, patristic theologian, and professor. He serves as rector of Christ the Saviour Orthodox Cathedral in Miami Lakes, Florida, holds a PhD in Theology from Radboud University in the Netherlands, and his MDiv with Distinction in Patristics and Church History from St. Tikhon Orthodox Theological Seminary. He is the author of How to Read the Holy Fathers and Prayer of the Publican: Justification in the Desert Fathers, both published by Ancient Faith Publishing, and serves as co-editor-in-chief of Rule of Faith Journal. He teaches theology at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens and specializes in patristic exegesis and historical theology. Website @ https://www.st-innocent.orgInstagram @ https://www.instagram.com/st.innocentchurch/Facebook @ https://fb.me/SaintInnocentMaconGeorgia Help Support St. Innocent Orthodox Church @ https://onrealm.org/siocmacon/-/form/give/now

Send a textThis is the first of two talks given by Archpriest Joseph Lucas at our 2026 Lenten retreat. Contemporary society constantly speaks about "love" but does not understand what it means to say that "God is love." Father Joseph Lucas will take you on a journey, from the creation of the universe to the end of history, to explore the meaning of divine love and to reveal that a life of self-denial is the only proper response. Archpriest Joseph Lucas is an Orthodox priest, patristic theologian, and professor. He serves as rector of Christ the Saviour Orthodox Cathedral in Miami Lakes, Florida, holds a PhD in Theology from Radboud University in the Netherlands, and his MDiv with Distinction in Patristics and Church History from St. Tikhon Orthodox Theological Seminary. He is the author of How to Read the Holy Fathers and Prayer of the Publican: Justification in the Desert Fathers, both published by Ancient Faith Publishing, and serves as co-editor-in-chief of Rule of Faith Journal. He teaches theology at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens and specializes in patristic exegesis and historical theology. Website @ https://www.st-innocent.orgInstagram @ https://www.instagram.com/st.innocentchurch/Facebook @ https://fb.me/SaintInnocentMaconGeorgia Help Support St. Innocent Orthodox Church @ https://onrealm.org/siocmacon/-/form/give/now

When the liturgy changes, does the faith and theology also change? Can one use the texts of the liturgy as an authoritative source for theology? These questions have been points of argument across the entire history of the Church. Fr. Ambrose Dobrozsi, Matthew Minerd, and Christopher Owens tackle these questions and more as they discuss the traditional saying, Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi.

Dr. Nathan Jacobs sits down with Fr. Joseph Lucas to discuss penal substitution atonement. The discussion examines the claim that penal substitution is the biblical and historic view of the atonement. Drawing on the writings of Cyril of Alexandria and other early Christian sources, Fr. Joseph Lucas explains how the Church Fathers understood sacrifice, sin, and the work of Christ very differently from later Western models.The discussion looks at the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, typology, and the meaning of Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension. The result is a picture of atonement centered on purification, victory over death, and the transformation of human nature—not a transfer of punishment.This conversation also explores how differences in biblical interpretation led to very different conclusions about what the Cross accomplishes.Support the East West Series: https://theeastwestseries.com/ Bio: Archpriest Joseph Lucas is an Orthodox Christian priest, theological scholar, college professor, and practical philosopher. He received his PhD in Theology at Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen (Netherlands) and his MDiv with Distinction in Church History and Patristics at St Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Pennsylvania). He specializes in research pertaining to patristic exegesis and historical theology.Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lt40zf4KpV8Fr. Joseph's parish in Miami: https://www.oca.org/clergy/Joseph-Lucas/ - His blog, Prudence and Piety: https://prudenceandpiety.com/ - His parish podcast, Apostolic Tradition: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQlnsUX0xxfCfBWmQmrrQ8w - Fr. Joseph Lucas' book: How to Read the Holy Fathers: A Guide for Orthodox Christians: https://store.ancientfaith.com/how-to-read-the-holy-fathers-a-guide-for-orthodox-christians/ - Another episode Dr. Jacobs and Fr. Lucas did together: https://youtu.be/3Yt5fItpy7U?si=0BRySP8VEQgv-9I9 Mentioned:- East Vs. West (Part 1) - Dr. Nathan Jacobs, Orthodox Miami: https://youtu.be/kVGkrtzx1DY?si=hmCwdH5YTN3hcpQn- Fr. Joseph's appearance on The Symbolic World: https://youtu.be/0FuO88QVlN0?si=8UmUZF4Cc5ZmHD1X - Fr. John Behr's book, The Case Against Diodore and Theodore: https://www.amazon.com/Against-Diodore-Theodore-Oxford-Christian/dp/0198800215 Dr. Nathan's series on penal substitution:Part 1: https://youtu.be/WHx21LQncFI?si=Y-WaG636sATOZ03S Part 2: https://youtu.be/-MXLs6J2JBw?si=XxHHcXmqnjhx4G95 Timestamps:00:00 - Coming up00:18 - Start01:27 - Introduction03:11 - Fr. Joseph's work05:24 - What is penal substitution atonement?07:41 - Fr. Lucas' background13:44 - Approaching St. Cyril of Alexandria on atonement18:00 - St. Cyril's influences23:09 - An incorrect exegesis25:08 - The Father looking away from the Son34:04 - Origen35:18 - Christ acting in the Old Testament39:39 - A discussion on the term sin56:58 - Passover01:00:28 - Substitution01:03:20 - Presuppositions: early vs modern Christians01:11:31 - Assuming our nature01:15:19 - The blameless passions01:24:35 - Testing vs temptation01:29:59 - Justification and vindication01:46:33 - Salvation is a mystery==========================Do you like this content? Join Jacobs Premium to get exclusive access to written essays, exclusive lecture series, monthly Q&A Zoom calls, and our book club. Use code: LEWIS to get a discount: https://www.thenathanjacobspodcast.com/All the links:The Theological Letters Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcastX: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobsAcademia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobsListen and please review the podcast elsewhere:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QSApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast

On today's episode, Matushka Melissa interviews Presbytera Jennifer Souza about the new Orthodox homeschool health class being offered by the Classical Learning Resource Center often known as CLRC. The course features presentations by well known and respected Orthodox clergy and scholars. Early enrollment will be for live classes and is a unique opportunity to help shape the recorded classes that will be offered later. For more information, visit: https://www.clrconline.com/orthodox-health-course-for-parents/ About today's guest: Presvytera Jennifer Souza is a classical teacher and curriculum developer with over 17 years of teaching experience. Jennifer completed her BA in Interdisciplinary Studies & English from Belmont Abbey College, is a CiRCE certified Classical Teacher, and is currently pursuing her Masters in Theological Studies, with a concentration in Patristics & Pedagogy, at Hellenic College Holy Cross. She has taught humanities, logic, writing, rhetoric, and the fine arts since 2009. She is the founder of Eastern Orthodox Charlotte Mason Homeschoolers Facebook group, was a contributing author for The Lost Tools of Writing Level 1, published by The CiRCE Institute, and is the former co-host of The Classical Homeschool Podcast. Her research interests include Classical Rhetoric, Classical Pedagogy, The Liberal Arts, Literature, Letters, and Fine Art Studies, The Intersection of Education and Healing, Education and Pedagogy through the lives and writings of the Saints, Patristic Fathers, and Iconography.

Guests: Allen C. Guelzo & Michael P. Foley Host Scot Bertram talks with Allen C. Guelzo, professor of humanities at the Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida, about the unique character of western civilization and his co-authored two-part book series The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition. And Michael P. Foley, mixologist and professor of Patristics in the Great Texts Program at Baylor University, discusses his collection of alcohol-free cocktails based on the lives of Catholic saints: Abstaining with the Saints: No and Low Alcoholic Beverages for Sober Souls.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Clement of Alexandria (ca. 150–215 CE) stands as a formative intellect of the Alexandrian Christian tradition, mediating between apostolic faith and Hellenic paideia. As a teacher at the Catechetical School of Alexandria, he argued that philosophia especially Platonic ethics and Logos-theology—was a preparatory discipline granted by God to the Greeks, analogous to the Torah for Israel. In works such as Protrepticus, Paedagogus, and Stromateis, Clement articulated a vision of gnōsis not as elitist speculation but as the mature apprehension of faith, ordered by love and ascetic virtue. Christ, the Logos, is for Clement the true Teacher who heals the passions and leads the believer toward likeness to God. His synthesis laid crucial groundwork for later Alexandrian theology, especially in Origen, while preserving a rigorously ethical and ecclesial horizon. For more teachings about Patristics and early church father check our online Academy: www.twinsbiblicalacademy.com/academy 

Josh McManaway joins me again for the second of a two-part conversation on reading Scripture. This time, we focus on St. Augustine as reader and preacher of the Psalms. Josh teaches us Augustine's principles for reading the psalms, which Augustine discovers throughout the Psalter, and what motivated Augustine's engagement with the psalter from the beginning of his priesthood to his final day.Follow-up Resources:Learn more about the preaching program that Josh runs called “Savoring the Mystery”“The Depth of the Creed, with Josh McManaway,” podcast episode via Church Life Today“What are you doing here?!?! Pontius Pilate in the Creed, with Josh McManaway,” podcast episode via Church Life Today“Augustine's Homiletic Meteorology” by John Cavadini, article via Church Life JournalChurch Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

Vespers Sermon @ St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church - Dallas, TX ~ December 24, 2025Watch Full Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCCxvrQa3PI&t=3400s

Fr. Brian Dunkle, SJ, a world-renowned Patristics expert talks about the First Council of Nicaea.

Ann sits down with Michael Foley, Ph.D, Baylor Professor of Patristics and Assistant Director of University Scholars, to talk about the newest in his Drinking with the Saints series, Abstaining with the Saints. We get some great music from Michael Armstrong, a Waco Weekend outlook with the Wacoan, and a new Act Locally Waco with Elizabeth Riley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The third in our series on theology and history, this episode discusses what theology has to say about history. Fr. Ambrose, Dr. Timothy Kearns, and Dr. Kevin Clarke join up to talk about the history of history and what theology can contribute.Episode I: https://sed-contra-a-podcast-of-catholic-theology.simplecast.com/episodes/theology-and-history-iEpisode II: https://sed-contra-a-podcast-of-catholic-theology.simplecast.com/episodes/theology-and-history-ii

This volume explores the creation of the collection now known as the New Testament. While it is generally accepted that it did not emerge as a collection prior to the late second century CE, a more controversial question is how it came to be. Markus Vinzent, who had held the H.G. Wood Chair in the History of Theology at the University of Birmingham (1999-2010) and was Professor for Theology and Patristics at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, King's College London (2010-2021, ret.), is Fellow of the Max-Weber-Centre for Anthropological and Cultural Studies, University of Erfurt (2011-present). 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

This volume explores the creation of the collection now known as the New Testament. While it is generally accepted that it did not emerge as a collection prior to the late second century CE, a more controversial question is how it came to be. Markus Vinzent, who had held the H.G. Wood Chair in the History of Theology at the University of Birmingham (1999-2010) and was Professor for Theology and Patristics at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, King's College London (2010-2021, ret.), is Fellow of the Max-Weber-Centre for Anthropological and Cultural Studies, University of Erfurt (2011-present). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

This volume explores the creation of the collection now known as the New Testament. While it is generally accepted that it did not emerge as a collection prior to the late second century CE, a more controversial question is how it came to be. Markus Vinzent, who had held the H.G. Wood Chair in the History of Theology at the University of Birmingham (1999-2010) and was Professor for Theology and Patristics at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, King's College London (2010-2021, ret.), is Fellow of the Max-Weber-Centre for Anthropological and Cultural Studies, University of Erfurt (2011-present). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biblical-studies

In this episode we're joined by Professor Michael Foley, who is Professor of Patristics in the Great Texts program at Baylor University, and the author of Drinking with the Saints: The Sinner's Guide to a Holy Happy Hour (published by Regnery History). Professor explains how is book is designed to pair beer, wine, and cocktail recipes with the feasts days of the church calendar that honor various saints. Along the way we talk about interesting pairing choices that he made for different saints and nerd out about various cocktails and craft cocktail techniques. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Brandon Hurlbert. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us a textDr. Derek McAllister joins us to discuss the philosophical and historical context of what is depression. We discuss its pre-modern historical representations in the works of St John of the Cross, Kierkegaard, and others, as well as how these philosophical principles and contributions can guide us to develop our understanding of this important problem.Support the show--------------------------If you would want to support the channel and what I am doing, please follow me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/christianityforall Where else to find Josh Yen: Philosophy YT: https://bit.ly/philforallEducation: https://bit.ly/joshyenBuisness: https://bit.ly/logoseduMy Website: https://joshuajwyen.com/

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by early Church historian, scholar, and translator Dr. DP Curtin, to talk about what the documents left behind by the very earliest Christians tell us about the faith. Dr. Curtin, translator of hundreds and hundreds of documents from the Early Church, sits down to explain just how Catholic-sounding the first Christians were. What they believed about Communion – the Eucharist – baptism, the authority structure of the Church, and much more. And how the idea of trying to pick and chooses pieces of Early Christianity – as a Protestant – can be an impossible exercise. For more from Dr. Curtin visit the Scriptorium Project and check out all the incredible sources available in English.Send your feedback to cordialcatholic@gmail.com. Sign up for our newsletter for my reflections on  episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive contests.To watch this and other episodes please visit (and subscribe to!) our YouTube channel.Please consider financially supporting this show! For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.Thank you to those already supporting the show!Theme Music: "Splendor (Intro)" by Former Ruins. Learn more at formerruins.com or listen on Spotify, Apple Music,Become a supporter of Former Ruins on Bandcamp Today! A very special thanks to our Patreon co-producers who make this show possible: Amanda, Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Jorg, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William.Beyond The BeaconJoin Bishop Kevin Sweeney for inspired interviews with Christians living out their faith!Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the showFind and follow The Cordial Catholic on social media:Instagram: @cordialcatholicTwitter: @cordialcatholicYouTube: /thecordialcatholicFacebook: The Cordial CatholicTikTok: @cordialcatholic

Have you ever felt intimidated by theological conversations? Today, we talked to Dr. Amy Brown Hughes about the role of dialogue in generating theology in the early church. Famous theologians like Methodius, Gregory of Nyssa and Augustine published conversations with others, including prominent women in their lives, such as Thecla, Macrina and Monica. Amy argues that theology was not an elite genre or closed discussion then – nor should it be so today! She thoughtfully engages with many issues surrounding our engagement with God and invites us to enter into theology as a hospitable conversation. We'd encourage you to listen and discover aspects of the patristic period that may surprise and challenge your preconceptions – and then come join the dialogue in the classroom from July 14-18 at Regent.BioDr. Amy Brown Hughes is an Associate Professor of Theology at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. She earned her Ph.D. in historical theology with an emphasis in early Christianity from Wheaton College in 2013. Dr. Hughes specializes in early Christianity, focusing on Trinitarian and Christological thought, theological anthropology, and the role of women in early Christian history. She co-authored the book Christian Women in the Patristic World with Lynn H. Cohick. We're excited that Amy will be joining us at Regent from July 14-18 to teach a class on Theology as Dialogue in Early Christianity. Summer Listener SurveyPlease fill out our Listener Survey before the end of July for the opportunity to win a $100 Regent College Bookstore Gift Card.Regent College Podcast Thanks for listening. Please like, rate and review us on your podcast platform of choice and share this episode with a friend. Follow Us on Social Media Facebook Instagram Youtube Keep in Touch Regent College Summer Programs Regent College Newsletter

Melvyn Bragg and guests explore typology, a method of biblical interpretation that aims to meaningfully link people, places, and events in the Hebrew Bible, what Christians call the Old Testament, with the coming of Christ in the New Testament. Old Testament figures like Moses, Jonah, and King David were regarded by Christians as being ‘types' or symbols of Jesus. This way of thinking became hugely popular in medieval Europe, Renaissance England and Victorian Britain, as Christians sought to make sense of their Jewish inheritance - sometimes rejecting that inheritance with antisemitic fervour. It was a way of seeing human history as part of a divine plan, with ancient events prefiguring more modern ones, and it influenced debates about the relationship between metaphor and reality in the bible, in literature, and in art. It also influenced attitudes towards reality, time and history. WithMiri Rubin, Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History at Queen Mary, University of LondonHarry Spillane, Munby Fellow in Bibliography at Cambridge and Research Fellow at Darwin CollegeAnd Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe, Associate Professor in Patristics at Cambridge. Producer: Eliane GlaserReading list:A. C. Charity, Events and their Afterlife: The Dialectics of Christian Typology in the Bible and Dante (first published 1966; Cambridge University Press, 2010)Margaret Christian, Spenserian Allegory and Elizabethan Biblical Exegesis: The Context for 'The Faerie Queene' (Manchester University Press, 2016)Dagmar Eichberger and Shelley Perlove (eds.), Visual Typology in Early Modern Europe: Continuity and Expansion (Brepols, 2018)Tibor Fabiny, The Lion and the Lamb: Figuralism and Fulfilment in the Bible, Art and Literature (Palgrave Macmillan, 1992)Tibor Fabiny, ‘Typology: Pros and Cons in Biblical Hermeneutics and Literary Criticism' (Academia, 2018)Northrop Frye, The Great Code: The Bible and Literature (first published 1982; Mariner Books, 2002)Leonhard Goppelt (trans. Donald H. Madvig), Typos: The Typological Interpretation of the Old Testament in the New (William B Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1982)Paul J. Korshin, Typologies in England, 1650-1820 (first published in 1983; Princeton University Press, 2014)Judith Lieu, Image and Reality: The Jews in the World of the Christians in the Second Century (T & T Clark International, 1999)Sara Lipton, Images of Intolerance: The Representation of Jews and Judaism in the Bible Moralisee (University of California Press, 1999)Montague Rhodes James and Kenneth Harrison, A Guide to the Windows of King's College Chapel (first published in 1899; Cambridge University Press, 2010)J. W. Rogerson and Judith M. Lieu (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies (Oxford University Press, 2008)In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio production

Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnt7Iy8GlmdPwy_Tzyx93bA/join Send Superchats at any time here: https://streamlabs.com/jaydyer/tip Get started with Bitcoin here: https://www.swanbitcoin.com/jaydyer/ The New Philosophy Course is here: https://marketplace.autonomyagora.com/philosophy101 Set up recurring Choq subscription with the discount code JAY44LIFE for 44% off now https://choq.com Lore coffee is here: https://www.patristicfaith.com/coffee/ Orders for the Red Book are here: https://jaysanalysis.com/product/the-red-book-essays-on-theology-philosophy-new-jay-dyer-book/ Subscribe to my site here: https://jaysanalysis.com/membership-account/membership-levels/ Follow me on R0kfin here: https://rokfin.com/jaydyer Music by Amid the Ruins 1453 Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnt7Iy8GlmdPwy_Tzyx93bA/joinBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jay-sanalysis--1423846/support.

In this episode, the first in our series on the Doctors of the Church, Dr. Papandrea introduces you to St. Bede the Venerable (c. 673–735 AD). He lived in a Benedictine monastery from the age of seven, and he wrote the first scholarly history of England and its conversion to Christianity. He is considered the “Father of English History” and the patron saint of historians Links SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's Newsletter:  https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters/ DONATE at:  http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Dr. Papandrea's Homepage:  http://www.jimpapandrea.com To ask questions, make comments, or interact with Dr. Papandrea, join the conversation in the Original Church Community: https://theoriginalchurch.locals.com/ Dr. Papandrea's latest book, Praying Like the Early Church: https://sophiainstitute.com/product/praying-like-the-early-church/ Theme Music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed:  https://www.ccwatershed.org/  

Today we RETURN to open forum debate & QNA ! The topics are literature, books, Bible, Church history, patristics, councils, Islam, Koran, revelation, Protestantism, Calvinism, evangelicalism, Arianism, cults, Hebrew roots, JWs, etc. Calling all MUSLIMS, Catholics, Protestants, Calvinists, Evangelicals, Arians/JWs, Hebrew Roots, Black Hebrew Israelites: Open theological debate. Send Superchats at any time here: https://streamlabs.com/jaydyer/tip Get started with Bitcoin here: https://www.swanbitcoin.com/jaydyer/ The New Philosophy Course is here: https://marketplace.autonomyagora.com/philosophy101 Set up recurring Choq subscription with the discount code JAY44LIFE for 44% off now https://choq.com Lore coffee is here: https://www.patristicfaith.com/coffee/ Orders for the Red Book are here: https://jaysanalysis.com/product/the-red-book-essays-on-theology-philosophy-new-jay-dyer-book/ Subscribe to my site here: https://jaysanalysis.com/membership-account/membership-levels/ Follow me on R0kfin here: https://rokfin.com/jaydyerBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jay-sanalysis--1423846/support.

Today we RETURN to open forum debate & QNA ! The topics are literature, books, Bible, Church history, patristics, councils, Islam, Koran, revelation, Protestantism, Calvinism, evangelicalism, Arianism, cults, Hebrew roots, JWs, etc. Calling all MUSLIMS, Catholics, Protestants, Calvinists, Evangelicals, Arians/JWs, Hebrew Roots, Black Hebrew Israelites: Open theological debate. Send Superchats at any time here: https://streamlabs.com/jaydyer/tip Get started with Bitcoin here: https://www.swanbitcoin.com/jaydyer/ The New Philosophy Course is here: https://marketplace.autonomyagora.com/philosophy101 Set up recurring Choq subscription with the discount code JAY44LIFE for 44% off now https://choq.com Lore coffee is here: https://www.patristicfaith.com/coffee/ Orders for the Red Book are here: https://jaysanalysis.com/product/the-red-book-essays-on-theology-philosophy-new-jay-dyer-book/ Subscribe to my site here: https://jaysanalysis.com/membership-account/membership-levels/ Follow me on R0kfin here: https://rokfin.com/jaydyerBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jay-sanalysis--1423846/support.

With this episode, we begin our new series on the Doctors of the Church. What is a Doctor of the Church? Are all Doctors also saints? What makes a person a Doctor of the Church? All these questions, and more, will be answered, as well as some hints at what you can expect from this series. Get ready to sample the fruit of some of the greatest minds the Church has ever produced!  Links To listen to our episode 4.13 on Pelagianism: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/413-heresiespelagianism-and-seeds-calvinism/ SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's Newsletter:  https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters/ DONATE at:  http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Dr. Papandrea's Homepage:  http://www.jimpapandrea.com To ask questions, make comments, or interact with Dr. Papandrea, join the conversation in the Original Church Community: https://theoriginalchurch.locals.com/ Dr. Papandrea's latest book, Praying Like the Early Church: https://sophiainstitute.com/product/praying-like-the-early-church/ Theme Music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed:  https://www.ccwatershed.org/  

St. Severinus Boethius was a man with one foot in the ancient world and one foot in the middle ages. He is another one of our lesser-known fathers who were anything but forgotten among the medieval scholastics. In this episode, Dr. Papandrea introduces another enigmatic but highly influential Church father. This is the last episode of our interim series on “Forgotten Fathers” - the next episode of The Way of the Fathers will introduce us to the Doctors of the Church, and begin our new series on the Doctors. Links If you need a refresher on Arianism, listen to episode 4.11 in our series on The Heresies: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/411-heresies-arianism-man-who-became-god/ To read Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/14328/14328-h/14328-h.htm To read Boethius' On the Trinity: https://www.logicmuseum.com/authors/boethius/boethiusdetrinitate.htm Here's the video with an interpretation of the reconstruction of Boethius' songs: https://youtu.be/w-tALWHHUaE?si=YSyNj-gFt3TIMWAp For more general information on the historical context of the early Church, see the book: Reading the Church Fathers: A History of the Early Church and the Development of Doctrine: https://sophiainstitute.com/product/reading-the-church-fathers/ SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's Newsletter:  https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters/ DONATE at:  http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio To connect with Dr. James Papandrea, On YouTube - The Original Church:  https://www.youtube.com/@TheOriginalChurch Join the conversation in the Original Church Community on Locals:  https://theoriginalchurch.locals.com/ Dr. Papandrea's Homepage:  http://www.jimpapandrea.com Theme Music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed:  https://www.ccwatershed.org/