Podcasts about Synoptics

In this episode we're joined by Dr. James Barker, who is Associate Professor in the Department of History at Western Kentucky University and the author of Writing and Rewriting the Gospels: John and the Synoptics (published by Eerdmans). In this episode we discuss Dr. Barker's theory of Gospel development, which entails the idea that each of our canonical Gospels were aware of the previously written ones, meaning not only that Luke used Matthew, but moreover that John knew of each of the Synoptic Gospels. We discuss some of the evidence for this, the developmental implications of this insight for Christology, among other things, and much more. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Kris Song. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1.⁠ ⁠Operation Sindoor: India Strikes Back In a dramatic pre-dawn move on May 8, India launched Operation Sindoor, striking nine terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including key Lashkar and Jaish hubs in Bahawalpur, Kotli, and Muzaffarabad. The operation was a direct response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians on April 22. Executed using fighter jets, loitering munitions, cruise missiles, and tri-service precision, the strikes were conducted entirely from Indian airspace and targeted only terrorist infrastructure. India described the operation as “focused, measured, and non-escalatory,” avoiding Pakistani military installations while showcasing significant firepower and coordination across the Army, Navy, and Air Force. 2.⁠ ⁠Pakistan Responds: “This Won't Go Unanswered” Reacting to the strikes, Pakistan's military issued a stern warning. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated, “India's temporary pleasure will be replaced by enduring grief,” vowing retaliation at a time and place of its choosing. Pakistan confirmed strikes in three locations and mobilized its air force, while closing its airspace for 48 hours. Tensions along the Line of Control have since intensified, with reports of heavy artillery exchanges. 3.⁠ ⁠IAF Combat Drills & Civil Defence Readiness Parallel to Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force began a major combat readiness exercise across the western sector, involving fighter jets, drones, helicopters, AWACS, and refuellers in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, and UP. Though termed “routine,” the timing—post-Pahalgam—adds strategic weight. Simultaneously, India conducted nationwide civil defence drills across 244 districts, the largest since 1971. These drills tested air raid sirens, evacuation plans, blackout protocols, and communications, sending a clear message: India is prepared for all scenarios. ⸻ 4.⁠ ⁠India, UK Seal Historic Free Trade Deal In a major diplomatic win, India and the UK signed a long-awaited Free Trade Agreement after three years of negotiations. The deal unlocks a $45 billion trade corridor, addresses visa access for Indian professionals, and introduces the Double Contribution Convention to ease social security obligations for cross-border workers. While hailed as a boost for textiles, automotive, and seafood exports, concerns remain over the UK's upcoming carbon tax that could hurt Indian steel and cement exports. Still, the FTA is expected to double bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030, marking a new chapter in India's global trade diplomacy. 5.⁠ ⁠SEBI Exposes IPO Scam at Synoptics In a first-of-its-kind action, SEBI has cracked down on Synoptics Technologies and its merchant banker, First Overseas Capital Ltd, for misusing over ₹19 crore from IPO proceeds. The money was diverted to shell entities a day before listing, with ₹2 crore used to buy Synoptics shares and artificially inflate demand. SEBI called the misuse “shocking and stunning,” banned FOCL from handling any new IPOs, and barred Synoptics' promoters from the market. A deeper probe has been launched into 20 other IPOs managed by FOCL. The message is clear: tampering with public money won't go unpunished. 6.⁠ ⁠India to Overtake Japan as 4th Largest Economy According to the IMF's April 2025 Outlook, India is projected to surpass Japan in 2025 with a GDP of $4.187 trillion, becoming the world's fourth-largest economy. This rise reflects India's resilience, reforms, and growing domestic demand—even as growth cools to 6.2% in FY25. Challenges persist: trade tensions, including recent US tariffs, and slowing momentum may test the climb. But India's long-term trajectory remains upward, with Germany next in its sights.

In this installment of our Vos Group series, Camden Bucey welcomes Lane Tipton back to the studio for an in-depth discussion on Geerhardus Vos's Biblical Theology (pp. 372–374), focusing on the Kingdom of God. Together, they explore how the concept of the kingdom is foundational to Jesus' public ministry and central to redemptive history. Drawing from Vos's text and the broader Reformed tradition, Lane and Camden unpack the eschatological character of the kingdom, its redemptive nature, and its Old Testament foundations. They trace how this theme unfolds from the prophets to the teachings of Christ, addressing modern misconceptions—ranging from liberal moralism to dispensational literalism—and emphasizing the kingdom's spiritual and heavenly dimensions. Listeners will gain fresh insight into key theological categories such as inaugurated eschatology, the continuity of redemptive history, and the contrast between earthly and heavenly expectations of the Messiah. Whether you're new to Vos or a long-time student of Reformed theology, this episode offers deep encouragement and clarity on a subject that lies at the very heart of Scripture. Chapters 00:07 Introduction 04:35 The Kingdom of God in the Ministry of Jesus 07:12 The Eschatological and Redemptive Nature of the Kingdom 19:08 Kingdom Language in John vs. Synoptics 28:01 Salvation, Discipleship, and the Call to Radical Obedience 34:19 Kingdom in the Old Testament: Present and Future Dimensions 40:59 Future Kingdom in the OT: Abstract, Historical, Messianic 45:57 Jewish Expectations vs. Jesus' Teaching on the Kingdom 52:13 Christ's Kingdom: Heavenly, Spiritual, and Redemptive 57:08 Conclusion Participants: Camden Bucey, Lane G. Tipton

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

Episode 125In Part 1 of our two-part series on the Synoptic Problem, we begin with a big-picture overview of the issue: Why do Matthew, Mark, and Luke share so much in common—and where do they differ? Michael then presents the case for Matthean priority, drawing from D.A. Black's Why Four Gospels? He outlines a historical sequence where Matthew writes first, Luke follows with a chronological account under Paul's guidance in Caesarea, and Peter, to support Luke's Gospel, teaches from both Matthew and Luke in Rome. John Mark, serving as Peter's interpreter, later compiles these teachings into what becomes the Gospel of Mark.Find our videocast here: https://youtu.be/RxKXIS3SLEsMusic from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):⁠https://uppbeat.io/t/reakt-music/deep-stone⁠License code: 2QZOZ2YHZ5UTE7C8Find more Take 2 Theology content at https://take2pod.wordpress.com/

One of the things I want to note about John's gospel this week is the unique perspective this gospel provides into the life of Jesus. The three other gospels in the Bible—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—are all known as the synoptic gospels. Synoptic is a greek term that simply means “same view.” In other words,…

Today, we begin the gospel of Mark, which is one of the three synoptic gospels. “Synoptic” basically means “seeing the same thing,” and the other two synoptic gospels are Matthew and Luke. Historical evidence from early church fathers tells us that the apostle Peter is the one who passed these reports on to his attendant and writer, John Mark. Mark's gospel is the shortest, but the most action-packed, as he includes a number of accounts and moves quickly from one scene to the next. connecting his stories with phrases like “immediately,” “just then” and “as soon as.” We also get a sense for how hectic life must have been for Jesus, as crowds push in around him demanding more and more of His time. :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

The similarities among the Gospel books have not gone unnoticed, particularly among the first three—Matthew, Mark, and Luke. How do we account for these similarities? Everyone knows that the Gospel writers copied off one another, right? This is likely the answer you would find on most any apologetic website on the issue; you may have even heard your pastor or Bible study leader mention it! Simple as this answer may be, what matters is whether this is also true. This series will explore this topic in depth. Why, you may just discover that there is much more than meets the eye! Find out more information at: https://truthinmydays.com/ Follow the Truth in My Days Apologetics Program on all social platforms: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truthinmydays/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TruthInMyDays MeWe: https://mewe.com/p/truthinmydays Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4QnkYOIO91RWIGR6KPKoYc Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/truth-in-my-days-lets-defend-christianity/id1570747696 Google Podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy81NzIyNTM4OC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw Anchor: https://anchor.fm/john-tors Breaker: https://www.breaker.audio/truth-in-my-days-lets-defend-christianity Pocket Cast: https://pca.st/licr8nad

The similarities among the Gospel books have not gone unnoticed, particularly among the first three—Matthew, Mark, and Luke. How do we account for these similarities? Everyone knows that the Gospel writers copied off one another, right? This is likely the answer you would find on most any apologetic website on the issue; you may have even heard your pastor or Bible study leader mention it! Simple as this answer may be, what matters is whether this is also true. This series will explore this topic in depth. Why, you may just discover that there is much more than meets the eye! Find out more information at: https://truthinmydays.com/ Follow the Truth in My Days Apologetics Program on all social platforms: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truthinmydays/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TruthInMyDays MeWe: https://mewe.com/p/truthinmydays Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4QnkYOIO91RWIGR6KPKoYc Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/truth-in-my-days-lets-defend-christianity/id1570747696 Google Podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy81NzIyNTM4OC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw Anchor: https://anchor.fm/john-tors Breaker: https://www.breaker.audio/truth-in-my-days-lets-defend-christianity Pocket Cast: https://pca.st/licr8nad

We know the Synoptic gospels simplified their empty tomb narratives, so how did that affect their portrayal of the event? Why did Luke leave out the appearance of Jesus to the women? I also explore differences related to the Emmaus disciples narrative. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.comEmail: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.comFacebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieveTwitter & Gettr: @thinking2believTruth: @ThinkingToBelieveParler: @thinkingtobelieve

This is a Biblical Time Machine first—a historical reenactment of how the gospel writers wrote (and rewrote) the books of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. Our guest James Barker made his own scrolls, wax tablets and ancient writing implements to see what the gospel-writing process was really like. It gave him all sorts of fascinating new insights into how the gospel authors worked and how they used and reused each other's material. You really have to check out James' terrific new book, Writing and Rewriting the Gospels: John and the Synoptics. JOIN US FOR THE BTM BOOK CLUBThe next meeting of the Biblical Time Machine Book Club will be Saturday, February 22 at 12pm Eastern / 5pm UK. We'll be discussing a fascinating scholarly article by Nathanael Vette, who was the guest on our episode about Judaism and the Gospels After 70 CE. To join us live, become a member of the Time Travelers Club!SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINEIf you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting the show through the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon. We are an independent, listener-supported show (no ads!), so please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a monthly subscription.DOWNLOAD OUR STUDY GUIDE: MARK AS ANCIENT BIOGRAPHYCheck out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." While you're there, get yourself a Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle.Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos

In this episode I talk with Dr. James Barker, associate professor of New Testament at Western Kentucky University, who authored the brand-new book Writing and Rewriting the Gospels: John and the Synoptics, out now on Eerdmans. In this book Dr. Barker discusses the synoptic problem, the question of the literary relationship between Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and offers a defense of the Farrer hypothesis, which argues Mark was the first gospel to be written, Matthew used Mark, and Luke used both. He discusses ancient rhetorical techniques, writings styles and media, and the ‘trajectory' of editing. He then proposes that John both knew and used the synoptics, and that the development of early Christology helpfully illustrates the literary development of the gospels.    Media Referenced:Writing and Rewriting the Gospels: https://a.co/d/aQAdPq4James Barker Academia: https://wku.academia.edu/JamesBarker  The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com. Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the shows profile! Thanks!

An overview of the synoptic gospel - A recap

The gospel of Mark is one of the three synoptic gospels, “Synoptic” basically means “seeing the same thing,” the other two of which are Matthew and Luke.  Historical evidence from early church fathers affirms that the apostle Peter is the one who passed these reports on to his attendant and writer, John Mark. Mark's gospel is the shortest, but the most action-packed, as he includes a number of accounts and moves quickly from one scene to the next. connecting his stories with phrases like “immediately,” “just then” and “as soon as.” We also get a sense for how hectic life must have been for Jesus, as crowds push in around him demanding more and more of His time.Mark 1 - 1:08 . Mark 2 - 8:01 . Mark 3 - 13:04 . Mark 4 - 18:13 . Psalm 17 - 24:59 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

NT Pod 104, "The Synoptic Translation Problem," looks at the issues of how English translations frequently mangle the agreements and disagreements between the Synoptic Gospels, and between the Synoptics and John. It is just over 15 minutes long. NT Pod 104: The Synoptic Translation Problem (mp3) Key texts: TBC! Feel free to leave your feedback below, on our Youtube channel, or on social media. Thanks to Ram2000, "Me and You", for the opening theme, released under a Creative Commons agreement.

What happened on the Cross? Why do Catholics insist so much on Mary? Can the moral life of the priest invalidate the Sacraments? This and more in today's edition of Called to Communion.

What happened on the Cross? Why do Catholics insist so much on Mary? Can the moral life of the priest invalidate the Sacraments? This and more in today's edition of Called to Communion.

In this episode: Temptation of Jesus, Synoptic gospels, gospel differences, how to read the gospels, biblical authority, bible errors, Adam and Jesus, Israel as Jesus, Israel as the son of God, power of the Spirit, Spirit-filled life, defeating temptation with scripture, Satan's strategies, the Word of God is vital. Become a supporter and get unlimited questions turned into podcasts at: www.patreon.com/theologyandapologetics YouTube Channel: Theology & Apologetics www.youtube.com/channel/UChoiZ46uyDZZY7W1K9UGAnw Instagram: www.instagram.com/theology.apologetics Websites: www.ezrafoundation.org www.theologyandapologetics.com

SpaceTime Series 27 Episode 136*Discovering the Origins of MagnetarsA groundbreaking study reveals that magnetars, highly magnetic neutron stars, are born from stellar mergers rather than single star supernova events. These findings, published in Nature, delve into the origins of fast radio bursts (FRBs), which are high-energy flashes releasing more energy in nanoseconds than half a billion suns. The research indicates that FRBs are more common in massive star-forming galaxies, suggesting a link to magnetars formed from stellar mergers. This discovery challenges previous assumptions about magnetar formation and sheds light on the dynamic processes in the universe.*Voyager 1 Approaches One Light Day from EarthNASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is set to become the first human-made object to travel more than a light day's distance from Earth, a monumental 26 billion kilometers away. This historic milestone is expected in January 2027. Despite recent communication challenges due to a fault protection system glitch, engineers successfully reestablished contact. Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, continue their journey through interstellar space, providing invaluable data about the cosmos.*Australia Axes Vital Military Satellite Defense SystemIn a surprising move, the Australian government has canceled a crucial $7 billion satellite defense project. The JP9102 military satellite communications system, awarded to Lockheed Martin, was intended to enhance Australia's military communications amid growing regional tensions. The decision, amid geopolitical challenges, raises concerns about Australia's defense capabilities and secure communications network.The Science RobertA study highlights the significant carbon footprint of private jet users, who generate 500 times more CO2 than the average person. Meanwhile, research identifies 22 pesticides linked to prostate cancer, and a systematic review confirms no link between cell phone use and brain cancer. Plus, a fascinating look at how animals in the wild might consume alcohol from fermented fruits.www.spacetimewithstuartgary.comwww.bitesz.com

Tuesday, 29 October 2024   And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Matthew 4:18   “And Jesus, walking beside the Sea of the Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea - for they were fishers” (CG).   In the previous verse, it noted that Jesus began to preach, telling the people to reconsider because the kingdom of the heavens was at hand. With that noted, it next says, “And Jesus.”   The name of Jesus is not included in all of the ancient texts. Some believe it was inadvertently dropped out while others argue it was inadvertently added in or that it was inserted for clarity. As the subject has not changed, it is understood either way. Next, it says He was “walking beside the Sea of the Galilee.”   As noted before, the Galilee is a somewhat circular region. This sea is within that region. Thus, the use of the article before “Galilee” is appropriate. If there were a large body of water like this in the area of the Grand Canyon, we would call it “the sea of the Grand Canyon.”   Jesus was in the area conducting His ministry when “He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother.”   The name Simon equates to the Hebrew name Shimon. That comes from shama, to hear. Thus, it means something like Hearing or He Who Hears. Peter comes from petros, a small stone. Thus, the name means Stone or Rock. The name Andrew comes from the Greek word aner, a man, and thus it means something like Manly, Courageous, or Brave.   Although they are introduced into the narrative now, and it appears that the calling that lies ahead is almost sudden and out of the blue, this is hardly the case. By comparing the narrative found in John's gospel, these two are already well known to Jesus.   They were with John the Baptist in the area of Bethabara (John 1:28), John had proclaimed Jesus as the Lamb of God (John 1:29), one of John's disciples was Andrew (John 1:40), and they had come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. When Andrew introduced Simon to Jesus, Jesus then named Simon Cephas which is Peter, the Rock (John 1:42).   From there, they went together to Cana in Galilee (John 2:1). This fills in some of the background information that the synoptic gospels skip over. Therefore, the abruptness of this account is actually smoothed out when the fuller picture is seen. As for Matthew's words, it says that these two were “casting a net into the sea.”   Here is a word found only this once in Scripture in some manuscripts, or it is found one more time (Mark 1:16) in other manuscripts, amphiblestron. It is derived from amphoteroi, both, and ballo, to cast. Vincent's Word Studies provides an explanation –   “...the casting-net, which, being cast over the shoulder, spreads into a circle (ἀμφὶ [amphi – both sides and thus “all around”]). The word is sometimes used by classical Greek writers to denote a garment which encompasses the wearer. In Matthew 4:20, the word net again occurs, but representing a different Greek word (δίκτυον [diktuon]) which is the general name for all kinds of nets, whether for taking fish or fowl. Still another word occurs at Matthew 13:47, σαγήνη [sagene], the draw-net.”   These two were out tending to work when Jesus decided to formally call them into a new profession, one which would change the course of their lives and, indeed, the entire world as well as the entirety of human history. As for the reason they were casting this net, Matthew next says, “for they were fishers.”   Many translations say “fishermen.” This is technically correct because the word is in the masculine, speaking of the men. But for precision in translation, saying “fishers” avoids a problem that then appears in the next verse.   The word is halieus, coming from hals, salt. Thus, it would be used like the modern descriptor of a sailor, such as, “He is an old salt.” The meaning is that he has been a sailor for a long time. Even though the Sea of the Galilee is not a salt sea, the thought carries over to any in such a profession.   Life application: It is good to be well-versed in all four gospels before coming to conclusions about various events that take place. As noted in a previous commentary, having all of what is said in the four gospels lined up chronologically really helps to see what is going on.   From there, the life and ministry of Jesus and those with Him seem less abrupt. There is nothing like a rushed or forced narrative actually going on. However, each writer is providing information relevant to his purpose for writing. By giving information in a completely different style than the synoptic gospels, John's gospel changes the entire focus of what is being said and who it is being directed to.   Jesus, in the Synoptics, is being focused on as the Messiah of Israel who would come and fulfill the law. His words are directed to Israel under the law, even if some of what He says is in anticipation of the future, either for the church or for Israel in the millennium.   John, on the other hand, is addressing matters that speak of Jesus in a completely different way. Jesus is presented as the Christ of all people who is completing His mission in order to bring in a new spiritual realm for all people to join in. The words carry truths that are not limited to the Messiah's interactions with Israel nearly as much as the Synoptics.   Pay attention to these things and your theology on Christ and His life will be more properly directed to what is actually being conveyed.   O God, Your word is a treasure and a delight. We are so thankful that You can take men who fish and turn them into men who will use that ability in a spiritual way to accomplish great things. As this is so, we know that You can use us just as we are to do similar great things. Use us according to Your wisdom, and may we be willing to follow wherever You lead. Amen.  

The phrase "synoptic gospels" is thrown around a lot in Biblical scholarship, but what does it mean, and why are they important? Are they as similar as people seem to think, and what do non-academics get wrong about them? Today, Megan is joined by Dr. Mark Goodacre, professor of Religious Studies and expert in all things synoptic, to answer these questions and to investigate some of his favorite differences between these fascinating texts. 

Saturday, 28 September 2024   And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Matthew 4:18   “And Jesus, walking beside the Sea of the Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea - for they were fishers” (CG).   In the previous verse, it noted that Jesus began to preach, telling the people to reconsider because the kingdom of the heavens was at hand. With that noted, it next says, “And Jesus.”   The name of Jesus is not included in all of the ancient texts. Some believe it was inadvertently dropped out while others argue it was inadvertently added in or that it was inserted for clarity. As the subject has not changed, it is understood either way. Next, it says He was “walking beside the Sea of the Galilee.”   As noted before, the Galilee is a somewhat circular region. This sea is within that region. Thus, the use of the article before “Galilee” is appropriate. If there were a large body of water like this in the area of the Grand Canyon, we would call it “the sea of the Grand Canyon.”   Jesus was in the area conducting His ministry when “He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother.”   The name Simon equates to the Hebrew name Shimon. That comes from shama, to hear. Thus, it means something like Hearing or He Who Hears. Peter comes from petros, a small stone. Thus, the name means Stone or Rock. The name Andrew comes from the Greek word aner, a man, and thus it means something like Manly, Courageous, or Brave.   Although they are introduced into the narrative now, and it appears that the calling that lies ahead is almost sudden and out of the blue, this is hardly the case. By comparing the narrative found in John's gospel, these two are already well known to Jesus.   They were with John the Baptist in the area of Bethabara (John 1:28), John had proclaimed Jesus as the Lamb of God (John 1:29), one of John's disciples was Andrew (John 1:40), and they had come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. When Andrew introduced Simon to Jesus, Jesus then named Simon Cephas which is Peter, the Rock (John 1:42).   From there, they went together to Cana in Galilee (John 2:1). This fills in some of the background information that the synoptic gospels skip over. Therefore, the abruptness of this account is actually smoothed out when the fuller picture is seen. As for Matthew's words, it says that these two were “casting a net into the sea.”   Here is a word found only this once in Scripture in some manuscripts, or it is found one more time (Mark 1:16) in other manuscripts, amphiblestron. It is derived from amphoteroi, both, and ballo, to cast. Vincent's Word Studies provides an explanation –   “...the casting-net, which, being cast over the shoulder, spreads into a circle (ἀμφὶ [amphi – both sides and thus “all around”]). The word is sometimes used by classical Greek writers to denote a garment which encompasses the wearer. In Matthew 4:20, the word net again occurs, but representing a different Greek word (δίκτυον [diktuon]) which is the general name for all kinds of nets, whether for taking fish or fowl. Still another word occurs at Matthew 13:47, σαγήνη [sagene], the draw-net.”   These two were out tending to work when Jesus decided to formally call them into a new profession, one which would change the course of their lives and, indeed, the entire world as well as the entirety of human history. As for the reason they were casting this net, Matthew next says, “for they were fishers.”   Many translations say “fishermen.” This is technically correct because the word is in the masculine, speaking of the men. But for precision in translation, saying “fishers” avoids a problem that then appears in the next verse.   The word is halieus, coming from hals, salt. Thus, it would be used like the modern descriptor of a sailor, such as, “He is an old salt.” The meaning is that he has been a sailor for a long time. Even though the Sea of the Galilee is not a salt sea, the thought carries over to any in such a profession.   Life application: It is good to be well-versed in all four gospels before coming to conclusions about various events that take place. As noted in a previous commentary, having all of what is said in the four gospels lined up chronologically really helps to see what is going on.   From there, the life and ministry of Jesus and those with Him seem less abrupt. There is nothing like a rushed or forced narrative actually going on. However, each writer is providing information relevant to his purpose for writing. By giving information in a completely different style than the synoptic gospels, John's gospel changes the entire focus of what is being said and who it is being directed to.   Jesus, in the Synoptics, is being focused on as the Messiah of Israel who would come and fulfill the law. His words are directed to Israel under the law, even if some of what He says is in anticipation of the future, either for the church or for Israel in the millennium.   John, on the other hand, is addressing matters that speak of Jesus in a completely different way. Jesus is presented as the Christ of all people who is completing His mission in order to bring in a new spiritual realm for all people to join in. The words carry truths that are not limited to the Messiah's interactions with Israel nearly as much as the Synoptics.   Pay attention to these things and your theology on Christ and His life will be more properly directed to what is actually being conveyed.   O God, Your word is a treasure and a delight. We are so thankful that You can take men who fish and turn them into men who will use that ability in a spiritual way to accomplish great things. As this is so, we know that You can use us just as we are to do similar great things. Use us according to Your wisdom, and may we be willing to follow wherever You lead. Amen.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION Oxyrhynchus Papyrus fragment with text of John 6:8-12. 3rd century. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:POxy1596-III.jpg LINKS Words of Jesus ("All the Red Letter Scriptures"): https://www.jesusbelieverjd.com/all-the-red-letter-scriptures-of-jesus-in-the-bible-kjv/    Parallel Passages in the Gospels: https://www.bible-researcher.com/parallels.html#sect1     Miracles of Jesus reference list: https://sunnyhillschurch.com/3301/the-37-miracles-of-jesus-in-chronological-order/    Venetian folk tale of Saint Peter's mom: https://iamnotmakingthisup.net/5663/saint-peters-mom-bless-her-heart/ Judas Boo: https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/boo-6377/ Joke Rimshot: https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/rimshot-joke-funny-80325/ TRANSCRIPT   Welcome to the Popeular History Podcast: History through Pope Colored Glasses. My name is Gregg and this is episode 0.21h: Sayings of the Savior Part VIII: The Last Gospel   All of these aught episodes are made to let us build our Pope-colored glasses so we can use the same lenses when we look at history together. If you're lost, start at the beginning!   Today we continue our Sayings of the Savior series with a look at the Gospel according to John, covering everything Jesus said there that we haven't yet discussed–yes, still leaving off things like the miracles we did in 0.20 and the parables and other sayings we did in earlier Sayings of the Savior installments--once again leaving you in suspense right before the concluding few chapters discussing Jesus' death and such, which we'll cover as we finish the remaining mysteries of the rosary in future episodes of our Catholic Worldbuilding series.   Before we get into it, a quick reminder that the Gospel of John is the odd one out of the four canonical gospels, that is, the Gospels that made it into the Bible. There are other Gospels, but not others that the Catholic Church holds as part of Scripture, that is, the inspired word of God.   As you likely remember very well from the other episodes unless you're starting here for some reason, and if you're starting here because you don't know where to find the others you can check out the Catholic Worldbuilding section of my website, Popeularhistory.com, in any case, as you probably do recall the other three Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are all known as synoptic gospels, that is, Gospels that should be read together, and clearly have a close relationship, with most of all of them being found in the rest of them. Luke Is the most unique, something like 35% of its material being standalone, much of that parables, some of that is Luke's memorable infancy narrative, while the approximately 20% of Matthew that's only in Matthew is a hodgepodge including Matthew's take on Jesus' infancy, and the 3ish % of material that's unique to Mark is… well Mark is the shortest Gospel so 3% of it isn't much but even so we haven't hit the most memorable bit of that small slice of the synoptics. We'll get there, but of course not yet because like I said today is about John. And I don't mean John Mark, the guy who wrote the Gospel of Mark, which really should be called John because you know, John is his actual first name, Mark's just a second part of it, anyways, uh yes so guy named John wrote half the gospels, don't worry about it, it's fine, one's the Gospel of Mark, one's the Gospel of John. I'm sure that's not confusing anything. Anyways, ignore the fact that I haven't said much about John yet today. I needed to give the Synoptics a bit of a collective farewell before we moved on and it seemed like a bit of statistics might be just the thing to get you all ready for me to change the topic.   Now, though John's Gospel (not John Mark's Gospel) isn't one of the synoptics, there are a few parallel areas I'll flag as we go, so don't think we're leaving the other Gospels behind entirely. Even if we tried, they're a big part of looking at history through Pope Colored glasses overall, which, in case you've forgotten, is the actual main plan for this podcast. Allegedly these worldbuilding episodes are just the background materials for that.   Overall, John stands out as the most theologically sophisticated of the Gospels, which has generally led scholars to argue it's the last-written of the bunch, a stance that actually aligns with tradition that credits the Gospel of John to, well, John, the longest-lived of the Twelve Apostles. Scholars, of course, aren't so sure about that specific attribution, as we've mentioned here and there they often like to think of a school of multiple authors writing the texts attributed to John, not just the Gospel but his three letters and the Book of Revelation.   In any event, that sophisticated theology is on full display right from the beginning of the text, and the opening verses of John, often called the Prologue, are extremely well known and influential within Christianity. Which I know is a given for pretty much every section of the Gospel texts, but I mean like even more so than the average Gospel text. As in, these verses used to be read as an epilogue to nearly every Mass, something that gave it the nickname of “The Last Gospel”.   Let's take it in:   JOHN 1:1-14 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” GREGG First, I'll simply note that it would have been a straightforward enough matter for me to start the podcast here, rather than back in Genesis. In fact, the basics of Christian theology, the trinity I discussed in that first episode before launching into Genesis' actual narrative, all that is more at home in a discussion of these verses than in that creation story, because here is what makes Christian history: the Incarnation. The Word made Flesh. This word and flesh and light and darkness business is also a pretty natural tie-in to the oldest wrong theology in the history of Christianity, and it's fair enough that various commentators have seen hintings at gnosticism in the text of John's gospel. In fact, some have theorized that the Gospel of John was written as a refutation of Gnosticism, but of course I'm treating this as a start-from-scratch beginner friendly kit, so it wouldn't be right of me to just keep saying “gnosticism”, “gnosticism” without spelling out what that means. Oh, and speaking of spelling, it starts with a silent “G”, check out the transcript I'm now consistently creating for the show notes in the episode description if you'd like the full spelling. Gnosticism, in a nutshell, is the idea that the physical world is evil, created by a flawed God. To the gnostics, this evil, broken world is something to be rejected, to escape from. For many of the gnostics, Jesus is the servant of the higher God, and is our ticket out of the icky yucky material, fleshy world. The knowledge of the evil of the world and how to escape from it is the secret that gives gnosticism its name, “gnosis” being Greek for “knowledge”. Gnosticism had a habit of piggybacking off Judaism and Christianity, with Gnostics basically forming secret clubs within the already generally secret Christian communities. We'll talk plenty more about Gnosticism as we go, as it was a sort of theological cancer within the Church for many years, but there's your official high-level overview. Getting back to John 1, the first verse is probably the most famous: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The notion that Jesus has been around since the beginning, as outlined in this chapter, is ultimately what cemented the victory of Catholic theology over Arianism, another wrong belief found among some Christians, aka a heresy, this one teaching that Jesus is not God Himself but is simply a creature-an important creature sure but in the end still one of God's creatures and so not as exalted as God Himself. Like gnosticism, the The Arian refrain of “there was a time when he was not” cannot be be squared with John 1, hence the fundamental importance of The Last Gospel to Nicene Christianity. And yes, we'll talk about what “Nicene” Christianity is in the future, specifically in 0.24. But we'll need to get past the first verse of John to get there. The second verse, “He was with God in the beginning” really solidifies the anti-Arian interpretation, but believe it or not I'm actually not going to repeat the rest of the prologue, because ultimately this section, while very, very,  important to Christian history, isn't one of the sayings of the Savior we're focusing on in this series. So, when does Jesus show up? Well, after a focus on John the Baptist, Jesus appears in verse 36, and speaks in verse 38:  JOHN 1 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” 39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” GREGG This particular calling is a favorite of the tv series The Chosen, which I know I've mentioned before but am not expecting to mention again, as we're heading out of their wheelhouse, at last as far as they've gotten up to this point. But it's worth checking out if you've got the time, and let's be honest, if you're listening to this, you probably do. What's next? Andrew and Simon Peter! JOHN 1 40 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter ). GREGG This section allows us to introduce the split between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, though first off, there's been many splits and resolutions in that relationship over the years, not just the one in 1054, and second, while there's not currently unity there's not as fundamental a split as there has been previously since the mutual excommunications were lifted sixty years ago. Oh, and we've also made some reference to the difference already, when we were talking about the differences in biblical canons back in 0.7. Anyways, that's all years in the future. For now, just know that the tie-in is that eventually St Andrew would be credited with founding the Church in what wouId become Constantinople, the chief see of Orthodoxy, while St Peter would go down as the first Bishop of Rome, the beating heart of Catholicism. Having Saint Andrew as the first-called of the two--and the first-called Apostle overall–is therefore a point of pride for Orthodoxy, and one that I daresay as I look through these pope-colored glasses is a sorely needed one given Peter's elevation on pretty much every count afterwards. Note that he's already picked up his Peter slash Rocky nickname, much earlier in John than in the other Gospels, for example in Matthew that didn't happen until Chapter 16. Before we move on, I want you to know that I tried to look into Peter and Andrew's mother, considering we featured Peter's mother-in-law already and therefore it would seem to be quite the oversight to skip his actual mother, especially since she was apparently also the mother of Saint Andrew. Plus, it happens to be Mother's day when I'm writing this. But it turns out there's surprisingly little tradition on Peter's mother. Google seems to think her name is Joanna, but she's definitely not the better-known Saint Joanna mentioned at a few points in the Gospels. In fact, she's not a saint at all, according to the one story I did find about her, from, and this is the actual name: iamnotmakingthisup.net. Which isn't exactly an authoritative source but it points to a Venetian folk tale that describes Saint Peter's mother as irredeemable to the extent that Saint Peter has no way to let her into heaven based on her deeds. Which to be clear is incorrect theology considering your deeds aren't what get you into heaven, but let's roll with it. Apparently there was a time she gave someone an onion, so she got to try to climb to heaven via a string of onion roots, an effort which failed but got her promoted to taking care of Heaven's used wine barrels, ‘cause Venice. Speaking of promotions, before Chapter 1 is out Jesus promotes two more randos to disciple status, first Philip, who He tells “Follow me”, and then Nathanael, who gets to hear “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” When Nathanael asks Jesus how He knows him, Jesus replies, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you,” to which Nathanael replies “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Which leads us to Jesus's reply in the last couple verses: “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” The next chapter begins with Jesus' first public miracle, the miracle of the wedding at Cana, turning water into wine to keep the party going, which we covered in our miracles roundup in 0.20. The next scene is Jesus driving the moneychangers from the Temple, another one that shows up much earlier in John than it did in the synoptics, and always a crowd pleaser. Here's John's version: JOHN 2 13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from  the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father's house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.” GREGG Considering John is already talking about the resurrection in Chapter 2, I guess my running gag of treating it as a spoiler is done. In John 3, we have the first appearance of Nicodemus, a man unknown to the Synoptics but a recurring figure in John's account. If you've ever heard the phrase “born-again Christian”, you've got this colorful exchange to thank for the imagery: JOHN 3  Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” 3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” 4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.' 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” 9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. 10 “You are Israel's teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” GREGG If you're thinking, “gosh that last part sounds like crucifixion imagery”, good job reading ahead; if you're *not* thinking “gosh that last part sounds like crucifixion imagery”, perhaps It would be helpful if I reminded you that the bronze serpent Moses had lifted up in the wilderness was lifted up in a pole, and that anyone who looked at it, according to Numbers 21, was cured and saved from the “firey serpents” that were plaguing the grumbly Israelites at the time. Interestingly, at least to me, the dominant symbol of healthcare worldwide is another serpent on a pole, which more cautious scholars don't necessarily connect with Moses' bronze serpent as it's definitely a symbol of the Greek god Aesculapius so not a Hebrew slash Jewish thing directly, but still, serpents on poles associated with medicine has to be a relatively limited field. And yet, not as limited as you might think, as there is apparently a shocking amount of controversy over whether to use one serpent or two on a pole to symbolize healthcare. But let's get back to John 3, which doesn't assign any speaking lines to Jesus, though the next few verses are, like John's prologue, a reflection that's proven *quite* influential in the history of Christianity, especially John 3:16, which reads: JOHN 3 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. GREGG The next verse hammers the same sort of anti-gnostic point we saw in the prologue: JOHN 3 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. GREGG So yay world! It's not all bad. Though it is pretty bad. Let's hear the rest of John's reflection without further interruption: JOHN 3 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. GREGG The chapter finishes with a heavy emphasis on John the Baptist, during which John says “He must become greater; I must become less.” So we'll take that and run with it, keeping John as a side character and chasing the sayings of the Savior into chapter 4, another classic scene, this time it's the Samaritan woman at the well. The parenthetical thoughts you'll hear early on are part of John's account: JOHN 4 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” 11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” GREGG We've spoken about Samaritans before, though it was during my daily show experiment, specifically in the context of Samaritans Deacon Philip baptized in Acts 8. In case you missed that, in a nutshell the Samaritans are traditionally descendents of the ten “lost” tribes left behind when Assyria invaded the Northern Kingdom of Israel, though the fact that they're generally called the “lost” tribes gives an indication of how that tradition is generally received outside the community. The mountain the Samaritan woman is referencing Is Mount Gerizim, in Samaritan tradition the holiest place on earth and the proper site of worship, never mind that Jerusalem Temple business. So, yes, there are some similarities and some differences between Samaritans and Jews. Oh, speaking of Jews, next time you're talking to a Christian antisemite, remind them that here we have Jesus saying, and I quote, “salvation is from the Jews”. Also note that the woman lied to Jesus and also  had five husbands before her current non-husband partner, which is probably not something Jesus approved of. And yet, no reproach is recorded. Because you don't have to be hammering people's faults all day, every day. Of course, we did stop at an odd point, with Jesus telling the woman–who Eastern Churches know as Saint Photine and consider not only a martyr but Equal to the Apostles, a level of veneration I genuinely wasn't expecting-anyways we left with Jesus telling the future Saint Photine He is the Messiah, and then I just cut things off. Why? Well, because my bible considered that the end of the section, but of course that just begs the question still. The reason we don't see her direct reply is the Apostles show up and interrupt things. Let's continue where we left off: JOHN 4 27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” GREGG Interesting the specific call out for what they didn't ask, perhaps John wants to draw attention to how Jesus was bucking normal expectations here but the disciples were used to it. Anyways, JOHN 4 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him. 31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” 34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don't you have a saying, ‘It's still four months until harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps' is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” 39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers. 42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” GREGG  One aspect of this section is it has confirmation that my Sayings of the Savior series will always be incomplete, which isn't a surprise, presumably Jesus said lots of things that weren't recorded, in fact John basically says as much towards the end of his Gospel. Perhaps he hit the Samaritans with more of his patented harvest metaphors. Whatever it was, he spent two days at it. After that, Jesus went on a healing spree with miracles I covered in 0.20, including one on the Sabbath that got him into trouble with the local Jewish leaders. Here's the aftermath of that starting in Chapter 5 Verse 16: JOHN 5 16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. 17 In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” 18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. GREGG Jesus has a very lengthy response to this pushback, and it's another one that helped solidify Christian theology, so brace yourselves: JOHN 5 19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. 24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. 28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done  what is evil will rise to be condemned. 30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. 31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true. 33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light. 36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life. 41 “I do not accept glory from human beings, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” GREGG The next chapter, chapter 6, opens with a couple extra familiar miracles- feeding the five thousand and walking on water- and then gets real. Like, really real. Like, prepping for some Eucharistic mysteries level real. And the Eucharistic theme is touched off by folks from the five thousand looking for more bread. When they pursue him across the lake, he gives them a big old talk about what Catholics are happy to identify as the Eucharist, which we'll obviously be talking more about as we go. JOHN 6 “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” 28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” 29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” 30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'” 32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” 35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” 41 At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven'?” GREGG It's worth noting how controversially this is landing. Let's continue: JOHN 6 43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” 52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” GREGG Controversial for sure, but Jesus certainly shows no indication of a willingness to change analogy–or clarify that he's speaking metaphorically. So believers in the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist are perfectly willing to note that he must indeed be being literal here when he says this next part: JOHN 6 “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum” 60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” 61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.” 66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. GREGG After letting many of his followers walk over this whole bread is flesh and you must eat it business, and given passages like this and the Last Supper it's no wonder most Christians are big on the Eucharist, anyways, after that, Jesus turns to the Twelve: JOHN 6 67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” 71 (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.) GREGG It's always nice to see Peter stepping up, and it's always fun to queue up the boos when Judas Isacriot gets a mention . In the next section, chapter seven now, we see Jesus interacting with folks in the Feast of Booths aka the Festival of Tabernacles aka Sukkot. The scene naturally starts with Jesus declaring that he will do no such thing. JOHN 7 “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. 8 You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee. GREGG Wait, didn't I promise Jesus at the Festival? What gives? Well, read on! JOHN 7 10 However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. 11 Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, “Where is he?” 12 Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” 13 But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders. 14 Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. 15 The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?” 16 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. 17 Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 18 Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?” 20 “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?” 21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. 22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. 23 Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man's whole body on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” 25 At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn't this the man they are trying to kill? 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? 27 But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.” 28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.” 30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?” 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him. 33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,' and ‘Where I am, you cannot come'?” 37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. GREGG The rest of the chapter is devoted to describing various responses to this preaching, from believing Jesus and accepting Him as the Messiah to wanting to execute him. Here Nicodemus pops up, perhaps unsurprisingly recommending the authorities hear Jesus out. Chapter 8 starts out with something of a tense scene, with Jesus effectively being given power of life and death over a woman who had been caught in adultery–no mention of the man. This woman, like many others, is unnamed in the text. The most common tradition in my experience is to associate her with Mary Magdalene, but that seems to miss the mark on several accounts, not least that John seems to like spelling out connections like that like when we saw Nicodemus pop up again last chapter when he was not only called Nicodemus but also described as “Nicodemus who had gone to Jesus earlier”, which is pretty straightforward. Also, Mary Magdalene's reputation as a reformed prostitute–apparently first popularized by none other than Pope Gregory the Great–doesn't have much of a leg to stand on unless you confuse her with the other Mary of Martha and Mary fame. Anyways, Mary Magdalene or not–probably not–but Mary Magdalene or not, the woman's life is in Jesus' hands: JOHN 8 “3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”” GREGG First off, note the presence of a call to repentance here, because my point earlier was not that it should never happen, but that it does not have to happen every time. This is also the only time we see Jesus writing, which I honestly probably wouldn't be pointing out if it weren't for the fact that we have no idea what he wrote. Like none. You tell me if you have ideas, Popeularhistory@gmail.com. One surprising bit about this passage is that apparently most Scripture scholars argue that it's a later addition, not an original part of the Gospel of John. An early addition, mind you, but an addition nonetheless. From the whole Pope-colored glasses perspective it doesn't matter, the canon of Scripture is settled and this passage is part of it. As we've discussed before, from a Catholic perspective the human authorship is theologically irrelevant. Of course, the number one use for this passage in Catholic water-cooler circles is a mariology joke: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone”... *rock whizzes by*- mom! *drum sting* In verse 12, the scene shifts abruptly, possibly due to the later addition scenario I mentioned a minute ago. Let's pick back up without any gap, and see yet another passage of John's Gospel at pains to explain Christology, which just in case I haven't said it already is the mainstream Christian theological understanding of Christ. Anyways: JOHN 8 12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.” 19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come. GREGG It's interesting to see Jesus referencing court here, or at least the temple courts, because I've got to say there's no way the argument He's giving would hold up in court. I probably would be pretty skeptical myself if I were one of the Pharisees here. Then again, I definitely get the sense that He's not primarily talking for *their* benefit here. Anyways, let's continue: JOHN 8  21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.” 22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come'?” 23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.” 25 “Who are you?” they asked. “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.” 27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” 30 Even as he spoke, many believed in him. 31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” GREGG This is the high water mark for this group following Jesus. It goes very far downhill as we continue, and understandably as Jesus has some hard things to say. You might also detect some feelings Jesus has about His own fate: JOHN 8 33 They answered him, “We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” 34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father's presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.” 39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered. “If you were Abraham's children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” GREGG Only after being called children of the devil do the Pharisees turn on Jesus here. Some might argue that they were never on his side to begin with, because that's how some similar accounts play out elsewhere in the Gospels, but there's no hint of that here, in fact quite the opposite, remember partway through this section John had noted that some of the Jews were starting to believe in Him and Jesus began speaking to them in particular. This is heavy stuff. Anyways: JOHN 8 48 The Jews answered him, “Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?” 49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.” 52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?” 54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” 57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” 58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. GREGG So in the end, let it never be said that Jesus was unwilling to antagonize. Chapter 9 opens with a miracle, and the entire chapter is devoted to the fallout from that miracle. It was the case of a man who had been blind since birth, and we did cover the miracle itself and its immediate aftermath in our miracles series--now that we're making sure we hit all the sayings of the Savior it's time to cover a later portion of the chapter, after the Pharisees conduct an investigation that does not go well for the healed man. We're picking up in Verse 35: JOHN 9 35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” 37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” 38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” 40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” 41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. GREGG The next chapter opens with one of the closest things John has to a parable, and it's a big one: The Good Shepherd. JOHN 10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. 7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” GREGG The image of the Shepherd is all over Christianity. Priests are called pastors, bishops carry a shepherd's crook, and archbishops' pallia are made from the wool of lambs from Tre Fontane Abbey in Rome. Of course some overtones of the imagery predate Christ's parable, with the blood of the passover lamb marking Jewish door lentils since the Exodus. More on the Lamb of God soon. Later in the chapter, Jesus gets asked a pretty blunt question, and gives a pretty blunt answer: JOHN 10 “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one. GREGG And, like last chapter, this declaration is not well received: JOHN 10 31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” 33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”'? 35 If he called them ‘gods,' to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God's Son'? 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp. 40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, 41 and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus. GREGG All right, I need to address how I can possibly have hope for everyone when Jesus is walking around calling many of the people he interacts with children of the devil, as he did in chapter 7, and specifically not his sheep, as he does here. It's one thing to hope for universal salvation in the face of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, John's been hitting different. And yet in John 12:32 we'll hear Jesus say “I will draw all people to myself”. How do we get there from here? Well, ultimately, from a Christian perspective, the same way we get anywhere: by the grace of God. Not only at a higher level–the ”draw all people to myself” business is framed as being part of the Crucifixion–but also at a more intimate and personal level. Yes, I am suggesting that calling folks children of the devil is intimate and personal. When my children mess up, I parent them by clearly pointing out what they've done that's wrong and contrasting it to what they should be doing. It's not the warmest, fuzziest part of parenting, but it's an important part of parenting. I submit to you that Jesus is doing the same here. Of course in the end you may well not agree with me. That's to be expected. As long as you're getting something out of listening to all this, and presumably you are since you're a good chunk of the way through episode whatever, carry on. Let's get back to John's narrative. “If you do not believe me, believe the works”, Jesus said, and the next section, Chapter 11, is dominated by one of Jesus' most famous works, the resurrection of Lazarus. Of course we covered that among the miracles, and the Savior is silent outside of that portion, so on to Chapter 12, the anointing at Bethany. Those of you that listened to the daily show and Cardinal Numbers will recall the use I got out of the Martha/Mary dynamic, and I'm not the only one to use this Gospel scene as a parable. Let's go ahead and take it from the top, where it clearly ties in to the resurrection from the previous chapter: JOHN 12 12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages.” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. GREGG Judas, Judas. Get yourself together, man. And so we set the stage for one of the most badly applied sayings of the Savior, see if you can spot it: JOHN 12 7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” GREGG The interpretation I'm referring to is the idea that because there will always be poor people we should do nothing to help those in poverty. Thankfully, that's straightforwardly rebutted by the beatitudes and by every parable that shows acts of compassion for the least among us as the way to love Christ. This section is, however, a reminder that the “sell the Vatican, feed the world” position is also wrong, not only economically–you'd feed the world for a day and then what–but spiritually as well. We're a physical people, the more our senses are engaged the more fully we can participate in liturgy. And yet for someone who has an allergy to incense, incense isn't going to help them worship, and for someone who has baggage associated with one style or another, they may be served more effectively by another approach. One of the most controversial things you'll hear me say is that there are multiple right answers as far as liturgy goes. Worship is made to draw people to Christ, and people are coming from different places. As long as it's within bounds according to the Church, God can and will supply what is lacking. And sorry for getting into a “what kind of Mass is best” discussion here, that's decidedly looking into the future,  but this passage features prominently in such discussions, and you all know I like teasing things before they properly emerge, so yes, get hype for 0.31: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. John 12 continues with that standard sign that we're coming towards the end of Jesus' time on earth, the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus doesn't say anything in John's account, but it's a significant scene, so let's check out John's version: JOHN 12 12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: 15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;     see, your king is coming,     seated on a donkey's colt.” 16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him. 17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!” GREGG The most particular feature is that last bit, with the frustrated Pharisees still getting a spotlight even among the triumph. John's account is really very interested in that conflict. The next section opens with a surprisingly long message chain: JOHN 12 20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. 27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!” GREGG Jesus is a bit less direct about predicting his death in John than He was in the synoptics, calling it his “glorification”, but it's definitely still there, with the talk of seeds dying to spread growth. You get the sense that it's not really His first choice with His own description of His troubled soul, something that parallels Luke 22:42, Jesus' prayer in the garden at Gethsemane, pretty closely. And, yet while we will discuss that scene and that prayer, we actually haven't gotten to it yet, as Luke has it as part of his overall Passion narrative, a passion narrative being something discussing Jesus' finale of life, patior being a Latin term meaning to suffer, or to endure. By my counting, and folks vary, we're not *quite* to John's passion narrative yet, but the overlap is a sign that we're really very close. Then, God the Father, apparently, speaks, in a first for John's Gospel as John skipped the voice-from-heaven part of Jesus' baptism: JOHN 12 Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. 30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. 34 The crowd spoke up, “We have heard f

7.23.24 | "A Synoptic Survey Of Tithing In The Bible" | Bishop R. L. Williams by The Rock Church of Fort Myers

Why are the two Synoptic genealogies of Jesus—in Matthew 1 and Luke 3—so wildly contradictory? Although this objection has been raised by Richard Dawkins and other critics of Christianity, many Christian resources on the topic are terrible. A vague answer like “one is the royal line” is not good enough to satisfy a sincere seeker, as it does not explain why Joseph appears to have two different fathers, two different paternal grandfathers, and so on. In this video, Ian Huyett and Carmen Schober review the possible answers to the contradiction and argue for one particular answer. Read Ian's full essay on the subject here: https://www.staseos.net/post/on-matthew-and-luke-s-contradictory-genealogies

Friends of the Rosary, The gospel reading for today is the marvelous healing of blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10.46–52) a story included in all three Synoptic gospels. "Son of David, have pity on me," was crying with insistence the blind man. Christ Jesus responded his call: "What do you want me to do for you?"Bartimaeus: "Master, I want to see." Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." "Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way." The Lord is hearing our call and petition to see, like Bartimaeus. He heard the Lord say to him: "Come to me. Let yourself be built into a spiritual house. You are chosen. I have called you out of darkness." Ave Maria!Jesus, I Trust In You! Come, Holy Spirit, come! To Jesus through Mary! + Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York • May 30, 2024, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Today, we begin the gospel of Mark, which is one of the three synoptic gospels. “Synoptic” basically means “seeing the same thing,” and the other two synoptic gospels are Matthew and Luke. Historical evidence from early church fathers tells us that the apostle Peter is the one who passed these reports on to his attendant and writer, John Mark. Mark's gospel is the shortest, but the most action-packed, as he includes a number of accounts and moves quickly from one scene to the next. connecting his stories with phrases like “immediately,” “just then” and “as soon as.” We also get a sense for how hectic life must have been for Jesus, as crowds push in around him demanding more and more of His time. :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

Reading the account of how Jesus died for us in all 4 Gospels!faithbucks.com

Reading the account of how Jesus died for us in all 4 Gospels! faithbucks.com

  FULL TRANSCRIPT (with timecode) 00:00:17:29 - 00:00:19:10 Welcome to Grace. 00:00:19:12 - 00:00:25:15 Hope, love, the broadcast ministry of Calvary Chapel Birmingham and beautiful Alabama. 00:00:41:19 - 00:01:15:16 It's great to have you with us as together we explore the Bible, verse by verse and chapter by chapter. This broadcast is reaching across the world with the amazing, exciting and life changing Word of God. If you would like to partner with us to take the whole book to the whole world, please consider making a donation. To learn more about Calvary Chapel Birmingham and God's plan for your life, or how you can partner with this ministry, go to Calvary birmingham.com. Today God has an extra special message just for you. 00:01:15:18 - 00:01:18:10 So grab your Bible and let's dig in. 00:01:29:06 - 00:02:04:05 For the last several Sundays, we've been studying through what is commonly known as the Olivet Discourse, and it's called that, of course, because of the location from which the discourse was taught. And that is the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem and the temple of the time. So this is the same spot in which Jesus will come in the future to establish his his kingdom. A few chapters back in our study of Mark, Jesus entered Jerusalem with what seemed to be triumphant acclaim from all the crowds. But after disrupting the commercial activities in the temple, things took a turn. 00:02:04:11 - 00:02:35:04 The next morning, Jesus engaged with the religious leaders, and this was followed by Jesus giving public warning to the crowds and to his disciples about the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. And then he pronounced woes against the religious leaders. We don't have those in Mark, but we have had those in Matthew. Now his disciples began to see that things were getting dangerous because the religious leaders in Jerusalem, they recognized, are out to get Jesus and try to silence him. Much earlier in Jesus's ministry, they had determined to destroy him. 00:02:35:06 - 00:03:05:13 That is, the religious leaders had already determined to destroy him. Even as Jesus is giving this discourse then to his disciples, they are orchestrating their plans, and soon enough, Judas will betray Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane, located on this same Mount of Olives. And as for timeline, we where we are, it is two days before Passover, and so Jesus urgently turns his attention to his disciples. He prepares. 00:03:05:15 - 00:03:50:15 He's preparing his followers for the events that are to come. This is the fifth and final discourse from Jesus to his disciples. As we have seen, this discourse is prophecy, and it's to prepare his disciples for what they will experience as they do the work as apostles of preaching the gospel and building the church. And so that they understand the urgency of the message. Jesus describes the catastrophic events of judgment that will befall the nation, including the destruction of the temple and in the even more distant future, the end times and what the end times will mean for not only the world, but for Israel. 00:03:50:28 - 00:04:24:05 That is very important, really, for our understanding of this text. Jesus is speaking to his disciples about the end times and Israel and what it means for Israel. Um, all of what he has said in the discourse and in the parables and the illustrations that are centered around this discourse, has been very Israel centric. However, Gentile believers are not excluded. Certainly all believers need to understand this text. This text will be an important witness for those who enter the tribulation period. 00:04:24:07 - 00:05:00:03 But of course, also for believers today, these are events that will be experienced worldwide, like the Great Flood was a worldwide flood, and an understanding of this text enables us to better understand end times prophecy found in the Old Testament. Um, what is contained in the final book of the Bible, the Revelation of Jesus Christ. But there is also. A great reminder. About and encouragement to faithfulness and warning about unfaithfulness. 00:05:00:06 - 00:05:30:29 Now, you may have heard other pastors teach this text differently. Um, there are a lot of different words you could key off key off of within this text. I mean, we have words like war, plague, earthquake, sorrow. Um, gospel is a good one, of course. Um. Abomination. Desecration. Tribulation. Saved. Elect this generation. Days of Noah is in Matthew, and we'll touch on that today as well. Um. Thief. Uh. Be ready. 00:05:31:01 - 00:06:03:09 Faithful. Wise. Um. We'll see as we, uh, study a little bit in Matthew as well. We'll see the use of the word oil. Um, bridegroom. Uh, talents. And, you know, I myself have heard many messages that. That read a couple of the scriptures from this, and then then kind of pick a word within those couple of verses and key off of it into something completely, um, off topic, uh, sorrow. 00:06:03:11 - 00:06:38:02 You know, sorrow. What are you what sorrow are you dealing with today? Um. Saved. How do you know that you're saved? Do you know that? You know that you know that you know. Oil. Have you experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit, my friend? Is your lamp filled with oil? And. Even to the absurd talents. Will you use your talents to serve pastor's vision for the church? All you have to do is actually read the text in context. 00:06:38:25 - 00:07:14:01 And you will find that that especially is absolutely absurd. Now, with the exception of that last. And I admit that was. That's low hanging fruit. Um, it's it's it's so out there. It's just low hanging fruit now. But, um, with the exception of that last absurd example, there is good reason to deal with many of those other things. But this text is not necessarily the place to deal with those things. Um, deal with those things when you get to the text that actually deals with them in the text does exist, that deals with all those things. 00:07:14:03 - 00:07:45:21 Otherwise you are not rightly dividing the word of truth. The great danger of keying off of one word in a verse or within a small segment of text is then the flesh can take that wherever it wants, almost always ending up with a very subtle message about either earning your salvation or doing the works to maintain your standing or your salvation, which is not only contrary to the good news of eternal salvation by grace through faith. 00:07:45:23 - 00:08:18:18 It is a trap that leads to a rejection of grace and a rebuke at the judgment seat of Christ. Now, we talked about taking a literal approach to Scripture last week as well. It does not mean that that we believe that the earth is flat, or that the moon makes its own light. Rather, a literal approach to the text means we maintain a high standard when it comes to interpreting Scripture. It means we do our best to consider the intent of the author, and not to go beyond that. 00:08:18:20 - 00:09:14:08 And that also means that we are willing to let the text speak rather than us speaking for the text. Now that out of the way, in the previous part of this discourse, after answering the disciples questions regarding the temple and its destruction, Jesus continues with prophecy of the end times and the tribulation and His second coming. Over the last few Sundays, we looked at the condition of the world and the condition of the world. When Jesus comes to take his church, ushering in then the seven years of tribulation, Jesus spoke about conditions Israel will endure during the tribulation, the rebuilt temple implying that the Law of Moses is back in observance, in effect, that Antichrist and the desecration of the Temple Israel fleeing to get away, Israel seeing Jesus's return, the great battle at the end, and Israel's salvation. 00:09:14:10 - 00:09:53:01 And then Jesus moved out of the discourse and into using parable and illustrating again. And with that, Jesus went from dealing with eschatological events to dealing with attitudes, drawing contrasts between those who are faithful, prepared, and watchful, and those who are not. Bart does not include all of these parables and illustrations, and we may. We made note of that last week, but because there has been such terrible teaching for many of these illustration parables, I'm going to take us out of Mark later on this morning and into Matthew so that we can cover that ground as well. 00:09:53:03 - 00:10:30:16 Now, a word of caution in studying these. We must be careful not to make assumptions that will lead us to wrong conclusions. In regards to these parables and these illustrations, it's important to note that the outcome is reward or retribution. Expecting or not expecting. Christ's return makes a large difference in the lives of those characters in the illustrations. We will understand through these paragraphs that unbelievers will suffer loss by not being prepared. 00:10:30:18 - 00:11:01:25 It is also the case that believers will suffer loss to not like unbelievers, but loss nonetheless. Loss of rewards. And so we find Jesus directing believers to watch and to be ready. And that's really that really is important for us to remember as we study through these things. The text may not be speaking of eternal life versus condemnation, even though the text may cause us to want to assume that we must not assume we must remain in context. 00:11:01:27 - 00:11:32:03 And so we find that the greater idea is faithfulness, being watchful so that one is found faithful and faithfulness is rewarded. And that implies that believers who are not watchful and thus not concerned about being faithful to Christ, uh, to Christ, suffer loss not of eternal life, but of rewards. So I think that pretty much well sets up our study as as Jesus continues to teach with the parable of the faithful and the wise slave. 00:11:32:20 - 00:12:09:16 Um, we'll get to that in a second. Here, I want us to pray, and then we'll dig in. Heavenly father, we thank you for this new morning. The breath you've placed in our lungs for the beating of our hearts. Lord, you are truly living God. Compassionate, merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Lord, we pray for those who are sick. Lord, we pray for Chris that you would heal him from his sickness. Lord others who might be sick or dealing with different diseases and things. Lord, we ask that you would heal them. Those who are traveling like Larry and Krista, Lord, that you would keep them safe, protect them and bring them back to their family here. 00:12:09:25 - 00:12:40:04 Um, most of all, we ask that that your gospel would be received, uh, or preached to all this world, Lord, and that people would come to understand the truth of Jesus. Um, and as we embark on this study of your word, we ask that our own hearts would be opened to receive all that you have to say to us, Lord, we desire to be heroes and doers. We ask that you would lead us in all of your ways because your ways are good. We pray this in Jesus name. 00:12:40:06 - 00:12:40:23 Amen. 00:12:42:16 - 00:12:44:17 So starting with verse. 00:12:46:17 - 00:12:47:23 32. 00:12:52:23 - 00:13:35:13 We are at the very end of Mark chapter 13, starting with verse 32. But of that day and hour no one knows. Not even the angels in heaven, nor the son, but only the father. Take heed, watch and pray for you. Do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch. Therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning, lest coming, suddenly he find you sleeping. 00:13:35:24 - 00:14:05:28 And what I say to you, I say to all watch. Now, as I mentioned last week, the parallel text of Matthew includes some things here that Mark does not. And I want us to read that text of Matthew. Now, the parallel section of Matthew to our text in Mark is found in chapter 24 of Matthew, in particular verses 36 through 44. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but my father only. 00:14:06:00 - 00:14:40:01 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away. So also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field, one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken and the other left. 00:14:40:03 - 00:15:22:23 Watch therefore, for you do not know. Uh, for you do not know what hour your lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Now Mark's gospel doesn't avoid anything. It just gets straight to the point. As we we've observed before, Mark's gospel moves at a much quicker pace than do the other Synoptics, whereas Matthew moves slower, um, and includes much more detail. 00:15:22:25 - 00:16:03:21 The big picture here in Mark is found in Jesus's thesis verse of 32. Um, no one knows the day or the hour. And we should ask ourselves, what is it that no one knows about that day and hour? Well, context helps, and if we keep reading, verse 33 clarifies that you do not know when the time is. Jesus then expounds on to on on that to to make the big point, which is spiritual vigilance, not desperately holding on to salvation as if one day you're going to mess up so bad that the Lord thumps you out of his keeping hand. 00:16:03:27 - 00:16:46:08 But rather believers should not be asleep, as were Peter, James, and John later in the garden, but rather believers should be found faithfully in service to the Lord when he returns. All the servants will be blessed by the return of the Lord. Faithful servants will be rewarded. But we have a problem. Why is it that we have a pretty clear timeline of events given to us, not just in the Olivet Discourse, but in New Testament texts like revelation? If nobody knows the time of the return. 00:16:47:13 - 00:17:20:22 How can this possibly be? Since we have spelled out for us a seven year period of tribulation, at the end of which Jesus returns? Well, what it is, is. That Jesus is speaking of his return. For believers, that comes before the seven year period referred to as the rapture or the catching up of the church. Now, we'll get back to this in a minute, but for now, let's get more into the details of this section from Mark. 00:17:20:24 - 00:17:51:14 And Matthew will tie in to Luke as well a little bit, but we're going to use that more as a means of clarifying. Just just wait for it, I guess. So when when we read, uh, the text from Mark and then from Matthew, there was some things in Matthew that probably. Have struck out at us. Um, probably that bit about Noah, right? That's kind of a word that, you know, the days of Noah that kind of sticks out from that text. 00:17:52:00 - 00:18:28:00 Um, and of course, the days thereof, specifically that part, um, as the days of Noah were so also, will the coming of the Son of Man before is in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark and did not know until the flood came and took them all away. So also will the coming of the Son of Man be. We'll get to that. But first, did you notice a difference between verse 36 of Matthew and verse 32 of Mark? It's subtle. Verse 36 of Matthew says, but of that day and hour, and no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but my father only. 00:18:29:08 - 00:19:05:18 In Mark. In verse 32 it says, but of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the son, but only the father. So it's that phrase, nor the sun. It's in Mark, but not Matthew. And Luke doesn't have this verse at all. So hold on to your hats. We're going to get a little bit nerdy Bible nerdy here, just for a few minutes. Um, some important manuscripts, uh, such as the Alexandrian and the Western manuscripts have an additional phrase that's not included in Matthew, and that is that phrase. 00:19:05:20 - 00:19:39:18 It is, nor the sun. We find it as we just saw in Mark, not Matthew. Many scholars believe that phrase should be included here in the text of Matthew as well. And in fact, modern translations have decided to include this phrase, as it was likely in the original autographs of Matthew. The King James Version does not include it. But I believe it should, because not only do the Alexandrian and Western manuscripts have it, um, almost all. 00:19:40:09 - 00:19:48:12 Of the other witnesses, uh, have that phrase as well. But even if that phrase should be there. 00:19:50:06 - 00:20:26:21 The final part of verse 36 in Matthew. But my father only. Well, it implies the same thing. Only the lack of it in the King James Version and New King James Version just seems to to somewhat soften the prophetic impact of it. So just be aware of this. Even the son does not know. And it's interesting that this lines up with the way that weddings happen in ancient Israel. So the the pattern agrees with what Jesus says here after the betrothal, neither the groom nor the bride knew when the marriage celebration was going to occur. 00:20:26:23 - 00:20:47:09 Instead, the groom then went back home to prepare a place for his bride, and when the father decided it was time, he would send the groom with the wedding party to collect the bride. But the bigger idea here is not what the father knows, nor really of the timing. 00:20:49:03 - 00:21:02:23 Rather, the idea is. Encouragement toward an attitude of being watchful. And prepared. The time is unknowable. 00:21:04:18 - 00:21:10:28 Therefore be ready. If a plumber is scheduled to come to your home to fix your toilet. 00:21:12:16 - 00:21:16:06 And you don't know what exact time they're going to arrive. 00:21:17:22 - 00:21:37:05 What are you probably going to do? Well, you're probably going to pick up any dirty clothes from the floor of your bathroom. You're probably going to empty the bathroom trash can. You might even clean the area around the toilet and the toilet itself. So you don't look like the slob you really are. 00:21:39:26 - 00:22:15:24 So if in little things, we feel like we should be prepared. The imminent rapture of the church should inspire preparation of those who are of the church. No one knows the exact time when the Son of Man will return. His coming is going to be a surprise, so it makes sense to be prepared so that you are not ashamed. Now, who is this warning for? Well, Matthew gives us that information because there Jesus starts this illustration with a comparison. 00:22:16:06 - 00:22:50:13 As the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. And note that just as the flood was worldwide, so also the end times judgments will be worldwide. So then we get the idea now that this word is not limited to Israel, but is for all the world. People need to hear the Word of God taught and preached and that includes the warnings. In the days of Noah, the world did not expect a flood that would cover all the earth, despite the fact that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. 00:22:50:15 - 00:23:14:19 I get that from Second Peter two verse five. Peter is called or Noah is called a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly. Similarly. In the future of in the future, the world will be pursuing normal, everyday, regular routine activities. 00:23:16:05 - 00:23:25:01 They will be going about life as usual. Suddenly. And without warning. Normal life. 00:23:25:21 - 00:23:28:02 Meals. Weddings. 00:23:29:19 - 00:24:04:12 Will be interrupted. And those who remain will find themselves searching for an explanation. Of what is going on. In Noah's day, he and seven others entered the ark and God. Shut that door. Now knowing his family were not Hebrews. They predated Abraham, who was the first Hebrew. And as the world was judged, Noah in the seven others were kept safe in the ark above the waters. 00:24:05:27 - 00:24:38:24 Jesus is Coming begins with the rapture of the church, which can occur at any time. Without sign. Except for the fact that the Bible actually tells us it's going to happen. And then following the rapture, those years of tribulation will come about a total of seven years of tribulation with the abomination of desolation that Daniel and Jesus spoke of in the middle of that time, after which Israel will be scattered once again. 00:24:38:26 - 00:24:54:26 Three and a half years after the abomination, the prophecy of Zechariah tells us that Jesus will set foot on the Mount of Olives and overthrow Israel's enemies. And as Zechariah states in verse nine, the Lord shall be king over all the earth. 00:24:56:27 - 00:25:28:12 Unbelievers will suddenly find themselves in judgment, just as unbelievers were in the days of Noah. As Noah and his family were yet kept safe out of the judgment. So then, those who we see taken away by the flood are unbelievers. Continuing in the text of Matthew, Jesus then added to the illustration by moving to a different illustration said, then two men will be in the field, one will be taken in the other left, two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken, the other left. 00:25:31:12 - 00:25:35:09 In regards to just what this illustrates, there are a couple of possibilities. 00:25:36:24 - 00:26:12:12 Then in verse 40 of Matthew, the text points back to when everyone was eating and drinking just before the tribulation. Now the word took in. Verse 39 is the Greek word eru, meaning carried away. As in carried away to their death by the flood waters. And then the word taken that Jesus uses in verses 40 and 41 is a different word. Uh, parallel bono meaning take two oneself or receive. 00:26:13:06 - 00:26:55:27 Now. One possibility is that this illustrates the rapture, with one being taken in the other left behind. And that sounds good. But the problem is that it doesn't track with the NOAA illustration in which the wicked were taken away while the believers were preserved. Rather, it seems to make better sense that this continues the previous illustration, where the world is in tribulation and the church has been removed already. So then in verses 4241, those taken away are the unbelievers, and the ones that are left are those of believing Israel and tribulation saints who are not taken to judgment but remain to enter the Millennial Kingdom. 00:26:56:08 - 00:27:38:16 So then, those who come on to, or who come to believe during the tribulation must be watchful and expectant of the Lord's coming. Others take the view that those who are carried away in verses in verse 39 are unbelievers, while those who are taken in verses 44 through 41 are believers taken up to Christ at the rapture of the church, as I said before. So then those who are left in verses 40 to 41 are the ones who are going to be going through the tribulation events. And if if this view is correct, then the judgment of the tribulation will come on the unbelieving world, like the flood, where they are not expecting it, and before that God will deliver his own from. 00:27:39:03 - 00:28:15:20 The world. In between these two. If neither is exactly wrong, the facts are that the church will be raptured before the judgment, and those who those who believe during the tribulation will also enter the kingdom. However, Jesus had a point greater than than those specifics. The greater idea here is just what we started with. Nobody knows the time. And Jesus is addressing his disciples. His disciples were believers apart from one who would betray the Lord to the chief priests and the Romans. 00:28:15:22 - 00:28:47:14 If if saved individuals this side of the tribulation need to worry about entering into the tribulation, then why be watchful in the first place? Well, the reason is that while Jesus and John three and later Paul and Romans eight said that he who believes in Jesus is not condemned, they are not exempt. They are not exempted from the judgment seat of Christ. Paul spoke of this judgment seat of Christ in Romans, in Second Corinthians. And the Apostle John also did this in his first epistle. 00:28:47:16 - 00:29:21:00 Paul says, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, good or bad. And he says, we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to him, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each 1st May receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. So this is not a judgment to condemnation, but a judgment in which believers will receive or lose reward according to their faithfulness to Christ. 00:29:21:23 - 00:29:55:08 Everyone who is at this judgment is saved, but some will be saved with rewards and some will be saved with loss of rewards. So then believers need to watch a Greek word that means be on alert. In light of Christ, sudden, unexpected coming. And this same word for watch is repeated several times by Paul in his epistles and by the Lord not only in the Gospels, but also in revelation. So then look at verses 43 through 44. 00:29:57:00 - 00:30:35:29 Of Matthew 24. But know this, that if the master of the house had not, if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come. He would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour. You do not expect anyone who knows before it happens that a thief is going to be coming to his house. And when will certainly make sure to be awake and alert for that event so that he can protect his house and his possessions. 00:30:36:22 - 00:31:00:18 Jesus compares himself to a thief because he will come unexpectedly, and the homeowner or the master of the house is the believer. And if it's important for a homeowner to be so vigilant about things that are transient. Then how much more so is it for a believer to to be aware and vigilant over things that are of eternal value? 00:31:02:18 - 00:31:09:26 Believers who are watching for the rapture will be prepared at any time and not taken by surprise. 00:31:11:21 - 00:31:52:09 It will not experience loss of reward. Jesus promises that there is no condemnation for those who believe in him. So then the believer is absolutely secure and safe from condemnation and promised eternal life. And while most people are concerned with quality of life now, however. Eternal life dwarfs the little time that we have now. So quality of eternal life should be of immensely greater concern. Believers enter into eternal life no matter what God guarantees it, but works will be judged and some will enter with reward, others will enter having lost rewards. 00:31:52:11 - 00:31:56:14 And so, as believers, we should desire to be faithful and wise. 00:32:01:11 - 00:32:34:16 All right. So as I insinuated several times, Matthew includes more illustrations and parables than Mark does. That is illustrations and parables specifically associated with this discourse. And these have been taught so horribly so as to steal away the assurance of believers eternal salvation, that I. I feel the need that we as a body, go back and look at these things. Um, even though Mark does not necessarily include all of these in his text. 00:32:34:18 - 00:32:51:24 So I want you to right now in, um. Yeah, we got time. I want you right now to turn to Matthew chapter 24, if you haven't already. We've been in Matthew, so maybe you've already turned there, but, um, we'll be looking at verses 45 through 51. 00:32:54:01 - 00:32:55:20 I need to do that too. Let's see. 00:33:03:28 - 00:33:04:17 There we go. 00:33:09:21 - 00:33:52:06 Are. All right. And starting the verse 45, it reads this way. Who then is a faithful and wise servant whom his master made ruler over his household to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you, that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if the evil servant says in his heart, my master is delaying his coming, and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. 00:33:52:13 - 00:34:23:24 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now this parable continues the theme of the preceding, and that overarching theme is preparedness. After describing what his Second Coming would be like. It makes sense that Jesus would speak of being watchful and prepared. Earlier in both Mark and Matthew, Jesus warned that his return would not be hidden or secret, but would be quick and visible to all. And in the parable of the fig tree. 00:34:23:28 - 00:35:00:18 From verses 28 through 31 of Mark, which I think we looked at last Sunday, Jesus says that the generation that is in the tribulation and sees the abomination of desolation and the cataclysmic events in the heavens, will see his return. But as it was in the days of Noah when only a handful believed God was going to was going to judge the world with this great flood, so also many will be taken by surprise then at his return. Now, it's important to note that the rapture of the church in the Second Coming of Christ are two different things, right? The rapture comes just before the seven year tribulation. 00:35:00:20 - 00:35:35:12 The Bible describes the rapture as Jesus coming in the clouds and calling up his believers to be with him. But in his Second coming, at the conclusion of the tribulation, he sets foot on the Mount of Olives, bringing bringing us with him to judge the world and usher in the Millennial Kingdom. So in his discourse, the rapture would have occurred probably just before verse nine. And from that point on, this discourse seems to be describing the tribulation period. The midpoint of the seven year tribulation is at verse 14 of Mark 13, with the abomination of desolation and Israel fleeing. 00:35:35:14 - 00:36:10:26 The Second coming of Christ then occurs in the discourse with verse 26 of Mark. So then we continue now with the parables and the illustrations, and that takes us to the parable that we just read of the with a faithful servant and a wise servant. Here in Matthew, the Greek word for servant here is doulos. Now doulos speaks of a slave. That is, someone subservient to someone else. And in the New Testament text, it usually speaks of someone who was in a financial situation that required them to sell themselves to someone else in order to survive. 00:36:11:09 - 00:36:46:10 That likely does not refer to someone who has been made a slave by force. Now, all this is this kind of archaic to us today. But someone in that time who was in that kind of life or death situation would have been thankful and demonstrated their thankfulness with faithful service. However. The flesh, nature being what it is. A slave, even though their slavery meant survival rather than starvation and suffering, might begin to resent their master. 00:36:47:06 - 00:37:12:10 Some slaves of the time were very low on the pole. Others were trusted as family members and even given great responsibility and trust in a household. Now slave here is used singularly in this entire parable. This seems surprising because if your Bible has section headings, it probably reads illustration of the two servants. 00:37:14:00 - 00:37:48:06 Well, this is problematic. As the text is speaking of two possible actions of one servant, and how the servants actions in each scenario may be rewarded. In other words, there is one slave in this parable who has been entrusted with great responsibilities and who also has a choice while his master is away. He can be faithful and wise, and the responsibilities given to him by his master, anticipating the joy of reward at his master's return. 00:37:48:08 - 00:38:20:01 Or he can be evil and do whatever his evil desires. Lead him to do things that are characteristic of idolaters, or pagans, or unbelievers, and those who have turned away. Uh, from uh uh, from the faith. Because the master will return suddenly. The master will discover what his entrusted servant has been doing. If he's been faithful. When his master returns, he will be rewarded and given greater position. 00:38:20:09 - 00:38:51:17 If the slave has been unfaithful, the text says he will be divided and be given a place with the hypocrites. Now notice that the master who left the slave and then returns remains the slave master, whether the slave is faithful or unfaithful. But what about verse 51? And this cutting into. Well, that verb, uh, deco tomato means to to cut an object into two parts. 00:38:51:19 - 00:39:25:29 And it is the same verb that's used in Hebrews 11, verse 37, speaking of God's prophets being sawn in two. It is also used in the Septuagint in Exodus in regards to the division of sacrifices. Extra biblical sources such as writings of Polybius and credulous Strabo. Many others demonstrate the use of this word in rhetoric as, uh, as hyperbole for creating a convincing argument. 00:39:26:04 - 00:39:56:28 And that's how it's used here. The dividing of the slave is not the division of the slave himself. It is hyperbole to illustrate being cut to the heart by the Lord's rebuke and suffering great loss. Remember, as Hebrews four says, the word of God is like a two edged sword that can cut deeply and is being appointed. A place with the hypocrites is simply showing that there are those who are found faithful, and there are others who are not. 00:39:57:20 - 00:40:28:22 Jesus denounced the leaders in Israel. He called them hypocrites. And when doing so he did not distinguish between believing and unbelieving leaders. And we know from the Bible that there were at least a few and probably. Many among the leaders who believed yet remained secretive in their belief. And we know that even faithful believers can be hypocrites. 00:40:29:18 - 00:40:58:04 Such as Peter and Barnabas in Galatians two, where Paul rebuked them because in Antioch they got up from their table with the Gentiles to sit with the Jews from Jerusalem when they arrived. We find a similar parable in Luke 12, where in verse 46, instead of hypocrite, we find the word unbelievers. However, the Greek word. Translated. Translated. Uh. Unbeliever. There. Also means the unfaithful. 00:41:00:07 - 00:41:04:22 Which I think is a more sound understanding. The fact. 00:41:07:00 - 00:41:40:29 In fact it is. That's actually how the ESV renders that word in Luke 1246. So the big idea here. Is that when believers are judged, the failure to have endured and faithful service will result in rebuke. The difference is that in one scenario, the wise servant watches for the return of his master, and because he is watchful and he is expectant. He is found serving faithfully. And the other scenario? He thinks his master will not return for a long time. 00:41:41:01 - 00:41:43:01 So he stopped serving his master well. 00:41:45:04 - 00:41:52:18 We often want to associate weeping and gnashing of teeth with the pronouncement of utter condemnation. 00:41:54:04 - 00:42:33:03 And we do find that phrase associated with unbelievers in hell. We also find it used of the tremendous grief. Of believers at the loss of rewards. But context determines how we should understand the text. And so the phrase here speaks of tremendous regret over a wasted opportunity to have received something very valuable. So then its use here in this text speaks of great sorrow experienced by unfaithful believers at the Lord's rebuke, at their loss of reward and loss of privileges. 00:42:34:00 - 00:42:43:20 And loss of joys associated with ruling with Christ in the kingdom. And yet God will wipe away every tear. 00:42:52:20 - 00:42:57:27 Israel was chosen by God in order to be a light to the other nations. 00:43:01:09 - 00:43:33:03 And to be the people through which the Messiah was to to come into the world. And over and over in the text of the Old Testament, we see Israel instead wanting to be just like the other nations and falling into idolatry. And each time we see God discipline them. And we see Israel missing out on God's blessing. Their rejection of Jesus has resulted in very difficult times over the centuries. 00:43:33:27 - 00:43:47:09 For Israel. But Israel is gathered back together. Being gathered back together became a nation again in 1948. They still are experiencing judgment for their unbelief. 00:43:49:07 - 00:44:21:04 But God is faithful always to his promises. In the tribulation, after the desecration of the temple, Israel will repent and will return back to God. 44 144,000 will actually be evangelizing the world. But that's just the number of a special group of believing Israel sealed to act as God's evangelists in all the world. There will be many more who will believe Jesus during the tribulation. And when Jesus returns, it will be good to be found faithful. 00:44:21:06 - 00:44:53:08 All believers will be rewarded or suffer loss at the judgment seat of Christ. But it must be kept in mind that this is not a loss of salvation. As was the case back in the parable of the marriage feast from from chapter 22 of I think it was Matthew or I don't think that was. Yeah, that would have been Matthew we haven't reached. Never mind. Brain 22 of Matthew. The stakes were not eternal life. But quality of eternal life. 00:44:54:23 - 00:45:28:20 Rewards or loss of rewards. It is consistent. As a thread throughout all the Bible that salvation is by faith because of God's grace and not because of any works of our own. People believe those things of which evidence persuades them to be true. That is what belief is. It is a conviction based on available evidence that something is in fact true. Belief is not something that that we work up in ourselves by some strength of will. 00:45:31:02 - 00:45:37:05 I mean belief these days or faith gets gets taught so often as if it's like. 00:45:40:02 - 00:46:01:01 Like Luke Skywalker, you know, trying to trying to raise his his fighter out of the marsh. You know, trying to gather up the the ability to do it. It's this invisible force that we we pulled to ourselves. And we. We then send out to do the things of which we want to be done. 00:46:03:25 - 00:46:05:13 Well, a belief is belief. 00:46:08:09 - 00:46:10:11 We don't work it up within ourselves. 00:46:15:04 - 00:46:17:12 We simply believe something is true. 00:46:21:02 - 00:46:23:27 And I think we can all agree that. 00:46:25:23 - 00:46:31:21 When evidence that something is true persuades you, you are then found to be believing it. 00:46:33:11 - 00:46:39:27 And ultimately when the evidence is not sufficient. Then you don't believe it. 00:46:42:05 - 00:47:00:05 Now. When you believe something, you typically will perform actions that equate with that belief. But that's not always completely, completely the case. You will. Well, during the late 70s, early 80s, most kids knew gravity existed, yet you would still find them jumping off the roof with an umbrella. 00:47:02:13 - 00:47:03:05 Test it out. 00:47:04:21 - 00:47:08:24 Yep. Gravity's true. No umbrella doesn't help. 00:47:17:10 - 00:47:22:01 Not the best example. But. But the people who believe in gravity. 00:47:25:19 - 00:48:01:28 Most people believe in gravity, yet we'll find some way to try and subvert or delay the effects of gravity, right? People who live under, under local or federal laws will still break or subvert the laws in various and creative ways, and people who believe God will yet become more concerned with the things of the world than the things of God. The goodness of the good News is, as Jesus said in John five, most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. 00:48:02:00 - 00:48:38:22 The believer will not come into judgment, but has eternal life. But there is a judgment of works that awaits all believers, where believers will be judged for the things done in the body, and that judgment is not under condemnation, but eternal reward or loss of reward. And the eternal destiny of unbelievers, of unbelievers is based on their unbelief and not their works. And the eternal destiny of believers is based on their belief and not their works. Our eternal rewards will be based on what we do in service for Christ in these fallen bodies, not with what we do. 00:48:38:24 - 00:49:10:15 What we'll do in the future in our glorified bodies. So yes, Jesus is still being Israel centric in these verses. He is speaking to his disciples about Israel in the end times. But rewards for faithfulness is also applicable to all believers, whether taken up in the rapture or those who come to faith during the tribulation. While Jesus is away, he expects his servants, that is, believers, to be faithful and wise until he returns. 00:49:11:27 - 00:49:43:21 Now there are more parables that we will need to deal with from Matthew, and we'll do that next Sunday as additional material for our study of the Olivet Discourse in Mark. The next two parables, the parable of the Ten Virgins and the parable of the talents, further illustrate the importance of wisdom and faithfulness in preparing for the coming reign of the King. But this morning we're going to end here. So stick around. We'll have our. And let's pray. Heavenly father, we thank you for this morning. 00:49:43:23 - 00:49:47:16 We thank you for your love and your grace and your mercy. We, um. 00:49:49:06 - 00:49:58:28 Pray that your name would be holy in our our hearts and that, uh, your name would be, uh, exemplified as is holy in our lives. Um. 00:50:01:06 - 00:50:02:17 That we would be. 00:50:04:14 - 00:50:11:00 A light to this world. To show them. Jesus. 00:50:13:28 - 00:50:14:25 Lord. Um. 00:50:16:16 - 00:50:27:21 This is a day and age where I think we all feel a special need, that we lift up and pray for the leaders of of the world. Um. 00:50:31:09 - 00:50:37:21 And Lord, we. We do pray that. Um, the leaders of this world would. Would rule righteously. 00:50:41:11 - 00:51:11:24 And those who refuse to. Rule in a righteous manner that they would be dethroned. They would be removed from office. And that someone who will serve well will be placed in those places. Um. Give us wisdom as we enter into, uh, the times of elections for this nation in particular. Um. 00:51:13:21 - 00:51:20:24 Lord, we lift up those around this world who are suffering so horribly due to wars. 00:51:24:00 - 00:51:26:27 Lord, help us to be slow to anger. 00:51:28:15 - 00:51:30:00 Help us to be compassionate. 00:51:34:09 - 00:51:51:21 Lord, we ask that you would establish us in all good things, and that you would guard our hearts, keep our hands from evil. Protect us from the deceptions of our great enemy, the devil and Lord is even as we endure the trials of each and every day. 00:51:52:22 - 00:51:53:07 Um. 00:51:53:11 - 00:51:56:05 We thank you that you grow us through them. 00:51:58:03 - 00:52:03:02 You lead us through them. We ask you to be glorified in our trials, Lord. 00:52:07:26 - 00:52:11:24 Father. We. Pray for the food that we're about to. 00:52:14:25 - 00:52:46:16 Share together. Lord, we thank you that you have provided this food and you have given us the, um. What's needed to to make the food and, uh, to cook it, and, um. To taste it and to enjoy it. And we thank you for the time of fellowship that we all have as well. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face in his light to shine upon you. May he lift up his countenance upon you and give you his peace, his shalom. In the name of Yeshua Messiah. 00:52:46:18 - 00:52:49:22 This Jesus is Messiah, our Lord and our Savior and everyone. 00:52:52:21 - 00:52:55:11 The object of faith is not the gospel. 00:52:55:13 - 00:52:55:28 My friend, the. 00:52:56:00 - 00:53:29:25 Object of faith is Jesus. Being at peace with God is not automatic because you by nature are separated from God. The Bible says for all of sin and fall short of the glory of God, you and I, we are both sinners. Every person is a sinner and sin. Our sin separates us from God. Sincerity, morality, good works, a religion. These are some of the ways that man has tried to close the gap between himself and God. 00:53:30:14 - 00:54:05:11 Only God's love can close that gap of separation between himself and you. He paid the penalty for the sins of the world. The Bible says He Himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness by his wounds you have been healed. But the good news is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as John the Baptist said, is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 00:54:06:10 - 00:54:38:13 John the Apostle reiterated this in first John two where we read this, and he himself is the propitiation for our sins. And not for hours only. But also for the whole world. Because of this, despite the fact that we are sinners, we are not blocked from God and from his kingdom because of our sin. He has removed the sin barrier so that now we are all savable. 00:54:39:04 - 00:54:44:22 All we need to do to have everlasting life with God. 00:54:46:21 - 00:54:51:00 Life that can never be lost is to believe in Jesus Christ. 00:54:52:16 - 00:55:28:23 As Jesus said in John 316, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus very plainly says, whoever believes in him will not perish, but has everlasting life. Because of the cross and the the resurrection of Jesus, all who simply believe in him have everlasting life and will one day be raised from the dead to live physically forever in perfect, glorified bodies. 00:55:30:00 - 00:55:57:15 I can be absolutely sure that I have everlasting life, because I know it has nothing to do with how good or bad I am, and everything to do with Jesus's faithfulness to his promise. You crossed that bridge into God's family. When you believe in Jesus Christ, and God invites you to believe and freely receive forgiveness of sins and. 00:55:57:17 - 00:56:00:09 Eternal life that can never be lost. 00:56:18:16 - 00:56:54:21 Thank you for listening. Remember to be a doer of the Bible and not just a hearer. That means demonstrating God's love to others as he has so abundantly poured out his love into your life. Most importantly, have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? It's the most important decision you could ever make. Choose your destiny. Don't let the world choose it for you. The Bible says that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Go to Calvary birmingham.com and click on God to learn more about God's plan for your life. 00:56:54:26 - 00:57:08:07 If you prayed to receive Jesus through this program, please let us know. Go to Calvary birmingham.com and select contact. While you're there, please consider sowing into this ministry by selecting donate. 00:57:13:17 - 00:57:19:19 You have been listening to Grace Hope love with Pastor Sean Bumpers and Calvary Chapel Birmingham. 00:57:28:15 - 00:57:35:11 Thank you, my friend, for your fellowship, and may the Lord abundantly pour out his grace. And love into your life.

He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace.” John 2:15–16All four Gospels speak of Jesus' cleansing of the Temple. However, there is a difference between the way this event is portrayed in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) and in the way it is portrayed in John's Gospel. John's Gospel places this event at the very beginning of Jesus' public ministry during the first of His three annual trips to Jerusalem for the Passover. This was His first attempt at cleansing the Temple. Jesus was also less severe in John's version of the story, stating only that the moneychangers had turned His Father's House into a “marketplace.” In the three Synoptic Gospels, this event takes place at the very end of Jesus' public ministry, less than a week before Jesus' death when He returned to Jerusalem for the last time. In those versions, Jesus was more severe, stating that the moneychangers had turned His Father's House into a “den of thieves” and not just a “marketplace.” In commenting upon the differences between John's version and the Synoptics, Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas believe that they are two different occasions when a similar act of cleansing of the Temple took place.The Jewish Temple, at the time of Jesus' public ministry, was the place people traveled to each year for Passover to offer the sacrifice of a spotless lamb in commemoration of the first Passover in Egypt when God set the Jews free from slavery. During this annual celebration, Jewish families who traveled to Jerusalem would purchase a lamb for sacrifice. At the appointed time, they slaughtered the animal in the courtyard of the Temple and then presented it to the priest who gathered some of the blood and sprinkled it on the altar, and then removed the skin, organs and fat to be burned in sacrifice. The meat was returned to the family and roasted on a pomegranate branch so that they could feast on it as they recalled the saving action God granted their ancestors in Egypt. Today, we see the Jewish Temple as a symbol and prefiguration of Christ, the New Temple Who is also the priest and the Lamb of Sacrifice. Recall, also, that at Jesus' death, the veil of the Temple was torn in two, opening it up to the whole world so that all may share in the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God. We are now invited into this Holy of Holies to share in the new life of grace accomplished by His Sacrifice. Since the grace of this Sacrifice of our Lord enters into each and every heart that believes, to cleanse and purify, then every person receiving this grace becomes a new dwelling place of God, a member of His new Temple, the Body of Christ.When Jesus came to the Passover feast and witnessed the buying and selling of these animals in the Temple, He drove them out with much zeal. It was clear that this holy celebration of the Passover had become less of a celebration of faith and more of a marketplace for profit. Jesus' action is also a symbol of the zeal with which He now seeks to cleanse the temple of your soul. At first, when sin and disorder pervade our souls, our Lord may take the approach of a gentle rebuke, as He did in His first cleansing of the Temple in John's Gospel. If we persist in our sins, then our Lord will become more zealous in His cleansing as He was in His final attempt to cleanse the Temple the week before He died.Reflect, today, upon this twofold cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem by our Lord and apply Jesus' sacred actions today to your own soul. Are there new sins that you have fallen into recently that require a gentle rebuke from our Lord? Are there sins that Jesus has been revealing to you for years now that you obstinately persist in? Allow Him to rebuke you in love and to cleanse you so that His saving Sacrifice as the Lamb of God will indeed purify you, and allow His judgment and wrath to “passover” you this Lent.My cleansing Lord, You cleansed the Temple of Jerusalem not once, but twice. Your zeal for its purity of worship was clear. Please come and make my soul Your dwelling place today and cleanse me of all sin. Please help me to especially see any ways that I have remained obstinate in my sin, and please cleanse those sins with much vigor. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Christ Cleansing the Temple, via flickr

John: Jesus is Son of God, believe and find lifeA Survey of the Bible For bulletin in PDF form. click here. Message SlidesJohn Chart - WilsonInterpreting John - Darrell BockOccasion and Purpose of John - Dan WallaceJohn and the Synoptics - Hall HarrisTruth and Significance in John's Gospel - Hall HarrisEverything in the Bible Isn't about Jesus - HeiserContext: Who, Where, When, and Why?• Who composed John?• Who was John's original audience?• When was John written? • Where were John and his readers?• Why was he writing? Content: How and What?• How is John organized? • The Book of Signs (1:1-12:50) - Prologue: The Word Became Flesh (1:1-18) - Signs, Seekers & Salvation (1:19-12:50) • The Book of Glory (13:1-21:25) - Preparations, Promises & Provision (13:1-17:26) • At the Last Supper (13:1-14:31) • On the Way to Gethsemane (15:1-16:33) • Through His High Priestly Prayer (17:1-26) - The Passion of Christ: From Gall to Glory (18:1-20:31) • The Suffering & Death of Jesus (18:1-19:42) • The Resurrection & Glory of Jesus (20:1-29) • The Purpose of the Gospel (20:30-31) - Epilogue: Reunion, Reassurances, Recommission • The Miraculous catch of Fish (21:1-14) • Reinstatement of Peter (21:15-25)• What is the message of John? Conviction: So What?• Where does this fit? - John's Gospel approaches the life of Jesus totally different than the Synoptics. 92% of the material in John is unique to John. - John starts his gospel with a clear declaration of the deity of Christ which parallels the opening chapter of Genesis. - John clearly states his purpose to demonstrate Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, so that people will believe and find life. - John likes to present Jesus in dialogue with others.• What should we believe? - Jesus is the Messiah/Christ-the long-awaited Savior promised in the Old Testament. - Only by having faith in Jesus, receiving his provision of salvation, can a person find eternal life.• How should we behave? - Accept the provision of salvation through Jesus. - Abide in Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit despite opposition. - Share the message of eternal life through Jesus the Messiah with others.Next Steps • Believe that Jesus is the anointed provision of God for salvation. As the Son of God only He can provide eternal life.• Abide in Jesus, staying closely connected to Him as the source of your very life.• Rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you and sustain you through tough times.This Week's Growth GuideGod's Word is both central and critical to your spiritual growth. We invite you to utilize the Growth Guide during the week to further your application of the Truth from the message.•. Monday - John 1:1-18•. Tuesday - John 3:1-21•. Wednesday - John 10:1-42•. Thursday - John 13:1-20•. Friday - John 15:1-17•. Saturday - John 20:1-18•. Sunday - John 21:1-14Home ChurchOur Home Churches meet weekly to facilitate quicker relational depth, study the same passage taught Sunday to help apply Scripture in the context of community, and pray with one another. Home Church helps our body seek God's best for one another. Home Church Questions • What about Ken's presentation of John was most helpful and challenging?• Likely the most well-known verse in Scripture is John 3:16. Have someone in the group quote the verse. Then take the opportunity to let everyone share their conversion and the influences that led up to their belief. (2 minute limit)• John's gospel starts and ends with Jesus's invitation (or mandate) to “follow me” (1:43; 21:19,22). What has been your greatest joy in your journey of following Christ? What is your greatest obstacle?• Read Jesus's illustration of the vine and the branches (15:1-17). There are many truths contained in these powerful words. Which particular truth stands out to you, and why? • Jesus prayed for us as his church in 17:20-26. Read his prayer recorded there. In your experience, how has the unity of the church attracted those outside the church? How has lack of unity repelled outsiders? What can and should you do to preserve the unity Jesus prayed for? • What is your personal take-away from the book of John? What steps can you take in response? FinancesWeekly Budget 32,692Giving For 02/11 97,031Giving For 02/18 18,542YTD Budget 1,111,538Giving 1,218,635 OVER/(UNDER) 107,097 Grill Out and Silent AuctionMark your calendars for Sunday, March 10, 4-6 p.m. for our annual Grill Out + Silent Auction! Bring your whole family for a fun-filled evening with free dinner, games for kids, and an exciting silent auction. All proceeds will support our student mission trips to Mission Arlington and Czech. Child care for 6 and under, please text Shanna at 501-336-0332. The Silent Auction will kick off at 4 PM, followed by a delicious free dinner served at 5:15 PM.New to Fellowship?We are so glad that you chose to worship with our Fellowship Family to worship this morning. If you are joining us for the first time or have been checking us out for a few weeks, we are excited you are here and would love to meet you. Please fill out the “Connect Card” and bring it to the Connection Center in the Atrium, we would love to say “hi” and give you a gift. Father Daughter DanceGuys, enjoy eating dinner with your daughter(s) grades 5-12th, March 2. Then join us at Renewal Ranch from 7-9:30 p.m. for dancing and a night of fun! Downline PreviewAre you interested in deepening your understanding of God's Word and learning how to guide others through it? Join us for the Preview Night on Thursday, February 29th at 6:30 pm at Fellowship Conway, where you'll get a chance to experience the Downline class session led by Tim Lundy, as he teaches from the book of Romans. You'll also have the opportunity to ask Downline staff and alumni questions. To RSVP for the Preview Night, visit downlineconway.com/preview or see us in the Atrium this morning. Crucifixion DinnerJoin us on Good Friday for our annual Crucifixion Dinner, where we remember the high price Jesus paid on our behalf. We invite you to fast during the day as you meditate on the life and death of Jesus leading up to a time of worship and remembrance, breaking the fast with a bowl of chicken broth and bread. Join us March 29 at 6:30 PM in the Auditorium. Child care for 6 years and younger, please text Shanna at 501-336-0332. Men's MusterMen, mark your calendar for our retreat on April 19-21 at Shepherd of the Ozarks. $170 for adults, $85 for ages 14-17. $40 deposit due when registration opens. F101We invite you to join us on Sunday, April 7, at 9:00 a.m. to learn more about Fellowship. This is a great opportunity to hear about our mission, values, and our ministries. If you're new to Fellowship, join us in the conference room (first floor) to hear what God is doing and where He is taking us. During this time, you will meet some of our ministry leaders and get to ask questions. Register at fellowshipconway.org/register.

Mark 1 - 1:08 . Mark 2 - 8:01 . Mark 3 - 13:04 . Mark 4 - 18:13 . Psalm 17 - 24:59 . The gospel of Mark is one of the three synoptic gospels, “Synoptic” basically means “seeing the same thing,” the other two of which are Matthew and Luke.  Historical evidence from early church fathers affirms that the apostle Peter is the one who passed these reports on to his attendant and writer, John Mark. Mark's gospel is the shortest, but the most action-packed, as he includes a number of accounts and moves quickly from one scene to the next. connecting his stories with phrases like “immediately,” “just then” and “as soon as.” We also get a sense for how hectic life must have been for Jesus, as crowds push in around him demanding more and more of His time. :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

John 20:19-23 (ESV)Andrew and Edwin consider Jesus's commission of the apostles in John's gospel and His commission of us today.Read the written devo that goes along with this episode by clicking here.    Let us know what you are learning or any questions you have. Email us at TextTalk@ChristiansMeetHere.org.    Join the Facebook community and join the conversation by clicking here. We'd love to meet you. Be a guest among the Christians who meet on Livingston Avenue. Click here to find out more. Michael Eldridge sang all four parts of our theme song. Find more from him by clicking here.   Thanks for talking about the text with us today.________________________________________________If the hyperlinks do not work, copy the following addresses and paste them into the URL bar of your web browser: Daily Written Devo: https://readthebiblemakedisciples.wordpress.com/?p=15284The Christians Who Meet on Livingston Avenue: http://www.christiansmeethere.org/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TalkAboutTheTextFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/texttalkMichael Eldridge: https://acapeldridge.com/ 

BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY completes its survey of the Gospel of John, having demonstrated that the author of John borrowed wholesale from the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke to construct his narrative.In this episode, host Christ Palmero covers the final section of John, which deals with Jesus' arrest, trials, crucifixion, and burial. In examining the author's use of traditional setpieces like the Anointing at Bethany, the Entry into Jerusalem, the Division of Garments, the Two Malefactors, and the Vinegar Sponge, we demonstrate beyond any doubt that John's Gospel is a derivative work.Anyone who listens to this episode of BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY can learn about who wrote the Gospel of John; whether Justin Martyr was aware of the Gospel of John; why Christian theologians shouldn't use irreverent humor; and the meaning of the mysterious word "Pavement" that the author uses. Opening reading: Philip K. Dick's short story about a failed-time travel experiment helps demonstrate how the Jesus of John, like the proverbial pearl swept up in the currents, is doomed to suffer the same fate as his Synoptic counterpart.Support the showPatreon: www.patreon.com/borninthesecondcenturyWebsite: facebook.com/BornInTheSecondCenturyE-mail: secondcenturypodcast@gmail.comMusic: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, SoundCloud

In this episode, Spencer and Jack observe the differences present within various narratives in the synoptic gospels, talk about why we shouldn't try to harmonize them and offer a better way of reading through them. Music: "Kid Kodi" Blue Dot Sessions www.sessions.blue

In this episode, Spencer and Jack observe the differences within various narratives in the synoptic gospels, discuss why we shouldn't try to harmonize them, and offer a better way of reading through them. Music: "Kid Kodi" Blue Dot Sessions www.sessions.blue

Episode 178: Can We (and Should we) Harmonize Synoptic Texts (John 2)? Does Jesus cleanse the temple twice? How do we navigate seemingly conflicting accounts of the same event in the Bible? While harmonization may be a necessary step in understanding how the Bible provides "a window" into history, it can also distract us from seeing "the portrait" painted by each particular text. The faculty discuss the tension involved in this dynamic and how these issues ultimately reinforce the trustworthiness of God's word. EPISODE LINKS Gaffin, *Word and Spirit*: https://www.amazon.com/Word-Spirit-Selected-Writings-Systematic/dp/1955859019/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=word+and+spirit+gaffin&qid=1702665183&sr=8-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840 More about RTS: rts.edu/campuses/washington-dc/ Donate: give2rtsdc.com/

Questions Covered: 02:28 – What was the thorn in Paul's side? 06:48 – When I cited John 20: 21-23 as clear evidence for sacramental confession, a protestant made a claim that the power granted by Christ in those passages died with the apostles. 13:10 – At Pentecost, tongues of fire rested on those present, and they spoke in foreign languages (foreign tongues). Is this a play on words? In other languages, especially in Greek, is the word for an anatomical tongue, the same as the word for a slice of fire? Even without a play on words, the coming (from unknown source) of fire often signified the presence of God, so the point of the phenomenon doesn't rely on the (at least in English) play on words. Does it? 16:07 – My husband died in June of brain cancer 5 months after diagnosis. So many good people keep telling me that “he's in a better place.” Why do they say that when it should be obvious that he should be with me? I understand that we can't know for certain where a soul goes after death. How do I respond to this? It makes me angry at how easily people toss that cliché out to a woman who is grieving the death of her husband. 22:04 – Does the Church have a preferred stance on Darwinism vs Lamarckism? 33:36 – The Bible IS a Catholic book. Right. Besides dropping the Deuterocanonical Books, have Protestants in the English-speaking world “mistranslated” words? Like the word Tradition which, in Spanish versions is translated as tradition when is in a negative sense (tradition of men) and teaching when it's favorable. Is there any in English? 40:25 – Jimmy Buffett’s song Coastal Confessions has a line “Bless me father for I have sinned, given the chance I’ll probably do it again.” Would this make the confession null since it seems Jimmy hasn’t fully repented or is it just honestly/humility? 46:00 – Where did your Mexican serape blanket that you drape over your chair come from? 50:44 – What do you think about the Gospel of the Hebrews? Later patchwork of reworked quotes from the Synoptics? Something contemporary with the Synoptics? A Hebrew version of Matthew? Could it ever be rediscovered? …

Scripture Reading: Acts 2:37 - 2:47 37 Now when they heard this, they were acutely distressed and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “What should we do, brothers?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.” 40 With many other words he testified and exhorted them saying, “Save yourselves from this perverse generation!” 41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added.42 They were devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Reverential awe came over everyone, and many wonders and miraculous signs came about by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and held everything in common, 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and distributing the proceeds to everyone, as anyone had need. 46 Every day they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, breaking bread from house to house, sharing their food with glad and humble hearts, 47 praising God and having the good will of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day those who were being saved.Main ThemesTHE RESPONSERepentanceThe crowd is persuaded by Peter. Contrite over killing their own graciously God-given king, the crowd asks what to do. Peter summons them to repentance, as in the prophets, and to call on Jesus' name in a baptism involving such repentance. God's promise to them is the Holy Spirit. The biblical prophets summoned Israel to “turn” or “return” to the Lord. Similarly, in Acts 2 individuals need to turn from wickedness to righteousness, that is, change their lifestyle. Early Judaism heavily emphasized the value of repentance.The crowd is described as having a deep emotional response to Peter's message (“struck to the heart”), producing a favorable behavioral response. We need not assume exaggeration on Luke's part. He provides two other occasions where, by contrast, the emotional response provoked deadly hostility (Acts 5:33; 7:54). I think that we are so used to our current Christian world, we simply assume that joining a religious movement involves repentance. This was not the case at the time (and it is not the case today with many non-Abrahamic religions). Gentiles did not speak much of moral repentance in light of religion. Joining a new mystery cult simply supplemented one's previous religious experience.Because God's “kingdom” was his reign, those who turned to embrace his reign were accepting a new king. Genuine faith in Jesus as Lord requires acknowledgment of his lordship and beginning to adjust to its practical demands.BaptismJust as John the Baptist preached a baptism symbolizing repentance, so now does Peter. Jewish people traditionally applied immersion baptism only to Gentiles (more on this later). Peter here demands a conversion no less radical than that of a Gentile converting to Judaism, but from members of his own people who must likewise turn to Israel's God and the divinely appointed king, Jesus. After reading this passage in acts, we might ask: Is forgiveness tied to baptism or repentance? Are both required? “Forgiveness of sins” is explicitly associated especially with repentance in Acts and in Luke. Most importantly, Jesus' final command to the disciples in the Gospel of Luke was that of preaching repentance.Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it stands written that the Christ would suffer and would rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And look, I am sending you what my Father promised. But stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:45-49One could debate to what extent forgiveness of sins is also associated with baptism (i.e., the act of baptism itself as distinct from repentance). Some of the arguments are based on the grammar of the text we just read. Those arguments are complex and, frankly, beyond me. Besides, grammar alone is hardly dispositive of the issue. If we surveyed texts in Luke and Acts relating to forgiveness, we would find that forgiveness is more often associated with repentance than baptism, and repentance is never missing when baptism is mentioned with forgiveness of sins. Nevertheless, we cannot ignore the fact that for Luke baptism is not dissociated from repentance. At least under normal circumstances, one does not separate the two.As I remarked above, we live in such a Christianized age, we are not surprised by facts that ought to surprise us. The fact that Jesus' followers used baptism as the initiation rite is actually quite unexpected. Ritual lustrations were common throughout the ancient world. Various temples had their own rules mandating ritual purity. The early Jewish practice of ritual washings was widespread long before the time of the Jesus movement. Christian baptism seems a bit different, though. John's baptism in the Synoptic tradition was initiatory and eschatological, a baptism of repentance in light of the coming kingdom of God. The Qumran community practiced initiatory baptism, but unlike for early Christians, the initial baptism at Qumran was apparently viewed only as the first among many. The closest Jewish parallel to John the Baptist's and early Christian baptism was proselyte baptism, a specific and extremely potent form of ritual purification. Proselyte baptism provided a clear, symbolic line of demarcation between a proselyte's Gentile past and Jewish present, much like the baptism suggested in Acts.In Jesus NamePeter calls his audience to be baptized in Jesus' name. Jewish people were known for “calling on the Lord's name,” and the more specific application to Jesus would be striking. (Again, this reveals a high Christology.) But what does the phrase mean? Baptism “in Jesus's name” distinguishes this baptism from other Jewish immersion practices noted above, with respect to its object. That is, it clarifies the convert's new allegiance.We should also note that for Luke, baptism in Jesus's name does not involve a ritual formula uttered over an initiate but the new believer's calling on the name of Jesus. In Luke's writings, the verb to baptize (βαίτίζω) appears in both passive and active forms. However, in the formula “in the name of Jesus,” it appears only with passive uses of the verb. Put simply, I do not baptize you, you are baptized. This indicates that the formula has to do with receiving rather than giving. This is not to argue that early Christians would not have cared who supervised baptisms. The Promise of the SpiritLuke recalls earlier teachings about the Spirit through his terms “gift” and “promise.” By noting that the promise is for others, he makes the proper response for the present crowd (namely, repentance and baptism in Jesus's name) and the gift of the Spirit paradigmatic for all subsequent believers. By alluding to “far-off” Gentiles by way of Isaiah's language, Luke also reiterates the promise of the Spirit for the Gentile mission. By concluding that the gift was available to “as many as God calls,” Luke clearly echoes the end of Joel 2:32, completing the quotation interrupted in Acts 2:21.It will so happen thateveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered.For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who survive,just as the Lord has promised;the remnant will be those whom the Lord will call.SUMMARY AND EXHORTATIONVerse 2:40 (“[w]ith many other words he testified”) probably means that Luke skips through many supplementary proofs and arguments provided by Peter. Instead, Luke's narrative moves quickly to the final exhortation and emotional appeal: “Save yourselves!” This restates briefly the speech's central idea. The immediate referent of “save” here is Joel's prophecy in Acts 2:21: whoever calls on the Lord's name will be saved. Therefore this salvation at least includes deliverance from God's eschatological wrath and destruction, available through Christ. For Peter's hearers to save themselves from the generation's wickedness was not, as some later Gentile Christian interpreters would have it, a summons to leave Israel and their Jewishness; rather, it was a summons to leave their rebellion against God, like a repeated prophetic summons to Israel in the Old Testament.Peter's term γενεά (genea) means here a temporal “generation,” not (as some would interpret it) “race” (γένος). By calling the generation crooked here, Peter is appealing to the Old Testament, particularly Deuteronomy 32:5. Peter's point is an exhortation not to harden their hearts as their ancestors did in the wilderness.Peter thus continues the preaching tradition followed by John the Baptist, underlining the continuity of salvation history and of the saving message.3,000We discussed baptism earlier, so I will not discuss the religious significance of 3,000 people being baptized. Nevertheless, we should briefly consider the mechanics of this. Could so many people even be baptized in a day? (The text could easily be understood to mean that 3,000 came to believe in Jesus, regardless of whether the actual baptisms would have taken several days to perform. But let's assume the harder, albeit simpler reading of the text.) To accommodate the thousands of worshipers the temple hosted daily, the Temple Mount had plenty of baptismal pools. Even the Roman historian Tacitus was familiar with the claim that the temple held many pools.“Baptizing” in this period involved mainly supervision while the people coming for purification immersed themselves. Like John the Baptist, the disciples could have supervised mass baptisms, without having to physically lay hands on each person. Once verbal instructions were issued, mass immersions in response to Peter's command could have occurred.One more question: is 3,000 converts in one day a believable number? At feast times such as Pentecost, Jerusalem could host as many as half a million people, with an estimated thirty thousand from the Diaspora. The Temple Mount was large enough to hold tens of thousands at one time, perhaps up to four hundred thousand (according to some of the larger estimates). Even if some of these estimates are too high (although they might be correct), thousands of hearers and a rapid mass movement of three thousand conversions are not at all implausible.Another reason to believe Luke's account of converts is that Luke seems quite honest about audiences' reactions to hearing the gospel. After each sermon in Acts, Luke reports people's acceptance or rejection (2:41; 4:4; 5:33; 7:54; 8:6, 36;10:44; 13:44, 48-50; 17:32; 22:22; 28:24, 29). Reporting rejections does not seem to fit a false narrative of ineffable success.The First ChurchVerse 42 begins a summary section describing the Jerusalem community of disciples, or what I may refer to as the first church. Before we discuss whether this first church is meant as a model for the rest of us, let's just focus on the text. What is the community engaged in? Prayer, learning from the apostles, signs, eating together, and sharing of possessions. Let's discuss these in further detail.SummariesAs a quick side note, what do I mean by a summary section? Speaking of situations in broad terms (i.e., summarizing) is typical of ancient historiographical works that were based on research and the use of sources. In other words, here Luke condenses a wider collection of information than he can afford space to narrate.The Ideal CommunityIn the ancient world, just like today, tales and dreams of ideal communities that shared all possessions were not unusual. The language employed by Luke is reminiscent of Hellenistic language for the ideal community. However, Luke and his audience are probably not thinking of Gentile sources. Instead, there is a nearly unmistakable connection between this first church and the Old and New Testament emphases on caring for the poor. For example, recall a passage like Deuteronomy 15:7-11:If a fellow Israelite from one of your villages in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive to his impoverished condition. Instead, you must be sure to open your hand to him and generously lend him whatever he needs. Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite and you do not lend him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be regarded as having sinned. You must by all means lend to him and not be upset by doing it, for because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you attempt. There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open your hand to your fellow Israelites who are needy and poor in your land. Deuteronomy 15:7-11Consider also the following verses in Deuteronomy:One must not take either lower or upper millstones as security on a loan, for that is like taking a life itself as security. Deuteronomy 24:6When you make any kind of loan to your neighbor, you may not go into his house to claim what he is offering as security. You must stand outside and the person to whom you are making the loan will bring out to you what he is offering as security. If the person is poor you may not use what he gives you as security for a covering. You must by all means return to him at sunset the item he gave you as security so that he may sleep in his outer garment and bless you for it; it will be considered a just deed by the Lord your God.You must not oppress a lowly and poor servant, whether one from among your fellow Israelites or from the resident foreigners who are living in your land and villages. You must pay his wage that very day before the sun sets, for he is poor and his life depends on it. Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin. Deuteronomy 24:10-15There are countless verses about helping the poor in the Psalms. Broadly speaking, the psalmists express the idea that the one who helps the poor will be blessed (e.g., Psalm 41:1-2). Jesus spoke repeatedly about helping the poor and about their blessings to come.So, this first church is surprising and unsurprising. Surprisingly, it describes a nearly unbelievable setting filled with love and generosity. Unsurprisingly, this has been the goal Moses, the Prophets, and Jesus spoke about. One could hardly expect otherwise.If one believes that Pentecost was a sort of reversal of the curse at Babel, then the church's unity in these verses builds upon that reversal. TeachingThe apostles' teaching provides a crucially important link to Jesus' ministry. The early church devoted itself to the apostles' teachings, which is to say they devoted themselves to Jesus' teachings passed on by the apostles. Luke is emphasizing the continuity between the mission of Jesus and his church.What might this teaching have looked like? Moral teaching was not unusual in the ancient world. For example, we could picture the lectures in a philosophic schools. However, considering the Jewish background of the apostles and other (approximately 120) Jesus' followers that received the Spirit during the Pentecost miracle, the teaching probably looked like the Midrashic exposition familiar in the synagogues. Or, put even more simply, it would have looked like Peter's speech: lessons and admonitions expanding on scriptures.Fellowship (Koinōnia)The first church engaged in “fellowship,” the Greek word being koinōnia (κοινωνία). I mention this bit of Greek trivia because the Greek word often appears in churches and Christian college campuses to describe events and meeting places. It has become part of the modern Christian lingo. The word means exactly that, a partnership, community, or “sharing in” something. The term can refer to the sort of harmony created by shared purpose and working together. In a commercial context, the word could mean sharing profits.In light of early Christian teaching, much like sharing possessions, fellowship is not a surprising fruit of Pentecost. Remember what we read in the Gospel of John when Jesus prays for the believers:“I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony, that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. The glory you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one—I in them and you in me—that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me. John 17:20-23In verse 46, we read the believers met by common consent. The term translated as such is rare (appearing nowhere else in the New Testament or Septuagint). Although I do not want to read too much into it, I think it does show a strong form of unity.Breaking BreadIn the text, breaking bread and fellowship are side by side, giving the impression that fellowship included sharing meals. We may surmise that these common meals were at the expense of those who were sharing their possessions—those who could afford the food. More importantly, what do we mean by breaking bread? Certainly our modern experiences with the Eucharist or Lord's Supper (the wording will change depending on the Christian tradition) affects how we read this passage. We should, however, keep in mind that, as the most basic staple, “bread” could easily stand for food in general. The passage is probably conveying the idea of eating together, not exclusively the breaking of literal bread. Recall the original Lord's Supper (Luke 22), in which bread and wine were shared, but just like they were shared at other meals. They were notable components in a meal involving many other components. If anything, the bread and wine were special in the fact that they were not—they were the most basic and always-present elements of Jewish meals.One could read the text to say that the early Christians were simply taking bread together, like the sacrament with which we are so familiar. That is not the most likely reading. (I am not trying to make a broader point about the sacraments. I am simply trying to clarify what the text means.)As we read this text, we should remember that a host who shared a meal with guests was thought to have formed a bond of relationship that was not taken lightly. Providing food and partaking of what was provided were important social obligations. To eat with someone was, at least to some extent, to befriend them. Considering that this early church was made up of people from all over the known world, and rich and poor, this sharing of meals was nothing short of revolutionary.Prayer and WorshipPrayer was the prelude to Pentecost, but it did not stop there. At the end of chapter 2, we see that prayer is a continuing part of the Christian community life.On a related note, we find that they praise God together. The word Luke uses for praise is found many times in the Septuagint. It is almost always associated with praise carried out in the temple. Consider, for example:They brought the ark of God and put it in the middle of the tent David had pitched for it. Then they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God. When David finished offering burnt sacrifices and peace offerings, he pronounced a blessing over the people in the Lord's name. He then handed out to each Israelite man and woman a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake. He appointed some of the Levites to serve before the ark of the Lord, to offer prayers, songs of thanks, and hymns to the Lord God of Israel. 1 Chronicles 16:1-4What did that early worship look like? Again, considering the background of most of the people involved, it probably looked like (not necessarily the same as) the Jewish liturgy and reading of the Psalms. Nevertheless, early Christians would have rejected the idea that the Jewish liturgy in the temple was the required or even best way to pray and worship.SignsIn verse 43, we have one of many miracle summaries in Acts (e.g., 5:12; 8:7; 19:11-12; 28:9). We are also told how people reacted. “Reverential awe came over everyone . . . .” In the Greek, the imperfect tense is used. Awe (or fear) was coming over everyone. This suggests a continued phenomenon rather than a one time event.What is this “awe” or, literally, “fear” that they felt? The text suggests a newfound attitude of paying attention to God, his work, his commandments, and his very person (i.e., who he is).Meeting at the TempleUndeniably, homes became the dominant meeting places for Christians. Yet, notice that in this first church, they meet both in the temple and in homes. Some suggest that Christians used public meeting places to evangelize, but houses to disciple the converts. That very well could be the case, but in the case of Acts 2, worshipping at the Temple does not seem like a tactic. Instead, at this point, the temple serves a positive function—it right and proper to worship at the temple. The revival of spiritual temple worship here would evoke for Luke's biblically informed audience grand precedents. In the Old Testament, renewal of temple or tabernacle worship accompanied revivals in Israel's history. The early Christians thus had good reason to expect (and experience) a renewal of temple worship, whether or not the authorities saw fit to cooperate with their agenda. (Many Jewish people expected a new or renewed temple in this period.)Lessons for TodayI am going to do something a little unusual for this Bible study. Generally, I try to stay close to the text—focusing on the cultural and linguistic issues. My goal is to explain what the text really says—what it meant to the author and original audience. The implications of the text, particularly for our lives, I touch on lightly and briefly. As some have let me know (and there is nothing wrong with that), this has the effect of hiding the forest for the trees. I spend much of the time discussing details like grammar, and I never get to the “good stuff.”Well, today, I do want to pause for a brief moment and consider some questions. In particular, I have three in mind. First, does charity matter? Second, should we preach like “Acts 2 Peter”? Third, should our churches resemble the “Acts 2 church”?Does Charity Matter?I do not wish to repeat myself, but the Old Testament and Jesus' ministry have a heavy emphasis on charity. Helping the poor is part of the Jewish law. The Psalms say that helping the poor will result in blessings. Jesus says that helping the poor will result in exaltation.Then when Jesus noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. He said to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor because a person more distinguished than you may have been invited by your host. So the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your place.' Then, ashamed, you will begin to move to the least important place. But when you are invited, go and take the least important place, so that when your host approaches he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up here to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all who share the meal with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, don't invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors so you can be invited by them in return and get repaid. But when you host an elaborate meal, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then you will be blessed because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Luke 14:7-14It is this Bible-wide emphasis on caring for the poor that climaxes in the depiction of the first church. And, I think the undeniable truth is that this emphasis on the poor has been crucial for the vitality and expansion of the church. Listen how Craig Keener describes how early thinkers, Christian and pagan alike, noticed the early church's attitude towards the poor:Justin claims that former pagans, converted to Christianity, continue to share their resources in common and with the needy (Justin 1 Apol. 14). In the late second century, Tertullian remarks wittily that Christians readily share everything in common except their wives—the one thing, he complains, pagans were most willing to share (Tert. Apol. 39.11– 12). In antithetical contrast to the apologists' idealized portraits, Lucian ridicules worshipers of “the crucified sophist” as despising “all things indiscriminately” and reckoning everything as “common property,” hence easily cheated. Celsus critiqued Christians for their effective appeal to “the socially objectionable classes” as well as to “the unhappy and sinful.” Other sources also attest to Christians' continuing commitment to share their resources in the second century and beyond.In short, I think charity is both a means of blessing in this life (I mean for the giver, not the recipient) and one of the primary means by which we show the kingdom of God in this world. Regarding blessings, allow me to make a wildly inflammatory statement: the answer to many of our personal problems is a lack of charity. Are you experiencing depression? Go help the poor. Are you having trouble with your wife? Go help the poor. Are you dissatisfied with your job? Go help the poor. No, I am not saying that helping the poor will make your problems go away, but I am saying that helping the poor will provide you with a certain perspective and patience that will help solve them. Charity is simply that crucial and life-changing. And, do we want our churches to be lively and vibrant? We must help and welcome the poor. What are the limits to charity? Yes, a line must be drawn. My suggestion is we discuss that once we think we are getting close to the line.Should We Preach Like Acts 2 Peter?In Acts 2, Peter makes a perfect presentation of what we generally call “the gospel.” Peter stood up and told them (paraphrased), “Listen! The scriptures spoke of a day when the Spirit of God would be poured out on all people. As you can see and hear (because of the Pentecost miracle), that day is today. That also means that the end is near, call on the name of the Lord and you will be saved. Who is the Lord? Jesus. How do we know? He did miracles among you. Also, you killed him using dirty tactics but God raised him from the dead. The scriptures spoke of one who would not see decay—that's Jesus! The scriptures also spoke of a king who would reign forever, who would be exalted. That's Jesus! He has been taken up to heaven as King and Savior. He will not lose. Save yourselves! Repent!”Obviously, I do not disagree with Peter one bit. My question is not whether Peter is right. I believe he speaks of true things. My question is whether we should present that truth the same way, and whether his argument would be compelling today.If you are thinking I am about to start a discussion about how sensitive people are today, and how offended they would be by Peter's speech, do not worry. I am not convinced people have ever been different (e.g., more or less sensitive), but be that as it may, I am more interested in the argument itself.Peter's argument depends partly on the audience's personal experience with Jesus. It depends much more, though, on scripture that the audience believes to be true. Peter does not even need to argue that scripture is truthful.Would we find a similar audience today? In my opinion, yes and no. In the United States, we live in a time of great apostasy (or at least of many people leaving the churches). People are leaving the Christian faith by the hundreds of thousands. In 2007, religious “nones” were only about 16%. Now that number has nearly doubled (29%). Perhaps many of these people still believe the Bible to be true, much like Peter's audience, and we can call them back to God based on that. But about a third of Americans (coincidentally, also 29%) believe that the Bible is simply fables. What then?I have two suggestions. First, like we will read of Paul preaching in Athens, we must meet them where they (the audience) are. We must explain why the gospel is true and good. Second, and this will lead into my question of the early church, we must help them experience Jesus. How? The church is the body of Christ. I think that unbelievers should truly encounter Jesus in the community of his followers.Should our churches resemble the “Acts 2 church”?Why do I ask this question? Partly because many churches claim to be Acts 2 churches. This is particularly common with nondenominational churches (this is not an attack, simply a statement of fact), but even some more traditional, denominational churches advocate for this.We must begin by asking what do we mean by an Acts 2 church. Here are some answers I found to get us started:Their Four KeysThe church in Acts 2 has four priorities: studying good teaching, hanging out, sharing meals, and praying (verse 42). That's a great start, but many churches today don't even do that, not really.Their MiraclesAmazing supernatural things occur. People are amazed (verse 43). Today, most churches don't encounter miracles or anything supernatural. They forgot how or never learned. And for many who do walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, their focus is on the experience, not on people's reaction. Their emphasis is backwards. The purpose of “signs and wonders” isn't to gratify themselves. It's to show God's power, pointing outsiders to him, not delighting insiders.Their FinancesThe kicker is that they pool their resources; they even sell their possessions to give to everyone in need. The church takes care of their own (verses 44 and 45). Too many churches today do not even care for the needs of their members; they expect government or some other organization to. And I've never encountered a church that shares all their material possessions. That's just un-American!Their PatternThey continue to hang out—every day—and share food. They are delighted (verse 46). I don't know of any church family that meets every day, but the Acts 2 church did.Their ResultsBecause of all this, others esteem them and they grow (verse 47). Too often today's churches don't have the respect of society but quite the opposite. Too many churches aren't growing; they're not even maintaining; they're dying. However, none of the things the church did in Acts 2 are commands for us to follow. The passage is descriptive; it shows what the church did and the outcome they enjoyed. It may be a viable model for us to follow.Unfortunately, many churches today don't even practice these four key actions; supernatural results are rare; and sharing everything is virtually nonexistent. Is it any wonder why churches aren't respected by society or growing? Perhaps they're doing church wrong and not more closely following the Acts 2 model.—Peter DehaanBeing an Acts 2 Church in the 21st CenturySome churches are known for their music programs, others for their children or youth ministries, while yet others for some sort of “niche” that appeals to a large audience. While all such ministries can be good and helpful for both reaching your community and encouraging the church, it's interesting to look back at what the first church devoted themselves to. In Acts 2, after Peter's Jewish audience heard the gospel proclaimed, they responded with repentance and faith, were incorporated into the church through baptism, and they devoted themselves to a common faith and a common life.It's no accident that the first devotion mentioned was to the apostles' teaching. We too should be devoted to the apostles' teaching. But what is their teaching? In Acts 2:22-26, Peter preaches the good news concerning Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and exaltation as Lord and King. In Acts 4, Peter and John annoy the Jewish leaders because they were “teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead” (v.2). Then the Jewish leaders charged them not “to teach at all in the name of Jesus” (v.18). Then in Acts 5, the apostles' teaching is referred to as “the words of life” (v.20-21). But again, the Jewish leaders “strictly charged them not to teach in this name” (v.28). Nevertheless, after they were released, Luke says of the apostles:And every day in the temple and from house to house they did not cease teaching and preaching that Jesus is the Christ. (v.42)I trust you get the idea of what the apostles' teaching entails.Still, there is a little more going on in Acts 2:42 then first meets the eye. You see, faithful Jews were to be devoted to Moses' teaching. By devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching, the early church understood that they were under a new authority—King Jesus, the new and better prophet than Moses. The apostles' teaching is nothing other than all of Scripture, now interpreted through the lens of Jesus. This is, after all, how Jesus himself viewed all of Scripture (Luke 24:44-49). All Scripture is inspired by God and points to Jesus.For this reason, we should want what we do together as a church to be Word-saturated (all of Scripture) and gospel-centered (interpreted through the lens of Jesus). In light of this gospel commitment, here are four areas in which we should encourage our church to be devoted to the apostles' teaching.Personal DevotionsIf our churches are to be devoted to the apostles' teaching, then our members need to be personally devoted to the apostles' teaching. . . .Sunday SchoolYour church may or may not have Sunday school. At High Pointe, we call it Life Classes, and we offer topic specific classes. . . .Small GroupsPerhaps your church has small groups that meet throughout the week. These groups should also be Word-saturated and gospel-centered. . . .Worship GatheringsIt is a great joy when God's people gather to declare our joint allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. . . . .—LifewayChurch As It Was Meant To BeIn many respects, the contemporary church in America looks more like a large corporation than like anything described in the New Testament. Even church leaders sometimes bear a closer resemblance to CEOs and corporate executives than to humble, tender shepherds. Sadly, the good news — that a sinner can find forgiveness for sins before a holy God by placing his trust in and committing his whole life to Jesus Christ—is often eclipsed by “success”-oriented programs and an interest in the bottom line. As a result, many churches have become nothing more than entertainment centers, employing tactics that effectively draw people into the church, but are incapable of truly ministering to them once they come. …So, what's the blueprint? A logical place to start is at the beginning with the first church—the church at Jerusalem. It began on the Day of Pentecost . . . . Back to the Blueprint: Bible Study, Fellowship, and PrayerActs 2:42 gives the blueprint they followed: “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Those are the vital elements that make up the actual function and life of the church— and all of that in just one verse! Here's an obvious starting point: A church built to the Master's plan will begin with the right raw material—a saved congregation. Verse 41 identifies the church as being made up of “those who had received [Peter's] word,” and “were continually devoting themselves.” The church at Jerusalem was filled with true Christians — those who continually adhered to apostolic teaching.…While the early church didn't have a New Testament, they had God's Word in the form of the “apostles' teaching.” The church at Jerusalem was committed to receiving that Word. Doctrine is the basis of the church—you can't live out what you don't know or understand. . . . Don't ever allow anyone to stand in the pulpit who isn't committed to leading the congregation through a deep, penetrating study of God's Word. The central focus of the early church's fellowship was the breaking of bread — the Lord's Table. It was the most fitting symbol of their fellowship since it reminded them of the basis for their unity—salvation in Christ and adherence to apostolic doctrine. . . .We eat and drink in remembrance of Christ's self-sacrificing love that took Him to the cross. In your fellowship, make it your habit to practice the same kind of love Christ demonstrated toward you. Practically speaking, you can always give your life to those God brings across your path. Do you habitually pray for fellow believers? Are you encouraging them, edifying them, meeting their physical needs? Do you love them enough to confront them when they are sinning? Those are the marks of true Christian fellowship. It is church as it was meant to be. Acts 2:42 says the believers continually devoted themselves to prayer. Sadly, the same devotion to prayer is often neglected today. Churches can pack pews by offering entertainment, but when a prayer meeting is held, only a faithful few trickle in. . . .Built to Scale: Wonder, Love, and JoyWhat happens when true believers remain under biblical teaching, in a spiritual fellowship, and in devotion to prayer? Acts 2:43 says, “Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe.” “Awe,” the Greek word for fear, speaks of a sense of reverence. It is reserved for special times when people are struck with wonder because of something divine or powerful that defies human explanation. Your church ought to be able to instill awe in your community. . . .—Grace to YouI think we can pick up on a couple of things. First, everyone picks and chooses. Some emphasize signs, some leave them out. (Of course, there are theological reasons for this.) In the second example I quoted, we see a nearly exclusive emphasis on learning—on words. Is that what we see in Acts 2?The community of believers in Acts 2 is the culmination of the salvation story, at least in this life. It has learning but it has has doing; it has giving and receiving; it has love and generosity. Whatever we decide we should carry forward to today's church, I think we cannot forget that the first church was like family.

Join the conversation as Matt and John record in advance and we talk sports, synoptics vs John's gospel, and Rollie Fingers    0:00- intro 8:30- sports 13:40- synoptics and John 35:55- this day in sports 40:53- one thing

We begin a multi-part exploration on whether the author of John's Gospel was aware of the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke. In presenting evidence that the Gospel of John does not draw from independent oral tradition, but from the prior Gospels, host Christ Palmero will establish that John is not a reliable witness for Jesus' ministry. John should be seen not as the weird younger brother of the Synoptics, but as the semi-respectable older brother of the early Apocryphal Gospels now extant, like those of Peter and Philip.Opening segment: a new discovery announced in August of 2023 threatens all that this podcast stands for.Anyone who listens to this episode of BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY can learn about whether John knew the name of Jesus' mother; Peter's hometown; why John doesn't bother to list out the Twelve Disciples; whether John knew Aramaic; why John moved the Temple Cleansing story to the beginning of his Gospel; whether John knew that Jesus was an exorcist; the specific reason why so many are so strongly convinced that Jesus was a historical figure; ; the danger of New Testament AIs; and a new variant reading of the famous John 3:16.Support the showPatreon: www.patreon.com/borninthesecondcenturyWebsite: facebook.com/BornInTheSecondCenturyE-mail: secondcenturypodcast@gmail.comMusic: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, SoundCloud

While the Gospel of John tells us, the readers, straight up what we're meant to believe about Jesus, the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) tend to communicate these things indirectly. Dr. Darrell Bock isolates a few good illustrations of this method. Prof. Bock is Executive Director of Cultural Engagement and Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. His manypublications include Luke (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) and Studying the Historical Jesus: A Guide to Sources and Methods. He also hosts the seminary's Table Podcasts. We have heard from him before in the Exegetically Speaking podcast series. Learn about related programs at Wheaton: BA in Classical Languages > MA in Biblical Exegesis >

Pope Benedict XVI said, "The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness." We're going to explore just that in this episode as we read the story of the Rich young Man, which is a hinge story in the gospel. One of the big important turning points in the gospel. And we'll even touch base with Ted Turner before it's done. So stick around for that. We're reading from the Gospel of Mark. This particular gospel is one of the ones that shows up in all three Synoptic gospels. It's in Matthew. It's in Luke with slight variations, some of which will note. But we're going to go back to our old friend Mark to read the story of the rich man. The Extraordinary Story is a podcast about the life of Jesus Christ, who entered the maze of our world to give us his Cross as a ladder up and out. The Extraordinary Story is produced by Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, and is written and hosted by Tom Hoopes.

How do we know what we're told about Jesus is true? Wasn't the New Testament written hundreds of years after He lived? How do we know it isn't just legends about a good teacher? And why did some books get included and others didn't? In addition to that, from the start, John the Baptist and Jesus both talked about the importance of the Kingdom of God—that with Jesus the Kingdom was now present. The whole idea of the Kingdom can be challenging to understand and though we won't attempt to explain it totally, we will discuss it, what it meant then and what it means now to us in this lesson. The questions we started with and more we'll answer in our podcast. To download notes from the lesson: https://wp.me/pazrJD-Vi --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yvon-prehn8/support

Jesus laid down His life according to His Father's sovereign appointment to redeem the elect. Today, Steven Lawson points to the doctrines of sovereign election and definite atonement in the teaching of Christ. Receive Steven Lawson's DVD Series 'Foundations of Grace: New Testament' along with the Digital Study Guide for Your Donation of Any Amount: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/2723/foundations-of-grace-new-testament Don't forget to make RenewingYourMind.org your home for daily in-depth Bible study and Christian resources.

Jesus began the greatest sermon ever preached with a statement on the total depravity of sinful humanity. Today, Steven Lawson observes that the doctrines of grace saturate the teaching of Christ. Receive Steven Lawson's DVD Series 'Foundations of Grace: New Testament' along with the Digital Study Guide for Your Donation of Any Amount: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/2723/foundations-of-grace-new-testament Don't forget to make RenewingYourMind.org your home for daily in-depth Bible study and Christian resources.

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