Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 368 | Why Phil Believes Marriage Is Being Called Hate Speech & How Jesus Became Sin

Episode Date: October 24, 2021

Phil and Al answer a question about how Jesus — who was sinless — could become sin. They also discuss the people who view traditional marriage as hate speech. Al decides Jesus is a “divine microwave.” Phil is a fan of leftovers, especially when they come from Jesus. And Al remembers a time they didn't have enough food for a crowd. - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? So we are minus Jace yet again. We send him off to Greece. Oh, Jase is a hard, hard man to track. For stories and such. Actually, he and Missy are visiting our work that we've talked about on the podcast for in Athens with Larry Bowles, which is an incredible ministry. I mean, these people are... They're winning them by the thousands. Oh, yeah. People have been coming out of mostly Syria, Afghanistan.

Turkey. Turkey. You know, it's fleeing this, you know, sort of inner Muslim struggles. Yeah. Because these are basically Muslims running from Muslims. Yeah. So they're getting down here to Athens. They're trying to build a better life in, you know, the Western world.

And a lot of them are coming with stories of visions of, you know, some person. They don't know who it is, you know. and is it Jesus, is it whatever? I mean, we've been hearing a lot of crazy stories. And so Larry and his crew are there. Well, like any place, these are all refugees. So some of them have been converted from Iran and other Muslim nations. So they've been piping in back into their home countries, the gospel and the good news.

Of course, you know, it's under threat and penalty of death to be a Christian, but they're doing it anyway. You know, in fact, dad, it reminds me a lot of what we've been studying. Oh, yeah. You know, from first century.

This is people that found it, but a lot of heavy oppression and persecution just to speak true. So that's kind of what's going on in Athens. So Jason and Missy, they've gone over with Ryan, who's been on the podcast, who is our one kingdom director. So we were telling you about the T-shirts.

We were selling on 316 T's for the gospel. They get the gospel symbols on them. That's exactly what all. all the proceeds from that go to the mission works just like this. So that's kind of, that keeps us focus. So Jay started to come back with a lot of stories. I'm sure there's no telling of what's happened to him.

He'll probably start in Athens, but Coranth is just below there. Yep. And he may visit them. So he's there to work with the missionaries that's there? Yeah, he's there just to, you know, we try to get over there every three or four years and just kind of give him some encouragement.

You know, you're trying to just remind them. that there's people supportive of what they're doing. And so this is kind of one of those kind of trips. And so Robert Ables and Ryan Lee went with him, he and Missy. So I think he'll be excited about it. I can't wait to hear all of his tales. So next week on the podcast, I'm sure we'll get a lot of that.

So that's why Jay said in here. So it's just Dad and I today. But we had a question that I wanted to start with because I thought it was a pretty good one, Dad. This is from David, one of our listeners. And he said, I've always been confused by the terms. term he became sin. And he said, referring to Jesus, that is, can you guys discuss what this means? And so I referenced 2nd Corinthians 521, which is, of course, the text that actually says it. And that text says, God made Him, Jesus, who had no sin. He was sinless.

Yep. To be sin for us. So that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God. And so I guess what David is struggling with is how does he who is sinless become sin? What's kind of the process, I think, is probably what's confusing him of what that might be like. So what would your answer be to that? Well, I would just simply say, God prepared the way for himself to be the ultimate sacrifice for sin. Right. So, and he had them to show that they were sinners, to remind them they were sinners.

He fixed it so that they would go get some animals and something innocent was having to die for something that's guilty. Right. So the Hebrew writer said they were guilty as charged. And they, although the sacrifices of animals, the law. required them the law of Moses. It simply reminded them, but there was going to come a time when you get to Jesus to where he was the only one worthy. That's God's view of sin. It's a killer. It is. I mean, it is a death sentence. And so just so you'll understand in context from the Israeli Jewish mindset, so once a year, the high priest would go into the most holy place.

he was the only one that was allowed in there and he could only go in once a year that's right and what he would do is he would take a lamb as as spotless as could be found i mean no nothing wrong with it no no no no places on him no broken bones no you know he had to be a perfect as perfect as a lamb specimen could get and he sacrificed the lamb for the sins of the people but we know from hebrews 10 that that couldn't really take away sin it was just symbol That's right. So what he also did, this is something most people don't know about. They also brought a goat in.

He was called the scapegoat. And they would take this goat and they would turn him loose out in the desert. And the idea was is that, you know, the sins that could not be taken away by the land that was sacrificed were put on this goat to go out and wander, still alive, still out there, but just away from the people. So you kind of see the idea. Get rid of the sin. Right.

So that was kind of the mindset. And when they were under the law of modology, the Hebrew writer said, the Lord is sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever, which because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. There were many of those priests, the ones you're referring to, Al, since death prevented them from continuing in office, which was a bummer.

but because Jesus lives forever. Watch how this works. He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore, he's able to save completely those who come to God through him because he always lives to intercede for them. Right. Way, way, way, way bigger event than the animals. Right.

This is a forever feeling for the human race. such a high priest meets our need one who is holy blameless pure set apart from sinners he never made a mistake out right exalted above the heavens unlike the other priest he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people i mean the good news is this sacrifice didn't have any sins. Correct. And so from that vantage, he sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. Right. That's the reason the brother may be struggling with the fact that how did he become sin. Right. He lives forever and never made a mistake, died on a cross

three days later. He arose from the dead. So you look at that, he ends up by saying the law appoints as high priests men who are weak but the oath which came after the law appointed the son who had been made perfect forever right and through him we can reach a perfect stage in front of god because of jesus and the sins he he became sin for so he could take it away right and since he lives forever you're saying that's a lot better deal than the lawkeepers had way better because they were just pushing it forward. Keep it or die was the law of Moses. They were pushing it forward until Jesus came.

So let me read you this passage, David. This will help. This is from Isaiah 53. And we know this is Isaiah giving us a prophetic look at Jesus coming. This is about 700 or so years before. By 750 years before. Yeah. And so they've been doing all this, the lamb every year, the goat every year.

And here's what he said about this one who was going to come. In verse four, surely he took up. our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. That's the idea of him taking that sin of. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him. And by his wounds, we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted. yet he did not open his mouth.

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. That's why I was telling you, he in essence is that lamb. But because he's God, it's forever. And as a sheep before her shears is silent, he did not open his mouth. So that's the concept and the idea that at the cross, you're doing what was happening in the most holy place once a year. But this was a once-for-all fix. Yep.

Right? Hebrews 928 says, That's why it took so much preparation on behalf of Jesus when he arrived being made in human likeness like a regular human being. They looked up and here comes a carpenter of all things. Yeah. Coming out of a place that they said, he's from where? Where did he come from?

So they're looking at him. And Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they all have the same narrative that Jesus waits. And until we hit about Matthew 16, no announcement has been made to clarify who he is up to now. Right. Up to that point. And finally, when he gets to the point where everything is going to change, it's when he said from that time on, he began to explain. It mentions the kingdom just previous to that.

Peter having the keys to the gate that's going to be opened up in Acts chapter 2. Finally, we have Jesus who remove the sins. You kill the author of life. By you murdering him, that's going to remove your sin, including the murder. And they're like, we killed him and by him dying. it's going to save us. In that sense, he was going to become sin for him. Who of you can prove me guilty of sin?

And they all scratch their head, but they still will just dug, dug in their heels. From that time on, when we get to Matthew 16, Jesus began to explain to his disciples, now he's going to say, this is what I'm going to do. I must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things, the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, that he must be killed, that's me, and on the third day be raised alive. Now, Peter, even his own disciples,

and saying, what in the world are you talking about? So it was a hard sale, I'll then, and as you've noticed, Al, in lieu of the parable of the sewer, it's still a hard sale. That's right. You tell people, and I see exactly what the people. parable of the source is. Some are belligerent. They curse me. Sometimes I just have the Bible in my hand and go to a place like a rehab to help them. And when they look around and see me, I've had them just snarl and curse me like a yard dog. I mean, you know good m.m. They're cussing me, and I'm just standing there. I said, why don't we sit down for a while? And they're like, what? I said, why don't we just sit down and talk about it for a while. I've seen them come to Jesus. I've seen some wild events

about the same message that the Apostle Paul and then ran into. But when you become sin for the world out and then you die in three days later you're standing there, that's an eye-opener for me. That's right. Wayne, you got to understand, Jesus, when he says he took on our sin, remember he became one of us. Yeah. He's God, but he's God in flesh. So Hebrews 2, 9, says, we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, meaning he became a human being. Yep. Now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death so that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone.

Yeah. Which is really interesting. I mean, you see the broadness of what he did for all humanity. And that becomes a big difference. It's literally for the entire world. Right. Because he says, in bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God. for whom and through whom everything exists should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

So you can understand Jesus was the vehicle by which we could then be rid of sin and also our fear of death. I mean, it had to come through the one. Yeah. There's an eye opener too when he said he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power. of death. That is the devil and free those who all their lives were found, were, we're felt guilty because of their sin. Right. You're like, man, man, it's finally the cleansing. I think if you read Habakkuk one, one through five, well, you don't get a Habakkuk quote very often. Not too often, but it's a dozy.

You're going deep into the deep into the protest. I looked this right before we came over here. Look, here's where it said. take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you said you folks better now look this is after Jesus died was buried and raised from the dead and the arguing and the yai yeah yeah yeah is still going on and finally the apostle paul he mentions that he said look you scoffers he quotes her backer wonder and perish trying to figure out what's just happened hang on dad let's take a break for i'm going to do Something in your days?

He's talking about Jesus dying, being buried and raised from the dead. He just mentioned it at the top. They took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb, but God raised him from the dead. This, by the way, you listeners, this is Acts 13 after Jesus has died. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen to those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. There now his witnesses to our people.

we tell you the good news. It's happened. So Habakkuk, he announced it in advance. He said, I'm going to do something in your days, which we're reading about in the book of Matthew, that would never, that you would never believe, even if someone told you. So the Apostle Paul is just saying, now, this is a hard sell on what's happened here. Right. But if you just look deeply into the scriptures and you seek to find out how you get out of here alive because of your sin, you say all solved. The perfect one came and died on a cross.

You say the blood, then the resurrection, now the mediating work, constant mediating work, not holding any sin against you. Your past ones are removed. your future ones are not counted against you. You're in a state of perfection because you're in Jesus. There's no sin in him. That's where you need to get. So he's the only one. He's, well, he says, I rescued him.

It was a rescue of all rescues. But it's a tough sell then and now to this day. They're saying, get that Bible out of my face. I said, he's going to save you from death. He's become sin for you. He's going to remove your sin. Never count another one against you. Just trust him.

Love him. Reach out to your neighbor and tell him. Trouble's going to come your way, but suck it up, you know. It was actually the same problem today as it was in the first century. Exactly. It was too good to be true. Too good. It seemed too good to be true.

I mean, here they're looking at this guy. He's local. He's from, you know, Nazareth. By the way, on that point. when I was converted and William 8th Smith pointed me to Jesus and preach the gospel, you know what my response was, my initial response? It sounds too good to be true. That was my statement.

I said, I've got to double-check this. After he told me, I said, I've never heard anything like that. I said, tell you what, I'm going to double-check this to make sure that the Bible and what you're telling me, G-Ha, make sure they're on the same. So I said, give me a few days. G-Haul is a redneck term for goes together, by the way, for our list. So just so you know what a G-Haul is. So what I said going in, it sounds too good to be true.

And the more I researched it, I said, well, what do you know? I believe it. Yeah. Well, that was 48, 50 years ago. Right. So here we sit. Yeah. And I'm like, now I am really convinced.

after years of studying. Hey, the older I get, the more convinced I become, Al. So just to wrap that question up, St. Corinthians 521, we read Isaiah 53. I'm just going to give you a few verses because I know a lot of you like to study this out. Hebrews 928, Galatians 313, Hebrews 2.9, which I read, 1 Peter 2.24.

Don't forget old Habakkuk. Habakkuk. What was that, Habakkuk? What was your birth? Chapter 1. one through five. One through five. Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish.

I mean, you want to scoff. Well, I know this is going to shake your brains a little bit, but you will perish if you don't move on it. So all these verses basically are at the heart. And it's actually a great question because that's why I want to discuss it. At the heart of what Jesus did, dealing with our sin was, you know, and our fear of death. I mean, those two things are the major things that had to be dealt with. The human being cannot deal with either one of the.

problems. There's nothing you can do. They conveniently forget or until their eyes are opened and they fear God and they do it his way. He saved us from sin. He removed, he became sin for us and removed it by his death and his resurrection. He saved us from the guilt of it all. So he's, he released us from Satan. Right. Sin. Guilt. law, he delivered us from having to be perfect, sinless because of his mediating work for us. And finally, he freed us from the grave itself. So it's a clean sweep, winner take all. Yes, right.

So, and back to Matthew 13, which is where we're at in our text, and then we'll be moving on 14. But this is kind of the tail end of what started back in, I guess, chapter 11, when John the Baptist, you know, first kind of question. are you sure? You know, he's in prison. And so we're going to talk about him in 14. But then there's all these cities that come along on the Pharisees.

Then they start questioning about the Sabbath. And as you remarked in the last podcast, one of the last podcasts, for the first time we see that they want to kill him. Now up until now, we just don't understand him. Now of a sudden, we're plotting to kill him. We need to get rid of him. That's right. We have crossed over now into opposition.

When you start figuring out a way to kill him. I'm going to get rid of the one who's saying he will remove my sin and raised me from the dead. You say, what? So Jesus, while the time to get to Matthew 16, makes a, the wildest announcement ever. By the way, so far I've just been telling you how to behave, how the kingdom's going to function, how it's going to work. By the way, I'm going to die, be buried and raised from the dead.

And from that moment on, in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, he's introduced. to all four groups and all four men report that and you say why would they keep saying the same thing over and over again because you can look at Matthew when Jesus was born out of the virgin start there and start listening to what he said well now we're fixing to get into what he did what he's now doing right and what he will do so it's a it's a crossover once he said I'm old die, because even his disciples were looking around at each other saying, he's going to do what? Yeah. They couldn't grasp it.

And they couldn't really understand the whole idea that he was becoming the Passover lamb, the sacrificial lamb. I mean, all that he had been saying, but they just didn't quite grasp it. Plus, if you were going to get someone's attention, Al, that had lasting effects, you would begin to do supernatural things just easily. and the people that's with you are saying, did you see that? It's a grooming.

It's getting them ready. Look, he hasn't announced he's going to die yet, but he's performing these miracles, and you're like, whoa, well, he finally gets to the last miracle when he says, here's the deal here. They're going to kill me in three days. I'm going to come forth from the dead. When he said that, that's what everything hinges on.

Everything. Well, and so my theory, is that right before you get to 13, even his family doesn't understand, his own physical family. I mean, you know, Mary knew you something special, but no one understands that. The brothers and the sisters are, I don't know. You know, he's, you know, he's our big brother. So when you get to 13, my theory is the reason he began to talk and speak and teach in parables was because now that we have this opposition lined up against him, he now is going to begin to speak to only those who are willing to seek him for who he is. If you don't, if you don't understand

him, you're not going to understand any of this. That's right. So when he starts into the kingdom is life, the kingdom is light, the kingdom is life. He's now giving them something they have to dig into because the disciples were curious. He starts out with a sower. We talked about this last time. Then he goes to the weeds, which is the idea that there will be satanic forces that grow up with the good, but God's going to separate them out. Then he talks about the mustard seed and the yeast. which is the idea of something small grows. Yep. So the kingdom is like that.

Because it starts very small. Think about it. I mean, it was just a little startup operation in the first century. You had the Romans against them. You had the Jews against them. Most people would say, I mean, nobody will pull this off. That's right.

I mean, no way. So the idea of a mustard seed and yeast in a big batch of dough is the concept. Let's take another break. I think that's why he did that because look in verse 3. 34, dad of 13, said, Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. Now, this is new. He's not, you know, before he was just saying, the kingdom of heaven is near, repent.

Now he's only using parables. And it says in verse 35, so was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet. I will open my mouth in parables. I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world. I thought that was really interesting because there had been these clues all throughout, you know, human history and Jewish history. And yet now he was here and they didn't want to accept him. So he started speaking in parables. So then he explains the parable of the weeds, you know, to the disciples.

So now we're getting these, because they come to him, they say, whoa, what are you talking about? Then he does the hidden treasure and the pearl and the net. And again, all those are ideas that this is something you find when you look. you know if you go out of field without faith it's impossible to please god the hebrew writer did because anyone who comes to him must believe he exists and that it rewards those who earnestly seek him right if you speak in parables you say the ones on the hanging on the fence over there out it's on the fence it's a separation pretty quick develops right yeah do you believe me or not you've seen the miracles, you've seen the supernatural, you hear what I'm telling you,

you know it's right, what's your hold up. That's right. And some were so ingrained, the most religious people on the face of the earth said, we need to kill him. That's exactly right. So look at how he closes this out. That's the power of sin, Al. Look at verse 52.

51, he asked the disciples, did you understand this? And they said, yes. Then he said to them, listen to this, therefore, Every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven, which he just did it, is like the owner of a house. He gives him another parable. The owner of the house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old. So the guy who's willing to understand that you've known it all along. Remember, the treasure is in your house.

You've known this the whole time. And are you willing to now recognize the treasure? That's the question. for most the answer was no he came to his own and his own received him not exactly they said no which is the next section which you know that was the ultimate diss right dad i mean that his own hometown they were like so here's what they said and by the way in deference to the jews uh our jewish uh folks through whom jesus came uh to this day they've dug in their heels and they're still waiting on their Messiah.

Yeah. The majority of the Jews are still waiting on the one who has already come and delivered them. Right. Well, and I've always, you know, this last. That's a sad, sad statement, I must admit. Me too. And, of course, this whole section to me has been about opposition, and it closes with the idea that even in his hometown,

which I kind of can relate to this because, you know, we were we moved to weston row and i was 10 years old and when we first moved we were 11 we moved out here and so of course that's when you came to christ and so we were a part of our church at wfr so i grew up there as a as a kid and then as a teenager then i wandered off as a prodigal and then we came back i went up going to school and i went out preaching there so i get the idea that it's not always easy in your hometown for people to want to listen to you because they they know you so Well, so their question about Jesus was, where did he get this wisdom and these powers? Isn't this the carpenter's son?

Isn't his mother's name Mary? And aren't his brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things? And then the key, and they took offense at him. So they looked at it and said, I mean, this guy has nothing special. We know his family. That whole section, Al, when you get that to the end.

end of chapter 13 only in his hometown and in his own house as a prophet without honor. And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. That's right. If the supernatural events that occurred, actions that he did, if that didn't do it, Al, what can they say? But doesn't that seem counterintuitive? Because from the human mindset, you would think, well, if they don't have a lot of faith, let's do more miracles.

Show me a miracle. Right. Let's do more. He said, well, how many do you want? And then he did this over and over and over and over and healed the sick, the blind. They wouldn't believe he was who he was. So that tells you something about miracles themselves. That's right.

Unless they're combined with true faith, they're not very effective. No. Because then people just, they've seen it. And they say, well, I don't know how he got this power. It didn't work here. Right. But how is it that you? For most people.

That you deny that he had miraculous powers. Because they said, where do you get these? Marcos Pires. So you don't deny it. But then you look at him and say, but you know what, I'm taking offense at this guy because he's just not big enough for me. Yeah. That's the way they reacted to it. Yeah. That's a terrible place to be. They were thinking of and being a king, but he doesn't act like any king I've ever run up on. That's exactly right. So now we shift into, as you said, everything's leading up to Matthew 16. Yep. And so this section in 14 and 15 and the first part of 16, I believe, is Jesus sort of solidifying the faith of his followers. That's what he's going

to do leading up to the, I call it the big reveal, which is what you're going to preach on November 7th at the BFAR. So leading up to that, some things happen. But I want you to notice how every one of them are something that builds up the faith of the disciples. And the first one doesn't seem like it would, because this tells how John the Baptist met his end. Remember, he's in prison and then he hears about Jesus' sermon on the Mount, and then he sends word through his disciples. Now, are you the one? Should we look for anybody else?

Because I'm here in jail, and I'm not sure about this. So at the time, Herod the Tetra heard the reports about Jesus. So he had heard about it too. And he said to his attendance, this is John the Baptist. He has risen from the dead. This is why Maraco's powers are at work in him. So he even recognized something special about John. John. And yet because he had called him out about his adulterous relationships, he put him in prison.

Now, Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodius, his brother Philip's wife. For John had been saying to him, it is not lawful for you to have her. Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people because they considered him a prophet, which, by the way, that's the same way Jesus gets the same reaction from all the spiritual leaders. And so do we. Right. When we challenge people in say you can't just sleep with that girl and keep having sex with her. You need to marry her or get away from her. They said, well, you job, where do you?

I mean, they get a little huffy about it. Yep. But I just keep telling the same thing. For the ones who say, all right, I'm going to marry her. I said, let's do the ceremony, short and quick. Not a lot of fanfare. Right. It's just going to be legal.

Now you're married to her. All right, now get after it. You have all the sex you want. She's yours. Don't you think, let's take a break. In this day and age, Al, it's a tough sale. Don't you think that when you call something hate speech, whenever you say the best thing to do is for a man and a woman, by the way, they're born male and female, to marry one another, spend a life together, create a family, build a legacy, have future generations of faith. When that's, that's called hate speech in our culture.

I know. So, boy, the devil is, is he pull one off? I mean, he's pulling off here. Because I always compare it to whenever the conversation you had with me when I was 17 and about to go off the rails and you saw it, you and mom both. And you sent me down and said, Al, I mean, where you're headed, I've been. It's disastrous. I mean, you don't want to do this. You don't want to leave.

You stay here with us. Turn it around. Change. But in my stubbornness, I was just like these people were reading. about I didn't see it. It was like I had to experience it myself. But look, I've said, it would have saved you quite the misery out. And I've said before, I tell this to audiences, Dad.

I say, no, some of you would say, well, good night. Man, that guy just did not care about his son, challenged him like that change or leave. What a concept. And his dad is mean to him. Oh, hate speech. And I was like, that's the most loving thing you could do. That's a warning that you're about to go off the cliff. That's not hate speech.

That's love speech. I mean, the only reason you tell people that you want. And the kickery is you can't make them. No. Your own children, you say, wrong path. You need to go down this one. That's exactly right. If you show them the right path and you say, and you wait.

Right. I mean, a lot of people say, how long do we have to wait? You say, till they get it right. Be persistent and show them the goodness and love of God, our Savior, and hopefully they'll turn back. I tell people all the time, a lot of our audience asks because they'll have an erring son or daughter, someone that, you know, claims to be an atheist. All the time. I don't believe anymore.

All the time. But look, you're right. It's great advice. Dad. Be patient. Keep praying for them. Remember, I mean, if they've had truth at some point instilled in them, I think there's always a desire to want to come back.

In my case, I was only gone a couple years and then I came back. But when they come back, you got to do it like you and mom did with me. You got to welcome them with open arms and say, hey, the past is gone. We're only dealing with the future going from this one. So that's that idea and that concept. I've had them stay away from Jesus from the time they heard the story about him for 30, 40 years. And they show back up and they say, I just want to tell you, I sat down with you one time. I stayed mad at you for a while, you know, because of what you told me.

But I just was going to do it my way. So I got out there. He said, what an idiot I have been, rebelling against God. I just want to let you know, I'm back and I'm not moving now. That's good. I'm like, welcome aboard. I love it. I love it when people come back.

Oh, it's great. We got an email from a lady somewhere that said she had been involved with a cult, as she described it when she was young. And she had a lot of terrible experiences in the name of God. A lot of bad things happened to her. So she was just bitter about it. But she started listening to the podcast. And I introduced her to Unashamed a few months ago.

And she thanked us because she said, you guys have, I have so much peace now because you've reintroduced me to Jesus and that he's about grace and love and forgiveness. And so for the first time I have peace. And I think about that, all the people have been heard and wounded by who knows what and who knows why, that really in Christ, there really is rest, you know, in him, which makes it pretty special. Yep. So back to John the Baptist. verse 6 of 14 on Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodius, danced for them and pleased Herod's so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she wanted.

So imagine he's got his own kin out doing the lascivious. It sounds like a commercial in between the football games. That's right. Exactly. We got the dancing chicks jumping around, jirating. And I'm like, I said, I want to watch a ball game if I could. But not without some flesh, right? It's terrible. So that's what's happening. So prompted by her mother, she said, give me on a platter the head of John the Baptist. Now, out of all the things that he was expecting, maybe some gold jewelry, maybe, you know, maybe a new castle. What a little girl, she is. Oh, yeah. And so the mom manipulates her. The king was distressed. But because of his oath and his dinner guest, he didn't want to be embarrassed. He ordered.

that her request be granted and had John beheaded in prison. So that was it. Everybody needs to remember John the Baptist lives on. He lives on. Right. He's a child of the resurrection. That's right. His soul and spirit are in good hands. His head will be reintroduced to his glorified body and he'll live on. It's not like these people are being killed. Oh, God, let them kill him. Hey, he conquered death. Right. And then. resurrection. Don't you think that John knew from an early age when he figured out he was the forerunner that it was probably not going to end well. I mean, he was too strong in his convictions. It was probably not going to end well. The Apostle Paul saw it coming. That's right.

You know, Peter saw it coming. Yep. Yep. They all said when I, when I'm getting ready for my departure, you know, it's coming up. Just add to your faith, goodness and gentleness and love each other because I'm fixing to leave here. It's going to be pretty rough. But Jesus told me I was going to die this way to glorify him. Right. So I'm happy to do it. You remember everybody in a close proximity of Jesus in the first century, except for John, the apostle, who was set aside to have this revelation later in life.

All the rest of them died a martyr's death. That's right. Including John the Baptist, who was before us. So Jesus came to that. It looks like a killing field, but it's people receiving eternal life. Correct. A mighty throng of them. Correct. For the martyrs through the years out. That's right. And it's no different today.

No, it's not. And I think it shows you. By the way, you or myself, we could go out like that, but that's okay with me. Yeah, that's fine. Me too. And look, it may happen. In some places, it still happens. I mean, it happens in some of our cultures. Let's take our last break. So I think the idea there is that this was really tough because we know in verse 13, when Jesus heard about what happened, he would drew by boat privately to a solitary, place. So I think that shows you that even though Jesus obviously knew what was going to happen, I think it's the same thing he showed with Lazarus and John 11, that he had a real compassion. This was his cousin or some relative. And this was the forerunner. And it was like in his, humanity, I love the idea that he took a minute. He's like, you know, I'm going to take a minute. Because John's gone now. And I'm not going to see him again until in the glorified place.

So I love that about Jesus that he cared enough about him. He took a step back, which kind of shows you what kind of Lord that we serve. Of course, it didn't matter to the people hearing of this. The crowds followed him on foot from the towns so he couldn't get away. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and he healed their sick. And so what happens next is, and we talked about this in John, is that gives you an idea of he wasn't talking about who's fault it was. and oh, I should have. I hated that I put John the Baptist through this.

And he said, no, he's alive. He's well. Tough way to go. Yep. And it goes out on the outside, like us down here. We go to the woods. This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. You know, send the crowds away so they come to the village and buy themselves some food.

So he starts talking about how he's fixed to feed 5,000 people, but a little bit of nothing. But don't you like it? Because the disciples just look at a practical situation and said, we've got to send these people away. Yeah. But Jesus was looking at them totally different. He said, no. Yeah. So he says, they do not need to go away.

You give them something to eat. And they're looking at 5,000 men. I don't know how many women and children. Besides women and children. Exactly. It's a mighty throng out there. So they said, well, we have five loaves of bread and two fish, which would have been enough to feed the 12. Satan's kind of ratcheting up the price you pay for.

or for your faith, and Jesus is showing them it's worth it. It's worth it. All of it's worth it. Right. And my theory is about this miracle, Dad, because what he does is he sits down, he takes them, he gives thanks. bringing food. I'm not even sure the people knew where the food was coming from, other than it just kept coming. Yeah. And so I've always thought that this miracle was much more for the 12 than it was even for the 5,000. You take a bunch of hungry people, and I bet this was as fine

of fish and bread as you could put your mouth on. This was divine. Oh, look. Oh, they're, picking the bones. They're picking, they're saying this, this fish, I don't know whether they were fried or grilled or baked out, but it was a good meal. It was a good meal. And you're right. So what it showed you was that, and there's several, we're going to talk about several miracles, all that build up the faith of disciples, this first one showed his power over matter.

Yeah. Because remember the old law that matter cannot be created or destroyed, which is true by human beings. That's right. But if you were the creator, you could take. take five loaves of bread and two fish and turn that into a healthy, hearty meal. And he goes on to walk on water and he's not going down. And they're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, here.

Which is elements in nature. I mean, he's got power over that. Yeah. You think you hurt the cause by murdering John the Baptist, not hardly. No. They march, march on. Power over death. What does it matter?

Power over death. So it's interesting because something Smith taught us years ago, which I thought was really powerful. Because, you know, sometimes people are paying a picture of what this look like. The disciples got in a bind there, Al, because when they said, you know, he said, you give them something to eat. They're like, do what? And they said, you give them something to eat. And they looked at that crowd. They said, give them something to eat.

We don't have a five loaves bread and two fish. I mean, look, we expect this. feed them with that. Right. And to him, he said, right, let me just show them here. That's right. I mean. So what's interesting, Dad, is that you can't make this stuff up, Al.

So they were, the disciples are sent, they're delivering the food through all this mass of people. They all ate and were satisfied. And the disciples picked up 12 basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. By the way, I've eaten leftovers of many a time. And some people do so. and a little bit perturbed at it because they're eating what, what Ms. Kay fixed yesterday. So we go back in our leftovers. You got to remember when times are hard and if you're hungry enough, you don't mind eating leftovers.

Right. So the leftovers in this case probably was better than the original meal. Remember, 12 baskets full. And this started with five lows. So the idea is that Smith painted this picture for me that he said, Now, we think of it like Americans. Like, you know, we see people after a feed and there's a bunch of food left on their plate because they're full. They don't like that.

They're throwing a trash can. He said, that ain't the situation here. These people didn't have a lot going on. So there wasn't a lot. Look, the leftover was where he's breaking the bread. So it's all falling down at his feet. Oh, yeah. With the bread and the fish.

And they start scooping up all that food. So he's created this mass of food out of this small amount so much so that they had to like, like, you said, the leftovers would have been better. And I guess, well, it was cooked. Yeah. You're talking about a, it's just like way beyond the microwave. He is the microwave. The divine microwave.

He's warming the bread, the fish, the whole bit. You're right. It's really, it's an incredible. I read this and I say, you know what? There's so much of it. And it just keeps coming out of these texts. I'm all in. Yeah.

I'm just reading it saying, you know, I don't know how a few little people could gather up under some trees and start doing things that was predicted. I mean, especially conquering death, you know, 700 years earlier, Isaiah said, oh, no, he's, they're going to kill him. He's going to be raised from the dead. But like you mentioned, how did the disciples feel, I mean, 30 minutes ago, they were saying, we didn't send these people home. Yeah. And then Jesus creates an entire meal. Not a whole lot of mercy on hungry people. No.

Well, they were like, what are we going to do? There's, it's, so I was saying about that text, Dale, where he says. A lot of them say it's too much trouble to cook for a large crowd because, I mean, good night. Y'all are talking about there, but there will be 30 people there around here, Al. How many times have you seen it? How many are coming? How many are we, how many are going to be at this little deal? Because around here, there's a celebration every three days.

I don't care what happens. I mean, you figure you run out of birthdays, marriages. But these days, every time they come up with it out, I say, how many they want to feed? They say, they want to eat at your house. And I'm like, how many? They're coming. Give me a number. And they'll say, oh, well, I think there'll be 20, maybe 25.

You know how to go. Always plan on more. But it's usually bigger than it was. So we cook bigger pots. Well, we told the story before when you had your Bible class out. This has been 25 or 30 years ago, probably 30. and the Bible class was about 125 people, but the Bible class must have expanded

because about 250 showed up. I remember it. They just kept coming. And I was thinking, I said, the menu was fried opalusus cat. That's right. So I got enough to feed, you know, 25 or that. I said, well, just in case, I had the reserve,

and my ally dipped into that reserve pretty quick. And we went even, since you're not, Jesus. I mean, the cars couldn't have come to, No, they were parking all up the street. They were going out of sight. So since you're not Jesus and couldn't create them out thin air, you sent me and Jace out to run a few extra nets. That's right.

And we were cleaning fish while you were frying fish. But you know what? At the end of the day, everybody left with a belly full. So it wasn't quite as dramatic as this, but we did pull it off. It was pretty good, pretty good feet. It was pretty awesome. So we do understand the idea of it. And then, like you said, which we'll get into next time we get back to this text,

about him walking on the water, which again shows you his power over nature. But then I found it interesting because the disciples who had just seen him feed, it was more than five. We say 5,000, but it was plus women and kids. So we're talking about, you know, 8,000 plus people. They came right back. A lot of food. They came right back. And when a storm blew up, they were just scared out of their mind.

You know, when they saw Jesus, I thought it was a ghost. Isn't it amazing how quickly, you know, you can just think. The frailty of the human mind is something. I think it shows it. All right. Well, we'll try to do better next time. We've got the women coming on next time. Bring them on.

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