Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 559 | Jase’s Blunderbuss Blunder, Phil’s Exorcism & Gangsters of the Bible

Episode Date: October 5, 2022

Jase tells a really embarrassing story about showing up at a duck hunt with an empty shotgun, and when he turns to his trusty neighbors for help... Phil tells of the time he was approached by a spiritually afflicted person. Al discusses the ironic profession that biblical gangsters held. Jase discusses the sin of pride and how it seeks to blind even the believer, and Al explains how your own righteousness can get in the way of seeing who Jesus really is! Sign up to watch the Unashamed overtime show, only on BlazeTV: https://BlazeTV.com/Unashamed - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? Well, so we're back. I'm down here at the Southern Lair for this run, which feels like home now more and more. I guess I'm because I'm down here a lot. We talk about, Dad, we talk about Jersey Joe. He's down here working on some internet issues for me. Jersey Joe is a man that can do anything. He's like red on, he's like red on, he's like read on Shalshank Redemption. He's a man who knows how to find things. He was, he's brilliant.

You know he's a brilliant guy because he said he was been living and raised in downtown New Jersey. Downtown New Jersey. Downtown New Jersey. And he looked around one day and he told his wife. He said, what's our name, Christine? Christine, yeah. Yeah, he said, Christine, get the kids together.

We're getting eyes. out of here. We're leaving, we're leaving downtown New Jersey. Where, we're, let's go. And I said, well, what, what motivated you to do that? He said, I started to listen to y'all podcasts and he said, I need to go down there where they are. I don't need to be camped out here. Yeah, they've been here for, they came during the pandemic. It's a, it's a pretty amazing story. But he's definitely a man. It's nice to have around. So he's working on some projects with me down here at the Southern layer. So I guess Teal season ended.

How did it since the last time, we spent a few days as we recorded. Oh, Jay. He missed one day. Well, I was playing the roulette wheel because at this stage of my life, I'm too busy to hunt every day like I used to for 40 years. But I can't last year, I hit the wall trying that. So Till, you know, they're here today, gone tomorrow. And we have a transient hole where they just don't live there. They come through, they stay a while, and then they leave.

So most seasons, you've got 16 days in a till season. I would say usually they come through two or three of those days. That's about right. Now, in mass. In mass. That doesn't mean that you might get an occasional bunch, you know, but we usually go every day. that way you don't have to pick and choose and you never miss because FOMO is alive and well

when it comes to duck hunting down here which would be the fear of missing out. That is the primary motivation for duck hunting. So I got lucky I went opening day. Then I missed about three days and y'all shot a few but it was nothing that the FOMO wasn't triggered. Then I'd hunt two or three days. Well, then I was just looking at the weather. So I was like, well, I know on this, I think it was Wednesday, that every, the weather said they're not coming. It was the hottest day.

They hadn't, we didn't do, we, we, we, I think it was our, only our second zero the day before. It got up for 100 degrees that day. So I said, we're not going on. Everybody bailed except Phil and just a couple of guys. One. God, well. Godwin. So they go down there and guess what? The day they came. So they kill their limit in five minutes and have to have to leave. So then we're like, well, the statistical odds of you shooting them two days in a row like that are very slim. I think we've only done it once or twice. But now everybody's fired up because we were just trying to get the residue of the massive flight. So we had to blind. full the next day and guess what back to back it was bunches up to 100 it was as fine of a teal shoot i would say it was a top 10 hunt

in the 30 years that we've been down there it was awesome and so we killed full limits amazing and it was it was uh felt like a phenomenon i have i have uh about six of the poor things they're in a pot and i you put water you put good a good quality water not comes out of a big raised up you know and after they put the you know all these chemicals in it gets some get some spring water so i boil them down They're ready to go. Not out of the faucet. That's right. Not out of the closet.

Not in Weston Row. But I'm going to turn those six. I just had a moment. I can't smell anything anymore. You get about 75, 76, you know, you quit smelling. So I can't smell if they were, got a whang to them, a little rancid or whatever. I can't tell. But I don't think.

But Ms. Kay's got a good nose still, so I said, smell them. She smelt them. She said, no whang. These till this year, they don't. seem as musty. They're not. As in years past. They're just as in years past.

They're just little butterballs. I baptized this guy 25 years ago who were set of a feed store. And I've made probably four trips to him and gave him my limit. And he dances when I pull in the parking. He starts to dance. In public. Over a blue winged hill. And I'm just, I don't want to throw him under the bus, but he doesn't have the dance.

skill set. Yeah. But for him to do that, I thought they got to be good or he wouldn't be doing that. Yeah. But I usually shy away from the eating. I've got a gumbo coming. You're invited. Okay.

I was in Florida. He's out. But I'll have that ready about three to four or five o'clock this afternoon. It's better on the second day. So tomorrow. I think I'll hit the second day. Yeah. So, but it was a moment, you know, because my kids were all in town.

We had a wedding this weekend. And so I got Reed came. And we, you know, it's funny the night before because he was like, I mean, Dad, because they hadn't been here in a while, so they had a lot of responsibility. He was the one that said, that's the best duck on I've been on in years. So it was kind of good that we had the three generations there with, you know, I had my son there, my dad. We were, we actually, for the first time in years, I set up a actual photo shoot.

I said, we need to document this. You know, we held the teal of them. Which was funny, Phil, when I got to those pictures and looked at them, half the pictures, you weren't looking at the, you weren't even looking at the phone. You were either looking in the opposite direction. So I just thought I'd bring that up. I'm not sure what.

I was trying to alert to people. I'm not into picture taken today, but I mean, hey, three generations chasing blue-winged teal, let's go with it. Well, they say, you know, this. I was looking over in the weeds over in the... I know. say in the cycle of life, you know, you kind of return to it because we're, you know, I'm constantly taking pictures with, you know, Reed and, you know, his wife, baby, because we're

grandparents now. And they're all the time trying to, trying to get her to look at the camera. And I'm like, you make a full scale here. I'm trying to look, get Phil to look at it. Oh, we laugh when we looked at those pictures. It goes back to an end. An infant's experience just looking out in the distance. Oh, it was so funny. You know, it's funny because in our wedding picture, I don't know if you're aware of this,

but, you know, my grandma, your mom, in all the wedding pictures when Missy and I got married, my grandma was never looking anywhere near the camera. It's just everybody's looking, and she's looking at the person. person next to her. I don't know where we got that from, but you know, I mean, I don't know. It seems to be a trend in the DNA, as all I was going to say. But it was, it was epic. And what was so funny about the hunt is because here you have this, you know, this is a moment

to make it a spiritual thing. You remember when Jesus was baptized, you know, and the spirit descended like a dove. You know, I'm getting the teal descended like from the heavens. to the decoys here and you have this kind of euphoric feeling and you're and it's really like I said you got three generations here and everybody's high-fiving everybody's happy there's there is no friction at those moments no for everybody is as Phil coined the phrase happy happy happy so but it's still open and so the next day you're you're realizing now we got them two days in a row the odds of us getting them three days in a row are slim and none because that's never happened on blue winged till but you have to go because of what just happened so we all get there the next morning and now

there's no room in the blind there are people just crammed in there because now word is out it's the it's almost like apocalyptic everybody's like the teal are coming in mass we got them two days in a row And I actually talked, read out of coming the next day because I said, you're not, it's going to be so crowded because I said,

everybody's going to show up. And lo and behold, when I pulled up, I couldn't even find a parking place out here. So we all cram in there. And we're all talking, there's so many people there. It's almost like a,

some kind of fellowship gathering. And so I'm seeing, like, church broke out. Phyllis was there. She showed up. You know, And I was like, well, where you been?

Because she usually goes, but she hadn't been. She's like, well, you know, finally I can come. I said, no, I know why you're here because you've heard the stories of what happened the last two days. She kind of laughed. Yeah, yeah. So about, what's it, 645, which the prime time is 645 of 715, a bunch of teal came in. Because we hadn't seen any at daylight. And we were all in my mind, I was like, we're not going to see a duck.

They came in, and so I didn't hear anybody say kill them, because it was so deafening with the conversation. The first thing I heard was boom, which was Phil's gun going off, because he looked up and said, hey, there's tilling the decoys. So I grabbed my gun, lined up two in one shot as they were exiting the decoys, and my gun wouldn't fire.

Well, I looked down and I had pulled a move that I had not pulled since I was a young lad. I was duck hunting. We were 30 minutes into the hunt and I had not loaded my gun. I never put shells in my gun. So you realize what happened. I got caught up in the conversation and I didn't believe. The conversation were modern day miracles and it was the miraculous. Well, we were talking about.

about because we had a situation that came up where they had diagnosed a young child in the womb with potential problems. Phyllis's grandson. I was not going to get in there. I didn't want to, I didn't want to know if we want to name the people or whatever. No, that's all right. Okay. Well, so I, you know, we had had this conversation because Phyllis had said, well, it was a

miracle. And I said, well, it might have been, but we got into defining the word miracle. Is it, is it a, is it a moment where something happens visually outside of nature? Or is it something that happens? It's unexplainable and it, you know, and improbable, because we have, you know, they're looking at a at 3D images of a of a human being inside a woman's belly and they say we think there's going to be some problems well he was born and there was nothing wrong with him so in that moment now one thing we all agreed on because everyone had prayed for this situation is that we we believe that god healed him Now, but we got into a good, healthy discussion on would that be a miracle or would that be God's providence or gods?

Supernatural. Yeah, working, intervening. What would have been a miracle is all of y'all four, we had about six in the duck blind, five of them, when the first bunch of teal came in, had no shells in their guns. So I'm down here. I'm ready to go. And Billis, the little daughter, Delcunton, she's got shells. But, you know, she's very, she doesn't have honey duck that much.

That was funny that there were other people. But everybody else was sitting there telling stories about the miraculous. It would have been a miracle if they had all raised up without shells. Boom, boom. That's where the debate went. That's where I was headed on that. Then it became, because I said. Hang on, Jay's.

Let's take a break. So I was embarrassed, you know. I raised up and I was what they called dry firing. Yeah. I pulled the trigger. It's a lonely place to be. Actually, when your breeches open and you pull the trigger, it doesn't even pull because the trigger mechanism is not even engaged. I just, I was surprised I didn't flinch.

So I knew I was on them. I just, and I looked down and I said, I could see my breach open. So what's funny is the guy next to me, old guy one, he didn't have any shells either. Jersey Joe, who we were talking about, now it's still up for debate whether he just froze because he's new to duck hunting. And I think he just had a freeze-up.

Because sometimes when something shocking happens all of a sudden in a duck line and you're not used to it, you just freeze. And all this is happening in milliseconds. It happened in milliseconds. So it was a, we went from the water to the wilderness in that month. Because the day before, we looked like professional. What about nurse?

What about a nurseman? Nurse man was with y'all. He didn't save the day? No bullets. Didn't have a shell in his gun. Oh, my goodness. That whole end of the blind had just come to visit and argue about whether this is a miracle or not.

I actually went boom, yeah, boom, yeah. And boom, I miss one as he's leaving out. So I got two out of three. I felt pretty good. And you know how we picked up by that bunch? Two. Yep. So old Phil at least made it where it wasn't just one of the most embarrassing moments ever in the history of the gun.

But the trick was, you know, I was one of the few that had shales. Well, yeah. You were prepared, Phil. But it made me think it's what happens in life when you get overconfident and you have success. Success is hard to deal with. All of a sudden you start forgetting the details of how you got to this point. and all the working of the brushing of the blind and getting ready and going through the days where you don't get them and it leads up to finally it all comes together and then the very next day half the blind

we were just functioning as rookies and you know what our biggest problem was there's a spiritual application here we didn't believe we just didn't i thought they weren't coming speaking up the miraculous change just keep in mind a guy came to him in the in the he just asked me he was in uh uh emotionally he was in dire circumstances because you know he came to see me at three o'clock in the morning but anyway i'm sitting there listening to him and he said do you do exorcisms i thought about the book of mark i said no i don't i said but the one i follow does that was a very good answer phil He said, why don't we pray to him that things will get better for you? So we stop, we're at 3 o'clock in the morning.

I pray that God will deliver him from whatever his current malady is. And within about, within minutes, his whole, he's, the shakes left him. And he said, whew, he said, man, he said, what was that? And I said, I am not sure. I said, but just trust in God and you'll be okay. Well, to this day, that's been 10 years ago. To this day, he's doing well. But he did have a moment in the middle of the night where things, strange things were happening to him.

We prayed to God in the name of Jesus and let the rest, let God do what he does. Which is a perfect. I wouldn't call it a miracle. I would just say it was worth seeing what went down. And some people would. I think Jace makes a good point because it's really when you start talking about changing the definition of words is when you kind of start getting into this. You go down a rabbit hole that you're not sure of. And when everything's a miracle, then nothing's a miracle.

And so, I mean, it's one of the few. Miracles were very, I mean, they were very specific in what we're reading about what Jesus was doing here. in the you know when he was on the earth it's one of the few things that we unite on in the world with unbelievers because unbelievers they believe in the word miracle and what's interesting is as soon as we did that podcast about where we discussed how to define miracle that that night I saw a commercial uh about NCAA football and it was a it's a guy's name from uh Ohio State Herb Street, yeah, he's up speaking and it was a pretty clever commercial.

So there's players out there, former players, there's coaches, there's band members, mascots, and he's given a speech. He's like every year there's a time when, and, you know, he has all these different sayings in that people are overcoming odds and people are coming together and states are being united for a common cause, and there's no, we're not looking at the differences, and he's implying that, you know, this is providing unity. And then he says, and it provides miracles.

And I thought, and so then they started showing at the end of the games where seemingly a team was without hope, and then something, and then he used the word magical. I said, I mean, they're going all the way here. We have a game where people are playing, where we have a ball that we're taking it to a line, and other people are trying to stop them. And we actually believe in magic and miracles in this.

I mean, don't you find that interesting? They used the mother of Jesus to say, Hail Mary. Hail Mary. It was a miracle. Hail Mary. He threw the bottom 50 yards in the air. you know, final few seconds of the game,

and it bounces off one's headgear, and another guy catches it, that's the hell. You know it hit me on that? It's miracle. So some, no, well, some believe in miracles, but those who say, well, wait a minute, maybe we just need God's providence. Well, let's just say a hell Mary.

So we got them all covered. So I do think it's interesting. But to, you know, in Mark where we're studying, I had a thought, which I think is interesting. I'll get your take. Because here it was Mark who just immediately went to the action of who Jesus is. He says the beginning of the gospel, and then he said the gospel about Jesus Christ, the son of God.

Because that one statement, which he seems to highlight on who Jesus is, That's what really made these groups, whether it's the Herodians, the Pharisees, the scribes, that was the one statement that made them really angry. They start saying he's got a demon, he's a blasphemer, we need to kill him. And so you know what I noticed is that, so Mark records this, well, at the baptism of Jesus, you have God, the Father, declaring Jesus as his son. Officially, 1 John over there, you know, the blood, the water, and the spirit. Yeah.

All three are in agreement. Then you have him doing what only the son of God could do, or God could do, which is driving out demons, healing people, you know, eventually raising. the dead. You just think he's showing the power over these these are undeniable miracles that are happening and you you have the demons acknowledging that he's God, the son of God. But do you realize that no one else in the book of Mark acknowledges Jesus as the son of God in any verse until you get all the way to chapter 15? And I'm going to to move ahead. But when Jesus died, you know, and he says, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

And the people are looking on. In verse 37, with a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last, the curtain of the temple was torn into from top to bottom. And when the centurion who stood there in front of Jesus heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, surely this man was the son of God. I just think it's interesting, which Mark seems to be zero and in on that. And he shares of all the actions of Jesus. But they, the people were coming there for the miracles and for the benefits. And maybe they even thought he was the Messiah as like the chosen one to restore the kingdom to Israel and have that narrative over, well, maybe he's going to gather everybody up and we're going to take back Israel.

and, you know, from the Romans. But they weren't acknowledging him as the son of God. Which you make an interesting point that I hadn't thought about before that, because, you know, I've always assumed that these teachers of the law and these people that, you know, were so smart and knew so much, understood that the Messiah would be the son of God, but maybe they misunderstood the whole time. That's what I think. Yeah.

He wasn't. They just, there's a difference in thinking he's the chosen one and the Messiah. Yeah. And the son of God. Which there's no doubt, let's take another break. There's no doubt that his, his own followers totally misunderstood. And that's obvious because they kept saying, when is Israel going to be restored? When are we going to get the kingdom?

Can we sit on your right and left? Are we going to get to be on the platform? I mean, they definitely saw it as a political movement the entire time they followed him. But I never thought about the other ones. I think you're right, Jayce. I think they missed it. And really, you're right, it was demons and Roman centurion from Mark's perspective that ever even acknowledged him. Well, and God, the Father, that's why when you, you know, I'm not sure where are we at?

And where do we leave off in the Book of Mark? We left off with the healing of the paralytic in Chapter 2. That's what we talked about last time. And so you remember this was the first. So what was the problem there? He forgave this guy's sins. Well, they're like, only God can do that. Yep.

Well, we know what's implied there. Well, Jesus is like, well, duh, I'm the son of God. That's why I have this power. And they're like, well, no, wait a minute. And so it just escalates from there because, All of a sudden, the next paragraph, well, he calls Levi or Matthew. Now, I'm not real sure. I don't think we're real sure on why Levi changed his name to Matthew.

Well, so, yeah, I got a little intel on that, which is, it's kind of interesting because when we, when we studied Matthew, we talked a little bit about this, because if you go back in Matthew 9 and read Matthew's account of him being called, Matthew uses the word Matthew. But that's a Greek version of his name. His actual Jewish name is Levi, which means he was from the tribe of Levi. But what's interesting is Mark even uses his dad's name, son of Alpheus. And when Matthew talks about himself, he doesn't. So my assumption, and some scholars say this as well, is that Matthew was probably shunned.

you know, because of him being a tax collector. In other words, the reason he probably called himself by his Greek name is that he wasn't, he wasn't in good standing with the Jewish hierarchy because of his profession, because he chose to be a tax collector, which was bad. I mean, that was about the worst thing you could do. So it's interesting that Mark and with Peter's help gives us his Jewish heritage, whereas Matthew does it. Now, you know, again, it could be a lot of different things, but he was Jewish.

he was from the tribe of Levi, and when he talked about himself, he didn't use his Jewish name. So, you know, again, you can draw whatever implication you want to, but I think it was probably more of his disgrace. But then Mark was saying, hey, this guy had something that Jesus saw more than just being a test- Well, this thing was all worked out in advance, and every time we go back and forth, I always remember that first Corinthians chapter 2, we however speak a message of wisdom among the mature but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age whether it be all the people operating in the temple and law of Moses been running them for a thousand years and who are coming to nothing we speak of god's secret wisdom a wisdom that has been hidden

So there is something about the miraculous was ongoing where anybody watching should have said, now that was a miracle. I mean, how did he do that? But instead of embracing him, you have this blowback from everything that he's doing, primarily one miracle after the other. God destined for our glory before time began. and this is a mystery to people, but God is the one who hid it.

None of the rulers of this age understood it. All these people, you're looking at Mark, and all the blowback and all the ones say, what's he doing and all this and doubting it, and they're looking at miracles. You would think that would do it, but that just shows you how hard hearts can become. None of them understood it.

It's what it said, none. Verse 8, 1 Corinthians 2. for if they had said now that that's the son of God we've been waiting on all these years that's the son of God right that's the one to save it well it said if they had if that's what they had concluded they would not have crucified him other words if his death is going to save the world how is it they were thinking the last thing that would happen was they killing him actually would save them and the world It is quite the story.

That was First Corinthians, too, you were reading. But I think you had two things that worked. And I think the calling of Matthew or Levi, I mean, I personally just think he probably changed his name because of the reputation that he had. Well, think about though, Jason, before you leave that, it really fits in the context because they're going to get after him again because he's choosing to eat with sinners in tax collectors. again. That's where I was going. But if Levi, if Mark used Levi because Levi should have been a priest, he's from the tribe of Levi, but he didn't answer his calling to be a priest.

Instead, he did the most despicable job you could do in his context. But Jesus said, follow me. And what did he do? He got up and he followed him. Yeah. Which to me, it shows you his purpose of being here is a greater calling than just being a good priest or a good whatever, a good teacher. I think there's two things at work here.

The righteousness of those who put their faith and trust in Judaism, you know, the rituals of that and the rulekeeping of that, it actually kept them from recognizing Jesus because ultimately, when we get to the end of this story, which we're, you know, we're going to go through it. But he's like, when he says in verse 17, it's not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick, I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.

Now, we all know that there's no one righteous. But he's almost playing into their game and acknowledging their self-righteousness saying, you know, okay, I came to, you know, he has this analogy. But their own self-righteousness is keeping them from recognizing a need for Jesus. and then the evil one, to your point, what you read in 1st Corinthians 2, well, he's never thinking that the God of the universe is going to become a human.

Plus, some filthy, you know, with a body. You're like slapping them in the face when you say, by the way, this is for everybody, not just you. Because they were thinking, you're not going to be saved unless you've been keeping this temple worship unless the law of Moses. And you got the high priest and the teachers of the law.

you're trying to tell me a bunch of heathens running around out here can actually be saved and their sins blotted out and then be raised from the dead are you crazy i think that's why when you look at mark uh in the beginning of the gospel about jesus christ the son of god then he starts with all these baptism john the baptists and jesus was baptized well if you turn to the end of it the final word he said go into the world this is jesus he said go into the world he said go into the world This is Jesus talking to one who just died and now is standing there in a resurrected body. He said, go in all the world and preach the gospel. We're back on Mark chapter one.

To all creation, everybody, this is for everybody, not just the Jews, whoever. It doesn't make any difference what background you have. Whoever believes and is baptized be saved. Now we're back on baptism again. The first thing he says and the last thing he says. I think it's ironic. and I would think how in the world could any human being? Yesterday I was there giving a class,

and I was going through these things, and I finally stopped at about 45 minutes, and I said, do any of y'all want to be baptized, and the hands all started coming up? We went over on the spot and baptized them right there. Just like this says do, that's what we did. It's just for everybody. Hang on, let's take a break.

But you're right, Dad. But where we are in Mark 2, they didn't even think. It was too good for everybody for them to say, you mean to tell me that there's people that are on equal, equality is between us? They were like, are you crazy? A bunch of heathens running around out here. And we're the teachers of the law. I mean, with them.

They couldn't even, their minds couldn't even grasp going to the Gentiles at this point when we're in Matthew 2. They didn't even the bad, and they're quote unquote, bad Jews like Levi like all these other sinners and taskulators, they're like they can't make it. Plus, if Mark hadn't written this, we would all be scratching our head too. If you didn't have Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John pontificating on who Jesus is,

I mean, you go down a rabbit hole so fast and lose connection with what's going on, it'd be pathetic. I'm glad he had all this written down so you can see it. well i'm going to read this in in chapter two and 13 it says once again jesus went out beside the lake a large crowd came to him because you got a memory he's already i mean this started off like this where he's driving out demons he healed the leper crowds are gathering and they're not necessarily viewing him as the son of god but i think it's one of those things where it's like you get caught up and to use the illustration with the

hill, honey, the fear of missing out becomes a situation here. Because really, when you think about it, if somebody's casting out demons and they're healing people, now he's a human, they're seeing him, so they're not thinking he's God, because that just, it's not possible. I mean, we kind of know how the story went, but from their perspective, I think it's logical to think, well, I don't know who this guy is. And look, I don't know how he's doing this, and I really don't care. but I got a I got my sister's cousin you know here we go you know that people are coming to him

in mass because they're wanting the benefits from what this guy seems to have so the the Pharisees and the scribes and even in the next paragraph John's disciples all of a sudden they start taking issue with some of this and it really all starts here in where we're at so in verse 14 as he walked along he saw Levi son of Alfia sitting at the tax collector's booth. Follow me. Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, so that led to obviously a relationship,

and now he's at his house, and the tax collectors and sinners, in quotation, were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. So all the followers there, It's kind of a party-like atmosphere. But it's a rag-tag looking lots of people too. Well, I spent hours researching this.

And what I concluded from what the role of a tax collector, you know, for a Jew to turn his back on his people, to be working for the Roman government and to be a tax collector, was the worst thing you could possibly do in their mind. But what it was like after looking at all this, and I encourage you to look, look how this. this went. It basically gave me the image. You know what I thought in this? It was like a cartel. They were functioning like the mafia. And the guys on the street were like the street man. They were,

they were the bag men, the money men. But the ones back in the bigger houses, well, I mean, they were, they would never be seen out in public doing this. But there, it was basically a system that function like the mafia. And what you- Kind of like modern day, political fixes and... That's right. So that's what I was going to get to. So Phil... Because Jace, everybody was getting their cut, just like the mafia.

When you moved up to the Herodians, they were getting their money, the Jewish leadership. And then, yeah, everybody was getting a cut. But you're right. The guy on the street, the muscle man, the guy that was collecting, he had the bad reputation. Well, he did. And because they had to pull the trigger on... function like the mafia, you know, and work the, because then this became an industry where what you do with the money and all sorts of corruption from gambling houses to prostitution houses

and all this. Well, you can imagine if you drove by and I'm at the house of a cartel and they're like, oh, what are you doing in there, Jace? So I'm trying to convert these people to follow Jesus. your initial response would be yeah i i know what's going on in there so you have all these people here and jesus is there so in verse 16 when the teachers of the law who are Pharisees saw him meeting with the sinners and tax collectors because now if you if you look at it through that lens that's why that was so disturbing they're like you know you can't be a religious people i mean you're with cartel, you're with the money mint, the bag, me, all the corruption is going on. And so they asked his disciples, why does he eat with the tax collectors and sinners? And by the way, they had laws,

they had amendments in Judaism that you couldn't be within a certain amount of feet with these types of people. Or you could not be considered a believer. So they weren't trying to to convert them. They were saying, there's some people, there's a line that you cross that you're out. And if you associate with them, you're out. What? You know what it was, Jay's? It was the first description of spiritual or religious social distancing. That's what it was. You know, they got social distancing now with the COVID. This was religious social. You can't, if you got within certain amount of feet from, you might. Same impact. Yeah. You might catch. You might catch. You might catch what they had.

If you want to... Hang on, Jay. Let's take our last break. If you want the definition of spiritual, social, distance. And look, I've seen that in my own life. I was going to do an event one time. We were talking about how they were going to market it.

I was like, well, just announce at your assemblies. I said, announce at your assemblies. I said, but go out into the world and just tell them. And they're like, we don't want to do that. And I was like, what do you mean? This is a very sad argument that I have. I think I've shared this story before, and they're like, well, they may come. People in the world.

I was like, well, that's who we're after. And they're like, well, no, I mean, you know, there's a line. These are the people that when they go to a Celebrate Recovery House, they're uncomfortable. They're like, this is not the people we want in our assemblies because they do make you uncomfortable. I mean, I was with a group yesterday that was predominantly people. will celebrate recovery. And look, if you're a real old-fashioned, I'm going to sit on my pew and be comfortable type of Christian,

you would have been very uncomfortable there. But in that vein, watch what happens. He says, why does the, how is he with tax collection or sinners on hearing this? Jesus said to him, it's not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Now, what he didn't say,

which is because he played a, along with this narrative, but the two categories there he described, do you realize that it's Jesus and people? It's God and it's people. We're not righteous. So Jesus basically declared in that is that for you to come to God, the basic requirement is that you need to be a sinner. admit that you're a sinner. Well, that's who needs it. But if you can't realize that, and so when you think about what Jesus did while he was here,

he reached out to sinners. Now, he protected the innocent, which is another category, you know, when you get into kids and he protected the innocent. But he said, I'm here also for the sick, the sinners. And so the Pharisees weren't able to acknowledge that because behind, you know, their system, which was based on it led to your performance in keeping a system. So there's there's the rub.

Well, Jason, it's interesting because you mentioned yesterday where we were. And, you know, we had to Rucker on our podcast before, and he was speaking. at this assembly we were at. And it's interesting because we heard his story. This is a guy who was just a few years ago was in prison, you know, for being involved with people. The cartel is it was the way he described it. Remember, he was a part of the cartel.

And so he was involved in that lifestyle. But then because of, you know, moving to West Monroe, working for duck commander, because of you and dad spending time with him sharing Jesus. Now he was speaking at that thing yesterday as a converted cartel person. And so it's really ironic. Yeah. So when you look at this situation, Jay, she's talking about it all the time. It's no accident that Mark and then Matthew and Luke followed his lead after he claimed he was the son of God and forgave the paralytic sin.

The first thing he does is go and get Matthew and then go and have this dinner. with these undesirables, or as Hillary Clinton would call them, deplorables. And they thought about him the same thing they do with us. But you're right, that's who needs the gospel as much as, I mean, everybody needs it, but they desperately need it. Well, that's what happened. And you're right. I was going to bring that up about yesterday.

I mean, it was moving. But you realize that people who are in the cartels and the prostitutes and the, you know, the celebrate requirements. recovery crowd, the reason this is in here and the reason this how to make sense of it all is because they don't, they didn't bring any spiritual pride to the table. So the lack of it makes you more open to seeing who Jesus is because you don't have, you don't have anything righteous that you can try to justify yourself. Well, it's actually a positive. And Jesus, look, think of all the stories.

You remember when the prostitute was crying and wiping Jesus' feet with the tears. Remember what the Pharisees said, well, if Jesus knew what's he been doing, he wouldn't be entertaining this as a positive. But when you don't have anything to stand on in your own life, that actually opens your eyes to realize Jesus as a spiritual doctor, I mean, it's just the way it is. And that's what he's describing. So us as people who are raised in church, which look, I've said this many times,

the hardest people to reach in the world are people raised in the church built. I mean, I've been in front of some kids where it was just their eyes were glazed over. Because they just, they couldn't see Jesus for who he is because in their minds, they're like, well, I'm righteous because I've been raised right, but they've had no experience with Jesus. So it's difficult. And I think for everyone, you have to have that humility and openness and an acknowledgement that you're a sinner and that you're broken and that you need God. You know, it's funny, Jace, when I first started out in ministry, so I kind of was a teacher first, you know, was kind of my role. And so I would teach and people would come and they wanted to hear.

And my style was a little bit different. I used humor and top 10 lists. And, you know, I had some little hooks, you know, but it was it was the word of God that I was sharing. And the hardest job I ever did, I don't know if you ever did it. But they asked me to go be like a substitute Bible teacher at our Christian, local Christian school there. And so I'd go out there and I got my little jokes and stories. And I'm going to be laying the word down. and I was excited about the opportunity.

And I get in there and you talk about a tough crowd. I mean, no response, nothing back. Nobody, they was like they were looking to the other direction. No amen. No amen. No amen. And when that bell rang and they left out of there like somebody leaving the Serengetty because the lines were chasing them.

And I was right in the middle of a story and I thought they don't care it all about what I'm shared. So to illustrate your point, Jay, It was a tough crowd. Well, look, I'm going to give you a sermon idea, but I'm going to give you a warning label. If you do this sermon, you will make the congregation very uncomfortable. Ooh, I like that. Okay.

Sometimes they need to be comfortable. So here it is. Now, I'm hoping this is from the spirit, but I should have worn my shirt that I could be wrong. But in my opinion, when I read the calling of Leva, the question about. fasting, which we'll get to, and the problems with the Sabbath, Jesus breaking the Sabbath, these were the first three scandals. These were the first three Jesus' grace scandals. Because that's what this was. And so the sermon now that you could make people uncomfortable is you, your title of your sermon is we need a scandal in this church.

So you have one. This first one is that we need to be associating with the cartel members and the barhoppers and the prostitution ring. The second one is because on this one they, John's, you know, we'll get into, but John's disciples and the Pharisees were saying, how come y'all are not fasting, which I think spawned from, they saw this party-like atmosphere over to cartel house. And they're like, how come y'all are not, you're being way too joy if there's a party. So he explains that.

And then the third, you know, about the Sabbath, it's the same thing. You can't be out here doing things in eating on the Sabbath or, So we need some scandals out in the church that makes people feel uncomfortable. We definitely got, that's too delicious. We've got to unpack that a little bit in the overtime because that's really good. We're out of time. If you want to follow us over, you can follow us over on blazedvary.com slash unashamed to get our bonus content, but also everything that Blaze offers.

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