Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 718 | Phil’s Best Crawfish Recipes & Jase Does Something Special to Impress Missy at Dinnertime

Episode Date: July 17, 2023

The guys recall their brief stint as crawfisherman and how they ate great food, but ultimately ended up with blood poisoning! Jase and Al remind Phil of all the interesting crawfish recipes they developed during that time, which leads Jase to reveal something he does at dinnertime to impress Missy. The guys discuss the doubts suffered by John the Baptist while he was in prison awaiting death and whether those doubts were valid or appropriate.  In this episode: Luke 7, verses 18-35; Matthew 11, verse 11; John 3, verses 27-36; Romans 11, verses 26-27 — Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? So welcome back to Unashame. I'm still down here at the Southern Lair. I've got a house full of grandkids. Been doing a little bit of fishing down here, Jays, but it's terrible fishing. It's just the water's not right. It's too hot. There's too many people down here.

It's not like it is back in May. I'm glad you're back into fishing. I mean. Well, you know, it's funny because like one of my good friends down here, used to be a boat captain, and he loves to fish. He does kayaking guide fishing now. And so he's got all the equipment. So I don't necessarily have to always keep up with equipment.

So I can just kind of go along for the ride. And then my grandson, Corby, has taken a shine to fish him. And so, you know, your grandkids tend to have a way into your heart. So I always say that the reason I quit fishing was because of my early experiences of my childhood and teenage years when fishing was work commercial fishing. And so it kind of just jaded my appreciation for it. But I've kind of I've kind of recaptured some of that. So I'm not blaming you, Dad.

I'm just saying that's how we grew up. It was a lot of work. It wasn't anything glamorous about commercial fishing. No. Well, it all comes down to the fight or the table fair. So for me, you know, I like to catch Apollosus cat and Cropy because I like to them. I mean, I'd love to have some right now. But I also like a good fight. So I like the red fish for that. I enjoyed that trout experience. You know, I'm looking for ways to do that. I mean,

they fight, especially on a fly ride. Yeah. And a lot of the things we're doing on our TV show, we're just in areas where we're looking for what we're going to eat tonight, you know, because it's kind of a camp out situation. So you tend to to appreciate the skills that we developed in fishing because these you know these tv people you'll show up down there on the bank and they're like okay we're ready for you out to catch some fish yeah like like it's just yeah i'm just going to pull that i was like look it's called fishing they're like yeah but we need to get you know a couple on camera yeah but i'll have to admit every time that we uh seem to go on these ventures we're successful

I don't know if it's luck, if the Lord's looking out for us, or it just, so it's been nice. At one time, what we did in the fishing world was brutal. I mean, if you do it for a living, Chase. Takes a fun out of it. No fun. In fact, I don't even fish them with a rod and reel. Once you get through commercial fishing, you want food with that. Yeah, I mean, I just do it to impress my wife now.

Like, she's like, oh, I need to go to the grocery store. And I'm like, how about I go? catch some dinner, you know. So then it's a challenge. But I remember that, you know, the idea you had about, about crawl fishing. And because Willie was right when we were doing all this promotion for your movie coming out. I guess since Zach's not here, I'll give him the promotion, the blind.

The Blind Movie.com. Coming to a theater near you sometime in September. But when we were talking about that, Willie made a good point. I don't know if we talked about this. on the podcast. But he was like, you know, you're the type of person that whatever you're doing, you just go all in on. It's like back in your drinking days and all that, you're like, well, let's lease a bar

and sell, you know, this is, because that's just what you were into. And so then when you came down here, the commercial fishing, it was quite the operation. I mean, you went all in on the duck calls and the fishing, but I remember that crawfish, because who doesn't like a crawfish. So you're like, we went from catching crawfish to let's just get in the crawfish business. And look, it was the most fun I've ever had for about two weeks. Remember, we were eating crawfish every day. We were making money.

And we had 500 traps. We started running them twice a day. And we were catching the bait. And it was, it's just the times that we were working kept getting earlier. when it started and later when it ended. Yeah. And my hands were starting to get nicked and cut in various things. And then things would get in there and he would get infected.

We all wound up going to the hospital and didn't blood poisoning. And then I was like, you know what? I don't care if I ever eat another crawfish. It was too much too quick. When you do it for a living, my hat is off to all of our friends south of us, on the coast down up in there. My hats off to them because it's a lot of work. It does.

But now, I still love to eat crawfish, but it is a workhouse if you want to get into doing that. Well, we were having to sell a member, Jay's, I mean, you also had to create a market for them because, like, people buy them. But then you've got to have somebody willing to be your storefront. And so we were going around. We had the, we had you and Curly Don, as I recall, were down. Y'all were catching the crawfish. but the rest of us, and I was already working for the church, but then I became part of your retail arm because I went to every grocery store in our area

and was asking them if they would sell. And so we finally got Super 1, which is kind of an offshoot of Brookshers. And they agreed to sell them. And so what they did was I thought it was pretty inventive. They put a big Tom, I mean a big John boat in the back of their store in their meat department. I mean, it was about a 12-foot boat. And then we would sell the crawfish to them, and they would just pour those live crawfish in that boat. Yep.

And they were just crawling around all over the place, and they were selling them like crazy. Because, I mean, it was a unique experience. You know, you can walk back there and actually just pick them out of that boat, put them in a bag, and buy them live. It was pretty good. No, that was a good idea. Because it was actually a good marketing employee for it. So I didn't even know. Trying to make a book.

I was on the back end of it. Yeah. That was my role was to try to find some places that would see. sell it. And so it was a full operation. But you're right, Jay, it gets old after a while because it's like, well, it was so much fun. We're like, well, we're making money. We ate crawfish every day. Remember that? The fun factor, having fun, left pretty quick. It did. It left quick. I mean, we stayed with it, I guess, almost a year, but it just wasn't fun after the first two weeks. It just got, it was, it was a,

it's a rough way to make a dollar. But I think we were getting $40 a sack. They were 40 pounds sacks, and I think we were getting a dollar a pound for the crawfish, if I recall, right? And then they were selling them for whatever their markup was. But, you know, again, same with area. And after a while, you kind of saturate the market. And, you know, then people have had enough crawfish and then what are you going to do? So it's kind of the same old. We began to trace it back to the river itself, catching the fish in the river instead of crawfish

and the bait you had to have every day. And they didn't have artificial. She'll bait, they're like they have now, you know, and it was just whatever barn. They had it. It just wasn't as good. Cost effective. You know, and it was expensive. So, I mean, there you go.

But. Yeah, we're talking about a dollar a pound. You don't have a lot of room for error here, you know, it turns of money making. The whole reason that was worth it, though, is because in that process, you all developed all those recipes that we now still engage in, you know, from the Algrotton, to the Ettefei to the crawfish pies. Remember, it was like, it was literally the scene from Forrest Gump where the guy was talking about how many ways to eat the shrimp.

We ate those things every day. Remember? I mean, you would go in there and get boiled some water because the crawfish is hard to peel if he's just in the wild. But if you just put a little hot water, not enough to boil him, but just to make that meat kind of puff up, they're way easier to peel. And so maybe you'd pour it over and we'd start peeling them

because you got to peel them anyway to eat them, whether you bowl them to eat or put them in the dishes. It was feeding us as well as the ones we were catching up for sale on the market. We ate them every day. I bet you we ate those every day for two or three months. And remember that little squash recipe you come up? You took some because you had a garden out there. I don't know if you remember that.

And you took, you saw those squash and you're like, I'm going to try to come up with something involving the crawfish and the squash. Do you remember that? I don't remember it. Yeah. It was a crawfish succotash is what if you were putting a name on it. Because dad had some squash in there, a little bit of tomato and some other stuff out of the garden. And then you threw them crawfish in on top of it. It was delicious.

It was a really good. Yeah, and I think it was like a sauteed. in butter with your typical suspects of onion, garlic, bell pepper, and you cooked it. It was one of the greatest things I've ever eaten. I hate you. Crawfish are a fine eating thing. They're good. Well, a fresh crawfish is the best thing.

So now if you go buy a packaged crawfish bag, which who knows where it came from and how long it's been there. Yeah. When you use that for Et T. Faye, well, that's going to be not near as good is if you just went and caught the crawfish, peeled them on the spot and put them in the dish. They're like

just plump morsels that melt in your mouth with zero gaminess or wildness to it. That's it. Crawfish, he's an ugly looking creature, but well, so is a blue crab. The landscape over there where we just made

this big duck hole, and it's about 30-acre field. We cleared it that where we could get a boat in there. When the water fell out this year about a month ago, a month and a half, the water finally receded, we're draining it. As the water was draining out,

the crawfish started digging in. I was shocked how many crawfish was out there. I mean, it was poundage. So we've got a good place to crawfish because we've got some territory that just solid crawfish holes in the ground, little mounds about six inches tall, four to six inches tall, little mounds with the dirt. They all go down in that hole about 15 females and one male.

He breeds them all, and they come back out in the fall, when the fall, the fall rains start. They all start coming out, little bitty crawfish, two, three hundred per female crawfish, hundreds coming out of, and they got about 12, 15 of them in the ground. Also, we've got the right kind of territory that raises crawfish. Most people wouldn't even recognize it, but it's a lot of good food coming up out of the ground. Yeah, and even just for enjoyment, you're exactly right.

So that sounds like we've got some crawfish dishes coming this fall. Is that when I'm hearing that? You got it. All the good things from fall. That's good. Well, anything else happening around there before we get into our Bible study today? Oh, nothing. We have no Zach today.

He's probably doing movie business. He's a mogul these days, so he's not always with us. We have a little war going on with the water draining out as is. The beavers are taking advance of that advantage, and they're trying to keep the water in over there, and we're trying to get it out. And we're getting just enough rain where every time we drain it, here comes the beavers.

They block it off. We have to find out where they block it off, opening back up, draining the water. We're draining the duck water of this past winter right now. Who's going to win is the important question. Well, you know, we started out. I just had a contraption with some prongs on the end of it, and I'd do it by hand.

But the beavers are building such large beavie dams. People have to remember the largest animal-made structure on planet Earth, It's a beaver dam in Alberta, Canada that's over a mile long. You look at it from the satellite. They can see it from the space station, yeah. It's a mile long dam that beavers about that long put that together and damned it all up. It's a mile long and 20 feet deep out there in the middle of it. I mean, they have done a pull the feet off.

Well, that's just a warm up of what we deal with every year. They just block it off. Mud and logs. We've got to clean it all out. Now we've got a track hole that we just reach out there, rake it a couple of places. It starts flowing again. The beavers will stop it back up. We'll go back the next day or two, opening it up again.

Then we find another one. They get off of that when they get on another one. It's a job. That's what's happened. Hard work. In your 70s, you start working. and smarter, not harder. That's right.

I like the way... I like the way he started was I used to do it by hand, but now it's somebody in a traco. That's because, Dad, the beavers are getting younger, but not you. You don't want to tear up the landscapes for too much, so we're just doing it. The beavers build the downs.

We break them, and that's the way we're doing it. We're not harming the beavers any. We're just undoing what they're doing. At what point did you say, we're going need a bigger rake. The point when I looked at the beaver dams and they were like, instead of a mile long, they'll be about 50 yards wide.

You leave them alone, it can turn into one that's a mile long up to 8 or 10 thick. If you looked at that one in the Alberta, Canada, you can just get on your internet and look, you can find it. That thing's over a mile long. It's the largest beaver dam. in the world. It is pretty amazing, Dad, that the, the Almighty put a natural engineering instinct into the small mind of a beaver. What part of salt water made that beaver? That's right. Get out of my face with it. It's a lot of us or the beavers. I'm sure,

I'm sure a lot of engineering principles are based on beavers. All right, so we, we're in Luke chapter seven and jays we're going to go back we've actually we finished the chapter but we left a section out and so we're going to go back today and maybe the next podcast as well and uh and catch this section that we that we skipped over and the reason we skipped over it is because we kind of had this theme going luke did when he wrote this about these what i've been calling undesirables that's not a biblical term that's just what i tagged it and these were people that you know that you're Jesus was interacting with. Same thing back in Luke 5.

It was a leper, a paralytic, and a tax collector. Now it's a Roman centurion servant. It's a widow in her dead son, and Jesus raised him from the dead. And it's this what we call the town prostitute, this woman, at the end of Luke 7. And in all these cases, Jesus shows us that he's willing to interact where other people, maybe not so much to step in. And so we kind of covered those three different sections. Al, the point he's making is that other people, they can't do what he's doing.

Only the king can do what he's doing. He's a king, but nobody knows it yet. We're in Matthew Martin, Luke. Well, Luke's looking at the kingdom as it's beginning to form how it functions and the people inside, the ones that are under the king, and then pay allegiance to him in all things. So you have a king without an army of weaponry, fire, power, just word of mouth.

Jesus came in flesh, died, was buried, and raised from the dead. That's all right here when it starts. It starts in the book of Acts. But all the warnings and all the things that the king can do, it's just mind-boggling. It's enough for me to say, I'm with him. I'm with that one right there. That is an excellent segue into this section that we're going to go back and pick up. Because there's a lot of questions about this section, but I'll just say this before we get into it, start reading it, that John the Baptist is going to ask the questions that you're talking about.

But really he's saying, is this really, are you really the one? Even John the Baptist was stoned by. No, that's quite a question, though, when he said, are you really the one? Yeah. But he didn't just leave it there. Or is someone else, or should we be looking for someone else? Because the implication of that is really what's at the heart of every man and woman, which is we need or we desire.

someone the one i mean when you look at it in a romantic context you know i mean when i was in the dating world it's like is she the one you know we just had that in our mind when you think about is there a creator uh what am i going to give my life for it's a it's a real sobering question are you the one i love i love the way it's phrased because everyone has to ask themselves that about Jesus at some point in their life. Jayce, 40 different times. 40. If you go in your concordance and look up mystery.

It's used 40 times from Daniel, which is just a leap back. Daniel said, all this is going to happen in the future. Well, he was a thousand miles out going down to the Old Testament. The Old Testament was fixing the end right after him for a while. But then you say, good night, let's see. Who else was there? Well, if you start and you look, it goes from Daniel over to Romans. When he arrives, he dies, he's buried, he's raised.

We're reading before he died, before he was buried, before he was raised. We're right at it. The kingdom is at hand, but it's mentioned 40-something times, and it's described the kingdom is, and Jesus as a mystery. They're wondering, is he the one? Is he the one? So you could say he came as a person who was called Mr. Mysterious. Mysterious.

Forty-something times when it comes down to the gospel, his death, burial and resurrection. 40 different times. It's mentioned, it's mentioned, it's mentioned. And it really gets thick. When you get into Romans, 1st Corinthians, Ephesians is a great place. Colossians.

Just look up, and you can court us, look up mystery. First Timmy, and you'll find what we're reading in the book of Matthew, Mark, Luke.

We're in Luke. But they're all saying the same thing, Al. It's amazing that they're saying the same thing from about a thousand different angles.

Is he the one? And you end up with saying he's the one. He proves it by his resurrection. Well, some people. I mean, some people. Oh.

He's not. And they, I know it. You know, it's like the irony of, of, it was Hillary Clinton. Remember when she called the Republicans or I don't remember when she said this, but she called the people who cling to their guns and pray to their God as the basket of deplorables. Yeah. It was during the 2016 election, yeah. Yeah, you made me think of that when you called these, the,

untouchables. But actually by her doing that, because, you know, deplorable, if you look up the definition, you know, it has something of, to do with condemnation. You're saying they should be condemned for doing this, but those of us who are in that camp, it's actually when you read about who we have our faith in, because this ultimately comes back to a person. is why I love this question, are you that one? Well, it's a person who's saying he's for everybody. And for her even making that statement, she's saying, well, there's some groups of people

who are not worthy to be in our camp. And so the same thing you're accusing someone else about is what you're displaying in that statement. That's right. Because, you know, the list of things, oh, they're racist or whatever, you know. But I just found that interesting that that's the difference in Jesus and other religious leaders or political people or other kings

is he saying this is for everyone. Yeah. I mean, it's for everyone. Jew or Gentile. And he didn't come. Really, the debate's going to be, because there's a lot of things in this section that are kind of hard to wrap your head around, especially in Matthew's account of it.

It's like he's not coming in a kingdom that's like other kingdoms. I mean, it has nothing in common with it. And in fact, it's the exact opposite. So this is more him coming in weakness, what we consider weakness, you know, being poor in spirit. And I mean, what does that mean? You know, you're spiritually bankrupt, and he's calling the, you know, the poor, the lame. And that's going to be his message in this. When everyone else is thinking when a kingdom comes, that this is about power, destruction, manifestos, and it's like...

But some Jew and Gentile, it's explained, Romans 20, Romans 11, I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not become conceited. Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. Well, there's all that Jewish throng that gathered up against Jesus. And it ends up that 28th. All Israel will be saved as it is written, the deliverer will come from Zion. He returned godlessness away from Jesus. Jacob, this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.

As far as the gospel's concerned, they're enemies on your account. They're the ones who crucify Jesus, trying to get rid of him. You read that in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But as far as he lexon is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs. So there's a remnant coming in there for God's gift and his call are irrevocable. just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience. They said crucify them.

We all are Gentiles looking at it. So they too have now become disobedient in order that they may now receive mercy as a result, God's mercy to you. For God has bound all men to disobedience, but that he may have mercy on them all. So, Jeo or Gentile, that brings us all together under one head. Jesus, and it's a wild story the way it got done.

I mean, they're the ones that killed him, the most religious people on earth. Chief preach, teachers of the law, they're the ones that killed him. But not even understanding that they were going to be made, as Peter would put it, when they said, what do he do? He said, you need to turn to Jesus, repent, deep baptized. God to give you a spirit. It's for all men. So it's a wild story. And to your point, Jay's, I think that's a great illustration you use because the very thing, once you experience Jesus like these people have that we've been reading about, once you experience them, the very things that others will look down on you as a deplorable, like in the last story you had was Simon looking down on this woman and Jesus.

because he's like, if this guy was a prophet, I mean, surely he would know a kind of woman. He's allowed to touch him. Yeah. But you wear those things as a badge of honor. When that woman left there that night, when Jesus told her sins were forgiven, I mean, she left there on cloud nine. So you were talking about someone's calling you a deplorable because you cleaned to your gun and your Bible. You're just like, that's two of the most important things I have. You know, I mean, both help me fight battles.

She got it wrong. She got it wrong. Well, yeah. But I'm saying her point was because you're alienating other groups of people. And I'm like, well, didn't you just alienate all those people? Isn't that the same principle? And that's what I was getting to. I don't know who that famous king was that went in.

And he's like, he conquered a city. And there was a quote. And he said, you know, they asked him who was left. And he's like, well, those who are a member of my kingdom and those who are dead. Yeah. It was like, that's what real kings do in real kingdoms. You know, how many movies have you seen? They go.

You take out anyone who's not with you. You strike them down. And then everybody left, they better at least say there with you. And so that's why it's so strange with Jesus. I mean, in the next chapter, he's going to do a whole parable about just listening. I mean, really, we call it the parable of the sewer. But it's just about hearing and listening. Well, what kind of leader is doing something about that?

That's the exact opposite. You know, being open-minded is that'll get you dead in other people's kingdom. You comply. You are coerced or you die. There's no middle ground. It's not really freedom like that. And so you're seeing that that's why this is uncomfortable for people to read because in one breath what we're fixed to read he says john the baptist greatest

man born of a woman but he also you see that john the baptist is asking the question well are you the one well what kind of question is that that's showing that he has doubts here and it shows you it is a mystery yeah but i i think it was too a sign that he was doubting his cut i mean it's his prison, this guy's been straight as an arrow living in the woods preaching about God's judgment. And, you know, he's compared to Elijah in this. And I did a little. You know, you think God will put them together and say, now, y'all get this thing right before he, no, he just let it unfold. Well, I think, no, look, I could be wrong. Y'all can take me to task if you want. But it seems like to me, John is like, well, if you're the one, how come I'm sitting in this prison?

That's exactly it. I mean, that's it. And I think, look, with that fundamental thought is really a danger in our churches today. Because it's like, you know, I mean, I can't think of an illustration that depicts it. But it's, you know, it's almost like you're, you know, when you accept Jesus, you're like, well, I got a cat, you know, a new cat that I'm going to bring it to my house and put it in the corner. And it's like, as long as I'm doing good and feeling good and I can get something out of this, then I'm going to go along. But if something goes wrong, and that's the biggest probably excuse on why people don't want to follow Jesus, because they're like, well, why is this happening to me? If God is for me, you know, how come I lost my job or how come I got sick?

Welcome to a sinful world. Yeah, but I just, I think, don't you, L in this context? I think you totally nailed it. I mean, it's exactly what I think is going on, the heart of this whole story, which really should make us feel good because of going through tough circumstance. But this shows you the power of circumstance and persecution. And they are both super strong. And so I think you're right. I mean, you just think about this.

John the Baptist, not only was he, remember he had the Holy Spirit in the womb that he was saying. aside for this task. But he also was there and baptized Jesus reluctantly and heard and saw the voice of God and the Holy Spirit of God like a dove, it says, descending on Jesus. So you think if anybody had an ironclad, never going to doubt, never going to question anything, it would be him. But it shows you the power of once you have a visual in your mind of what is supposed to be. And then you're going through a really rough time yourself of how powerful that is that you have to deal with that. I mean, he was struggling with being sitting there waiting for them to cut his head off. I mean, and who wouldn't? I mean, it really is the most human of factors to me.

Well, that's why I think Jesus's analogy, which is hard for you to wrap your head around when he said, so there's no greater human born from a woman than John the Baptist. But then he says, But he who is in the kingdom, who is least in the kingdom, who is least in the kingdom, is greater than he. So now I've heard a lot of people try to explain this. My take is, just to give an overview of this before we read it, I guess, is even though John the Baptist was really close to this kingdom, he was preparing the way, and he was preaching, repent for the kingdom is near.

I think Jesus's point was he didn't get to experience it with the Holy Spirit being made available. Jesus, understanding the king dying for the sins of the world, being buried and right, even though he heard that, he didn't get to experience being part of it. So as we believe, now look, other people disagree with us, but we believe that when Jesus died and was bearing raised, and the Holy Spirit was poured out in Acts chapter 2. That was when the kingdom arrived. That is correct. The kingdom on earth.

Now granted, we all agree that one day this will be completely fulfilled when Jesus comes back and we get to experience this kingdom of whatever that is for eternity together. But when they were saying it was near and statements like this is what I'm saying, support that because what else could Jesus have meant how how could you say in one breath because this guy was a great man he was a prophet he wasn't out there cutting up but we all know that all men sin so he he he sound like everybody else and he was being led by the spirit and whether it was in a different way of it being on him rather than you know in him who's to know i don't know exactly what the details were but for jesus to make that statement he was saying

there's something fixing to happen and you can be a part of. Plus, Jesus, in fact, was and still is God, but John the Baptist never was. Well, right. But what I'm saying is when you read, we're going to get to Luke 17, 20, and 21, and I'll introduce it now because it's a very important verse. Before you read that, Jay, before you read that, let's take another prayer. Once having been asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God would come the kingdom of god does not come with your careful observation nor will people say here it is

or there it is because the kingdom of god is within you within people and then mark nine one says some of you who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of god come with power well he's got to be talking about something because they were all standing there and you're not going to die before you see it and they're all dead and it's not going to come with your careful observation or visibly like some translation says it's not there's not a power structure that's going to move across the earth with swords and say we're we're now in control so i think when john the baptist asked him that quit or sent the two messengers that are you the one to come i noticed something i think you're going to find fascinating that in john's version of it watch how many

times, this is in John 3, watch how many times John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the one. This is John 3 in verse. You remember the conversation they had Al in 27? They were arguing about, you know, who's going to be doing the baptizing and who's more important. And when 27, just to give you the context, John replied, a man can receive only what is given him from heaven, which is a great bumper sticker, you yourselves can testify that I said, I am not the Christ, but I was sent ahead of him. The bride belongs to the bridegroom, which is an obvious picture that Jesus is the head of the church and we're married to him. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, which is why I brought up

that about listening. And it's full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine and is now complete. He must become greater, I must become less, which is all great. But it makes you also remember what happened to this? When he got in prison years later, he's lost this, he's lost this tenacity that he had right here. But watch what he says. Here it is.

The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks as one from the earth. the one who comes from heaven is above all he testifies to what he has seen and heard but no one can accept his testimony the man who has accepted it has certified that god is truthful here it is again for the one whom god has sent speaks the words of god for god gives the spirit without limit which is another good bumper sticker Yep. The father loves the son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the son has eternal life.

Whoever rejects the son will not see life for God's wrath remains on him. So there was a couple reasons I read that. One is to say at this time he thought, well, he is the one. And he's sharing accurately with power who Jesus is. The circumstances change. He's in prison. He thought this was going to be a more violent. violent or

forceful occurrence with Jesus being in control. But now he is under the oppression of people that oppose him. You know, and we all know what happened. You know the detail. So when he rebukes the king

for marrying his, who was it to him, his brother's wife, maybe. Correct. Yeah. And he rebuked, John the batters, he was just,

You know, she was also a niece to both men because they were brothers. So, I mean, yeah, it's about as twisted as you're going to get the situation. And it broke the law. It broke the law on Novotus about how they were supposed to do it. This is one of the original Herod that was after Jesus. It was one of his four sons, two of his four sons. That's who's involved here. So really this creates a question now.

So in Matthew's account, in Matthew 11, I think one of the top five, confusing verses are in there, and I think this is a perfect time to address it, because we went through Matthew, but we really didn't talk about this, because it's hard to explain. But in Matthew's version, he says, in verse 11,

this is the statement we're going to get to in Luke, when he says, among these born of women, there's none risen anyone greater than John the Baptist, yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And I told you what I thought. I thought he meant even though he was this close, he prepared the way he was the forerunner.

He didn't get to participate in the actual kingdom coming as far as the spirit being poured out, all that. And having that community. In fact, it's funny, Josh, you said that. Let's take our last break. It's funny you said that because I hadn't thought about this. You just made that statement. It's a lot like Moses was with the first covenant. you know, Moses took them right up to the point,

and then God said, no, you're going to wait here while they go in, and you don't get to see it. And in a sense, that's exactly what happens with John the Baptist, which is interesting. I didn't really have thought about that. Great point.

So in verse 12, I don't see how else he could make the statement was my point. For years, I never understood what that meant. I thought, well, nobody I've met in the kingdom is better than John the Baptist. Right. What was he talking about?

But I think I'm right on this, you know, that that's what he was said. This is so, you don't understand what you've actually prepared here. This is almost beyond your imagination. I'm actually, your king is going to give his life for you, not you giving your life for the king, which is the total opposite. This, I'm going to figure out a way for the creative universe to actually get inside your body and help you with your thoughts and decisions and being wise.

I mean, it was just, I'm going to show you that, look, you want a kingdom tactic? The people with me, they're indestructible. It's so far beyond normal just what happens in kingdoms and them fighting with each other. I mean, you just think if a king figured out a way that you couldn't be killed. He would take over the world. Their collapses come early. All right. But if you've figured that out, you'd take over the world in five minutes.

You know, if your soldiers were incapable, that's why there's been thousands of movies about this. Oh, they figured out something. The ultimate warrior, he can't die. Well, what happens? Well, they just take over the world immediately until they meet somebody else that can't die. And then you get into these stupid movies where... Then you're into the immortals. Yeah. They can't die unless they get close to kryptonite.

And they're like, what is kryptonite? Well, we made it up. So they made the whole thing up. So verse 12 says, from the days of John the Baptist until now, and here's the controversial verse, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing and forceful men lay hold of it. Now, other translations say violent. And so you're like, well, what does that mean? And what I propose is that that was part of the problem John the Baptist had.

He thought we're going to take over violently with force. And Jesus is the Messiah, the Jewish Messiah, and he's going to free us from the oppression. And so they're going around preaching judgment. just like Elijah did, because he said in the spirit of Elijah, which Elijah had a lot in common with John the Baptist. He was a wilderness guy. I mean, you remember there's a story somewhere in First Kings where ravens were coming up and feed him?

He was literally living in the forest and had befriended the ravens, and they were getting his food. John the Baptist has eaten locusts and honey, and they're preaching judgment, and they've had run-ins with bad queens. I mean, Jezebel and Elijah's case. And Ahab. Yep.

I mean, it's almost, that's why he was in the spirit of this. So either like some people believe this is spiritual violence where it's like her spiritual force, where it's like a play on words, where it's advancing, even though it doesn't look like it. Because it's not, because Jesus is doing all this about blessed are the poor, blessed when you're weak. And we're not, this is not armed men going around. We know it's not. physical violence, but before the kingdom came, every person up until Jesus reveals the kingdom

through his death, burial, resurrection, the spirit, pouring out, it was going around with a preaching of judgment and that this one who is going to end all oppression is coming. So either way, I think John the Baptist had the wrong view in this, moment of exactly what the kingdom was going to look like. And it made him doubt the king. Because he's in prison. He's like, aren't you supposed to free me from this? I mean, aren't we supposed to take these guys out at some point?

And so I think they were forcefully advancing and taking all these risks because they knew there's one coming that's going to take care of all this. I mean, I'm willing to do whatever. Or what do you think? Or do you think it is a spiritual? It's one or two choices. It's either a spiritual thing where you're, as people are physically violent, we're spiritually violent in a positive way.

It's like we're radically into this. I mean, which do you think it is? No, I think your first assessment is exactly what I think. And I think the proof of it is in the reaction of the disciples throughout the whole process. I mean, right up until the time Jesus left, they were still questioning the kingdom. And he was already resurrected. And they still didn't quite get it, you know, until after he was going.

There was some still doubting the whole process. Yeah, remember when it said, Dad? They saw him resurrected and yet some of them still doubted. So I think a couple of things about this, Jason. We're going to talk more about this in the overtime because we're almost out of time. But I think you're exactly on to what happened. I think John the Baptist, as great a man as he was and as an amazing. amazing a role as he played, he didn't quite understand, just like all the other Jews.

I mean, did anybody understand fully? No, except for Jesus, that he missed what it was ultimately about. I think he wasn't afraid of going into the king's prison because he thought exactly what you said, that whenever Jesus got ready to take over, he would be brought out and he would have some role in the kingdom, just like the 12th off the thorough was to sit on Jesus' right and left. So I think you're right. I think the underlying thing in the entire time Jesus was here was not quite understanding what it meant by the kingdom, which does make that statement that the least in the kingdom is greater than him make perfect sense. Because in an upside-down servant-led kingdom, that's exactly what you're going to see.

And look, they can take your head, but they can't take your soul, which is Jesus' whole point. Plus the Apostle Paul and the other writers, Peter finally got it. But that's why it's said to be a mystery. Well, right, but he does give us some insight into the mystery because I wanted to get this in the main podcast. Because by his response, which we'll talk about in part two of this, you know, and Jesus says, go back and report to John. This is 722 of Luke. What you have seen and heard, and of all things to say.

The blind received sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf here, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor, and blessed is the man who doesn't take offense or fall away on account of me, which I think, you know, he was talking to John. He was, and that's a hard thing to say. He gave the same message of what we've been reading, which is why we did the untouching. slash deplorables, however you want to say it, first. Because the bottom line is we're all deplorable and untouchable in our own workings, everybody. And so he, but he gave him a hidden message in there, which is the dead erased.

Why would you tell a man who's in prison, who's fixing to die, the dead erased? That's it. And it's the exact opposite of what John the Baptist thought this was going to be about. we're going to take these people who lock me up. We fixed to get them. And Jesus gives him a comforting message. No, we're going to call everybody from the lowest to the weakest based on my power. And, oh, by the way, the debt are raised.

I mean, I think there's a subtle message there to John the Baptist. You take comfort where this is not going to work out like you thought. And Jesus was right. He got his head cut off. But guess what? The debt are raised. If Jesus has that power, you win. And so even today, the same people that don't understand why their life is not great

because they're having trust in Jesus, you need to read what he wrote John the Baptist. This is a being who has this kind of power. That's it. And in fact, that's one of the P's I applied to what you just read, Jay's. He reminds him it's about power, which I still have, even though I know you're questioning. it's about people because that's who he's doing all this stuff for. That's what the kingdom is going to be about people. And then it's about preaching because he says they preach the good news.

And that's exactly what John had been doing up until this moment of doubt. So in the overtime, I want to talk about that because since doubt is here, we always assume doubt is the worst. But since John the Baptist is the one doing the doubt, and maybe it's not as bad as we thought it was. So let's talk about that as we continue to set this text up before we get to the next Unashamed podcast where we're going to break that. down. So if you want to follow us over, blazedv.com slash unashamed is where you get our overtime content.

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