Transcription

Connor:
You’re listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun and practical ways.

Chris:
Well, good morning, Jeff.

Jeff:
Good morning, Chris.

Chris:
I just want to welcome our listeners from around the world. I do too. And around the world.

Jeff:
I want to welcome our listeners as well.

Chris:
I can’t believe that people actually listen from other countries.

Jeff:
Isn’t that amazing?

Chris:
I don’t know how you found us.

Jeff:
It’s like 10% of our listeners listen from outside the US.

Chris:
Wow. Just saw that the other day. I thought of the quote from Back to the Future. They found me. I don’t know how they found me. Run, Marty, run! Yes. Who found you? The Libyans! But I don’t know how you found us, but thanks for finding us.

Jeff:
Thank you. We’re glad. Hey, share us. Share us with your friends.

Chris:
Yeah, that’d be great. So today we’re doing a segment and the segment is called, Where Are Our Listeners From?

Jeff:
Oh, I like this one.

Chris:
And so what we’re going to do is just highlight, in this case, a city. And I’ll give you a hint. It is a city in the United States.

Jeff:
This is inside the country.

Chris:
Yes. And it is going to be, what, four comments about it. And let’s see if you can guess what it is. OK. So you want to take it?

Jeff:
So number one, the world’s biggest pirate invasion happens here every year.

Chris:
Wow. Is that a reenactment, I’m assuming? That almost gives it away.

Jeff:
No, Chris, it clearly says it’s a pirate invasion. It doesn’t say a pirate invasion reenactment.

Chris:
Right, right, right.

Jeff:
So these poor people get invaded by pirates every year. Yeah. That’s just, why does anybody even live there every year? It’s the biggest… Pirate invasion, that’s what the sentence says. It’s the biggest pirate invasion in the world and it happens every year Okay, so many movies are running through my mind.

Chris:
I’m just gonna move on it’s so funny Okay, number two the twist dance craze started here, which by the way, I didn’t know that Oh, yeah, everybody do the twist again like you did last summer.

Jeff:
Okay. There you go how about number three R&B singer Ray Charles got his big start here and

Chris:
Georgia, Georgia. I always thought it was Georgia, like Atlanta, right? But this place is not in Georgia.

Jeff:
No, Chris, people don’t know that. Well, I mean, come on. Yeah. Well, so clearly now, you know, it’s not Georgia.

Chris:
By the way, I may have, people might’ve thought Georgia immediately. And you blew it. That’s what I’m saying. I just blew it. Or helped, Jeff, think about it that way.

Jeff:
I’m a helper. Yeah, you’re a big helper.

Chris:
All right. And then finally, the last one is the Cuban sandwich was invented here. And by the way, I was in Cuba four times and I thought that I learned that the Cuban sandwich was invented in Cuba.

Jeff:
It was invented by Cubans.

Chris:
You think so? You think it was invented by Cubans in the United States?

Jeff:
I kept asking for a Cuban sandwich in Havana. Yeah. Um, and they kept, it was hard to find a good Cuban sandwich. And then finally it’s in the tourist areas. So when I was in there getting it, he said, well, you know, only tourists buy these things cause they’re not really Cuban. That’s what he said. Really? Yeah. I didn’t know that. So, but all of the elements are Cuban elements. Right. Right. So you got the ham, you’ve got the, uh, the Swiss cheese, you’ve got that great roll. It’s going to be flattened out. You’ve got the, um, the pulled pork on the top of that with some pickles and a little bit of, uh, uh, mustard, but it’s got like the whole grain type mustard.

Chris:
Yeah.

Jeff:
Yeah. It’s one of my favorite sandwiches in the world.

Chris:
Yeah. It’s a great, it’s a good Cuban, but

Jeff:
It was invented in Tampa. According to this, and Desiree knows, Chris.

Chris:
Yeah. Okay. Well, we didn’t even do the drumroll. You said it.

Jeff:
Oh, did I say I said it?

Chris:
Okay, everybody. No, here’s the drum roll. Tampa, Tampa. There you go. Which by the way, thank you listeners.

Jeff:
Oh, that’s right.

Chris:
My daughter lives in Tampa. So she’s at least one of them. There you go.

Jeff:
So thank you to the listener in Tampa.

Chris:
That’s like saying my mom likes me.

Jeff:
So we have one in Ohio and one in Tampa. That’s not true. That’s great.

Chris:
I think actually I looked at the stat and I think it’s like 600 people in Tampa.

Jeff:
It’s a lot of people.

Chris:
Yeah. So it’s a lot of people. Actually, I’m kidding. I made that up.

Jeff:
I don’t know either, but it’s a lot. So thank you guys, and hey, we’ll be praying for you about that big pirate invasion.

Chris:
Yeah, that’s so funny. The Buccaneers, by the way, in case you’re wondering, that’s in Tampa Bay.

Jeff:
Don’t they have like a big festival, like parades and all that kind of stuff where people dress up like pirates?

Chris:
My sister used to live in Tampa. They have the coolest logo, right? It’s a pirate logo. It’s kind of cool for the NFL team.

Jeff:
Well, there you go. That was riveting. Another riveting segment by the Bible Guys. Well, we are going to be reading in John chapter 17.

Chris:
And it is worth reminding people that this is only found in the book of John. In fact, the last several chapters, John has recorded things that Jesus taught that really only John recorded. So, this whole study has been a comparison of the Gospels, a harmony of the Gospels, and when it’s written in two different places, we read both, or three, or possibly four, but we’ve been in John for quite a while.

Jeff:
Yeah, I think this is the seventh day of us being only in John. Wow. But it’s all been the same speech. Right. Of course. One big long speech as they’re walking from the upper room down through the Kidron Valley, which would also be Garden of Gethsemane area, up to the Mount of Olives and then back to the garden.

Chris:
So here we go. Hey, because our segment was a little quicker, can I start off by reading this right here? You should. It’s kind of super cool.

Jeff:
That’s super cool.

Chris:
So it lists the major events of passion.

Jeff:
So he’s talking about the Life Application Study Bible. It has this whole segment below the text of the Bible part, has this whole big chunk, which is really cool because it’s full of all kinds of notes and things, but this one has a big piece that lays out the calendar of the Passion Week, the week of Jesus’ death.

Chris:
It says, Sunday through Wednesday, Jesus spent each night in Bethany, just two miles east of Jerusalem, on the opposite slope of the Mount of Olives. He probably stayed in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Jesus spent Thursday night praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Friday and Saturday nights, Jesus’ body lay in the Garden Tomb. So it says, Sunday, the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Monday, Jesus clears the temple. Tuesday, Jesus’ authority challenged in the temple. He taught the stories confronting the Jewish leaders. Greeks ask to see Jesus, all of it disclosure, and then Judas agrees to betray Jesus. That all happens on Tuesday. And again, this is probably a most likely type chart, isn’t it? Sure. And then it says Wednesday, the Bible does not say what Jesus did on this day. He probably remained in Bethany with his disciples. Thursday is the Last Supper. Jesus speaks to the disciples in the upper room. Jesus struggles in Gethsemane, and Jesus is betrayed and arrested Thursday night. And then it says Friday, Jesus is tried by Jewish and Roman authorities and is denied by Peter. Jesus is crucified. And then on Sunday morning, the resurrection on the third day.

Jeff:
Yeah. So I would suggest that Wednesday he was still teaching in the temple. Yeah. And the reason being, we literally read two different times. It said each day, each day, and then each night he would go back to the garden. Right. Um, or back to Bethany. So I think each day is more than two days is what I would say.

Chris:
Right. Probably.

Jeff:
Right. So I think it’s probably Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, he was preaching in the, in the temples stirring the pot. And then yeah. Yeah. Anyways, other than that, though, isn’t that interesting?

Chris:
It is interesting.

Jeff:
And so then it has all the Bible references next to it. And the thing that’s the benefit of having a good study Bible, man, you need a good study Bible. You can get one of these on Amazon for like 20 bucks. Right. Right. They’re not very expensive, but a hardcover. And it just helps you because it gives you so many extra insights to what I think we regularly have say, wow, you guys really make the Bible easy to understand. There’s so many good insights. And where do you think we get these things from? We get them from the fact that we’ve owned study Bibles our whole life, we have some good commentaries, we’ve had some good teaching around us, and we’ve just collected all these things. Well, the benefit of a good study Bible is somebody collected all these things. A good editor put a bunch of these things together, and here’s some really good insights, so you could do it too. That’s what I’m trying to say. All right, now may I read?

Chris:
You may, I, I will allow that.

Jeff:
You should have said you may proceed.

Chris:
Oh yeah. Well, I always, I always bail to the Tony, Tony Stark comment. I will allow it. When, when he’s in, uh, Dr. Strange’s things and any, and the, uh, uh, he, he touches this, uh, sacred relic or whatever it’s supposed to be. And then Dr. Strange whips his arms with his, with his cloak. That’s right. And Tony Stark goes, I will allow that. It’s so funny. There you go.

Jeff:
John 17 we’re gonna read 1 through 19 here. It says after saying these things for the last six days After saying all these things Jesus looked up to heaven and said father the hour has come Glorify your son so he can give glory back to you for you have given him authority over everyone He gives eternal life to each one You’ve given him and this is a way to have eternal life to know you the only true God and Jesus Christ the one you sent to earth I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began. I revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and they know that I have come from you and they believe you sent me. My prayer is not for the world but for those you have given me because they belong to you. All who are mine belong to you and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. Now I am departing from the world, and they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name. Now protect them by the power of your name, so that they will be united just as we are. During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost except the one headed for destruction, as the scriptures foretold. Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so that they would be filled with my joy. I’ve given them your word and the world hates them because they do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth. Teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.

Chris:
How humbling is that? Jesus is praying for his, well, I mean, I want to say twelve, but he says, you know, one’s headed for destruction, right?

Jeff:
So he’s praying for all of them. Well, because remember, like later on, they vote for Matthias. They had to vote from all the ones that never left Jesus. So there’s always more than just those twelve.

Chris:
Oh, yeah. Yeah. All that you’ve given me. Yeah. That’s probably a reference to all the disciples. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He’s referring to Mary, Martha. Yeah. He’s referring to Zebedees. He’s referring to all these guys. Right.

Jeff:
Cleopas. Cleopas’ wife, Mary. Mary Magdalene. All these people are part of that.

Chris:
Cleopas is one that we don’t talk about enough. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, it’s just a humbling thing, and he prays for the church, that it may be one, that they may be unified. He prays that the Father would keep them safe in the world, and he says, they don’t belong in the world any more than I do. That’s a pretty awesome statement, right?

Jeff:
I love that phrase.

Chris:
Yeah. Love it. Yeah, just the idea that we’re, you know, we’re supposed to be, we’re in the world, but we’re not supposed to be of the world. The fact that we are made for heaven. And, and he says, they belong to me, which is great. So, I cannot read this passage without thinking of that new song song. You remember new song?

Jeff:
I do.

Chris:
You remember that?

Jeff:
I think I have all the records, by the way.

Chris:
Oh, do you? Records or cassettes? All their recordings. Okay. But what do you have? What version?

Jeff:
I think I have them all on my phone.

Chris:
Oh, good for you. Yeah. You’ve updated it. Yes. So you remember that song? This one’s with me. Yes. So, uh, so that I think you can correct me if I miss a line or something, but it says on the record, people get ready. There it is. So you do know. You know more than me. But I think it says, I was dreaming about heaven. Something about the pearly gates. We were all there. I was so scared in the presence of one so great. I bowed my head. He felt unworthy. And he said, he turned around and I was going to walk away. And then he says, but then I heard someone say, Father, oh Father, this one’s with me. This one’s with me. He’s part of the reason I died on Calvary. And he says, Father, please let him in. I paid the price for him. Father, oh Father, this one’s with me. But it’s that idea. It’s the idea that he felt unworthy in the presence of God. He turns around to leave. And then Jesus says the phrase, this one’s with me. And it’s that idea that like, Jesus is basically talking about that. You’ve given these disciples to me. They belong to me. I’ve prayed for them. I’ve prayed for their protection in the name that you’ve given me. And they don’t belong in this world any more than I do. And one day they’ll be with me. And when they get to heaven, you better believe there is a version of that song that is sort of true, right? Absolutely. I don’t know which phrase Jesus said, Yeah. But this one’s with me is just as good as any other phrase.

Jeff:
Yeah. Father, this one’s with me. Part of the family. One of the reasons I died on Calvary.

Chris:
Yes. I just, I love that concept. Yeah.

Jeff:
It’s really good. So the, uh, that I was dreaming. That’s a good record that still, I just listened to that one because it starts off with the old Motown song. People get ready. Remember? And, um, there’s a train coming. Remember that, that, that song? And again, the idea being that Jesus punched the ticket, that most of that album is about how Jesus punched the ticket for us. And there’s no other way. And that’s kind of what he’s talking about here. But I love the fact that Jesus says they do not belong to this world any more than I do. I think a lot of the conflict that Christians feel is that they feel like they’re supposed to fit in here. They feel like this is home. And Paul reminds his readers later on, he tells them, hey, we just live in temporary tents. Isn’t that what he says? These bodies are like, he called them tabernacles in the King James. They’re just temporary tents. A tent is fun. So I love tent camping. Love it. I find an excuse just to go out and camp in a tent a couple times a year. I’ve camped in the bush in Kenya.

Chris:
And you and I are different people.

Jeff:
I love it, man. I hate it. I hate it so bad. If you ever asked me what would be my, my favorite thing to do, I would love to go out and do like a big tent camping trip through Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons or something like that.

Chris:
I’m watching Yellowstone right now. Yeah.

Jeff:
I’m talking about the national park where the wolves are and all that stuff, but yeah.

Chris:
That’s on there too.

Jeff:
Kind of. But you’re thinking about the 6,000 square foot log cabin with all the fireplaces is what you’re thinking about. that they live in, right?

Chris:
No, it shows the national park.

Jeff:
Yeah, sure. So anyways, that wilderness thing, but a tent, I love a tent. Tents are fun, but they’re only temporary. Right. Right. They’re not, you can’t, really make much of a life living in a tent. You need to put down more stakes. So what happens for us is a lot of times we want to put down stakes. We want to make this home. And Paul keeps saying, your life would be way easier for you if you just realized you’re a traveler. right? You are a temporary resident and that this is not home. He’s gone and he’s prepared a place for us, Jesus said, just a couple of days ago in the podcast. He’s gone and there’s a celestial city. Do you remember reading Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan’s book? you know, what, 500, 600 years ago, Pilgrim’s Progress, and they were going to the Celestial City. The whole thing was this Christian, he was a brand new convert, and he’s on this journey all the way to the Celestial City. And there’s all these difficulties along the way, and he’s not always confident in his direction, and there’s always this temptation to put down roots and stay. And instead, he’s always heading to this Celestial City. And if we could just understand that we weren’t made for this world, That’s why it doesn’t quite fit right for us. There is more, and you have this sense in your heart and your mind, surely my life is supposed to mean something more. Surely I was supposed to do something more. You’re right. You weren’t made for this earth. You’re frustrated because the career you chose is to pay your bills, but that’s not what you’re made for, perhaps, right? You’re made for the kingdom. You’re made for something more, absolutely. And I love this phrase, they don’t belong to this world any more than I do. So he says, so make them truly holy by your truth and teach them your word, which is truth. You really want to start leaning into what you were made for, lean into God’s words, which, hey, that’s what our listeners are doing right now, right? Is they’re spending a little bit of time in God’s word today.

Chris:
Yeah. And when he talks about, he’s praying for us to be unified, right? Is that the scripture in other places where it says he prays that the church will be one?

Jeff:
Is that the same one? That’s the very next day. It’s tomorrow.

Chris:
Oh, that’s tomorrow. Okay. So he’s going to pray for the future believers. You’re really good at that.

Jeff:
You’re constantly tipping our hand is what’s coming. Hey, listen. You’ve read the Bible a time or two.

Chris:
I’ve read the Bible a time or two, yeah. You can put it together. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So yeah, but I just love the fact that Jesus has, he’s showing genuine concern and he’s praying for the success of His mission, of course, right? Obviously, it’s for God’s glory, right? But at the same time, there’s genuine concern. He’s like, Heavenly Father, I just want you. I’m not praying because it even says it right here. He says, I’m not asking you to take them out of this world, but keep them safe from the evil one. And so there’s genuine concern for their well-being because it just goes to show you that Jesus has true love for imperfect people. So he chose these guys like they’re tax collectors and they’re zealots and they’re people that are misguided, right? And these people are just imperfect people and people who he, by the way, knows they’re about to scatter. He knows they’re about to… He already told them they’re going to scatter. Yeah, he’s already said it. He knows they’re going to deny him and their faith is not as strong as, you know, they’re going to let him down. They’re going to leave him all alone. That’s why he says, you’re going to leave me all alone. He says, but I’m not going to be alone because I have the Father. He says, but you’re going to leave me all alone in just a minute. But he has genuine concern, which again, I love this too, because think about this. So when we read the Bible and it says, God loves you, it’s like this godly, heavenly, supernatural love. But yet Jesus has spent three and a half years with them. And so you have to believe that there is a, you know, the Bible says that he experienced every range of human emotion, right? So he’s got this sort of like brotherly, earthly affection that is very relatable to understand. So it isn’t just like, I love you from afar. It’s I love you up close. I know you, I see you, I’m relationally interacting with you. I know what it’s like to experience you on your worst days. So for me, when he has so much genuine concern, it’s just a great, comforting, humbling sort of thing to know that God loves us from afar and loves us because we’re His creation, but He also loves us by name, and He knows us in our imperfections, and yet He knows the depths of our heart, and He loves us the same. That’s really comforting.

Jeff:
Yep. And then he ends it with, I’m just as you sent me into the world, I’m sending them into the world, right? I’m on a mission. They’re on a mission because they’re not made for this world any more than I am. So we’re here on an invasion mission. And I’m leaving, but they’re staying. And now, uh, I’m sending them to go do what I did. And then he said, I’m going to pay this Holy sacrifice so that they can be made Holy by your truth.

Chris:
Yeah.

Jeff:
And that’s really powerful. Now, tomorrow he’s going to pray for us, for you and me. Yeah. Jesus prayed for you before he died, which is really cool.

Chris:
Yeah. That’s extremely cool. Well, Hey, that’s our time. And so hopefully we will see you tomorrow on The Bible Guys.