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
Oh, okay. Hey, is this on? What are we doing? Hey. I’ll tell you what we’re going to do first. It’s going to be the beginning. Are we. Are we starting this? The beginning? Is this. Should we? Of course. This is the beginning. Okay, test. Test one to do first was to welcome all of our listeners. And I often wonder, where are they listening from right now? Are they listening from the United States, and if so, which state? And uh, and then are they listening from another country? Perhaps.

Jeff
So you’re not saying like from the front seat of their car in the bathroom?

Chris
Oh no no, no, no, I was meaning just geographical geographical locations. Yes.

Jeff
Yeah, yeah. Like what country. What state.

Chris
Because because if they write in and tell us and they write in and talk to us.

Jeff
They could win a big prize.

Chris
The prize is you get mentioned on the Bible, guys. Okay. But, uh, Jacob s wrote in Jacob. And so we’re going to actually do a segment right now which we love to call mail Mailbags Mailbags. So, uh, so we.

Jeff
Need to drop for that.

Chris
We need we definitely need we need to upgrade and put some time into it. Okay. We’ll do it. Um, but Jacob S writes this. I know Jeff loves food, and Chris loves to be passionate about a variety of things. I’m not sure how to take that. Well, I.

Jeff
Was going to say Jacob doesn’t know nothing about us. And I went, yeah, he does. Yeah he does. He’s got us pegged.

Chris
So he.

Jeff
Doesn’t know nothing. That’s a double negative.

Chris
You’re a double negative. Well. Okay. So I know that Jeff. That’s my that’s that’s a great that’s a movie quote okay. It’s from crazy stupid love Ryan Gosling said that okay. To Emma Stone. Uh, I know you’re Ryan.

Jeff
Gosling now in this story.

Chris
Yes I am, I would be proud to be Ryan Gosling or Zac Efron. Okay, I know Jeff loves food and Chris loves to be passionate about a variety of things. So I want to hear you to debate on whether a hot dog is a sandwich or not.

Jeff
Okay. Is a hot dog a sandwich? Is this an issue?

Chris
Here’s a big here’s the big debate. You ready for this? Here’s here’s our here’s our debate okay okay. Ready. Yes, yes. It’s a hot it’s a sandwich.

Jeff
Is it really.

Chris
You think so? Yes.

Jeff
So I looked this up.

Chris
Do you concur.

Jeff
No. Why? What kind of. Kind of. So I looked it up. The definition of a sandwich I think, is really the important part of this. Wait a.

Chris
Minute. You looked it up in preparation for this segment? Yes. Wow. Like this morning? Like just the.

Jeff
Oxford English Dictionary. Yeah. Oh, yeah. While I was waiting for you to get in, because, you know, I’m usually on time. Uh.

Chris
Oh, geez, I pulled in. I walked in at 9:01 a.m..

Jeff
I think we were supposed to be here at nine. Right? So anyways, um, the Oxford English Dictionary says, quote, a sandwich is an item of food consisting of two pieces of bread. Yep. With meat, cheese or other filling between them. Eaten as a light meal.

Chris
Yeah. It says meat, cheese, comma or other filling. Yeah.

Jeff
The problem is the the issue is, is a hot dog bun two pieces of bread. 010.

Chris
See, so here’s what you’re saying. Listen, I’m going to love this debate. Right. You’re trying to tell me no, I’m being sarcastic, okay? You’re trying to tell me because, you know, oftentimes a hot dog bun, when you unfold it, it splits into two. Yeah, yeah. So you’re saying if that accident happens, that’s a sandwich.

Jeff
Well, according to Oxford English Dictionary, it has to be two pieces of bread. That’s what it says, consisting of two pieces of bread.

Chris
So Quiznos. Quiznos, uh, doesn’t actually slice like like subway does. They actually would, like, slice it. Yeah, yeah. And they leave it connected. That’s correct. Actually, I think I think subway actually does leave it connected. Yeah. Where they’ll actually flip it open and leave it connected at one end. Yeah. Yeah. So you’re saying according to that definition it’s not a sandwich.

Jeff
Does a role count as two pieces of bread because that’s what it is. So clearly it’s made from the same ingredients. No, this is.

Chris
This is as bread. This is not an argument that’s going to hold up. Well, I’m.

Jeff
Just saying the definition.

Chris
Of course it counts as two pieces of bread, two pieces of.

Jeff
Bread. It’s one piece of bread cut in the middle.

Chris
But every piece of bread is like that.

Jeff
No, it’s not true.

Chris
Sure, it comes out as a loaf of bread and you slice and you slice it.

Jeff
You slice it all the way through. You don’t take one slice of bread with with a hole in it.

Chris
Have you ever heard the saying it’s the best thing since sliced bread? Yes. At one time there was no sliced bread, right? Pre-sliced.

Jeff
That’s correct. And so then they would have pre-sliced bread, but then you would have had to slice all the way through to get a slice of bread. But this is one piece of bread with a hole in it. That’s that’s it. So that’s it. And then the second one.

Chris
A hot dog bun, is the same as any loaf sliced, but.

Jeff
It’s one piece of.

Chris
Bread. So the subway’s in our sandwich. Then if a hot dog is on a sandwich and the subway’s not a sandwich.

Jeff
Well, that wasn’t the question, though. Stay on focus here. The other part was this. Here’s here’s my other argument. I really worked this out. An item of food consisting of two pieces of bread. We’re already determining it’s only one piece of bread with meat or cheese or filling between them. We’ll agree that the hot dog stuff right is is the filling between them eaten as a light meal? And I’m just going to say right now, I’ve never eaten a hot dog as a light meal.

Chris
Oh, then you’ve never had a good hot dog. No, I.

Jeff
I only eat like four hot dogs at a time.

Chris
Dude. I’ve. So you’ve made hot dogs? You’re being funny right now. But you’ve made hot dogs for our staff that are.

Jeff
So are those light meals?

Chris
Exquisite. Yes.

Jeff
Well, if only one of them.

Chris
Is a sandwich. A light meal, is it?

Jeff
Well, it depends on how you do it. Right, right. The other, the other issue.

Chris
With peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Jeff
The other issue with the English Oxford English Dictionary definition is, uh, an item of food consisting of two pieces of bread. So that would mean like a, um, what’s the sandwich that has all the layers in it, a Dagwood? Well, like a Dagwood, but.

Chris
A double decker.

Jeff
Yeah, like a double decker or what? You know, it has, like, um, um, uh, bacon on it and all those things, you know, and then another slice of bread and then you know what I’m talking about.

Chris
I’ve only I’ve given you the two terms that I think that.

Jeff
Anyways, I was just thinking there’s all kinds of what we would call sandwiches that don’t count. Then if it only is two pieces of bread.

Chris
Okay. So what you’re doing then is you’re just you’re building your whole argument on the technical letter of the law. Is that what you’re doing?

Jeff
I think the definitions matter and dictionaries determine what words mean. Otherwise, if you get to determine the meaning of a word and I get to determine the meaning of a word, then it doesn’t have any meaning.

Chris
Yeah.

Jeff
So we have to have an agreed upon meaning of the word, an Oxford English Dictionary.

Chris
I disagree that I would say that you.

Jeff
Disagree with the dictionary writers.

Chris
No no no.

Jeff
No no no expert.

Chris
Opinion. No no no. What I was going to say before you interrupted me was I disagree that that is an updated definition. Updated because a sandwich may be back in the Oxford days of definitions. Uh, was maybe just that simple. And nobody had thought about that because there were.

Jeff
So many hot dogs back in this day that you’re talking.

Chris
About. Yeah, yeah. Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun. Guess what? Those are three pieces of bread in between. I know, yes, I know, it’s one. One in the middle and then one.

Jeff
I didn’t write the dictionary, dude. I’m just reading the dictionary.

Chris
So it’s settled. I think we’ll all agree that a hot dog is a sandwich.

Jeff
I think you’re choosing to agree.

Chris
That it’s a sandwich. Amen.

Jeff
Okay, well, there you go. By the way, I’m not sure I can work in these conditions.

Chris
By the way.

Jeff
I’m still environment.

Chris
Amen. Means so be it. So be it, or I agree. Okay. That’s what it means. Okay. So.

Jeff
And so you amend.

Chris
Yourself I amend myself. That’s right. And all the other people that agree with me which is everybody okay.

Jeff
Hey, guys, I just wanted to take a second and ask you if you’re listening on any of the audio platforms like Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or Spreaker. Would you do us a couple things? One, give us five stars, of course five stars. Only five stars if you don’t want to give us five stars, we don’t want to hear from you, but give us five stars and then subscribe.

Jeff
Subscribe, subscribe, subscribe. And then on top of that, make sure that you click the little bell so you get notifications when we have a new episode come up. Thank you so much.

Jeff
John chapter ten one through 21 is the the. I was going to say the episode today. It’s the passage we’re reading from. And this is all about Jesus being the good Shepherd. And here’s what Jesus said. He said, I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold rather than going through the gate must surely be a thief and a robber. But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognizes voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger. They’ll run. They’ll run from him because they don’t know his voice. Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, so he explained it to them. I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers, but the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely. We’ll find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. But my purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. I’m the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. And a hired hand will run. When he sees a wolf coming. He’ll abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. So the wolf attacks him and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he works only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep. Jeff
I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as the father knows me and I know the father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep too. They’re not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. And there will be one flock with one shepherd. The father loves me because I sacrifice my life. So I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily, for I have the authority to lay it down when I want to, and also to take it up again, for this is what my father has commanded. When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. Some said he’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that? Others said, this doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?

Chris
There you go. Yeah. So there are only a few themes in the Bible that carry through from the beginning all the way to the end, that are so deep and so rich, and they’re repeated over and over. And this idea that God compares himself to our shepherd and that we are his sheep. Uh, it is found in the Old Testament. It’s found several times in the New Testament. And, uh, and it’s really rich the meaning of it. Right? Yeah. And, uh, and it’s just one of those things where if you really dive into it, uh, only a shepherd understands the intricacies, you know, like, sheep are the most defenseless animal, uh, that there is and needs the most protection. And also, believe it or not, they’re the dumbest animal.

Jeff
Yeah. They are, they.

Chris
Are so dumb. And they need direction. So they depend on the shepherd for guidance, for provision, for emotional support. And, uh, if you’ve ever read, uh, like A Shepherd’s Guide to Psalm chapter 23, uh, you’ll know. Or if you’ve ever actually been to a sheep farm, which I’m sure you have. Right. Uh, you’ll you’ll know that, uh, that the, uh, the response of a sheep to a shepherd’s voice is like a dog, right? Right. I mean, like a like a dog will run to the master’s voice, right? Right. Because it because it knows the master’s voice. Sheep are the same way. They could be shaking and shivering, and then a shepherd would just say, calm down. And all of a sudden, the sheep would immediately calm down. And so, I mean, it runs deep is what I’m saying, right? Right. And everybody understands that in the first century, and even though they weren’t understanding the parallel until Jesus spoke it, when he did make the parallel, uh, you know, the comparison. I’m sure they understood the depth of this illustration.

Jeff
Yeah. And, you know, back then shepherds a lot of them. They were large operations, remember, there was the sacrifices in Israel, consumed a lot of sheep. And then, uh, just from a food source and then also from a clothing source and, uh, you know, all the resources that they provide. So, uh, this was a shepherd based, almost shepherd based economy in Israel at the time, at the time. And so some of these shepherd operations were big with hundreds or thousands of sheep. But the grazing land was all that. You’ve been in Israel. So you know that, you know, it can be one valley with grass and 15 valleys with no grass. Right? It just if there’s a stream. And so what would happen is all the shepherds would come into the same valleys to want to graze. And and by the.

Chris
Way, you can’t over graze an area because you’ll kill it for a year.

Jeff
Oh, yeah. Especially for with sheep. Because sheep pull it up by the roots. Right? Right. Pull up grass by the roots. Cows break the grass off, they bite the grass off. And so that’s why they can keep grazing in the same field. But sheep don’t. They pull it up by the roots so they ruin areas if, if they’re not managed well. But anyways, shepherds would come in and maybe if I had 150 sheep and you had 150 sheep and, you know, somebody else had 150 sheep, we all come into the same area. Next thing you know, there’s 500 sheep in the area and that’s only for 50. And then it’s well, I was thinking maybe another person. Oh, I see already.

Chris
A person you didn’t.

Jeff
Say. Yeah, yeah. With 50 people. Yeah, yeah. I don’t tell you everything I know, man. I just say enough. So.

Chris
Um, next thing you know, there’s 500 sheep. Yeah.

Jeff
Next thing you know, there’s 500 sheep. And then when it’s time to go. How do you sort them out? Right? Nope. Not mine, not mine, not mine. Right. Instead, the shepherd would step out and call and the sheep would come to him. Right? It was the idea, and that’s kind of the reference. They all would have known that. And so that’s what Jesus is talking about. My sheep know my voice. So on one side, um, in storms, in fearful times, uh, when there appears to be perhaps attackers, or they can smell a wolf on the wind, they get all nervous and they’re ready to run, and he can calm them down with his voice. And so they would know that. And the other was he can sort out the mess of life and help them all know where to go, just by the call of his voice. And so those those two areas I think is, is what Jesus is saying. But I think it’s interesting. He says he’s both the sheepfold and the gate and the shepherd. So everything that the sheep need for safety and protection and guidance, that’s what Jesus is claiming to be.

Chris
So, uh, my son and I went and played pool at a pool hall. Uh, that’s.

Jeff
A good place to play pool.

Chris
I heard. Yeah, it is about three, four nights ago, and, uh, we hadn’t been there in a little while several months. And, uh, a lot of times the owner and the owner’s family would run the joint. Right. And, uh, and so people are, you know, like servers, they’ll come around to the pool table and they’ll say, would you like a menu? You could actually eat and, you know, whatever, have beverages and everything else. And so, uh, and this place is places packed. So it ends up happening is we show up and it took so long for somebody to come and and, uh, get our order. And, and I was thinking, what is going on? And I glanced over and I noticed behind the counter there were three. And again, I’m just making assumptions. But three brand new girls who were looked like they were between the ages of 17 and 20, right, that I’ve never even seen before. And they’re in the back just talking on their, you know, they’re on their phones and they’re just talking. And there are no less than 200 people playing pool. I mean, it is every table is filled. It’s a massive place. Right. And I thought to myself, these are the hired hands, right? Like, like like they could literally it seemed like, I don’t know if this is true, but they it seemed like they could literally care less about all the money that’s being left on the on the floor here. Right? Right. Like I’m thinking I looked over at Steven and I said, I go, this guy and this is the way I think, right? I get mad on the owner’s behalf. Right. Thank you. Thank you for that. Yes, I get mad ministries.

Jeff
I think it’s like a spiritual gift.

Chris
I really did. I’m totally like vicariously kidding. I was like, I was like, if I were the owner of this place, I would be so angry because, like, you’re running off customers, you’re leaving money on the floor. I’m like, what is happening? And all because they’re back there and it’s because they don’t care about the overall picture, right? They don’t care about the business.

Jeff
Just collecting a.

Chris
Check. They’re just collecting a check. Right? They’re going to do the minimum possible. That’s what that’s what Jesus is talking about. He says, hey, it’s the same way now. It’s the same way 2000 years ago. Yeah, right. Hey, I want to hire you as a hired hand. Well, they don’t care about the sheep. They’re not attached to them, right? They just want a paycheck. So if a wolf comes, man, they’re out. Yeah, they’re out. Right. But somebody who says, these are my sheep, this is my business. This is my livelihood. This is my, uh, you know, uh, thing to defend. They’re going to literally risk their lives against a wild wolf. Right? And Jesus says, that’s me. Yeah. I’m going to lay down my life for you. And that is just unbelievable. And he compares it to somebody else who’s not him. Right. Any other false prophet, any other, uh, you know, religious leader that you may look up to that is not me, is not going to risk their life and give their life the way that I will for you.

Jeff
And then the sheep has to spend a lot of time with the shepherd to recognize the shepherd’s voice. So Jesus is talking to us all the time through his word, right? But a lot of times the voice we recognize is our old owner, right? Our old temptations are our old fears, our old way of thinking, our old worldview. Because that’s the voice that we still are listening to all the time. Yeah. And we’re not spending enough time sometimes, uh, listening to the voice of our of our new owner. Right. Um, and then he says, and so we wind up being fearful or we don’t know where to go because he says that the thief, he sneaks in and he comes in to steal and kill and destroy. But he said, I came. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life there in John 1010. And so he’s recognizing, so the devil comes in, his whole goal, everything about it. It seems flashy, it seems exciting, it seems, uh, titillating. It seems like it’s going to be satisfying. All these things, all the temptations of the world and the way that the world lives, lives and the way that the world does what it does. And all of our friends. But he says, really, the end of that is to steal your potential, to kill and destroy your future, right? Destroy you. And that’s what sin eventually leads to, is death and destruction. But he said, my purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. So his voice leads to a rich and satisfying life. The words he says will lead us to the life we really want. If we would just choose to follow him, our problem is we don’t spend enough time with him so we don’t hear his voice enough. Jeff
And that’s why a podcast like this is not you and me talking about, you know, hot dogs, whether they’re sandwiches or something else, that’s not the the thing, but to spend time in God’s Word. Here we read 21 verses today and we’re digging into this idea, hearing his voice every single day. Um, not Chris and Jeff’s voice, but God’s words every day. Right? Is is what’s so incredibly important. And so making this a habit, reading the word every day is a habit so that you hear his voice when the storms come praying.

Jeff
When the predators are close, when the temptations are there.

Chris
Yeah. That’s great. And so, uh, most everybody I would think when they, when they think about this idea of God as the shepherd, they think of Psalm 23. Yeah. And and then in most commonly you hear it at funerals and, uh, sometimes you just try to get caught up in, in that imagery of like, uh, you know, green grass and meadows and, and peaceful streams, right? And all these kind of things. But what people may not understand is that because people in the first century understood the intricacy and the dependence that sheep had on the shepherd, that they understand that Psalm 23 is really not about death, although it includes live in the house of the Lord forever in verse six. But it really is a psalm about our utter dependence on our Heavenly Father. So I don’t want to take too much time on this, but let me just give a few references. So when it says, the Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need. What he’s really saying is, is like, hey, uh, a good shepherd takes care of his sheep and you’ll know. You’ll know it even by a first glance, whether they’re well taken care of. Well, if the Lord is my shepherd, right. He’s talking about the owner, and he says he lets me rest in Green Meadows. And by the way, um, sheep actually have to lay down to regurgitate their food. Did you know that? Yeah. And so, uh, if left standing to be able.

Jeff
To chew their cud.

Chris
Chew their cud. Yeah. And so, uh, if left standing, they’ll get sick. And so it says, it says he, uh, and another version, this is the NLT. But another version, KJV says he makes me lie down in green pastures. Right? In other words, the shepherd knows what’s best for you, whether you whether you know it or not for yourself. Right. He leads me beside peaceful streams. Oh, that’s a beautiful imagery. No, it is, it is an imagery of like, sheep are giant sponges who are deathly afraid of water. Right. And so the shepherd has to use the crook of his staff to create a stagnant pool off of a running stream, just so the sheep will will have, you know, be not fearful and so they can walk up and, you know, and drink because, yeah, the.

Jeff
Water can be rushing by and they won’t go get it. They’ll, they’ll die of thirst because they’re afraid of that. That’s right, that’s right.

Chris
Yeah. And so when you, when you begin to understand the, the dynamics here you go. Oh my goodness. The Psalm 23 is unbelievably meaningful.

Jeff
Exactly right.

Chris
Yeah. Uh, he renews my strength. That’s what we talked about before. Yeah. A shepherd can literally call a sheep in. And just by talking to it, it can emotionally calm down, just like we would do our pet. And, uh, um, and when it says he guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name when I walk through the darkest valley. Well, it’s because, uh, you know, grass is on the low parts of the valley, right? So in Israel, you had to walk down a path to the valley. And when you walk down a path to the valley between clefts and rocks, that’s where the water is. First of all, that’s where the greenery is. But guess what? That’s where all the other animals are, right? Right. Which means it’s a place of predatory, you know, like, uh, what was it? Attack. Yeah. Yeah, right. Which means, like, when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid. So when you’re walking down to a valley that has no sun, that means it’s a deep valley, right? Right. And so, anyway, all that to say, I won’t go on because there’s more, but, um, but this idea of God being the good Shepherd and us being the sheep, uh, means, uh, that we have an utter dependence on our Heavenly Father each and every day for everything.

Jeff
Yeah, yeah.

Jeff
And then Jesus is talking to Jews, but he says, hey, just so you know, I have other sheep, too. He’s talking about you and me, right? Gentiles. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The non-Jews. And then lastly, he ends by saying, I give my life. Nobody’s going to take it from me. God’s given me the power. My father’s given me the power to lay it down whenever I want. I’m going to lay it down. So throughout history, there was, you know, in Europe, there was racism against Italians because the Romans killed Jesus, there was racism against the Jews, because the Jews killed Jesus. And and that is a false thing. I think that’s that that idea comes from, you know, hating other people over the, over the death of Christ.

Chris
They thought they killed Jesus.

Jeff
That’s right. They didn’t. Those things didn’t happen. That’s a false idea for, I think, from the thief who sneaks in and kills and steals and destroys instead, Jesus says, nobody killed me. I’m going to lay my. Life down willingly, and that’s part of his proof that he is a good shepherd. Because the good Shepherd is willing to go to battle against the predator, the wolf, or whatever, and he’s willing to even give his life. It’s a willing thing. It’s not something that just randomly happened or somebody took from him, but he went and laid down his life. The good news is he rose again and defeated, you know, the enemy. And that was the whole point. But I think that that’s a really important thing. One, he knew you and I were going to be in the fold, and he said it here before he died, that that he was going to invite the Gentiles in. And the Jews couldn’t have comprehended that at the time. It didn’t. You know, they didn’t really understand it until we get into the book of acts. Um, and then the fact that he was willing to lay down his life and people look at him and go, this dude’s nuts. So half the people go, he’s crazy. And half the people say, he’s not crazy. This is great, right? And I think the world still looks at Jesus and he.

Chris
Doesn’t speak like a crazy man.

Jeff
No. Huh. And he’s. And he’s making blind people see and all these things. And so, uh, I think the world still is that way. Some people look at us and, and they, they think what the thief is offering is great and that Jesus is the crazy one. Right? But if we can really see Jesus for who he is, we’d also be able to expose the thief who’s trying to destroy everything in our life. Um.

Chris
Well, that’s a good word, and that’s our time. So, uh, good day, and we’ll see you next time on The Bible Guys.