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.

Jeff
Welcome back. You’ve tuned in to another episode of The Bible Guys. He’s Chris and I’m Jeff, and we’re thrilled that you’re here and that you’ve joined us today as we jump into another big conversation about Herod and John the Baptist. So this is going to be a big one today. It is a big one. And in the meantime, I have a a really amazing question. We have the most incredible listeners. We do. Yeah, these people are amazing and they’re good thinkers. They ask good questions. We can’t figure out why they keep listening, to be honest with you. They’re so smart, they’re so deep, and you guys keep listening. But we got a good question from Valerie P.

Chris
And so this segment is called Stump the Pastor. I was just going.

Jeff
To say that oh.

Chris
I thought you were. No.

Jeff
Go ahead. Don’t let me interrupt you.

Chris
I thought you were fixing to read the quote. Don’t don’t let me. You said Valerie P I.

Jeff
Know, and she sent in this question for the Stump the Pastor segment. Got it. That’s what I was going to do. No, no, you go ahead.

Chris
You know, the rule is, Jeff, we’re allowed to chime in. I’m just chiming in, doing what I’m told here.

Jeff
Okay, okay. All right.

Jeff
So Valerie P sent a really good question in to the segment that we like to call day 26. Yeah. Okay I’m about to throw my phone at Chris. Valerie. Here we go. But anyways, if you have a question we’d love to hear from you. Oh for sure. Yeah. Just send a question to the Bible guys.com. Yeah. Info at.

Chris
Info at the Bible guys.com info.

Jeff
At the Bible guys.com. And we’d love to maybe include your question in the next one. So she was listening because I mentioned at one point that I believe that God is taking us back to the garden, right? That this whole story is bringing us back.

Chris
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jeff
So that’s a whole other episode. But here it says in her question is in Isaiah 25 six. Well, good job reading Isaiah. Let me say that the prophet describes a wonderful feast to come that will feature well-aged wine and choice meat. If the new heaven will be like the Garden of Eden, where there is no death, where’s the choice meat coming from? Tofu. You think so? No. Yeah. I was going to say Beyond meat. It’s beyond meat.

Chris
Beyond meat.

Jeff
Yeah. So like, Burger King has those meatless burgers now.

Chris
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jeff
So yeah, I think that’s a great question. One, the word meat in the Old Testament often can just mean meals, food. Right? Right. Great high quality food. It’s not only that and I didn’t dig into the Hebrew word on this one, so I’m not exactly sure. But it can mean more about high quality food, not just meat meat. But if it does mean the word meat, well then the creator of meat can create more meat without killing, right?

Chris
Right.

Jeff
So how great would that be? Would that be? I want a ribeye. There it is. Right? Right. So God can stock his own pantry without having to kill anything nice, right? Does that make.

Chris
Sense? I can stock his own pantry.

Jeff
Yeah. And so I think it’s miraculous, as is the rest of the miracle that’s mentioned there. And that is that the entire world, all those followers of Jesus from around the world, from every nation and language and tongue around the throne of God will be at this celebration, right? It’ll be a great celebration, a great banquet. The miracle is that God had saved people from their sins. If he can solve that miracle, he can also provide aid. Where did the aged wine go? Has he got those in barrels right now and some mountain caves somewhere.

Chris
Right? He can create aged wine just like Jesus did.

Jeff
Jesus did it, that’s what I’m saying. And it was instant. And that was the proof that I was getting to. And again, you interrupted me. I’m going to start my own podcast. That’s what I’m going to do. No. I’m joking.

Chris
I thought we were answering the question, Jeff, instead of you answering the question. It’s not the pastor or it’s not the Bible guy. I’m just.

Jeff
Super excited. I said, oh, I got an answer.

Jeff
For this one. Yeah. So so Jesus did that, right? He did this miracle from water. It was not wine then. It was wine. Not only was it wine, it was the best wine.

Chris
Can I say what city it was in?

Jeff
And he saved. Yeah, yeah. Go ahead.

Chris
Cana.

Jeff
Good job, good job. But. But it was the best wine. So what happened was he had instantly aged wine. If that’s the case, that he can turn water into wine, what’s he going to turn into? Meat? I don’t know, he might take, you know, brussel sprouts and turn it into meat. Sure. And you know, he can do whatever he wants to do in that moment. So the miracle, you know, once you’re talking about the creator of the universe, it’s not that big of a miracle to have, you know, meat that’s not from a dead animal.

Chris
Let’s not forget as well that he created manna in the wilderness. And so it wasn’t quite bread yet. Right. And it was something. And so they it was.

Jeff
What is it?

Chris
Yeah. The word manna means what is it? Right, right. But but yet God created it every day, right? Right.

Jeff
And they loved it.

Chris
They loved it well for a while. Did they love it?

Jeff
They did for a while. Well, talk about it. It was sweet. They loved it. And then they hated it because they started getting grumpy about it. Yeah, they wanted more meat and God sent them quail.

Chris
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.

Jeff
But so anyways, I think that’s a great question. And I genuinely believe that. God, that’s just a miracle moment for God that he’s able to make meat without killing. Yeah. And the same way he’s able to make Jesus able to make wine without picking grapes.

Chris
Or killing only applies to humans. And he slaughters the animals in heaven.

Jeff
Yeah, I don’t believe that’s true.

Chris
But it is a possibility.

Jeff
I don’t think so.

Chris
No, no.

Jeff
Death only came because of sin. Yeah. So death is a result of sin.

Chris
Lying in the lamb?

Jeff
Yeah. Yeah.

Chris
Man. Okay. I was just being funny, by the way.

Jeff
So I think that was really great. Really good question. And kudos to you, Valerie P for sure for asking that. Good question. So thank you. Um, do you have anything else to say about that?

Chris
Oh no. No. God forbid. Jeez, you really were. Was I too strong on that? Yeah. You were.

Jeff
Excited about.

Chris
This. You were just on me.

Jeff
I was so excited.

Chris
The whole time, man. Like, it was pretty fun. You just.

Jeff
Kept interrupting. Yeah.

Chris
Well, it’s apparent that you were excited about a thought.

Jeff
I was so excited.

Chris
Normally, when I try.

Jeff
I was afraid I was going to lose my thought.

Chris
Because normally when I chime in, you’re like, yeah, that’s right, that’s good. That’s right. Oh, wow. Good job. Way to go. Oh wow Chris. Wow. You have a thought too. That was really good. Yeah okay. The Bible guy and his partner Chris.

Jeff
No, that’s not true. I’m pretty sure you’re the one who has the commercial that says it’s the Bible guy.

Chris
And his partner.

Jeff
Sidekick?

Chris
That’s right. Sidekick. Chad.

Jeff
Maybe that’s it.

Jeff
Maybe I just heard that play the other day, and I’m starting to feel resentful about it. Well, you.

Chris
Did say you woke up sassy.

Jeff
I did wake up sassy today.

Chris
Hey everyone. If you’re listening on one of the audio platforms like Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or Spreaker, would you do us a favor? Would you take just a moment and follow us? Because I’m worth following and Jeff is along with me, so you know, you can follow him, I guess too, by proxy, but or just share it, you know, because people need to be introduced to the Bible guy and his companion named Jeff.

Jeff
So here we go. Matthew 14 three through 12. It says, for Herod had arrested in prison John as a favor to his wife Herodias, the former wife of Herod’s brother Philip. John had been telling Herod, it’s against God’s law for you to marry her. And Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of a riot because all the people believed John was a prophet. But at a birthday party for Herod, Herodias daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased him. So he promised with a vow to give her anything she wanted. At her mother’s urging, the girl said, I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray. Then the king regretted what he’d said, but because of the vow he’d made in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders. So John was beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a tray and given to the girl who took it to her mother. Later, John’s disciples came for his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what had happened. That’s right. After we read this passage, Jesus says, hey, they’re going to come after you with a sword.

Chris
Yeah, right.

Jeff
Right. It’s pretty serious stuff. And Mark, chapter six, it says, for Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John as a favor to Herodias. She she had been his brother, Philip’s wife, but Herod had married her, and John had been telling Herod, it’s against God’s law for you to marry your brother’s wife. So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but without Herod’s approval, she was powerless. For Herod respected John, and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him. Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him. Herodias chance finally came on Herod’s birthday. He gave a party for his high government officials, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee. And then his daughter, also named Herodias, came in and performed a dance that greatly pleased Herod and his guests. Ask me for anything you like, the king said to the girl, and I will give it to you. He even vowed, I’ll give you whatever you ask up to half my kingdom. She went out and asked her mother, what should I ask for? Her mother told her, ask for the head of John the Baptist. So the girl hurried back to the king and told him, I want the head of John the Baptist right now on a tray. Then the king deeply regretted what he had said, but because of the vows he’d made in front of his guests, he couldn’t refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner to the prison to cut off John’s head. Bring it to him. The soldier beheaded John in the prison, brought his head on a tray, and gave it to the girl who took it to her mother. Jeff
When John’s disciples heard about what had happened, they came to get his body and buried it in a tomb. Yeah. Then it says when Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about Jesus, he said to his advisers, this must be John the Baptist raised from the dead. That’s why he can do such miracles.

Chris
Yeah. So I think that’s where we stop, right?

Jeff
Yeah. We’re supposed to read 14 through 29, but this is a little out of order for us today.

Chris
Yeah, I think so.

Jeff
So it says, let me just finish these. It says Herod Antipas. The king soon heard about Jesus because everyone was talking about him. Some were saying, this must be the John the Baptist raised from the dead. That’s why he can do such miracles. Others said he’s the prophet Elijah, and still others said he’s a prophet like the other great prophets of the past. When Herod heard about Jesus, he said, John, the man I beheaded has come back from the dead. And then Luke chapter nine says, When Herod Antipas, the rule of Galilee, heard about everything Jesus was doing, he was puzzled. Some are saying that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead. Others saw it. Jesus was Elijah, or one of the other prophets from that raised from the dead. I beheaded John. Herod said, so who is this man about whom I hear such stories? And he kept trying to see him. So you’ve got Herod really confused as to what’s going on here, almost haunted by this terrible decision he made in killing John.

Chris
Yeah. And, you know, this is a just a sad story. I mean, it’s just, you know, because, you know, we know that there’s no greater person that’s ever lived, Jesus says, than John the Baptist. So you have this great man who sacrificed his whole life understanding what his mission was appointed, everything that Jesus was announcing the Messiah, and then here he does, or here he goes. And he just, you know, confronts Herodias, his wife, Herod’s wife, Herod’s wife, Herodias, about her, you know, adultery and being unlawful. And she demands his head. And then they chop off his head at a party. At a party? Yeah, right. At a party on a tray, by the way. Right, right. And by the way, I’m sure it was pretty common back then to see gruesome things like that. Right.

Jeff
But the indignity of it is pretty, pretty horrible. So it’s gruesome to us.

Chris
Yeah.

Jeff
And why would God allow that with somebody that Jesus says is the greatest of all humans?

Chris
Yeah, yeah, it’s a sad thing.

Jeff
But. I think that’s a human view of death, right? Think about that for a minute. What could be more gracious? Then instant death. Your life. Then you’re not.

Speaker F
Mm. Right.

Jeff
What he didn’t do is die from cancer. What he didn’t do was be tortured to death. Right. So the fear of death is a thing. And so there would be terror in that moment, perhaps. Unless you’re like Paul. Paul also lost his head. Yeah. Right. Unless you’re like Paul, where Paul says, oh, death, where is your victory? Grave. Where is your sting? O death, where is your sting grave? Where is your victory? Right. So Paul got past this terror of death. And at that point, once he realized how real heaven is, once he realized how great a reward it was. And by the way, it’s appointed unto every person to die. It turns out this life is 100% terminal.

Chris
Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Doo doo doo doo. This just in? Yeah.

Jeff
Don’t know if you’ve heard.

Chris
Right, right.

Jeff
I hate to break it to you. Right, right. So it’s terminal for all of us.

Chris
I used to say from the from the, you know, pulpit or whatever. I used to say, hey, I’m not sure if you know this or not, but the mortality rate is 100%. 100%. Yeah.

Jeff
Yep. And so if we’re all going to die. Yeah. And you’ve gotten to the point where you’re not afraid of death. You’re looking forward to the reward. When you’re that full of faith, you’re that convinced maybe the best way to go is this way.

Chris
Yeah. Well, apparently, you know, in order to cut off somebody’s head, either with a sword or a guillotine, it’s got to be very swift. Very sharp. Yeah. And so and, you know, I understand that they describe it as painless. So it’s supposed to be. Yeah. So, you know, death is pretty instant. Yeah. And so, so it’s not death by a thousand paper cuts.

Jeff
So the fear of death is far greater than death itself. I think that’s that’s what I’m trying to say for a saint for for somebody who’s a Christian, for a follower of Jesus, the fear of death is the scarier thing. Death is a promotion. It’s a graduation, right? It’s a it’s you step out of this moment, this life that’s full of brokenness and disease and hatred and anger and your own sin and all these things, and you step into eternity with none of those things ever again. And so that’s why you read in the book of Psalms, David says, precious in the sight of God is the death of one of his saints, right? The word precious is weird to me because I’m like, you see a little baby and you go, oh, how precious. Right, right. And that’s what God’s saying is. It’s precious to me. You’re sad about it, but I’m thrilled that you’re finally home.

Chris
So about two hours ago, I called a family that I have known and loved for years. In fact, their son worked on staff for me as a youth, as a youth pastor. So he was with us on our staff for years. And so I spent an incredible amount of time pouring into this young man, taking him out to dinner, you know, teaching him and teaching him how to speak and present and everything else. And so anyway, since then, of course, he stopped working at a church and moved on. He was only 34 years old, and he was feeling bad one day. And his wife said, go sleep downstairs. And he went downstairs and she woke up and found him passed away. So they think maybe blood clots. They’re not really quite sure until there’s an autopsy. So I’m on the phone with them. And of course, we’re all crying. I’m just, you know, I’m just a cry baby anyway. Yeah, but, I mean, I’m just. I’m. My heart’s broken for these guys. And we just talked about the reality of heaven, and we talked about, you know, the reality. Just so so you know what I told him? I told him the story that, you know, last night we did an elders ordination. Yeah. Uh, for for a guy who just became an elder at our church. Well, that guy had written, like, a statement of faith and things. And within his statement of faith, as I was reading it, he told the story, and I knew that he told me the story earlier as well. He was a medic. Yeah. And he actually had an experience where some, some boy that they were working on coded and he was dead. And, and he described it as an.

Jeff
Extended period of time.

Chris
Extended period of time. His eyes rolled back in his head and he had his eyes either shut or they were rolled back in his head. And they worked on him for a long period of time. And then they brought him back and his heartbeat resumed. And then later on, I guess they were in a vehicle together or in the back of an ambulance or something. And he actually looked at our friend and said, do you want to hear something freaky? And he said, what? And he said, I saw you work on me. He said, what are you talking about? And he said, I saw you call for the machine and the paddles. And he described the color of the machine getting wheeled in. From what closet? And and the girl’s name and everything else, and what they did and what they said. And our friend said, there’s absolutely no way.

Jeff
He said he said he could see it from above, right? That he had been pulled towards a warm light. Yeah. And was watching from above. So he wasn’t seeing it happen from his body, right? Yeah. He said he was watching it from above his body.

Chris
Yeah. So. So you did to me what I just did to you earlier.

Jeff
Well, I was just clarifying for you.

Chris
Yeah. I was getting to the punch line of saying the conclusion of. And he was he was above the body. That’s that’s the line. Oh, yeah.

Jeff
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was.

Jeff
A really good part of the story.

Jeff
You should you should tell that part. So.

Chris
So yeah. And so that’s what he said. He said that that the boy said he was hovering and he was pulled toward a light. And so our friend said, that is when I first started to realize that there was a world that was outside of the physical world that we can see. Right, right. And he started to realize that because heaven is real. And when you start to believe that heaven is real and spirituality is real, and the physical and the spiritual exists at the same time, and one day we’ll be able to see the physical and the spiritual. This is actually what I told this couple on the phone who just lost their son. And as we’re weeping together and crying and I’m praying for them, I said, I said, this man who told this story is reputable, he’s honorable. He’s a man of integrity, and I believe him. And and his conclusion is it is impossible for that story not to be true according to him. Right? It’s impossible. Right. And I believe him. Right. And so it’s just one of those things where yet again, we’re reminded of how true heaven is. Yeah. Hey, I was reading a note so powerful also about your story, King Herod’s Promise. Oh, yeah. And it says in verse 22 to 23, it says, as a ruler under Roman authority, Herod had no kingdom to give. Right, right. He was just ruling over it. He was ruling over the people. The offer of half his kingdom was Herod’s way of saying that he would give Herodias daughter almost anything that she wanted. When Herod’s daughter asked for, or Herodias asked for John’s head, Herod would have been greatly embarrassed in front of his guests if he denied her request. Chris
And then it says this words are powerful because they can lead to great sin. We should use them with great care. Yeah. Now that’s a hidden sermon in this passage, man.

Jeff
It’s huge, isn’t it?

Chris
Right. He makes a vow. Yeah. Um, I remember one time when I just became a Christian. I was dating a girl, and I was friends with my wife. So does that make sense? Yes. So my wife was just a.

Jeff
Friend dating the woman who eventually became your.

Chris
Wife? Yeah, she was just a friend. Yeah, but she was also a person that grew up in church and was a Christian for most of her life. And and I was brand new. And, and what had happened was I was dating this other girl, and I had made a vow to God, you know, no drinking. No. This, no, this, no that. Right. Just a vow. And I promise, promise, God, that I made this vow. And then I broke the vow. And I was super scared that God was going to zap me. Punish me because I because I was brand new. I had no idea. And it was the first time that I was sort of faced with the reality of like, making a vow and breaking it to, you know, a super powerful being of the universe.

Jeff
God himself, to.

Chris
God himself. And it was my wife who wrote me this note. Remember back when you used to write notes in high school? Yeah. And she wrote me this, like four page front and back letter of encouragement to me as growing in Christ. And then right toward the back of the letter, she said, don’t forget. Chris, she said. First, John one nine says that if we are if we confess our sins, that he is faithful and just to forgive us of all of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I read that and I was crying, and I called her on the phone, and I and I still remember her phone number back at the end on the rotary phone, by the way, and, and I and I said, where did you find. This verse that applies to me. And she was like, you know, like silly rabbit. Trix are for kids, right? But I was just thinking to myself like it was the first time anybody had ever quoted a verse to me, and, and, and so this vow that’ll get you in trouble, right? These vows that we are quick to make and break, and vows that could lead us astray and are words that can get us into sin. I was petrified over it, and it sort of led to one of the most precious moments of my entire life, because she quoted a verse to me and I thought, I better marry her.

Jeff
It’s the power of life, and death is what James says. That’s our tongue. Yeah, that’s the power of life and death. The words we use, we can speak life into the people around us or death. And so Herod foolishly, flippantly just said anything. And evil people took advantage of that. And the words wound up causing John the Baptist’s head. But we have the ability to do the opposite, and that is to intentionally speak life into people. Yeah. And that’s what she did for you.

Jeff
Yeah. That’s beautiful.

Chris
There’s a lot of great little sermons in here, so. Absolutely. Well, hey, that’s our time. And so we’re going to come to an end and hopefully we’ll see you on Monday on The Bible Guys.