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
Hey! It started. The clock started what? Yes. Oh! Welcome to the Bible, guys. Hey, that’s twice we did this. Wow. That’s twice. Yeah. Hey, uh, so my name is Chris. This is Jeff, and we’re ready. We are ready. We are ready. Well, so it’s Friday. It’s the new year. Yes. And it’s Friday. Yes. And it wouldn’t be right to start off the new year without our favorite segment of. Yes. What made Chris mad this week? Yes. And it took me a minute to think about this. Yeah. Yeah, I was surprised. Normally we say what made Chris mad this week? Oh I know, yeah. But this one you’re like, oh, let me think about that. Out of all fairness though, I’m not feeling very well. Well. And you’re, you’re you’re still kind of maybe in the leftover Christmas spirit. Oh is that what that might be? Feeling kind. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah. You’re you’re the Grinch’s heart grew two sizes. Maybe. Maybe that’s what happened is that you’re your heart grew two sizes. Let’s be clear. And now you have less than you mean. It doesn’t mean that my. I have a shrinking, shriveled heart, Jeff. Okay? It just means that I’m, uh, upset for the world. Oh, yes. Yes, I’m so okay. Vicariously summarize both of my incidents. This is what I actually thought of. I thought to myself, listen, um, so if you’re a group of people, right? And you’re walking in a public place, right? So in other words, you’re going through Disneyland or you’re going through, in this case, Meadowbrook Christmas light thing. Oh, okay. Yes. Or you’re going

Jeff
Meadowbrook is a famous, uh, estate that the Dodge family had for listeners that aren’t from Michigan. Yeah. And, boy, they really do it up big at Christmas.

Chris
Or you’re going to the mall because this happened twice to me in the past week. Oh, okay. But you’re a large family. You have 8 or 9 people. You have like a stroller. Maybe some people are maybe a little bit more heavyset. Whatever it is, they’re slower walkers. Right. Okay, here’s an idea. Um, be mindful that everybody else walks faster than you. Oh, right. And so, please. Yes, please. For the love of God, stop taking up all of the space that that the public should walk. Yes. And so it’s like what ends up happening is, is.

Jeff
Dude, I’m with you on this one. Yeah. Uh, you write it down. I’ll sign this one. Yeah.

Chris
So. Yeah. So the thing is this, it’s it’s it’s the same awareness of, like, when you’re driving. It’s not just an individual sport. It’s a community, uh, activity. Right? That’s right. And when you’re walking through the mall, guess what? You’re, you’re you’re sharing public walking space. Yeah. And so people, they’re just they’re just, you know, they’re lollygagging and they’re walking super slow. And by the way, it’s not just as.

Jeff
If they’re the only people on the planet, right. And nobody else just trying to get anywhere blinders on.

Chris
Right. That’s right. So I’m at the mall just oh, wow. Specifically. Specifically. And, uh, and I’m and I’m there because I’m on a mission. Whatever. And I am anticipating going to the escalator and there’s so many people at this mall. Right. And as I’m walking toward the escalator, I thought to myself, I need to get there before this family. And as I’m walking, I’m actually seeing 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 people ahead of me try to get around this group of people, right? But nobody can because when they go to Dodge left, they’re just all of a sudden this guy is swaying left, right, and they’re blocking everything. And I’m just saying to myself, let’s just have a little bit of self-awareness, right? Yeah. And that happened to me at.

Jeff
Be Self-Aware people.

Chris
And that happened to me at Meadowbrook, too. Wow. You know.

Jeff
So I’m going to co-sign this one because, uh, I was at Costco last night. I was at Costco. And it’s like the people in Costco don’t know that there’s anybody else in Costco either, right? Right. So they could build those things three times bigger and it’d still be too crowded. Right? So it’s always too many people. And, um, uh, I’ll tell you, let me, let me add one layer to this. Yeah. There was I had a cart that had a Bonnie bought a long thing. So it was it was my wife. It was long and it was sticking out of my cart. So you have to navigate a little bit more carefully. So I’m on high alert, navigating, making sure I’m not bumping into people. And there was a whole family standing on this end that blocked everything except the width of one cart. Right? So this aisle is like four carts wide. Chris
Which by the way, they didn’t need to know. Jeff
No, they didn’t, they didn’t at all. And they were just laughing and cutting up and they blocked it. So there’s one car. So then, you know, you’ve got two groups of traffic trying to come. Right? So I stop because I have the long thing on mine. So I’m letting like four of these things. Then there was a gap that was almost exactly equal between me and the next person. But that lady refused to make eye contact. Right? Right. And she just walked through and never made eye contact to the point that my thing bumped her cart. Yeah. And she never made eye contact. She just assumed she had the right to come through. And she stopped and started shopping on one of the things on that end cart, while the things sticking out of my cart was bumping her cart. Wow. And I couldn’t back up. I had people behind me and she just stopped. So now we’ve got this family blocking three of the four spots, and there’s one lady, no eye contact, just going through stuff.

Chris
Yeah. And so, so if you’re in a public place, people, uh, a lack of self-awareness. Yeah, well, it’s selfish. It’s really. It’s the it’s the it’s that selfish thing. Right.

Jeff
And so we know our listeners have suffered through these things and we’re mad for them too. Yeah.

Chris
I am mad for the world for these kinds of families. Okay.

Jeff
I’m joining you on this one. This this is a special episode.

Chris
Yes. Right. Well, I think you relate to most things I say. I think, yeah, yeah. Usually you’re just more amused. Yeah. That that I get so upset about it.

Jeff
No, I’m angry about this one with you. Yeah yeah yeah yeah.

Chris
And I and I think and by the way it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s okay to be slow. Just, just be mindful that people around you need to get around you.

Jeff
Be slowly aware.

Chris
Right, right, right. Which, by the way, is sort of no different than drivers that drive in the left lane. Super slow. Yes. Just just selfish, you know? Right. Stop being selfish. People. Yeah.

Jeff
Okay. Well, uh, that’s a good way to start the year.

Chris
Yes.

Jeff
Thank you Chris.

Chris
You’re welcome.

Jeff
Thank you for caring so much about us.

Chris
I want everybody to share my pain.

Jeff
Well, you care for us. We feel loved. Yes, we feel loved by you.

Chris
That’s the heart of this.

Jeff
Because you’re mad for the rest of us.

Chris
That’s the heart of this.

Jeff
That’s what made Chris Matt this week. So thank you for tuning in. And, uh, we are finishing up the story we started yesterday. So yesterday Jesus finds out that his best friend, one of his best friends, Lazarus, is dying. Yeah, his Lazarus sisters called Jesus. Please come and help. Jesus doesn’t go right until after Lazarus. His body dies. But Jesus says he just fell asleep. So then finally he goes, okay, now that he’s dead, let’s go. And in verse 17 John chapter 11, verse 17, it says, When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days.

Chris
Wow. Four days.

Jeff
Four days. Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem. Many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, but Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask. Jesus told her, your brother will rise again. Yes, Martha said, he will rise when everyone else rises at the last day. Jesus told her, I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this, Martha? Yes, Lord, she told him. I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God. Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, the teacher is here, wants to see you. So Mary immediately went to him. Jesus has stayed outside the village at the place where Martha met him. When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there. When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. Where have you put him? He asked. They told him, Lord, come and see. And then Jesus wept. Jeff
The people who were standing nearby said, see how much he loved him. But some said, this man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying? Hmm. That’s not the end of the story.

Chris
Oh, what? We’re not. We’re not finishing the story. No. So the Jeff
It’s a cliffhanger on Friday.

Chris
Sheet says Jeff
It’s a cliffhanger on Friday. Chris
Wow. I’m not sure what happens. I’m.

Jeff
Ah, I don’t know. You’ll have to join us on Monday.

Chris
Will Lazareth do exactly what Jesus said plainly?

Jeff
Yeah, I don’t know. You’ll have to come back. Chris
Or will Jesus call him forth and nothing will happen?

Chris
That’s right. Tune in. Jeff
Will death win in the end?

Chris
Tune in on Monday when Jesus fails. Oh, that’s so funny.

Jeff
Here he comes to raise the dead.

Chris
Oh. That’s funny.

Chris
Uh, so. Yeah. So I’m not sure we’ve ever done one story broken up into three and three cliffhangers. So these these are show sheets handed to us. That’s right, that’s right. So we didn’t really even realize that the story wasn’t wasn’t going to be wrapping up today. Yeah, yeah. Uh, but to Desiree’s defense and those who made this selection with her, there is a lot to unpack just to write in here, right?

Jeff
Oh, yeah. Well, this this whole thing is 57 verses long.

Chris
Yeah. It’s it’s it’s quite big. Yeah. And so, um, so, yeah, it’s, it’s a, uh, you know, this is the shortest verse in the Bible. Right? So John 1135 Jesus wept. Right. And that’s, uh, that’s a famous, famous little known fact in the Christian world.

Jeff
Whenever you had to quote a Bible verse, would you go there first?

Chris
Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Jeff
If it’s for like, points or something. Yes. Remember back when you were a kid, Bible verse.

Chris
Jesus wept. Yeah.

Jeff
John 1135.

Chris
Um, but, uh, and by the way, I remember learning that lesson. Uh, we were on a scavenger hunt. We had to run up and just quote any Bible verse. And as I was quoting John 316, which was one of the only verses I even knew, I didn’t even know this verse, uh, kid behind me, as I was quoting it, ran up and he goes, Jesus wept and grabbed the bag and left, and I was like, oh yeah. Then I learned my lesson after that. So, um, because we did all those goofy.

Jeff
So Jesus arrives in Bethany. Yep. And finds out that Lazarus has been dead in the grave for four days.

Chris
You know what the most interesting, uh, part about this whole passage is to me? When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.

Jeff
Yeah, I love it, I love that, yeah.

Chris
Me, too. Yeah. Tell us why you love it.

Jeff
Because Jesus hates death so much. It was never supposed to be this way. So here’s, uh, this is the first one of Jesus best friends that we know of that dies, right? We don’t. We don’t see it any other time. Um, and so I think Jesus just hates death that much. He hates what sin does that much. You want to know why God hates sin? It’s because it kills us. It ruins everything that was supposed to be perfect. It ruins God’s perfect plan for us. Everything that he had for us is ruined by sin, and he hates it because of that. He’s a holy, righteous God. He hates it because of that too, but he hates the consequences. And I think that’s why Jesus gets so angry. He’s not angry at them for weeping because he cries, right? But he’s he hates this. What? What death does.

Chris
Yeah. And it’s, uh, it’s a beautiful thing to to, uh, to understand that that’s exactly why he’s crying. He’s crying at the fact that they’re so sad and there’s so much sorrow in life, and it’s all because of sin. And, uh, I.

Jeff
Also think he cares that much, too. Yeah, it shows that God cares. Mhm. Right. And it shows the humanity of Jesus. Certainly.

Chris
Yeah. Well, you know, this is the only time that Jesus cries in the Bible I think that’s mentioned. Yeah.

Jeff
No, uh, he looks over Jerusalem and he.

Chris
Oh he weeps.

Jeff
Oh Jerusalem.

Chris
Jerusalem. How long. Yeah. Oh yeah that’s that’s correct.

Jeff
But they’re both pretty close here. It’s these two. I mean it’s in the next couple of chapters.

Chris
He’s having an emotional week. Yeah. Yeah.

Jeff
It’s a really emotional week. He’s also on the verge of you know he’s going to die. So he knows that’s coming. Right.

Chris
He knows it’s coming. Yeah. Yeah I’ve always I’ve said that before. I don’t know why I’m so emotional today. Yeah yeah yeah that’s why. Um, so, uh, you know, this is, uh, a great moment where Jesus makes the statement and says, I am the resurrection and the life. Yeah. Anyone who believes in me will live even after dying. And then he says, do you believe this, Martha? And then she says, I have always believed that you are the Messiah sent from God. I mean, never has it been just so clear, you know, I mean, like I mean, Peter said, yes, you’re the Messiah, son of the living God, right? Uh, you know, a few times maybe, but here, here is Martha. Just clear, crystal clear. Uh, the long awaited messiah that has been promised for hundreds of years that we all have studied. We believe that you are that Messiah sent from God to us, right? I mean, just the Christmas story clearly laid out.

Jeff
The pain of her saying, Lord, if only you’d been here. Oh, I called you.

Chris
Yeah, right. That’s Jesus is looking a whole sermon in it.

Jeff
Jesus looks both of these women in the eye, both of them completely disappointed in him. Um, because they didn’t understand why he did what he did.

Chris
And he had the ability to come a few days earlier. Yeah.

Jeff
And, you know, I think there’s been many times in our own lives when we felt completely disappointed by Jesus because he didn’t answer our prayers when we wanted it answered or how we wanted it answered. Right, right. And we just didn’t understand how much greater Jesus solution is than ours.

Chris
Well, I mean, clearly she didn’t understand it because he says, your brother will rise again. And she wasn’t even. There was no conception of thought that he meant in that moment because she’s like, uh, yeah, we all know that. Yeah, we’re right in the next life.

Jeff
Which was a significant statement for her, because the two trains of thought, the Sadducees, who were the most powerful, uh, religious leaders in Israel, they were the smaller group, but they didn’t even believe in a resurrection. They didn’t believe in angels. They didn’t believe in miracles. Right? They didn’t believe in any of those things. And so that was a major part of the the religious and social thought for many of the people, the Pharisees, they did believe in angels, they did believe in miracles, and they did believe in the resurrection. And so she’s definitely choosing a side here of saying, Jesus, I believe what you’ve taught. I believe that, yes, there is a resurrection. I believe that this is coming, um, that that was a bigger statement for her, maybe, than it is for even us to say, yeah, I believe that, you know, we’re going to rise from the dead. Yeah. For sure. It was a big deal.

Chris
Yeah. And then, uh, and then when she lays that out, uh, it says, uh, then she returned to Mary and she called Mary from, uh, the mourners and told her, the teachers here wants to see you. So Mary goes to her and then they have this conversation. And I think that it’s interesting how he meets, uh, at least it appears this way with Martha individually. Yeah. And then with Mary individually. Yeah. Right. So it’s it’s, uh, both of them are the brother of Lazarus, right? Right. And yet he wants to console them. Sisters or Lazarus or what? What did I say? The brothers? Yeah. He’s the brother. Yeah, he’s the brother of the two sisters. But he meets with them individually, which means, uh, it’s not as if, uh, you know, I it reminds me of, like, for instance, I know this is a just bear with me on this, but like, when the slaves cried out for Egypt for hundreds of years before Moses, God sent Moses, right? And he says, God says, I have heard the cries of the people, right? Right. We are tempted sometimes to think that God views our pain and like not individually. But I believe that when God said that in the Old Testament and said, I’ve heard the cries of the people, I view it as, I’ve heard every cry individually. Yes, right. I know every name. Um, I know every hurt. I know every circumstance, I know everything. And this is just an example of, once again, Jesus individually going to the same pain, the same loss, and talking to somebody individually, speaking into exactly how they feel. Yeah.

Jeff
The fact that Jesus has power over life and death, um, is such a powerful. The thing through this whole story, and they genuinely believed it. Right. But she says, uh, Martha says, yes, Lord, I’ve always believed you’re the Messiah. Sometimes I’ll hear Christian or people tell me, oh, I’ve always been a Christian. Mm. Right. And I’ve had people justify that statement. I’ve always. I’ve always believed or I’ve always, you know, been a Christian. I’ve always been saved because that’s what Martha says. But Martha didn’t always know Jesus. Martha was from Bethany. Jesus is from Nazareth. So there was a time when she met Jesus, and from the time she met Jesus, the beginning of the relationship with him, she always believed. Yeah. And so I will always challenge people. Uh, and maybe some of our listeners are sitting here going, I’ve always believed. But when was the beginning? There was a beginning to belief. There was. There was a moment when you didn’t know Jesus. And then there was a moment you met Jesus, right? For all of us. And so being able to really define that, I think is incredibly important, uh, because if you’re just saying you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that God raised him from the dead, so do the demons. That’s what James says, right? So, so, so believing is not salvation moment. It’s believing and receiving. There’s a so there was a day she did not know Jesus. Then there was a day she knew Jesus. And on that day she received the truth that he was the Son of God and that that’s what she’s saying there. So I think that that’s, you know, as we come into the new year, really consider when is that day that you went from just believing, like the devil believes, to believing in actually receiving the gift and receiving this truth, that he is the Son of God and he save you from your sins.

Jeff
And if you don’t have a day, make the day that day right? What better way to start the year than to make today the for sure day, right? That you’re not risking eternity on a maybe, but you’re saying on you know, this day in 2024 was my day. Yeah. And that’s great. There’s some real power in that. There have been times in my life when the devil would come to me and kind of try to tempt me with the idea that I’m not really a Christian, or that maybe I’m not really on my way to heaven, and I can always go back and say, you know, the third Sunday in March 1979 was the day I gave my life to Christ. I remember that day. Um, it’s clear as as anything, I don’t think that you have to have that day, but boy, there’s a lot of power in knowing that day. And if you don’t have one, choose. Today is that day, right? God, regardless of what I did in the past or regardless of what I’ve always believed today, I’m assuring the fact that I’ve placed my faith and trust in you.

Chris
You know, uh, I’m not sure I’ve ever logged it into my brain that you got saved in 1979 because we’re the same age, right? So I’m six weeks older than you. Yeah. And, um, so I didn’t get saved to 1985. Yeah. So, uh, so that would be six years later.

Jeff
I’m six years your spiritual senior.

Chris
Yes, yes. Hey, dad.

Chris
Uh, yeah. But, uh, but. Yeah, that’s. But that’s a big, important six years. Yeah. Right. Because those are teenagers, right? Right.

Jeff
You got saved in the Michael Jackson era, and I got saved in the BGS era.

Chris
Wow. That’s what you came up with?

Jeff
Totally different eras.

Chris
That’s what you walked away. You could say disco too, right?

Chris
It’s that Saturday Night Fever, 1979.

Jeff
I know that sounds so.

Chris
That’s so funny. Dude, that’s so funny.

Jeff
So, uh. Yeah. Go ahead.

Chris
One more thought. One more thought. And that is, uh, because, you know, we’re getting there. Uh, the verse number 37, this is after Jesus weeps. Yes. And, uh, some said this man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying? Yeah. And by the way, that reminds me that I. I think it’s okay. Like, God’s not afraid of us, uh, questioning him, right? Like God’s not. God’s not angry. God doesn’t, you know, uh uh, well, it actually does say in the next verse, Jesus was still angry as he ran to the tomb, but he was angry at death, ironically, not at them.

Jeff
He’s not angry at us.

Chris
Not angry at us. But yeah, but it’s a normal question, isn’t it? It’s understandable for somebody to say, well, you know what? If he healed a blind guy, he couldn’t have saved his friend. Yeah. You know, and I think that it’s okay. Uh, but people legitimately have questions like that. Hey, if God could have healed my mother in law, then why didn’t he? Yeah. God has the ability to take away, uh, my son’s struggle, and yet he doesn’t, right? So why can’t he? Because, you know, he’s able. And I think that those are questions that are legitimate and, and, uh, and some people, honestly, I’ve met people. I mean, I know you have to over the years, they say, oh, I dare not ask that question or I dare not have that thought. You know, it’s totally fair. It’s a fair thought. Yes, it’s a fair thought.

Jeff
His ways are not our ways. We can’t comprehend what he’s doing. And so it’s not wrong for us to say, God, I don’t understand what you’re doing. Yeah, but there’s there’s one. There’s two answers. Either Mary and Martha both came to Jesus even in their disappointment. Um, and these ones, it doesn’t show that they came to Jesus. They they they just went on mourning. Right. So those are the two. When you’re faced with a crisis of faith like this, either you run to Jesus or you run from him. And Mary and Martha, they had the right, the right answer. They came to him in the. Crisis. They leaned in even though they were still asking questions. If you’d only been here, he’d still be alive. But I still believe in you. That was Mary. Martha. Whereas these people go, what the heck, right? He could have done something and he didn’t. Right. And they’re kind of accusing him there.

Chris
Mhm. It seems like it.

Jeff
Yeah. So, so make a choice this year if you face a tragedy, lean in even when you don’t understand, lean in and say, okay, I still trust you. Martha wanted to reaffirm her faith in him. Right, right. Yeah.

Chris
Yeah, that’s that’s a really great point. I think that that’s all applicable. And there’s, there’s at least 3 or 4 really solid sermons just in. Yeah. Just in the center of the story, isn’t that. Yeah. Yeah.

Jeff
So it’s so good.

Chris
Well, hey, we will have to wait until Monday.

Jeff
It’s a cliffhanger. Until next week. I wonder what happens. What? We don’t don’t say anything. Don’t give it away, Chris.

Chris
It’s so funny. It’s so funny. So, uh. Anyway, hopefully we’ll see you on Monday as.

Chris
We wrap up the story. And by the way, Jesus raises Lazarus.

Jeff
What? What?

Chris
I gave it away. Oh, uh, we’ll see you then on the Bible Guys.