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:
Have you ever seen Mrs. Doubtfire?

Jeff:
Yes I have.

Chris:
When he goes

Jeff:
I haven’t actually seen Mrs. Doubtfire but I seen the movie.

Chris:
Well, yeah, that’s what I was meaning. Oh, okay. Yes. Yes. Remember when he goes, hello? I always want to say that. So to everybody just tuning in, hello.

Jeff:
You should have just done it. You should have started right off with that phrase. Yeah.

Chris:
Well, I didn’t expect you to make it complicated.

Jeff:
Yeah. Okay. I’m sorry.

Chris:
I was going to go right into it. Hey, well, first of all, welcome to the Bible guys. I’m Chris, he’s Jeff.

Jeff:
And I’m making everything complicated today.

Chris:
Yes. But you know what? That’s our job.

Jeff:
That’s my job. That’s my job.

Chris:
To make things complicated for one another. Well, today we’re talking about serving others. And so Desiree says, we’re going to start off our segment today by talking about serving others. Let’s share some funny stories about some missions trips that you both have been on. Oh, wow. So one funny story each.

Jeff:
Okay, what’s your funniest story? Oh, you want me to?

Chris:
Well, I mean, I’m not sure I can tell my funniest one. Okay. Maybe a little inappropriate. Yeah, keep it clean. Just because, I mean, I didn’t do anything wrong. It was just funny circumstances. But I don’t want to talk about that.

Jeff:
I can’t tell my funniest one either. I know.

Chris:
How about this one? So we were in Haiti and we had gone down with a bunch of people to serve and build. We’re pouring cement. We were serving people. We were going around. There was a big feeding thing happening. So we were feeding people, putting up tents. And so anyway, this was slightly after the earthquake years ago. And so anyway, we’re down there and, you know, this is lining up to be a hysterical story. Well, I was trying to get all the good stuff out of the way. So anyway, I was taking a shower. So the way that these showers were in the dorm were sort of wired as they sort of built this long, skinny hallway. And in fact, you know how like hallways overseas, they’re not as wide as the hallways here. You know what I’m talking about?

Jeff:
Yeah. Like overseas, it’s just. They make them wide enough for them to have two people walk by. Right. Not American. We go walking by, we’re brushing both sides of the wall and they’re walking shoulder to shoulder.

Chris:
Right. And so it’s like, it’s like, uh, there’s just a really skinny hallway. And then, and then, uh, there’s the showers. Well, I walked all the way down to the very last one, uh, because I didn’t want quite honestly, somebody walking by me, right. Cause there was no curtain or anything like that, right? These curtains are falling down and they’re not covering anything. So all the way down to the end, right? I got my flip-flops on and And I step into the shower and I’ve got a towel and the soaps already in there So I I take a shower and I and I’m explaining those things because I didn’t have anything with me other than a towel Okay, okay. Yeah, so I step out you were in a vulnerable situation very vulnerable Okay, I walk out and I start to walk back and I notice there’s a huge tarantula on the ground. I And I’m talking like huge, right? And I know that people don’t want to go overseas because of these reasons, right? I mean, for the most part, tarantulas are, you know, they’re really passive. They’re really passive and everything, but they are deadly. If they decided to bite you.

Jeff:
Deadly, probably not, but they’ll get you. They’ll make you wish you hadn’t been bit.

Chris:
Okay. And let’s, okay. That’s fine. That’s enough. And I also read, unfortunately, before I got there that they could jump quite a distance.

Jeff:
Yeah. Yeah. Some of those are jumpers. Yeah. You’re right.

Chris:
Yeah. I mean, they can jump like 12 feet or something crazy. Right. And so I come out of the shower and remind you, I remind you, this is a thin hallway, really, really thin. And so I looked down and it was sort of nestled in the corner. I mean, it was the size of, it was bigger than an orange, much, much bigger than an orange. It was probably like a grapefruit. Right. And this thing is right there in the corner with his legs. And I’m like, oh no. Right. So naturally what I do is I start yelling, well, come find out I’m the only one in the dorms. So I’m screaming, help, help. And there’s no way out. I can’t climb the big brick wall. And so I’m like, I’ve literally got to pass this tarantula.

Jeff:
And it’s squared off on you. It’s not going to let you pass.

Chris:
No, it wasn’t like that. It was actually sitting in the corner. Like I didn’t want to be bothered. But I mean, if I shimmy past it, I’m only a foot away from this. Like my toe would be only a foot, maybe a foot and a half away from this thing. Right. So I didn’t know what else to do. So I sat in the shower for like, or I stood in the shower for like an hour. Almost an hour, probably 40 minutes, realistically 40 minutes. And I’m shouting, waiting for somebody to come, right? Nobody comes.

Jeff:
You didn’t think to just hold your towel right in front of them? That’s what I ended up doing.

Chris:
So I ended up holding my towel and shimmying so slowly, but the entire time I was expecting it to jump.

Jeff:
You know, I wonder what kind of story it’s telling his friends. You’re never gonna believe this. This naked white guy was within a foot of me.

Chris:
Right, right. Well, I gotta tell you, it was awful. And when I got past it, I was like, oh my goodness. And then I finally made it to my dorm and, or, you know, my bed, the place where I was sleeping. And then all of a sudden people came in and I was like, oh, if I’d have waited 10 more minutes. Right.

Jeff:
But then you would have had to explain why you waited for an hour and a half for somebody to rescue you from a spider that stayed in the corner.

Chris:
Well, we ended up getting it and then shooting it outside. So we captured it and shoot it. Yeah.

Jeff:
Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

Chris:
We did not kill it.

Jeff:
So, uh, I was working on a, This is a funny story to me. My wife and I were working together on a peace project in Morocco, and it was Muslims, Christians, and Jewish leaders from around the world had been brought in by the king of Morocco for this project, and then they hosted an event at a university he had built. And my wife and I had gone the week before that on our own dime and kind of celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary together. So we traveled all around the country, went to all the royal cities and we went to Fez and Marrakesh and Meknes and Casablanca, all that kind of stuff. And I love the tagine, the chicken tagine meals, which is just a unique way of cooking in Morocco. So everywhere we went, every town I was in, I would look for a place that had tagine restaurant. I wanted to get tagine. I have a tagine at home. I cook in it now. I love it. So we get to this place and I’m looking for chicken tagine. It’s this big buffet. It’s very, it’s all these government officials. Everybody’s all sophisticated and important looking. And I’m like, doo doo doo, you know, all the time anyways. And so I’m in there and I finally find what looked exactly like the tagine. So I get a bunch of that. I put on my plate, I get some other things. I come around and I sit down and I have two imams, two rabbis, my wife, And I have the food right here. And one of the rabbis goes, and they’re so funny, the rabbi guys, it seemed like every one of them was a comedian. That’s why we hung out with them so much. One of the guys goes, wow, you’re brave. I can’t believe you’re going to eat that. And I pause for a second because when a rabbi questions what you buy, rabbis eat anything, right? Right. So anything that’s kosher anyways. So they eat some scary stuff I won’t eat. And I goes, I said, why, what is this? And he goes, it’s sheep brains. I thought it was chicken, right? Sheep brains. And I’m right here like this. And right then the sheikh’s son, who’s in charge of the whole event comes up, put his hand on my shoulder and leaned in and goes, you know, it’s impolite to not finish everything that’s on your plate in Morocco. I was like, what? He said, you have to eat it. And I sat there and I ate it, and I ate it, and I had, I’m telling you, half my plate, this is me being greedy, half my plate was this sheep brains meal. And I ate the whole thing and then he patted me on the back and he went, oh wait a minute, that’s not Morocco, that’s Saudi Arabia. And he walked away. So he would just, he would just lie to me, yank in my chain and made me eat the whole plate of brains before. So you ate sheep brains? Oh yeah, the whole plate of it. How was it? Uh, you know, once he got past the fact that his brains, it has like a texture, like, um, like, like dry scrambled eggs. So not dry, but you know, it’s not, it’s not like the wet scrambled eggs. It’s like the firmer scrambled eggs. That’s what it felt like.

Chris:
It’s not as bad as you could have described it. So that’s, that’s okay. But wow.

Jeff:
Yeah. But he was yanking my chain the whole time because every time I take a bite and he leans in and says, keep going bud, you can do it. Yeah, that’s awesome. So you never know what you’re gonna eat. I had somebody give me a goat head or a goat one time We’re late. Oh, that’s okay. Yeah. Yeah, you have a lot you’re gonna say on this next thing that was meaningful I just didn’t want you to start another story. I didn’t want you to start the first story.

Chris:
So well you like that Yeah, well, hey, you know I’m just doing what I’m told, man. I’m just doing what I’m told.

Jeff:
I’m feeling sassy today. I am. I’m feeling sassy.

Chris:
I’m sorry. But yeah, I’ve had goats. I’ve eaten goat. I’ve never eaten sheep brains, for sure.

Jeff:
You’ve eaten goat brains? No, no, no. Just goat. Just goat meat. Goat meat. Yes.

Chris:
Okay. And I go brain.

Jeff:
Okay. All right, excuse me. We are in Matthew chapter 20 today. And we’re gonna read verse 20, which is interesting because remember, he just finished in Matthew 20, 17 through 19, talking about dying. He’s gonna give his life. And then he pivots right from there. And this is what happens in verse 20. It says, then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons and she knelt respectfully to ask a favor. What is your request? He asked. She replied, in your kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you. One on your right and the other on your left. This is amazing. We just talked about this. I didn’t know we were getting ready to talk about this week. But Jesus answered by saying to them, you don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I’m about to drink? Oh yes, they replied, we are able. Jesus told them, you will indeed drink from my bitter cup. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or on my left. My father has prepared those places for the ones he’s chosen. When the 10 other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. But Jesus called them together and said, you know that the rulers in this world lorded over their people and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you, it’ll be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant. And whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the son of man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. Isn’t that great?

Chris:
Yeah.

Jeff:
The same story happens in Mark chapter 10, verse 35. It says, then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. Teacher, they asked, we want you to do us a favor. What’s your request? He asked them. They replied, when you sit in your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left. But Jesus said to them, you don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I’m about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with? Oh yes, they replied, we are able. Then Jesus told him, you will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen. When the 10 other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. So Jesus called them together and said, you know that the rulers in this world lorded over their people and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you, it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the son of man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. Man, there’s so many good lessons in there. So just before we started this one, I noticed there’s a note that deals with that thing that I was talking about with you the other day. Oh, really? This is astounding to me. So we had somebody ask a question. I’ll say, somebody sent in a question. online, which by the way, if you have questions for the Bible Guys, info at thebibleguys.com is usually where we get them. Or sometimes people will just post them on YouTube or in the comments or something and Desiree will find them. So I noticed one of the questions was, we had just talked about a situation where John is writing and it said, Caiaphas thought these things. And the question was, the skeptic in me kind of questions, how does John know what Caiaphas is thinking? So there’s a couple of answers. In my mind, I actually typed a response on this one. And I said, There’s one, the Holy Spirit just could have told him, right? Because the Holy Spirit was inspiring, inspired these words to be written. Holy Spirit could have told him. But there is a reasonable thing, and that is, John writes when, later on, we’ll read this, when Jesus gets arrested and they take Jesus to Caiaphas’ house, the Bible says Peter stays outside. Remember with the servants? And that’s where he denies Christ three times. But it literally says the other disciple went in. Well, how is that? Peter stays out because he’s afraid he’s going to get arrested. But John, he’s always the other disciple, he never names himself, right? John, the other disciple, goes in. How did he have access? Because he wasn’t afraid of getting arrested. As a matter of fact, it was Peter’s Peter’s accent that gave him away. So it would have been John’s accent too. They were both from Galilee and didn’t. So I got to wondering about that. I said, well, there is some evidence that maybe John was known to the priests. Maybe his family was known to the priests. And I started going on this dive that I think gets exposed here. So here’s what happens. The mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with their sons, is what Matthew says. So it’s mom. Mark doesn’t mention the mom, but John does.

Chris:
Right. Mark says that the sons were asking, so they were probably all three asking.

Jeff:
Yeah, so mom brings the boys. Right. Why? It looks like, if you look at the note here, Matthew 20, 20, it says, according to Matthew 27, 56, the mother of James and John was at the cross when Jesus was crucified. Some have suggested that she was the sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus. a close family relationship may have prompted her to make this request for her sons. The reason is, one list of the women with Mary includes a lady named Salome, and then two other ladies. Then, the next list mentions three ladies.

Chris:
You’re talking about another gospel?

Jeff:
Yeah, another gospel gives the same list, but instead of saying Salome, it says the sister of Mary, right? So if Salome is the sister of Mary, that’s where it would come from. Well, then we know Mary had a cousin who was married to a priest. Maybe Mary’s family was priestly, Joseph’s family was kingly, right? And that may have been it. So that may have been, and then if John and James are Jesus’ cousins, that would have been one of the reasons why James and John followed Jesus so early. And then she comes and that’s why she would have had the confidence to say, Hey, Jesus, I’m convinced you’re the king. Just make sure your cousins have really good spots next to you. That makes so much sense to me.

Chris:
Yeah, so what’s interesting is that you and I have been in ministry for 30 years. And we never heard of it. And I’ve never heard that before.

Jeff:
Me neither.

Chris:
But here it is in print right here in front of us, right? Yeah. So in other words, this is a theory. Yeah. This is a working theory that’s out there.

Jeff:
Because that was your question. Really, where’d you find that? Did you find that on like a conspiracy theory website on the internet or whatever? And I just kind of stumbled across this stuff from that lady’s question. And I didn’t use the life application, shame on me. I didn’t use the life application study Bible to look up the things.

Chris:
But I didn’t use it. And so your question was, Do other people really think this? I said, is this a common, widely accepted theory? Because in my 30-something years as a pastor, I’ve never heard it. I’ve never heard that. In other words, I’ve never heard a preacher preach it. I’ve never heard it in a sermon. Me either. I’ve never heard Billy Graham mention it. I’ve never heard it.

Jeff:
So you got to hear first, folks.

Chris:
I’ve never read it. I’ve never read it.

Jeff:
I just did there.

Chris:
But, but yeah, it’s interesting because you know, some of the times, in fact, this just happened last week, last week when we were talking about the rich young ruler, remember on Friday, where, where Jesus mentioned some commandments in one of the gospels and then some commandments in the other gospels. And so we are led to believe that just some of the, you know, one gospel, writer just recorded some, and then the other gospel writer recorded some, but we’re led to believe that he probably said all the Ten Commands, right? So it doesn’t necessarily mean that there could have been five people at the cross. And it could be that Salome is not the mother or the sister of Mary. It could be that they were just referencing other people, just like the one, it doesn’t matter. But I’m getting caught up.

Jeff:
It could have been something else, but the circumstantial evidence seems to point in this direction.

Chris:
I would say it’s more probable that James and John are related to Jesus.

Jeff:
And that may have been why, and that they come from a priestly family, because that may have been why John could get in and Peter couldn’t, because Peter wasn’t part of that that family. It may have been that Caiaphas decided, I’m going to let my extended nephew come in and just see what happens to these kinds of people. It could have been something like that, where he had privilege because of family access. But here, what you have is then, this may be Jesus’ aunt come and saying, hey, Jesus, when you’re in your kingdom, give your cousins a hookup, right? Make sure you set them up in your kingdom in a significant way. So that’s all incidental. It’s just really, it blew my mind when I sat down this morning and saw that note. But I think the bigger issue is, The last will be first, the first will be last.

Chris:
Yeah. So I love the speech that Jesus gives because obviously he responds, you know, and says, Hey, you don’t know what you’re asking. But then he says, Hey, we all know what it’s like for people to Lord over, you know, their title, their authority. And then he, then he says in verse number 26 of Matthew, but among you, it will be different. Yeah. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant. And whoever wants to be first will become your slave. He’s talking about being a bond slave. He’s talking about being, you know, lowering yourself. But I love that idea because he says, he says among you, it shall be different. And he describes, you know, he’s, we all know what it’s like to flaunt your authority, to, to want to feel important, to, to exercise that. And by the way, this is applicable across the board because it is easy to feel important. You know, we just had a really successful Christmas, you know, and more people came and visited our church and apparently loved it than ever before in the history of our church. if not careful, you can have a little smidge of actually feeling like you’re actually important. Yeah.

Jeff:
Look how important we are.

Chris:
Yeah. But the reality is, is that we’re, we’re a bunch of nothing, nobody’s right. And it’s like to feel like you’re important in that equation is ridiculous. And so it’s like, uh, if there’s even a hint of that or, or, or feeling proud or haughty or anything like this, it’s like, we have to remember as Christians, but among you, it will be different. Right. So we have to behave differently.

Jeff:
And this is a warning not just to James and John, because the other 10 were indignant too. Hey, wait a minute. I want to sit next to Jesus. So it was 12 for 12. You want to know how many people need to be concerned about pride? 100% of the people. Right.

Chris:
That’s interesting that you say that, because I never read it like they were indignant because they wanted it also. I thought that they were indignant because they just were like, James John, you guys stink.

Jeff:
If I didn’t want what you were asking for, then why would I care what you were asking for?

Chris:
Well, I think that they thought it was unfair.

Jeff:
Because it’s like, hey, it’s only unfair if you desire it to let Jesus.

Chris:
Right. But let Jesus choose. Yeah. Right. So how unfair is it?

Jeff:
Well, especially if it’s Jesus. So if you’re going to say, well, let Jesus choose. Well, then you’re saying there’s a chance. Right. Right. So the minute that they go and ask, all of a sudden that shuts down your opportunity to get chosen. Right. Right. And so I think that all of us, a hundred percent of us have to be concerned about our motives and why we desire those things.

Chris:
I do believe they wanted that. There’s no question. But I thought that they, I always read it like they were indignant because it was, what they did was unfair and out of line. Right. Out of line. It’s especially unfair if they’re, if they’re related. That’s right. But, but certainly out of line.

Jeff:
So then Jesus tells us why he came. There’s a couple of times when he tells us why he came. One time he says, I came to seek and to save that which was lost. And this time he says, for even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. So he’d already told them, they’re gonna beat me, they’re gonna crucify me, and I’m gonna rise again. And now he’s saying, the reason that’s gonna happen is I’m gonna pay the ransom. There’s a price, the wages of sin is death, Romans 6.23 says, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. he buys back the thing that we owe, and then he gives us life as the free gift, right? So it’s almost like he bought the prison we were in just so he could tear it down. That’s what he did, right? To give us freedom. That’s the whole story, is this story. So he bought the prison we’re in, just to tear it down. And that’s the ransom that he paid for us. And then he sets us free. And we’re free to do his will, right? Those who know the son.

Chris:
Yeah. And by the way, we’re about to hear that, you know, when Jesus is in the upper room, he washes the disciples’ feet and takes a posture of serving. And so he doesn’t just say that he comes to serve others. He lives it in every facet of his life.

Jeff:
Oh, how many times do we have to say, and Jesus was exhausted and he tried to get away. Right. He served to exhaustion. Right. Right. So that’s great. Yeah.

Chris:
That’s great, man. That’s a great closing thought. And that’s our time. So we will see you hopefully next time on The Bible Guys.