Transcription

Chris
So, Jeff, how big is your family? Is it big? Yeah.

Jeff
So I have three younger brothers and six older sisters. Wow. Yeah, well, I’ve.

Chris
Got four older brothers and that. That’s on the German side. That’s not even close to how big the Italian family side. You know that my grandfather had 12 brothers. What? It’s true.

Jeff
12 brothers. Yes. That’s a basketball team with a couple of backups. And it’s a basketball league, man.

Chris
So consequently, at my wedding, there were 591 people, and and most of them were from my mom’s side of the family.

Jeff
Wow. Are they all. They’re all Italians. Yes. That’s a lot of meatballs.

Chris
That’s a lot of meatballs.

Jeff
Yeah, well.

Chris
Well, today we’re talking about true family.

Jeff
So he’s Chris and I’m Jeff and we’re the Bible guys. Guess what, Chris?

Chris
Happy anniversary.

Jeff
Happy anniversary. Chris.

Chris
We should. We should have a sound effect. Honk, honk. Yeah, yeah. Give you a hat? Yeah, yeah. For sure. Yeah, yeah, we should have done that. But, um. So. So today is the one year anniversary of the Bible, guys.

Jeff
That’s right. Yeah. What an episode. Yeah.

Chris
Hey, we should have.

Jeff
This is going to be a blockbuster. We should have prepared.

Chris
Well, it’s one of those things where, you know, when you’re married 31 years, you’re like, hey, honey, happy anniversary. Let’s go to Cracker Barrel. Yeah, yeah. Right. Right, right. Yeah. So that’s how we’re treating this.

Jeff
Let’s go plant our paint. Our kid’s house. Right. Hang some pictures. Isn’t that what you did on your anniversary?

Chris
We did? Yes. We go down to Florida like Liz.

Jeff
The romance is gone. We have.

Chris
Free miles. What do you want to do? Let’s go help Sarah unpack boxes.

Jeff
Yeah. Your anniversary was supposed to be about you. And you know you’re getting old when your anniversary is about your kids. That’s right, that’s right.

Chris
So, uh. So, anyway, we we did HD daily, which was a podcast that we started in our church, Heritage Church. Yeah. And we did that from February to, uh, September. And then we decided to switch over to the Bible guys. Yeah. And that was September of last year. And so now today marks the one.

Jeff
Year anniversary.

Chris
250 something episodes, whatever.

Jeff
It is. 200. And. Jillian. Jillian.

Chris
Jillian.

Jeff
Jillian. Episodes. Yeah.

Chris
So anyway. Yeah, man. Happy anniversary.

Jeff
Happy anniversary to you. I’m really happy that we got to do this together. And I hope we have many more. Yeah.

Chris
For sure. Um hum. And then it says, um. So, uh, so Desiree pulled up a few comments about, uh, people, you know, because obviously that’s appropriate for the anniversary. Oh, yeah. So the first one is Christina. Chris, what is that? Christiana Christiana h hi, Christiana. And she says this, this podcast makes me feel at home no matter where I go. Isn’t that a great statement? Oh, they make learning the Bible so fun and applicable. It’s something that I didn’t know I needed. Ah that’s fun. That’s a well worded and well thought out compliment.

Jeff
Thank you. We should we should have her be one of our writers. Yeah. For make us sound smarter.

Chris
Yes.

Jeff
That’s very good. Thank you. Christiana, you wanna read the next one? Yeah. It says, um. Well, no, I shouldn’t read that one. It’s it’s, uh, Lisa H says thank you for your daily teachings. Jeff. I have to admit, I have a similar contagious belly laugh to you. It’s a characteristic I if I it’s a great characteristic, if I do say so myself.

Chris
That’s so funny.

Jeff
A belly laugh.

Chris
Yeah, yeah. Ha ha. That’s great. Yeah. Well, you have a great laugh. That’s funny. So number three. Uh, I love when you guys get laughing. So that’s two comments in a row. Laughing laughing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it brightens my day, says David D.

Jeff
David d.

Chris
Thanks, David. Appreciate you.

Jeff
Well that’s awesome. Well, thank you so much to all of our listeners. It really it really is amazing that you guys tune in and listen to us talk. Right. So the whole premise behind this, we weren’t even sure if it was going to work. Just a couple of guys sitting down. We opened the Bible and just talk about it. Right. A couple of buddies.

Chris
When we started it with HD daily, we had no intention of keep going, right? Right, right of keeping going. We just actually started it for, um, uh, we just started it for the purpose of, uh, Covid, right? Yeah. It was, uh, it was a Covid thing happening and, and people were reluctant to meet in homes. So we said, well, let’s just do a podcast and then we get great feedback on it. So we just kept going. Yeah.

Jeff
And people wouldn’t let us stop. And I don’t know if that says anything about us, but it certainly says something about our listeners that they don’t have anything better to do than listen to Chris and Jeff.

Chris
Stop, stop. Hey, man, you listen to podcasts all the time. I listen to.

Jeff
Podcasts. I’m a podcast guy.

Chris
Yeah, yeah. So anyway, so, hey, thank you very much. Happy. So if you.

Jeff
Just started listening, thank you. And for those of you that have been paying attention for a long time, uh, and it’s been a privilege and honor to be a part of of your last year.

Chris
Yeah. And by the way, you can always email us as a comments at info at Thebible guys. Com and um, we would love to hear from you. Comment on YouTube. Uh, you know, just give us feedback in any way that you can because we would love to respond to it.

Jeff
Can I edit my last statement? Yeah. What do you want? I said, thank you for letting us be a part of your last year. And I think I meant to say past year, there’s a big difference between your past year and your last year.

Chris
Well, but because.

Jeff
Last sounds fine. Well, it sounds final, like like this final year of your life.

Chris
It’s just a matter of perspective.

Jeff
So it’s past year.

Chris
Yeah, but both are allowable. Yeah.

Jeff
Okay. Okay, I don’t know.

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? Uh, because I’m worth following and Jeff is along with me, so, you know, you could follow him, I guess, too, by proxy, but, uh, or just share it, you know, because people need to be introduced to the Bible guy and his companion named Jeff. So today we’re talking about true family, and it’s found in three different gospels uh, Matthew 12, Luke three, and Luke or excuse me, Mark three and Luke eight.

Jeff
Okay. So, uh, let’s get right at it. In Matthew chapter 12, verse 46, it says, as Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside asking to speak to him. Someone told Jesus, your mother and your brothers are outside and they want to speak to you. And Jesus asked, who is my mother? Who are my brothers? And then he pointed to his disciples and said, look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does not, or anyone who does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. In Mark chapter three, he tells the same story. In verse 31 it says, Then Jesus mother and brothers came to see him, and they stood outside and sent word for him to come out and talk with them. There was a great crowd sitting around Jesus, and someone said, your mother and brothers are outside asking for you. Jesus replied, who is my mother? Who are my brothers? And then he looked at those around him and said, look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother. In in Luke chapter eight verse 19, Luke tells it this way says, Then Jesus mother and brothers came to see him. Uh, but they couldn’t get to him because of the crowd. Someone told Jesus, your mother and brothers are outside and they want to see you. And Jesus replied, my mother and brothers are all those who hear God’s word and obey it.

Chris
Yeah. So that’s, uh, that’s a heck of a statement. Yeah. And I’m almost wondering if Jesus is trying to, uh, you know, after all the people who he chose as his 12 apostles, uh, they knew Jesus as a kid. Yeah. Most likely. Right. Right, right. So I wonder if Jesus is trying to establish more of a divinity mindset, uh, to those who follow him. And they said, hey, Jesus, it’s your mom. You know, like, hey, oh, man, she makes the best cookies, you know? Yeah. It’s like, you know, there’s that there’s that humanity factor to it, right? Right. And Jesus is obviously has an earthly mother and he has an earthly brother. But what he’s doing here and by the way, notice that Joseph isn’t there, right? Right. Which at this point, yeah, by this point. So which is why we believe that Joseph had to have passed away. Uh, and when Jesus was on the cross, when he says, behold, your mother, he was passing on responsibility as the eldest son because we believe Joseph, Joseph, um, had passed away and she was a widow. Yeah. But anyway, uh, so they show up, and then Jesus makes this comment about divinity, and he’s like, he’s like, hey, we’re talking about the family of God here. And he raises everybody up from the lower room to the upper room perspective, doesn’t he? Um, so I want to read, um, this little note here from the Life Application Study Bible. It says Jesus was not denying his responsibility to his earthly family. On the contrary, he criticized the religious leaders for not following the Old Testament command to honor their parents. He provided his mother’s security as he hung on the cross. He provided for his mother’s security as he hung on the cross. Chris
As I just mentioned, his mother and his brothers were present in the upper room at the Pentecost. Instead, Jesus was pointing out that spiritual relationships are as binding as physical ones. He was paving the way for the new community of believers, the universal church, our spiritual family. Hmm. And isn’t one of your favorite, uh, sayings that talks about how we become adopted sons?

Jeff
Oh yeah. Well, Ephesians, right. The book of Ephesians says that it was always God’s plan to adopt us into his very own family. Right. Uh, there’s another passage in was it Corinthians where? Second Corinthians where Paul says, uh, God says, come out from among them and be separate, and I’ll be like a father and touch not the unclean thing, and I’ll be like a father to you, and you’d be like my sons and daughters. And over and over and over again he talks about how, you know, when you leave the world, you’re entering into my family when that’s really what you’re doing, you’re walking away from, uh, any kind of connections or associations that you had before, and you’re turning to me. But God says I’ll be a father to you. That’s why Jesus taught us to pray. Our father who art in heaven. It doesn’t say, Jesus father who who art in heaven, right? Right. So he says, Our Father who art in heaven. And yeah, and over and over and over again, God uses family words to refer to the church.

Chris
Yeah. We are heirs in Christ.

Jeff
Yep, yep. Uh, he’s he’s the firstborn among many brethren. The Bible says, talking about us being brothers with Christ, all those kinds of things. So I think that, um, here Jesus is, is really trying to highlight a few things because we know he honored his mother right at the cross. He provided for her her safety and and her security by saying, hey, John, I want you to take care of my mom, which, by the way, he gave the responsibility of caring for his mother to the youngest disciple. So that means he knew probably that John was going to outlive his mom. You know what I mean at that point. So, hey, take care of my mom. Uh, you find him really getting on the Pharisees in Matthew chapter 15. And he was.

Chris
Also the disciple that Jesus loved.

Jeff
That’s right.

Chris
According to John.

Jeff
That’s right. Like in Matthew 15, Jesus shows frustration with the Pharisees for not honoring the law and honoring their mom and dad, right? Their parents giving respect to their parents. So Jesus had an expectation that those would be there. This feels a little harsh in the moment, but what he’s trying to do is say, when you come to faith in Christ, it’s open, and everybody who does so is a part of the family. There’s no exclusions now. Whereas if if they said, hey, your mom and brothers are outside, what it would have required was Jesus to leave the people he was with and go to this inner circle of family, right? And instead what Jesus is saying, no, everybody, everybody who obeys my word is part of family.

Chris
You know, it’s funny because you said it feels harsh in the moment. I didn’t take it as harsh at all. I took it as honoring because he didn’t down his mother or brothers. He just said, you’re just like them. Yeah. Yeah, right. So he’s like, he’s like, hey, your mom’s outside. And he’s like, you know what? You guys are just like my family. Yeah.

Jeff
And he’s saying, who’s my mom? Who’s my brothers? Yeah, right. So it depends on what kind of tone you put on.

Chris
That I guess.

Jeff
So, right. Yeah. Yeah.

Chris
My mom yeah. Yeah yeah Jesus Scoffs yeah. So so yeah but but hey to your point though. He did say anybody who who later on he says anybody who isn’t willing to deny their mother and their family and follow me cannot be my disciple. Right right right. So that that definitely is harsh too. Yeah. But, um, but for here, though, I love how it feels like to me, like Jesus is saying, everybody is family. And, um, and by the way, I think that that’s really significant because, uh, I think it is true. So, uh, so I have a, I have a relative who, um, doesn’t quite understand that, uh, that Christians around the world just give to other Christians, and they treat them like family because that’s how God models it and tells us. So, for instance, I was I’d never met this this young staff member who who you know very, very well, who worked at your church and and ours in my previous church, uh, he has, uh, he has a father in Italy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right. And, uh, and I remember just meeting him one time.

Jeff
I kid you not, I love there. I love his father.

Chris
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I remember meeting him literally one time on, um, on zoom, and I was walking through the lobby and he’s like, hey, this is my dad. He’s a, you know, missionary in Italy or whatever. And I talked to him for like three minutes and he goes, let me tell you something. Anytime you want to come here, anytime, I’m going to open up my house for free and everything else. And he just. Laying out this whole thing, right? And so, anyway, uh, because we’re Italian, I’m talking to this relative, and, and my relative says, uh, you know, if we went to Italy, it would cost x amount of dollars. And I said, well, not really, because I’d have a free car and free lodging at least. Yeah. And he’s like, what? He’s like, who would ever do that? Well, this guy I met for three minutes on zoom, right, right. And he’s like, why would anybody do that? He goes, and of course he he always sort of like gives me a hard time because, uh, some people give stuff to me, right? As, as Christians, they love their pastor and they give stuff. And he goes, uh, he goes, why do you always have people giving stuff? And I said, I said, hey, man, it’s not about me. It’s about this is how Jesus calls us to live, right? Right. So if you if you were to go almost anywhere in the world, anywhere in the world, and you and you had trouble and you walked up to a Christian organization and said, I’m a pastor from the United States, I’m a faithful Christian, I need some help. A Christian organization would say, come on in.

Jeff
Yeah, yeah, yeah, well, individual churches would be the same way. I mean, we’ve had we’ve had times where we’ve broken down in the bush and the pastors rally around, or the Christians come to try to help. And over and over and over again, I’ve seen it where people with almost nothing are willing to share what they do have in order to help you know further the kingdom or to be a part of encouraging, you know, brother or sister. So yeah, that’s a big part of it. It’s something special when when you really understand the importance of the church. That’s why I caution people, you know, I love the fact that we can do church online. I love the fact that we can do a devotional like this online. And, you know, you can listen on Spotify or, you know, watch on YouTube or whatever. Those things are great. Having those resources and content, I guess that’s a good thing.

Chris
Especially if you travel.

Jeff
But man, content and resources and video cannot replace the personal relationships that happen in the context of a local church.

Chris
And everything that’s supposed to happen, uh, relationally. Yeah. Uh, you know, transactions of people encouraging bearing one another’s burdens. That’s right. Yeah. In the context of relationship.

Jeff
You’ve got to be a part of a of a of a body of of people, other humans, even the, the fruits of the spirit in Galatians, which we did a whole episode on the fruit of the spirit in Galatians chapter five, love, joy, peace, gentleness, long suffering, patience. Right. Uh, all those things, none of those can be developed. The fruits of the spirit, none of them can be developed in a bubble. None of them can be developed on your couch. All of them can only be developed in the context of being around other humans. Yeah, right. And so, so much of what God wants for you, you cannot get through a screen or through headphones a lot. You can a lot of the content you can the encouragement, your heart you can. But growing up spiritually, you need other Christians in your life. And so this is one of the things he’s doing. He’s sitting around having dinner or hanging out with some some of his disciples, his mom and his brothers show up, and then he’s like, you know what? I need to be with my with my real brothers, right? Yeah. So that’s the other thing is, I think it’s surprising to some people to find out Jesus had brothers.

Chris
No. Yeah, yeah. Well people don’t. Uh. Yeah. Unless you’re really diving into the gospel and taking notes. Uh, you can miss that very easily. Mhm. Mhm. Uh, and people don’t realize that, uh, James, the son of Alphaeus, was one of the disciples. But the book of James people, uh, most people that I know automatically think that that was written by a disciple, but that was actually the brother of Jesus. Brother of.

Jeff
Jesus. Jude as well was also brother. Yeah. So, uh, the one says that he’s the brother of James. Jude says he’s the brother of James, and James says he’s the brother of Jesus. So. Right. So Jude and James. But there is a passage where it mentions Jude. Uh, also mentions uh, Paul mentions one time, uh, that the brothers of Jesus were married, right? And brought their families with them when they were preaching and traveling and stuff. So, yeah, uh, it’s surprising because there are some doctrines out there. Some religions believe that Mary was perpetually a virgin. And, uh, that’s difficult in this situation if he has brothers.

Chris
Right?

Chris
Yeah, that’s very difficult. Right, right. Because there’s not two divine. Right. Right.

Jeff
And then and then some people would believe that Jesus was Mary’s only child, right. And he wasn’t. He was her first child. Right? Right. And so he was.

Chris
You imagine that growing up.

Jeff
Oh, man.

Chris
Why can’t you be more like your older brother? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jeff
Well, I figure it must have been. That’s probably what it’s like for my three younger brothers.

Chris
But, um.

Jeff
Is is to have to look up to me and go, wow, I’m never going to live up to Jeff. Right?

Chris
Cute laughing soundtrack right now or womp womp, either one. Yeah, yeah.

Jeff
We can imagine. Why don’t you be more like your brother? Why don’t you be more like my brother, right?

Chris
Yeah. Right. So? So.

Chris
Yeah. So anyway, the bottom line is, is that, um, I’ve experienced family within the church myself. And by the way, let me say two things. Number one, uh, as you were saying, there’s a difference between being online and being in the room. Yeah, yeah. Um, I realized that a lot of my job description for the last 20 years is to pay attention to creating great services that are impactful, uh, you know, both in person and online. Right. And so every time we make a decision, we make a decision for both. Right, right. And in some cases, the online even trumps it. Right. Because it’s harder to translate online. It’s harder to communicate online. Absolutely.

Jeff
Yeah. Yeah.

Chris
So so the online sort of takes priority because we don’t want to do something that’s just exclusively for the people in the room. But all that to say, um, no matter how hard we plan, it’s always better in person.

Jeff
Oh, yeah. Yeah, I.

Chris
Mean, like, like leap years and there’s something about it. And I think that like, you know, and again, COVID’s pretty far removed, uh, you know, and it’s not going to come back regardless of what political things are happening right now. But anyway, uh, sorry that little rant, but, uh, but the the bottom line is, is that, um, when Covid was, uh, a thing and people were staying in their homes when people started coming out of their caves and they started coming, the comment that was overwhelming was, man, there’s just nothing like being a part of the church. Oh, sure. In person? Sure.

Jeff
Have you ever have you ever watched a video of your favorite band? Right.

Chris
As opposed to being in concert.

Jeff
So, so just, uh, last year, um, one of my favorite singers, Andrea Bocelli, he’s an Italian pop opera singer. Right. So it’s kind of weird, but whatever. Um, he’s world famous, and he comes to Little Caesars Arena, and I’ve seen him online 150 times. Um, or, uh, my, my sister in law, her favorite, one of her favorite singers is Celine Dion. Same kind of thing. Seen every video of Celine Dion. But then when they finally got to see Celine in her theater in Vegas, my sister in law cried just telling us about how incredible it was, and it’s because of the crowd. And she said, that’s the difference, right? The so the performance is the same, maybe, maybe even a little less. Because it’s not it’s not it’s not a full production recording. Um, but the crowd, the energy, the enthusiasm, the passion from the people. And God made us to be, uh, aware and connected to that. And then when you get out of the crowd and you get into the small groups of friends, there’s there’s an intimacy and a connection there that, uh, challenges you as a human. It makes you need to be better, um, and want to be better and want to grow. And when you’re growing spiritually, you’re talking about it. And I’m wanting to do well. Now I want to go down that same path with you, and we go on these journeys together. We are made to go on the journey of life with people. And then if we can just look at the digital stuff like this or like a streaming services, whatever, those are tools. Yeah. Instead of being the point, they’re not the goal. They’re not even a they’re not even a supplement. They’re not they’re not in place of they’re just a tool for the times when you can’t be together with others or when you need a reminder. Jeff
Then, uh, I think we just miss out on it. And then lastly, let me just say this.

Chris
I got to throw this before you change topic.

Jeff
I’m moving on.

Chris
No, uh, I was going to say I agree with you about the crowd, but there’s also another thing. It’s because you recognize you’re in the presence of. A person live. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Right. So so there’s there’s an effect that that a live presence has on the crowd. So the crowd is a huge part of it. Yeah. Uh, but also it’s the fact that they’re real in person, which is a direct correlation of being in the presence of God, you know, and seeing God move amongst.

Jeff
It’s not just theater at that point. It’s it’s authentic and real. Yeah, yeah. So there’s a theme here. You know, yesterday when we talked about Jesus said even more, blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice. Yeah, yeah, he ends it here. My mother and my brothers are all those who hear God’s word and obey it. Jesus, over and over and over again is not content with you just hearing words, right? Right. It’s doing them. That’s the answer. So hear it and then do it. And he said those are do it right. He said, then you’re really part of my family. You’re closer to Jesus when you’re doing what he says to do.

Chris
That’s great.

Chris
Yeah. Do you ever see that buff thing?

Chris
Just do it.

Chris
Well, hey, that’s a great place to end and we will see you next time on The Bible Guys.