WEBVTT 00:00:02.619 --> 00:00:06.019 Welcome to Season 3 of Love & Context. This season, 00:00:06.120 --> 00:00:08.640 we're exploring the life of Jesus, step -by -step, 00:00:08.779 --> 00:00:11.140 and uncovering what His story teaches us about 00:00:11.140 --> 00:00:13.919 loving God and others. Here on Love & Context, 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:16.059 we're all about having real conversations about 00:00:16.059 --> 00:00:18.140 how to live out that love in practical, everyday 00:00:18.140 --> 00:00:20.199 ways, and understanding the Bible in its full 00:00:20.199 --> 00:00:22.820 context. We're so glad you're here. Let's dive 00:00:22.820 --> 00:00:28.370 into Season 3 of Love & Context. Welcome back 00:00:28.370 --> 00:00:30.969 to the Love and Context podcast. We are talking 00:00:30.969 --> 00:00:35.450 about Jesus. Finally. All season. All season 00:00:35.450 --> 00:00:38.250 we're talking about Jesus. Yes, finally. Two 00:00:38.250 --> 00:00:41.270 seasons of no Jesus and finally. We haven't talked 00:00:41.270 --> 00:00:42.969 about Jesus at all. That's not true. That's not 00:00:42.969 --> 00:00:44.770 true at all. That's not true at all. I was just 00:00:44.770 --> 00:00:46.469 being facetious. Yeah, no, it's fine. Because 00:00:46.469 --> 00:00:52.299 I can. I'm going to pique some people's interest 00:00:52.299 --> 00:00:54.200 here because we're going to be working on this, 00:00:54.240 --> 00:00:56.979 but we may or may not, you and I may or may not 00:00:56.979 --> 00:01:00.240 be working on season one, converting it into 00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:03.780 a book. I think we are working on it. We are 00:01:03.780 --> 00:01:06.200 working on it. I said may or may not, like facetiously, 00:01:06.260 --> 00:01:08.840 but obviously I know that we are. Whether we 00:01:08.840 --> 00:01:10.799 release it, that's another question. We'll probably 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:13.140 release it. Yeah, at least as one that people 00:01:13.140 --> 00:01:16.140 can order, you know, one of those self -published 00:01:16.140 --> 00:01:19.219 ones. But I was reading it and I was like, and 00:01:19.219 --> 00:01:23.170 I was reading season one and I was like. so I'm 00:01:23.170 --> 00:01:24.709 going through the transcript and and you know 00:01:24.709 --> 00:01:26.849 you you kind of like shape the conversation a 00:01:26.849 --> 00:01:29.569 little bit and In other words, he cut me out. 00:01:29.609 --> 00:01:31.549 Yeah completely out like Spencer doesn't exist 00:01:31.549 --> 00:01:34.370 anymore in the book But sometimes you'll have 00:01:34.370 --> 00:01:36.170 like a spot and you take out all the things in 00:01:36.170 --> 00:01:37.530 the transcripts and so it's just a bunch of lines 00:01:37.530 --> 00:01:40.870 of like dialogue and There's early on when we're 00:01:40.870 --> 00:01:43.939 talking. It's like right sure uh -huh like um 00:01:43.939 --> 00:01:48.359 yeah and so like literally for like 15 like segments 00:01:48.359 --> 00:01:51.340 no idea what you're talking about yeah so if 00:01:51.340 --> 00:01:53.340 you haven't listened to our first episode in 00:01:53.340 --> 00:01:54.719 a while you should go back and check that one 00:01:54.719 --> 00:01:57.900 out um i think we've gotten better i think so 00:01:57.900 --> 00:02:01.760 sort of yeah yeah but we'll see but anyways that 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:03.480 that's the thing that's coming so if that is 00:02:03.480 --> 00:02:05.140 somewhere where somebody's like oh that sounds 00:02:05.140 --> 00:02:07.879 fun i love reading books first of all i love 00:02:07.879 --> 00:02:11.349 you because i love also love reading books Uh, 00:02:11.469 --> 00:02:13.930 other people tolerate reading books. I love reading 00:02:13.930 --> 00:02:16.229 books. I like reading books too. I just don't 00:02:16.229 --> 00:02:19.009 read at your pace. Yeah. Yeah. It's true. Not 00:02:19.009 --> 00:02:21.250 many do. Yeah. Ben's like, I'm going to read 00:02:21.250 --> 00:02:23.110 hundreds of books in a year. And I'm like, I'm 00:02:23.110 --> 00:02:25.009 going to read hundreds of books before I die. 00:02:25.150 --> 00:02:27.330 Did I, did I tell you? Okay. So many of you who 00:02:27.330 --> 00:02:28.810 are listening, no pastor Nick and he listens 00:02:28.810 --> 00:02:30.560 to this. So I'm just going to. throw them under 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:32.919 the bus a little bit here. So I have a challenge 00:02:32.919 --> 00:02:34.500 for myself, which by the way, you can hold me 00:02:34.500 --> 00:02:36.460 accountable to and ask me at the end of the season, 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:39.159 whether or not I made it, um, is that this year 00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:41.800 I'm trying to read all the books that I own and 00:02:41.800 --> 00:02:44.340 haven't read before the year is done. And if 00:02:44.340 --> 00:02:46.099 I don't make it, then I have to get rid of them. 00:02:46.460 --> 00:02:48.419 Right. So, cause I give myself like a consequence. 00:02:48.520 --> 00:02:51.180 Right. And so I was telling, uh, pastor Nick 00:02:51.180 --> 00:02:52.900 about that. And he says, well, how many books 00:02:52.900 --> 00:02:54.819 do you own that you haven't read? And I was like, 00:02:54.840 --> 00:02:58.159 I don't know, like 140, 150. he goes you have 00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:01.460 150 books you haven't read that you own i said 00:03:01.460 --> 00:03:06.599 nick nick look at me it could be drugs it could 00:03:06.599 --> 00:03:10.900 be drugs and it's not so um so anyways if you're 00:03:10.900 --> 00:03:12.099 if some of you are listening you're like man 00:03:12.099 --> 00:03:14.740 150 books is a lot listen it could be drugs and 00:03:14.740 --> 00:03:16.860 uh so i have i have an addiction of a different 00:03:16.860 --> 00:03:20.919 sort yep yep um all right so we have talked about 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:22.819 like what are the gospels and then last week 00:03:22.819 --> 00:03:27.310 we talked about this uh um this proclamation, 00:03:27.449 --> 00:03:30.629 these genealogies of Jesus and this call for 00:03:30.629 --> 00:03:33.110 both Mary and Joseph. Today, we're going to look 00:03:33.110 --> 00:03:36.389 at a group of people, the shepherds, and then 00:03:36.389 --> 00:03:39.270 we're going to talk about Anna and Simeon at 00:03:39.270 --> 00:03:43.430 the temple as Jesus is being presented. And we're 00:03:43.430 --> 00:03:44.830 going to have a conversation about that. So that's 00:03:44.830 --> 00:03:46.289 where we're going to be today, mostly in Luke 00:03:46.289 --> 00:03:48.409 2. So that's going to be the places you're going 00:03:48.409 --> 00:03:50.740 to want to go. All right. So with that being 00:03:50.740 --> 00:03:53.500 said, the shepherds are referenced in Luke 2, 00:03:53.659 --> 00:03:55.560 8 through 20. And so I'm going to read that right 00:03:55.560 --> 00:04:00.680 now. It says, And there were shepherds living 00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:02.960 out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:05.400 their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:07.379 to them, and the glory of the Lord shone down 00:04:07.379 --> 00:04:11.460 around them, and they were terrified. That was 00:04:11.460 --> 00:04:16.029 a good timing for that ding. But the angel said 00:04:16.029 --> 00:04:18.589 to them, do not be afraid. I bring you good news 00:04:18.589 --> 00:04:20.850 that will cause you great joy for all the people. 00:04:20.930 --> 00:04:23.290 By the way, can I just, the descriptions that 00:04:23.290 --> 00:04:25.250 they've had of angels throughout like the Bible 00:04:25.250 --> 00:04:28.230 and Revelation and apocalyptic books, there's 00:04:28.230 --> 00:04:29.949 a reason that they have to say, don't be afraid. 00:04:30.509 --> 00:04:33.329 Because clearly they're terrifying. Yeah. Right? 00:04:33.430 --> 00:04:36.170 They look and they're like, ah! That's scary. 00:04:36.529 --> 00:04:38.290 Well, you've seen those reels where it's like, 00:04:38.389 --> 00:04:40.769 well, I think an angel looks like, and then it 00:04:40.769 --> 00:04:42.790 pops up a picture of like what the Bible actually 00:04:42.790 --> 00:04:46.470 says they look like. Well, I think the shows 00:04:46.470 --> 00:04:49.129 like Touched by an Angel, for example, kind of 00:04:49.129 --> 00:04:50.629 ruin that for us. Like we start to think like, 00:04:50.709 --> 00:04:53.009 oh, angels just look like humans. Sometimes. 00:04:54.350 --> 00:04:58.089 but also not sometimes. So anyways, coming back 00:04:58.089 --> 00:05:01.930 to this. Today in the town of David, a savior 00:05:01.930 --> 00:05:04.930 has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the 00:05:04.930 --> 00:05:07.730 Lord. This will be a sign to you. You will find 00:05:07.730 --> 00:05:09.949 a baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger. 00:05:10.730 --> 00:05:13.829 Suddenly, a great host of the heavenly. a great 00:05:13.829 --> 00:05:15.709 company of the heavenly host appeared with the 00:05:15.709 --> 00:05:17.990 angel praising God and saying glory to God in 00:05:17.990 --> 00:05:20.569 the highest heaven and on earth, peace to those 00:05:20.569 --> 00:05:23.350 on whom his favor rests. When the angel had left 00:05:23.350 --> 00:05:25.110 them and gone into the heaven, the shepherd said 00:05:25.110 --> 00:05:27.129 to one another, let's go to Bethlehem. Cause 00:05:27.129 --> 00:05:30.110 they know where the city of David is and see 00:05:30.110 --> 00:05:32.009 this thing that has happened, which the Lord 00:05:32.009 --> 00:05:34.629 has told us about. So they hurried off and found 00:05:34.629 --> 00:05:36.810 Mary and Joseph and the baby who was lying in 00:05:36.810 --> 00:05:39.170 the manger. When they had seen him, they spread 00:05:39.170 --> 00:05:41.779 the word concerning. Sorry, word concerning what 00:05:41.779 --> 00:05:44.220 had been told them about this child. And all 00:05:44.220 --> 00:05:45.899 who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds 00:05:45.899 --> 00:05:48.339 said to them. But Mary treasured up these things 00:05:48.339 --> 00:05:50.319 and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:52.939 returned, glorifying and praising God for all 00:05:52.939 --> 00:05:55.740 the things they had heard and seen, which were 00:05:55.740 --> 00:05:58.459 just as they had been told. All right. We're 00:05:58.459 --> 00:05:59.959 going to pause there because the next part talks 00:05:59.959 --> 00:06:03.680 about being presented at the temple. All right. 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:07.160 Broad context. Shepherds. Uh, very necessary. 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:10.860 Not highly thought of. No. Right. Uh, it's, it's 00:06:10.860 --> 00:06:12.879 kind of a marginalized and humble profession, 00:06:12.980 --> 00:06:16.240 which is kind of ironic because there's tons 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:18.240 of connections to like David who becomes King 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:21.740 as a shepherd. And yet it's still kind of like 00:06:21.740 --> 00:06:23.699 a marginalized profession. Yeah. It'd be the 00:06:23.699 --> 00:06:26.740 equivalent of us thinking, say plumbers. Yeah. 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:29.810 Plumbers or even like septic tank cleaners. Yeah. 00:06:29.910 --> 00:06:31.949 Right. It's always a job. It's always a profession 00:06:31.949 --> 00:06:33.730 that's talked about in school. Yeah. Always. 00:06:33.889 --> 00:06:36.269 You know, first of all, I want to say those guys 00:06:36.269 --> 00:06:41.430 make good money and it is a stinky job, but there 00:06:41.430 --> 00:06:44.199 is going to be a lot of use for it. Yeah. Yeah. 00:06:44.259 --> 00:06:46.379 So shepherds kind of fall in that same vein where 00:06:46.379 --> 00:06:49.899 it's like they're not well thought of, but lambs 00:06:49.899 --> 00:06:52.980 are used for sacrifice. They're used for food. 00:06:53.259 --> 00:06:56.120 They're used for clothing. They're used for a 00:06:56.120 --> 00:06:58.360 lot of the backbone of their economy at the time. 00:06:58.519 --> 00:07:01.139 And so it's a very needed job. But it's also 00:07:01.139 --> 00:07:02.839 one of those things where it's like, OK, we want 00:07:02.839 --> 00:07:04.560 people to do this, but we don't want to do it. 00:07:04.699 --> 00:07:06.759 This is also really in tune with the way that 00:07:06.759 --> 00:07:09.519 Luke tells his gospel and from the perspective 00:07:09.519 --> 00:07:12.519 of like all the witnesses. But he's kind of talking. 00:07:12.620 --> 00:07:16.060 and comparing to humanity as a whole right most 00:07:16.060 --> 00:07:19.139 of humanity doesn't have glorious roles no right 00:07:19.139 --> 00:07:22.240 especially in the ancient world right um you 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:24.540 know even the jobs of like let's just say carpenter 00:07:24.540 --> 00:07:27.839 and stone stone worker like those are grueling 00:07:27.839 --> 00:07:31.120 jobs um i think when back in the last season 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:32.980 when we talked about herod we talked about these 00:07:32.980 --> 00:07:36.910 guys who actually constructed herods like fortresses 00:07:36.910 --> 00:07:39.089 yeah and like just the massive amount of work 00:07:39.089 --> 00:07:41.110 that goes in and then he's like also I want you 00:07:41.110 --> 00:07:43.009 to fill my pool with water but the water is like 00:07:43.009 --> 00:07:45.329 four miles away down that treacherous path and 00:07:45.329 --> 00:07:47.810 the things that you have to carry the water in 00:07:47.810 --> 00:07:51.009 are like a little bitty tiny things right and 00:07:51.009 --> 00:07:55.889 so like there are no fancy jobs for the for the 00:07:55.889 --> 00:07:58.589 population writ large right like there's a lot 00:07:58.589 --> 00:08:01.939 of meager jobs yeah and And you also look at 00:08:01.939 --> 00:08:05.579 how society structured back then. There wasn't 00:08:05.579 --> 00:08:08.639 a lot of upward or downward mobility as far as 00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:11.680 profession goes. Correct. I mean, there was some 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:15.959 to a degree, but it was very much like you either 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:20.740 went to school and studied under a rabbi and 00:08:20.740 --> 00:08:24.160 worked in that profession or you worked in your 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:27.220 family business. Yeah. I mean, you got to think 00:08:27.220 --> 00:08:29.779 that likely most people expected Jesus to be 00:08:29.779 --> 00:08:34.080 a stonemason. Tecton, similar to Joseph, which 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:35.419 means he would have worked with both wood and 00:08:35.419 --> 00:08:37.320 stone, but largely stone because I don't know 00:08:37.320 --> 00:08:40.019 if you've ever been to Israel. Not a lot of trees. 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:42.940 No. So wood is something you do work with, but 00:08:42.940 --> 00:08:46.279 the majority you do is stone. Yeah. Or just working 00:08:46.279 --> 00:08:49.000 like just those type of things. I do think it 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:50.840 is important to note in the Old Testament, there's 00:08:50.840 --> 00:08:52.899 a couple of references actually talking about 00:08:52.899 --> 00:08:55.259 Messiah, looking forward to Messiah in prophetic 00:08:55.259 --> 00:08:58.580 books. about the Messiah being a shepherd, a 00:08:58.580 --> 00:09:01.419 shepherd king, right? So Ezekiel, if you think 00:09:01.419 --> 00:09:05.559 back to Ezekiel 34, 23 through 24, you can look 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:06.740 up these references. We're not going to read 00:09:06.740 --> 00:09:09.279 all of them today because then it's a 50 -minute 00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:13.500 episode, right? Micah 5 .4, the Messiah will 00:09:13.500 --> 00:09:16.080 stand and shepherd his flock is the quote that 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:21.590 goes up there. There's also a conversation, though 00:09:21.590 --> 00:09:23.450 this is a little bit debated, about whether or 00:09:23.450 --> 00:09:25.789 not the Bethlehem shepherds would have been raising 00:09:25.789 --> 00:09:29.509 temple sacrifices. People like to make this connection 00:09:29.509 --> 00:09:32.450 because of Jesus being the ultimate sacrifice. 00:09:33.090 --> 00:09:36.529 That's debated. There's some conversation about 00:09:36.529 --> 00:09:39.210 that, about whether or not that is an intentional 00:09:39.210 --> 00:09:42.289 connection point at this point in history. But 00:09:42.289 --> 00:09:44.870 it's a fun thing, too. think about. I just, I 00:09:44.870 --> 00:09:46.809 would not necessarily stand on that as one, a 00:09:46.809 --> 00:09:49.129 solid point. That's it. Cause it is kind of back 00:09:49.129 --> 00:09:51.889 and forth. But if Bethlehem is this location 00:09:51.889 --> 00:09:55.710 where sacrificial lambs are raised, like that's 00:09:55.710 --> 00:09:57.690 just another layer. You have this house of bread, 00:09:57.929 --> 00:10:01.009 uh, sacrificial lambs, house of David, like the 00:10:01.009 --> 00:10:03.970 God's putting on the imagery thick. Right. And 00:10:04.669 --> 00:10:08.529 And the other thing that it's implied that these 00:10:08.529 --> 00:10:11.370 shepherds are right outside of Bethlehem, but 00:10:11.370 --> 00:10:13.389 it doesn't specifically state that. Correct. 00:10:13.490 --> 00:10:16.590 It just says nearby. Yeah. So nearby and like 00:10:16.590 --> 00:10:18.690 nearby in the shepherding world in the Middle 00:10:18.690 --> 00:10:20.950 East could be like, hey, I'm at the patch of 00:10:20.950 --> 00:10:23.269 grass right outside the city gates or I'm at 00:10:23.269 --> 00:10:25.850 the patch of grass 15 miles away. Yeah. Well, 00:10:25.889 --> 00:10:29.070 yeah, because everything was within walking distance. 00:10:29.110 --> 00:10:31.250 And so these cities, if you're three miles away, 00:10:31.370 --> 00:10:33.110 you're a new city. Now, we don't do that here. 00:10:33.769 --> 00:10:36.929 um in fact actually uh in our town we have um 00:10:36.929 --> 00:10:39.429 there's both a native reservation and then there's 00:10:39.429 --> 00:10:41.490 the city but then there's like the borough uh 00:10:41.490 --> 00:10:43.389 and so like there is there's actually like this 00:10:43.389 --> 00:10:46.450 directional um piece and and they're technically 00:10:46.450 --> 00:10:49.289 separated but that's actually strange in america 00:10:49.289 --> 00:10:50.710 in general but that's just because the unique 00:10:50.710 --> 00:10:55.169 makeup of alaska because alaska's weird yes but 00:10:55.169 --> 00:10:58.149 when i was living in washington i lived in vancouver 00:10:58.149 --> 00:11:01.029 and so we would talk about like um these different 00:11:01.029 --> 00:11:04.269 districts so i lived in uh salmon creek right 00:11:04.269 --> 00:11:06.889 and so people like knew this area that i was 00:11:06.889 --> 00:11:09.730 but we were all part of vancouver right and so 00:11:09.730 --> 00:11:11.690 it's a little bit different because we get in 00:11:11.690 --> 00:11:13.970 cars and you know you drive and you're like oh 00:11:13.970 --> 00:11:15.529 it's only like 12 minutes away well that might 00:11:15.529 --> 00:11:18.990 be 16 miles it's a big difference for the shepherds 00:11:18.990 --> 00:11:22.470 of that day Right? Yeah. So let's talk about 00:11:22.470 --> 00:11:24.350 this proclamation. So they come out and they 00:11:24.350 --> 00:11:27.090 say, glory to God in the highest peace on earth. 00:11:27.149 --> 00:11:29.470 And it's in this one of these lovely little indentations 00:11:29.470 --> 00:11:31.370 that one shows that it's a little bit of a song. 00:11:31.549 --> 00:11:35.830 Yeah. But also typically will echo previous passages. 00:11:36.649 --> 00:11:39.710 Some that I thought were particularly connectful. 00:11:40.730 --> 00:11:43.610 That's not a word. Well done. Yeah. We're going 00:11:43.610 --> 00:11:45.649 to go with connectful because I want to use that 00:11:45.649 --> 00:11:48.899 word now. Um, going back to Isaiah nine, eight, 00:11:48.940 --> 00:11:51.159 where they, there's this, this proclamation of 00:11:51.159 --> 00:11:53.759 a Prince of peace, Zachariah nine, 10, where 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:56.580 there is peace to the nations, uh, glory to God 00:11:56.580 --> 00:11:59.399 parallel, this, this idea of the Shekinah glory 00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:02.600 of the tabernacle, right? This, this, that falls. 00:12:02.740 --> 00:12:04.820 Um, actually I was just writing in Exodus 40 00:12:04.820 --> 00:12:07.740 where they, they finally finished building the 00:12:07.740 --> 00:12:10.379 Mishka, the temple, the tabernacle in the desert. 00:12:10.460 --> 00:12:13.159 And it says that, uh, the Shekinah falls and 00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:15.720 it, and it completely envelops and fills, right? 00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:18.519 And so when we're talking about glory of God, 00:12:18.620 --> 00:12:20.379 like there's a lot of imagery in the Old Testament 00:12:20.379 --> 00:12:23.179 to actually connect this idea. One of the things 00:12:23.179 --> 00:12:25.159 I think that Luke, one of the things we'll see 00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:30.139 in the gospel, especially throughout is he makes 00:12:30.139 --> 00:12:31.879 it really clear that he has a lot of witness 00:12:31.879 --> 00:12:33.899 testimony. So the person who may have told him 00:12:33.899 --> 00:12:35.320 the story might have been one of the shepherds. 00:12:35.340 --> 00:12:39.610 Yeah. Right. There is a, there's a. phrase that 00:12:39.610 --> 00:12:42.789 is often quoted, but not necessarily people know 00:12:42.789 --> 00:12:45.269 where it is, is that the like facts aren't established 00:12:45.269 --> 00:12:47.289 by the word of one person that you have to have 00:12:47.289 --> 00:12:49.549 the testimony of two or three people. Yeah. I 00:12:49.549 --> 00:12:51.289 think that's really interesting that all throughout 00:12:51.289 --> 00:12:53.269 Luke's gospel, when he's talking about witness 00:12:53.269 --> 00:12:55.090 testimony, he always mentioned that there's multiple 00:12:55.090 --> 00:12:58.769 people that are there. Right. And I think it's 00:12:58.769 --> 00:13:01.049 really consistent with this old Testament idea. 00:13:01.429 --> 00:13:03.389 Um, and, and just the way that they would have 00:13:03.389 --> 00:13:05.710 established, like, did this actually happen or 00:13:05.710 --> 00:13:09.039 not? Right. I think sometimes when we think about 00:13:09.039 --> 00:13:12.080 like shepherds, marginalized, regular people, 00:13:12.340 --> 00:13:17.200 we forget, we forget, and I'm being very personal, 00:13:17.220 --> 00:13:19.740 we forget as people growing up in a first world 00:13:19.740 --> 00:13:22.360 country like America, that God's call is actually 00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:25.919 to the marginalized, the outcast, the foreigner, 00:13:26.139 --> 00:13:28.519 the widow, the orphan, like the people on the 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:30.559 outside are actually being, are being called 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:35.340 like universally. And that, Um, we talked about 00:13:35.340 --> 00:13:36.720 this in the, in, when we talked about the book 00:13:36.720 --> 00:13:38.779 of James is that sometimes people are looking 00:13:38.779 --> 00:13:42.899 for high status, high prestige people to be a 00:13:42.899 --> 00:13:45.139 part of their church. God's looking for people 00:13:45.139 --> 00:13:47.299 who are willing to obey and follow him, right. 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:50.399 To put his kingdom on display. And, uh, and his 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:51.820 heart is always for the people who are being 00:13:51.820 --> 00:13:55.179 marginalized. Yeah. That's a big deal. And it's, 00:13:55.259 --> 00:13:57.440 it's even, it's true here in his birth. It's 00:13:57.440 --> 00:13:59.539 true here in the, in the declaration, like who's 00:13:59.539 --> 00:14:01.240 the first people who get to hear about it. The 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:03.419 marginalized. Because for them, it really is 00:14:03.419 --> 00:14:07.000 good news. Yeah. Right? If you've been on the 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:09.240 outside the entire time, it is good news that 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:14.720 you're being welcomed in. Yep. Right? Yep. Then 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:18.240 we get to where Jesus is presented at the temple. 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:22.519 Woo! All right. It's like 22 through 38 of chapter 00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:27.440 2. 21, right? Yes, 21. I can read numbers. I'm 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:29.539 really good at it. So you have the story of Jesus 00:14:29.539 --> 00:14:31.679 being presented at the temple. Lots of things 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:33.559 are happening here, but we're really going to 00:14:33.559 --> 00:14:35.659 focus in on two characters here. I'm going to 00:14:35.659 --> 00:14:39.179 read the story real quick, and then we'll dive 00:14:39.179 --> 00:14:40.639 into the two characters we're going to focus 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:44.419 on. Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, 00:14:44.559 --> 00:14:47.860 he was named Jesus and the name given to him 00:14:47.860 --> 00:14:51.659 by the angel before he was conceived. Then it 00:14:51.659 --> 00:14:54.840 was time for their purification offering as required 00:14:54.840 --> 00:14:57.460 by the law of Moses after the birth of a child. 00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:01.240 So his parents took him to Jerusalem to present 00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:04.720 him to the Lord. The law of the Lord says if 00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:07.240 a woman's first child is a boy, he must be dedicated 00:15:07.240 --> 00:15:10.580 to the Lord. So they offered a sacrifice required 00:15:10.580 --> 00:15:16.860 in the law of the Lord, either a pair of two 00:15:16.860 --> 00:15:21.620 turtle doves or two young pigeons. Okay. Can 00:15:21.620 --> 00:15:22.899 we pause there really quick? Because I want to 00:15:22.899 --> 00:15:24.639 talk about those two different things that came 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:27.860 up because those are both from Leviticus. Actually, 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:30.279 I think one of them might be from Exodus, but 00:15:30.279 --> 00:15:33.840 the consecration of the firstborn is actually 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:36.539 from Exodus. So I want to just place these in 00:15:36.539 --> 00:15:38.519 context really quick and just remind you this 00:15:38.519 --> 00:15:42.220 is a very Jewish book. Yes. Right? Like Luke, 00:15:42.360 --> 00:15:44.500 not a Jew. He's a proselyte, which means that 00:15:44.500 --> 00:15:48.019 he's chosen to follow Judaism. Right. And and 00:15:48.019 --> 00:15:49.820 then his revelation is through Christ Messiah. 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:54.059 But here in this in this paragraph, we will rewrite 00:15:54.059 --> 00:15:55.919 past that. But hopefully if you've been with 00:15:55.919 --> 00:15:58.299 us in season one, you immediately like, oh, these 00:15:58.299 --> 00:16:01.860 are stories that I should know. Because the purification, 00:16:02.059 --> 00:16:04.899 which, by the way, women, when they have babies, 00:16:05.100 --> 00:16:06.860 they're supposed to seclude themselves for a 00:16:06.860 --> 00:16:08.480 certain amount of time. Why? Desert culture, 00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:10.500 hygiene, tons of different things that are going 00:16:10.500 --> 00:16:14.299 on there. And so they're observing this, but 00:16:14.299 --> 00:16:15.679 also they're coming and they're consecrating 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:17.399 their firstborn just like they did during the 00:16:17.399 --> 00:16:21.200 Exodus. Yep. Right? So there's this 10th plague 00:16:21.200 --> 00:16:23.320 where Pharaoh is challenged. His power is challenged 00:16:23.320 --> 00:16:25.740 as God. And there's a plague of the firstborn 00:16:25.740 --> 00:16:27.519 that goes all throughout the entire country. 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:31.419 And then Pharaoh says, all right, I'm done with 00:16:31.419 --> 00:16:33.759 this. Get out of here. And then God gives him 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:35.419 an instruction about the Sabbath and then says, 00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:37.559 make sure to consecrate your firstborn. Yeah. 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:40.480 So that's the context of this conversation about 00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:42.659 the firstborn. Why? Because Israel is the firstborn 00:16:42.659 --> 00:16:45.899 of God. And so it is through the firstborn that 00:16:45.899 --> 00:16:48.879 God is going to work his, I was going to say 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:50.139 magic. That's not really what I want to say. 00:16:50.259 --> 00:16:54.480 His kingdom. We'll say kingdom. That doesn't 00:16:54.480 --> 00:16:56.600 quite apply the way I wanted it to. That could 00:16:56.600 --> 00:16:59.360 be misinterpreted. Yeah. So we're going to say 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:01.600 work his kingdom and work his authority and his 00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:06.240 presence. And so Jesus is now being consecrated, 00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:08.839 set apart, particularly for the firstborn. And 00:17:08.839 --> 00:17:10.500 also, if you look at the gifts that are being 00:17:10.500 --> 00:17:13.099 presented, we're also reminded. in this situation 00:17:13.099 --> 00:17:16.500 that they are not wealthy. Yeah. This is another 00:17:16.500 --> 00:17:18.039 piece that you can pick up from Old Testament 00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:22.599 reading. So picking up in verse 25, the prophecy 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:27.299 of Simeon. Simeon! Right? At this time, there 00:17:27.299 --> 00:17:31.700 was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous 00:17:31.700 --> 00:17:35.880 and devout, and he was eagerly waiting for the 00:17:35.880 --> 00:17:39.140 Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit 00:17:39.140 --> 00:17:41.500 was upon him. This is actually, that's a really 00:17:41.500 --> 00:17:43.799 interesting piece. Yeah. The Ruach of the Lord 00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:47.079 is upon him. Yep. For anybody who is like, well, 00:17:47.140 --> 00:17:48.660 the Holy Spirit didn't really fall upon people 00:17:48.660 --> 00:17:52.029 until Acts chapter 2. Yeah. Let's jump back. 00:17:52.049 --> 00:17:54.109 First of all, we totally debunked that in Torah. 00:17:54.329 --> 00:17:57.190 Yeah. And then it's also right here. Yeah. The 00:17:57.190 --> 00:18:00.369 Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to 00:18:00.369 --> 00:18:04.230 him that he would not die until he had seen the 00:18:04.230 --> 00:18:06.789 Lord's Messiah. Can I pause there and say something 00:18:06.789 --> 00:18:09.829 kind of funny? I know don't put the Lord your 00:18:09.829 --> 00:18:11.289 God to the test. Somebody's going to send that 00:18:11.289 --> 00:18:13.109 to me right away. But if God's like, yeah, you're 00:18:13.109 --> 00:18:15.589 not going to die until, you know, you see the 00:18:15.589 --> 00:18:18.369 Messiah. Then you see like, you see like somebody 00:18:18.369 --> 00:18:20.329 like. I don't know, mugging somebody in the street 00:18:20.329 --> 00:18:21.869 and you're like, I'm going to step in because 00:18:21.869 --> 00:18:23.509 you know you're not going to die until you see 00:18:23.509 --> 00:18:27.150 Messiah, right? Does that change anything? I 00:18:27.150 --> 00:18:31.529 mean, there's like, there's the justice piece 00:18:31.529 --> 00:18:33.789 of, yes, you're trying to do the right thing 00:18:33.789 --> 00:18:36.390 to save a life. Yeah. So there's that, like, 00:18:36.470 --> 00:18:39.390 thank you for that. There's also the like, well, 00:18:39.410 --> 00:18:42.569 God said, so I'm just going to, it's like, well. 00:18:42.809 --> 00:18:44.789 Yeah, definitely that whole don't put the Lord 00:18:44.789 --> 00:18:46.809 your God to the test thing. Yeah. And I think 00:18:46.809 --> 00:18:49.920 God's. pretty willing to let us suffer the consequences 00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:53.720 of our actions oh man um okay sorry that's that's 00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:55.380 ben's aside because he thought of something i 00:18:55.380 --> 00:18:57.480 think that's i think that's established in genesis 00:18:57.480 --> 00:19:01.539 chapter three no i don't think so okay yeah uh 00:19:01.539 --> 00:19:05.980 the that day the spirit led him to the temple 00:19:06.859 --> 00:19:09.440 So when Mary and Joseph came to present baby 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:12.759 Jesus to the Lord, as the law required, Simeon 00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:15.200 was there and he looked at the child and he took 00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:17.920 the child in his arms and praised God saying, 00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:22.460 sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace 00:19:22.460 --> 00:19:26.380 as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, 00:19:26.660 --> 00:19:30.720 which you have prepared for all people. He is 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:34.839 the light. He is a light to reveal God to the 00:19:34.839 --> 00:19:38.700 nations. And he is the glory of your people, 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:43.460 Israel. That's so good. All right, let's pause 00:19:43.460 --> 00:19:45.480 there. Cause we will pause before we get to Anna. 00:19:45.640 --> 00:19:51.359 Yeah. So he is waiting for this Messiah. God 00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:54.210 said, The Ruach of the Lord is upon him. The 00:19:54.210 --> 00:19:57.289 spirit of the Lord is upon him. Now, of course, 00:19:57.309 --> 00:20:00.789 the thing that changes in Acts 2 is that the 00:20:00.789 --> 00:20:02.910 Holy Spirit goes from dwelling on people to in 00:20:02.910 --> 00:20:05.559 people. right? It's, it's not something that 00:20:05.559 --> 00:20:08.819 you are, um, like it, it, it now resides because 00:20:08.819 --> 00:20:10.559 you are the temple. And so it actually resides 00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:12.559 inside of you. And so there is, there is actually 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:15.259 a difference, but the Holy spirit was, was always 00:20:15.259 --> 00:20:17.660 sent and was on people. Now we see that with 00:20:17.660 --> 00:20:20.759 Moses in numbers 11, I believe it is when he 00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:23.140 is, uh, a piece of his spirit is taken and put 00:20:23.140 --> 00:20:27.779 onto the 72 elders. Right. And he says, um, of 00:20:27.779 --> 00:20:29.309 course that's when They run up and they're like, 00:20:29.390 --> 00:20:31.430 hey, two of the guys didn't come to the meeting 00:20:31.430 --> 00:20:33.930 and they're prophesying. And Moses is like, yeah, 00:20:34.190 --> 00:20:41.369 I kind of wish everybody would. But it's a really 00:20:41.369 --> 00:20:45.329 interesting thing because I'm going to push against 00:20:45.329 --> 00:20:48.710 a little bit of our, I'm going to call them silent 00:20:48.710 --> 00:20:52.599 years. There's 300 years of silence, right? Where 00:20:52.599 --> 00:20:54.740 there's no canonical books being written. There's 00:20:54.740 --> 00:20:56.339 things happening, but there's no canonical books 00:20:56.339 --> 00:20:58.579 being written. And so when I sometimes when I 00:20:58.579 --> 00:21:00.619 think we say years of silence, we think, well, 00:21:00.660 --> 00:21:02.500 God's not doing anything. But that's clearly 00:21:02.500 --> 00:21:05.700 not the case because Simeon's having a conversation 00:21:05.700 --> 00:21:08.039 with the spirit. The spirit of the Lord is upon 00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:11.079 him. And I think there's a tendency that we're 00:21:11.079 --> 00:21:12.960 like, if it didn't happen directly in the book 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:15.259 where I can see it. Like God wasn't doing anything. 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:18.339 And I think that's the wrong assumption. Well, 00:21:18.519 --> 00:21:21.359 I mean, people make the same assumption of the 00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:25.220 400 years of captivity. Correct. Right. Where, 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:28.059 where you have an excess one, you have these 00:21:28.059 --> 00:21:31.319 midwives who fear the Lord and it's like, whoa, 00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:34.660 like how, like when you make that assumption, 00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:36.319 you're like, how do they fear the Lord? How do 00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:37.920 they even know who the Lord is? The Lord's not 00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:40.259 doing anything. He's being quiet. It's like, 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:42.759 well, it never says he was being quiet. Right. 00:21:43.099 --> 00:21:47.000 Right. Like just because you don't have like 00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:49.460 conversations about the narrative. I mean that 00:21:49.460 --> 00:21:53.940 it's to even go further back in your point. Abraham 00:21:53.940 --> 00:21:56.339 was hundreds of years old, right? A hundred and 00:21:56.339 --> 00:21:58.359 something. I forget exactly when he died. 120 00:21:58.359 --> 00:22:01.099 I think is when he died. Something like 170. 00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:03.299 Yeah. Somebody can fact check me on that. That's 00:22:03.299 --> 00:22:07.519 totally fine. I don't care. But we heard, you 00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:08.700 know, we, when we hear about his life, we're 00:22:08.700 --> 00:22:11.259 talking about 12 chapters. I guarantee you, we're 00:22:11.259 --> 00:22:12.759 not hearing everything that he and God talked 00:22:12.759 --> 00:22:14.839 about over during those times. Like, so then 00:22:14.839 --> 00:22:18.380 the question isn't, um, the question is then 00:22:18.380 --> 00:22:20.759 with what they gave us, what are they trying 00:22:20.759 --> 00:22:23.180 to tell us? Yeah. I mean, you take the life of 00:22:23.180 --> 00:22:26.319 Jesus, for example, four books, uh, plus a chapter, 00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:29.099 if you include Acts chapter one. Yeah. Um, and 00:22:29.099 --> 00:22:32.779 if you take that normal speed and listen to it 00:22:32.779 --> 00:22:36.119 on an audio Bible, it takes a couple hours. Yeah. 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:39.119 It's not that long. Right. Like, and it's like, 00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:42.859 oh, but that encapsulates 33 years of someone's 00:22:42.859 --> 00:22:46.240 life. Correct. And John actually points this 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:47.779 out at the end of his book. He says, listen, 00:22:47.880 --> 00:22:50.880 there is not enough books in the world. Granted, 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:53.000 ancient world, but there's not enough books in 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:55.160 the world to contain everything that Jesus did. 00:22:55.299 --> 00:22:59.180 Yeah. Right. And so when we're reading, when 00:22:59.180 --> 00:23:03.599 we're reading scripture, this is. I was actually 00:23:03.599 --> 00:23:05.779 having a conversation about Canon, right? I was 00:23:05.779 --> 00:23:07.819 like, what does Canon actually mean? It's the 00:23:07.819 --> 00:23:10.480 measuring stick by which we measure like who 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:15.039 God is and how he moves, right? Yeah. That we 00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:17.460 know that these are the words of God. And so 00:23:17.460 --> 00:23:19.299 when we hear the words of God, as he speaks to 00:23:19.299 --> 00:23:22.099 us and leads us and the Ruach of the Lord is 00:23:22.099 --> 00:23:25.000 upon us, right? How do we know that it's God 00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:27.019 speaking? Well, it's going to be consistent with 00:23:27.019 --> 00:23:30.319 his word. Right. Yeah. If, if whatever is talking 00:23:30.319 --> 00:23:32.420 to you is leading you to be unloving, I got, 00:23:32.440 --> 00:23:34.759 I got news for you. It's not the Ruach of the 00:23:34.759 --> 00:23:37.700 Lord. Yeah. Right. There, there is a, there is 00:23:37.700 --> 00:23:39.799 a very clear precedent set throughout scripture, 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:41.220 which hopefully we've been pulling out at this 00:23:41.220 --> 00:23:44.500 point. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's a super interesting 00:23:44.500 --> 00:23:48.420 thing. Well, and I think, so Simeon, I think 00:23:48.420 --> 00:23:50.700 in this case is most likely referencing Isaiah 00:23:50.700 --> 00:23:52.680 because Isaiah was very much on the lips of the 00:23:52.680 --> 00:23:54.740 people during that time because they were not 00:23:54.740 --> 00:23:57.460 all. Avenues of Judaism, because I think this 00:23:57.460 --> 00:24:03.200 sometimes gets over -emphasized. There were portions 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:05.740 of Judaism that were looking for the suffering 00:24:05.740 --> 00:24:09.339 servant to be Messiah. It wasn't the mainstream 00:24:09.339 --> 00:24:12.980 thought, but there were sects that thought that. 00:24:13.059 --> 00:24:16.039 That's a hard word to say. There were divisions 00:24:16.039 --> 00:24:19.940 of Judaism that looked at these passages as Messianic 00:24:19.940 --> 00:24:23.089 and not as... knowing that Israel was this, but 00:24:23.089 --> 00:24:25.250 that Messiah was going to step in and be this 00:24:25.250 --> 00:24:27.349 person to basically take the affliction on and 00:24:27.349 --> 00:24:30.170 relieve. And so, uh, you, you kind of hear like 00:24:30.170 --> 00:24:33.089 from Isaiah 40 where it says, comfort, comfort 00:24:33.089 --> 00:24:35.329 my people. You know, he's, who is Jesus? Like 00:24:35.329 --> 00:24:38.230 Simeon speaking this, right? Um, that he is, 00:24:38.390 --> 00:24:41.890 uh, to quote from 49, six and Isaiah light for 00:24:41.890 --> 00:24:45.970 the Gentiles, glory for the Lord, right? Simeon 00:24:45.970 --> 00:24:51.140 is now seeing in Jesus this, um, tangible representation 00:24:51.140 --> 00:24:54.299 of what God is bringing his people. Yeah. And 00:24:54.299 --> 00:24:56.160 like, it's, it's important to always backwards 00:24:56.160 --> 00:24:58.519 connect these things. So picking up in Luke two 00:24:58.519 --> 00:25:03.380 33, Jesus's parents were amazed at what was being 00:25:03.380 --> 00:25:07.319 said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and 00:25:07.319 --> 00:25:11.559 said to Mary, the baby's mother, your child is 00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:15.019 destined to cause many in Israel to fall and 00:25:15.019 --> 00:25:31.569 many others to rise. He has been sent. That is 00:25:31.569 --> 00:25:35.000 quite the blessing. Yeah. If I heard that blessing, 00:25:35.099 --> 00:25:37.220 I'm not sure what to do with that. Yeah. Right. 00:25:37.539 --> 00:25:40.480 Like you have, you have Simeon, like usually 00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:43.359 blessings invoke a little bit more of a positive 00:25:43.359 --> 00:25:45.200 tone. Yeah. Right. Well, and if I come to you 00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:47.359 and I said, Spencer, your daughter is going to 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:49.740 cause the fall of many. You're like, yeah, that 00:25:49.740 --> 00:25:52.619 tracks. And then I said, and the rising of many 00:25:52.619 --> 00:25:55.859 more, you're like, we're talking about mine, 00:25:55.920 --> 00:25:57.859 right? Yes. The other, the other night, Lindsay 00:25:57.859 --> 00:25:59.700 and I were laying on the bed and we were just 00:25:59.700 --> 00:26:03.730 like, We were just, it was like, uh, our kid 00:26:03.730 --> 00:26:06.430 was being a little, you know, hellion and we're 00:26:06.430 --> 00:26:08.690 just laying there and we're like, why'd God give 00:26:08.690 --> 00:26:12.250 us a world changer? Like, why can't we just have 00:26:12.250 --> 00:26:14.990 the good submissive kid? Yeah. I, sometimes I 00:26:14.990 --> 00:26:16.970 run back to this comment that I read from my, 00:26:16.970 --> 00:26:19.890 uh, children, children with, um, like a strong 00:26:19.890 --> 00:26:23.789 willed child. It says, um, you want strong willed 00:26:23.789 --> 00:26:25.990 children because they won't let the world change 00:26:25.990 --> 00:26:27.509 them. They're going to change the world. Yeah. 00:26:27.650 --> 00:26:31.019 Yeah. But man, like raising them, shaping them. 00:26:31.059 --> 00:26:35.880 Oh man. It is like, it is like, yeah. But this 00:26:35.880 --> 00:26:37.859 blessing right here. Luckily our parents dealt 00:26:37.859 --> 00:26:40.420 with like the easiest kids ever, right? Oh dude, 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:41.859 that was a piece of cake. I don't know what you're 00:26:41.859 --> 00:26:44.359 talking about. I didn't get in trouble at all. 00:26:45.539 --> 00:26:49.299 Yeah. But this blessing right here is just a 00:26:49.299 --> 00:26:52.299 really interesting one in the sense that you 00:26:52.299 --> 00:26:55.039 have Simeon saying the world's forever going 00:26:55.039 --> 00:26:58.609 to be changed by this kid. Right? Yeah. Right. 00:26:59.369 --> 00:27:01.690 And then he's also saying, by the way, your lives 00:27:01.690 --> 00:27:04.809 are going to suck because of it. Yeah. Right. 00:27:04.890 --> 00:27:06.309 You already have this couple. They're living 00:27:06.309 --> 00:27:09.170 under their own shame. Right. Kid outside of 00:27:09.170 --> 00:27:12.589 wedlock. They're living in this place of shame. 00:27:12.730 --> 00:27:14.730 And then their kid, they're saying, oh, by the 00:27:14.730 --> 00:27:16.329 way, even though you're living in this place 00:27:16.329 --> 00:27:19.210 of shame, this kid is going to change the world. 00:27:19.230 --> 00:27:20.910 And there's going to be way more people opposing 00:27:20.910 --> 00:27:25.430 him than who are opposing you. Right. It's like, 00:27:25.509 --> 00:27:31.140 oh, great. Here we go. Um, and, uh, but at the 00:27:31.140 --> 00:27:35.279 end of it, he says, and a sword will pierce your 00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:38.839 very soul, meaning that you are forever going 00:27:38.839 --> 00:27:43.140 to be changed because of who Jesus is. And so 00:27:43.140 --> 00:27:45.079 it's, it's this blessing where it's like, Ooh, 00:27:45.140 --> 00:27:46.980 this sounds really rough. But at the same time, 00:27:46.980 --> 00:27:50.900 it's really encouraging to be like, okay. So 00:27:50.900 --> 00:27:53.940 the word here, revealed, is a word that we need 00:27:53.940 --> 00:27:56.759 to get really familiar with because it is wildly 00:27:56.759 --> 00:28:00.799 misused in biblical literature. The word is apocalypto. 00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:04.859 It means revealed, unveiling. It's by the revelation. 00:28:05.860 --> 00:28:08.740 Right. Things are going to be revealed. One of 00:28:08.740 --> 00:28:10.500 my favorite ways that Tim Mackey was talking 00:28:10.500 --> 00:28:12.140 about this in his Ephesian study. He's like, 00:28:12.140 --> 00:28:14.559 it's like you walk into a dark room and you turn 00:28:14.559 --> 00:28:17.720 on the light and you go apocalypse. Right. And 00:28:17.720 --> 00:28:19.400 so we're doing that. Yeah. We've been having 00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:22.079 fun with that in our small group. Right. But 00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:24.299 like this idea of like it is illuminating the 00:28:24.299 --> 00:28:26.240 things around it. So what is Jesus? What is the 00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:27.920 what is he saying that Jesus is going to do? 00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:31.720 He's going to. turn on the lights of many hearts 00:28:31.720 --> 00:28:34.059 around him. And it's actually going to even pierce 00:28:34.059 --> 00:28:37.720 your heart. And there's indication of like, you 00:28:37.720 --> 00:28:41.460 think you know what he's going to do, but the 00:28:41.460 --> 00:28:44.059 light's about to come on. And then you're going 00:28:44.059 --> 00:28:46.319 to be like, Oh snap. That's not what I thought 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:48.740 it was, but it's going to be great. Well, and 00:28:48.740 --> 00:28:51.259 let's be real for a lot of people. If you walked 00:28:51.259 --> 00:28:54.380 up to him and said, Hey, the light in your heart 00:28:54.380 --> 00:28:56.359 is going to get turned on and everything's going 00:28:56.359 --> 00:28:59.609 to be revealed. It's terrifying. That's terrifying. 00:28:59.950 --> 00:29:03.490 Yeah. Right. That's like, you have like, everyone 00:29:03.490 --> 00:29:06.670 has secrets and there's like, Oh no. Well, that 00:29:06.670 --> 00:29:08.930 kind of plays into John's conversation or Jesus 00:29:08.930 --> 00:29:11.890 conversation in John with Nicodemus. And, uh, 00:29:11.910 --> 00:29:13.650 cause we, we love to quote God's all of the world, 00:29:13.730 --> 00:29:16.170 right? God didn't send his son into the world, 00:29:16.190 --> 00:29:18.250 condemned the world. Yeah. Right. What comes 00:29:18.250 --> 00:29:20.410 after that? The world didn't want to recognize 00:29:20.410 --> 00:29:21.809 him because they, they liked the things they 00:29:21.809 --> 00:29:24.339 do in the dark. but the verdict is here. Light 00:29:24.339 --> 00:29:26.319 has come into the world. Now, of course, some 00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:27.720 of you realize I just went back to chapter one, 00:29:27.779 --> 00:29:31.500 but that's still, yeah. Yeah. Um, this, this 00:29:31.500 --> 00:29:33.779 is, this is the problem when you actually, when 00:29:33.779 --> 00:29:36.559 you actually present the risen God is that people 00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:38.940 won't always like it because things are being 00:29:38.940 --> 00:29:41.819 unveiled, but make sure that it's Jesus unveiling 00:29:41.819 --> 00:29:45.119 them and not you being a jerk. Yeah. Yeah. Cause 00:29:45.119 --> 00:29:49.299 that's problematic. And like, but at the same 00:29:49.299 --> 00:29:51.769 time, So at the same time, you want the lights 00:29:51.769 --> 00:29:57.049 on, right? So the other night, a couple weeks 00:29:57.049 --> 00:30:01.650 ago, for example, I heard a crash downstairs 00:30:01.650 --> 00:30:05.029 in our house. Now, all it was was my wife couldn't 00:30:05.029 --> 00:30:07.069 sleep, so she was up and she dropped something 00:30:07.069 --> 00:30:09.849 in the kitchen. Okay, but it's 2 a .m. and all 00:30:09.849 --> 00:30:12.450 the lights are off in the house. So what do I 00:30:12.450 --> 00:30:18.339 do? I jump out of bed. I grab a tool of mine 00:30:18.339 --> 00:30:21.240 that I don't know if I can say on a podcast and 00:30:21.240 --> 00:30:24.220 run and like go turn the lights on to see what's 00:30:24.220 --> 00:30:26.579 going on. Right. And then I find my wife like. 00:30:26.990 --> 00:30:28.890 sitting down to have a cup of tea at like 2 a 00:30:28.890 --> 00:30:30.750 .m because she can't sleep and i was like okay 00:30:30.750 --> 00:30:32.750 this is so you didn't even know that she was 00:30:32.750 --> 00:30:34.750 not still in bed next to you no you just got 00:30:34.750 --> 00:30:37.289 up and ran i was out i was sleeping so that that's 00:30:37.289 --> 00:30:39.150 actually better than what i did um i heard a 00:30:39.150 --> 00:30:41.109 sound downstairs once and i woke up like in a 00:30:41.109 --> 00:30:44.089 stupor and i ran downstairs to go take to go 00:30:44.089 --> 00:30:46.269 take care of it i got downstairs and i realized 00:30:46.269 --> 00:30:49.690 um i had a book with me uh -huh because that's 00:30:49.690 --> 00:30:52.170 what was on my nightstand and i got downstairs 00:30:52.170 --> 00:30:55.150 and uh this is probably more information than 00:30:55.150 --> 00:30:57.440 you need but i sleep in in boxers right and so 00:30:57.440 --> 00:31:00.180 i run downstairs and i'm running out into our 00:31:00.180 --> 00:31:02.579 living room looking around flipping on lights 00:31:02.579 --> 00:31:05.160 and then like no nothing's there so i'm like 00:31:05.160 --> 00:31:06.720 okay doors are all locked great i'm gonna go 00:31:06.720 --> 00:31:08.279 back up to bed i have this thought as i'm heading 00:31:08.279 --> 00:31:12.279 back up what was my plan like what was my plan 00:31:12.279 --> 00:31:14.839 was it to share scare them with the sheer whiteness 00:31:14.839 --> 00:31:17.920 of my skin like what was my plan here i had a 00:31:18.299 --> 00:31:21.359 book like if somebody broke in with a uh firearm 00:31:21.359 --> 00:31:23.180 of sorts like i'm not it's not going to be good 00:31:23.180 --> 00:31:27.440 for me right um now the crazy thing is i had 00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:29.980 a baseball bat in my closet on the way through 00:31:29.980 --> 00:31:35.059 there i also had a um a place to have home protection 00:31:35.059 --> 00:31:39.400 devices right and i ran down with a book yep 00:31:40.339 --> 00:31:44.099 and not even jeans on or nothing. So I had no 00:31:44.099 --> 00:31:47.460 good plans there. Yeah. Well, I mean, no, I definitely 00:31:47.460 --> 00:31:49.839 ran down with my handgun because growing up in 00:31:49.839 --> 00:31:52.779 the area in Colorado we grew up in, if you left 00:31:52.779 --> 00:31:54.759 your doors unlocked or window unlocked, there 00:31:54.759 --> 00:31:57.180 would be a homeless person. in your house and 00:31:57.180 --> 00:31:59.460 so like there was times where like we remember 00:31:59.460 --> 00:32:01.640 my family were like forgot to lock the door at 00:32:01.640 --> 00:32:03.859 night yeah and we'd we'd get out in the living 00:32:03.859 --> 00:32:05.359 room there'd be like two homeless people sleeping 00:32:05.359 --> 00:32:07.619 on the couch oh geez that's rough like and you're 00:32:07.619 --> 00:32:09.099 like i want to have compassion with you but also 00:32:09.099 --> 00:32:10.839 you can't sleep in my living room yeah and i 00:32:10.839 --> 00:32:13.440 mean like i was a kid at the time but like but 00:32:13.440 --> 00:32:15.000 you know there's definitely times where like 00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:17.140 i was getting up and like you'd hear my dad be 00:32:17.140 --> 00:32:19.440 like nope stay in your room and you're like oh 00:32:19.440 --> 00:32:22.960 okay as he's like ushering people outside out 00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:26.250 of the house type thing and so like So yeah, 00:32:26.269 --> 00:32:29.230 different context, right? Like that's why light's 00:32:29.230 --> 00:32:31.759 important. Yeah. Light is very important. Light 00:32:31.759 --> 00:32:33.740 reveals a lot, like a lot of stuff can go on 00:32:33.740 --> 00:32:35.380 in darkness and you're like, I have no idea what's 00:32:35.380 --> 00:32:38.700 going on. Yeah. Um, it is, it is. And so what 00:32:38.700 --> 00:32:41.400 does Jesus do? He literally is, is unveiling. 00:32:41.400 --> 00:32:43.839 He's apocalypsing you. Yeah. Which we have to 00:32:43.839 --> 00:32:46.240 get over that, the use of that word. We want 00:32:46.240 --> 00:32:48.000 to use apocalypse as the end of the world. That's 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:50.319 not what it is. It's unveiling in Greek, unveiling 00:32:50.319 --> 00:32:53.519 light, turning on the light. Right. And so Simeon 00:32:53.519 --> 00:32:56.200 says, your son is going to cause the rise of 00:32:56.200 --> 00:32:58.579 many, the fall of many, and he's going to apocalypse 00:32:58.579 --> 00:33:01.589 your heart. Yeah. Right. He's going to apocalypse 00:33:01.589 --> 00:33:03.970 your lives. The things that you think are hidden, 00:33:04.009 --> 00:33:07.250 he's going to apocalypse. And in a very real 00:33:07.250 --> 00:33:09.109 way, that's, that's, that's what Jesus does when 00:33:09.109 --> 00:33:11.289 he comes in our life. Right. When we're confronted 00:33:11.289 --> 00:33:14.150 with the reality of what the creator in, in the 00:33:14.150 --> 00:33:16.849 Torah made flesh, the creator incarnate says 00:33:16.849 --> 00:33:19.230 to us, the words that he gives us, they prompt 00:33:19.230 --> 00:33:21.829 us to this, this moment of decision where the 00:33:21.829 --> 00:33:23.490 light is flipped on. We're like, am I going to 00:33:23.490 --> 00:33:26.190 leave it all? Yeah. Or I'm going to stay where 00:33:26.190 --> 00:33:31.339 I'm at. Yeah. Yeah. Right. So that brings us 00:33:31.339 --> 00:33:35.660 to the next character. And this is the prophecy 00:33:35.660 --> 00:33:38.359 of Anna. Now this, before we jump into this, 00:33:38.380 --> 00:33:42.240 this character, there's been a lot of debate 00:33:42.240 --> 00:33:46.420 around who she actually is. So I just want to 00:33:46.420 --> 00:33:50.079 settle like what the scriptures say. Okay. What 00:33:50.079 --> 00:33:54.319 Luke says is her name is Anna. She's a she and 00:33:54.319 --> 00:33:59.160 a prophet. And her husband died when they'd only 00:33:59.160 --> 00:34:02.019 been married seven years. And the other thing 00:34:02.019 --> 00:34:06.970 it says is she's old. She's 84. So does that 00:34:06.970 --> 00:34:08.889 mean that they got married when she was young 00:34:08.889 --> 00:34:10.769 and he died and then she remained unmarried? 00:34:10.869 --> 00:34:12.369 We don't know. We don't know. We don't know. 00:34:13.190 --> 00:34:15.710 The presumption from a lot of people is that 00:34:15.710 --> 00:34:18.210 she probably got married at the normal age, you 00:34:18.210 --> 00:34:21.809 know, 14 to 16, right in there. And then if husband 00:34:21.809 --> 00:34:24.090 died seven years later, it would have been 20, 00:34:24.090 --> 00:34:29.030 21 to 24 years old. So the presumption is that 00:34:29.030 --> 00:34:34.269 she had been a had been a widow for 60 plus years. 00:34:34.690 --> 00:34:37.969 Right. But we don't fully know those details. 00:34:38.150 --> 00:34:42.570 Right. Right. So. But a really good thing. She's 00:34:42.570 --> 00:34:44.530 a woman and she is a prophet and she is trusted 00:34:44.530 --> 00:34:47.650 by God to bless him in human form. Yeah. Yeah. 00:34:47.789 --> 00:34:50.289 So for those who are like, well, women can't 00:34:50.289 --> 00:34:52.809 proclaim the word of the Lord publicly. It's 00:34:52.809 --> 00:34:55.230 like, hmm, it's a woman prophet and there's nothing 00:34:55.230 --> 00:35:00.329 in here that condemns it. So Anna, a prophet, 00:35:00.369 --> 00:35:04.030 was there in the temple. She was the daughter 00:35:04.030 --> 00:35:08.090 of Phenel from the tribe of Asher, and she was 00:35:08.090 --> 00:35:11.349 very old. Her husband died when they had been 00:35:11.349 --> 00:35:14.849 married only seven years. Then she lived as a 00:35:14.849 --> 00:35:17.690 widow till the age of 84. She never left the 00:35:17.690 --> 00:35:23.010 temple, but stayed there day and night, worshiping 00:35:23.010 --> 00:35:28.630 the Lord with fasting and prayer. So there's 00:35:28.630 --> 00:35:31.309 also something to be said. Just pausing right 00:35:31.309 --> 00:35:32.550 there real quick. There's something to be said 00:35:32.550 --> 00:35:36.250 about dwelling in the presence of the Lord, because 00:35:36.250 --> 00:35:38.750 the average actually lifespan of somebody back 00:35:38.750 --> 00:35:41.449 in this day was, I think it was around 40. It 00:35:41.449 --> 00:35:44.929 was like in the forties. Right. And she's 84 00:35:44.929 --> 00:35:51.070 dwelling in the presence of the Lord, worshiping 00:35:51.070 --> 00:35:53.769 him through prayer and fasting. Yeah, it is. 00:35:53.829 --> 00:35:56.420 It's a little bit. It's also a little bit difficult 00:35:56.420 --> 00:35:59.760 because ages are skewed because of disease and 00:35:59.760 --> 00:36:02.860 war and stuff like that. Because sometimes I 00:36:02.860 --> 00:36:04.760 think when we talk about the average life expectancy 00:36:04.760 --> 00:36:07.599 being 40, we're just like, oh, people just died 00:36:07.599 --> 00:36:10.719 of old age. No, it's because of disease. It was 00:36:10.719 --> 00:36:14.400 because of if you cut your arm and there's no 00:36:14.400 --> 00:36:16.659 way to treat it, then all those different types 00:36:16.659 --> 00:36:18.260 of things. Yeah, there's lots of variables. Lots 00:36:18.260 --> 00:36:21.920 of variables in there. But she is singularly 00:36:21.920 --> 00:36:25.480 devoted. into what God is doing. And I also find 00:36:25.480 --> 00:36:28.179 in scripture too, that the people who tend to 00:36:28.179 --> 00:36:32.139 live in peace tend to live a lot longer. Yeah. 00:36:32.280 --> 00:36:34.539 So these things can get conflated. They can get 00:36:34.539 --> 00:36:39.579 blown out of proportion. And so, yeah, let's, 00:36:39.579 --> 00:36:43.760 she says, picking up in verse 38, she came along 00:36:43.760 --> 00:36:46.300 just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph 00:36:46.300 --> 00:36:50.389 and she began praising God. She talked about 00:36:50.389 --> 00:36:54.409 the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly 00:36:54.409 --> 00:36:59.070 for God to rescue Jerusalem. When Jesus' parents 00:36:59.070 --> 00:37:01.070 had fulfilled the requirements of the law of 00:37:01.070 --> 00:37:03.250 the Lord, they returned to Nazareth of Galilee 00:37:03.250 --> 00:37:06.010 and their child grew healthy and strong and was 00:37:06.010 --> 00:37:09.070 filled with wisdom and God's favor was upon him. 00:37:09.610 --> 00:37:11.670 Hey, by the way, have you ever heard that phrase 00:37:11.670 --> 00:37:14.929 in the Bible before? That he grew in favor with 00:37:14.929 --> 00:37:17.909 both God and men? The child, this child grew 00:37:17.909 --> 00:37:19.630 in favor with both God and men. Do you know where 00:37:19.630 --> 00:37:23.590 that happens? It's in Samuel. There's a, there's 00:37:23.590 --> 00:37:26.030 a boy by the name of Samuel who is charged with 00:37:26.030 --> 00:37:28.829 being a priest who is a daughter of Hannah, which 00:37:28.829 --> 00:37:30.809 by the way, there is actually a ton of connections 00:37:30.809 --> 00:37:34.130 in Luke to Samuel because Hannah's prayer and 00:37:34.130 --> 00:37:37.210 her song is very similar to like the Magnificat 00:37:37.210 --> 00:37:40.269 of Mary. And so there's a lot of like things 00:37:40.269 --> 00:37:43.619 that kind of like connect through that. But in, 00:37:43.699 --> 00:37:46.239 in first Samuel, it says that this boy, Samuel 00:37:46.239 --> 00:37:48.960 grew in both favor with both God and men. And 00:37:48.960 --> 00:37:50.840 then now here in Luke, Luke uses that phrase 00:37:50.840 --> 00:37:52.960 again. That's not an accident. Yeah. They do 00:37:52.960 --> 00:37:57.099 that on purpose because you should be in, in 00:37:57.099 --> 00:37:59.119 Luke's mind, you should be able to see here that 00:37:59.119 --> 00:38:02.019 Jesus is like the priest and like Samuel, that 00:38:02.019 --> 00:38:04.360 he's going to be ushering in something different. 00:38:04.639 --> 00:38:08.590 Right. I mean, you can even, you could even look 00:38:08.590 --> 00:38:11.670 at that with Samuel selecting the king or like 00:38:11.670 --> 00:38:13.489 moving forward into kingship, like this whole 00:38:13.489 --> 00:38:17.670 idea, right? Is that Jesus is king? Yeah. Well, 00:38:17.769 --> 00:38:20.530 in Anna's story here, like just focusing in on 00:38:20.530 --> 00:38:24.610 what she does when she sees Jesus. Okay. Now 00:38:24.610 --> 00:38:26.730 there's two things that happen. One, she begins 00:38:26.730 --> 00:38:31.019 praising God. Right. And I, and I think, I think 00:38:31.019 --> 00:38:32.579 the, at least in my translation where it's like, 00:38:32.639 --> 00:38:34.380 she began praising God. I was like, nah, this 00:38:34.380 --> 00:38:36.119 is a woman who's in the temple day in and day 00:38:36.119 --> 00:38:39.039 out praising God. So like, I think that's, but 00:38:39.039 --> 00:38:42.679 like became more, more praiseful in that moment. 00:38:42.800 --> 00:38:44.920 Right. That's definitely how we say it. Praiseful. 00:38:45.059 --> 00:38:46.659 Praiseful. Praiseful. You can make up words. 00:38:46.719 --> 00:38:49.239 So can I. I don't remember the word I made up 00:38:49.239 --> 00:38:51.039 earlier, but it was good. And then the second 00:38:51.039 --> 00:38:55.219 thing she does is she starts proclaiming to everyone 00:38:55.219 --> 00:38:58.530 that the rescue of Jerusalem is here. Right. 00:38:58.630 --> 00:39:01.130 Right. When, when you're like, Hey, here's salvation, 00:39:01.349 --> 00:39:04.710 here's redemption. It is here. She starts proclaiming 00:39:04.710 --> 00:39:07.269 that. So people aren't missing out. Yeah. I think 00:39:07.269 --> 00:39:10.530 it's interesting. So, uh, so Anna is the prophet. 00:39:10.769 --> 00:39:14.769 Uh, Simeon is not. It says Simeon is a righteous 00:39:14.769 --> 00:39:17.230 and devout man. Um, and he had the, the Ruach 00:39:17.230 --> 00:39:19.170 of the Lord upon him, but it doesn't say that 00:39:19.170 --> 00:39:22.690 he's a prophet. And so he is given a word from 00:39:22.690 --> 00:39:25.309 the Lord. that he's not going to die until he 00:39:25.309 --> 00:39:27.829 sees Messiah. When he sees Messiah, now he's 00:39:27.829 --> 00:39:30.670 speaking a blessing. And Anna, who is a prophet 00:39:30.670 --> 00:39:34.369 for the Lord, sees that and says, everybody listen 00:39:34.369 --> 00:39:38.170 to what's going on. Right? Pay attention because 00:39:38.170 --> 00:39:40.750 this is important. Yeah. Right? And gives praise 00:39:40.750 --> 00:39:43.750 to God, of course. But like, she's actually like 00:39:43.750 --> 00:39:47.119 lending her gravitas as a prophet. or her position 00:39:47.119 --> 00:39:49.599 as prophet into what she sees going on with Simeon 00:39:49.599 --> 00:39:52.079 and Jesus here too. And nowhere in this story 00:39:52.079 --> 00:39:53.980 does God come in and say, hey, you're a woman, 00:39:54.059 --> 00:39:56.840 shut up. Yeah. Just pointing that out there. 00:39:56.880 --> 00:39:59.500 We'll leave that as is, because that's not really 00:39:59.500 --> 00:40:02.699 what this is about. But you made it about it. 00:40:02.780 --> 00:40:04.400 No, I just brought it up. No, I think it's really 00:40:04.400 --> 00:40:08.219 important. Yeah. I had a conversation with somebody 00:40:08.219 --> 00:40:10.039 that said, why do you emphasize so much that 00:40:10.039 --> 00:40:11.699 God is using women throughout the Bible? I was 00:40:11.699 --> 00:40:13.719 like, because people keep ripping them down. 00:40:14.219 --> 00:40:17.579 And I will overemphasize until we start recognizing 00:40:17.579 --> 00:40:21.800 the other half of the image of God. Period. And 00:40:21.800 --> 00:40:24.340 I will tell you that if you don't like us saying 00:40:24.340 --> 00:40:26.039 that, you should probably stop listening. Because 00:40:26.039 --> 00:40:30.079 we're not going to stop trying to build up women 00:40:30.079 --> 00:40:33.440 who are called by God to lead. Period. Yeah. 00:40:33.539 --> 00:40:36.239 So, but you have Anna who sees redemption and 00:40:36.239 --> 00:40:39.300 salvation for Israel, for Jerusalem. And she's 00:40:39.300 --> 00:40:41.800 like, listen up. You don't want to miss this. 00:40:42.420 --> 00:40:44.900 Yeah. Right. And like, fast forward to today, 00:40:45.059 --> 00:40:48.699 we have that same thing. We see salvation and 00:40:48.699 --> 00:40:50.719 redemption for our neighbor, for our community, 00:40:50.900 --> 00:40:54.579 for our towns. And we have the privilege and 00:40:54.579 --> 00:40:56.719 the call to be like, Hey, listen up. You don't 00:40:56.719 --> 00:40:59.059 want to miss this. You don't want to miss out 00:40:59.059 --> 00:41:04.090 on this. Have we done that well? Not all the 00:41:04.090 --> 00:41:07.469 time. I'll just, I mean, that's just my two cents. 00:41:07.550 --> 00:41:09.369 I think there's times where we've done it, where 00:41:09.369 --> 00:41:11.510 some people have done it better than other people, 00:41:11.570 --> 00:41:15.849 right? But we have the call, the privilege, and 00:41:15.849 --> 00:41:17.949 the blessing to say, hey, look, salvation and 00:41:17.949 --> 00:41:20.909 redemption is here. You don't have to be who 00:41:20.909 --> 00:41:23.750 you think you are. God sees you as someone completely 00:41:23.750 --> 00:41:28.800 different. And we have that privilege. to share 00:41:28.800 --> 00:41:32.860 that message. Yeah. And I think it's, it's one 00:41:32.860 --> 00:41:34.400 of the things that's really difficult here is 00:41:34.400 --> 00:41:36.320 we use words like salvation, redemption. I think 00:41:36.320 --> 00:41:37.940 a lot of people understand redemption, but salvation 00:41:37.940 --> 00:41:39.400 is one of these ones that people have difficulty 00:41:39.400 --> 00:41:46.360 understanding is all the garbage doesn't have 00:41:46.360 --> 00:41:51.159 to be there anymore. No. Period. Like you can 00:41:51.159 --> 00:41:54.059 come be a part of a different family. And you 00:41:54.059 --> 00:41:55.320 can leave it at the door. It doesn't mean your 00:41:55.320 --> 00:41:57.239 consequences of like actions that you made are 00:41:57.239 --> 00:41:59.440 going to go away. But the eternal consequences 00:41:59.440 --> 00:42:01.800 absolutely do. Yeah. Right. Now you're actually 00:42:01.800 --> 00:42:03.519 put into right relationship with God and you're 00:42:03.519 --> 00:42:06.019 actually being invited into this thing. I actually 00:42:06.019 --> 00:42:07.559 think it's really interesting. I was referencing 00:42:07.559 --> 00:42:10.460 looking back at some verses in Malachi 3 .1. 00:42:10.800 --> 00:42:13.000 It actually says the Lord you were seeking will 00:42:13.000 --> 00:42:16.719 come to his temple. Yeah. Right. I think about 00:42:16.719 --> 00:42:18.920 when Leviticus where God says if you follow, 00:42:18.960 --> 00:42:22.010 you know, my Torah. You put my Torah on display. 00:42:22.090 --> 00:42:25.849 I will tabernacle among you. And then John in 00:42:25.849 --> 00:42:30.329 his book, he says, God came and he made his dwelling 00:42:30.329 --> 00:42:33.360 among us. Yeah. which is the same word for tabernacled. 00:42:33.400 --> 00:42:35.840 Yep. Like pulling back to this, like this is, 00:42:35.860 --> 00:42:38.739 this is not a, uh, people, people misunderstand 00:42:38.739 --> 00:42:40.880 like what Jesus is doing. They say, well, Jesus 00:42:40.880 --> 00:42:43.920 came to, uh, fulfill the law and prophets. I 00:42:43.920 --> 00:42:46.519 say, yes, but you think fulfill isn't being one 00:42:46.519 --> 00:42:48.980 and done. He came to show us what it was always 00:42:48.980 --> 00:42:51.260 supposed to look like and to open up the blessing 00:42:51.260 --> 00:42:54.000 for the, for the Jews to all nations. A light 00:42:54.000 --> 00:42:56.000 has been flipped on and all your preconceptions 00:42:56.000 --> 00:42:59.340 are gone. You are going to be invited into this 00:42:59.340 --> 00:43:01.460 because of his faithfulness. Both Jew and Gentile 00:43:01.460 --> 00:43:03.480 are being invited into this kingdom of God because 00:43:03.480 --> 00:43:06.480 of his faithfulness. And we cast our faithfulness 00:43:06.480 --> 00:43:09.760 onto him and all that garbage, all that baggage 00:43:09.760 --> 00:43:12.460 that you've been carrying. It's done. It's done. 00:43:12.500 --> 00:43:14.079 It's time to come be a part of a different family. 00:43:14.179 --> 00:43:17.739 And that's what redemption is. Yeah. Right. I 00:43:17.739 --> 00:43:20.840 just love, I love that God in this story, he 00:43:20.840 --> 00:43:23.320 takes these humble people, these outcast people. 00:43:23.980 --> 00:43:26.280 He loves to take ragtag people. You know, in 00:43:26.280 --> 00:43:28.719 a movie where they're like, they go to recruit 00:43:28.719 --> 00:43:30.139 a person from here and recruit a person from 00:43:30.139 --> 00:43:32.400 here. And it's always like, this guy's really 00:43:32.400 --> 00:43:34.619 good with a sword. And this guy is like the mountain 00:43:34.619 --> 00:43:37.280 climber. You know, they're all. What movie has 00:43:37.280 --> 00:43:38.300 a sword in a mountain climber? I don't know. 00:43:39.340 --> 00:43:41.019 You're like, I want to watch this movie now. 00:43:41.039 --> 00:43:42.179 Is this your remake of the Lord of the Rings? 00:43:42.239 --> 00:43:44.840 Yeah, it's perfect. It's perfect. But it's almost 00:43:44.840 --> 00:43:46.880 like God goes and then like there's this person 00:43:46.880 --> 00:43:48.519 who's really prominent. And then he looks over 00:43:48.519 --> 00:43:50.579 in the corner at the person sitting on the bench 00:43:50.579 --> 00:43:54.530 and he says, hey, guess what? Guess what I'm 00:43:54.530 --> 00:43:58.550 going to do through you? And he reveals himself 00:43:58.550 --> 00:44:02.070 to the humble. Yeah. You know, the proud completely 00:44:02.070 --> 00:44:04.309 missed the fact that he's even there. Yeah. I 00:44:04.309 --> 00:44:05.969 was thinking about as we were talking about this, 00:44:06.030 --> 00:44:07.570 because we were really focusing on this idea 00:44:07.570 --> 00:44:10.269 of unveiling, is that Jesus is at the temple 00:44:10.269 --> 00:44:12.210 when there's this conversation about he's going 00:44:12.210 --> 00:44:15.130 to turn on the light. He's going to unveil. There's 00:44:15.130 --> 00:44:16.750 something about the temple of God, the glory 00:44:16.750 --> 00:44:19.349 of God, the presence of God that turns on the 00:44:19.349 --> 00:44:23.170 light and reveals things that are hidden. Why 00:44:23.170 --> 00:44:26.130 is that really important? Because Jesus is going 00:44:26.130 --> 00:44:28.250 to, yes, be the temple, be the priest, be the 00:44:28.250 --> 00:44:29.889 sacrifice. We're going to get to all those different 00:44:29.889 --> 00:44:32.130 images, right? He's going to be the high priest 00:44:32.130 --> 00:44:33.530 in the order of Melchizedek, all those different 00:44:33.530 --> 00:44:35.750 things. But Peter's also going to make the statement 00:44:35.750 --> 00:44:39.949 about us being built into a temple with living 00:44:39.949 --> 00:44:42.679 stones built into a temple. this place where 00:44:42.679 --> 00:44:46.320 God's glory dwells. And, um, we've talked about 00:44:46.320 --> 00:44:48.159 it before, but as it bears repeating is that 00:44:48.159 --> 00:44:50.460 when we, as the church actually live out our 00:44:50.460 --> 00:44:52.599 mission and live out our calling to be a blessing, 00:44:52.659 --> 00:44:57.030 to bless all nations, that we actually. Also, 00:44:57.329 --> 00:45:00.449 we turn on the lights, not because of anything 00:45:00.449 --> 00:45:02.250 special about us, but because of what the work 00:45:02.250 --> 00:45:04.309 that's been done to transform us and the spirit 00:45:04.309 --> 00:45:07.869 that no longer resides on us, but in us and through 00:45:07.869 --> 00:45:11.550 us. Like now we actually are called to go and 00:45:11.550 --> 00:45:14.130 bring the Ruach of the Lord to the nations. Yeah. 00:45:14.250 --> 00:45:18.130 Right. To actually go and sometimes unveil things 00:45:18.130 --> 00:45:23.650 that people don't want to see, but also cause 00:45:23.650 --> 00:45:28.699 the rising of many. Yep. Right. Cause God's good. 00:45:29.219 --> 00:45:32.039 Amen. It's good stuff. Well, we're going to keep 00:45:32.039 --> 00:45:35.440 walking through this story of Jesus and you'll, 00:45:35.440 --> 00:45:38.000 you'll see us bounce from one gospel to another. 00:45:38.699 --> 00:45:40.860 Stay with us. We're going to talk about women 00:45:40.860 --> 00:45:42.840 a lot because Jesus has a lot to say about women 00:45:42.840 --> 00:45:45.679 and he has a lot of interactions with them. So, 00:45:45.760 --> 00:45:49.639 uh, stay with us and until next time. Okay. Bye. 00:45:51.530 --> 00:45:53.769 And that's a wrap for today's episode of Love 00:45:53.769 --> 00:45:56.269 and Context. We hope this conversation encouraged 00:45:56.269 --> 00:45:58.909 you and gave you fresh insights into how we can 00:45:58.909 --> 00:46:00.989 better love God and others through the powerful 00:46:00.989 --> 00:46:03.610 truths of the Bible. We'd love to hear from you. 00:46:03.670 --> 00:46:05.610 Send your questions, thoughts, or suggestions 00:46:05.610 --> 00:46:09.269 to loveandcontext at gmail .com. Your feedback 00:46:09.269 --> 00:46:11.289 means the world to us and helps shape future 00:46:11.289 --> 00:46:13.909 episodes. Stay connected with us on social media 00:46:13.909 --> 00:46:16.050 for updates, behind -the -scenes content, and 00:46:16.050 --> 00:46:18.369 additional resources. You can find us on Instagram, 00:46:18.610 --> 00:46:21.329 TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook at LoveandContext. 00:46:21.130 --> 00:46:23.869 Be sure to hit that follow button and join our 00:46:23.869 --> 00:46:26.110 growing community. Thanks for being part of the 00:46:26.110 --> 00:46:28.230 Love and Context family. Remember, love is at 00:46:28.230 --> 00:46:30.670 the heart of it all. Until next time, keep seeking 00:46:30.670 --> 00:46:32.909 wisdom, embracing love, and living out your faith 00:46:32.909 --> 00:46:33.710 in today's world.