WEBVTT 00:00:02.600 --> 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 00:00:08.640 --> 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 --> 00:00:28.480 into Season 3 of Love & Context. Welcome back 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:32.740 to the Love and Context podcast with Ben. And 00:00:32.740 --> 00:00:35.000 Spencer. Yeah, yours was less than enthusiastic. 00:00:35.979 --> 00:00:39.200 Last week you got to listen to Spencer and our 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:41.460 friend Les Kronk have some chats about Jesus. 00:00:41.799 --> 00:00:43.600 It was good. If you missed that one, you should 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:44.679 go back and check that out because that was a 00:00:44.679 --> 00:00:47.380 lot of fun. Yeah. Les had more better things 00:00:47.380 --> 00:00:49.939 to say than I did. Less more better things? Less 00:00:49.939 --> 00:00:51.920 more better things. Less had more better things 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:55.679 to say. Okay, more better. That's exactly. Less 00:00:55.679 --> 00:00:59.179 had more better things to say. So there's nothing 00:00:59.179 --> 00:01:03.219 to humble me as far as. like understanding how 00:01:03.219 --> 00:01:05.299 I actually speak than having to edit these episodes. 00:01:05.939 --> 00:01:07.980 Right? Sometimes you get in there and you're 00:01:07.980 --> 00:01:10.459 like, did I really just say more better? Uh -huh. 00:01:10.540 --> 00:01:13.459 Yeah. Yes, I did. I did. Yes, I did. Yes, I did. 00:01:14.359 --> 00:01:16.040 We've been going through the life of Jesus in 00:01:16.040 --> 00:01:17.560 season three. Yes, we have. And we are coming 00:01:17.560 --> 00:01:19.480 to a story which we've actually talked about 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:21.200 a number of times. We're going to actually spend 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:22.920 some time. We're going to sit in this story a 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:25.859 little bit. And it's a story of Nicodemus coming 00:01:25.859 --> 00:01:28.060 to talk to Jesus at night. So we've talked about 00:01:28.060 --> 00:01:33.269 the story a lot. set the stage here. I'm going 00:01:33.269 --> 00:01:35.129 to read the story and then we're going to just 00:01:35.129 --> 00:01:36.890 kind of talk through what's going on here. So 00:01:36.890 --> 00:01:40.109 it's in chapter three, starting in verse one. 00:01:40.530 --> 00:01:43.310 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus, 00:01:43.349 --> 00:01:45.129 who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 00:01:45.310 --> 00:01:48.049 He came to Jesus at night and said, Rabbi, we 00:01:48.049 --> 00:01:49.650 know that you are a teacher who has come from 00:01:49.650 --> 00:01:51.709 God for no one could perform the signs you are 00:01:51.709 --> 00:01:54.209 doing from God. If God were not with him, Jesus 00:01:54.209 --> 00:01:56.510 replied, very truly, I tell you, no one can see 00:01:56.510 --> 00:01:58.209 the kingdom of God unless they are born again. 00:01:59.220 --> 00:02:01.219 I would just like to pause here. I said I was 00:02:01.219 --> 00:02:04.459 going to read it, but I always love how he's 00:02:04.459 --> 00:02:06.140 like, hey, we can tell that you're from God. 00:02:06.280 --> 00:02:08.460 And then it just seems like Jesus doesn't answer 00:02:08.460 --> 00:02:11.620 his question. Like if I was having this conversation 00:02:11.620 --> 00:02:13.460 with you and I was like, hey, Spencer, where 00:02:13.460 --> 00:02:17.199 is your car? And you're like, birds of a feather 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:19.580 flock together. And I was like, why are you quoting 00:02:19.580 --> 00:02:25.789 the Mighty Ducks? Cause I can. Right. Um, now 00:02:25.789 --> 00:02:27.110 of course we're going to get into this. Jesus 00:02:27.110 --> 00:02:29.030 is actually answering him, but I just love like 00:02:29.030 --> 00:02:31.050 when I'm reading this and I think maybe some 00:02:31.050 --> 00:02:32.409 of our listeners, when you're reading this, like 00:02:32.409 --> 00:02:35.280 the first time you're like, what? To clarify, 00:02:35.419 --> 00:02:37.520 Jesus does this quite a bit, though, with parables, 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:40.560 too, where they'll be like, hey, what about this? 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:44.159 And he's like, here's a story. And then at first 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:47.139 the story is like, where is this going? I don't 00:02:47.139 --> 00:02:48.719 understand how this is going to tie in. So this 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:52.639 is not uncommon to how Jesus teaches. You're 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:56.629 not wrong. All right. I know I'm not. How can 00:02:56.629 --> 00:02:58.909 someone... Okay, he says, Very truly I tell you, 00:02:58.930 --> 00:03:00.689 no one can see the kingdom of God unless they 00:03:00.689 --> 00:03:03.270 are born again. How can someone be born when 00:03:03.270 --> 00:03:05.550 they are old? Nicodemus asks. Surely they cannot 00:03:05.550 --> 00:03:07.229 enter a second time into their mother's womb 00:03:07.229 --> 00:03:09.449 to be born, nor would the mother want them to. 00:03:09.629 --> 00:03:37.969 Yeah. Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what 00:03:37.969 --> 00:03:40.090 we know and we testify to what we have seen. 00:03:40.330 --> 00:03:42.969 but still you people do not accept our testimony. 00:03:43.250 --> 00:03:45.330 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you 00:03:45.330 --> 00:03:48.030 do not believe me. Do you not believe? How will 00:03:48.030 --> 00:03:50.129 you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No 00:03:50.129 --> 00:03:51.870 one has ever gone into heaven except the one 00:03:51.870 --> 00:03:54.289 who came from heaven, the son of man, just as 00:03:54.289 --> 00:03:56.210 Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness. 00:03:56.449 --> 00:03:59.150 So the son of man must be lifted up that everyone 00:03:59.150 --> 00:04:01.560 who believes may have eternal life in him. For 00:04:01.560 --> 00:04:03.840 God so loved the world that he gave his one and 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:06.240 only son, and whoever believes in him shall not 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:08.759 perish but have eternal life. For God did not 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:10.719 send his son into the world to condemn the world, 00:04:10.819 --> 00:04:13.319 but to save the world through him. Whoever believes 00:04:13.319 --> 00:04:15.539 in him is not condemned, but whoever does not 00:04:15.539 --> 00:04:17.360 believe stands condemned already because they 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:18.939 have not believed in the name of God's one and 00:04:18.939 --> 00:04:21.480 only son. This is the verdict. Light has come 00:04:21.480 --> 00:04:24.899 into the world, but people loved darkness instead 00:04:24.899 --> 00:04:27.720 of light. They love darkness instead of light. 00:04:27.779 --> 00:04:45.680 I can read. I promise. All right. A lot going 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:51.540 on there. So let's talk context first. Nicodemus 00:04:51.540 --> 00:04:54.620 is a Pharisee, meaning that he believes strict 00:04:54.620 --> 00:04:57.839 adherence to Torah is going to lead to the restoration 00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:01.600 of Jerusalem, right, of Israel in general. Not 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:04.040 only that, he is a prominent Pharisee because 00:05:04.040 --> 00:05:06.279 he sits on the ruling council, which we've talked 00:05:06.279 --> 00:05:07.779 about in the past, but that's the Sanhedrin. 00:05:07.819 --> 00:05:10.879 Yep. Most of the Sanhedrin is Sadducees because 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:12.860 they're going to be from the line of Zadok, but 00:05:12.860 --> 00:05:17.980 there are Pharisees on there as well. Yes. Nicodemus 00:05:17.980 --> 00:05:21.779 isn't just some Joe Schmoe. He's quite the Pharisee. 00:05:21.980 --> 00:05:24.639 So Nicodemus would essentially be one of the 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:26.579 Pharisees that you read about in other stories 00:05:26.579 --> 00:05:29.139 where they're challenging Jesus. Where they're 00:05:29.139 --> 00:05:30.879 publicly saying, hey, you say you're the son 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:34.439 of God, so what about this? When you read about 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:36.939 those Pharisees, those typically aren't just 00:05:36.939 --> 00:05:40.810 any... any schmuck of a Pharisee, right? Yes, 00:05:40.870 --> 00:05:42.029 they use schmuck of a Pharisee. Yeah, I know. 00:05:42.129 --> 00:05:43.790 Somebody's going to be like, can you say that 00:05:43.790 --> 00:05:45.949 word on a podcast? And the answer is, let's find 00:05:45.949 --> 00:05:50.490 out. We'll find out, right? Is it a bad word? 00:05:50.569 --> 00:05:52.529 I don't know. I don't know. I've never thought 00:05:52.529 --> 00:05:54.490 it was a bad word. I don't know. Otherwise, like 00:05:54.490 --> 00:05:57.389 schmuckers, the people who have like the jelly 00:05:57.389 --> 00:05:59.949 are going to be in like the jelly, right? Isn't 00:05:59.949 --> 00:06:01.920 that what they have? Yeah. Yeah, I was trying 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:04.220 to remember what they use. Peanut butter or jelly. 00:06:04.360 --> 00:06:06.420 Somebody's going to be like, I eat Smucker's 00:06:06.420 --> 00:06:09.439 every day, and how dare you not know it? I don't 00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:11.139 know. I don't know. You're looking at the guy 00:06:11.139 --> 00:06:13.220 who goes to the Whole Foods section of the grocery 00:06:13.220 --> 00:06:16.300 store. I'm pretty sure you grind peanuts on your 00:06:16.300 --> 00:06:17.800 own and then combine them with oil to make peanut 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:19.560 butter yourself. You don't even have to combine 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:21.139 them with oil. There's oil in them, and you can 00:06:21.139 --> 00:06:23.379 just grind them up. See, I'm just telling you. 00:06:23.819 --> 00:06:26.399 He doesn't even know what brand names are. Yeah, 00:06:26.459 --> 00:06:30.379 yeah. What were we talking about? Anyways, but 00:06:30.379 --> 00:06:32.939 the Pharisees who would challenge Jesus typically 00:06:32.939 --> 00:06:35.360 were higher -ranking Pharisees, like traditionally. 00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:37.519 Those were the Pharisees that would go out and 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:41.180 be like, hey, we see that what you're doing doesn't 00:06:41.180 --> 00:06:43.540 quite line up with what we know or our understanding 00:06:43.540 --> 00:06:45.360 of what we know, so we're going to challenge 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:49.230 that. Um, I, a side note, I like to view those 00:06:49.230 --> 00:06:52.949 conversations with Jesus where there, there are 00:06:52.949 --> 00:06:54.310 times where it says the Pharisees were trying 00:06:54.310 --> 00:06:56.790 to trap him. There are also times where the Pharisees, 00:06:56.790 --> 00:07:00.050 I think were genuinely like, Hey. You say this, 00:07:00.149 --> 00:07:02.089 but this is what we know. Is there something 00:07:02.089 --> 00:07:04.230 we're missing? Yeah. Well, and even in the conversation 00:07:04.230 --> 00:07:06.889 with Nicodemus, he comes at night when, you know, 00:07:06.910 --> 00:07:08.050 maybe he doesn't want people to see that he's 00:07:08.050 --> 00:07:10.470 coming to talk to Jesus. There's also this whole 00:07:10.470 --> 00:07:12.449 thing of he's coming at night, but Jesus is constantly 00:07:12.449 --> 00:07:14.250 talking about light and day and walking and, 00:07:14.269 --> 00:07:16.810 you know, obedience. So there's like this motif 00:07:16.810 --> 00:07:18.949 going on that John might be playing on too. Yeah. 00:07:19.550 --> 00:07:23.870 But he comes and he says, hey, we recognize that 00:07:23.870 --> 00:07:25.730 you're from God. Like, because the things you're 00:07:25.730 --> 00:07:27.610 doing, people don't do unless they're from God. 00:07:27.709 --> 00:07:30.839 Yes. And there is a question attached to that, 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:34.620 which is why Jesus' response to him, it seems 00:07:34.620 --> 00:07:37.379 out of pocket, but it's not. Because the question 00:07:37.379 --> 00:07:41.319 is... What's up, dude? Because we know that Messiah 00:07:41.319 --> 00:07:42.860 is supposed to come, they're supposed to overthrow 00:07:42.860 --> 00:07:45.519 Rome, or they're supposed to lead people back 00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:48.740 to Torah, and everything you're doing is not 00:07:48.740 --> 00:07:50.639 necessarily what we think you should be doing. 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:54.199 Right? Yeah. You're not doing it the way that 00:07:54.199 --> 00:07:56.980 we think it should be done. So Jesus responds 00:07:56.980 --> 00:08:00.420 with his really not random comment. Yeah. Very 00:08:00.420 --> 00:08:03.220 truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom 00:08:03.220 --> 00:08:06.790 of God unless they are born again. Okay. So you 00:08:06.790 --> 00:08:10.350 think you see that I'm from God, but you can't 00:08:10.350 --> 00:08:12.889 see it unless you're actually born again. So 00:08:12.889 --> 00:08:15.430 if you're capable of seeing it, you should already 00:08:15.430 --> 00:08:19.670 be, you know. Yeah. And part of me wonders at 00:08:19.670 --> 00:08:22.050 this point in the conversation, it was Nicodemus 00:08:22.050 --> 00:08:24.149 like, okay, this conversation just took a weird 00:08:24.149 --> 00:08:26.550 turn. Yeah. I mean, if you've seen some of the 00:08:26.550 --> 00:08:28.250 rabbinical debates, I don't think so because 00:08:28.250 --> 00:08:30.069 this is, this is kind of how they, they have 00:08:30.069 --> 00:08:32.330 these discussions and the way that they talk 00:08:32.330 --> 00:08:33.870 because he's like, okay, well, what part of scripture 00:08:33.870 --> 00:08:36.610 are you actually talking about? Yeah. And, uh, 00:08:36.850 --> 00:08:40.049 so then he asked, you know, he kind of puts up, 00:08:40.049 --> 00:08:44.620 puts up this like absurd, um, I'm gonna you know, 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:47.500 just this this extreme, right? Well, surely you're 00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:49.299 not saying that we go and we're born out of our 00:08:49.299 --> 00:08:50.980 mother a second time How can somebody be born 00:08:50.980 --> 00:08:55.100 again, right? to which Jesus immediately connects 00:08:55.100 --> 00:08:57.379 what he's talking about to the Exodus, right? 00:08:57.500 --> 00:08:59.840 So this whole idea of passing by water and spirit 00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:02.159 actually shows up in rabbinic conversation all 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:03.860 throughout the time of Jesus and prior to Jesus 00:09:03.860 --> 00:09:07.299 about the Exodus is like this passing of, it's 00:09:07.299 --> 00:09:09.200 a second birth. It's birth of a new nation, a 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:12.000 new creation, right? And he says, unless you 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:14.220 actually are born again, if you have a movement 00:09:14.220 --> 00:09:15.840 of God and you're actually stepping out with 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:18.100 God into this kingdom of God, you can't actually 00:09:18.100 --> 00:09:21.450 see what's going on, you know, which is, troubling 00:09:21.450 --> 00:09:23.470 because there was a group of people that were 00:09:23.470 --> 00:09:24.870 right in the middle of everything that was happening 00:09:24.870 --> 00:09:27.230 during the exodus that had no idea what was going 00:09:27.230 --> 00:09:30.190 on they were egypt and they found themselves 00:09:30.190 --> 00:09:33.610 at the bottom of the water even though the entire 00:09:33.610 --> 00:09:35.919 time god is actually calling to them to come 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:38.559 and follow. So he said, you know, you have to 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:40.840 go by water. And so like there's, there's tons 00:09:40.840 --> 00:09:43.480 of connections back to yes, mikvah. So like there 00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:46.460 is a, uh, the Jewish, we talked a few weeks ago 00:09:46.460 --> 00:09:48.179 with, uh, I talked a few weeks ago with Les and 00:09:48.179 --> 00:09:50.080 I was talking about Jesus being baptized by John. 00:09:50.139 --> 00:09:52.200 And so there's this public declaration. We call 00:09:52.200 --> 00:09:54.080 it baptism today, but it was mikvah in Jewish 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:56.080 tradition. And it was a declaration that something 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:58.259 of significance is happening. God called you 00:09:58.259 --> 00:09:59.759 to something and it's a public declaration that 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:02.000 you're going to go and do that. Like it's a definitive, 00:10:02.200 --> 00:10:04.340 like 90 degree point where you're actually making. 00:10:04.360 --> 00:10:06.759 making a choice. Um, there's also connections 00:10:06.759 --> 00:10:11.279 back to Ezekiel 36, uh, 25 talking about water 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:14.740 symbolizing there is this, uh, but not, it's 00:10:14.740 --> 00:10:16.720 not just water. It's not just decision. It's 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:18.519 also talking about the spirit, the divine breath 00:10:18.519 --> 00:10:20.740 of life that is breathed into you at creation. 00:10:20.759 --> 00:10:24.039 Or, uh, once again, because he's kind of hinting 00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:26.500 at Ezekiel language, this breath that is breathed 00:10:26.500 --> 00:10:29.799 into dry bones. Yeah. Right. Um, to quote from, 00:10:29.860 --> 00:10:32.879 I believe that's I have it in my notes. Ezekiel 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:37.100 37. Yeah. And Jesus says, you know, unless you're 00:10:37.100 --> 00:10:39.299 actually born of this, like unless you've actually 00:10:39.299 --> 00:10:41.500 walked through this, you have this defining moment 00:10:41.500 --> 00:10:43.940 and the breath of God is breathing on you, you're 00:10:43.940 --> 00:10:46.519 not going to see what's going on. You're trying 00:10:46.519 --> 00:10:50.169 to find it in books. and the books testify about 00:10:50.169 --> 00:10:52.250 it, and I talk to you about the books, and I 00:10:52.250 --> 00:10:54.309 talk to you about what's going on, and then you're 00:10:54.309 --> 00:10:55.889 like, yeah, but what's spiritually going on? 00:10:55.909 --> 00:10:57.490 It's like, dude, if you can't understand this, 00:10:57.649 --> 00:11:00.149 you're really going to struggle. You need the 00:11:00.149 --> 00:11:04.850 breath of God. Yeah. So that Ezekiel passage 00:11:04.850 --> 00:11:08.429 with the water in 36, 25 through 27, I'm just 00:11:08.429 --> 00:11:09.629 going to read that really quick because it's... 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:13.039 If I can remember where. So in Ezekiel, he makes 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:14.580 this prophecy. He says, I will sprinkle clean 00:11:14.580 --> 00:11:16.980 water on you and you will be clean. I will cleanse 00:11:16.980 --> 00:11:18.740 you from all of your impurities and from all 00:11:18.740 --> 00:11:21.220 your idols. I will give you a new heart and put 00:11:21.220 --> 00:11:23.519 a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:25.460 heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 00:11:25.659 --> 00:11:27.799 And I will put my spirit in you and move you 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:30.059 to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my 00:11:30.059 --> 00:11:34.919 laws. Now, Pharisee, right? connecting to this 00:11:34.919 --> 00:11:37.440 idea of I'm going to allow you, you can't actually 00:11:37.440 --> 00:11:39.580 follow these things. You can't actually have 00:11:39.580 --> 00:11:41.399 the life because you have this heart of stone, 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:45.360 right? Is what Ezekiel's getting at here. You 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:47.139 actually need a new heart, a heart of flesh, 00:11:47.379 --> 00:11:49.899 a heart born of the spirit, sprinkled with the 00:11:49.899 --> 00:11:52.500 water, infused with the breath of life, right? 00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:55.340 And they're having this conversation and I could 00:11:55.340 --> 00:11:57.240 just see Nicodemus' brain because like these 00:11:57.240 --> 00:11:59.039 guys know their Torah. Yeah. They know their 00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:01.679 Bible. Yeah. So like the second Jesus says that, 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:04.200 does he think of Ezekiel? Does he think of Genesis 00:12:04.200 --> 00:12:06.600 one, you know, and he's going through in breath 00:12:06.600 --> 00:12:08.700 and spirit and, you know, I can just see his 00:12:08.700 --> 00:12:11.100 mind going and flips back to Exodus where he, 00:12:11.100 --> 00:12:13.240 where he refers to Ezekiel or talks to the heart 00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:16.940 of stone, which then refers back to Pharaoh in 00:12:16.940 --> 00:12:19.960 the Exodus. And, uh, yeah. So there's all these 00:12:19.960 --> 00:12:22.139 connections that Nicodemus is going to be making 00:12:22.139 --> 00:12:25.840 because, uh, Nicodemus knows, here's the deal. 00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:29.090 Nicodemus knows. Torah and the prophets better 00:12:29.090 --> 00:12:31.769 than we do. Yeah. Right. This is stuff he probably 00:12:31.769 --> 00:12:34.590 has memorized. Yeah. And some of you are like, 00:12:34.590 --> 00:12:37.070 like the whole old Testament. Yeah. Probably, 00:12:37.169 --> 00:12:39.450 probably, probably a lot of Pharisees and Sadducees 00:12:39.450 --> 00:12:42.610 did. Yeah. And so, especially him being prominent, 00:12:42.649 --> 00:12:44.350 he probably had enough money that he could have 00:12:44.350 --> 00:12:48.309 had it. Right. Yeah. And so as Jesus is starting 00:12:48.309 --> 00:12:50.350 to say these things, answers are starting to 00:12:50.350 --> 00:12:53.330 be revealed and Nicodemus is starting to have 00:12:53.330 --> 00:12:55.649 a light bulb go off where he's like, okay, I 00:12:55.649 --> 00:12:58.779 see what's happening here. So with that, Ezekiel, 00:12:58.779 --> 00:13:01.440 let me read this again here. So Jesus says, Now 00:13:01.440 --> 00:13:21.340 wind here being a clever play on the Ruach. Right. 00:13:21.460 --> 00:13:23.539 Yeah. Right. And so he's like, the spirit is 00:13:23.539 --> 00:13:25.559 going to move as the spirit is going to move. 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:26.879 You can't tell where it's going or where you 00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:30.340 have to be born of it. You know, it's really 00:13:30.340 --> 00:13:31.720 hard to tell what the Holy Spirit is saying if 00:13:31.720 --> 00:13:35.000 you're not listening. Yeah. Right. Yeah. And 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:37.720 then you have Nicodemus being like, how, how 00:13:37.720 --> 00:13:39.600 can this be? Yeah. Right. And we talked a little 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:43.120 bit about that. Right. And so this is a question 00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:46.360 that from Nicodemus that has always made me wonder 00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:49.980 what he's trying to get at. Because. nicodemus 00:13:49.980 --> 00:13:52.919 would be making these connections in jesus and 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:54.860 jesus's response he'd be making the connections 00:13:54.860 --> 00:13:57.080 to ezekiel he'd be making the connections to 00:13:57.080 --> 00:13:59.519 exodus the connections to genesis all of these 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:02.159 strings would start to weave together yeah and 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:05.139 yet he's still saying how can this be and so 00:14:05.139 --> 00:14:09.350 it makes me wonder um this is Side note, pure 00:14:09.350 --> 00:14:11.769 speculation. A lot of what we're talking about 00:14:11.769 --> 00:14:13.809 was speculation, so do your own research. Do 00:14:13.809 --> 00:14:16.090 your own research. Pure speculation because there's 00:14:16.090 --> 00:14:20.070 nowhere in the text that says what his motive 00:14:20.070 --> 00:14:22.629 is behind this specific question. We have a little 00:14:22.629 --> 00:14:25.269 bit about what his motive is in general, going 00:14:25.269 --> 00:14:28.389 to Jesus in the night to learn, but we don't 00:14:28.389 --> 00:14:30.830 know on this specific question. So he knows what 00:14:30.830 --> 00:14:32.330 Jesus is talking about, but he's still saying, 00:14:32.350 --> 00:14:37.009 how can this be in a sense of... what am i missing 00:14:37.009 --> 00:14:40.370 yeah right is it what am i missing or is he trying 00:14:40.370 --> 00:14:43.690 to get jesus to be like trip over himself a little 00:14:43.690 --> 00:14:47.450 bit right we don't know well and i i wonder and 00:14:47.450 --> 00:14:49.190 once again speculating here i wonder if there's 00:14:49.190 --> 00:14:51.470 not something with the pharisaic mindset right 00:14:51.470 --> 00:14:55.470 um in that it's about rule following and torah 00:14:55.470 --> 00:14:57.409 and putting on the burden and all these different 00:14:57.409 --> 00:15:00.809 things jesus is like no it's actually about learning 00:15:00.809 --> 00:15:04.340 how to be born again. Right. And, and that through 00:15:04.340 --> 00:15:07.000 that, that, that relationship, that movement, 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:09.639 that transition, you're actually enabled to go 00:15:09.639 --> 00:15:11.159 and do all those things that you think you have 00:15:11.159 --> 00:15:13.419 to do in order to get that. Yeah. You're doing 00:15:13.419 --> 00:15:15.779 it backwards. You're doing the stuff to try to 00:15:15.779 --> 00:15:17.320 get the person. And it's actually the person 00:15:17.320 --> 00:15:20.559 that gives you the stuff. Yeah. Right. And he 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:22.399 seems confused about that, which obviously if 00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:25.340 I'm Jesus, like this, this, but once again, speculation, 00:15:25.460 --> 00:15:27.600 but then Jesus is like, dude, you're the teacher. 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:31.559 The rules aren't supposed like the rules are 00:15:31.559 --> 00:15:33.899 supposed to reveal the heart of God for you to 00:15:33.899 --> 00:15:36.419 know God and to experience God and live in a 00:15:36.419 --> 00:15:38.759 relationship with God. The rules are not just 00:15:38.759 --> 00:15:41.159 rules to follow so that you can like God will 00:15:41.159 --> 00:15:44.139 love you. He loves you and he reveals who he 00:15:44.139 --> 00:15:47.059 is to you. And it could also be Nicodemus slipping 00:15:47.059 --> 00:15:51.120 back into the rabbinic debate mindset. Yeah. 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:54.720 Right. Because in rabbinic debate, you ask questions. 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:59.389 Right. So he gets stuck there. He goes. how can 00:15:59.389 --> 00:16:03.649 this be? Yeah. Right. Like, I see all the questions. 00:16:03.690 --> 00:16:06.110 Do I need to debate, go into the debate mindset 00:16:06.110 --> 00:16:08.070 and be like, how can this be? And then you get 00:16:08.070 --> 00:16:10.250 Jesus's response where he's like, we're like, 00:16:10.250 --> 00:16:11.870 you're saying you're the teacher. You should 00:16:11.870 --> 00:16:14.889 know this. You should know this. Yeah. Um, and 00:16:14.889 --> 00:16:17.750 I mean, in there he talks about, he's like, he 00:16:17.750 --> 00:16:19.289 says, man, I'm talking to you about like things 00:16:19.289 --> 00:16:22.129 that are literally in Torah. Like this is the 00:16:22.129 --> 00:16:23.690 heart of Torah, which by the way, if you haven't 00:16:23.690 --> 00:16:26.169 seen season one, we talk about that a lot, right? 00:16:26.230 --> 00:16:28.129 This is the heart of Torah is God is for his 00:16:28.129 --> 00:16:30.090 people and he's revealing himself to his people 00:16:30.090 --> 00:16:31.970 so that his people can be a different kind of 00:16:31.970 --> 00:16:35.950 species in this world. Yeah. Now, and we've talked 00:16:35.950 --> 00:16:38.909 about this too, because there's this duality 00:16:38.909 --> 00:16:41.289 thing coming up because like they're having this 00:16:41.289 --> 00:16:44.169 conversation about Israel right now, right? About 00:16:44.169 --> 00:16:45.850 Israel and Israel's teacher and all these things 00:16:45.850 --> 00:16:47.870 and following Torah and being God's chosen firstborn. 00:16:47.970 --> 00:16:53.019 And Jesus is about to do some like, linguistic 00:16:53.019 --> 00:16:56.279 Taekwondo. Right. Like, because he's, because, 00:16:56.379 --> 00:16:58.200 uh, he's having this conversation. He's like, 00:16:58.259 --> 00:17:01.820 God so loved the world that he gave his one and 00:17:01.820 --> 00:17:04.779 only son. And who does Nicodemus think? Oh, Israel, 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:07.420 because Israel's God's firstborn. Yeah. Right. 00:17:07.539 --> 00:17:09.759 Says that, uh, even in back in the Exodus, which 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:11.440 is where he's drawing a lot of his imagery, he 00:17:11.440 --> 00:17:14.640 says to. Pharaoh, he says, you got to let my 00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:18.200 firstborn go and worship me. So he hears God 00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:19.759 so loved the world that he gave his one and only 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:22.599 son. And Nicodemus is like, yeah, Israel, I get 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:24.839 it. That he so ever believes in him would not 00:17:24.839 --> 00:17:26.940 perish but have eternal life. Great, love it. 00:17:27.460 --> 00:17:29.400 For God did not send his son into the world to 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:33.240 condemn the world. Oh, dang it. Right? Right? 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:36.599 You know, like, and it's actually your job has 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:39.440 always been to bring light, to illuminate. to 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:42.420 to bring uh illumination to apocalypse is is 00:17:42.420 --> 00:17:44.960 the word that is used a lot in greek to reveal 00:17:44.960 --> 00:17:48.700 who God is. Yeah. Yeah. And, and to back up a 00:17:48.700 --> 00:17:52.619 little bit, Jesus like spells it out, right? 00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:55.259 He's like, okay, you're asking the question. 00:17:55.319 --> 00:17:57.920 Let me just spell it out for you. Uh, you look 00:17:57.920 --> 00:18:01.180 at verse 14 where it says, just as Moses. Okay. 00:18:01.259 --> 00:18:03.299 So going back to Moses, he's like, he's like, 00:18:03.380 --> 00:18:06.039 okay, my previous answer, I hinted at everything. 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:08.539 You got all the connections, but you're still 00:18:08.539 --> 00:18:09.740 asking me how it's going to be. He's like, so 00:18:09.740 --> 00:18:14.500 Moses. This connection, all right, came from 00:18:14.500 --> 00:18:18.299 heaven. Oh, sorry. Well, wrong line. Moses came 00:18:18.299 --> 00:18:22.559 from heaven. You heard it here first. Yeah, I 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:24.359 jumped to the line above it. I was like, nope, 00:18:24.420 --> 00:18:28.380 wrong line. Just as Moses lifted up the snake 00:18:28.380 --> 00:18:32.119 in the wilderness, the Son of Man must be lifted 00:18:32.119 --> 00:18:36.400 up. That everyone who believes will have eternal 00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:39.720 life. So at this point, Nicodemus is like, okay, 00:18:39.740 --> 00:18:42.680 I'm tracking now. Right. Eternal life is through 00:18:42.680 --> 00:18:48.420 the Son of God. Right. In this case, Israel, 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:50.640 we have the connection of Moses. And then you 00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:53.039 get down to verse 17 where it's like, for God 00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:54.599 didn't send the Son in to condemn the world. 00:18:54.640 --> 00:18:57.420 And then now Nicodemus is like, wait. Right. 00:18:57.480 --> 00:18:58.779 There's probably going to be some connection 00:18:58.779 --> 00:19:02.019 to Daniel also for them because that's going 00:19:02.019 --> 00:19:04.500 to be a more recent book in their history and 00:19:04.500 --> 00:19:07.079 talking about how God representing the Son of 00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:10.450 Man. Right. So they talk about messianic. figure 00:19:10.450 --> 00:19:12.930 and stuff. So he's like, there's a lot of layers 00:19:12.930 --> 00:19:15.210 in here. So some of you are like, well, but then 00:19:15.210 --> 00:19:17.829 also, yeah, you're right. Right. There's a lot 00:19:17.829 --> 00:19:20.130 of things going on in this story. Yeah. Right. 00:19:20.289 --> 00:19:22.990 And then, and then Jesus does something that 00:19:22.990 --> 00:19:27.410 is really interesting in verses 19 through the 00:19:27.410 --> 00:19:32.289 end where he actually relieves Nicodemus of the 00:19:32.289 --> 00:19:34.589 responsibility of making sure people believe. 00:19:34.730 --> 00:19:38.660 Right. Right. He says, um, actually I have, which 00:19:38.660 --> 00:19:40.720 by the way is a fascinating concept to approach 00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:44.099 a Pharisee with. Yes. Uh, when I was in junior 00:19:44.099 --> 00:19:46.259 high, I had somebody asked me like what my favorite 00:19:46.259 --> 00:19:48.000 verse in the Bible was. And at the time I said, 00:19:48.019 --> 00:19:50.539 John three 19. And so they opened it up and they 00:19:50.539 --> 00:19:52.839 read, I said, this is the verdict. Light has 00:19:52.839 --> 00:19:55.240 come into the world, but people love darkness 00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:57.640 instead of light because their deeds were evil. 00:19:58.140 --> 00:20:00.500 And my youth pastor at the time was like, you 00:20:00.500 --> 00:20:02.759 mean John three 16? I was like, no, I mean, John 00:20:02.759 --> 00:20:05.230 three 19. And he's like, Okay. And he like, didn't 00:20:05.230 --> 00:20:07.250 know what to do with that. Yeah. But like the 00:20:07.250 --> 00:20:09.390 point being is that Jesus at this point with 00:20:09.390 --> 00:20:12.490 Nicodemus is saying, Hey, it's not your responsibility 00:20:12.490 --> 00:20:15.170 to make sure people believe. So your responsibility 00:20:15.170 --> 00:20:19.089 to bring light. Right. Right. And so, and coming 00:20:19.089 --> 00:20:20.789 to a Jewish idea of light, what does that mean? 00:20:20.890 --> 00:20:25.910 Justice, mercy, compassion, grace, love, right? 00:20:26.009 --> 00:20:28.089 Like these, these ideas, these are, these are 00:20:28.089 --> 00:20:30.029 attributes of light. Like these are how people 00:20:30.029 --> 00:20:32.710 live in. the light. This is what they do. They 00:20:32.710 --> 00:20:34.730 actually bring about the justice of God. Side 00:20:34.730 --> 00:20:38.150 note, those values haven't changed in the Christian 00:20:38.150 --> 00:20:39.849 church, or at least they shouldn't have. Are 00:20:39.849 --> 00:20:42.130 you saying, no, let me make sure you're saying 00:20:42.130 --> 00:20:44.170 that God is actually the same yesterday, today, 00:20:44.289 --> 00:20:46.289 and probably tomorrow. No, the Bible said that. 00:20:46.349 --> 00:20:48.769 Oh, okay. Perfect. You're like, I just, I just 00:20:48.769 --> 00:20:51.569 quoted it. I just agree with it. Well, and so 00:20:51.569 --> 00:20:54.930 like you have this, um, and so he said, yeah, 00:20:55.009 --> 00:20:57.289 I like your point here. This is the verdict, 00:20:57.410 --> 00:21:01.819 right? Your job is to shine. People are either 00:21:01.819 --> 00:21:03.819 going to come out there because they want God 00:21:03.819 --> 00:21:07.019 and deal with their garbage, or they're going 00:21:07.019 --> 00:21:08.900 to run away because they don't want to deal with 00:21:08.900 --> 00:21:11.880 their garbage. Yeah. Make sure it's your light 00:21:11.880 --> 00:21:15.920 that is driving them away. Yep. Not your condemnation. 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:20.359 Because they're already condemned. Yep. They 00:21:20.359 --> 00:21:22.640 were already condemned because they don't believe 00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:24.980 in what the Son has brought. Back up two verses. 00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:28.970 Jesus said, I'm not here to condemn. Right. Right. 00:21:29.029 --> 00:21:30.710 That's not what he's here for. They, they're 00:21:30.710 --> 00:21:34.289 already condemned. Yeah. And so your job is to 00:21:34.289 --> 00:21:36.990 go and be the light, man. I'm just sitting here 00:21:36.990 --> 00:21:39.710 thinking of Nicodemus rich, uh, like legalistic 00:21:39.710 --> 00:21:43.650 and, um, like, so, and, and rigid adherence to 00:21:43.650 --> 00:21:45.829 rigid adherence. Now you probably know people 00:21:45.829 --> 00:21:47.650 who are even Christians that are, are similar 00:21:47.650 --> 00:21:50.910 to this. Right. And one of the things that is 00:21:50.910 --> 00:21:53.589 incredible is that if Jesus speaks into their 00:21:53.589 --> 00:21:56.210 heart, like you take rigid ritualist, uh, rigid, 00:21:56.390 --> 00:22:00.700 um, legalistic people and God speaks into them 00:22:00.700 --> 00:22:04.299 and then, and they take that life and then they 00:22:04.299 --> 00:22:08.799 strictly shine light. Yeah. Incredible things 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:12.579 happen. Yeah. Right. Um, I was just, I was just 00:22:12.579 --> 00:22:15.299 reading a book. Um, have you read the insanity 00:22:15.299 --> 00:22:17.960 of God? Yeah. So I just reading the insanity 00:22:17.960 --> 00:22:22.039 of God and I was great book. Just how being faithful. 00:22:23.119 --> 00:22:26.960 in terrible circumstances, shining light transforms 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:32.000 entire communities and countries. Right. I think 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:34.839 it's John Wesley. Like one of the things that 00:22:34.839 --> 00:22:37.720 he said is he's like, give me a hundred people 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:40.960 who despise sin and have a zeal for the Lord. 00:22:41.619 --> 00:22:43.759 He's like, doesn't matter if they're clergy or 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:45.640 laymen. He's like, they will change the world. 00:22:45.799 --> 00:22:52.240 Yeah. So the, the, the flip side of what Jesus 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:56.220 says here too, is that he's in a, in a very real 00:22:56.220 --> 00:22:57.920 way, he and Nicodemus are talking about Israel 00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:01.880 and John writes it this way. And then we quote 00:23:01.880 --> 00:23:05.880 it this way, knowing the future is that Jesus 00:23:05.880 --> 00:23:10.380 steps in as Israel steps into their role, goes 00:23:10.380 --> 00:23:13.539 and like the serpent is placed on a cross that 00:23:13.539 --> 00:23:15.960 when people look or they cast their identity 00:23:15.960 --> 00:23:18.779 or they cast their trust, they cast their, um, 00:23:19.420 --> 00:23:21.480 Onto the finished work of Christ on the cross, 00:23:21.700 --> 00:23:26.039 they actually find redemption. They find that 00:23:26.039 --> 00:23:28.980 purification. They find the lack of condemnation, 00:23:28.980 --> 00:23:31.680 right? He takes all that condemnation, all that 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:33.599 venom, all that, I'm pulling all the metaphors 00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:35.920 together, right? He takes all of those things 00:23:35.920 --> 00:23:38.380 and he takes them on himself and we trust in 00:23:38.380 --> 00:23:41.599 him and we're made whole. Yeah. And he's like, 00:23:41.619 --> 00:23:43.420 and it's not because of the rules that you followed, 00:23:43.480 --> 00:23:47.039 but now because of that, you're going to have 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:50.630 a new heart. baptized in the waters filled with 00:23:50.630 --> 00:23:52.690 the spirit. And because of that, you're going 00:23:52.690 --> 00:23:56.190 to walk in righteousness. Yeah. Which by the 00:23:56.190 --> 00:23:57.690 way, is a really important part of that story. 00:23:58.569 --> 00:24:01.289 Yeah. Yeah. That kind of kicks into where Paul 00:24:01.289 --> 00:24:03.750 says later, he's like, so because we're free 00:24:03.750 --> 00:24:05.890 from sin, should we just sin all the more? No, 00:24:05.990 --> 00:24:10.230 no, no, don't do that. No. Right. Now, I want 00:24:10.230 --> 00:24:12.390 to, do you have anything else out there before 00:24:12.390 --> 00:24:14.890 I pivot to the next part? Okay. And I want to 00:24:14.890 --> 00:24:16.930 just talk really quickly here because the next 00:24:16.930 --> 00:24:19.230 section actually mirrors a lot of what's going 00:24:19.230 --> 00:24:20.750 on here. And I want you just, with what we've 00:24:20.750 --> 00:24:22.650 talked about, I want you to hear how John testifies 00:24:22.650 --> 00:24:26.210 about Jesus. So after this, after this story, 00:24:26.369 --> 00:24:29.609 beginning in verse 22, Jesus and his disciples 00:24:29.609 --> 00:24:31.529 went out to the Judean countryside where he spent 00:24:31.529 --> 00:24:34.609 some time with them and baptized. Now, John also 00:24:34.609 --> 00:24:38.900 was baptizing at Anon. I think that's right, 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:43.299 near Salem, because there was plenty of water. 00:24:43.380 --> 00:24:46.940 Well, that's actually a good reason. And people 00:24:46.940 --> 00:24:48.660 were coming and being baptized. This was before 00:24:48.660 --> 00:24:51.019 John was put in prison. And by the way, that's 00:24:51.019 --> 00:24:54.900 an odd note to put in there. Anyways, an argument. 00:24:55.390 --> 00:24:58.289 developed between some of John's disciples and 00:24:58.289 --> 00:25:01.029 a certain Jew over the matter of the ceremonial 00:25:01.029 --> 00:25:03.089 washings. They came to John and said, Rabbi, 00:25:03.210 --> 00:25:04.890 that man who was with you on the other side of 00:25:04.890 --> 00:25:06.789 the Jordan, the one you testified about, look, 00:25:06.930 --> 00:25:09.329 he is baptizing and everyone is going to him. 00:25:09.450 --> 00:25:11.789 To this, John replied, a person can receive only 00:25:11.789 --> 00:25:13.730 what is given to them from heaven. You yourselves 00:25:13.730 --> 00:25:15.890 can testify that I said, I am not the Messiah, 00:25:16.089 --> 00:25:18.630 but am sent ahead of him. The bride belongs to 00:25:18.630 --> 00:25:20.650 the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom 00:25:20.650 --> 00:25:22.589 waits and listens for him and is full of joy 00:25:22.589 --> 00:25:38.500 when he hears the bridegroom's voice. He testifies 00:25:38.500 --> 00:25:40.380 to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts 00:25:40.380 --> 00:25:43.240 his testimony. Whoever has accepted it has certified 00:25:43.240 --> 00:25:45.500 that God is truthful. For the one whom God has 00:25:45.500 --> 00:25:47.859 sent speaks the words of God for God, gives a 00:25:47.859 --> 00:25:50.589 spirit without limit. A father loves the son 00:25:50.589 --> 00:25:52.349 and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever 00:25:52.349 --> 00:25:54.450 believes in the son has eternal life, but whoever 00:25:54.450 --> 00:25:56.950 rejects the son will not see life for God's wrath 00:25:56.950 --> 00:26:01.670 remains on them. And so John is, it's kind of 00:26:01.670 --> 00:26:03.230 like this continuation of what's been going on 00:26:03.230 --> 00:26:06.950 already. John says, I'm giving you a baptism, 00:26:07.150 --> 00:26:09.650 but I can't give you, it's an earthly baptism, 00:26:09.829 --> 00:26:13.170 right? What I'm giving you doesn't bring you 00:26:13.170 --> 00:26:14.930 into being able to see the kingdom of God. Yeah. 00:26:15.509 --> 00:26:18.759 Right. It sets you on the path. Right? But you 00:26:18.759 --> 00:26:21.420 need to have a new heart. That heart of stone 00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:24.079 has to be taken out. Yeah. And he is the Messiah. 00:26:24.240 --> 00:26:26.480 He is the one talked about in Daniel. He is the 00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:31.220 one talked about in Isaiah. He is going to redeem 00:26:31.220 --> 00:26:33.460 us. Now, even John doesn't completely understand 00:26:33.460 --> 00:26:37.119 what that means. Right? But he's like, we don't 00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:40.160 want to get in his way. Yeah. If anything, we 00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:42.339 want all of our people to go over there. And 00:26:42.339 --> 00:26:44.420 we want to support him in whatever way possible. 00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:49.079 Yeah. And, uh, and so because it's in it and 00:26:49.079 --> 00:26:51.720 there's these two pieces should inform on each 00:26:51.720 --> 00:26:53.460 other because they're, they're very similar themes 00:26:53.460 --> 00:26:59.220 going on here is like Nicodemus is asking, why 00:26:59.220 --> 00:27:00.599 aren't you doing what we think you should be 00:27:00.599 --> 00:27:04.180 doing? And the John's disciples come and ask 00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:06.519 them, why is he over there doing, stealing our 00:27:06.519 --> 00:27:10.480 stuff? And they're very similar questions. And, 00:27:10.519 --> 00:27:13.299 uh, both John and Jesus are very united on this 00:27:13.299 --> 00:27:15.480 and they're like, no, you need, you need something 00:27:15.480 --> 00:27:17.920 different. Yeah. Something different. It has 00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:22.019 to happen. And, uh, it's coming. Well, and you 00:27:22.019 --> 00:27:24.220 have the two imageries that are created side 00:27:24.220 --> 00:27:27.200 by side. You have the son of God and Jesus, and 00:27:27.200 --> 00:27:30.490 then us being the bridegroom to, to, uh, us, 00:27:30.549 --> 00:27:32.509 the church being the bridegroom to Christ. Yeah. 00:27:32.589 --> 00:27:34.809 And so you have those two imageries right side 00:27:34.809 --> 00:27:36.369 by side where it's like, here's the son of God. 00:27:36.430 --> 00:27:38.589 And now you, when you say yes to him, are in 00:27:38.589 --> 00:27:42.430 union with him to bring Jesus to the world. And 00:27:42.430 --> 00:27:46.420 which is a humbling thing. And, and side note, 00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:48.640 the, the comment where it's like, it's before 00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:51.759 John was arrested. Um, actually don't think that's 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:53.579 out of place at all because. It just made me 00:27:53.579 --> 00:27:55.920 chuckle. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There is debate on 00:27:55.920 --> 00:27:57.759 whether the stories in the first half of the 00:27:57.759 --> 00:27:59.380 book of John are actually written in chronological 00:27:59.380 --> 00:28:02.789 order. Oh yeah. And so, so it could be, it could 00:28:02.789 --> 00:28:04.930 be. He's specifying when this conversation happens. 00:28:05.109 --> 00:28:07.269 Yeah. Yeah. That's actually a good point. It's 00:28:07.269 --> 00:28:08.809 actually a good point. John would have known 00:28:08.809 --> 00:28:12.170 that too. John, not the Baptist. There's a few 00:28:12.170 --> 00:28:14.049 Johns. Yeah. There's a few Johns. It's a, it's 00:28:14.049 --> 00:28:16.630 a pretty common name. Yeah. One of the things 00:28:16.630 --> 00:28:19.150 we, we were obviously season three, we're here 00:28:19.150 --> 00:28:20.910 in talking about Jesus and we're going to kind 00:28:20.910 --> 00:28:23.670 of wrap up here. We're in season three, but I 00:28:23.670 --> 00:28:25.670 do think it's really important. And the reason 00:28:25.670 --> 00:28:28.089 we started with Torah is because a lot of the 00:28:28.089 --> 00:28:29.390 things that are going on in the life of Jesus 00:28:29.390 --> 00:28:31.509 aren't, really properly understood without knowing 00:28:31.509 --> 00:28:37.369 the story yeah right which by the way mm -hmm 00:28:37.369 --> 00:28:41.490 this is a book we are sorry that's the this is 00:28:41.490 --> 00:28:44.819 a book Very observant there, my friend. Yeah, 00:28:44.819 --> 00:28:46.359 I know. And if you're on YouTube, you can see 00:28:46.359 --> 00:28:48.039 it. If you are listening to us, you're like, 00:28:48.140 --> 00:28:51.039 what is Ben doing? This is a book that we are 00:28:51.039 --> 00:28:53.779 going to be publishing pretty soon. And it is 00:28:53.779 --> 00:28:55.819 based off of our conversations in the book of 00:28:55.819 --> 00:28:57.339 Genesis. We're going to do this for our entire 00:28:57.339 --> 00:28:59.619 Taurus series. It hits a little bit different 00:28:59.619 --> 00:29:02.319 as a book. Some of the jokes land. Some of them, 00:29:02.420 --> 00:29:05.200 most of the jokes land. All the Spencers don't, 00:29:05.200 --> 00:29:07.519 but mine do. That's the other way around, dude. 00:29:09.299 --> 00:29:11.180 But anyways, so we wrote this book. It's called 00:29:11.180 --> 00:29:12.720 Beginnings, Blessings, and a Whole Lot of Mess. 00:29:13.900 --> 00:29:17.099 It is going to be available in our link tree. 00:29:17.339 --> 00:29:19.839 And any of the proceeds that actually come from 00:29:19.839 --> 00:29:21.599 this book are actually going to go to fund the 00:29:21.599 --> 00:29:24.160 local Young Life ministry. So if you purchase 00:29:24.160 --> 00:29:27.859 this on Amazon or from Spencer himself or from 00:29:27.859 --> 00:29:31.259 me directly, after the cost of the book is taken 00:29:31.259 --> 00:29:33.160 out, the rest of the proceeds go to fund Young 00:29:33.160 --> 00:29:38.180 Life. How about that? Sounds great. Yeah. You 00:29:38.180 --> 00:29:41.839 like it? Yeah. Yeah. Um, anyways, that's a lot 00:29:41.839 --> 00:29:43.740 of fun. I had a lot of fun doing this though. 00:29:43.880 --> 00:29:46.880 Um, I did tell you a couple of weeks ago that 00:29:46.880 --> 00:29:49.059 there is nothing quite like going into our old, 00:29:49.099 --> 00:29:52.339 um, first conversations where we were getting 00:29:52.339 --> 00:29:54.460 started and I see the transcript and it goes, 00:29:54.539 --> 00:30:00.990 um, yeah, sure. Right. Absolutely. 100%. We're 00:30:00.990 --> 00:30:02.890 going to have to, we'll have to release like 00:30:02.890 --> 00:30:05.890 an unedited or, or director's cut version or 00:30:05.890 --> 00:30:09.029 whatever, um, where it's, uh, where we leave 00:30:09.029 --> 00:30:10.950 all that in and people are like, this is a mess. 00:30:11.970 --> 00:30:14.849 So, all right. So what's the takeaway from the 00:30:14.849 --> 00:30:19.150 story? Uh, you can't just do the law. You get 00:30:19.150 --> 00:30:21.569 transformed by Christ, empowered by his spirit. 00:30:21.589 --> 00:30:23.609 And because of that, you live a different life. 00:30:23.670 --> 00:30:28.940 Yep. Amen. Amen. Amen. See you next time. And 00:30:28.940 --> 00:30:30.980 that's a wrap for today's episode of Love and 00:30:30.980 --> 00:30:33.279 Context. We hope this conversation encouraged 00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:35.960 you and gave you fresh insights into how we can 00:30:35.960 --> 00:30:38.039 better love God and others through the powerful 00:30:38.039 --> 00:30:40.660 truths of the Bible. We'd love to hear from you. 00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:42.660 Send your questions, thoughts, or suggestions 00:30:42.660 --> 00:30:46.319 to loveandcontext at gmail .com. Your feedback 00:30:46.319 --> 00:30:48.319 means the world to us and helps shape future 00:30:48.319 --> 00:30:50.960 episodes. Stay connected with us on social media 00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:53.359 for updates, behind the scenes content, and additional 00:30:53.359 --> 00:30:55.980 resources. You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, 00:30:56.259 --> 00:30:58.240 YouTube, and Facebook at LoveandContext. love 00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:00.380 and context. Be sure to hit that follow button 00:31:00.380 --> 00:31:02.640 and join our growing community. Thanks for being 00:31:02.640 --> 00:31:04.500 part of the love and context family. Remember 00:31:04.500 --> 00:31:07.140 love is at the heart of it all until next time. 00:31:07.180 --> 00:31:09.400 Keep seeking wisdom, embracing love and living 00:31:09.400 --> 00:31:10.779 out your faith in today's world.