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 --> 00:00:22.839 context. We're so glad you're here. Let's dive 00:00:22.839 --> 00:00:28.480 into Season 3 of Love & Context. Welcome back 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:32.719 to the Love and Context podcast. Podcast. Podcast. 00:00:33.460 --> 00:00:36.820 Podcast. This is the segment of the show where 00:00:36.820 --> 00:00:39.399 we see how many times Ben can say podcast before 00:00:39.399 --> 00:00:42.600 you guys hang up on us. Hang up? Are they on 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:44.619 their phones? Yeah, I'm old school. I'm old school. 00:00:44.859 --> 00:00:47.060 We are in the middle of the life of Jesus, and 00:00:47.060 --> 00:00:48.820 we're in the Sermon on the Mount part two. two 00:00:48.820 --> 00:00:51.020 two hold on i'm gonna get myself a video two 00:00:51.020 --> 00:00:53.520 and you know what that means today we're gonna 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:58.780 talk about murder yeah um we should preface this 00:00:58.780 --> 00:01:02.079 though because when uh This is not about murder. 00:01:02.259 --> 00:01:06.159 We'll get there, okay? We'll get there. As Ben 00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:08.280 and I were prepping for this, we were like, wait 00:01:08.280 --> 00:01:10.799 a second. We are not moving as fast as we thought 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:12.980 we were going to move through this. So what we're 00:01:12.980 --> 00:01:14.459 going to do today is we're going to walk through 00:01:14.459 --> 00:01:16.299 it. We're going to go for about 45 minutes, and 00:01:16.299 --> 00:01:19.260 we're going to get as far as we get. We may pick 00:01:19.260 --> 00:01:21.659 up in part three. That might be coming. And hopefully 00:01:21.659 --> 00:01:23.840 we don't make it to part 17 of the Sermon on 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:24.939 the Mount. If you guys are wondering about my 00:01:24.939 --> 00:01:26.739 t -shirts, this is one my wife got me. It says, 00:01:26.859 --> 00:01:31.299 bookworm? Please, I'm a book dragon. So that 00:01:31.299 --> 00:01:35.319 is quite accurate for myself. All right, so reminder, 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:37.959 if this is your first episode, it's super weird 00:01:37.959 --> 00:01:40.060 that you jumped in on a part two for the first 00:01:40.060 --> 00:01:42.459 episode, but just in case that's the case, we 00:01:42.459 --> 00:01:45.420 started in the Beatitudes, and we talked about 00:01:45.420 --> 00:01:47.819 Jesus says, hey, the kingdom of God is coming 00:01:47.819 --> 00:01:50.060 for these types of people. And when you are these 00:01:50.060 --> 00:01:52.840 types of people and people are coming after you 00:01:52.840 --> 00:01:55.079 because you follow me, you're going to be blessed. 00:01:55.500 --> 00:01:57.219 But that doesn't mean you get to go run and hide. 00:01:57.340 --> 00:01:59.000 You have to go and be in the middle of everything. 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:01.540 You're the salt of the earth. You're the light 00:02:01.540 --> 00:02:04.019 that's going to be put on a hill. I'm not coming 00:02:04.019 --> 00:02:07.680 to get rid of Torah. Don't mistake that. Torah 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:10.060 is not going away. But in fact, I'm coming to 00:02:10.060 --> 00:02:13.780 fulfill it or put it on display. And then, let's 00:02:13.780 --> 00:02:14.699 see, what was the last thing that they talked 00:02:14.699 --> 00:02:17.479 about? Oh, go and do good deeds. Go do Torah. 00:02:18.180 --> 00:02:20.599 So that when people see the things you do, they 00:02:20.599 --> 00:02:22.800 glorify your God in heaven. Yep. Right? Your 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:24.819 Father who is in heaven. And then, so then he's 00:02:24.819 --> 00:02:26.280 going to pick up and start going through, and 00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:27.659 he's going to start talking about some ideas 00:02:27.659 --> 00:02:30.500 behind Torah that have been wildly misunderstood 00:02:30.500 --> 00:02:33.900 in their day. And Jesus goes back and says, he's 00:02:33.900 --> 00:02:35.759 going to use a tool called, I forget what the 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:38.560 name of it is, but it's a rabbinic tool. You 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:41.340 have heard it said, but I say unto you. This 00:02:41.340 --> 00:02:45.439 is not... Upping the ante. No. Jesus is actually, 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:47.919 we talked about this a little last week for those 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:49.439 who are joining us. He's actually correcting 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:52.439 two lines of thought. Yeah. We have misunderstand 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:54.939 Torah Jewish line of thought that he's correcting. 00:02:55.080 --> 00:02:57.979 And then we also have the bleeding in of the 00:02:57.979 --> 00:02:59.759 Roman culture. Correct. Greek and Roman thought. 00:02:59.800 --> 00:03:01.979 And so he's correcting some of that as well. 00:03:02.080 --> 00:03:04.860 So when a rabbi says, you have heard it said, 00:03:04.900 --> 00:03:06.620 but I say unto you, whenever you see in the scriptures 00:03:06.620 --> 00:03:08.759 where they say he taught as one with authority, 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:12.509 shmika is the Greek or Hebrew. is what they mean 00:03:12.509 --> 00:03:13.949 with authority in other words you're interpreting 00:03:13.949 --> 00:03:16.810 the original meaning and so jesus is going to 00:03:16.810 --> 00:03:18.610 go and do that so we're just going to jump in 00:03:18.610 --> 00:03:22.189 we are in matthew 5 going to start in verse 21 00:03:22.189 --> 00:03:24.710 read the first section here okay so right off 00:03:24.710 --> 00:03:27.050 the bat so right before this as far i tell you 00:03:27.050 --> 00:03:30.530 this is verse 24 i tell you that unless your 00:03:30.530 --> 00:03:32.349 righteousness surpasses that of the pharisees 00:03:32.349 --> 00:03:34.069 and the teachers of the law you will certainly 00:03:34.069 --> 00:03:36.900 not enter the kingdom of heaven now You have 00:03:36.900 --> 00:03:39.639 heard it said to the people long ago, you shall 00:03:39.639 --> 00:03:42.300 not murder. And anyone who murders will be subject 00:03:42.300 --> 00:03:45.219 to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is 00:03:45.219 --> 00:03:47.060 angry with a brother or sister will be subject 00:03:47.060 --> 00:03:49.419 to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother 00:03:49.419 --> 00:03:52.099 or sister, raka, is answerable to the court. 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:54.280 And anyone who says, you fool, will be in the 00:03:54.280 --> 00:03:56.699 danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you're 00:03:56.699 --> 00:03:59.219 offering your gift at the altar, and then remember 00:03:59.219 --> 00:04:01.219 that your brother or sister has something against 00:04:01.219 --> 00:04:04.520 you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. 00:04:04.659 --> 00:04:06.960 First, go and be reconciled to them. Then come 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:09.539 and offer your gift. Settle matters quickly with 00:04:09.539 --> 00:04:11.819 your adversary who is taking you to court. Do 00:04:11.819 --> 00:04:13.490 it while you're... still together on the way, 00:04:13.569 --> 00:04:15.650 or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, 00:04:15.729 --> 00:04:17.209 and the judge may hand you over to the officer, 00:04:17.310 --> 00:04:19.230 and you may be thrown in prison. Truly I tell 00:04:19.230 --> 00:04:21.110 you, you will not get out until you pay the last 00:04:21.110 --> 00:04:26.029 penny. Okay. According to Jesus, when the law 00:04:26.029 --> 00:04:28.350 says in the Ten Commandments, you shall not commit 00:04:28.350 --> 00:04:31.649 murder, it means all of these things. This is 00:04:31.649 --> 00:04:35.089 the intention behind the law. Well, and what 00:04:35.089 --> 00:04:38.470 Jesus is correcting here is he's correcting the 00:04:38.470 --> 00:04:40.939 interpretation of relationship. Right. Because 00:04:40.939 --> 00:04:45.379 we often will interpret murder as an action, 00:04:45.480 --> 00:04:48.459 which it is, but why did that action take place? 00:04:48.620 --> 00:04:52.449 Right. Right. If you go back to our Exodus series, 00:04:52.610 --> 00:04:55.930 which I'll probably stitch in here, we did talk 00:04:55.930 --> 00:04:57.269 about the Ten Commandments. We talked about these 00:04:57.269 --> 00:04:59.230 vertical relationships, these horizontal relationships, 00:04:59.250 --> 00:05:01.930 and how loving God and loving others are actually 00:05:01.930 --> 00:05:03.970 connected inside of the Ten Commandments. And 00:05:03.970 --> 00:05:05.850 so murder isn't just about murder. It's also 00:05:05.850 --> 00:05:07.670 respecting and honoring the person that's in 00:05:07.670 --> 00:05:11.250 front of you. Yes. And so what Jesus is doing 00:05:11.250 --> 00:05:13.829 is he's saying, hey, it's not just about whether 00:05:13.829 --> 00:05:16.269 that person lives or dies. Yeah. Right? It's 00:05:16.269 --> 00:05:18.629 about your relationship with that person. Yeah. 00:05:19.290 --> 00:05:22.069 Yeah, so let's take a look here. But I tell you 00:05:22.069 --> 00:05:24.189 that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister 00:05:24.189 --> 00:05:26.670 will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who 00:05:26.670 --> 00:05:29.069 says to a brother or sister, Raka, is answerable 00:05:29.069 --> 00:05:31.050 to the court, and anyone who says you fool will 00:05:31.050 --> 00:05:34.089 be in danger of the fire of hell. Now, this is 00:05:34.089 --> 00:05:37.990 a little bit difficult in, I'm just going to 00:05:37.990 --> 00:05:39.649 say American culture, so I know we have some 00:05:39.649 --> 00:05:41.389 people that listen internationally. Cool, I love 00:05:41.389 --> 00:05:42.949 that. But in American culture, this is a little 00:05:42.949 --> 00:05:45.230 bit difficult because we say things all the time 00:05:45.230 --> 00:05:49.610 that we don't mean, right? That's very different 00:05:49.610 --> 00:05:51.689 in honor -shame culture, turn -of -the -century 00:05:51.689 --> 00:05:53.829 Jewish culture. What they say, their words, the 00:05:53.829 --> 00:05:55.689 things that they say, you don't say something 00:05:55.689 --> 00:05:58.069 if you don't mean it, right? If you're not willing 00:05:58.069 --> 00:06:01.329 to put your whole person behind it, right? And 00:06:01.329 --> 00:06:04.490 so when you're talking, you're calling your brother 00:06:04.490 --> 00:06:07.709 Sister Raka, which is basically moron. right 00:06:07.709 --> 00:06:10.089 or you're calling somebody a fool in other words 00:06:10.089 --> 00:06:13.310 like you you have no brain like you it's not 00:06:13.310 --> 00:06:15.350 it's not just a passing insult like i'm gonna 00:06:15.350 --> 00:06:18.709 make fun of spencer for his whatever right so 00:06:18.709 --> 00:06:21.009 you can't even think of it either no actually 00:06:21.009 --> 00:06:23.889 the problem was i had too many things and so 00:06:23.889 --> 00:06:27.389 i was like how do i narrow down to just one no 00:06:27.389 --> 00:06:30.389 no you're making that up but the uh so but it's 00:06:30.389 --> 00:06:32.170 it's it's a very different thing whereas if i 00:06:32.170 --> 00:06:36.529 was to uh The more equivalent is, like, if I 00:06:36.529 --> 00:06:40.410 was to actually try to impugn something about 00:06:40.410 --> 00:06:42.790 your character, it's a much more significant 00:06:42.790 --> 00:06:45.569 thing, right? Where I'm not only, it's not something 00:06:45.569 --> 00:06:48.569 I'm saying to be funny, even in anger, it's something 00:06:48.569 --> 00:06:50.870 I'm saying to literally hurt you. Yeah. Right? 00:06:51.470 --> 00:06:53.930 So Jesus is saying, he's like, hey, when you 00:06:53.930 --> 00:06:57.389 talk about people in this way, when you talk 00:06:57.389 --> 00:07:00.389 about them in order to tear them down, to rip 00:07:00.389 --> 00:07:04.199 them apart, to cause wounds, It's a problem, 00:07:04.300 --> 00:07:07.680 and it's the same as murdering. Not the same 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:09.360 as obviously one person dies and one person is 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:12.500 still alive, but it's the same concept. Do not 00:07:12.500 --> 00:07:15.040 murder was always supposed to turn you into the 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:16.600 kind of person who lived at peace with those 00:07:16.600 --> 00:07:20.540 around you, who built people up. who cared about 00:07:20.540 --> 00:07:23.420 each other. Not who never messed around, but 00:07:23.420 --> 00:07:25.279 people who actually were invested in building 00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:26.899 each other up, not tearing or cutting into each 00:07:26.899 --> 00:07:30.399 other. That is a massive issue. We wouldn't think 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:32.600 necessarily in the church today that murder is 00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:36.759 an issue, but according to Jesus, this law we 00:07:36.759 --> 00:07:38.819 struggle with because we still tear people down 00:07:38.819 --> 00:07:41.360 inside and outside the church all the time. I 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:44.100 mean, just go listen to religious commentary 00:07:44.100 --> 00:07:46.740 on social media. You hear it all the time, right? 00:07:47.300 --> 00:07:50.860 And oftentimes what we do, and don't get me wrong, 00:07:51.019 --> 00:07:54.079 you've heard us say that we're not going to just 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:57.279 go out and badmouth people, right? There is a 00:07:57.279 --> 00:07:58.980 time and place for correction, and there is a 00:07:58.980 --> 00:08:02.009 time and place to call someone out, right? But 00:08:02.009 --> 00:08:04.769 with that said, we often just jump to that to 00:08:04.769 --> 00:08:07.670 justify our thinking. Yeah. Right? And Jesus 00:08:07.670 --> 00:08:11.350 is—this passage will actually tie back into, 00:08:11.529 --> 00:08:14.850 I think it's later in Matthew, when it's talking 00:08:14.850 --> 00:08:16.730 about dealing with correction with a brother 00:08:16.730 --> 00:08:18.769 or sister, where it's saying, no, don't just 00:08:18.769 --> 00:08:20.850 immediately go to bad -mouthing them or taking 00:08:20.850 --> 00:08:22.870 them to the court. Right. Go have a conversation. 00:08:23.149 --> 00:08:24.750 Yeah. And if they're not going to listen to you, 00:08:24.769 --> 00:08:27.350 maybe bring a third party in to help mediate 00:08:27.350 --> 00:08:30.810 that conversation, right? Can you imagine if 00:08:30.810 --> 00:08:32.970 the— first time you found out somebody had an 00:08:32.970 --> 00:08:34.389 issue with you is when they brought it up in 00:08:34.389 --> 00:08:36.730 front of the entire church? Actually, I want 00:08:36.730 --> 00:08:39.269 to tell a story about this. I was a part of a 00:08:39.269 --> 00:08:42.970 charitable organization in town, and this person 00:08:42.970 --> 00:08:45.549 brought up a slight that they had with the other 00:08:45.549 --> 00:08:47.669 person. So we do this thing where we talk about 00:08:47.669 --> 00:08:49.570 things we're happy about that we've been engaged 00:08:49.570 --> 00:08:51.730 in the last week, right? We're like, hey, this 00:08:51.730 --> 00:08:53.409 was really cool, and we just tell them basically 00:08:53.409 --> 00:08:55.350 about cool things that have happened. Person 00:08:55.350 --> 00:08:59.409 gets up and they say, well, I was... talked down 00:08:59.409 --> 00:09:01.629 to and blah blah it goes on this really really 00:09:01.629 --> 00:09:03.990 long description of like everything that happened 00:09:03.990 --> 00:09:06.049 to them and then says and it was this person 00:09:06.049 --> 00:09:07.610 they're like sitting two chairs away from them 00:09:07.610 --> 00:09:11.509 and I have never been in as quite awkward of 00:09:11.509 --> 00:09:14.070 a situation or tense of a situation like because 00:09:14.070 --> 00:09:20.299 everybody was like what is going on right like 00:09:20.299 --> 00:09:22.440 it was it was weird for it to happen in that 00:09:22.440 --> 00:09:24.700 in that situation because like the person didn't 00:09:24.700 --> 00:09:27.759 had no idea they never talked nobody like uh 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:29.100 like the people who are in charge of organization 00:09:29.100 --> 00:09:31.500 nobody talked to them there was just like we're 00:09:31.500 --> 00:09:33.659 going to bring it up in front of like 45 people 00:09:33.659 --> 00:09:39.149 all at once yeah and yeah And yeah, that's just 00:09:39.149 --> 00:09:41.990 ridiculous, right? I mean, it was, you know those 00:09:41.990 --> 00:09:43.470 situations where you're there and you're like, 00:09:43.549 --> 00:09:45.230 man, if I had a knife, I could just cut this 00:09:45.230 --> 00:09:46.809 and put it on a slice of bread because that's 00:09:46.809 --> 00:09:50.230 how thick it is. Yeah, right. In all the ministries 00:09:50.230 --> 00:09:52.110 that I've led, there's been one rule I've had 00:09:52.110 --> 00:09:55.409 about conflict. It was like, if you have an issue 00:09:55.409 --> 00:09:58.730 with me, come talk to me, right? And here's the 00:09:58.730 --> 00:10:01.330 deal. If you can't find the nerve to come talk 00:10:01.330 --> 00:10:03.980 to me about it. It must not be that big of a 00:10:03.980 --> 00:10:07.779 deal. Right. Right? Like, I'm here. I want to 00:10:07.779 --> 00:10:09.899 help resolve it. I want to be here for you. Yeah. 00:10:10.279 --> 00:10:12.500 Like, we're brothers, sisters in Christ. But 00:10:12.500 --> 00:10:15.419 it's like, if it's like, you know, I just can't 00:10:15.419 --> 00:10:17.019 work up the nerve to go talk to Spencer about 00:10:17.019 --> 00:10:19.440 it, I'll be like, all right, well then, can we 00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:20.799 at least call that out and say what that is? 00:10:20.820 --> 00:10:23.419 And at the very least, you couldn't grab one 00:10:23.419 --> 00:10:24.980 other person and say, hey, they're here just 00:10:24.980 --> 00:10:27.360 to sit with me while I talk with you. Yeah. Like, 00:10:27.419 --> 00:10:29.850 not to interject. They're just there to be there 00:10:29.850 --> 00:10:32.470 to be moral support while you go have a conversation. 00:10:32.710 --> 00:10:35.669 I'm fine with that. I've had that happen where 00:10:35.669 --> 00:10:39.029 somebody's like, because I have an intense personality. 00:10:39.309 --> 00:10:41.470 I don't know if you know that. Really? Yeah, 00:10:41.509 --> 00:10:43.169 I know. It's shocking to you. I know. And so 00:10:43.169 --> 00:10:45.850 sometimes people, like I can set people at edge 00:10:45.850 --> 00:10:47.889 with my personality, and they'll be like, oh, 00:10:47.909 --> 00:10:49.850 yeah, such and such needs to come. And they sit 00:10:49.850 --> 00:10:51.669 there, and I was like, yeah, let's talk. Right? 00:10:52.490 --> 00:10:54.889 We're just trying to figure it out. I'm cool 00:10:54.889 --> 00:10:57.070 with that. Though the downside to that is I feel 00:10:57.070 --> 00:10:58.870 like right before this you were talking about 00:10:58.870 --> 00:11:02.659 me. That hurts. Yeah, I've gotten to a point 00:11:02.659 --> 00:11:04.480 where I just really don't care if people badmouth 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:06.639 me behind my back. I'm like, okay, if you're 00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:08.120 not going to come talk to me about it, then it's 00:11:08.120 --> 00:11:09.919 obviously not that big of a deal. That's good. 00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:11.480 Clearly, you're not reading the comments of our 00:11:11.480 --> 00:11:12.720 video. No, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. 00:11:12.799 --> 00:11:15.919 Just kidding. Nobody wrote anything. To be clear, 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:19.539 I don't read the comments. That's true. Ben reads 00:11:19.539 --> 00:11:21.659 the comments and responds to some of them. I 00:11:21.659 --> 00:11:24.710 don't really go down that road. It's not that 00:11:24.710 --> 00:11:26.289 I don't want to talk to you. I just don't want 00:11:26.289 --> 00:11:28.370 to talk. So Jesus, I think it's interesting that 00:11:28.370 --> 00:11:29.730 the first thing he talks about is this law of 00:11:29.730 --> 00:11:31.769 murder, right? Because one of the first things 00:11:31.769 --> 00:11:33.669 that trip us up in following the faith, because 00:11:33.669 --> 00:11:35.809 what has he really been talking about? The kingdom 00:11:35.809 --> 00:11:37.129 of God is ready to interact with you, right? 00:11:38.250 --> 00:11:40.649 You're supposed to go and do good deeds. We're 00:11:40.649 --> 00:11:42.049 not abolishing the Torah. We're putting it on 00:11:42.049 --> 00:11:45.129 display. Be salt and light, right? Yeah. You're 00:11:45.129 --> 00:11:47.450 going to make each other mad. You know what you 00:11:47.450 --> 00:11:50.419 don't do? Tear each other apart. By the way, 00:11:50.460 --> 00:11:53.539 this section right here, this little section 00:11:53.539 --> 00:11:55.039 we're covering right now, and I'm probably spending 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:58.159 too much time on it, and I don't care. This is 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:03.299 80 % of the churches in fighting. If we could 00:12:03.299 --> 00:12:05.480 get a handle on this, we could figure a lot of 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:08.399 things out. Not we have disagreements. Of course, 00:12:08.460 --> 00:12:11.720 we always have disagreements. Ben and I disagree 00:12:11.720 --> 00:12:15.059 on stuff. And my wife and I disagree. right? 00:12:15.460 --> 00:12:17.759 And then me and others, maybe I'm the problem. 00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:21.759 No, but you know, like... You know what? We'll 00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:25.620 go with that. We'll go with that. But if you 00:12:25.620 --> 00:12:27.539 get two personalities, nobody's going to agree 00:12:27.539 --> 00:12:30.440 about everything 100%. You have Jesus' followers 00:12:30.440 --> 00:12:32.840 being Essenes and Pharisees and Sadducees and 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:35.700 Herodians and Zealots and tax collectors and 00:12:35.700 --> 00:12:37.620 women, right? They're not all going to agree. 00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:41.259 No. Right? And he says, so one of the first things 00:12:41.259 --> 00:12:44.049 you've got to know... is when you disagree, you 00:12:44.049 --> 00:12:47.029 know what you can't do? You can't just rip somebody 00:12:47.029 --> 00:12:49.629 a new one. You can't just, like, stab them in 00:12:49.629 --> 00:12:52.769 the back and be like, well, y 'all are Christians, 00:12:52.850 --> 00:12:56.769 so you gotta forgive me. I mean, it's true, but 00:12:56.769 --> 00:12:58.889 also, you're getting handed over to judgment. 00:12:58.990 --> 00:13:01.610 Like, you know what you're doing. You know how 00:13:01.610 --> 00:13:04.330 you're supposed to behave. Do not murder is supposed 00:13:04.330 --> 00:13:06.710 to do something in you beyond just not killing 00:13:06.710 --> 00:13:10.879 people. Right? Right? Like, 3 ,000 years ago, 00:13:10.940 --> 00:13:13.580 okay, don't murder. Totally on track with that. 00:13:14.340 --> 00:13:17.379 Yeah. It's been thousands of years. Yeah. It 00:13:17.379 --> 00:13:19.899 does more than that. So the other side, the other 00:13:19.899 --> 00:13:21.940 thing that this is correcting a little bit is 00:13:21.940 --> 00:13:24.580 the creeping in of Greek and Roman culture. Yeah. 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:27.080 Right? Because the actually murder was entertainment. 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:30.360 Yeah. Via the fights in the Colosseum. Well, 00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:33.379 and not just that. Let me read this section because 00:13:33.379 --> 00:13:35.279 this will play into the Greek and Roman. Settle 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:36.860 matters quickly with your adversary who's taking 00:13:36.860 --> 00:13:39.049 you to court. Do it while you're still together 00:13:39.049 --> 00:13:40.529 on your way. Your adversary may hand you over 00:13:40.529 --> 00:13:41.950 to the judge, and the judge may hand you over 00:13:41.950 --> 00:13:43.570 to the officer, and you may be thrown in prison. 00:13:43.929 --> 00:13:45.429 Truly, I tell you, you will not be out until 00:13:45.429 --> 00:13:47.490 you've paid the last penny. Okay? Sounds a lot 00:13:47.490 --> 00:13:50.279 like Greek and Roman ideas to me. Right. Yeah. 00:13:50.379 --> 00:13:52.799 And so, you know, this idea of like, hey, don't 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:54.659 murder. Like because Greek and the Greek and 00:13:54.659 --> 00:13:57.139 Roman culture were were very much like this person 00:13:57.139 --> 00:13:59.200 wronged me. I'm going to stab them. Like there 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:02.259 was a lot of that that went on. And if you don't 00:14:02.259 --> 00:14:05.259 believe me, just look at go do your research 00:14:05.259 --> 00:14:08.700 on the number of Caesars who were assassinated 00:14:08.700 --> 00:14:11.580 or attempted or there was attempted assassinations 00:14:11.580 --> 00:14:13.659 on their life. It's actually really high. Yeah, 00:14:13.720 --> 00:14:17.159 really high. Really high. I mean, that's not 00:14:17.159 --> 00:14:19.559 even playing into how many senators were assassinated 00:14:19.559 --> 00:14:21.919 in the Republic and all sorts of stuff. No, and 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:27.340 yeah, there's a whole thing to it. But Jesus 00:14:27.340 --> 00:14:29.179 is saying, hey, we're not going to be like them. 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:33.100 It actually comes back to the idea of the Exodus 00:14:33.100 --> 00:14:35.820 where it's like, hey, actually, the people are 00:14:35.820 --> 00:14:37.100 going to leave Egypt and they're going to be 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:41.200 set apart. You need to leave Egypt, though. Stop 00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:44.419 taking Egypt with you. In this case, don't take 00:14:44.419 --> 00:14:47.759 Rome with you. Don't take your human ideals into 00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:53.519 the kingdom of God. This is a massive thing, 00:14:53.580 --> 00:14:55.620 so I don't want to go off of it too quick, but 00:14:55.620 --> 00:14:58.740 I feel like we're going to beat it into the ground 00:14:58.740 --> 00:15:02.720 if we go any further. We just have to understand 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:04.879 this thing about when we're engaging with each 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:07.159 other, the goal is always restoration, not to 00:15:07.159 --> 00:15:10.820 be right. Yeah. Right? Like, it's okay to be 00:15:10.820 --> 00:15:14.299 right, but you shouldn't be, like, being right 00:15:14.299 --> 00:15:17.659 at the behest of someone else getting hurt is 00:15:17.659 --> 00:15:22.620 not helpful. No. Now, I hear clicking, clacking, 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:24.659 and they're like, well, what if they're, like... 00:15:24.940 --> 00:15:27.500 preaching a heresy, and I was like, listen, you 00:15:27.500 --> 00:15:29.220 can't control whether or not people get hurt 00:15:29.220 --> 00:15:31.320 when you interact with them, just in general. 00:15:31.480 --> 00:15:34.659 I was like, but if it's as much as it's up to 00:15:34.659 --> 00:15:39.259 you, live at peace. You were talking about there's 00:15:39.259 --> 00:15:42.139 places for confrontation, right? If you are in 00:15:42.139 --> 00:15:43.899 authority over somebody, it's okay for you to 00:15:43.899 --> 00:15:45.100 go and have a conversation with them, though 00:15:45.100 --> 00:15:46.559 you need to respect your authority because it 00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:48.740 comes from God, right? And so you need to love 00:15:48.740 --> 00:15:49.860 the person that you're going to have a conversation 00:15:49.860 --> 00:15:52.139 with, or you need to have a connection with the 00:15:52.139 --> 00:15:54.769 person you're going to correct. you don't correct 00:15:54.769 --> 00:15:56.850 without connection. Nope. Because otherwise, 00:15:56.909 --> 00:15:58.509 you're not speaking truth and love, you're speaking 00:15:58.509 --> 00:16:02.230 something. And it's not in love. Nope. So if 00:16:02.230 --> 00:16:06.070 tearing each other down, anger, backbiting, all 00:16:06.070 --> 00:16:07.769 these different things are the number one thing 00:16:07.769 --> 00:16:09.590 that we see dealing with in the church, what 00:16:09.590 --> 00:16:11.250 would you say is the number two issue that we 00:16:11.250 --> 00:16:13.970 deal with inside of the church? Complacency. 00:16:14.490 --> 00:16:17.470 Complacency? Well, let me give you one up here. 00:16:17.549 --> 00:16:20.309 It actually shows up next. You have heard it 00:16:20.309 --> 00:16:23.269 said, you shall not commit adultery. But I tell 00:16:23.269 --> 00:16:25.129 you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully 00:16:25.129 --> 00:16:26.929 has already committed adultery with her in her 00:16:26.929 --> 00:16:29.289 heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, 00:16:29.370 --> 00:16:30.990 gadget out, and throw it away, it's better for 00:16:30.990 --> 00:16:33.129 you to lose one part of your body than for your 00:16:33.129 --> 00:16:34.809 whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your 00:16:34.809 --> 00:16:36.750 right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off 00:16:36.750 --> 00:16:38.490 and throw it away, it's better for you to lose 00:16:38.490 --> 00:16:40.049 one part of your body than for your whole body 00:16:40.049 --> 00:16:46.370 to go into hell. Like, holy sexual ethics in 00:16:46.370 --> 00:16:50.610 the church, right? That is a problematic thing. 00:16:50.789 --> 00:16:53.600 It is, yeah. Pornography is rampant in the church. 00:16:54.879 --> 00:16:58.799 Sexual infidelity. People, you know, all sorts 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:01.059 of stuff that goes in there. And like how many 00:17:01.059 --> 00:17:04.339 ministries have fallen because some pastor is 00:17:04.339 --> 00:17:06.839 not being held accountable, not being honest, 00:17:07.140 --> 00:17:09.940 like hiding things, has an affair, has whatever 00:17:09.940 --> 00:17:14.839 it is, right? It's a problem. It's like number 00:17:14.839 --> 00:17:17.079 one thing that tends to divide churches is people 00:17:17.079 --> 00:17:19.599 saying things, doing things they can't take back. 00:17:21.679 --> 00:17:25.480 Shortly right behind that is sexual issues, right? 00:17:25.680 --> 00:17:31.220 And it's a problem. And, you know, the hyperbole 00:17:31.220 --> 00:17:32.799 that he goes out here, one of the things that's 00:17:32.799 --> 00:17:34.420 interesting in some of the commentary, if you 00:17:34.420 --> 00:17:37.259 get into linguistics here, what they're not saying 00:17:37.259 --> 00:17:40.259 is to cut out your right eye. It's hyperbole 00:17:40.259 --> 00:17:42.980 being like, if it was a choice between your eye 00:17:42.980 --> 00:17:47.029 and going to hell, get rid of your eye. It's 00:17:47.029 --> 00:17:50.150 really interesting because it's hyperbole, right? 00:17:50.950 --> 00:17:56.210 They're giving an example of not what to do literally, 00:17:56.349 --> 00:18:01.190 but how to choose your battles, right? If it's 00:18:01.190 --> 00:18:03.170 like, hey, let's look at pornography or go to 00:18:03.170 --> 00:18:05.289 heaven. Those are your two options. They're saying, 00:18:05.369 --> 00:18:08.349 which one are you going to set down? Let's set 00:18:08.349 --> 00:18:11.970 down the pornography. If it's like, hey, if this 00:18:11.970 --> 00:18:14.349 thing is getting in the way of your relationship 00:18:14.349 --> 00:18:18.509 with Jesus, Because you're not content in the 00:18:18.509 --> 00:18:21.920 life that he's given you? Yeah. Right? then maybe 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:24.119 we need to set those things aside and focus on 00:18:24.119 --> 00:18:26.200 Jesus, right? That's kind of what it's getting 00:18:26.200 --> 00:18:29.059 at here, right? It's not saying, please, please 00:18:29.059 --> 00:18:31.319 hear us loud and clear. We're not saying go gouge 00:18:31.319 --> 00:18:33.140 your eyes out every time you're like, hey, that 00:18:33.140 --> 00:18:36.119 woman's attractive or that guy's attractive, 00:18:36.339 --> 00:18:39.279 right? Because let's be real, we would have a 00:18:39.279 --> 00:18:42.599 very blind church very quickly. In fact, one 00:18:42.599 --> 00:18:44.160 of the things Paul's going to say later is he 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:47.259 says that I take every thought captive, which 00:18:47.259 --> 00:18:51.880 means that Paul has thoughts. Right? Yeah. Because 00:18:51.880 --> 00:18:53.440 you can't take thoughts captive that you don't 00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:56.259 have. So we live in a fallen world. You're going 00:18:56.259 --> 00:18:59.140 to see things. The question is, what are you 00:18:59.140 --> 00:19:01.220 doing with those once you have them? Yeah. Right? 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:04.180 Like, are you being intentional about, like, 00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:07.380 and I also love this whole idea of your right 00:19:07.380 --> 00:19:08.900 eye causes you to sin. Like, your eye is not 00:19:08.900 --> 00:19:11.319 in control of where it looks. It's your brain. 00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:14.079 And obviously, biblical authors are going to 00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:15.759 have a different understanding of anatomy than 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:18.339 we do. But still, like, they would say your heart. 00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:21.440 would be controlling it. Also, your hand isn't 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:24.259 causing you to sin. Something else is controlling 00:19:24.259 --> 00:19:27.720 your hand. And so the hyperbole here is, sure, 00:19:27.960 --> 00:19:30.039 you would cut those off, but it's kind of like 00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:33.680 a person who says, well, I struggle with pornography, 00:19:33.799 --> 00:19:35.940 so I just don't have a phone where I can access 00:19:35.940 --> 00:19:38.079 the internet. Okay, but does that actually address 00:19:38.079 --> 00:19:41.880 the issue of why you're looking at it? Do you 00:19:41.880 --> 00:19:44.339 actually value somebody, like the opposite sex, 00:19:44.539 --> 00:19:48.490 as images of God? Or do you see them as tools 00:19:48.490 --> 00:19:52.890 of pleasure? There's a hard issue there. And 00:19:52.890 --> 00:19:55.309 sure, you can get rid of your phone. What I'm 00:19:55.309 --> 00:19:56.809 not saying is there are great safe guides to 00:19:56.809 --> 00:20:00.190 try to break addiction. I'm not saying anything 00:20:00.190 --> 00:20:04.410 against those. But you can't live a life where 00:20:04.410 --> 00:20:06.490 it's like focusing on the punishment. You actually 00:20:06.490 --> 00:20:08.930 have to live into something, not away from something. 00:20:10.939 --> 00:20:13.400 If someone's listening and is struggling with 00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:14.740 this and this is hitting home, because this is 00:20:14.740 --> 00:20:16.460 kind of a heavy topic. It is a heavy topic. Right? 00:20:16.619 --> 00:20:19.220 And you're like, yeah, my phone is a real issue. 00:20:19.420 --> 00:20:22.099 There are actually accountability apps that you 00:20:22.099 --> 00:20:24.940 can download. I think Covenant Eyes is one of 00:20:24.940 --> 00:20:27.299 them. Yeah. Where you can download it and actually 00:20:27.299 --> 00:20:30.779 what it does is you give somebody else who's 00:20:30.779 --> 00:20:33.599 trusted in your life permission to see what you're 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:35.180 actually looking at. Preferably somebody who's 00:20:35.180 --> 00:20:38.559 not going to call you Raka. Again, somebody who's 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:41.539 trusted, who confessed the issue to them, be 00:20:41.539 --> 00:20:43.339 like, hey, this is an issue I've been dealing 00:20:43.339 --> 00:20:46.940 with. I need some accountability. There are ways 00:20:46.940 --> 00:20:48.900 that you can safeguard this. I don't want you 00:20:48.900 --> 00:20:51.799 to feel like you're alone. No, there are many, 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:53.680 many people who struggle with this, and it is 00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:57.640 an ongoing struggle. This is one of the reasons 00:20:57.640 --> 00:21:00.440 why the problem is, because if you don't talk 00:21:00.440 --> 00:21:02.359 about it, it manifests in the dark. Remember 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:05.390 a couple weeks ago, we were talking about Evil 00:21:05.390 --> 00:21:06.930 people do evil things in the dark and they don't 00:21:06.930 --> 00:21:09.509 like the light coming out. Yeah. The thing is 00:21:09.509 --> 00:21:11.430 that when they went to Samaria, they're in the 00:21:11.430 --> 00:21:13.329 light and they all bring their stuff out to Jesus, 00:21:13.430 --> 00:21:17.750 right? Light exposes sin and you have the ability 00:21:17.750 --> 00:21:20.509 to get rid of it. Yeah. Having conversations 00:21:20.509 --> 00:21:23.130 about this, real conversations, actually help 00:21:23.130 --> 00:21:25.809 you find freedom. Living by the Spirit, you are 00:21:25.809 --> 00:21:28.410 powerful enough through the change work of Jesus 00:21:28.410 --> 00:21:30.630 Christ and the empowering work of the Holy Spirit, 00:21:30.690 --> 00:21:34.190 you can conquer sin through His power. Yeah. 00:21:35.230 --> 00:21:37.089 Sometimes you need people around you who remind 00:21:37.089 --> 00:21:41.509 you that. And so we've talked about this too, 00:21:41.569 --> 00:21:44.069 but the other thing that Jesus is doing is he's 00:21:44.069 --> 00:21:48.009 counteracting a Roman practice. Sexual ethics 00:21:48.009 --> 00:21:50.130 are quite questionable in Rome. Yes. One of the 00:21:50.130 --> 00:21:51.910 things that actually was pretty common in Roman 00:21:51.910 --> 00:21:54.829 Greek culture was what they would call street 00:21:54.829 --> 00:21:57.890 pornography or street prostitutes, where it actually 00:21:57.890 --> 00:22:00.130 would literally just be a prostitute on the side 00:22:00.130 --> 00:22:02.670 of a street with a mat or something, and you 00:22:02.670 --> 00:22:05.059 could just... do your thing with them in public 00:22:05.059 --> 00:22:07.240 right there yeah that was a pretty common thing 00:22:07.240 --> 00:22:09.319 for a lot of roman cultures there's also like 00:22:09.319 --> 00:22:11.259 worship of the gods that there's like shrine 00:22:11.259 --> 00:22:13.940 prostitutes and all sorts of things like uh just 00:22:13.940 --> 00:22:17.730 very different yes Yeah, very different. And 00:22:17.730 --> 00:22:20.589 you get over to places like Ephesus, where you 00:22:20.589 --> 00:22:23.390 have the Temple of Aphrodite, right? And some 00:22:23.390 --> 00:22:26.150 of the practices that went on there. We're skimming 00:22:26.150 --> 00:22:27.670 the surface on this. Go do your own research 00:22:27.670 --> 00:22:29.990 on it. It is a very heavy topic to research. 00:22:30.109 --> 00:22:33.269 Just heads up on that. But so Jesus, again, he's 00:22:33.269 --> 00:22:36.210 not just saying, okay, let's talk about it from 00:22:36.210 --> 00:22:37.650 a Jewish perspective. He's like, we're also going 00:22:37.650 --> 00:22:40.690 to counteract. Yeah, and I think the bigger idea 00:22:40.690 --> 00:22:42.829 is, and when you come back where he's saying, 00:22:43.049 --> 00:22:45.630 listen, It's great that you're not stepping out 00:22:45.630 --> 00:22:47.470 on your wife, but when you're watching other 00:22:47.470 --> 00:22:50.369 people, when you're engaging in these activities, 00:22:50.609 --> 00:22:54.809 you are. You are stepping out on your spouse. 00:22:55.029 --> 00:22:56.890 And I'll say spouse rather than wife because 00:22:56.890 --> 00:23:04.410 it goes both ways. Don't commit adultery was 00:23:04.410 --> 00:23:06.690 not supposed to be about just not committing 00:23:06.690 --> 00:23:08.589 adultery. It was about having fidelity with the 00:23:08.589 --> 00:23:10.880 person you're with. Right. Actually investing 00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:13.319 into that relationship. So you actually value 00:23:13.319 --> 00:23:15.960 that person. Why does God say don't commit adultery? 00:23:16.039 --> 00:23:19.259 Because he's faithful. Right. That's who he is. 00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:21.779 So if we're going to be in his image, what do 00:23:21.779 --> 00:23:24.680 we got to be? Faithful. Faithful. Speaking of 00:23:24.680 --> 00:23:26.759 the next one, it says it has been said anyone 00:23:26.759 --> 00:23:29.440 who divorces his wife must give her a certificate 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:32.660 of divorce. But I tell you that anyone who divorces 00:23:32.660 --> 00:23:35.000 his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:37.660 her the victim of adultery. And anyone who marries 00:23:37.660 --> 00:23:44.809 a divorced woman commits adultery. This section 00:23:44.809 --> 00:23:45.930 probably... You're just picking all the easy 00:23:45.930 --> 00:23:48.210 ones to talk about. It's in the Sermon on the 00:23:48.210 --> 00:23:49.329 Mount, man. I don't know what you want me to 00:23:49.329 --> 00:23:51.589 do. Wait, you're not skipping over hard text? 00:23:51.650 --> 00:23:56.589 No, I'm not skipping over hard text. I want to 00:23:56.589 --> 00:23:59.069 caveat everything we're about to say with people 00:23:59.069 --> 00:24:03.329 have used this section right here to beat people 00:24:03.329 --> 00:24:07.450 over the head and really make them feel bad. 00:24:08.190 --> 00:24:10.650 In situations where I don't know that there was 00:24:10.650 --> 00:24:14.589 an alternative. They've been using this as opposed 00:24:14.589 --> 00:24:17.089 to how to live into a kingdom principle. They've 00:24:17.089 --> 00:24:19.230 used it to beat people, slice them up. They've 00:24:19.230 --> 00:24:21.460 actually... done the first part where we're talking 00:24:21.460 --> 00:24:22.680 about murder. That's what they do with this. 00:24:22.680 --> 00:24:24.819 But can we put this part in its context, though? 00:24:24.839 --> 00:24:28.420 Yes. Because this part follows the sexual immorality 00:24:28.420 --> 00:24:31.099 piece, right? And then now it goes into divorce. 00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:34.099 So really, when I've read this passage, I've 00:24:34.099 --> 00:24:35.960 really actually taken these two spots and just 00:24:35.960 --> 00:24:38.200 kind of read them as one. Let me read it as one 00:24:38.200 --> 00:25:09.289 here. Yeah. Except for sexual. immorality makes 00:25:09.289 --> 00:25:11.950 her the victim of adultery and anyone who marries 00:25:11.950 --> 00:25:14.250 a divorced woman commits adultery. So do you 00:25:14.250 --> 00:25:17.190 hear how that flows as one piece right there? 00:25:17.349 --> 00:25:19.529 It's actually interesting to me because it's 00:25:19.529 --> 00:25:22.509 cut out your eye, cut off your hand, now the 00:25:22.509 --> 00:25:26.470 two become one flesh. And you're giving a certificate 00:25:26.470 --> 00:25:28.069 of divorce so you almost look at you're cutting 00:25:28.069 --> 00:25:32.180 off half of you. Right? Yeah. And so we have 00:25:32.180 --> 00:25:34.220 to always put this little passage in its context 00:25:34.220 --> 00:25:36.579 because we will use this to be like, okay, well, 00:25:36.660 --> 00:25:38.680 the only reason for divorce in Christian culture 00:25:38.680 --> 00:25:41.980 is sexual immorality. And I'm here to say, no, 00:25:42.279 --> 00:25:47.500 if you're in a relationship where someone's abusive 00:25:47.500 --> 00:25:52.380 or you're physically unsafe, right, there are 00:25:52.380 --> 00:25:56.410 other reasons to step out. And we will have a 00:25:56.410 --> 00:25:58.569 conversation in a future episode on some of the 00:25:58.569 --> 00:26:00.170 texts that actually talk about this because this 00:26:00.170 --> 00:26:03.289 is specifically Jesus is speaking to. You remember 00:26:03.289 --> 00:26:05.269 at the beginning of Life of Jesus, I talked about 00:26:05.269 --> 00:26:07.269 eight great rabbinic debates. This is one of 00:26:07.269 --> 00:26:10.890 them. They have a disagreement about whether 00:26:10.890 --> 00:26:12.950 or not you can divorce a wife for anything. She 00:26:12.950 --> 00:26:16.369 burns your toast. She does anything that's incorrect. 00:26:16.470 --> 00:26:19.509 Or there's specific things that she does that 00:26:19.509 --> 00:26:21.029 you can divorce your wife. You can present her 00:26:21.029 --> 00:26:22.269 with the writ of divorce because you're just 00:26:22.269 --> 00:26:25.789 not wanting to be married anymore. And it's interesting 00:26:25.789 --> 00:26:29.230 that Jesus actually, what he does here is he 00:26:29.230 --> 00:26:32.269 gives women some certainty, right? He gives them 00:26:32.269 --> 00:26:34.670 some, which by the way is happening in Torah 00:26:34.670 --> 00:26:36.670 throughout. He's getting them some security. 00:26:36.750 --> 00:26:38.470 You can't just divorce your wife because you're 00:26:38.470 --> 00:26:41.130 unhappy with the way she cooked. Yeah. Or the 00:26:41.130 --> 00:26:44.349 fact that, you know, X, Y, or Z. Like that's 00:26:44.349 --> 00:26:47.509 problematic. And he says, hey, you know that 00:26:47.509 --> 00:26:51.890 debate that's going on right now? You can't do 00:26:51.890 --> 00:26:55.700 that. Yeah. Marriage is about growing together. 00:26:55.839 --> 00:26:58.480 Yeah. Right. So I'm going to give you an example. 00:26:58.519 --> 00:27:00.539 I'm going to throw my wife under the bus. I know 00:27:00.539 --> 00:27:02.920 she doesn't listen and she'll acknowledge 100 00:27:02.920 --> 00:27:06.000 % what I'm about to say here. When Lindsay and 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:09.480 I got married, Lindsay could not cook to save 00:27:09.480 --> 00:27:12.759 her life. All right. Like it was like she would 00:27:12.759 --> 00:27:15.059 like she smoked us out of the house one time 00:27:15.059 --> 00:27:17.319 because she tried to like fry jalapenos and like 00:27:17.319 --> 00:27:19.859 we were all like in the house like crying. Yeah. 00:27:20.039 --> 00:27:24.140 Because it's. fricking fried jalapenos. And so 00:27:24.140 --> 00:27:26.119 we're all like out on the deck and like, you 00:27:26.119 --> 00:27:27.839 know, this was, this was the early stages of 00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:30.559 marriage. Right. Right. Okay. Now fast forward 00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:33.319 10 years. All right. And if Lindsay's like, Hey, 00:27:33.339 --> 00:27:34.980 I'm going to make a meal. It's actually, it's 00:27:34.980 --> 00:27:37.259 going to be really good. Right. She's, I mean 00:27:37.259 --> 00:27:39.500 like, uh, example, she makes really good hot 00:27:39.500 --> 00:27:41.980 dog buns. Like, like makes real, like likes to 00:27:41.980 --> 00:27:44.119 make everything from scratch and it tastes delicious. 00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:48.359 Right. Um, but the reality, the reality is, is, 00:27:48.420 --> 00:27:52.019 um, we had to grow together in that, right? Like 00:27:52.019 --> 00:27:54.119 she had to be like, okay, I'm going to do better 00:27:54.119 --> 00:27:57.059 at this. Yeah. Right. She's like, I want to be 00:27:57.059 --> 00:27:59.000 faithful with my husband and I want to give him 00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:01.720 the best I can and I'm going to be better when 00:28:01.720 --> 00:28:04.220 it comes to this type of stuff. And, and like 00:28:04.220 --> 00:28:06.480 the point being, yeah, is that like a lot of 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:08.119 times we'll find the little things like, ah, 00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:11.859 it's just not quite what I want. And it's like, 00:28:11.900 --> 00:28:14.559 okay, we'll have a conversation. Well, and that, 00:28:14.599 --> 00:28:16.509 that even shows up in the text. Because like, 00:28:16.589 --> 00:28:18.410 what's the issue with adultery? It's not just 00:28:18.410 --> 00:28:19.730 committing adultery, it's looking at somebody 00:28:19.730 --> 00:28:22.089 lustfully. Yeah. And you're, as like, if you're 00:28:22.089 --> 00:28:24.089 not invested in the fidelity of your marriage, 00:28:24.250 --> 00:28:27.259 and you're looking around. to see what else is 00:28:27.259 --> 00:28:29.299 out there, and you're like, I like that more 00:28:29.299 --> 00:28:31.279 than I like this, and I'm just going to present 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:33.920 you with a writ of divorce, the whole attitude 00:28:33.920 --> 00:28:36.720 is problematic. Yeah. In fidelity in marriage, 00:28:36.779 --> 00:28:39.539 it's not just about intercourse, right? Right. 00:28:39.559 --> 00:28:42.140 It's about life together, and how are you living 00:28:42.140 --> 00:28:44.960 life that honors the other person? Yeah. Well, 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:48.859 it's an important part of marriage, but it is 00:28:48.859 --> 00:28:52.359 not the most substantial part. No. Right? It 00:28:52.359 --> 00:28:54.039 is a crucial part, but it's not substantial. 00:28:54.619 --> 00:28:56.299 You're talking about intercourse. Intercourse, 00:28:56.299 --> 00:28:58.200 yeah. I was like, your marriage is going to be 00:28:58.200 --> 00:28:59.799 built on much more than just that. It's partnership. 00:29:01.019 --> 00:29:04.039 It's faithfulness and love and compassion and 00:29:04.039 --> 00:29:06.180 building your lives together. A lot of times 00:29:06.180 --> 00:29:11.359 now, my wife Tara and I, we just know what the 00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:12.819 other person is thinking without having to do 00:29:12.819 --> 00:29:18.180 anything. Sometimes I don't know how to... engage 00:29:18.180 --> 00:29:20.819 things without her because I'm like, well, I'm 00:29:20.819 --> 00:29:23.220 so used to having her here, you know, and she 00:29:23.220 --> 00:29:25.680 fills in like those, like, you know who I am. 00:29:25.799 --> 00:29:28.940 Yeah. So like, like my wife's traveled some this 00:29:28.940 --> 00:29:30.920 summer and I've stayed, I've stayed back here 00:29:30.920 --> 00:29:35.000 to work and, um, and it puts things into perspective 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:37.380 of like, Oh, just how much she does around the 00:29:37.380 --> 00:29:40.299 house because she loves us. Yeah. Right. Right. 00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:44.579 And like, and, and it's like, Oh. OK, like because 00:29:44.579 --> 00:29:46.400 sometimes you can take that for granted and sometimes 00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:49.619 you can kind of you can kind of drift apart and 00:29:49.619 --> 00:29:53.059 be like, OK, you know, like she just does this. 00:29:53.140 --> 00:29:55.519 I just do this. These are roles type thing. Right. 00:29:55.579 --> 00:29:57.099 You can kind of get in that rut. And it's like, 00:29:57.140 --> 00:30:00.500 no, why are you doing that? And so so we had 00:30:00.500 --> 00:30:02.980 recommended in the last episode, I recommended 00:30:02.980 --> 00:30:06.240 a book called The Grand Conspiracy, The Divine 00:30:06.240 --> 00:30:09.680 Conspiracy by Dallas Willard. And he does a thing 00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:10.940 where he's going through here, but hopefully 00:30:10.940 --> 00:30:13.160 you're starting to see this pattern. First thing 00:30:13.160 --> 00:30:16.680 we're talking about, the don't murder is supposed 00:30:16.680 --> 00:30:19.420 to be about not attacking other people and about 00:30:19.420 --> 00:30:23.019 finding ways to actually build them up. And, 00:30:23.119 --> 00:30:26.380 oh, by the way, be faithful. to people. Don't 00:30:26.380 --> 00:30:28.539 go looking for the other thing that's out there. 00:30:28.720 --> 00:30:31.119 And don't be looking for a reason to get rid 00:30:31.119 --> 00:30:33.460 of people, especially your spouse, your closest 00:30:33.460 --> 00:30:35.619 relationship. These are all connected. So then 00:30:35.619 --> 00:30:38.240 we get here again, it says, coming into oaths. 00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:40.299 Again, you have heard it said to people long 00:30:40.299 --> 00:30:42.759 ago, do not break your oath, but fulfill to the 00:30:42.759 --> 00:30:45.299 Lord the vows that you have made. But I tell 00:30:45.299 --> 00:30:47.900 you, do not swear an oath at all, either by heaven, 00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:50.319 for it is God's throne, or by the earth, for 00:30:50.319 --> 00:30:52.119 it is the footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it 00:30:52.119 --> 00:30:54.660 is the city of the great king. And do not swear... 00:30:59.600 --> 00:31:07.240 Okay, so why does he say this? There's, I mean, 00:31:07.259 --> 00:31:09.539 there's all throughout Scripture things that 00:31:09.539 --> 00:31:12.359 he's talking about, right, through here. I can 00:31:12.359 --> 00:31:13.980 think of many stories. Let's just take Judah 00:31:13.980 --> 00:31:17.140 and Tamar. Yeah. He makes a vow that he's going 00:31:17.140 --> 00:31:21.019 to do this thing. One, that he's going to make 00:31:21.019 --> 00:31:23.319 sure that his third son marries Tamar, and then 00:31:23.319 --> 00:31:26.160 he doesn't do that. And then Tamar goes and secures 00:31:26.160 --> 00:31:29.140 a child by her own stuff. And he, in that situation, 00:31:29.299 --> 00:31:31.500 vows a certain amount of money and prestige to 00:31:31.500 --> 00:31:33.960 her as well. Okay? I don't know if you guys have 00:31:33.960 --> 00:31:36.299 read that story. It's in Genesis, I think, 35, 00:31:36.380 --> 00:31:40.140 somewhere in there. It's a weird story. Right? 00:31:40.400 --> 00:31:42.819 Yeah. There are lots of stories like this in 00:31:42.819 --> 00:31:45.400 the Bible where people make oaths by heaven. 00:31:45.980 --> 00:31:48.519 And by the way, words aren't cheap here. No. 00:31:48.599 --> 00:31:50.920 Right? The words aren't cheap. So when you make 00:31:50.920 --> 00:31:53.279 this oath, God expects you to fulfill it. Yeah. 00:31:54.339 --> 00:31:56.960 And they put themselves in these oaths. And think 00:31:56.960 --> 00:32:01.960 about this context of adultery and looking out 00:32:01.960 --> 00:32:03.859 and seeing these different people and divorcing. 00:32:03.900 --> 00:32:05.579 And then you make oaths. If you make oaths to 00:32:05.579 --> 00:32:07.079 people that you can't fulfill because you're 00:32:07.079 --> 00:32:10.940 in commitment, oh, good golly. Yep. Right? Mm 00:32:10.940 --> 00:32:13.960 -hmm. It's much better to just be yes or no. 00:32:14.359 --> 00:32:17.769 Yep. And by the way, you did make oaths when 00:32:17.769 --> 00:32:22.569 you got married. Yeah. And so all of this right 00:32:22.569 --> 00:32:25.609 now is written in the context of relationships 00:32:25.609 --> 00:32:28.130 with each other and there's a context of marriage, 00:32:28.289 --> 00:32:31.450 right? And when we're talking about yes be yes, 00:32:31.630 --> 00:32:37.089 no be no, okay? I think what happens is so often 00:32:37.089 --> 00:32:40.789 we take offense to that, right? I've had a number 00:32:40.789 --> 00:32:42.650 of conversations where people are just like, 00:32:42.809 --> 00:32:45.450 well, I don't know what to do here, blah, blah, 00:32:45.470 --> 00:32:47.170 blah. I was like, okay, what are some boundaries 00:32:47.170 --> 00:32:49.750 you've set up in your life? And they're like, 00:32:49.849 --> 00:32:53.670 oh, well, that's really hard to do because that 00:32:53.670 --> 00:32:56.630 means I have to say no to some things or some 00:32:56.630 --> 00:32:59.529 people. And I'm like, yes, correct. It is. But 00:32:59.529 --> 00:33:01.589 I can guarantee you when you set up those boundaries 00:33:01.589 --> 00:33:03.670 and you have your yes be yes and your no be no, 00:33:03.789 --> 00:33:06.430 those relationships are going to be a lot healthier. 00:33:09.330 --> 00:33:12.150 And it also just not beating around the bush 00:33:12.150 --> 00:33:14.289 on it, just being like, hey, yeah, just be like, 00:33:14.309 --> 00:33:15.769 hey, yeah, that sounds great. I can do that. 00:33:15.809 --> 00:33:18.650 Hey, I can't do that. Or I'm unable to do that 00:33:18.650 --> 00:33:22.089 or whatever. Right. What it does is it also provides 00:33:22.089 --> 00:33:24.730 clarity for the other person. So the other person's 00:33:24.730 --> 00:33:28.029 not left wondering. Now, often what we do in 00:33:28.029 --> 00:33:29.849 relationships, though, is we get into this like, 00:33:29.930 --> 00:33:33.349 oh, like, how do you like we'll get into this. 00:33:33.369 --> 00:33:35.769 Like, how do you feel about that when it comes 00:33:35.769 --> 00:33:38.180 to stuff that doesn't matter? Like, how do you 00:33:38.180 --> 00:33:40.000 feel about your coffee being too hot? I was like, 00:33:40.019 --> 00:33:43.599 I don't care, right? Like, that's a silly example, 00:33:43.740 --> 00:33:47.319 right? It's a silly example for us, but there's 00:33:47.319 --> 00:33:49.539 probably people who fight over that. Yeah, or 00:33:49.539 --> 00:33:51.359 this is a controversial one. How do you feel 00:33:51.359 --> 00:33:54.130 about pineapple on pizza? right there's some 00:33:54.130 --> 00:33:56.670 people that you just like they they quit listening 00:33:56.670 --> 00:33:58.650 their hackles right we just lost 10 subscribers 00:33:58.650 --> 00:34:02.650 right uh right uh and they'll be like oh how 00:34:02.650 --> 00:34:05.529 do you feel about that when when reality is if 00:34:05.529 --> 00:34:07.750 you asked beforehand being like hey do you like 00:34:07.750 --> 00:34:09.849 pineapple on pizza and someone was like yes and 00:34:09.849 --> 00:34:12.510 the other person was like no okay yeah you have 00:34:12.510 --> 00:34:14.869 clarity yeah you have clarity you have understanding 00:34:14.869 --> 00:34:16.610 in your relationship that's what this brings 00:34:17.559 --> 00:34:22.400 So this idea of yes, no boundaries, holding fast 00:34:22.400 --> 00:34:24.300 to your word. If you're going to make an oath, 00:34:24.420 --> 00:34:27.300 just make it simple. Yes, no. Don't swear by 00:34:27.300 --> 00:34:30.860 heaven. Don't swear by the city. Show up and 00:34:30.860 --> 00:34:33.000 do what you're supposed to do and also be okay 00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:36.639 saying no. This next section is starting then 00:34:36.639 --> 00:34:40.320 because we've moved from individuals like overall, 00:34:40.460 --> 00:34:43.280 there's like fighting, marriage, divorce. Now 00:34:43.280 --> 00:34:45.400 we're talking about O's like in general, right? 00:34:45.519 --> 00:34:47.420 But it's kind of like this hinge piece. The next 00:34:47.420 --> 00:34:49.119 section is one that we're very familiar with. 00:34:49.920 --> 00:34:52.360 You've heard it said, you have heard it that 00:34:52.360 --> 00:34:54.960 is said. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth. But I 00:34:54.960 --> 00:34:57.179 tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone 00:34:57.179 --> 00:34:59.320 slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the 00:34:59.320 --> 00:35:01.400 other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue 00:35:01.400 --> 00:35:03.880 you and take your shirt, hand over your coat 00:35:03.880 --> 00:35:06.039 as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, 00:35:06.219 --> 00:35:08.340 go with them for two miles. Give to the one who 00:35:08.340 --> 00:35:10.320 asks you and do not turn away from the one who 00:35:10.320 --> 00:35:14.000 wants to borrow from you. Okay, this is right 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:16.519 again, personal interpersonal relationship. What 00:35:16.519 --> 00:35:18.340 is eye for eye, tooth for tooth? What is the 00:35:18.340 --> 00:35:21.360 law always supposed to do? It was supposed to 00:35:21.360 --> 00:35:24.340 make it so that you didn't seek an eye for a 00:35:24.340 --> 00:35:27.119 tooth or a life for an eye, right? It's about 00:35:27.119 --> 00:35:30.340 non -escalation, about not growing this growing 00:35:30.340 --> 00:35:32.619 divide. It's about learning to live at peace 00:35:32.619 --> 00:35:34.900 with the people around you. Now, what Jesus is 00:35:34.900 --> 00:35:37.199 not saying here is that you need to be a doormat 00:35:37.199 --> 00:35:39.059 for people. So we've talked about this before, 00:35:39.059 --> 00:35:40.639 so I'm going to go through it kind of quick. 00:35:42.300 --> 00:35:45.900 If I am, it says don't resist an evil person, 00:35:46.059 --> 00:35:47.719 but if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, you 00:35:47.719 --> 00:35:50.460 turn to them your other cheek also. If I slap 00:35:50.460 --> 00:35:52.559 you on the right cheek, I either slapped you 00:35:52.559 --> 00:35:55.159 with my left hand, which in Palestinian culture 00:35:55.159 --> 00:35:57.400 is the doo -doo hand. That's the hand you wipe 00:35:57.400 --> 00:36:00.480 with. Or I struck you with my right hand, back 00:36:00.480 --> 00:36:02.360 hand, which is the way that you hit a slave or 00:36:02.360 --> 00:36:05.039 somebody who's lesser than you. So if somebody 00:36:05.039 --> 00:36:09.559 hits you and shows you disrespect, turn to them 00:36:09.559 --> 00:36:11.579 your other cheek and force them to see you as 00:36:11.579 --> 00:36:15.510 human. Right? This is not about just getting 00:36:15.510 --> 00:36:17.630 hit a second time. This is about acknowledging 00:36:17.630 --> 00:36:21.170 the injustice in front of you. If somebody sues 00:36:21.170 --> 00:36:24.070 you for, anyone wants to sue you and take your 00:36:24.070 --> 00:36:27.050 shirt, hand them over your coat as well. So if 00:36:27.050 --> 00:36:28.889 they want to literally take the clothes off your 00:36:28.889 --> 00:36:30.969 back, you literally toss them everything and 00:36:30.969 --> 00:36:33.730 sit down there naked in front of them and point 00:36:33.730 --> 00:36:36.610 out the injustice of who they are. This is not 00:36:36.610 --> 00:36:38.510 about not doing anything. It's about standing 00:36:38.510 --> 00:36:42.170 in the midst of chaos with nonviolence, but confronting. 00:36:43.030 --> 00:36:46.230 If somebody wants to have you go one mile, okay, 00:36:46.250 --> 00:36:48.610 this is a Roman practice, right, where they can 00:36:48.610 --> 00:36:52.150 force anybody to take their stuff one mile. Then 00:36:52.150 --> 00:36:56.130 you go two miles. Now, the problem is that second 00:36:56.130 --> 00:36:58.590 mile, even though you voluntarily do it, could 00:36:58.590 --> 00:37:01.050 very well get those Roman soldiers into trouble. 00:37:01.190 --> 00:37:03.150 And once again, you are putting their injustice 00:37:03.150 --> 00:37:06.510 on display. The other thing that's happening 00:37:06.510 --> 00:37:09.829 is you're living, you're the other, the person 00:37:09.829 --> 00:37:12.769 who's receiving the injustice. One thing that's 00:37:12.769 --> 00:37:14.210 interesting here is they're actually silent. 00:37:14.550 --> 00:37:17.010 They're just living. They're like, okay, I'm 00:37:17.010 --> 00:37:19.389 just going to be someone who is gracious and 00:37:19.389 --> 00:37:23.150 faithful and the world will see who you really 00:37:23.150 --> 00:37:26.420 are. Yeah. Right. You're literally putting it 00:37:26.420 --> 00:37:30.019 on display. You're allowing their deeds. Interesting, 00:37:30.179 --> 00:37:32.360 because you do your good deeds, and it's going 00:37:32.360 --> 00:37:34.320 to remind people of your Father in Heaven. Here, 00:37:34.519 --> 00:37:36.519 you're silent, but you put their bad deeds on 00:37:36.519 --> 00:37:40.039 display. It's interesting. Yeah. Well, what it's 00:37:40.039 --> 00:37:41.519 doing is, what you're actually doing is, you're 00:37:41.519 --> 00:37:44.559 still putting your good deeds on display, and 00:37:44.559 --> 00:37:46.719 it's highlighting their bad deeds as part of 00:37:46.719 --> 00:37:48.800 it. So connecting this to the next idea, and 00:37:48.800 --> 00:37:49.940 that's probably where we're going to end this 00:37:49.940 --> 00:37:55.230 episode for today. So you're confronting them, 00:37:55.289 --> 00:37:57.550 and so typically the people who are going to 00:37:57.550 --> 00:37:59.130 be hitting you, they're going to be suing you, 00:37:59.250 --> 00:38:01.150 they're going to be forcing you, are going to 00:38:01.150 --> 00:38:05.360 be your enemies. So you've heard it said, love 00:38:05.360 --> 00:38:07.599 your neighbor and hate your enemies. But I tell 00:38:07.599 --> 00:38:09.539 you, love your enemies and pray for those who 00:38:09.539 --> 00:38:11.739 persecute you, that you may be children of your 00:38:11.739 --> 00:38:14.400 Father in heaven. He causes his Son to rise in 00:38:14.400 --> 00:38:16.719 the evil and the good, and he sends his reign 00:38:16.719 --> 00:38:18.539 on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you 00:38:18.539 --> 00:38:20.380 love those who love you, what reward will you 00:38:20.380 --> 00:38:24.079 get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 00:38:24.239 --> 00:38:25.719 Now, by the way, Jesus loves tax collectors, 00:38:25.820 --> 00:38:29.460 right? And if you greet only your own people, 00:38:30.329 --> 00:38:32.489 What are you doing more than others? Do not even 00:38:32.489 --> 00:38:34.889 pagans do that. Be perfect, therefore, as your 00:38:34.889 --> 00:38:39.250 heavenly Father is perfect. So the point of standing 00:38:39.250 --> 00:38:43.289 in justice is not to make the other person evil. 00:38:43.829 --> 00:38:47.230 It's actually because you love them. You're confronting 00:38:47.230 --> 00:38:49.829 who they are, not through violence, but through 00:38:49.829 --> 00:38:53.869 silence, to your opinion, to your point, for 00:38:53.869 --> 00:38:56.030 the purpose of them changing. For the purpose 00:38:56.030 --> 00:38:58.469 of them seeing who they are right there and giving 00:38:58.469 --> 00:39:02.610 them the ability to change. The opposite of love 00:39:02.610 --> 00:39:06.489 is not hate, it's apathy. When we don't care 00:39:06.489 --> 00:39:09.610 about people around us, it's problematic. When 00:39:09.610 --> 00:39:11.650 we don't care about people who are broken or 00:39:11.650 --> 00:39:13.989 hurting or even the evil people in our world, 00:39:14.150 --> 00:39:19.010 that's a problem. I don't love that Jesus tells 00:39:19.010 --> 00:39:21.130 me I have to love my enemies. No, me neither. 00:39:21.750 --> 00:39:26.630 But I do understand that it is what puts the 00:39:26.630 --> 00:39:28.809 world back together. And this is just, you're 00:39:28.809 --> 00:39:30.309 saying this, but we're just going to reiterate 00:39:30.309 --> 00:39:33.170 it. This part right here is really an invitation 00:39:33.170 --> 00:39:36.170 to view people how God views people. Correct. 00:39:36.449 --> 00:39:39.170 Right? It's not, like, we'll often be like, okay, 00:39:39.190 --> 00:39:40.650 love your enemy, but then we'll still secretly 00:39:40.650 --> 00:39:42.250 be like, they're my enemy. And it's like, well, 00:39:42.309 --> 00:39:43.869 no, because if you actually are being loving 00:39:43.869 --> 00:39:45.250 towards your enemy, they're actually going to 00:39:45.250 --> 00:39:49.409 turn to being your friend. Yep. Yeah. And so 00:39:49.409 --> 00:39:52.050 it's an invitation to be like, we're God saying, 00:39:52.170 --> 00:39:54.860 hey, you know how much I love you? It's like 00:39:54.860 --> 00:39:57.099 that person over there that you've been bad mouthing. 00:39:57.980 --> 00:40:00.460 He's like, I love them just as much. Yeah. Right. 00:40:00.639 --> 00:40:03.400 It's that invitation to be like, okay, we are. 00:40:03.639 --> 00:40:07.059 And when, and, and oftentimes reality is sometimes 00:40:07.059 --> 00:40:08.900 we view this in the context of like, okay, well, 00:40:09.000 --> 00:40:10.840 I, I'm a Christian. I go to church. That person's 00:40:10.840 --> 00:40:13.199 not, which is like, okay, well then that person 00:40:13.199 --> 00:40:15.059 still needs Jesus and Jesus still loves them. 00:40:15.340 --> 00:40:18.119 And then if you get it, get into it in the context 00:40:18.119 --> 00:40:21.000 of two believers, right? Then you have to jump 00:40:21.000 --> 00:40:23.239 over to first John where first John's like, okay, 00:40:23.789 --> 00:40:25.070 Where John's like, all right, here's the deal. 00:40:25.130 --> 00:40:28.269 If you say you love God, but you hate your brother 00:40:28.269 --> 00:40:30.710 and sister, you're just a liar. Yeah. Right? 00:40:30.849 --> 00:40:34.010 He just calls it out. Yeah. And so you have to 00:40:34.010 --> 00:40:36.269 wrestle with that, right? Because Paul's making 00:40:36.269 --> 00:40:38.230 the statement, he says, the way that you love 00:40:38.230 --> 00:40:40.090 other people tells whether or not you love God. 00:40:40.250 --> 00:40:43.289 Yeah. The way that you treat people, especially 00:40:43.289 --> 00:40:46.559 people you don't like. Yeah. says how you feel 00:40:46.559 --> 00:40:50.159 about God. Yes. You want a barometer of how much 00:40:50.159 --> 00:40:52.019 you actually love God? Think about the way you 00:40:52.019 --> 00:40:54.519 treat people you don't like. It's going to tell 00:40:54.519 --> 00:40:57.179 you. And you know what? I hope that you're better 00:40:57.179 --> 00:40:59.079 at it today than you were a week ago or a year 00:40:59.079 --> 00:41:02.980 ago. God's not expecting perfection, but it's 00:41:02.980 --> 00:41:06.840 a process, right? Yep. So I want to reiterate 00:41:06.840 --> 00:41:08.960 real quick here as we're coming into a close. 00:41:09.739 --> 00:41:12.599 Last week we said Sermon on the Mount. The kingdom 00:41:12.599 --> 00:41:14.360 of God is here. It's ready to interact with you. 00:41:14.400 --> 00:41:15.820 Now, I want to talk to you about what this kingdom 00:41:15.820 --> 00:41:17.679 looks like. There's a certain kind of people 00:41:17.679 --> 00:41:19.679 that are supposed to live a certain kind of way, 00:41:19.780 --> 00:41:22.320 and when you live this way, you're going to get 00:41:22.320 --> 00:41:25.900 chastised. Yep. That's okay. You're going to 00:41:25.900 --> 00:41:27.360 be blessed in the middle of it. You're going 00:41:27.360 --> 00:41:29.400 to be salt. You're going to be light. Go do your 00:41:29.400 --> 00:41:31.320 good deeds so they glorify your Father in heaven. 00:41:31.380 --> 00:41:33.980 Now, I'm going to remind you about things from 00:41:33.980 --> 00:41:36.480 Torah and what they were supposed to do in you, 00:41:36.559 --> 00:41:38.760 and we're not doing away with them. We're trying 00:41:38.760 --> 00:41:39.940 to understand what they were always supposed 00:41:39.940 --> 00:41:43.860 to be. Yep. Live into caring about the people 00:41:43.860 --> 00:41:47.679 around you. Don't just avoid killing them. Right? 00:41:48.320 --> 00:41:51.360 Practice fidelity. Don't just not cheat on your 00:41:51.360 --> 00:41:56.480 spouse. Value commitment. Don't just throw away 00:41:56.480 --> 00:42:02.920 relationships. What you say matters. Yes. Don't 00:42:02.920 --> 00:42:07.599 escalate fights. Correct injustice, but also 00:42:07.599 --> 00:42:09.239 love those people that you're standing against. 00:42:10.029 --> 00:42:12.610 Which, by the way, in their case, is the Romans. 00:42:13.610 --> 00:42:16.090 The people who came in and conquered them and 00:42:16.090 --> 00:42:18.969 have put them into slavery and taxation. Literally 00:42:18.969 --> 00:42:21.750 taking all their money. Yep. He says, those guys. 00:42:22.989 --> 00:42:26.329 In fact, going the mile, that's just a Roman 00:42:26.329 --> 00:42:30.210 practice. So definitely talking about Rome. Love 00:42:30.210 --> 00:42:32.710 those people. Because if you just love the people 00:42:32.710 --> 00:42:35.070 who look just like you and treat you well, you're 00:42:35.070 --> 00:42:36.670 a part of a kingdom. It's just not the kingdom 00:42:36.670 --> 00:42:38.929 of God. Yep. And I think that's really challenging 00:42:38.929 --> 00:42:41.989 for us because it's really easy to love people 00:42:41.989 --> 00:42:43.750 who are lovable. It's really hard to love people 00:42:43.750 --> 00:42:49.010 who are, as I like to say, stupid. Yes. Yeah. 00:42:49.170 --> 00:42:51.949 Right. And yeah, I mean, and we all have unique 00:42:51.949 --> 00:42:54.510 personalities, right? Like we're all created 00:42:54.510 --> 00:42:57.210 uniquely. We are going to naturally be drawn 00:42:57.210 --> 00:43:00.110 to different people. Yep. Right. But what do 00:43:00.110 --> 00:43:04.530 you do when you have to love that person who 00:43:04.530 --> 00:43:07.639 annoys the crap out of you? Love that person 00:43:07.639 --> 00:43:10.400 that you just want to grab them by the shoulders 00:43:10.400 --> 00:43:16.659 and be like, get it together. That's what we're 00:43:16.659 --> 00:43:19.260 talking about. It's how do you see people through 00:43:19.260 --> 00:43:23.539 Jesus' eyes to where you can love them like Jesus 00:43:23.539 --> 00:43:26.300 loves them. All right, that's going to be it 00:43:26.300 --> 00:43:28.400 for us today. We're going to kick up part three 00:43:28.400 --> 00:43:30.780 next week. I think it's going to be part three, 00:43:30.820 --> 00:43:33.789 and that's going to be it. but depending on where 00:43:33.789 --> 00:43:35.369 our conversation goes next week, I know that 00:43:35.369 --> 00:43:37.570 we are going to come back on a portion of the 00:43:37.570 --> 00:43:39.010 Sermon on the Mount that talks about prayer in 00:43:39.010 --> 00:43:40.809 a separate episode because we want to talk about 00:43:40.809 --> 00:43:44.030 the practice of prayer. If you have been listening 00:43:44.030 --> 00:43:47.429 to us for a while and you are wanting to revisit 00:43:47.429 --> 00:43:49.670 season one, I got good news. We wrote a book. 00:43:50.329 --> 00:43:52.230 We took the conversations from the first season, 00:43:52.309 --> 00:43:53.789 and you're in the middle of recording the audio 00:43:53.789 --> 00:43:55.610 book. That's probably going to be available in 00:43:55.610 --> 00:43:57.969 the next month or so. And all the proceeds from 00:43:57.969 --> 00:43:59.849 that book, audio, everything, is going to go 00:43:59.849 --> 00:44:03.670 to local ministries with Young Life. I have a 00:44:03.670 --> 00:44:05.349 book that's out, Beautiful Chaos is currently 00:44:05.349 --> 00:44:07.730 on Amazon. If you want to read about what it 00:44:07.730 --> 00:44:09.889 means to be part of the family of God, we use 00:44:09.889 --> 00:44:12.449 the analogy of becoming a parent. That's a good 00:44:12.449 --> 00:44:14.050 conversation to have. I think it's a good thing 00:44:14.050 --> 00:44:16.909 for us to correct. I was having this conversation 00:44:16.909 --> 00:44:18.190 with somebody and they were just talking about 00:44:18.190 --> 00:44:20.309 how they're like, man, I always thought that 00:44:20.309 --> 00:44:22.030 God was mad with me and he just wants me to come 00:44:22.030 --> 00:44:25.409 home. And I said, I'm glad that I wrote my book 00:44:25.409 --> 00:44:29.090 then, because if you understand that now. I'm 00:44:29.090 --> 00:44:31.969 so happy. Yeah. So happy about that. So there's 00:44:31.969 --> 00:44:35.469 more stuff coming. Spencer and I do lots of stuff 00:44:35.469 --> 00:44:38.849 and get into all sorts of shenanigans. So we're 00:44:38.849 --> 00:44:40.750 going to keep you posted. Yeah. And if you guys 00:44:40.750 --> 00:44:42.489 are like, man, it takes them a long time to get 00:44:42.489 --> 00:44:44.969 some of the books and stuff like that. We're 00:44:44.969 --> 00:44:46.849 waiting for that. Thank you for your patience. 00:44:47.050 --> 00:44:50.630 Ben and I work full -time jobs. Yep. Sometimes 00:44:50.630 --> 00:44:53.630 more than one. Sometimes more than one. And so 00:44:53.630 --> 00:44:55.250 this is something we're doing on the side. So 00:44:55.250 --> 00:44:59.159 it just takes us a little bit longer. All right. 00:44:59.179 --> 00:45:05.309 Well, until next time. Podcast. And that's a 00:45:05.309 --> 00:45:07.710 wrap for today's episode of Love and Context. 00:45:07.809 --> 00:45:09.949 We hope this conversation encouraged you and 00:45:09.949 --> 00:45:12.250 gave you fresh insights into how we can better 00:45:12.250 --> 00:45:14.409 love God and others through the powerful truths 00:45:14.409 --> 00:45:17.050 of the Bible. We'd love to hear from you. Send 00:45:17.050 --> 00:45:20.269 your questions, thoughts, or suggestions to loveandcontext 00:45:20.269 --> 00:45:23.010 at gmail .com. 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