102. Beginner Bible Course: The last tour of Jesus through Galilee and beyond

EPISODE 102    The simple Bible overview of…THE LAST TOUR OF JESUS THROUGH GALILEE AND BEYOND

My oldest daughter…

1

00:00:04

…is a firefighter. I asked her what the standard procedure is when they go to a call with, with a home on fire. She says, first thing, ask if everybody made it out safe. If they're not sure, or little Jimmy is nowhere to be found, they then do a quick search of the house. And I mean fast every room, every closet, if they still don't find little Jimmy, they tear the place apart. Every nook and cranny is exhaustively searched. We've been looking at the first two years of Jesus' ministry in Galilee, and that's essentially what Jesus did a fire call. He could skip the first part. Is there anybody in there who could be in trouble?

1

00:00:44

Jesus already knew that one. The prophet Isaiah said the people who are walking in darkness will see a great light. The first purpose for the coming of the Messiah was to save his desperately needed people from their sins. So Jesus went into the second part of that kind of search. The quick search of the house. We followed Jesus around in the gospels for two years, combing Galilee town by town, binding up the broken, releasing the captives and proclaiming the year of God's favor had come in this episode, we're going to look at Jesus, kicking into phase three, an exhaustive search for precious and desperately needy people in every nook and cranny of Galilee and beyond.

1

00:01:29

John tells us South of Galilee in Judea, the Jewish leaders were looking to kill Jesus. They come North to find him being like hound dogs. As soon as they catch up with Jesus and the disciples, they treat the disciples on an issue. You're not following the tradition of the elders. And in particular, the washing of your hands before eating, Jesus has no time for this. He lashes out while Jesus in the sermon on the Mount had introduced the term hypocrite. This is the first time in the gospels. He uses it on these Sadducees and Pharisees hounding his disciples about these traditions.

1

00:02:10

A hypocrite was a play actor. One who wore a mask and played the role of another male. Actors would play every role, male, female, and even animal. They would simply put a mask of that creature or person in front of their face and take on their persona. Jesus dials into this. And this becomes a label he uses heavily for Pharisees and Sadducees. People who are religious mask, but underneath were nothing like the role. They were pretending Jesus, most down these frauds. Now Jesus becomes the hound dog and hunts them. You hypocrites. Don't talk to us about traditions.

1

00:02:52

You use these traditions to trample the law of God. Then Jesus gives them a vivid example. God said in his family rules, you shall honor your father and mother hold them in high regard. But you've got this Corbyn tradition. When your mom and dad need your financial support, you decide I'm going to Corbyn it. I'm going to devote this money to God. So instead of using that money to care for your parents, you dishonor your parents and you blame God for it. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. You do many such things. Jesus then turns to the listening crowd and said their whole diet thing.

1

00:03:34

It's a sham too. It's not what goes into your mouth. That defiles you. Jesus explains what comes out of the well, our hearts in the buckets of our words and the way we say them is proof positive of what's down in the well of our hearts. Jesus is white, hot, mad over this. And the Pharisees and Sadducees are deeply offended. Jesus, then heads further North to more nooks and crannies this time outside of Galilee to tire inside and on the coast. It's here. The Matthew in chapter 15 tells us about Jesus running into a Gentile woman. She comes up to Jesus saying, have mercy on me.

1

00:04:14

Oh Lord son of David. She has a little girl. Who's severely tormented by a demon. Again. She says, have mercy on me. Oh Lord son of David. That's quite a statement in second, Samuel chapter seven, God promised David someone would come from his descendants, a ruler from his line who would be a righteous King and rule forever. For a thousand years, the term son of David was code for the coming Messiah King. That was the one they all longed for the anointed one, the appointed one, their savior and deliverer. You're not going to find that term many times in the gospel.

1

00:04:55

I only found it used nine times, but it's the flagship term for the Messiah. So when this Gentile woman from near tire cries out and calls him, Lord son of David, she's onto something. She believes that he is that promise Messiah the coming King it's here. The story as reported by Matthew gets confusing. She cries out to Jesus for help for her little girl. And Jesus seems to ignore her. Can you imagine a fireman, hearing somebody in a burning, building, screaming and ignoring them. It gets worse. She keeps on begging Jesus calling out and the disciples urge him to shoo her away.

1

00:05:37

But this Gentile, desperate woman won't be shushed. She keeps it up. Finally, Jesus says this. I was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. That's like our firefighters on the scene calling to the woman in the window, sorry, you're outside our jurisdiction. But this desperate woman won't give up. She comes to Jesus and worships him saying, Lord, help me now. Jesus replies. It's not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. Ouch. She continues to plead. Yes, Lord. But even the dogs get the crumbs that fall from their master's table.

1

00:06:18

At this point, Jesus says, woman, your faith is great. Your request is granted. And her daughter was healed immediately. Is it any wonder? Some people read this passage and wonder Jesus are racist. If that's the case, I certainly want to know. Jesus fully knew the promise to Abraham. In Genesis chapter 12, someday someone would come from his descendants who would bless all nations, all nations. We've also learned how he responded to the century ans request that he come heal his servant. Do you remember how he prays this Roman soldiers, faith. And let's not forget.

1

00:06:57

He had spent the bulk of his first two years in Galilee of the Gentiles, binding up the broken and setting free the captive. Many of those broken and captive people or Gentiles Jesus himself will say he's the light of the world. Not of the Jews. There's something else going on here. And I think we get a clue in how God interacted with Moses at Mount Sinai, go back and listen to it. In episode 40 with Moses on the mountain, getting the 10 commandments. God realizes what's going on down below the Israelites around the golden calf are breaking a number of these commandments.

1

00:07:37

God is very angry and he says this to Moses. I'm going to destroy them and start over with you on the surface. You can't help. But think this is God rage quitting on his people in his promise. This is God going 13 year old video gamer who gets ticked off and quits the game. This is a guide who needs anger management classes, but that's not the way God has revealed to us. And more than that, he couldn't keep his promise through Moses. God had already promised to bring the Messiah through the line of Judah, Moses wasn't from the tribe of Judah. He was from the tribe of Levi.

1

00:08:17

So God couldn't follow through with what he had said to Moses to begin with. We concluded in that episode, God was testing Moses, Moses, past reminding God of his promises and this Gentile woman with her Lord, son of David and worship of Jesus had tipped her hand. She'd pass the test to leaving the tire inside an area Jesus heads back, South and East toward the sea of Galilee. He takes a route through the area of Decapolis the 10 cities and in those nooks and crannies rescues other desperate captives and brokenhearted ones. He circles back to the sea of Galilee and there a great crowd grows to listen to his teaching and to be ministered to by the healer and deliver Jesus.

1

00:09:06

After spending three days with him, Jesus compassion kicks in. He knows this. Isn't a group of seagulls waiting for their next meal. These are people desperately needing a rescuer. Jesus tells his disciples. We need to feed these people. This is called the feeding of the 4,000 something. The gospel writers just got their wires crossed. There was only one crowd feeding miracle, but every detail about this event was different from the define the relationship feeding of the 5,000 months before after wrapping up this event, Jesus heads to his next nook and cranny. Magdala the Pharisees and Sadducees.

1

00:09:48

The hypocrites are lurking. Give us a sign would be Messiah. Give us a sign, prove it. Jesus responds. You guys could use a little sign training. You know, if it's red sky in the morning, there's a storm brewing, but you can't read the bigger signs. They're all around you. The signposts of who I am, you don't read them. You don't want to read them. So I'm not going to give you any sign, but the sign of Jonah SIA, Jesus doesn't even explain it. Jesus and the disciples. Get back into the boat and sail back out on the Lake for another nook and cranny while they're in route, Jesus says to his disciples, Oh, guys be where the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, the disciples began discussing between themselves in subdued voice.

1

00:10:36

Did you bring any bread? I forgot to bring lunch. You think he's talking about lunch? Jesus was remarkably patient with his tag along apprentices. But if there was ever a moment where Jesus perhaps thought I could have picked folks with a little more gray matter or discernment, duh, you think I'm talking about lunch back there at Capernum. How many people did I feed? They said 5,000 and back there a few weeks ago on the shores of Galilee, how many did I feed? And they said 4,000. So how come you guys are worried about where we're going to get lunch? Then they knew he was talking about the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

1

00:11:19

After this we're told Jesus met up with his brothers somewhere in Galilee, who knows maybe it was back in his hometown. Again, I'm going to pick up the story and read it directly from John chapter seven. When the Jewish festival of Tabernacles was near Jesus brothers said to him, leave Galilee and go to Judea so that your disciples there may see the works. You do no one who wants to become a public figure. Acts in secret. Since you're doing these things, show yourself to the world. John adds for even his own brothers did not believe in him. Therefore Jesus told them my time is not yet here for you. Anytime we'll do the world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that it's works are evil.

1

00:12:03

You go to the festival. I'm not going up to this festival because my time has not yet fully come. Having said this. He stayed in Galilee. However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he also went up. Not publicly, but in secret. Well, you can just about imagine what readers of the Bible wonder about this critics. Point to this and say, wow, Jesus, that was a bold face lie. And if it's a bowl face, lie, it's a sin. And if it's a sin, you're not the sinless savior. If that's true, that's a big, big problem. But does it have to be true first? I'd ask what'd you give Jesus the benefit of the doubt, but I'm not going to lean on that.

1

00:12:47

Let's look at what he said, brothers, you can go anytime. But my time is not yet. If your brother or sister asked you to go to the mall and you said, I'm not going to do that right now. And you showed up two hours later, would they call you a liar? Or could they conclude, well, she didn't want to go then, but she's here now. Now's the right time earlier. Wasn't there's another reason though. His brothers don't believe in him. And he's at the festival of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. As we'll see in the next episode, Jesus gets up publicly at this festival and says things like you shall know the truth and the truth shall set. You free having been beating his don't be a hypocrite drum.

1

00:13:30

Do you think it's possible? Jesus could have lied to his brothers about going down to the festival then showed up, stood up in public and proclaimed. He was the true one who would set them free. Would you let your brother get away with that kind of hypocrisy? There's another reason still. This is reported by the gospel writer, John in John chapter seven. That's not the only book in the Bible. John was carried along by the Holy spirit to write. He also wrote three little letters at the back. The theme of the first of those three letters could easily be liar, liar, pants on fire over and over again. He harps you're a liar.

1

00:14:10

If you don't believe or do the following things. And the hero of his letter is Jesus. Do you really think the gospel writer, John would have the chutzpah to scold us, to be honest with ourselves and follow Jesus who he claims is the son of God. If Jesus made a bold face, lie to his own brothers, his brothers didn't believe in him. They were encouraging him to take a shortcut, to honor their timetable rather than wait for guides. Jesus simply says not now. It's not the right time. Who knows? Maybe like in the wilderness, he was waiting for ABA, his father to give him a nudge. And with this incident Jesus' ministry in Galilee comes to a close Jesus now moves from Galilee toward Judea and to Jerusalem in particular, he's lit a fire there.

1

00:15:02

Every time he's visited, he cleared the temple. The second time he had those, what my daddy does, I do kinds of conversations with the religious leaders. And now he's making another trip at a national holiday rather than getting out the fire hose. He's bringing with him a gas can and some more statements about himself, the matches. And we'll look at those statements and the reaction in our next word picture.